The Alien's Equal (Drixonian Warrior #7) - Ella Maven Page 0,1
and if anyone caught us feeding this thing, we’d be in trouble. I had never been good at doing what I was told, so sneaking around was a skill in my repertoire.
Mozart was in fact, not cute, but I found him utterly fascinating. At least, I was pretty sure it was him, based on the anatomy I could see swinging between his legs.
Sometimes he’d take food with him, stuffing it into his cheeks like a chipmunk. I imagined he had a family somewhere and was delivering food to his mate and their young. And that was why I couldn’t resist putting food out at dusk every time I could get away with it. This was my secret with Bazel, and I’d taught her to pinky swear over the secret and everything.
The mingo was just starting on the fruit when boots crunched behind us, signaling we were about to be busted. I froze, and so did the mingo. He let out a screech that hurt my ears before skittering up the wall with his little claws to perch along the top. And there he sat, feeling safe enough at that height to continue munching on the fruit while I cringed as a long shadow stretched across the ground near the corner of the building where I hid. I plastered my back to the wall.
“Go,” I whispered to Bazel. “I don’t care if they catch me but save yourself.”
“Justine—”
“Go,” I urged with a push to her small shoulders. I held up my pinky. She clasped it and then scrambled off to my left, leaving my sight around the corner of the building just as a large figure stepped around the corner to my right.
For a moment, I thought maybe he didn’t see me. I could barely make out his face, but I didn’t need to. I knew who it was by the way he stood silently with his hands on his hips and his feet braced apart. I kept still, hoping he hadn’t noticed me or the mingo, who’d now fallen silent and froze like a statue.
“What are you doing back here, Justine?” His soft voice rumbled down my spine.
I blew out a breath. Freaking caught. I rose to my feet and dusted off my pants. “Hi, Nero.”
He took a step forward so one of the last rays of the setting sun cast a swatch of yellow light across his face. I tried not to look at the soft purple of his eyes as his gaze scanned my body. He frowned. “Are you okay?”
I cleared my throat. “Fine. Fine. Just … hanging out.”
He looked around before lifting a questioning nubbed brow. “Here?”
“Yeah, here.” I retorted. His calm demeanor rankled my nerves. Any of the other warriors would have told me to get back to my room or dragged me there, but not Nero. He had to … investigate. Ask questions. Pry. Always with the prying.
He didn’t react to my harsh tone. He never did. “Not much to look at back here but a wall.”
“I happen to think it’s a nice section of the wall.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
His lips twitched and he inclined his head. “It is.”
“Are you patronizing me?” I glared.
His eyes creased in the corners. “Never.”
I huffed. “Okay, well. I’m … done admiring the wall now.” I patted it with my palm and took a step forward. “So, I’ll be getting back to my room now.” Except I didn’t want to leave Nero here with the mingo. Any minute now, he’d notice the creature and the plate of food.
Outside these walls, he had strategically placed cameras he called his “eyes” to warn us of danger, but Nero’s own eyes were legendary. The damn Drix missed nothing. Smart as a whip and not as impulsive as some of the warriors like Sax and Xavy, Nero held his emotions close to his chest.
I swallowed, needing a plan to get him away from here before he spotted Mozart. It would break my heart to see the creature gone, and Bazel would be devastated. I took another step toward Nero, adding a sway to my hips that felt unnatural. “Do you… Want to come back to my room with me?” I tried to make my voice husky, but instead it just came out like a pack-a-day smoker’s.
Nero’s body tightened as I approached him, but that was his only reaction to my seduction attempt. “Do you need an escort?”
“Yes!” I blurted out.
The Night Kings had recently brought together all the remaining Drixonian