by Ella Maven
We didn’t speak for a long time, and despite my weariness, I found that just lying with my mate seemed to fuel my energy. In her body and presence was where I found my strength.
Her hand drifted up my stomach to rest at the center of her chest. Her thumb flicked one of my nipple rings, and I gripped her hand. “I wouldn’t do that unless you want me inside you again.”
She huffed out an annoyed snort, but I caught the smile on her face. She peered up at me. “Did you mean what you said? About getting me pierced?”
“Of course, I meant it.”
She chewed on her lip. “Okay.”
“Did you mean what you said? That you’d do it for me?”
Her cheeks flushed, and she shifted her legs restlessly. Oh yeah, my mate liked the idea. “I did,” she said softly.
“As if I needed more motivation to get us home.”
She laughed and changed position until she was watching me with her chin propped up on a fist on my chest. “Are all Drixonians pierced?”
“All the males. Some females did, but males get pierced once they complete their warrior training. It’s a legendary symbol to our enemies we can endure pain, and we have kept the tradition.”
She lifted her brows. “You have a habit of showing your enemies your dick?”
I barked out a laugh so loud that some rodent scurried away below us in the brush. “That’s for our females, not our enemies.”
“So thoughtful, you Drixonian warriors.” She grinned.
I yawned. “It’s completely selfless.”
“Mmmhmmm.” Her eyes twinkled.
Val like this was the most beautiful. Happy, content, playful, and sated from my cock. I would have given anything right then to keep her this way. But we couldn’t let our guards down yet.
I sifted my hands through her hair. “As much as I want to talk with you and possibly ravage you a few more times, we both need to rest. We’ll need to set out before the sun is up.”
Val sighed, and I hated to see her expression darken with worry. “You’re right.” She rested her head on my chest. Her hand moved restlessly across my stomach before I grabbed it and laced our fingers together. Her breathing evened out shortly after, and I found sleep a few moments later, even as my mind whirled with thoughts of Kulks, pain, and my sweet mate in danger.
Fourteen
Sax
I woke with my mate in my arms, her even breaths wafting across my chest and her hands clutching mine. I knew we needed to rouse, to get going. The first rays of the sun were just beginning to peak above the horizon, casting a warm pinkish-orange glow on the landscape.
I ran my fingers down her back, smiling when she shivered. Her breathing hitched, then increased as her head rolled on my biceps. Blue eyes blinked sleepily, and she yawned as she scrubbed her hands over her face. “I could so go for a coffee right now,” she murmured.
“I promise I’ll find you a coffee equivalent.” I kissed her again, then again, all over her face because I couldn’t resist.
She gave a sleepy little growl and shoved me away before covering her eyes with her forearm. “Stop being such a morning person. You’re one of those cheerful people that bounds awake and says stupid stuff like ‘the early bird gets the worm.’”
I nuzzled under her arm so I could see her eyes. “Is that a human saying?”
“Yeah, an annoying human saying.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means the first person awake gets whatever the best thing is. So, for birds, it’s a worm.”
“What do these birds do with worms?”
She arched a brow. “They eat them.”
“Okay, well then, the early pretty female gets the delicious tein bar.”
She laughed. “That’s not much incentive.”
“A tein bar or my cock.”
She laughed and gave me a playful shove. “Fine, I’m up.”
While Val munched on a tein bar and sipped some qua with a sleepy, annoyed expression, I left her and climbed higher into the tree. When I reached the highest branch that could still support my weight, I peered west.
The Kulks had rested for the night. I could see small clusters of them, motionless as they slept, and the smoking remains of a few fires. If we moved now at the same pace as yesterday, my plan to overtake them and cross the river would still be a go.
I turned quickly to climb down but gasped when my head suddenly swam. For a moment, the world felt like it was spinning, and I sucked in a breath, remaining motionless. Eventually my vision cleared, but the moment caused dread to swirl in my gut. What the hell was that?
Maybe I just needed to eat. I continued my climb down, ignoring the twinge in my leg. Slipping into place at Val’s side, I drank some qua and stuffed a few tein bars in my mouth.
Once we descended from the tree, I picked up our pack and asked, “Do you want to walk or ride?”
She faced me with flushed cheeks and a determined gleam in her eye. “I can walk. Or jog.”
I gripped her hand, and we headed northwest toward the Triad river. I estimated we’d be there by midday. I didn’t tell her, but I was glad she had chosen to walk. The pain in my leg increased with every step, and I had to clench my jaw to keep from moaning. Fleck, it hurt, and the pain had traveled down to my foot. I needed medis as soon as possible.
Eventually there were signs we were close to the river. The ground became damp, the scent of moisture was in the air, and there was a distant sound of rushing qua. At another time—if we weren’t in a hurry, and if I wasn’t in pain—I’d tell Val about the river’s multiple tributaries, relate details about the foliage and wildlife enriched the western half of the continent.
But today I had to concentrate on getting us to the section where the qua was shallow enough for me to power across, despite the current. I would need all my strength to carry her across, and once we made it to the other side, it’d be a steep climb down.
Gritting my teeth, I trudged forward, each step like a thousand blades stabbing my thigh. Val’s eyes were on me, watchful of my aura. I’d done what I could to dull my link to her so she wouldn’t sense my pain, but she had begun to grow suspicious. I’d begun to sweat profusely, despite the cooler air.
