Kraving Dravka by Zoey Draven

Chapter Eleven

“Vauk,” Dravka cursed, leaning his forehead on the closed door that Valerie had escaped through.

Everything in him was telling him to go after her. To find her. To kiss her again. To hold her and never let her go.

But his mind was swimming—partly from the alcohol, partly from that kiss.

His hands shook when he pushed away from the door, stumbling back to his bed pushed against the wall.

We can’t.

That was the last thing she said before she left. Words that Dravka himself had told her. Words that didn’t make any sense to him now.

Because why couldn’t they?

Staring up at the ceiling, he groaned, feeling his unyielding cock throbbing against his belly. Then he cursed again, thinking he might have fucked everything up.

It was a selfish thing to kiss her.

So why didn’t he feel sorry?

* * *

The next morning came slowly.

The alcohol burned through his system quickly, leaving Dravka sober but morose. He remembered everything. He remembered everything about their kiss.

That following morning, he was annoyed and frustrated with himself.

In the light of day, with that fresh dawn that broke over Everton—a fake sunrise that he watched from the Cluster’s single window—he had never felt more caged.

For the first time, he realized that he hadn’t felt a fresh breeze on his skin in almost ten years. It had been twelve years since Kerivu had been destroyed but ten years since he’d come to Everton.

He hadn’t seen a real sunrise in ten years. Only artificial, programmed ones. He almost felt sorry for the Earth colonists. Because many of them had never known any different.

And Valerie…

His Valerie.

She had never seen a real sunrise either. She had a picture of one on the wall of her room downstairs, an old photograph of her home planet.

But she’d never seen one.

Dravka paced in front of the window, feeling like something was trying to crawl its way out of his skin. For the first time in a long time, he couldn’t stand being there. He couldn’t stand never being allowed to leave.

Ten years of his life were gone.

Wasted in this artificial place where nothing was real except her.

And for the first time, he was enraged with himself. He was enraged that he hadn’t gone with Khiva and Eve when he’d had the chance. He was enraged that he hadn’t taken Valerie, in the dead of the night, and just gone.

What had he been thinking, all those months ago?

The restlessness was buzzing under his skin.

And now, he was almost out of time.

Tavak appeared then, emerging from his room in the Cluster. Casting a look at Ravu’s open door, however, he asked, “He’s not back yet?”

Dravka shook his head, “Veki.”

Clients could stay the night until eight in the morning. He would be back soon.

Tavak dropped into the armchair, a deep sigh escaping him. Though Dravka kept his gaze out at the dawn, he felt Tavak’s stare.

He waited for him to say something, but finally he heard Tavak shift, heard the slide of metal and knew that he’d taken out the Nu device instead.

Dravka began to pace again, his nostrils flaring when a sudden flash from last night came into his mind. Of Valerie, of her soft gasps and even softer lips. Her taste, vauk. The firmness of her backside underneath his palms. The way she’d responded to him so eagerly before…

He cursed underneath his breath just as he heard the door to the Cluster open. His hearts stopped briefly, hoping to see her standing on the threshold, but it was only Ravu.

Tavak greeted his brother with a sharp jerk of his chin. Ravu’s gaze slid to Dravka, pacing at the window. His brow bone lifted, his gaze catching on the tented material of his pants.

“Hope that’s not for me,” Ravu said dryly, though Dravka caught a hint of amusement in his tone. “My client drained me for the day.”

Tavak chuffed out a small laugh, already scanning through the news on the Nu, while Dravka adjusted his inconvenient erection, blowing out a sharp breath.

Tavak’s laugh suddenly stopped.

A creaking sound came from the armchair as Tavak leaned forward, his lips parting, his brow furrowing. His eyes were scanning rapidly over the Nu device. Even Ravu noticed and approached.

“What is it?” he asked.

Not again…

Dravka’s throat was suddenly dry. He half-expected to hear more news about Valerie’s engagement…but not even that would cause the sudden change in Tavak so dramatically.

“What is it?” Dravka repeated, edging towards the chair, the sunrise forgotten.

“Tavak?” came Ravu’s quiet voice.

Tavak’s gaze flickered up to his brother then came to Dravka before they lowered once more on the Nu.

A sharp breath escaped Tavak’s lips. “Firestones are in circulation again.”

Shock froze Dravka in place, feeling something pinch in his gut at the name.

Firestones.

