Page 50 of Corvak's Challenge

"I don't care. I need answers. You're coming with me." I point at the fur again. "You can sit and I can drag you, or they can carry you." And I gesture at the snow-people.

The praxiian's nostrils flare and he shoots me a disgusted look. Favoring his bad leg, he leans over and eases himself onto the fur, then gestures at me as if he's the one in charge.

I drop the end of the fur blanket and gesture to my army.Pull him with us.

The male is swarmed by the snow-people and he makes a sound of pure disgust that warms my heart.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

AIDY

My stomach is worse today.I move between bouts of cooking for the snow-people and vomiting in a quiet corner of the cave, in an empty bag that's going to need to be tossed when Corvak returns.

If he returns. I don't like that he's been gone so long. It's been days since I've seen him, and I know he's trying to trap the enemy. I just wish he'd check in, or let me know that things are going all right. Something. What if he never returns because he's been caught—or worse—and I'm stuck in this cave until the game is over?

What if the game is never over?

The thought makes me retch again.

Sweating and pale, I forget all about cooking for a moment and move to the front of the cave. The snow-people are just outside, hovering in wait. I don't see Pinkie—she hasn't been coming to the cave since I ran out of roots. I know she has to feed herself, but I feel like I lost a friend. The ones clustered just outside are all males, hungry for soup, and today's dish is fish that smells like it turned a week ago. I boil it up anyway, becausethey'll eat it, and I'm afraid not to feed them. As long as they keep bringing me carcasses, I'll keep cooking.

Right now though, I need fresh air. So I don't go quite to the front of the cave. I stay at least an arm's length or two back, lean against the cave wall and sink to the floor, and just breathe in fresh, cool air as it wafts in.

"Aidy?"

I jerk awake, horrified to realize I've fallen asleep—or passed out, more like. Scrubbing a hand over my sour mouth, I blink at my surroundings. Corvak crouches in front of me, a look of concern on his face.

"More sickness?" he asks, as if he can smell it on me.

"I'm fine," I say, blinking off the last of the disorientation. "Just a little off today. How did it go? You're safe? You're well? No injuries?" I run my hands over his crude clothing, looking for rips or dried blood. Corvak isn't the type to complain if he's wounded, but I'd still want to take care of him. "Let me know if you have any scratches. You could get infected with anything."

He touches my arm. His mouth flattens into a thin line and my spirits plummet. Oh no. Failure, then. He wasn't able to capture the stranger. I reach out to reassure him?—

There's a cacophony of hooting outside, and the sounds of a scuffle.

"Get your hands off! They don't belong there!" shouts an unfamiliar voice. "The tail is off-keffing-limits, you idiots! Hey, you! Call off your lackeys!"

Corvak exhales entirely through his nose, his face set in what can only be resignation. He gets to his feet, and I stand, too. He deliberately places himself in front of me, as if trying to block myview of the cave entrance. I peer out from behind his shoulder anyhow, too tired to complain that he's being overbearing. I'll add it to the book of grudges to discuss later.

A moment later, a large figure limps to the cave entrance, favoring one leg. He leans on the rocks and glares at Corvak. "No, no," he drawls. "It's fine. I can manage on a broken ankle. Don't get up."

"I found him. Our enemy," Corvak says, his hands moving back as if to brace me. "And he won't be silent."

I'm surprised. For some reason, I hadn't given much thought to what the other aliens we landed here with would look like. I'd assumed they'd all look more or less like Corvak. The man at the entrance looks…well, he looks like a cat. Where Corvak seems to have a few feline traits, this stranger looks as if someone mushed an oversized human with an equally oversized cat and made a person out of them. He's even got the split mouth and muzzle of a cat, unlike Corvak, who has heavier-but-still-human features. His triangular ears are flat with dislike, and I can see his tail swishing. That's different. Corvak has the Manx-like stump, but the stranger's tail is long and fully furred. He's tall and broad, but the downy fur that covers him is short and a pale gray with a hint of striping, like a tabby, whereas Corvak is dark gray all over. This man even haswhiskers.

"You brought him back," I whisper to Corvak. "Thank you."

"You won't be thanking me in a few moments," Corvak continues, voice dry. "Like I said, he won't be silent."

The man hobbles a few steps more into our cave, and then his nose twitches. He recoils and looks at us in horror. "I thought it smelled bad outside, but what the kef are you cooking?"

"Nothing you'd want to eat," I reply, and for some reason, I want to smile. Is this one of the gladiators we're supposed to be fearing? He seems cranky and a little fussy…much like a cat. He's not instilling me with fear, either. He seems more like a put-out guest than a dangerous enemy. I rest my hand on Corvak's back, staying behind him just in case I'm reading things entirely wrong.

The man shakes his head, limps in a few more spots, and then sits down away from the cooking fire. He leans against the wall heavily, panting, and his long tail thumps on the ground like he's irritated. "Your nose must be useless if you can live with all these smells."

"Don't you worry about my nose," Corvak growls at him. "Just sit there and behave. And don't talk to Aidy."

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