Page 93 of Riv's Sanctuary

She could see the imprint of his fangs against the cloth covering his face.

“I thought Geblit told you. He bought me from a zookeeper.”

Riv turned his attention back to piloting the hover craft but his entire body remained rigid, his knuckles light blue, his fangs outlined through the cloth over his mouth.

A few moments passed that turned into minutes and she thought the conversation was over when she heard him mutter something underneath his breath.

“Phekking Geblit.”

He turned to look her way and she was sure his eyes were boring into her through the shades.

“I am sorry you were introduced to my world in such a way.” He growled the apology and the fact he was actually apologizing for something caught her off guard—even if he was apologizing for something he had no hand in.

She could sense his mood growing sour by the second.

“This complicates things,” he murmured. “They never like it when their slaves get freedom. They’ll always try to get you back no matter what.”

Slave?

She’d never thought of herself as a slave before.

Unlucky human? Yes.

But slave?

No.

* * *

It was clear La-rehn hadn’t understood what he’d meant but he hadn’t had the strength of mind to explain it to her.

It’d brought back too many memories.

Memories he’d rather forget.

If what she said was true, she’d been trafficked from her planet by the High Tasqals.

If she’d ended up in a zoo, chances were she was unregistered with the Interplanetary Union.

She had no protection.

The Tasqals could claim her once more and there’d be little anyone could do about it because she was unknown.

Unless she was protected by the rebel group called the Restitution or by the Interplanetary Union, things didn’t look so good.

Laying now on his sleeping cushion, he stared up into the darkness.

Seeing the High Tasqal at the exchange had set him into high alert.

It wasn’t usual to see one at a low-level exchange such as the one on Hudo III and he’d known something terrible would happen.

He hadn’t been disappointed.

The Tasqals really had no regard for any life except their own.

The female Tasqal that owned the mines he’d worked in as a chid certainly hadn’t.

He wondered what had become of her.