it to cover something.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Did you not want me to worry or did you not want me to find out about the language?” She watched his eyes as she spoke, waiting for-yes, there was a wince. “Colonel Lancecrest said his brother wanted me on the team from the beginning. Are you the one who talked him out of recruiting me?”
Parkonis looked away. “I told him you wouldn’t work for relic raiders, yes.”
“ You wouldn’t either, at least I didn’t think so. But we do funny things for a chance at history, don’t we? I’ll wager you wanted to be the first to translate this new language, something you wouldn’t be able to lay claim to, not solely, if I came along and helped.”
He opened and closed his mouth several times, and she knew she was right.
“ I didn’t think we’d be gone that long,” he finally whispered. “I thought, when we got back, we could pick up where we left off…”
“ I understand.” Tikaya sighed. And she did. Hadn’t she been enticed by that language too?
“ You do?” Hope widened his eyes.
“ I understand, but I wouldn’t have made that choice. I would have wanted you to come along, to be a partner in the translating, even if it meant you got the credit.”
“ But I wouldn’t have gotten credit. You were always first.” He shrugged helplessly. “It was always you.”
She rubbed her face and wondered if that clanking was in her skull. He was missing the point. Or she was. Maybe she couldn’t truly understand what he felt, always being second best. Either way, she was beginning to think it would have been too much between them, even if Rias had never come along. She thought of him, of all he had lost, and of the temptation Sicarius had laid at his feet. So much more than accolades. But he had rejected it because of her. At least, he had before Parkonis showed up and kidnapped her. What if Rias believed he had lost her? Would he no longer have a reason to say no to that temptation?
“ Tikaya?” Parkonis asked.
She tried to focus on him, though a new urgency fueled her intent. She had to escape and find Rias before he made a choice he would regret.
“ Whatever happens here…” She squeezed Parkonis’s arm. “I want you to know that I love you, and I’m beyond relieved that you’re alive, but I can’t go home with you. I can’t marry you.”
“ What?” He reeled back. “Because of that Turgonian?”
“ No.” She did not want to get into that now, but Parkonis grabbed her arm before she could step away.
“ Don’t be a fool, Tikaya. You don’t love that monster. How could you? It’s a clear case of captive complex. No matter how badly you’re treated, you start sympathizing with your captors, even wanting to please them, because you’re grateful they’re not killing you.”
“ I know what the term means, and that isn’t the case.” If anyone had captive complex, it was he. Even after hearing how he had come to be here, she could hardly believe Parkonis would be a party to this weapons-selling scheme.
“ It’s not your fault. I forgive you. You were just trying to stay alive. Who knows what that monster would have done if you’d fought him?”
“ He’s not a monster. I know our people have no reason to like him, and you even less, but he did save your life from that assassin. We can trust him. He disobeyed orders two years ago, and he refused to have our president assassinated. He’s been exiled since.”
“ Exile?” Parkonis snorted. “Is that what they told you?”
“ He’s only here because of his familiarity with these tunnels-he was part of the original mission that found them. He’s been as much a prisoner as I. He was the only ally I had.”
“ Tikaya, don’t you see? It’s all an act. That man outranks a captain. If he’s been pretending to be a prisoner, it’s only been to fool you, to win your sympathy. He’s insidious, they all are. They’ve been tricking you.”
“ I’m not a fool, Parkonis.”
“ It’s not your fault. They say he’s a genius. He’s probably a master of manipulation.”
Tikaya groaned and dropped her forehead in her hand. Why couldn’t he just be jealous? Instead, he thought she was an idiot who had been brainwashed. This was a glimpse of what going home would be like. Torture. Her heart cringed at the idea of never seeing her family again, but maybe her notion of sailing off to some obscure port with Rias was a better idea than she realized.
“ You have to come back with me, Tikaya. We’ll take you to see a doctor, someone who can heal your mind. You just need distance, some time to return to your old life. If-”
The lighting flickered and went out.
Tikaya whirled, but blackness swallowed everything. As with the marines, the raiders had been relying on the alien lighting and nobody had lanterns lit. Timorous voices called out questions while others cursed in irritation. The symbols at the weapons door and on the panels still glowed, but they did not provide enough illumination to diminish the darkness.
“ Tikaya?” Parkonis’s hand bumped her chest, then found her arm.
She gripped him back. With the light gone, she abruptly grew aware of how many thousands of feet of earth lay above their heads. Since she had been unconscious for the trip to the raiders’ cavern, she did not know the way back. Half a dozen tunnels exited this place, so one could wander forever in the darkness.
A distant roar sounded. Or one could wander until one was eaten.
“ Not them again,” Parkonis whispered.
She recognized it too. The humanoid creatures they had fought the first day.
Parkonis’s grip tightened. It did nothing to reassure her, not like Rias’s would have. She started. Could Rias have manufactured this? As a distraction?
Light appeared at the edge of the camp. Lancecrest strode toward them carrying a lantern, and she felt silly for her panicked concerns about not finding a way out. Of course, the raiders would have kerosene and lanterns, just as the marines did. Enough to last many days, she was sure. The roar came again. Closer this time.
“ Come.” Lancecrest waved an arm. “Return to camp until we figure out what’s going on.”
“ Gladly,” Parkonis muttered.
Tikaya glanced over her shoulder. She could no longer see the tunnel Lancecrest had said led to labs, but she wondered if this might be her opportunity to disappear. Had Rias created this for her sake? Or did he think she wanted to be here, with Parkonis?
Gali stepped out of the shadows, her pistol aimed at Tikaya.
Right. It would take more of a distraction to escape, and sprinting into dark monster-filled tunnels without a lantern and a means of defense would be unwise.
Inside the camp, more lanterns had been lit. People hustled about, grabbing weapons. An unclaimed bow and quiver rested on a crate, and she weaved through the clutter toward it. If those creatures were coming, maybe Lancecrest would not object to arming her.
A heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
“ You’re sitting here out of trouble,” Lancecrest said.
Before she could protest, he grabbed her arms and drew them behind her back.
“ Wait,” she said. “I can help fight. I know how to use a bow.”
“ I’ll keep that in mind.”
A moment later, Tikaya knelt with her wrists tied behind her. She endured it with no more than a sigh until his hands fumbled at her ears.
“ No!” She ducked her head.
Too late. Lancecrest removed her spectacles. Everything more than a few feet away grew fuzzy.
“ I doubt you’ll wander far without these.”
Tikaya craned her neck, trying to see where he was putting them. He stuffed them in a pocket without any concern for protecting the lenses.
“ Bastard,” she growled.
A shot fired, echoing from the closest tunnel. Everyone in camp dropped behind cover, but no squad of marines burst into the cavern. Three more shots followed, along with a distant angry yell. Still, no one entered. The raiders shifted uneasily.
Tikaya could not imagine the Turgonians tipping their hand before attacking, but maybe they had run into the
