Broken (9 page)

“You
are now blood-kin,”
Jaxt
said, startling her.

She
whirled around. He lay on the ground naked and unselfconscious. The mass of
scarring of his right thigh wasn’t nearly as bad as it should be. That
disturbed her for some reason. Along his chest, his three small golden gems
winked at her from his skin.
Zoen
had the same kind
of gems embedded in his skin; she remembered seeing them last night. She forced
her eyes away from his impressive musculature and frowned. “Blood-kin?” she
asked, a trickle of unease tickling at her throat.

“You
took our blood into your body, as we took yours.”
Zoen’s
voice was rough.

She
glanced at the other
Xyran
. “I thought you were still
asleep.”

Instead
of answering, he pulled out his golden knife. “This is yours now,” he said,
holding it out to her.

She
shook her head and slowly backed away, feeling more naked now than she had last
night with her legs open. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re
mistaken.” Just as she was about to march off to the water chamber,
Jaxt
spoke again.

“You
belong to us, now.”

She
froze as her heart flipped painfully in her chest. The sound of his words
traced across her skin, as if her body were more aware of him, now.
Which was crazy.

“She
does not understand,”
Zoen
murmured.

She
stomped back over to them. “Explain exactly what you mean,” she demanded.

Zoen
stood up gracefully. “When you agreed to share blood, you became our blood-kin,
our mate. You are bound to us for all time now, as we are to you.”

Sky
clenched her fists.
Bound?
For all time?
Oh, no fucking way!

“Our
lives are connected. When you die, so shall we. When you are injured—” With
those words,
Jaxt
paused and lightly touched his
thigh. “We will feel your pain.”

“No,”
Sky said, her voice shaking. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“You
let us both into your body at the same time. You shared our blood,”
Zoen
said calmly. “There is no undoing it.”

“No,
fucking way,” Sky replied, biting off each word with precision. She was
not
calm. “I will not be
bound.
“

Jaxt
frowned, getting to his feet, too. “No male
Xyran
has
taken a woman to be his mate, his blood-kin, in a thousand, thousand years.” He
slashed his hand through the air angrily. “And you deny us?”

“You
misunderstand, Sky. We are bound to you, just as much as you are bound to us,”
Zoen
said, but Sky had had enough.

“Get
your things together. You are out of here, today,” she retorted, spinning
around and walking to the back of the cave. She stopped near her weapons and
looked down at them. She wanted something that would make her feel better, so
she grabbed her axe and ran her fingers down the handle. It was familiar.
Safe.

“We
need a power cell. The ship
Zoen
came in has none
left that are functional,”
Jaxt
said,
his voice taut with frustration.

Sky
turned. Both aliens stood at the entrance of her cave,
trapping
her
inside. “Get out of my way.”

Jaxt
growled. “You have lost your faculties, woman!”

She
stalked forward, axe raised. “I’ve killed
Xyrans
before, for less.”

Zoen
put
a hand on
Jaxt’s
arm. “Let her be. She will
understand soon enough.” He drew his kin out into the open.

Sky
wavered between running for freedom and running to the back of her cave for
clothes.

“We
will not harm you, Sky,”
Zoen
said quietly. He stood
in the sunlight, nude and gorgeous. He still held the single golden knife in
his hand.

Sky
wanted to hit him. Instead, she snatched his knife from his hand and tucked it
into her pocket.

“I
will get you a power cell. You can stay here until I come back.” She pivoted and
grabbed her clothes, ignoring the thunderous look on
Jaxt’s
face and the sad one on
Zoen’s
. They were not her
responsibility. She had to take care of herself. No one else would do it for
her.

****

“Let
her go,”
Zoen
murmured.

“She
is our mate,”
Jaxt
growled, enraged. “Her blood has
mingled with yours and mine. That is not something one can simply ignore. All
the others will know the moment they
scent
her.”

“And
she will kill them if they try to harm her. She is strong. And she has my
blade.”
Zoen
flipped another one of the knives over
and over in his hand, a nervous tick that told
Jaxt
his kin wasn’t nearly as calm about this as he pretended to be.

He
took a deep breath and let it out. “She will understand soon enough, you say.”

Zoen
nodded. “I do not think her life had been easy.”

Jaxt
snorted. “Whose is?” He wanted to run after her and tie her up, force her to
understand what her words felt like to him. If she truly repudiated them, they
would have to live the rest of their lives with a broken piece of their psyche.
“Can she not feel the difference?” He reached out, not even having to look, and
plucked
Zoen’s
blade from the air. He was energized
and stronger. He knew exactly where
Zoen
was, without
even trying.

“I
have heard the
Alphans
bond with their mates and it
gives them great power,”
Zoen
murmured.

Jaxt
went
still.

“And
we are, as you know, half-
Alphan
,”
Zoen
continued.

“What
are you suggesting?”
Jaxt
demanded.

Zoen
shrugged. “I feel you, here,” he said, clenching his fist and putting it to his
chest. “I feel Sky.”

Jaxt’s
gut clenched. “No one must discover this.”

Zoen’s
golden eyes glittered,
then
began to shift.

Jaxt
stared, stunned.

When
Zoen’s
eyes were the solid black of any other
Xyran
, he smiled. “They’re black, aren’t they?”

