PrimalHunger (25 page)

Kendra swept Skreeta, knocking her down on the ground. In a
heartbeat Kendra launched at her aunt, straddling her upper chest, forcing her
arms above her head. Kendra punched her aunt in the face with the pummel of her
knife. “You killed my parents, you bitch. Tortured and murdered them.” Skreeta
brought her knees up and slammed one against Kendra’s wounded side.

Kendra gasped and punched her again. “Death is too good for
you.” Another knee to the side was followed by a twist of her hips, and a
countermove that tossed Kendra across the ground. Sand scraped along her side
wound, burning and stinging. Her face felt like raw ground meat. Where the hell
had she learned
that
move?

Kendra tried to draw out the mating talents, but nothing
happened. She rolled to her feet and eyed her aunt. That smug smile was firmly
back in place. Of course, that could also be the swelling from Kendra’s
punches. Skreeta spat blood on the ground. Kendra returned the smile.

“Did you like that little ramped-up dose of sex you got from
the Valorian?”

Kendra and Skreeta began circling one another. “You’ll never
know.”

Skreeta’s laugh scraped along Kendra’s already frayed
nerves. “Did it trigger his mating urges? Made him want to constantly fuck your
brains out, didn’t it?”

Kendra didn’t want to hear any more. Her aunt was trying to
distract her.

“He wasn’t the first one we tried it on, though he was the
most resistant.” She laughed. “Made fucking him so much better.”

Kendra’s mind raced. He’d been drugged into mating. Azros
was just as trapped by this as she was. She struck a quick slice along the top
of Skreeta’s hand. Her other blade caught air as Skreeta managed to move her
torso. Kendra kept moving, dodging knees and blades, swiping and stabbing,
looking for a weakness.

“Well now, looks like I might have found your hot button.”
She spun out of reach and smirked.

Kendra shrugged. “No, I’m bored.”
Appeal to her vanity.
Kendra looked at her nails. “Maybe it’s your age. You’ve really let yourself
go.”

Skreeta’s smirk died. She flung a dagger and Kendra moved.
The rush of air past her face told her it had been close.

“What pissed you off the most? The fact that I’m still
alive, or that even drugged the Valorian wouldn’t mate with you?”

Skreeta rushed Kendra, knocking them both to the sand. Her
aunt punched her in the solar plexus, and Kendra rolled them over.

“He’s so happy to be back in my care.” Skreeta’s voice was
poisonous in self-satisfaction. “He bled so well for me.”

Kendra roared and launched at her aunt, slamming her back to
the ground. She drew back her fist to punch her, and fire erupted in her side.
Kendra screamed against the pain. She looked down. No new wounds. She broke out
into a cold sweat.

“You’ll never be queen.” Skreeta shoved her down and stood.
She swiped at the sand covering her legs.

Kendra’s breath rushed out in a painful flow. “You think I
don’t know your little game?” Her aunt sneered.

Kendra saw the kick coming, but her muscles were locked in
spasms. Pain exploded across Kendra’s ribs and she rolled, inhaling sand and
fate knew what else in agonizing gasps. Every inhalation ended in gut-wrenching
coughs. She couldn’t hear the crowd, only the frantic beat of her heart, the
ravaging coughs tearing through her body. Searing pain radiated from the knife
wound on her side. Her aunt had been devious.

“Poison.” Kendra spat the word between coughing fits.

Skreeta knelt beside her, brushing tendrils of hair from her
face. Kendra weakly pushed at her hands. “It’s
Kenda’sha
, niece. There
is no cure for the Sheon people. It is our Achilles heel.”

Fire pulsed through her veins. The poison was spreading.

Skreeta’s fist clenched in Kendra’s hair. Her cry of pain
was instinctive, and Kendra’s hands clenched around her enemy’s forearms.
Skreeta dragged her up until they were face-to-face. “What were you trying to
do? Undermine my confidence? Work on my paranoia until I snap?” She pressed her
other hand against Kendra’s side wound, delving into the split flesh.

White-hot agony speared through her body, forcing her
stomach to retch. Kendra slapped her hand against Skreeta’s face, thumb
pressing into the eye socket. Skreeta laughed and jerked her face out reach.
Her hand twisted in the gash and Kendra screamed. “These are my games, little
princess. You and your players are all amateurs.” She pulled her hand away to
smear fluid against Kendra’s cheek.

