“You are afraid?” He puts his hands on the wall on either side of me. “Why are you afraid this time, little female?”
“I’m…”
“You’re?”
“I don’t like being trapped,” I breathe, pressing hard against the wall at my back.
Vruksha lowers his face to mine. “Then don’t think of this as being trapped. Think of this place as a shield.” He glances at the thing in my hands. “A better one than that,” he mutters, taking it from me, whatever it is, and sets it aside.
My arms curl around my chest again. “I can’t be in a hole, I can’t. I know we don’t know each other, but you seem… reasonable. Is there someplace else you can take me?”
I stop before I say Azsote’s treehouse.
Vruksha’s face snaps back before mine, and I startle with a hitch.
“This isn’t a hole. It’s a bunker. And if you take a minute to look around, you’ll find it is not all that disagreeable,” he growls.
He sounds unhappy.
Have I insulted him? I chew on my lip. Does it matter if I have?
Yes. Yes, it does, Gemma. You’re now stuck in a hole with him. Don’t insult those you’re stuck in a hole with.
Even spaceships have port windows to help with claustrophobia. They have giant gardens with wild animals, and lagoons to swim. The nicer colony ships do at least. Those meant for higher castes of people.
Somehow, I know this place has neither gardens nor lagoons.
I’m not happy. I still haven’t accepted my fate. There are correspondences I need to address, meetings I’ve made with my subordinates, and I have a checkup with the ship’s physician in five cycles. Time is money, and lives, or so the higher ups say.
And there’s this male here who unnerves me, a male who pulls out his cock and touches it in front of me.
No, I haven’t accepted my fate yet.
I sure hope I’m not here long enough to do so.
“Are you calm now?” he asks, his head swaying side to side, his hot breath heating both of my cheeks.
But a hole? I can’t do a hole. “No,” I say, turning my face as Vruksha’s sways. “I’d rather take my chances above ground.”
He leans back, and my lungs open for air.
“Orb, initiate,” he barks, looking to the left. My eyes follow to see what it is as I dash under his arms and move away from the wall.
A buzzing fills my ears, followed by a dry, mechanical voice. “What can I help you with today?” the orb says. A small, round ball drifts into the air. Lights come off it in flickers, like it’s dying. Like the lights on the walls.
I’ve seen something like it before. We have similar speakers on the ship, but they’re integrated into the structure and appear more as holograms.
I think I remember seeing one of the other nagas on the plateau with one.
The old humans of Earth were highly advanced, this I know. And with the Lurkawathians guiding them, they had access to things far beyond anything we can currently create, but it unsettles me, seeing these relics of the past. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll know Lurker technology when I see it or if it’s only old human tech that’s left.
“Tell me what predators are nearby,” Vruksha demands of the orb.
The lights on it twinkle once. “Scanning now,” it says.
Vruksha turns to me. “This is why I can’t let you leave.” He reaches out and twirls a strand of my hair. I swap his hand away.
He plays with my hair a lot.
Vruksha recaptures my hair with his other hand. His eyes soften as he stares at the strands between his fingers, and this time, I don’t swat him away. It’s no use. He’s going to touch me if he wants to. My scalp prickles as his fingers move and goosebumps rise on my arms. He’s being gentle.
I hold still, waiting to see what he does.
His eyes lift from my hair and find mine.
Staring intensely, he brings my hair to his nose and breathes in. His eyes roll back and close as he groans.
My heart quickens, mystified. He hums next, like breathing in the scent of my hair is not enough for him, he tangles his hand into more of my strands and burrows his face into it, rubbing his cheek, his nose, against them. His groaning turns into a rumble, matching the thrum of my heart.
And then his tailtip curls around my ankle and wanders up my pants.
Startling, I dodge away and out of his hold.
He growls when I do, “You are mine.” He turns to face me.
I search for an escape but the space we’re in is long and narrow. “No.”
He stalks towards me and I’m back against another wall.
No. Not even if you look at me with softness, not even if you vow to keep me safe on this strange planet. I can’t let his gentleness seduce me, nor his clarity, or his knowledge of my language. I won’t be manipulated.
I’ve spent my entire life mastering a skill set to become an asset to my people. I clawed up the ranks and worked my way into a higher caste. Giving that all up for him and what he offers? I’ll never do that. I can’t let my blood, sweat, and tears go to waste.
His arms come back up to trap me again.
“Scanning complete,” the orb announces. It couldn’t be at a better moment. I turn my face away when Vruksha tries to lock me with his intensely hungry eyes. His muscles bunch, showing veins and tendons outlined where the scales are a little thinner. His strength is always on display.
I wish I could do the same.
I’m trying to be strong, but inside, I’m nothing but a little, lost girl, still wishing my parents were living on the same ship as me.
Depressing feelings rise, and I force them away before they take over.
“To the north lies several packs of wild pigs and a bear,” the orb says as I ignore Vruksha’s staring.
