Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay
26
Phase 7
Planet Roukii
Roukii was a planet of brilliant colors and flourishing life, and Onnika was instantly enthralled.
Cerulean blue skies stretched on and on, over bountiful fields and rolling hilltops. She saw rushing rivers, sparkling streams, tropical forests, and flowering meadows. Puffy white clouds reached far past the majestic mountain range that sprouted along the visible horizon. The crisp scent of citrus fragranced the air.
Shortly after landing, they’d all gathered to disembark and were now marveling at Roukii’s beauty. They’d been forced to land in one of the meadows big enough to fit Dragoon. It was a little ways from the festival grounds, so they had a short hike ahead of them.
All around them, flowering vines tumbled from the branches of lush trees, nearly touching the ground. Caryn bounded over to sniff one of their yellow blooms. “Mm.”
Lear watched her with fondness. Onnika briefly wondered if he’d made a move on her yet before deciding he hadn’t. Caryn would have mentioned it after she herself had admitted to having slept with Aidan. A romantic at heart, Caryn had been delighted by the news, even as she warned her to be careful.
Onnika knelt to run her hand along the thick spouts of grass. Each blade had a feather-like softness. The sharp, fresh scent reminded her of home. She had to resist the urge to roll around in it. Although…
She gave Aidan a contemplative glance filled with wicked intent.
“What’s that look for?” he asked warily.
She stood. “Well, I’m not thinking about rolling around with you on this velvety grass, if that’s what you’re asking, so just get that right out of your head.”
He meant for his glare to appear chastising, but he couldn’t tame the amusement in his eyes.
“I’m serious,” she said. “Not going to happen. No use imagining it.”
He cupped the back of her neck and drew her near to whisper in her ear, “Now it’s all I can think about.”
She shivered and smiled triumphantly. “Well, maybe if you’re good.”
He chuckled and released her, shaking his head.
As Caryn continued to admire the flowers, Asher meandered over to pluck one of the large buds and handed it her. Onnika blinked in surprise. Caryn appeared just as stunned by his gesture, but accepted the gift with her knockout smile in place.
Onnika’s gaze shot to Lear, who was glaring at the two as though he’d like nothing more than to crush the flower in his fist and cart Caryn away.
Onnika almost grinned at the notion that two men were suddenly vying for Caryn’s attention. Then she read their intent. She cocked a side-eyed glance at Aidan, who was pretending not to notice any of this.
Just then, the sound of an approaching engine drew all their gazes. An open-top four-wheeled vehicle rolled into their little meadow. Priya was quick to draw her weapons.
Aidan waved for her to stand down. “It’s an envoy.”
Inscribed on the vehicle’s doors was a language Onnika couldn’t read, but she did recognize the Phase Nine symbol painted next it.
The driver had a very bird-like appearance with a small, beak-like mouth, but instead of feathers, he was coated in a beautiful sheen of green and purple fur. His eyes were large and very round with irises that almost glowed in those same iridescent colors.
“Welcome to Roukii, proud sponsors of Phase Seven. If you’ll all climb aboard, I’ll take you to the arena where some of your competitors are already enjoying our many amenities and tournaments.” If Onnika hadn’t read good intentions from him right away, his sharp-toothed grin would have made her want to race back onto Dragoon.
It did cause Caryn to sidle closer to Lear, who shot Asher a triumphant smirk.
Onnika claimed a window seat, with Aidan next to her. As they traveled a narrow roadway, a flock of four-legged creatures raced through the jungle beside them, bleating excitedly as they dodged and weaved past foliage. They were beautiful and sleek.
“You’ll want to stay away from the jungle unless in a large group,” their driver warned. “Many of the creatures here are predatory.”
Onnika shivered, noticing the rapacious leer in the creatures’ darting gazes.
Aidan leaned toward her and muttered, “Unless you’re the bigger predator.”
She mentally agreed. There could be nothing out there that could best a dragon.
The driver continued. “You’ll be happy to hear you’re in sixth place.”
That was surprising. Onnika leaned forward. “Oh? How did that happen?”
“We went through a wormhole,” Aidan supplied. “Brought us right here.”
“I missed a wormhole?” She frowned dramatically, popping out her lower lip.
“It was nothing special.”
“What did it look like?”
“Just a slight visual warping.”
“Still, my first wormhole and I didn’t even get to watch. You’d better call me to the bridge if there’s another one.”
“You really haven’t seen a wormhole before?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re rare, from what I understand, and—wait, aren’t they unpredictable?”
“Most of the time. Especially if they’re natural. I believe this one was constructed by the commissioners.”
“I didn’t know you could create a wormhole.”
“Many worlds have been working to develop the technology for some time. I guess someone finally figured it out.”
