“Vrex,” one of the other Kusa says as he recognizes my face, and this time, there’s a shard of fear in his voice.
I nod. “You know who I am. Think carefully about what you will do next.”
The male steps back, eyes darting. The Kusa pinning the human female to the wall snorts, lifting a piece of her hair between his claws and examining it idly.
“This isn’t your territory, Braxian. I suggest you go back aboveground, where you belong.”
The female stares at me coolly, raising her eyebrow. From the expression on her face and the weapon clutched in her hand, she’s waiting for me to make a move.
I narrow my eyes back at her.
Don’t try anything, female.
“Herz, you know who he is? This here is the Assassin of Agron. You want to mess with him, go ahead. I’m out of here.” The Kusa wisely takes off, abandoning his friends. The other Kusa snorts as his friend leaves, choosing instead to elbow past Herz and stare me down.
My gaze drops to the mace in his hand. A difficult weapon to use in such close quarters. He has a knife in his other hand, however.
“We found her first,” he spits out, striding forward with a swagger.
I say nothing, staring at him silently. Most people cannot deal with silence. They must immediately fill it with their ramblings.
This Kusa is no different.
“I’m going to make you bleed,” he sneers. I keep my face blank, and my lack of response pushes him over the edge. He steps closer, and the light glints off the blade in his right hand. He’s faster than I expected, the knife stabbing the air close to my chest as I move, wishing these prexas were wider.
I hate being underground.
I grab his wrist, taking the knife from him, and he drops into a crouch, swinging the mace wildly. Ivy gasps, and I glance at her, but the other Kusa is still and silent as he watches his friend.
I kick out. The Kusa rolls back, jumping to his feet, teeth bared. I spin, blocking the trajectory of the mace, but the Kusa charges toward me, using the mace’s momentum to pull it back for another swing. It hits my collarbone, and my vision turns black for a long moment as pain shudders through my body.
The Kusa is off-balance, and I thrust his knife into his neck.
He falls to his feet, and I meet Herz’s eyes. His brow creases as he glares at me, ignoring his friend as he chokes on his own blood.
“I suggest you let me go,” the female says suddenly, drawing his attention back to her. I step closer.
Herz is no longer amused, his expression hard. “And why would I do that?”
The female lashes out with the weapon in her hand. Herz raises an arm, not expecting the flash of silver, and the female uses the opportunity to punch him in the throat with her other hand, smoothly sliding under his arm as I stalk forward, placing my sword against his throat.
“Leave,” I say as Herz coughs, massaging his throat. He glares at us but doesn’t argue, slinking down the prexa toward the smarter one of his friends.
“So,” the female says, her gaze dropping to the Kusa slumped on the ground. “The Assassin of Agron, huh?”
Strangely, the title coming from her lips feels worse than it felt coming from Maxis, who was convinced I was there to kill him.
“Vrex,” I say, and she nods.
“I’m Ivy. Thanks for the help. Much appreciated. I’ll just be on my way.”
My mouth almost drops open as she nods at me, turning to stride down the prexa in the opposite direction of the Kusas.
Insane female.
I follow her, and after just a few steps, she glowers over her shoulder at me.
“Let me be real clear, Mr. Stalker. I’m not in the mood.”
“I can help you,” I growl, shaking my head incredulously when the female—Ivy, I remember—simply snorts and continues walking.
I scratch my head as I watch her, and then, with no idea what to do next, I follow her down the prexa.
She seems to know where she’s going, continuing until she eventually turns left. At this rate, we’ll exit the prexas close to my mishua. I’ll just need to somehow convince her to get on that mishua with me.
Other than a few wary glances thrown over her shoulder, Ivy ignores me. This is new. Creatures on this planet have many different reactions when I am near. Fear, loathing, anxiety—they are all to be expected. This female’s reaction is not usual. At all.
Rakiz’s words float through my mind.
These females are not like any females you have encountered before.
Perhaps. But the way that this female is taking the utmost care to pretend I don’t exist is still entirely unexpected.
We walk through the prexa, encountering many of the creatures here. All of them stare at the strange alien female before shifting their eyes to mine and quickly glancing away. Ivy seems to note this, a hint of gratitude in her eyes as she glances back at me.
Maybe she believes my presence is good for something.
Eventually, we come to the prexa’s exit, and every muscle in my body tightens when the female climbs up the ladder, her curvy ass highlighted by the strange, thin, torn clothes she wears.
When I reach the top of the ladder, she’s glancing around, obviously with no idea where to go next.
“Female,” I say, and she raises her eyebrow again. Her skin is creamy and smooth, and there are tiny freckles scattered across her face. My eyes cling to one that’s a little darker than the others, positioned next to her mouth.
“My name is Ivy,” she says.
“Ivy. I am here to help.”
“An assassin wants to help me?” Her tone is lightly sarcastic, but her gaze is still cautious as she scans my body.
“I am not just an assassin,” I say tightly.
She smiles, and the breath leaves my lungs as the freckle is replaced by the dimple that appears next to her mouth.
“What