Kendra tried to swallow the pain. The stench of blood made
her gag, and it took a couple of breaths before she could speak. “Then why the
poison?”

“I leave nothing to chance, not anymore. Your death was the
last unknown.” Skreeta shoved her away.

Something pelted her stomach and Kendra glanced down. Her
fingers closed over the familiar curve of the blood jewel.
Azros.
Her
heart clenched in a pain so raw she couldn’t breathe. She looked up at her aunt
through a haze of agony.

“He died screaming.” Skreeta’s smile widened.

Kendra’s soul shattered. Another kick to the stomach brought
pain screaming back to her body.

“Don’t worry, niece. You’ll get to join him soon.”

Skreeta’s fist slammed into Kendra’s gut. Air whooshed out.
Searing heat fired her nerve endings. Skreeta fisted her braid. A blade came
down and Kendra brought her arms up. This was it!

The sound of a blade slicing through her hair horrified her.
Kendra tried to fend her off, and Skreeta shoved her away. Kendra collapsed in
a heap on the ground, her head a much lighter weight. Skreeta held the braid
up, stretching it out in victory and the crowd roared, their deafening stomps
shaking the arena floor.

Chapter Thirteen

Azros came to in a drug-riddled haze. He shook his head to
clear the cobwebs, and took stock of his situation.

It felt like hundreds of hammers were slamming in his brain.
Azros opened one eye and groaned. The ache in his muscles told him he had been
out for quite some time.

Bruises and tenderness in his abdomen spoke of Skreeta’s
work. He remembered her punches in flashes. Living nightmares.

He blindly reached out to find the cold bars of a cage
surrounding him. The familiar hum of a lock panel told him he was right back where
he started. His stomach lurched and for a split second he wondered if he’d ever
escaped at all. He touched his chest and realized he was wearing a shirt. He
opened his eyes and looked down. The same clothes he’d worn when he left
Kendra. He wasn’t dreaming…or naked. Running around in the buff on an enemy
ship was not his idea of fun.

He tentatively inhaled, surprised that his senses were
returning to normal. Based on scent no one else was in the room, though he had
no doubts he was being monitored. He hoped that his comm. equipment survived
and was active. There was no way he could tell by touch, though Mase had
informed him that an EMP pulse or intense shock would disable it. He prayed to
the fates Skreeta’s takedown hadn’t compromised the equipment.

“I’m in. Do you copy?”

“We hear you loud and clear, Prime.” Mase’s familiar accent
slid over the comm. “About fucking time.”

Stark relief uncoiled the fear in his gut. “How long have I
been gone?”

“Too long.”

His mate. If something had happened to her… “Kendra—”

“Stand by for location download.” Mase interrupted his
question.

He heard cursing over the comm. “You are near the captain’s
suite. Three decks away from where you need to be.”

“Where is Kendra?”

A sigh at the end of the comm echoed in his ears. “By now
she would be fighting her aunt in the arena.”

Azros’ heart slammed painfully in his chest. The longer they
were here, the more danger Kendra was in. He needed to get to her. Now.

“Why don’t we try getting me out of here, then.”

“Working on it. Don’t be so impatient.”

“Easy for you to say.” Azros’ skin crawled with the need to
be free. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He spent weeks at a time in a cage like
this…no privacy, no dignity, and no chance for freedom.

The lock disengaged and Azros flung open the door. The
moment he crossed the cage’s threshold it became easier to breathe.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Now how about we get you down here so we can
get in on the action?” The sound of typing in the background filled a short
silence. “It looks like there is a service elevator close by that has direct
access to the captain’s quarters. She has the elevator locked down, but there
seem to be no mechanical deficiencies. This map you have is awesome, man.”

“There are cameras everywhere.”

“Working on it. Wait for my signal. I’m going to have to
disengage the door locks as well.”

The door slid open and Azros dropped to a fighter’s stance.

“There you go. Door should be open. Move into the hallway
and turn to your right.”

Azros didn’t hesitate, he checked that the hallways were
clear and followed the instructions.

“Get down to the end of the hallway. You’ve got less than a
minute, by the way.”

“Now you tell me.” Azros clenched his jaw and sprinted down
the corridor, reaching the door as it slid open. He ducked in and rolled away
from the door.

