Jerred’s Price (Saurellian Federation #3)(37)
Author: Joanna Wylde

“Some of them did,” he said softly. He didn’t seem to want to talk any further, so she stayed silent.

There was a lot more going on here than she cared to understand. She’d never been interested in politics, and it sounded like Saurellian politics were more confusing than most.

He guided her across the large hangar toward a low arch marked with a green sign.

“This is a transit station,” he said, nodding toward it. “You can catch a pod to anywhere on the station here. You can also catch a train along the main lines. Most of the time the trains are the best way to go, but I wouldn’t want you taking one alone. Pods are more private, but they’re more expensive. You’ll need a credit account, too. I’ll get one set up on your name.”

She opened her mouth to protest, and then realized how foolish that was. She had no money of her own—she was utterly dependent on him.

They stood in the station for several moments, waiting for the right train to arrive. Every few seconds a new one would slip into place, and men would get on and off. Many of them carried blasters, and she noted those who were armed were primarily Saurellian. Their faces were dark and brooding, and a memory of Jerred as she’d first met him popped into her brain. He seemed so different now, so much lighter and happier.

She liked him better that way.

Everywhere she turned, men watched her. She noticed one or two other women in the crowd, but they all seemed untouchable somehow, as if there was an invisible aura of protection over them. She noticed that the men watched them with just as much hunger, but they didn’t do it openly. These women were Saurellian. Tall, dark-haired goddesses with ivory skin and light green eyes. She stepped closer to Jerred, and he wrapped a protective arm around her.

“I don’t like this station,” she whispered softly. “I don’t feel safe here.”

“You’ll be safe with me,” he said, giving her a gentle squeeze. All around her, men stared with speculation in their eyes, stripping her mentally and laying her out before them. One caught her eye, and walked up to them slowly.

“Jerred,” he said in greeting, his expression cool.

“Xander,” Jerred replied, nodding his head. Giselle waited for an introduction, but one didn’t come. It was just as well, he decided. Xander didn’t seem like a particularly nice man. His cold eyes swept over her, taking in everything about her person in a way that seemed somehow dirty. She shivered.

“I’ve never known you to have a pet,” Xander said to Jerred, his tone conversational. “How long do you plan to keep her?”

Jerred bristled beside her. His tone of voice, though, was casual as he replied. “I can’t imagine you would be interested in the details,” he said lightly. “I’m certainly not interested in sharing them—or her—with you. You’d do well to stay away from me while I’m here.”

A flash of intense anger, even rage, blazed in Xander’s eyes, and he flushed a deep red. Giselle held her breath, terrified he might attack. She could feel an answering tension in Jerred, and he pushed her behind him. A loose ring of watchers had gathered around the three of them, their grins feral and menacing.

Without thinking, she spoke.

“I don’t feel very well,” she said softly. All eyes turned to her, and some of the hostility left their gazes.

Deciding to play it for all she was worth, she spoke again.

“Please, can’t we go to your apartment and rest?” she asked, turning to give Jerred a liquid look of concern. “There are so many people here, I really don’t feel well…”

She allowed herself to sway on her feet, clutching Jerred’s arm for support. It provoked a protective instinct, not only in Jerred but also in the men around her. Xander nodded his head tightly and backed away, and the ring of observers broke apart. Jerred took her arm and walked her toward one of the pods.

“We’ll skip the train for now,” he said. He helped her into the small vehicle, and she sat down gratefully.

He knelt beside her, searching her face. “How sick are you?” he asked.

“Not sick at all,” she replied tartly. “I’m annoyed. You and that Xander were going to fight, weren’t you? Why? Are you enemies?”

“No,” Jerred said softly, a slightly confused expression coming across his face. “Actually, we grew up together. Normally I would consider him a friend.”

“So that’s how you treat your friends?” she asked.

He sat back on the seat across from her, and keyed something into the pod’s control pad. She felt a slight motion as the pod slid away from the station. He sat, silent for a moment, and then leaned forward

“I have no idea why we acted that way,” he said finally. “It doesn’t make sense to me at all. Xander and I have fought thousands of times, but never over a woman.”

She stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. She didn’t quite like the way he referred to her dismissively as “a woman,” any more than she had liked Xander’s tone earlier. She was getting pretty tired of everyone thinking she was Jerred’s pet, for love of the Goddess. On the other hand, in a way she was his pet. She was his toy, completely dependent on him for everything from food to affection and companionship.

The doors opened as the pod slid to stop. This transit station was much quieter, with only a few men around them. It was smaller, too. Jerred took her arm and guided her through the exit into an open gallery that stretched above and below them for hundreds of stories. Looking around, she could see bridges stretching from one side to the other, and walkways stretched along the walls to either side of them. Across the open gallery, there was another walkway and more doors. It was similar to many of the stations she’d seen in her life, but once again on a scale almost beyond her ability to comprehend. It was just so big . It reminded her of the descriptions she’d read of the Imperial warrens on Tyre, vast developments deep within the planet surface housing billions of people.

They walked down the gallery for twenty minutes before he stopped, sliding a keycard into a door that looked just like every other one on the corridor.

The door’s light blinked green, and slid open.

The apartment was good-sized, with a large kitchen and living area, fresher and a bedroom. Still, it looked as if no one lived there. The walls were bare of decoration and the furniture was plain and bland.

“How long have you had this place?” she asked, thinking of her own tiny apartment on Transit Three.