Each moment the control chip is in my possession is a moment Alexis and Kate aren’t installing it in our ship.
“Fine,” I bite out, sighing at Vivian’s hurt look. I soften my tone. “I’ll let the commander crash my party.”
“Great,” she says. Her gaze searches my face, and she attempts a smile. “We’ll walk you to the dock.”
I glance over my shoulder to where Korzyn is lounging by the window, suspiciously silent. He’s doing his usual blank face, but the corner of his lip twitches—the only sign he’s appreciating his victory.
Whatever Arix promised him must be a doozy.
Korzyn
The hellion is quiet as we walk toward the dock. Before we left, she collected her weapons, excusing herself to the bathroom, where she obviously slid them all back into place. When she returned, her hair was in a sleek bun, held up with her lethal hairpin, and she looked calm and composed.
I ignored the urge to pull out that pin, if only to enjoy the way her eyes would flash at me when she bared her tiny teeth.
She’s irritated with her cousin. And from the glances Vivian keeps sending toward her, she’s likely picking up on that annoyance. Arix grinds his teeth, frowning at me, and I shrug in return.
I’m holding up my end of the bargain.
The bargain he forced me to make.
His words repeat in my head each time I think about turning down this trip with Sarissa.
“Viv loves her cousin. She needs her to be safe to remain happy. If she finds that Sarissa is traveling alone, she will worry. She may even cry.” Arix looks murderous at the thought. “I don’t care how either of you feel about each other. You will both fall in line. You will take her to that camp, and you will not let her get one scratch I can’t explain to my queen.”
I raise one eyebrow. I do many things for Arix. I’ve risked my life for him since I was little more than a young boy. But spending so long with the barbed female is out of the question.
“And why would I subject myself to that atrocity?”
Arix smiles, and it is a very satisfied one. “Because I will tell you which female you kissed at my mate’s coronation.”
I tense. “What do you know of it?”
He shrugs. “You spoke about it for days, revealing all the details. It was only a matter of time before I was able to narrow down my suspects.”
I consider that. Vivian’s coronation was on Seva—the night once a year when thousands of shooting stars take over the night sky. After dinner, almost everyone wandered outside, standing in groups or finding quiet spots to sit and watch the incredible sight.
I’d been flirting with a noblewoman all night. She was from Mazark’s territory, with dark hair and darker eyes, and when I sat down alone in the darkness, she sat next to me, wrapped in a cloak to keep her warm from the chill of the night.
She no longer talked or giggled. Instead, she looked up at the sky and sighed as if her heart was breaking.
I was surprised when she cuddled close, unused to females being so forward. But her scent drew me in, somehow so different and yet familiar at the same time.
Within moments, I cupped her face, taking her mouth the way I wanted to take her body. She yielded to me, letting out the tiniest moan that I captured with my lips.
Voices intruded, and she jumped to her feet, backing away. Later, I described every inch of her to Arix, who claimed not to know who she was.
“You found her?”
He shrugs, and I glower at him.
“I’ve put my body between yours and any who would harm you for my entire life, and you won’t give me a simple name?”
Arix’s jaw tightens. “One day, you will find a female for whom you would sacrifice anything to see her smile, and you will understand. For now, I offer you a trade. Make sure both Sarissa and that chip arrive at Rakiz’s camp in one piece. It will only take a few days of your time, and I will give you the name.”
So here I am, climbing into a boat with Sarissa, who looks just as displeased as I am. She’s right about one thing, however—choosing to take guards with us would be a mistake. Particularly since they likely know she’s traveling back with the chip.
That reminds me. “You should give me the chip.”
She wrinkles her nose at me. “Not on your life.”
I rub my temple in an attempt to ward off the headache that is beginning to throb there. Sarissa blows a kiss at her cousin, who grins at her.
“Promise you’ll be careful,” Vivian calls.
“Of course. I’ll see you soon.”
I shift, attempting to ignore the way the boat rolls as the captain takes us further from the dock. Like most Braxians, I hate the water.
I glance back at Sarissa. “I will keep the chip safe.”
She snorts. “Uh-huh. Not gonna happen. Nice try though.”
I shrug. I’m not sure where Sarissa could be hiding the chip, but if it’s anything like her weapons, it’s likely well hidden. Either way, I have a greater chance of standing up to torture than she does.
I open my mouth, and she narrows her eyes at me.
“No.”
“Fine.”
I shrug again, but I vow to find out where she’s hiding the chip. Arix’s deal included delivering both the female and the chip, and I’m not going to risk my potential mate because of this female’s stubbornness.
Chapter Three
Sarissa
I sigh as I stare up at the mishua. The trip across the Colossal Water only took a few hours. Now the hard part begins.
I hate riding mishua.
First of all, the beasts only allow males to ride them. Or at least, steer them. I could sit on a mishua’s back and encourage it to move for hours, and it wouldn’t go anywhere until the moment a Braxian male tied it to his own mishua.
It’s infuriating.
Apparently,
