“Had some dark, dark days there.” He rubbed her hair between his thumb and finger and stared at it for few secondsbefore releasing it. “Spent a long time on the verge of just…giving up. Being done with it all. Good fighting slaves were a big investment for the owners—the crowds and gambling brought in a lot of money—so they kept most fights nonlethal, but when those death bouts came up…sometimes I really thought about just losing.
“I met Arc the day I had to fight him. It was nonlethal, and he was such a pretty, delicate thing, so”—his mouth twitched up in a small smirk—“I let him win. He’ll tell it differently, but that’s what happened.”
Shay chuckled softly. “And here I thought you were being honest with me.”
He turned his head toward her and scrunched his face as though in pain. “Ouch, terran. I could’ve put Arcanthus in his place if I’d wanted to. Like I said, he was just too pretty. Seemed a shame to damage that.”
She grinned. “And I guess I was just too pretty when I robbed you?”
“Well, youdidhave a gun pulled on me…”
“You had other weapons. You weren’t a helpless little kitten.”
“Could’ve fooled me on that lately,” he grumbled.
Shay knew he was referring to her pregnancy in general—but her labor more specifically. Her big, strong, fierce azheran mate had felt powerless when it came to her pain.
“You were with me the whole time, Drak. That means more than I can say.”
He shifted a little closer and brushed a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll always be with you,kiraia.”
Shay smiled and settled her hand upon his chest, over his heart. It pounded beneath her palm. “Keep going. What happened after you supposedly threw your match with Arc?”
“We had a few minutes to talk. I’d seen him around before,knew of him. He was building a reputation—I was his thirty-second win in thirty-two fights. An undefeated fighter was a big deal. And he was…not what I’d expected, considering how well he fought. He’s egotistical and insulting, but he’s charismatic, and at heart…he’s genuine. He was the one who told me about the rule on Caldorius—survive a hundred and fifty matches and you earn your freedom. Said he had some plans for after he earned his, and that he’d need good fighters like me.Don’t die, azhera.
“Like I said, I’d never really been a fighter before I was enslaved, but I took to it well, and Iwasgood at it. And up until that point, I’d been running on anger. Didn’t really have direction. Arcanthus gave me direction. He gave me something to work toward.”
“And you’ve been together ever since,” Shay remarked. “I was wondering how the two of you met. You’re both so different…but at the same time, similar in some ways.”
Drakkal grinned. “He has a few admirable qualities. Picked most of them up from me. But all that…it’s well in the past now. It’s been almost twenty years since I saw Vanya, and it wasn’t nearly long enough. I never told anyone the truth of what she did. It was just easier to say she died when the slavers attacked. Easier to try to convince myself she was dead.”
Shay’s brows drew low. “Not even Arc?”
He shook his head. “Not even Arc.”
“But I thought you two are like”—she lifted a hand and crossed her fingers—“tight and all that. Like you had some bromance where you didn’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Abromance?”
“Yeah. It’s when two dudes are really, really close. Like…best friends and brothers andalmosta couple at once?”
“Oh. Yes, we have a bromance,” he said flatly. “Whenever we go out, we twine ourtails together.”
Shay narrowed her eyes. “There shall be no twining of tails. Your tail, and everything attached to it, belongs to me.”
Drakkal chuckled and purred, “It certainly does,kiraia.”
She groaned. “God, I love it when you purr. It’s going to kill me waiting until I’m healed up before I can jump your bones again.”
She didn’t even want to know the extent of the damage to her poor vagina.
That produced a low growl from his chest that sent tingles all the way down to Shay’s toes.
“I’m already feeling it,kiraia.”
“I’ll have to take care of you later then.”
It would be torture for her, but she’d enjoy pleasuring himimmensely.