Caged (Gladiators of the Gryn #1)

Alex

ALEX

I stare at the hulk of a male, all dark wings and dark eyes, as he proclaims himself to be nothing but a slave, confined to the dome for his crimes.

It was bad enough when he and Ginka were fighting but somehow this is worse. My heart hammers at my chest because as horrible as it was to be taken from Earth and sold to Ixor, Sylas’ treatment goes far beyond mine.

And he doesn’t care. He was prepared to serve his sentence as I was expecting to serve Ixor until the inevitable happened or somehow I got free.

“But we’re free now,” I blurt out.

“Hardly. Every guard, every citizen interested in trying his hand at the games but without the credits to purchase entry will be out looking for me,” Sylas says, darkly. “As will every bounty hunter,” he adds. “The procurator will have put a price on my head.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” Ginka says, pulling a small vid-screen from her clothing. “The word is the dome was attacked. A group calling themselves the resistance have claimed responsibility. Because of this, the guards are still sorting through the rubble slowly. They might not even know you’re missing.”

Sylas glowers. “I don’t go missing. Blayn might, maybe Klynn, but not me,” he says, presumably referencing other gladiators. “Crimes or no, we’re not prisoners in the sense we are confined…,” he huffs. “Under normal circumstances we can leave the dome if we want.” Sylas sniffs.

“I don’t understand. You’re a slave to the dome, but you can leave whenever you want?” My head feels scrambled.

“What he means is he won’t get past port authorities or away from Trefa if he tries.” Ginka looks Sylas up and down. “He, and the others of his kind, are a little distinctive, and there are no other Gryn on this planet as far as I’m aware.”

“I doubt Blayn could find his way off world if he wanted to,” Sylas mutters, partly to himself, a sadness creeping over his face. “The Remek is right. The other Gryn and I are trapped here. This entire planet is my cage.”

“But potentially it means no one is looking for you, right?” I say. “Because you could just be…out?”

“I’d be expected to check in.” Sylas cocks his head on one side. “But it’ll be chaos. I’ve got two Gryn who love explosions and two who hate them. Then there’s the beasts and any of the challengers who were staying in the dome before their bout.” He narrows his eyes, taking on a far-away look.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I want to be with my mate,” he rasps, and in a single stride, he has me in his arms, his huge chest heaving with a sigh. “I’m thinking I don’t want to kill anymore.”

“Will wonders never cease?” Ginka snorts. It’s my turn to glare. “I’ve got to do prep for tomorrow,” she says hastily. “This place is yours. Stay as long as you need.” She pats me on the arm with a smile, although the kind gesture is tempered by a dirty wink.

I didn’t even know aliens winked. But it appears today is the first day for a whole lot of things.

Ginka leaves us alone. Sylas gazes down at me and strokes a massive finger over my cheek.

“I don’t want to get you into trouble,” I say. “As much as I hate it, Ixor bought me, and no one on Trefa gives a shit.”

He growls deep in his chest. “I care, little feather. I’ll buy you from him.”

I squirm away. “Then you’re just making it worse!” I put my hands on my hips. “And he won’t sell me anyway, not if he thinks he has a gladiator he can use because you think I’m your mate.”

“Then I’ll kill him,” Sylas says, inspecting his claws.

“You said you were done with killing.”

“Not for you.”

I raise my eyes to the ceiling and make a “gah” noise. For a male who set me on fire earlier, so much so I gave him everything within an hour of making his acquaintance, he is also infuriating.

But at the same time, and in a way I’m not sure I can quite believe, I’m not sure I want to go on without him. None of this makes sense.

“Little feather.” Sylas wraps a wing around me, scooping me towards him. “We need to bathe and eat, and then we can do what is needed to be free.”

It’s all absolutely bonkers, but I completely agree with him. How can Sylas be getting under my skin like this? And that’s skin which itches like mad because of the dust and grit. He still has some on his broad, bare shoulders too.

“Okay.” I sigh up at my vast gladiator. “Not sure you’ll fit though.”

“You’ve said that before.” He grins, eyes filled with glittering mischief which causes my core to tighten.

I roll mine at him, although I can’t help adding a smile, and set off down the short passage into the rear of Ginka’s dwelling, followed by my huge gladiator. After opening two doors and finding two bedrooms, one of which is also filled with boxes, the third door reveals a bathroom larger than I was expecting.

There’s no bath, but there is a large shower area, the water coming from the ceiling, as far as I can make out. Sylas snorts.

“Should have known a Remek wouldn’t take bathing seriously.” He grunts.

“And Gryn do?”

“Bathing requires a pool of the appropriate size,” Sylas says seriously as he inspects the controls for the shower and it turns on unexpectedly.

His wings flare, nearly filling the room before he folds them back, tucking them one over the other for a few seconds as he regains his composure and peers up at the ceiling.

“Interesting,” he says, rubbing his chin.

“You’ve seen a shower before?” I query, stripping off my clothing and tossing it to one side as I stride past Sylas under the water.

I think his eyes are about to pop out of his head. I’ve certainly never seen anyone divest themselves of their boots and pants as quickly as he does. Although he still approaches the shower with a hesitant step.

“Like rain,” he says.

“Yeah, like rain.” I hold out a hand to him.

He takes it with a half smile and steps under the deluge to join me. The second the water hits his wings, they pump, as if he’s trying not to open them. The thick, heavy primary feathers span out as far as he can manage under the water, and he closes his eyes, lifting his face into the deluge, arms outstretched.

For several long seconds, he stands there, the liquid running in rivulets over his scarred form, sluicing away the dust and the dirt, wings shivering.

“Like rain.” His voice is hoarse, but his eyes open and they’re fixed on me. “Little feather, I like this shower .”

“It’s a good thing Ginka is…bigger and taller than a human, or you would most definitely not fit.”

An arm wraps around my waist, and Sylas’ other hand cups my breast.

“It seems to me we have plenty of room here.”

“For bathing?” I ask, doing my level best to seem serious even though my lips twitch with the need to smile.

“Oh yes, for bathing…and other activities…” He hitches up a lip to reveal a fang, and what I feel pressed between us is most definitely in the “other activities” category.

This is going to be one of the more interesting showers I’ve taken.