“That one was close. Looks like I can only disable the
cameras one at a time. The
Calypso
has a killer reaction time for
repair.”

“Are you tracking my movement?” The room was stark, free of
any furnishings. A plated door drew his attention. He’d bet that was the
elevator.

“Yeah, you’re showing up as a bright blip on my map. The
chips work.” Mase referred to the communication chips he’d injected under
Azros’ skin, one next to his voice box, and the other behind his ear.

“Yeah, well, they itch.” The awesome thing about the comm
device was that he could speak at a level beneath a whisper and Mase could hear
him.

“You’re just jealous because I am an evil genius.” Mase was
growing on him. “There should be a door to your right.”

“Roger that.” He reached out and placed his hand on the
door, palm first. “What is this?”

“It’s the elevator shaft.” The door slid open and Azros
jerked his hand away. Stale, recycled air rushed out and Azros covered his
nose. He stared down the shaft into the inky blackness below.

“It seems to be missing something.”

Mase cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I can’t move the
elevator without triggering an alarm. So it looks like you’re on your own.
Three floors down, buddy. Good luck.”

He changed his mind. Mase was a pain in the ass. Time was a
luxury they didn’t have. He looked inside. Gouges in the metal walls showed
where a maintenance ladder used to be. The cable looked sturdy enough. Old
grease and dust permeated the space. This elevator hadn’t been used in a very
long time.

“If I die, I’m going to come back and haunt you.”

“If you die, Kendra is going to flay my hide.”

Azros chuckled and jumped. His hands grabbed the cable and
his feet locked him in place. He breathed a sigh of relief that it held. The
cable didn’t seem to be attached to anything at the bottom. He slowly inched
down.

He reached the bottom and wiped his hands against his pants.
“Okay, now what?”

“Just follow the open doors, buddy.”

Azros growled. “Can you stop calling me buddy?”

“Ease up on the growling. It’s interfering with the
equipment.”

The door opened.

“Move straight ahead to the end of the hallway.”

Azros moved down the corridor. His hands itched to hold a
weapon. The sound of talking sent chills down his spine. “Company.”

“Door to your right.”

It slid open and Azros ducked in. The door slid shut and he
held his breath until the sound grew distant. He palmed open the door and
sniffed. Azros clenched his jaw. “We must be close to the cages.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I can smell my men’s blood on them.” Azros’ fists clenched.
Rage was a powerful beast inside him.

“Don’t do anything stupid. Follow the plan.”

He controlled his breathing. “Don’t worry about my end. I’ll
do what needs to be done.”

He continued down the path.

“When you reach the end of the corridor, turn left. I can’t
see the movement of personnel on my map, so keep alert.”

Azros moved quickly.

“You have
got
to be one of the craziest bastards I’ve
ever met.” Shyla’s voice rang behind him. Azros’ muscles bunched. His hands
clenched at his sides.

“Don’t even think about it. There are three guards with me
who’d love nothing more than to kill you. Of course that goes against mother’s
orders.”

Azros crept forward. The sound of four weapons charging
froze him in place.

“You may be fast, but you’re not that fast.”

“What are your orders?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

Shyla laughed. “Tranquilize and recage him.”

“Shit. I didn’t want to believe it.” Mase’s voice came over
the line. “We’ll get you out of there.”

A shot fired and Azros was hit in the shoulder. He rounded
on her and made it one step before his muscles stopped supporting him. Azros
slid to the floor. Shyla knelt by him, and he could see the smirk on her lips.
“I guess we’re going to have to give you some gravity cuffs. That sound like
fun, kitty cat?”

Azros growled and she patted his face. “So fierce.” She
looked back at her people. “Let’s see how deadly he is when we declaw him.”
Laughter rang out.

“I will kill you.” Azros forced the words out of numb lips.

“Maybe.” Shyla sighed. “Not today, I’m afraid. Pick him up
before he passes out!”

* * * * *

Rage thundered blood through Kendra’s veins. She tightened
her grip on the bloodstone, welcoming the bite of metal into her palm.
Azros.
Her soul screamed his name. He wasn’t dead. She would know if he was. Her heart
hung on to that like a lifeline. A growl rumbled in her throat, and her skin
grew tight. Hot. Her vision blurred from the poison’s effects. She needed her
knives. Where were they? Her hands slid through the sand.