Her mouth straightened. “It, and maybe the bond with the Drakes. Who knows?”
I swallowed, and asked the question to which I didn’t really want an answer. “Am I turning into a Drake?”
Did I want to turn into a Drake? I wasn’t sure.
“No,” she reassured me. “I don’t think that would be possible. Something triggered this, and we’ll have to keep an eye on it. For now, let’s get this actuator installed. That battlecruiser should almost be here.”
My gut clenched as we hurried down the hall. On the way, I stuck my head into the aft storage bay to check on Kurt.
“Hey!” he shouted. “You trying to starve me to death? When do I get?—”
I activated the door, cutting him off. We should have left him in the forest. Or better yet, fed him to the Nirzks. He deserved much worse, for what he’d done to Zyair.
Yani and I continued on to the engineering bay with the actuator. As soon as we entered it, I called up the navcube feed on the monitor.
And there it was.
A giant green dot moving up on the planet.
The battlecruiser.
26
Zyair
My grandiose plan to do the noble thing and feed myself to Brentoq had certainly dissipated like fog in the desert.
Fate was working against me. She gave me Princess Jazmin to start with. Then bonded her to all three of us.
Brentoq had further complicated my plan by only visiting me once in the last few hours to top up her dose of aphrodisiac venom. She had paused long enough to taste my frustrated lust. Standing there, she emitted foul fumes while her tongue hung straight out and her expression reflected near orgasmic pleasure.
Unfortunately, she seemed quite serious about sharing me with her hive mates. After a few minutes, she returned her tongue to her mouth and stepped away, clearly intending to hold herself back from a pre-meal snack until we reached Xalcim.
Which added up to me being still alive, and hanging here like a piece of overripe fruit, as the battleship achieved orbit over Givnia. By then, I was hard as rock and no doubt emitting enough frustrated lust to feed an entire battleship of horny manticore females.
At least, I assumed that we had arrived at Givnia when the massive drive engines slowed, and then quit. The impression wasbolstered by the increasing strength of what I sensed from Jaz and my brothers.
They were close. My heart accelerated. What they planned was dangerous. But I could not stop them.
They were at least as stubborn as I was.
The doors to my prison room slid open and Brentoq appeared amid her usual wave of stench. This time she was escorted by members of her harem, including the alpha. While Brentoq moved right into me, pressing her breasts against my chest, he glowered.
The sharp smell coming off him meant little to me, but I liked to think he was envious. Hanging like this, every inch of me was exposed. And at the moment, that was a lot. I met his gaze and raised a brow, daring him to compare.
His furred brows dropped even lower, and the pupils contracted.
Brentoq ignored the silent dick-measuring contest, although she rubbed her belly into me. I could not entirely hide the shiver of disgust. I no longer had any control over my lower half.
Her tongue flicked in and out. “Verrry nice,” she drawled. “I am sending you ahead to my stronghold, my tasty young Drake. I have a gathering of my hive sisters planned for later tonight, and it looks like you are finally ready to party.”
I schooled my expression to one of indifference, but I doubt it fooled her. It was humiliating to have such little control. I had done better last time. Bonding with Jaz had kicked something loose in me—now that she was a presence in my mind, my body wanted her, so badly that it ached.
It had the unfortunate side effect of reducing my resistance to Brentoq’s venom. I could only hope that my brothers’ preposterous scheme could get me out of here. Because if she offered the rapture this time, I was not sure I could withstand it.
Not with Jaz so fresh in my mind.
Brentoq stepped back and gestured to her alpha. He peeled his lips back from his teeth as he approached and raised his tail.
