Chapter 10

The heart of the campfire sent up hot sparks, the flames roaring high into the dark Vasz night.

It was a beautiful night on a beautiful planet.

Rhys didn"t care.

The rest of the Borraq were talking on the other side of the camp, leaving Rhys alone to stare into the fire. The heat warmed his hands, but it did nothing to warm the chill that had settled deep in his chest.

He was trapped here.

Vasz: a planet of danger, of beasts, of storms that could tear a man in half. A planet full of brutal aliens that wanted him dead.

A planet that was going to be his prison for the rest of his short, miserable life.

The sense of loss hit him like a physical blow, stealing his breath. He"d known that a run that paid as well as this one was bound to be risky.

But this… this was too much.

He was going to be alone forever.

However long "forever" was.

Across the crackling fire, Taryn rose to his feet, his powerful frame casting long shadows. "Jorah, Krye, head out and gather water. Worrack, Soren, forage supplies. We might have a long hunt ahead of us."

The young warriors nodded, a chorus of, "Yes, Taryn," chiming through the camp as they gathered their equipment.

As the group headed off into the darkness, Rhys found himself alone with Taryn. A Borraq warrior. The very creature he"d been warned to fear his entire life.

Yet any anxiety he might have felt was overshadowed by the hollowness gnawing at his core.

Taryn sat near Rhys, his piercing eyes on him. "You"re troubled."

Rhys snorted. "Yeah, big guy. I just got cast out of humanity like garbage."

"That is the failing of those scum, not of you."

Rhys dragged his gaze from the fire to meet Taryn"s stare. "I don"t know who I"m supposed to be now."

The words hung heavy between them, more truth than Rhys had intended to share. But there was something in Taryn"s straightforward manner that demanded honesty.

Taryn considered him for a long moment before speaking. "You are Rhys. A survivor who faced the end and now lives to fight another day." His tone softened, carrying a rumble of respect. "That is strength."

Getting left behind didn"t make him strong. It just made him pathetic. Disposable. The dreams for a better life that he"d clung to so hard to… they were just desperate wishes, never coming true.

But before he could summon the words, Taryn continued. "You will find your path forward, Rhys. The honor is in choosing to walk it."

Was Taryn really trying to comfort him? Rhys dug at the ground with the toe of his boot, not daring to look up at the Borraq. He was a human, damn it. Humans were survivors. Independent, resourceful. They didn"t need comfort from anyone.

Even if that anyone was a towering, horned alien who looked at him with eyes full of some unnameable emotion, something that cut through the depths of Rhys"s despondency and sent a shiver running down his spine.

He was alone. He needed to remember that. Being near Taryn was dangerous… for a whole host of reasons.

Taryn spoke to him anyway. "Eat," he rumbled.

"I"m not hungry," Rhys said.

Taryn took a slab of meat from the fire. He held it out, offering it to him.

Rhys wanted to wallow in his misery, but it smelled good. Really good, as long as Rhys didn"t think too hard about which one of the small beasts of Vasz it must have come from.

Rhys hesitated for a moment, and then took it.

The meat was gamey and tough, the flavor rich and wild. He found himself tearing into it, the heat from the flames drowned out as the warmth of the meal filled him.

"It"s good," he said. "Thanks."

Taryn"s eyes were bright in the firelight. "You"re welcome."

The simple act of sharing a meal, of someone acknowledging his pain and trying to help… It was more than Rhys had ever expected to find here. More than just the taste of the meat, there was something about the warmth at his side, the deep rumble of Taryn"s voice, the steady presence of the Borraq"s thickly-muscled arm not far from his own.

It was dangerous.

And it was something that Rhys found himself desperately not wanting to turn his back on.

"So," he said, his voice coming out a little too quickly to be casual. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What"s the plan for me, then? Once you stop the others… you"re not just going to dump me in the middle of nowhere, are you?"

Taryn"s mouth quirked up at the corners. "I"m not in the habit of disposing of my guests."

