That evening, the healer allowed her an escorted walk around the fleet so she could stand and stretch, which she appreciated even if she was surrounded by guards. Usually if she couldn’t get to her forest, she’d tire herself out until she collapsed from exhaustion, then she'd have no nightmares. An escorted walk wasn’t enough to tire her, but it felt good to stretch her muscles.

She learned it took at least two people to disable the magical dome across her cart—both had to access it from two outside corners of her cart at the same time. So if the beast had done it on his own, he either used it differently or had a specific skill the others didn’t.

The beast watched while she was eating again, but the look on his face had changed from a watchful intensity to a fierce hunger. It made her feel strange, like an anticipation building in her stomach. Thankfully, by the time she settled down to sleep, he disappeared, which she was grateful for. She didn’t know how to deal with him yet. He was a dangerous Alpha who would brutally kill to take over her empire, and he rejected her as his mate, yet he forced her to orgasm in front of him without touching her. Humiliation now seemed to be his form of torture and amusement.

The dome above her disappeared, and the wind rushed in.

Naya was almost expecting him this time. This was the third visit in a row. She'd wondered if he would visit her cart nightly until they arrived at wherever he was leading them. Considering she hadn't woken from a nightmare tonight—hadn’t even slept—but it seemed that didn’t matter. He was clearly trying to break her. He could try as hard as he liked but it wouldn’t happen.

She turned to him, and a jolt of surprise and arousal twisted through her.

He was dressed in a mixture of tough leathers and fabrics designed with sharp angles that had to be a style familiar to his people. It was striking. His hair was also pulled back into one long plait.

A gleam danced in his dark eyes. "If you're not going to sleep, you can entertain me. Come." He jerked his chin to something behind her.

When Naya turned, all she could see was the darkness of the desert. What kind of entertainment was she supposed to provide out there? She curled up tighter in the cart. “No, thank you.”

"Get up," he ordered, walking around her car and headed out into the darkness. “You say you’re a warrior. Let me see.”

Naya frowned, once again annoyed at his assertions about her warrior ability. She hadn’t fought or trained for a long time but she was her father’s daughter, and she didn’t like anyone disparaging her ability. She rose to her feet and glanced around. The camp was completely quiet, like it always was when he visited her cart. No one was awake, and only the slight stirrings of the nnirae could be heard over the wind. An urge gripped her to jump out of the cart and run in the opposite direction. But he’d already told her what would happen if she did that, and she still didn’t know where she was going.

"Come," he growled, almost too far away to see his outline.

The fabric around her neck began to tighten slowly. Naya climbed out of the cart and followed him away from the camp. The farther away she was from him, the tighter the band around her neck squeezed, so she tried to keep up. Just when she thought she'd lost him, a blue glow caught her eye.

The beast stood a few feet from her, holding the strange rock she’d seen before. It was huge, the size of his fist, and the blue light glimmered. He placed it on the ground between them. A burst of magic shot from it, spreading along the sand and turning it into a smooth, flat surface, and creating a huge dome over the two of them. The magical dome was brighter than the ones over the campfires, enough light to see the area it covered. She needed to figure out that rock; it would be the key to her escape.

"What—um. Why…," Naya stumbled over her words, unsure if she still wasn’t allowed to ask a question.

The beast held out a sword. “Strike me.”

Naya frowned. This was a strange request. Was this an excuse to kill or harm her? What if she actually killed him? What would happen to her then?

She glanced around them. The camp was at least one hundred feet away and almost invisible if not for the dome shimmers. There didn’t seem to be anyone patrolling the camp either. Where there no guards on watch? She thought back to the previous nights but she couldn’t remember. His people would certainly retaliate if she harmed him, and it wasn’t as though she could escape from the middle of the desert, even if she did get hold of the blue stone. “No, thank you.”

The beast watched her, amusement on his face. “I want to see for myself if you can strike me."

“I may harm you.”

Amusement spread on his face. “I doubt it.”

So fucking arrogant. Naya reached up and lifted the sword from him, weighing it in her favorite hand. It was a good quality sword with good weight. She glanced up at his weapon, a similar weapon but designed differently. “I haven’t trained in a long time.”

“That is your problem. The way your people boast about you means you should live up to their standards at all times. Otherwise you embarrass yourself and them.”

Fury burst in Naya’s gut and she straightened, mouth tightening. This bastard knew how to hit a fucking nerve. The beast let out a satisfied sound that made her stomach flutter, but she was too angry to register it.

“I like to know the name of the person I’m sparring with,” she said through gritted teeth, “so when I carve out their throat and leave them holding their own guts, I can find their next of kin.”

Hunger spread on the beast’s face and the whisper of a smile graced his lips. “Akoro.”

Akoro. Finally she had a name for her father.

Without a second’s hesitation, Naya darted forward, swinging for his neck.

He jerked back just in time, but Naya continued, slicing and swiping at him at an incredible speed, pushing him back toward the back of the dome. To his credit, Akoro didn’t make a sound. Not even a grunt left his throat as he dodged her blade across the dome. Reaching the far end of it, she was out of breath and her speed had slowed.

She paused, lowering the sword and was annoyed to see that she hadn’t even nicked him once. But her annoyance was reflected back in the contorted look on his face. She wasn't sure why he was annoyed, but she took pleasure in it. She lunged for him again and this time he raised his sword.

Their weapons clashed, ringing out across the dome. Naya quickly learned that he fought like a typical Alpha, with heavy-weighted blows and minimal dodging. She slipped into the pattern of attacks she usually used when she sparred with heavy-footed Alphas, and dashed in different directions, forcing him to move in ways he didn’t plan. It threw his balance off, making his heavy swings work against him, and with the speed they were moving, it altered his balance.

She lunged in and added blows and kicks, as much as she could manage in what she was wearing, but the Alpha proved to be more versatile on his feet than she’d first assumed. He dodged every single one of her attempts and defended with his sword when he felt like it. Her focus tightened as she sunk into the feel of their fight, and her attack became bolder and wilder. But no matter what she did, Akoro found a way to avoid being hit. His instincts were finely tuned and she got the feeling he wasn’t even trying hard, while she was dripping with sweat.

The air between them deepened, both of their scents flavored the dome with a sweet and pungent blend of aggression, arousal, alertness. It was impossible to deny that they both were affected by the fight. Naya could feel the slickness between her legs—every move the Alpha made, every bulge of his muscle was a marvel, a pure example of a strong and powerful male. But she forced her mind to focus—she couldn’t let that get in the way of winning.