“There’s an article here about Kerivu’s history,” Tavak rasped, shoving the Nu into Ravu’s waiting hands. “About how the firestones brought the end of the Dark Age. And that they are being made once more.”

“Kruvu?” Dravka breathed. “By Khiva?”

“It has to be,” Ravu murmured, his eyes furiously scanning over the words they’d all learned to read during their time on Everton. “He’s the only one that knows how. Demav, he’s done it.”

Dravka sank into an empty chair opposite Tavak as Ravu finished reading whatever article his brother had stumbled across.

Firestones?

Firestones had fueled Kerivu’s economy and some believed that they’d brought about Kerivu’s destruction. Firestones were one of the most powerful fuel sources across the universe. Pure energy that had fueled merchant vessels, transport vessels, that had helped power colonies and planets. They were even more powerful than Luxirian crystals and they were what had brought prosperity and wealth to Kerivu.

Khiva’s family had been the makers of them. As such, Khiva’s family had been one of the wealthiest and most powerful families on all of Kerivu. Khiva himself had once been called the Prince of Firestones.

But with that power and wealth came outside greed and interest. Many tried to replicate the firestones with little success. Greed turned to anger and envy, which led to war. And it was war and hatred that had destroyed their home planet.

“You think it is him?” Tavak rasped. “He said he’d never make them again.”

It’s in his blood, was Dravka’s first thought. Khiva believed he’d had a hand in the destruction of Kerivu, but Dravka had never believed that.

“You think it’s a coincidence that firestones are in circulation again, a few months after Khiva escaped Everton?” Dravka asked quietly. “I don’t.”

Valerie had said Khiva and Evelyn Tesler had settled on a colony named Dumera. His mind started whirling. They were obviously building a life there. Khiva obviously thought it was safe enough, if he kept his female there.

Why didn’t I leave with them? Why didn’t I take Valerie with me and never look back?

Regret swarmed in his mind before he pushed it out. Regret accomplished nothing. It only kept one trapped, frozen.

Which is what I’ve been for the last ten years, arguably longer, he thought.

Ravu finished reading and handed the Nu to Dravka. The slim device felt abnormally heavy in his hands. He didn’t read the article. He slid the device onto the table instead before rubbing at his eyes.

“There’s nothing about Khiva,” Ravu said quietly. “The article says that small batches of firestones are being produced. The first orders are already sold out everywhere. They are originating from the Second Quadrant.”

Most neutral colonies were in the Second Quadrant, so it made sense. Dravka assumed that was where Dumera was.

His hearts were suddenly pounding in his chest. The three Keriv’i males in the Cluster were all quiet as they processed this new information—as they processed what it meant.

“There’s something else we have to talk about.”

Dravka swallowed, knowing that he needed to tell them about what he’d learned last night. He’d heard Valerie tell Tavak and Ravu to trust her, that she was trying to make things right, to give her time.

But this involved all of them. This was too much for Valerie to have to bear alone. Not that Dravka would let her go through with this.

Determination shot through him as Tavak and Ravu regarded him, waiting for him to speak.

Ever since Kerivu’s destruction, he had been…idle. He had grown stagnant. A part of him had been resigned to die on Everton, to live out the rest of his life here, fucking hundreds of faceless human women who only wanted him for his teela.

Truthfully, a part of him had always known that he would have to watch another male take his place in Valerie’s life. She was a beautiful female with a beautiful heart…and he had always believed that another male would discover that, that another male would take her from this demav-forsaken brothel, take her from Dravka, and give her everything that she deserved.

He wanted that for her. He wanted her to be happy because she deserved to be.

Yet he had the startling realization that maybe…he could be that male for her. That he could make her happy and give her everything she wanted. And that maybe, she’d only ever wanted him to begin with.

Because that was why she was doing this—she wanted that same happiness for Dravka. For them all.

Dravka loved her. Demav, he loved her. He had loved her since the very first moment he’d seen her, on that cloudy, wintry day she’d first set foot in the brothel.

Gabriel Larchmont wouldn’t love her like Dravka did. No male could.

If Dravka wanted Valerie to be happy, then he would make her happy.

If he wanted to have a life with her—if he wanted to build her a home on a peaceful colony, if he wanted to build her her garden, and give her the children he knew she craved—then he needed to fight for it.

Because he could give her those things.

Regarding Tavak and Ravu, Dravka’s nostrils flared. They were running out of time.

With the news of the firestones, however, it gave Dravka renewed hope. Hope that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“We have to talk about Valerie,” he said, “and Dumera.”