Page 28 of Diamond

I scratch at Roshan's head, trying to soothe him, but he doesn't make any pleased sounds because his eyes are trained on the alien. "Please, we don't want any trouble. You have hurt us enough. Go away."

I try to sound confident, putting as much metal into my voice as I can muster, but instead I sound like I have been crying for weeks. "Just leave us alone."

"I cannot," he says in a sharp bark, "not until I have restored the honor I lost."

His language is rough, with a lot of hissing barks, clicks, and guttural undertones.

"What honor are you talking about? There is no honor here," I spit at him before I can help myself and his eyes meet mine for a split second.

I expect him to lurch at me or hit me, but all he does is look away and bow his head. "I wasn't sent here to bring harm to you, but I have. The honor I gained is lost."

I tilt my head to the side, wincing. "Did you know of me before all this? Were you following us? Is that it?"

He just continues to stare, looking dejected. "Ree would not have wanted this."

The male makes no sense. "Wait. Who is Ree? What honor have you lost?"

He doesn't answer and I cannot help the rage that squeezes at my chest.

"Say something," I hiss out, feeling faint as my head throbs in the same rhythm of my still-racing heart.

I moan in pain and Roshan nibbles at my hair, his eyes concerned.

The alien lets out a long breath and speaks again. "I met with Ree, another like you. She told me to take you somewhere safe where you could be with your other friends and that is all I was trying to do."

I nearly laugh at how preposterous it sounds, though my heart leaps at the mention of there being other humans around.

"Help me? You tore Tehlmar to pieces long after you killed him, and you are speaking of helping? I want you to go away foreverand let us be. Your violence is unacceptable, and I don't want to spend another moment in your presence."

He doesn't leave, and I finally take a good look at the alien.

Kneeling down, he is almost at my full height, and he glows, his dark skin littered with bright green luminescent patterns. The first thought that comes to mind is how terrible he would be at a game of hide and seek.

My second is that he's beautiful, despite how odd he looks. The bright green patterns on his skin cast a glow across his features in a mesmerizing way. His green eyes, with their black horizontal pupils also glow, pulsing each time he blinks. He doesn't have eyebrows, or a beard, only seeming to grow hair on his head. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have a nose, just a wide space that follows the same curve of his broad forehead down to too-wide, thick, nearly black lips. Like Tehlmar, his teeth are sharp, except they are white, not green.

A quick search for where he breathes ends when I spot two holes just in front of his pointed ears. The braids near them shift in a rhythmic way, matching the movement of his chest. It's broad, tapering to a small waist. His arms are enormous, with well-defined, corded muscles visible beneath his skin where I can see his forearms. His skin is rough looking, but in long striations. Almost like you can see the muscles right underneath. It makes my stomach queasy, reminding me of medical images of skinless humans.

He has long, thick black braids that start farther back on his skull than where human hair begins. There are primitive trinkets woven into them. He's wearing some sort of brown animal hidearmor, which I assume is hiding more glowing skin, since the undulating green veins and dark gray skin disappear under it midway up his forearm. The armor covers all but his lower arms, part of his neck, and head.

His hands look strong, though odd with their three thick fingers instead of four. The green marks on them shift as his hands twitch and it's mesmerizing, a welcome distraction from the pain. But then I realize I have the same warmth between my legs for him as I did for Tehlmar and rage overtakes my brain for a long moment.

Clearly, the genali did something to me. More than just my hair and the translator, but something deep inside my body. Or my mind?

Because nothing explains this odd attraction to two males who are so obviously not even worth a single glance, let alone this unwanted arousal.

It sickens me.

The male continues to look downcast, and I feel the urge to throw a rock at his face to get him to move on. I won't feel safe if he is nearby.

I want to tell him to kill me off before I die of hypertension, but he mumbles again. "That was the only way to save you from him. Is that not what all females want—a male who can protect them?"

He catches my eye again and my jaw drops open. He thinks that is what a woman wants? To be splattered with blood as he looks like an enraged animal?

No.

"Cutting up a man like that is—"

He cuts me off and speaks. "I know there wasn't a tribunal, but we couldn't call one. He clearly didn't know how to respect autonomy."

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