"Your guests," Rhys said. "Right. I"m not really sure that being kidnapped counts as being a guest."

They were speaking lightly, but there was an undercurrent to the conversation, a silent weight that both of them felt. Rhys chewed on his meat, torn between the desire to run as far away from Taryn as he could — and the burning, desperate need to have the Borraq reassure him that he wouldn"t.

That Rhys was safe here, in the heart of this dangerous, alien camp.

That there was still some kind of future for him, if only he could find it.

Rhys chewed on the last of his meat. He looked down at the fire, then over at the Borraq. "So, uh… what do Borraq do for fun? Besides hunting down humans, I mean."

Taryn"s eyes glinted in the firelight. "That is our greatest joy. When we are not doing that, we find ourselves at a loss."

Was that sarcasm? Rhys snorted, the sound bursting out of him before he could stop it. "Yeah, I"m sure. No, I bet you guys have really boring hobbies. "Oh, Kethiq, what shall we do today?" "I don"t know, Jirax. Maybe we"ll just stare at the mountains for eight hours again.""

Taryn"s mouth twitched, the closest thing to a smile that Rhys had seen from him. "You mock us, human."

"Hey, if I"m going to be stuck on this planet, I"ve got to find some way to pass the time."

The moment of shared humor caught them both off guard. For a heartbeat, the weight of the war, the gulf between their species, the dangerous unknown future that lay ahead of Rhys… it all fell away, leaving nothing but the warmth of the fire and the sound of two companions" laughter ringing out into the night.

Companions. The word echoed in Rhys"s mind, a foreign concept that he found himself yearning for.

He"d been alone for so long, scraping by on the edges of a hundred different stations and ships — but never truly belonging to any of them.

And yet here, in the heart of an alien camp, surrounded by horned warriors who could snap him in half with a single blow, he found himself feeling something that he hadn"t dared to hope for. Something that he desperately wanted, even as he knew that it was the most dangerous thing in the world.

Belonging.

It was stupid. He was a human, and the Borraq were his enemies. He"d been raised from birth to fear them, to revile them, to know that they were the greatest threat to his kind.

And yet here he was, laughing with one of them, feeling the warmth of a shared meal, the comfort of company, the heady rush of not being alone.

It was a betrayal of his own people.

Rhys found that he didn"t care. His own people had betrayed him without thinking twice.

As they made small talk, Rhys watched the firelight dance across Taryn"s face, casting his strong features in flickering shadows. The horns that curved up from the Borraq"s brow seemed to almost glow in the darkness, smooth and sleek.

He couldn"t help but wonder what they felt like.

Rhys reached out, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as they stretched toward that smooth, curved expanse. He brushed against the base of Taryn"s horn, the surface warm and hard beneath his tentative touch.

A rumbling growl rolled out of Taryn"s chest, the deep vibration of it setting Rhys"s pulse to racing. He snatched his hand back, his heart pounding in his ears as he scrambled to put space between them. "I— Sorry, I shouldn"t have—"

Taryn held up a hand, cutting off Rhys"s panicked apology. "It"s all right." His voice was low, rougher than before. "Our horns can be... sensitive. I was not prepared for the sensation."

Rhys forced himself to breathe, his shoulders loosening as Taryn"s words sank in. "Sensitive," he echoed, feeling foolish for his overreaction.

Emboldened, he leaned forward once more, his hand drifting back toward Taryn"s horns with cautious curiosity. "Like this?" he murmured, his fingertips skimming along the smooth curve of one horn with feather-light pressure. "You can really feel this?"

Taryn"s eyes slipped half-closed. "Yes."

Rhys stroked a horn. The firelight gilded Taryn"s features, casting his expression in stark relief. Rhys could see the pleasure the Borraq"s was trying to hide, the fluttering of his eyelashes as sensation rolled through him.

Oh, wow. It was intoxicating, this newfound power Rhys held. To be able to touch this fearsome warrior, to brush against that which was most sacred, and bring him to the very edge of control...