“But how did we get to sixth place so fast? We were ninth when we started this phase. Wouldn’t the ships before us have taken the wormhole too and still gotten here before us?
“I suspect some didn’t trust the wormhole’s trajectory. We passed another ship while you were…resting.”
She grinned. Actually, she’d been working, but he didn’t know that yet. She hadn’t finished inventorying everything and planned to surprise him when she did. She’d made it back to his room before he returned from his duty on the bridge, and because she didn’t want to spoil the surprise, she’d messed up his desk again. Not that he’d have noticed anything else but the sexy nude goddess on his bed beckoning him with the crook of her finger. He’d practically ripped his clothes off on his way to get to her.
“We were the last ones to enter the wormhole before they closed it, but we still have a decent head start,” Aidan told their group, “so let’s make it count.”
The outdoor arena came into view, nestled in a wide valley. She hadn’t realized they’d been on a hill, driving down a slight decline until a cliff suddenly dropped off to one side of the ever-shrinking roadway. The angle of their descent grew steeper by degrees. If the driver wasn’t careful, they could slip right off the road and go tumbling down. He didn’t seem concerned, but Onnika found herself wishing this vehicle had restraints of some kind.
When the road turned bumpy, thrashing them about, she held onto Aidan for support. He put his arm around her protectively.
The arena rested at the base of the hill, a flattened gravel circle with many decorative columns around the wide circumference with curved permanent seating around the northern curve, currently empty. Thousands of people milled about the grounds, preferring a closer view. A huge crowd of race-hoppers and spectators had lined up to watch their arrival, their expressions feverish and excited.
As the vehicle pulled to a halt, they were greeted by uproarious cheers. Someone held a poster of Onnika’s likeness, an image captured before her spacewalk, no helmet, looking proud and determined.
Another poster simply stated, We Love You, Onnika!
“Somebody has amassed a following,” Aidan teased.
She wasn’t the only one. There were posters dedicated to Aidan, Priya, and Asher as well, along with various other competitors.
Zeek griped, “They just haven’t figured out who the real star is.” He hiked a thumb at himself.
Asher piped up. “You want fans? Try doing something more exhilarating than puzzle solving and code breaking.”
“Thanks, but I’ll leave the dangerous stunts to the intellectually challenged. Offense intended.”
“Aww,” Onnika cooed. “I’ll be your fan, Zeek. Even though you basically just called us all morons.”
“I didn’t mean you, Onnika. I was talking about the silver brute over here.” He tapped his chin, looking thoughtful. “Although, you are dating Aidan, so…”
“We’re not dating,” Aidan blurted, looking startled.
There was moment of awkward silence.
“He’s right.” Onnika ignored the weird pang in her chest. “I’d never date someone like Aidan.”
His expression pinched at that.
She continued, “No, I’m just using him for sex.”
His features tightened even further as Zeek and the others laughed.
“You sure it’s not the other way around?” Aidan proposed.
She patted him on the thigh, her response intentionally patronizing. “You’re adorable.”
Zeek offered, “Well if you ever want a real man, let me know.”
The color of Aidan’s face deepened to a warning shade of red, and she sensed burgeoning violence from him.
To break the tension, Onnika replied to Zeek, “Why, are you going to build me one?”
At that, the others burst out into hearty guffaws.
“Get it, Zeek,” Lear said, still chuckling. “Because you are no’ a real man!”
“The joke’s not funny if you have to explain it,” Zeek groused, though he was clearly enjoying the ribbing.
Aidan’s skin returned to its natural color. “Enough. We have work to do.”
They quickly set up a meeting point and then scattered to scout the competition. Both Asher and Lear stuck by Caryn, so Onnika knew she didn’t have to worry…at least about anyone snatching Caryn. Onnika did have concerns about what those two were planning—and who put them up to it, though she was pretty sure she knew. She also knew they wouldn’t get what they were after, and two guys fawning over Caryn didn’t sound like a bad idea, so Onnika decided not to tell her what was up right away.
When Onnika started to head off on her own, Aidan stilled her with a hand on her elbow. “You’ll stay close to me since I can’t trust you on your own, and something tells me these aren’t the sort to steal from.”
She bristled. “I wasn’t going to steal anything.”
He eyed her with skepticism, which rankled. “Not only that. Your recklessness is worrisome.”
“I’ll have you know I’m very good at not getting myself killed. I’ve been doing it all my life, and I’ve got a one hundred percent success rate.”
“You’ve likely never encountered anything as dangerous as this competition.”
“I wish,” she muttered darkly.
Aidan peered down at her for a moment. “Just stay near me, please.”
She sighed. “All right, but only because I want to, not because you told me to.” She grabbed his hand and threaded her fingers through his, surprising him. “Now, let’s go get some vouchers.”