Page 50 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

Cyprian let out a low whistle and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Did he see you leave?”

“No,” Lilas said firmly. “I left before he realized I was gone.”

Cyprian tapped his fingers idly against his crossed arms. “And in all this—” he arched a dark brow at her, “you didn’t speak to Razion at all?”

“Of course I didn’t.” Lilas’ stomach twisted. She braced herself against the raw scrape of emotions she wasn’t ready to name. “I wasn’t going to stand there and ask him politely if he was planning tosellme to a trafficker later that cycle. That would’ve been—”

“Risky,” Sevas said with a nod. “I get it. And it’s not like Terians have such a great history with trust and security.”

Lilas’ jaw clenched. “Maybe I should have talked to him,” she ground out.

Takkian tilted his head, arms unmoving from his chest. “Well, we’ll get to the bottom of it when he gets here.”

Lilas’ heart stuttered. “Excuse me?”

Takkian crossed his arms over his massive chest, tilting his head slightly, watching her with the gaze of a fighter who had already predicted the next ten moves of his opponent. “We leftan energy trail.” His deep voice was even, measured, but there was something knowing in the way he watched her. “A faint one. Difficult to track unless you know what to look for.”

Lilas’ pulse faltered. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Cyprian said with a smirk, “if he wants to find us, he will.”

Lilas shook her head. “That’s assuming he even follows it.”

“Zaruxians do not sell females,” Takkian said, his voice raising with conviction. “We do not sell living things, period. It is not our way.” He raised his chin and flared his nostrils. “If Razion truly intended to sell you, we will, ah,impressthese principles on him, then send him on his way. But if he cares about you the way you say he seemed to, we will give him a chance to explain himself.”

Lilas scoffed and threw up her hands. “He took afekkingmeeting with a trafficker. He’s not coming for me.”

“Oh, we’re pretty sure he’ll come,” Cyprian said smoothly from his perch on the sofa’s arm beside Fivra. Amusement flickered in his silver eyes. “And we really want to have a word with him.”

Lilas clenched her teeth. “I can’t believe this.”

“We are on a mission to find our missing brothersandreunite you Terians,” Takkian said, his tone low and steady. “So, yes. We would meet him and speak to him. But we will not accept a corrupt and evil sibling into our group, even if he is related to us by blood.”

A thick knot of frustration coiled in her chest, tightening with every breath. “I wouldn’t call him corrupt or evil,” she muttered. “He’s dedicated his life to disrupting the Axis and learning where their headquarters are.” Lilas inhaled sharply and dropped her shoulders. “He just doesn’t wantme.”

Turi, who had stayed quiet until now, shook her head. “That just isn’t possible.”

Lilas let out a snort-laugh, “Oh, it is. I’ve always been trouble.”

Sevas laughed. “Lilas, you are themosttrouble. And yet, you said he loved you.”

“No. He never said that.” Lilas shook her head. “IthoughtI believed that.”

Sevas tilted her head, glancing at Takkian before settling a firm stare on Lilas. “Think about it,” she said, irritated. “Were you just some spare baggage to offload? He took you onto his ship. Gave you a role. Let you eat all the food. He kept you close and, uh—whatever the two of you did—”

“Fek, Sevas. Yes. We had sex,” Lilas said flatly. Her face went hot, but she folded her arms tightly, refusing to budge. “Maybe he just wantedthat. It happens, right, brothel director?” She aimed that at Cyprian, who just shrugged.

“Zaruxians are not typically ruled by our base urges,” he replied, glancing at Fivra. “Unless it is for our mates, that is. Then, we struggle to control them.”

“Well, I’m not his mate, am I?” Her eyes burned just thinking about that, because there had been a hot moment when that was exactly how she’d thought about him.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” Ellion’s words held a finality that made Lilas wince. The logical words should have soothed her, but all she could think about was hearing Razion’s calm words as he agreed to that meeting.

“Well, I’ll say it.” Sevas slapped her hands on her thighs. “I hope he comes. I want to ask him what thefekis wrong with him.”

Lilas’ throat tightened. “Ifhe shows up,” she said carefully, barely above a whisper, “I’ll hear him out. Maybe I got it wrong.”

Takkian tilted his head, something unreadable behind his scarred features. “Then, we’ll see.”

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