"Rhys." Taryn"s voice was a hoarse whisper, his eyes dark with banked heat. "You must stop that."

But there was no urgency in his tone, no demand to pull away. Rhys"s breath caught in his throat as he traced the path of Taryn"s horn, reveling in the shudder that rippled through the Borraq"s powerful frame.

Rhys couldn"t help himself. He"d never been a model student, one of those proper obedient academy boys.

He"d always been a troublemaker.

He tightened his grip on Taryn"s horns, teasing the base with his thumbs.

Taryn"s eyes fluttered closed, his breath coming slower. Rhys couldn"t tear his gaze away from the Borraq"s face, the way his lips parted, the way his muscles tensed and relaxed with each touch.

He"d never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

Rhys"s own arousal grew, a steady throb that echoed the pounding of his heart. He couldn"t believe what was happening, couldn"t believe that he was here, touching this alien warrior, feeling the heat of his skin, the roughness of his horns beneath his fingers.

Taryn growled again, a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through Rhys"s very bones. "Rhys," he warned, his voice hoarse with desire. "You"re crossing a line that can"t be uncrossed."

Rhys let out a breathy laugh, his voice shaking with anticipation. "Is that supposed to scare me off?"

Taryn"s eyes snapped open, his gaze locking onto Rhys"s. "It should," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I don"t think it will."

Rhys"s heart raced, his pulse pounding in his ears. He knew he should stop, knew that this was dangerous territory, but he couldn"t bring himself to pull away. Instead, he let his hand drift down from Taryn"s horns, tracing a path along the Borraq"s jawline, down his neck, and finally coming to rest on his chest.

Taryn"s muscles tensed beneath his touch. Rhys could feel the heat radiating off of him, could feel the way his heart raced in time with his own.

Taryn growled again, a deep rumble that seemed to come from the very depths of his being. He reached up, his hand closing around Rhys"s wrist, holding him in place. "Rhys," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You don"t know what you"re doing."

Oh, Rhys knew, alright.

Rhys"s heart raced, his pulse pounding in his ears. He"d had plenty of hookups, plenty of fast and frantic couplings in narrow corridors and storage closets. Both of them got what they needed as quickly as they could, before never seeing each other again.

But he"d never felt anything like this before.

He looked at his hand on Taryn"s chest, and then the expanse of Taryn"s body before him.

It would be the easiest thing in the world to let that hand drift a little lower, and do some applied interspecies exploration…

But then Taryn"s expression shifted from one of desire to one of sudden alertness. The Borraq"s eyes narrowed, his body going still as he listened to something only he could hear.

"What is it?" Rhys asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Taryn didn"t answer. Instead, he quickly got to his feet, his movements swift and efficient. Rhys could see the tension in his muscles, the way his body was coiled and ready for action.

The sound of footsteps approached the camp. Rhys quickly rearranged his expression, trying to fight the pounding of his heart, and act as if everything was normal.

Soren burst into the clearing, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Rhys could see the blood on his arm, the way his skin was mottled and discolored.

"Soren!" Taryn barked, rushing over to the injured warrior. "What happened?"

Soren"s voice was ragged, his breath coming in short gasps. "A… a xytrii snake… I didn"t see it in time…"

"Sit," Taryn said. "I will treat it. You will heal."

Taryn snapped into action, getting out supplies to heal Soren in the camp. Rhys glumly sat down again, watching as Taryn expertly cleaned and bandaged Soren"s wound.

He couldn"t help but feel a twinge of envy. Not about the snakebite, though. Soren could keep that one.

Rhys let out a sigh, slumping back down on the ground. Whatever had just happened… It had been intense.

Humans smelled good to Borraq, huh? He must smell like the world"s sexiest superstar, to make someone as orderly and commanding as Taryn allow the touch of someone pathetic like Rhys.

Rhys groaned, burying his face in his hands.

His life had gone from bad, to worse, to completely confusing.