Page 14 of Adtovar
Adtovar drew nearer, mesmerized by the sound. His fingertip gently brushed along my cheek, igniting a spark that coursed through the air like a current of electricity. The sensation was both unexpected and thrilling, and a shiver skittered along my spine. His pale gaze heated, and for a split second, it felt just like that time in fifth grade when I knew Rodney Graham was going to give me my first kiss.
Yet the touch of his lips against mine never came. Adtovar cleared his throat, dropped his hand, and stepped away, putting several feet between us. Yet when he spoke, his words were so sweet, it felt like a hug. “You are a brave female. You have cared for the others. Now it is time to let someone care for you.”
“Thank you, Adtovar,” I whispered, the sound husky and perhaps a bit needy. I was never much of a social butterfly. My studies always consumed my life, leaving little room for romance. Even when I ventured into the realm of dating, my boyfriends were invariably the nerdy type. The kind of guy who found discussing quantum physics or the latest technological advancements to be the ultimate turn-on. Their world was my comfort zone. But Adtovar was a different breed altogether. He exuded pure masculinity, every inch of him radiating confidenceand boldness. I felt like a fish out of water, floundering in this unfamiliar territory... but surprisingly, I didn’t hate it.
“Stay here. I will return shortly.” His voice sounded gruff as he turned toward the door.
“And then we can get the hell out of Dodge?” I suggested with a grin.
Adtovar glanced at me over his shoulder, his lips quirking upward when he noticed my smile. “I don’t know where this Dodge is located, but yes, hopefully, we can leave this planet behind.”
He slipped through the doorway, and I watched as his figure slowly dissolved into the encroaching shadows, his footsteps gradually fading from a comforting thud on the earthen floor to silence. It was as if the shadows themselves had swallowed him whole.
I settled on the cot again, feeling restless. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, a flicker of hope surged within me, bubbling up like a long-dormant spring finally breaking through the surface. A feeling so foreign in this place of blood and death, I clung to it, hoping I never had to let it go.
Chapter 7 – Adtovar
I parted ways with Maddie and set off toward Bozzo’s office. He mentioned dispatching guards to escort me, but impatience gnawed at my gut. The quicker I could make the deal and get Maddie off Budak, the better.
My horns itched incessantly, a persistent tingling sensation I could ignore no longer. Alone in the dimly lit corridor, I allowed myself to scratch them. In public, an Aljani caught scratching his horns suffered the greatest shame. The horns of an Aljani were not just physical features, they were revered as emblems of strength and character. To witness an Aljani treating his or her horns with anything less than the utmost respect, such as absentmindedly scratching them, would be to witness the tarnishing of their dignity.
Fherris, the Framaddi assistant, appeared startled when I entered, his eyes widening slightly as he gestured for me to proceed into Bozzo’s office. As I stepped inside, the transformation in my host’s demeanor immediately became apparent. Gone was his eagerness to please. Now, he seemed smug, a self-satisfied grin playing on his bulbous lips. His eyes gleamed with an almost gleeful light as if he savored some private triumph.
“So? How did it go with the human female?” He leaned his bulk back in the desk chair, rubbing his stumpy hands together.
“Good.” I settled into a chair fronting the desk. “She has agreed to the sale. I promised her there would be other human females for her to interact with.” I added the excuse of other human females rather than leaving Maddie’s agreement to my charm alone.
“Are you sure that’s why she agreed?” Bozzo smirked at me.
A chilling, uneasy sensation crept up my spine like icy fingers, leaving a trail of dread in their wake.
“Yes,” I insisted. “That and the promise of certain freedoms not allowed here.” If needed, I could produce a blueprint of the imaginary arena, including more comfortable quarters and a lush garden for the females to enjoy. Ako was more than thorough when building my cover.
Bozzo snorted and, with the punch of a few buttons on his desktop, conjured a shimmering holo-screen, casting a ghostly glow across the dim room. The visual came into focus, displaying footage of my leaving Maddie’s cell and my subsequent stroll down the corridor, absentmindedly scratching my horns. I cursed inwardly, frustration bubbling through my blood. The gladiator cells were in such disarray, cluttered, and chaotic that I never suspected Bozzo had this level of sophisticated surveillance in place. Although I felt confident he hadn’t wired the individual cells. I couldn’t imagine Bozzo not replaying that footage if he had.
“I’ve always heard an Aljani’s horns itch when they find their mate,” he said, fat greasy lips turning upward in a sly grin.
“Horns itch for a number of reasons,” I grunted, gesturing around the room. “Least of all the dry desert air on this planet.” My excuse was complete fabrication. Aljani horns itched for two reasons alone... from illness and for their mate.
“Yes,” Bozzo agreed, his grin deepening to the point I wanted to punch it off his face. “But this doesn’t seem like aminiscule affliction.” He rewound the clip, showing how I clawed at my horns as I stalked toward the office. “I’ve heard several species have found mates within human females. And everyone knows the affection Duke Ako held for his human female.”
More than his words, watching as my fingertips landed on my horns repeatedly stunned me. I’d scratched my horns several times in Maddie’s cell as well, unable to resist trying to relieve the insistent tingling.
Shit!
My horns hadn’t itched in decades. Not one moment of discomfort until the subtle tingle began the moment Maddie entered Bozzo’s office. As my host played back through the footage, I let my mind return to the first time my horns had itched in the presence of a female.
Keela.
I couldn't recall the moment I first met her. We’d known each other forever. Our families were friends, and there wasn’t a moment of my childhood that didn’t have Keela in it. Yet I remembered vividly the day things changed between us. She’d been walking across the meadow, laughing with her sister, and at the sight of her, my horns itched just as they did now.
It had been so easy. We’d smiled at each other, and I’d reached out and stroked my fingertips along her cheek, knowing at that moment my life had forever altered. A month later, we stood before our village in a bonding ceremony. I’d been so young, still involved in my warrior training, but as the daughter of a warrior herself, Keela knew well what my duty demanded and never complained. When our daughter Akelia arrived a year later, I finally understood the meaning of love and contentment.
The Vaktaire-Romvesian skirmish was over, but there were still raids on Aljani outposts on other planets. Keela didn’t complain when orders arrived commanding me to join a contingent of Aljani guard on a distant moon. She hugged megoodbye the morning I left, laughing as we teased about how much fun our reunion would be. She knew, as a warrior, it was my duty to protect my people… all my people.
I just didn’t protect my wife and child.
A month after I departed for duty, Keela and Akelia caught a brain fever and died. The news came to me on a distant moon in the middle of bloodshed. I wanted to die too. So, when the Ulkommanian raiding party caught me out on a scouting mission, I didn’t resist. Death would be a relief from the agony of losing my mate and child. Part of me relished the pain and torture of the experiments and augments by the Ulkommanian while I waited for death at their hands. When Alliance forces raided the underground labs and rescued me—the Ulkommanian may have stopped torturing me, but my suffering wasn’t over.
