Sure enough, a red and black head bursts through the foliage, and I tense, glancing behind me at the crashing waterfall. Would they follow me in? Would I be a wet tasty morsel instead of a dry one? Maybe they’d prefer that, like a cat I had growing up refused to eat anything but canned wet food, the diva.

Or would the current from the waterfall bash me to smithereens against the sharp rocks jutting into the water?

So many fun options on this planet.

The second Crigomar appears, and Kanuz spreads his arms out wide, like he’s chasing a pet dog back from something.

Adrenaline and lack of food must be making me punchy, because I laugh.

“What?” he asks, yelling over the sound of the water.

“I just… Do you think that’s going to work?”

He shoots me an injured look, then immediately goes taut.

Two Suevans appear from the edge of the jungle, their energy rifles at their sides. One has an energy knife slung across his hip, and my fingers itch to take it.

The weirdest thing though? They don’t look worried about the Crigomar. I straighten in surprise. One of the Suevans pats the nearest Crigomar’s stomach, and the dinosaur whuffs. Whuffs! Like a damn horse.

“What the fuck?”

The other Suevan points at me, and I can’t hear what they’re saying over the water, and I sure as shit can’t read Suevan lips.

They holster their weapons, smiling broadly at us.

“Who are they?” I ask Kanuz, caught between relief and the worry this is a trap.

“Southerners.”

I squint at them, the waterfall misting my back making me shiver. “How can you tell?”

“They have redder abdomens… and they are controlling the Crigomar.”

“Really?” I can’t see any difference, but whatever. “Wait. Doesn’t that mean they’re hunting us?”

One beckons, the other raising a fist. Kanuz returns the gesture, and I realize it must be some kind of greeting. They point at me again, their faces full of wonder.

Oh, yeah. My newfound bioluminescence.

“I guess we’re about to find out if you were right about the temple treasure,” I say.

Kanuz shoots me a dark look, worry clear on his face. He slings an arm around my shoulders, and we walk together towards the newcomers—and the Crigomar.

A rope of saliva stretches from one of the dinosaur’s sharp teeth, and its diamond pupils contract as I get closer. It makes an odd keening noise, and I recoil instinctively.

“No wonder they have been impossible to control today,” the nearest alien says. Kanuz’s fingers flex, talons outstretched. “Look at her.”

“What happened to you, little human female?” the second alien says, not unkindly.

They’re both staring at me with open fascination, and I glare at them. “Well, for one, your dinosaurs want to eat me.”

Kanuz makes a startled noise.

The nearest alien looses a laugh, and the other one bites his cheeks as though he’s trying not to.

“The Crigomar are not going to eat you.”

Kanuz seems as surprised as I am by that news.

“Oh, really? Is that why they tried to eat us only…” I falter, unsure of how much time has passed since we fled into the temple ruins. “A few days ago they did!”

“No, they did not. And that explains why we could not find them.” He exchanges a weary glance with the other Suevan, who still seems on the verge of laughter.

“Find us?” Kanuz says, and there’s none of the easygoing male that’s been quick to laugh with me the last few weeks. No. This Kanuz drips condescension and command, every inch of his body transformed into someone I hardly recognize.

This is Kanuz, Prince of Sueva. I blink. I like this Kanuz, too.

“What do you mean, find us? Do you know who I am? Do you see her? Do you know what that light means?”

“Of course we know who you are, Prince. We may be working together with Warlord Draz, but we are not going to bow and scrape to you. And as far as the princess, that light means she ingested a large amount of Nidoth. Enough that she’ll likely glow for years.”

“I give it seven to ten,” the other Suevan adds, a speculative look on his face. “Did she bathe in it?”

I bark a laugh. “Nidoth?”

“Yes, pretty human, Nidoth. It’s what we use to help train our Crigomar.” His green taloned hand stands out on the black and red hide of the dinosaur. “It’s a light trigger. They respond to it like lures. Only thing that works when they’re freshly hatched. It’s an ancient formula we have kept secret, passed down by the handmaidens of the many-faced-goddess herself. We make it in small batches, as it is time intensive and hard to find the ingredients. The only real function for it is training the Crigomar to respond to commands when they are young.”

“That’s why they’ve been chasing you. Once they get old enough, they don’t need it anymore, but with you radiating it like that…” He scratches his chin. “I am relieved to know that it was not a sign they had slipped our control completely.”

The Crigomar whuffs in response, and I stare up at the big animal, whose gaze is still fixed on me. Kanuz’s arm slips lower, around my waist, his fingers just under my breast. It’s possessive, and he juts his chin out aggressively at the southern Suevans.

“So you do not recognize this as a symbol of the goddess? Her glowing skin?” There’s a faint hint of confusion and disappointment in his voice. “Is this not a sign that human females are meant to be here?”

Both males shuffle, distinctly uncomfortable. “About that. After we met a human female, we are not so opposed to them any longer.”

I blow out a huge breath, sagging against Kanuz. That’s a damn relief to hear. So glad I’m not going to be fed to a dino, after all. Surviving Jurassic Park, one alien at a time, that’s me.

“But her glowing skin… the gift of the goddess—” He breaks off. He doesn’t say it, but I know what he’s thinking. All that fucking work… and for what?

The Southern Suevans were already convinced to join our side.

“The glowing skin is lovely, to be sure, Princess. We mean no disrespect.” They glance at me nervously, then away, like they’re afraid Kanuz might smack them around if they look at my Tinkerbell-sparkling-self too long. “Useful, if you knew how to train a Crigomar.”

“Honestly,” I take a deep breath, pausing, “I’m relieved.”

Kanuz stares at me, something like shock on his face. “It is my turn to apologize, my flower. I did not consider how you felt about this.”

“Hey.” I shrug, grinning at him. “It all turned out for the best. Now I don’t have to do anything but glow, no pressure at all.”

He bows his head. “I should not have made you feel pressured in the first place.”

“Kanuz,” I say, then pull his head to mine, touching our foreheads together. “It’s okay. I’m relieved, but I would have done it. If it would have helped, I would have done it.”

“I am truly the luckiest male, to have a wife such as you.”

“I won’t argue there,” I say, winking, and start to lean forward, wanting to kiss him, wanting to—

“Warlord Draz is sending for more human females for us,” one of the Southern Suevan interrupts. “He will be thrilled to know you are both safe, as will his Ni-Kee.”

“Ni-Kee… Niki?! You’ve seen Niki?” My throat closes up, emotion choking me. Kanuz squeezes my shoulder. “Is she okay? Is everyone okay?” I step closer, out of Kanuz’s grip. The Crigomar nearest me lowers his head, and hot breath cascades over my head. Saliva drips onto my shoulder, and the beast nudges me gently with a giant nose.

Caught between horror and fascination, I stare up at it, momentarily forgetting my question. Hard to focus with a red T-Rex acting like a dog who wants to be petted. I scratch under its chin, and it makes the strangest sound, somewhere between a purr and a low whine.

“That one is only going to respond to her now,” the alien says forlornly. “You’ll have to take it as a mating gift, Prince.”