“Eat your own,” I clarify, but I’m smiling. I’m also feeling pretty good. Pretty loose. Some of my anxiety is wearing away from being around the others. I’m sure people are watching me and Skarr but I can’t find it in me to care too much. I bet the sah-sah has alcohol in it. I’ve also had enough that I no longer care, and I take another drink.

Skarr tries to take another bite of my potato, but I hand the whole thing to him and take the skin instead, drinking more of the wonderful juice. He seems to be having a great time, but then again, when is he not? He always looks eager to take on the world. I envy that. “How is it that you’re not upset?”

“Upset about what?”

I gesture at our surroundings. “At any of this. At being stranded on a planet where it snows on us all the time. I think I saw an iceberg float past in the ocean. That means it’s cold here all the time.”

He shrugs, tearing a chunk of meat off with his sharp teeth and chewing. “Why would I be upset about being on this world? Where else should I be?”

“Well, where’s home for you?”

He shrugs again. “I am a splice. I was created to be a fighter, a gladiator. I was not created to make a home.” His eyes flare with enthusiasm as he eyes me. “You are my home.”

I ignore that and focus on his earlier thoughts. “Speaking of…how is it that you’re not upset that you’re a clone? That you were made by someone in a lab somewhere and discarded?”

Skarr continues to eat, absently handing me a rib before he takes another, and we both chew as the welcoming party goes on around us. I watch him because the khui hums in my chest, and it makes his every movement fascinating. I like the way his lips brush against the meat, how his tongue snakes out to catch a droplet of grease, how his jaw clenches when he chews. He’s pretty, I realize.

He’s a jerk, but he’s pretty.

And he’s familiar, which means I don’t mind sidling a little closer to him when someone starts dancing near the fire. Sabrina pulls Kyth toward her and does a twirl, laughing as someone pulls out a drum and the antics pick up a bit. A blonde starts shaking her ass in front of a scarred blue alien, who has a baby in his arms and looks less than amused at her shenanigans, and there’s laughter everywhere. Everyone’s so happy.

It’s strange. This place is miserable, and yet they all look so very content.

I look over at Skarr again, and he’s licking his fingers. Oh. The tip of his tongue flicks out and I can’t be certain, but it might be forked. My eyes glaze over at that, and the khui in my chest hums even louder, making my breasts ache and a tingle start between my thighs. Someone said that resonance more or less drives you toward the person it wants you to mate with, and I get it. Because the more time I spend around Skarr, the less I hate him, and I don’t know if it’s resonance or reality. I do know that I’ve never shivered at the thought of a guy having a forked tongue but I’m shivering right now.

He licks his thumb with a smacking noise and tosses the bone on the plate, then glances over at me, nodding at the skin. I take another gulp and then pass it back to him. He drinks, too, and then shrugs. “I have always been.”

“Hmm?” His words don’t make sense to me, and I realize I’ve forgotten what we’re talking about. Oh. Clones.

“I do not fret over the past,” Skarr continues, gazing at the fire. “My mind is full of the present. I live in the here and now, because it might be all I get.” He shrugs and glances back to me. “I want to be the best, to get the best female, and to make the best children and make them first. Winning is all I know, and I wish to continue in triumph.”

I snatch the water skin from him, annoyed by his answer. “Is that all I am to you? A win?”

“Yes.” He pauses, eyeing me. “No. It is…not the same. It is that, but it is more than that.”

I can tell he’s confused by his own thoughts, and for some reason, I find this pleasing. I nudge him with my elbow. “Don’t strain yourself thinking.”

He snorts, watching as I take another slug from the skin. “I strain myself over nothing. It is true that you are the best female on this planet, and I am the best male, so it is natural that we should resonate and make the best babies. But…it is more than that, too.”

“In what way?”

Skarr shrugs, and it’s clear he’s unable to articulate what he’s feeling. “It just is.” He plucks another rib from the plate and holds it out to me. “You should eat more. You deserve this food as much as anyone else. Look at how much the others are eating, and you worked hard for several days as they all moped and cried. You tended the fire and gathered fuel and set up tents.”

He’s being a little unfair to the other women. If ever there was a situation that called for weeping and being paralyzed with fear, it’s this one. Even so, I’m flattered he noticed me, and I don’t know why. Usually I hate it when I get noticed, but today…I don’t mind. Maybe it’s the alcohol, because my head is definitely swimming, but I’m feeling rather flattered. “I just like staying busy.”

“Because you are smart and capable and strong,” he agrees, saying each word like a caress. “And you are allowed to eat as much as the others.”

“I’m good on food, but I wouldn’t say no to a bit more drink.” I give the near-empty waterskin a little shake.

“As my female wishes.” He gets up and speaks to someone, exchanging our empty skin for one bulging with drink. I notice a few people giving us friendly, inquisitive looks, but I’m not ready to be social just yet. I’ll stick with Skarr, because no one’s going to want his annoying ass around.

He returns with the drink and instead of sitting down next to me, pulls the empty plate from my hands and holds it enticingly. “It is noisy here. Do you want to get away for a bit?”

Magic words, because do I ever. I’ve been wanting to get away since we got here. I nod at him, and he gets to his feet and holds a hand extended down to me.

And maybe it’s the humming khui in my chest, or the fact that Skarr seems to listen to me when I’m anxious and miserable and wants to help, but the hand he holds out feels sweet and romantic. I put my good one in his, and my fingers are warmer than his. His eyes flare with appreciation as he notices this and he squeezes my hand tighter. “I am going to have to keep close to you for warmth,” he murmurs in my ear as I get to my feet. “You feel good.”

“It’s the alcohol,” I say, but I feel pretty good, too. I take another drink and stagger against him. The sah-sah tastes like juice but man, it hits hard.

“Come,” he says, with his arm around my waist to support me. “We will go somewhere quiet.”

Valmir smirks as we leave the group, but I’m feeling too loose to care. This is the first time in several days that I haven’t been beside myself with fear and doubt, and it’s all thanks to the alcohol…and Skarr.

He’s probably being nice just to get into my pants, but right now? Seems like a fair exchange.

Mentally, I picture handing my leather pants over to Skarr and him putting one heavy green leg through, and I chortle to myself.

“Perhaps you should slow down on the drink,” he says against my neck as we wobble away from the group. “I do not know how hard such things hit humans.”

“Did you get a lot of drinks as a gladiator?”

“Not many. Only when I won.”

“So you didn’t win a lot?”

“Bah, of course I did. What a foolish question.” He casts his gaze down the beach, looking for a spot. “Let us go near the string of huts along the cliffs, perhaps. I imagine it is safe there. We should avoid the water.”

“We should,” I agree. “The water is scary.”

“I have never seen this much water. Or this much ice. There is not a lot of call for ssethri splices to be taken to colder climates.”

“This place sucks,” I agree cheerfully. “You can say that, since we’re stuck here.”