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Guilt gurgled up my throat over his chivalry. If Gunnox had known what he was volunteering himself for, I very much doubt he would have been so quick to bare his back for my lashings.
Zul’mar's cruelty knew no bounds as he wielded his whip with sadistic glee, each lash a testament to the viciousness every Gorken guard possessed. The leather tendrils, studded with sharp fragments of obsidian, sliced through the Valosian's knitted scales and into his tender flesh. Blue blood dripped down his sides to pool at the waistband of his dark pants. Strange they weren’t the same as the white, loose garment all the other Valosians wore. His garment was a dark gray, smooth, and fitted close to his powerful body.
My body tensed with each brutal strike, a surge of revulsion and compassion churned a sour mix, knotting in my empty gut. Despite the agony inflicted on him, the Valosian remained stoic, emitting only the occasional grunt or hiss through gritted teeth.
A sudden tightness culminated behind my sternum, and I instinctively rubbed at it with a worried frown. My attention remained fixated on Gunnox, unable to look away from his intense stare. His eyes never wavered from mine, their mesmerizing silver held me captive in a silent exchange I didn’t understand.
I’m so sorry,I mouthed. This was all my fault. Had I not been so clumsy. Had I refused to allow this stranger to take my beating. I should have insisted on?—
Don’t be,he mouthed back.You are mine to protect.
I jerked in response.Histo protect? That can’t be right. I was mistaken. I’d read his lips wrong. His to protect? That made no sense?—
Then, a reassuring expression curved his full lips. Even through a brutal whipping, he still managed to smile at me. To offer me comfort in the face of the agony I knew he must feel.
My head shook in confusion. I didn’t know what to think. And my mind turned even more muddled when the beating stopped and he stood to his full height. All six foot eight of hard, tightly coiled muscle rippled beneath silver scales that flashed in cool blues.
Before the other Valosians had been half-starved, they were all heavily muscled like him but none of them had caused a flutter of anticipation in my belly, or my breath to hitch in appreciation.
Swirling eyes still locked onto mine as he began to saunter toward me, then stumbled as if his knees had suddenly given out. Two Gorken guards snagged him under the arms and hauled him away to the far side of the cavern, tossing him to the floor like garbage.
“Leave him there,” Zul’mar ordered. “No need to drop the electro-bars and risk any of the others getting loose. The day shift guards are going to be in enough trouble because of that one. Queen Uri gave strict orders the males and females were to be kept separated at all times.”
“That display was a prime example of why the sexes are to be kept apart,” Vex’klar hissed. “The males won’t last as long defending the females, and they’re too valuable to waste.”
I started to go after Gunnox, but Leah stopped me with a hand on my arm. “They will whip you for going over there and not getting back to work, then his punishment will have been for nothing.”
The grit and grime of my dress scraped my fingers as I twisted the dirty fabric with a desperate urge to rush to his side. My eyes darted in his direction, but my redheaded friend was right, I couldn't just run over with the Gorken guards focused on us. I’d have to bide my time and sneak over after they got bored with us and weren’t paying so close attention.
“Who is he?” Leah asked, pulling me over to the vein of ore we had been laboring on. “And why is he wearing different clothes than the rest of them?”
“I don’t know. I don’t who he is.” But I was determined to find out.
“Back to work!” the most ruthless of the Gorken guards, Krax’zul cracked his whip at us. Dirt pelted my bare feet and ankles from where the lash struck the ground.
Grabbing my hammer and chisel where I’d left them, I began chipping away at the orange-glowing ore. Now that the drama was over, the other women got back to work at the cracking of the guard’s whips. As our sharp clangs echoed in the dimly lit cavern, my eyes couldn't help but flicker to the Valosians confined behind their crackling electrified bars. The tension in the air always thickened whenever one of them was punished.
I remembered their past escape attempts, each one more daring than the last, and how they'd been thwarted by the ruthless Gorken overseers. Their failed attempts hadn’t broken their spirits, I’d heard whispers of a new breakout floating through the cool, dusty air. Their determination was palpable, a silent promise that they wouldn't give up on freedom no matter how many setbacks they faced.
My gaze flickered over to Gunnox. Despite my guilt over the lashing he took for me, there was something about him that piqued my interest, a curiosity that I can't quite shake. He stood out among the other silver scaled males in the mine, looking surprisingly clean and well-fed compared to the rest of us who had been toiling away for what felt like forever.
“He must’ve just arrived,” Bridget muttered exactly what was running through my mind.
“Must have,” I mumbled back, keeping my voice low so the Gorken closest to us wouldn’t hear. “Why just him though, when we came in a large group?”
“Right? Odd he’s the only new one,” Leah replied softly.
We kept chipping away at the glowing ore, my thoughts swirling with curiosity about why Gunnox had been brought here alone. Whispers drifted through the crush of women as we pondered his mysterious presence while sneaking glances at the guards to ensure we hadn’t been overheard chatting. Each strike of our picks reverberated softly around us, blending with our muted conversations.
Over our time here, we’d learned the Gorkens’ eyesight was murky despite their large reptilian eyes. Their hearing was even worse, and in quiet tones, we could talk among ourselves without them knowing.
The guards’ undivided attention finally waned, and I glanced at where Gunnox lay against the wall. I whipped my head around, searching for him in the shadows. Confusion twisted my gut as I scanned the area where he had been just moments ago. It was like he had evaporated into thin air.
The Valosians remained confined behind the crackling energy bars. None of the guards had budged an inch, so how had he managed to vanish without a trace?
Chapter Six
GUNNOX