Jaxt
nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“I
thought so. I felt myself change last night. My control is even better, now.”
Zoen
tipped his head down. When he looked up, his eyes had
gone back to his usual gold. “This bonding has given me power. What has it
given you?” He looked down at
Jaxt’s
thigh. “Your
scars are almost gone. You have healed a week’s worth in one night.”

Jaxt
clenched his fists. Healing was good. But— “What has it given Sky?”

****

Sky
laced her vest tightly,
then
buckled her precious
phase blade to her belt. She’d managed to tape
Zoen’s
golden knife to her inner thigh with the last of her duct tape. It chafed, but
it might come in handy. A woman could never have too many sharp things hidden
about.

“Where
did you get that phase weapon?”
Jaxt
asked, anger still
riding his voice.

She
tossed her hair. “I traded for it a year ago.”

He
frowned, but she ignored him as she grabbed the pouch of gems she would need to
exchange for a full power cell. She eased them into her vest, between her
breasts, and tied the pouch’s strings to the loop she’d sewn inside for just
that purpose. It would be uncomfortable, but it was the safest spot for
transporting that much wealth.

“You
have gems?”

She
gave him a disgusted look. “How do you think I live here by myself?”

“You
never told us,”
Zoen
said, coming up beside
Jaxt
. They’d both dressed,
Jaxt
putting his black armor on for the first time in days, and now they loomed over
her. She grabbed her axe and stood up.

“I
was born and raised in a city,” she said, gesturing to the east. “When the
flooding became worse, we had to abandon our home. My parents died almost
immediately. I disguised myself as a boy and began to work for food among the
refugees. That sucked.” She hooked her axe into its loop. “As I grew, it became
obvious I was a girl, and some men thought they could take advantage of me.”
She frowned, not enjoying this little trip down memory lane. “I picked the
strongest and nicest guy I could find, and offered myself to him in return for
protection. We lived in a smugglers’ settlement.”

Jaxt
growled under his breath, but
Zoen
held him back with
a hand on his arm. “What happened?”

She
shrugged. “I saved up, and when I’d gathered enough shit together, I took off.
Found an old gem mine.” She pointed to the back of the cave. “Amethyst, beryl,
and tourmaline aren’t plentiful around here, but there’s enough for me to
survive on. I only use them when I can’t kill for food or I need stuff I can’t
make myself.” She eyed them, trying not to focus on how very much she wanted
them to stay. Last night had been outside of any sexual experience she’d ever
had. And she’d somehow grown fond of
Jaxt
… when he
wasn’t being an asshole.
Zoen
frightened her, because
he was just enough nicer than
Jaxt
that she felt
herself falling for him, hard, in just one day. And since they seemed to be a
package deal, she knew if she let her control slip at all, she would cave in
and follow them around for the rest of her life, like some sick little slave
who didn’t know any better.

“We
are sorry for the hardship in your life, Sky,”
Zoen
said softly, ever the diplomat.

She
shook her head.
“Doesn’t matter.
Life isn’t fair.
Everyone knows this.” She rolled her shoulders, checking the weight of her
weapons. “So, just one power cell?” she asked.

“Let
us come with you,”
Jaxt
said, looking angry. He
always looked angry, though, so he didn’t scare her.

“No.
I can’t risk it. These humans are dangerous.”
And also, they would kill me
on sight if I came strolling into their settlement with two
Xyrans
.

“You
think we are not dangerous?”
Zoen
asked, the hint of
danger she’d sensed in him yesterday coming to the fore.

She
snorted. “I
know
you’re dangerous, that’s the problem. There are only
two of you, remember? And the treaties between humans and Alpha mean you’re not
supposed to be here. If anyone sees you, they will shoot first, ask questions
later.”

“They
will not see us,”
Jaxt
said, triggering his gift. His
skin and armor suddenly shifted colors, blending in with the walls of the cave.

Sky
blinked. She didn’t know his armor could change color like that, but also, she
could still
sense
him, even though she couldn’t see him. It made her
feel claustrophobic. She would not be bound. “How about this,” she said
belligerently, getting angry now, too. “I just don’t want you to come. I don’t
need any other reason than that.” Forget convincing them; she needed to get
away from these two, pronto.

“
Jaxt
, stand down,”
Zoen
said.

Instead
of listening,
Jaxt
strode forward and grabbed Sky by
the arm. “You are being unreasonable.”

She
pressed the phase blade’s tip into his stomach. “Back off.”

He
let her go slowly, obviously making sure she understood he wasn’t releasing her
because of the weapon. “You lie to yourself.” Abruptly, he pivoted and stalked
out of the cave.

Sky
watched him go, throat tight.

“He
cares for you,”
Zoen
murmured.

She
glanced at him, frustrated. “I thought
Xyrans
had no
emotions.” His stark beauty surprised her all over again.

“We
are raised to
show
no emotions, but that does not mean we have none.” he
said, shifting his weight uneasily. “
Jaxt
cares for
you. So do
I
.”

“You
don’t even know me,” she whispered, knowing
Jaxt
was
right. She lied to herself all the time. She pretended she didn’t need anyone.
She pretended she didn’t care for
Jaxt
. She pretended
that what happened last night wasn’t real, but in reality, she could feel both
Zoen
and
Jaxt
in her mind and
soul, irrevocably lodged for all time.