Baited (Gladiators of the Gryn #2)

Blayn

BLAYN

“ I ’m not entirely sure what the madame will make of your redecoration,” Izzy says sadly whilst setting some of the pretty, shiny things I found in the market swinging. They tinkle together in a chime which warms my soul. “But then she will be the only pleasure house owner in Tatatunga with a Gryn nest.”

“She should be honored,” I growl.

“I should tell her…” Izzy hesitates. “Are you sure it’s going to be okay for me to come to the dome with you?”

“I told you, I have credits enough for both of us. You do not need to continue working here,” I reply, huffing out a breath. “There are too many males.”

My chest heaves, and Izzy is across the room, her arms around my waist.

“I know, .” She runs a soft finger down the side of my jaw and shoves her hand into my feathers to find the perfect spot. “I’m just…I’m a human, and even if there are other humans out there, it’s not like we can do much else other than…be cleaners in a pleasure house. If I lose this job, how will I get another one?”

“You are my human, my mate.” I shove my face into her hair and inhale deeply, taking her sweet scent into my lungs. “You will want for nothing.”

After all, I have credits. I am doing what the procurator wants. I can have my Izzy by my side.

“But what if…” Her voice wavers. “What if…”

Before she can finish, two Zarvu guards burst into our nest, and I’m in the air, ready to descend on them. Pulsar pistols are pointed at me, and Izzy is racing to the door.

She needs protecting. I land heavily and shake my feathers at the two guards.

“Did no one ever tell you not to enter a Gryn nest?” I snarl.

They look at each other and back at me, but it’s too late, I’ve already disarmed them.

“No pulsars around my mate,” I rasp.

With the guards following, I join Izzy, and we walk down the passage to the elevator. Her Tref friend is waiting for her, and they embrace.

“Good luck,” she whispers in Izzy’s ear before she looks up at me. “Thank you for everything.”

“Come and see me fight,” I suggest, holding my wings up high and tossing the pulsars back to the Zarvu.

“Maybe,” the female replies. “Take care of her, won’t you?”

“My Izzy is all I live for,” I reply. “Her care is my life.”

The elevator doors swish open, and I usher Izzy inside, glaring at the Zarvu when they try to get in with us. The doors close, and we’re taken down to the main courtyard where the dome transport awaits.

It seems to take no time at all to get to the dome itself, but then I have my Izzy in my lap, and she is vrexing perfection, so any time with her is perfection.

Her eyes are wide as we rise up into the external chamber. It’s bustling with new competitors, guards, and clerks.

“.” One of the guards is holding a pair of holo-cuffs. “Don’t make a scene. You know this is standard practice,” he says as he puts his free hand on his stun baton.

I do not want to be impaired if I have my mate, and a stun from one of those weapons will make it harder for me to protect her than holo-cuffs.

I hold out my wrists, ignoring him as he clips the things on. Beside me, Izzy hugs herself.

“Are they really necessary?” she asks the guard.

“You’re traveling with the most dangerous thing in the dome, save for the ziggurag,” the guard says. “And I don’t want to be on the wrong end of a set of Gryn claws.” He tips his head at her, his eyes glittering suggestively from under his mask. “Even if you do.”

A growl makes him retreat, and we’re surrounded by Zarvu who march us inside the dome and down the ramps to the living quarters.

“Change of plan.” One of the clerks, a slim Habosu male, pops out from a side passage in front of the guards. “ is to be taken directly to the parade.”

Izzy curls her hand under my arm, her fingers tiny against my bicep. She looks up at me. “What is a parade?”

“It’s what got me into trouble,” I murmur.

“A parade, little female,” the Habosu addresses Izzy directly, ignoring my muffled growl, “is where the gladiators are shown to potential sponsors so they may determine where to direct their funds.” He steps up to me, and in a single movement, fast for such a species, he rips off the bandage covering my wound. “Our gladiator flesh needs to be in tip top condition, and compliant.” His small eyes narrow to slits. “You will be compliant, won’t you, , given all the procurator has invested in your…rehabilitation.”

He glances at Izzy.

“Do not look at my mate.”

The clerk shrugs. “It’s a change in your usual rhetoric, I suppose.” He turns to the lead guard. “Parade hall five. The female can accompany him as far as the entrance.”

One of the guards shoves at Izzy and immediately regrets it. Bindings or not, I have my hands around his throat in a flash.

“Do not touch my mate…ever.”

“Yes, .” He gibbers as I release him, and he stumbles back.

“Get moving, gladiator.” The lead guard has unsheathed his stun stick, and I don’t trust him not to injure Izzy, the way he’s waving it around wildly.

Things have a way of getting out of hand around me. I don’t quite know why.

With a deep, reverberating growl, I turn and start walking back the way we came.

“Where are we going?” Izzy asks.

“Hospitality center,” I rasp, doing my utmost to concentrate on her and not what I’ll face once we get to the parade hall. “There are games tonight and the sponsors want to see the gladiators.” My primary feathers rattle. “Including me, it seems.”

“I’m here, .” Her arm links with mine. “I’m not going anywhere.”

And my heart slows.

With Izzy by my side, I can do anything. With her, I am complete.