“How do we know you’re not part of the Nuin?”
“Do I look like a Nuin to you?” I said, extending my arms out to the sides.
“No, I suppose not. Fine. Let him through. But if you try anything, we’ll put you down faster than a gnashor on heat.”
I had no idea what a gnashor was, even less why it should be put down while it’s on heat, but I nodded my head anyway.
One corner of the barricade shifted back and then to one side.
I whispered to the girl.
“Follow me. Quickly.”
We passed through the gap, keeping our eyes low. I spied half a dozen pairs of ragged old boots turned to face me but didn’t raise my eyes to confront them. They let us pass and I hustled down the hallway and turned another corner.
We reached my cell. The girl made to head inside but I held out an arm to block her from entering.
There was no telling what some of the prisoners might do given half a chance. I wouldn’t put it past them to hide inside and attack me the moment I returned.
I withdrew the blade I’d snatched from Fayn earlier and clenched it tight in one fist. I wished I’d taken both his knives but creatures could be funny about their weapons. If I left him with one, he might not come looking for its sister.
I crouched and edged inside, turning my head to peer right, and immediately retreated. The right side of the room was empty but someone could still be hiding on the left.
I waited for an attack to come but it never did. I repeated the movement, this time glancing left. I saw there was no one there.
I stepped inside the room and checked under my bed and the small battered wardrobe in one corner. I nodded to the girl to enter.
The door hissed shut, locking us inside the room alone.
Now what were we supposed to do?
I never had visitors to my room before. I had no idea how to entertain. There was precious little room and nothing in the way of activities to keep us distracted.
Except perhaps the bed…
I shook the thought from my mind. That road was far too complicated. Best to keep things simple.
“Please, take a seat,” I said.
The girl sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at me. She had big beautiful eyes the color of the Star Stream nebula. A hue of green and blue flecked with shards of yellow like gold in the bottom of a river sieving pan.
Eyes to drown in.
“Are you hungry?” I said.
She nodded.
I dropped to my knees and pulled out a box from under my bed. I was relieved to find its contents hadn’t been stolen. If anyone knew I had plenty of food supplies, it would have been taken for sure. It was one benefit to having no close acquaintances in this place.
The truth was, the most valuable things were in the larger rooms. They were far more powerful and rich than I would ever be.
I picked up a handful of Nuin traditional noodles and offered them to the girl.
“Do you like Nuin noodles?” I said.
The girl shrugged her shoulders. The entire journey here, she hadn’t said a single word to me.
“I need to get some water,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’ll add it to the noodles, and they’ll cook themselves. That means I have to go to the bathroom down the hallway. It’ll only take a minute.”
The girl stiffened and shook her head. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip turned downward.
“You can come with me if you like,” I said.
She shook her head again.
“Okay,” I said. “I have other food that doesn’t need cooking, though it will be less filling than the noodles.”
The girl leaned forward and, keeping her eyes firmly on mine, and snatched a big bar of Glacian chocolate with the tips of her fingers.
She zipped back to her position on the bed and tore the packet open. She bit a corner off and munched on it happily.
“I guess you’re a fan of Glacian chocolate, huh?” I said with a smile.
“I’ve never had it before,” she said.
They were the first words she’d said to me since we left the champion’s quarters. Her voice was husky and dark, as sultry as the chocolate she was demolishing.
“What’s your name?” I said.
“Harper.”
“I’m Trayem. Nice to meet you.”
I squatted in the corner and sat facing the door. I held Fayn’s stolen blade lightly in one hand and coiled my legs under me. If anyone came in, I could be up and at them in an instant. I had other weapons hidden about the room in case I needed them.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. But with a riot, you never knew what might happen.
“Where are you from?” I said.
“Earth,” Harper said.
Earth. That was where humans came from. It was becoming more and more likely this Harper was the girl the champion had famously fallen for. The human he had gone to war with Dreth for, the girl he risked everything to claim.
Why did I help her?
I’d been heading back to my room from the fighting pits’ holding cells when the power cut out. I was next in line to fight Kren during the Survivor Challenge.
It wasn’t a fight I was looking forward to. Being low-ranked, I had been paired with a team of eleven others.
Twelve versus the undefeated champion…
I didn’t fancy our chances. At least, not if I wasn’t allowed to fight with all my skills.
The locks opened when the power went down and the prisoners joined in the chaos. I thought only of returning to my room and waiting for the guards to reestablish order. And there was no doubt in my mind that eventually they would.
And then I came across the open door of Kren’s cell and the disgusting scene taking place inside it.
But why had I chosen to get involved?
I didn’t need to. I could have turned in the opposite