The sound of the qua drew closer, and finally we burst through the last line of brush and onto the riverbank.
Val gasped as she gazed out over the rushing qua. “Okay, when you said river you meant river. This thing has to be half a mile wide.”
I wasn’t sure what that measurement meant, so I just nodded.
“And it’s moving fast. How the heck are we getting across?” she asked.
I pointed to a spot where the rocky bed was visible. “We can cross there. I’ll have to carry you. The current is too swift. When we get the center, I’ll have to swim a bit, but it won’t be for long.”
Her eyes were huge and round as she clutched my hand. “That current looks deadly.”
Her aura trembled, fear dulling the brilliant color. I gripped her face in my palms. “I promise I can get us across.”
She nodded, straightening her spine, and putting on a brave face. “I know you can.”
I nudged her. “Why is your aura scared?’
“Because that’s just me.” She sighed. “I worry. But I trust you. And I’ll do whatever I can to make this easiest for you.”
I led her to what seemed to be the best spot to enter the qua. After handing her the pack, I bent so she could climb onto my back.
“Just hold on,” I said as her arms and legs wrapped around me. “Try to keep your weight balanced and don’t move too much.”
“Okay.” Her voice was a bit breathless. “What’s there?” She pointed in the distance, where the qua rapidly gained speed before dropping off the cliff.
“The falls,” I said.
“The falls?” she nearly squeaked.
“Farther south, the terrain steadily declines into the western plains, but this far north there are still mountains and cliff
s. And so…we have qua falls. I’ll get us to the other side, and then we’ll climb down toward the plains.”
“Climbing,” she grumbled, seemingly to herself. “Great. That’s better than in a barrel over alien Niagara Falls, I guess.”
I waded into the qua and sucked in a breath as the cool liquid rushed over my heated thigh. For a moment, the pain abated.
Val, ever the observant one, tensed. “Everything okay? You gasped.”
“Everything’s fine. Just getting used to the qua temperature.”
She didn’t answer me, and her aura shimmered with worry. I clenched my jaw and surged forward on my trek across the river.
We were nearly halfway across when I heard them. At first, I chastised myself for imagining things, but then the sounds grew stronger. The footfalls heavier. The trees lining the bank shook.
“Sax…” Val’s tight voice whispered in my ear.
Then I knew. I wasn’t imagining it, and my suspicions were confirmed when Kulks emerged from the trees like a swarm of hunners.
“Fleck,” I hissed, just as the largest Kulk raised his solar gun and aimed it at me. We were almost out of their range. If I could just get to the middle, we’d be safe. They wouldn’t be able to follow us to the other—
I stopped dead in my tracks as my gaze fixed on the opposite bank. Along the shore, the one I’d thought meant freedom, a dozen or so Kulks stood, solar guns raised.
“Oh my God.” Val’s arms tightened, and her body quaked. “They’re everywhere!”
I had no idea how the Kulks had reached the other side of the river. No area of the river was shallow enough for them to cross on foot in heavy armor. Unless they’d reached the western plains, crossed where the river split, and then doubled back…
It didn’t matter. We were trapped. They likely wanted Val alive, but they probably had orders to kill me. Panic welled in my chest, spurred by the fear pulsing in Val’s aura.
I gazed down the river, my cora beating against my rib cage with the fury of a thousand warriors. The only way was downstream.
I gripped Val’s thigh and tugged until she hugged me from the front, her arms clasping my shoulders and her legs around my waist. Her eyes were wet, hair wild, and yet she looked at me with so much trust.
“Hang on and hold your breath,” I said.
“Sax!” she cried, just as I took off at a sprint and dove into the qua.
When I surfaced, I gasped in a lungful of air. The Kulks must have realized what I was doing because shouts sounded from both banks. The qua sizzled and hissed as they fired their solar guns wildly, trying to hit me as the current swept Val and I away.
I wrapped my arms more tightly around Val. This was going to hurt like a motherflecker, but I’d protect her human body from the worst of it.
The qua deepened as we were swept downstream. I couldn’t touch the bottom, but I was able to push off jutting rocks to avoid crashing into them. Val sputtered and gulped air as we bobbed along with the current.
It soon became louder. Angrier. The Kulks couldn’t keep up and the sound of guns became distant. The qua began to surge over our heads. We were rapidly approaching the cliff. I shoved Val’s head against my neck, then curled around her body, hoping my bulk protected her.
“Be brave, my lioness,” I shouted into her ear, just as we reached the edge and hurtled over.
For a moment, we seemed to be suspended in the air, the qua spray all around us. Val’s nails dug into my scales, her breath becoming a shuddering scream. And then we dropped to the bubbling depths below.
Val
I was getting a little tired of this free-falling sensation. With Sax’s body wrapped around me, I couldn’t make sense of my organs. My stomach felt somewhere in my skull and my brain was in my pinkie finger and my heartbeat in my knee.
I tried to scream, but no sound came out. All I could think was that we were going to die. I caught a glimpse of the river below, the rocks jutting up from the livid whitewater. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on, sending out a last-minute prayer to karma and Fatas to protect us, even though this seemed like suicide.
We hit the qua with a smack, and the shock of it was like a train hitting my body at full speed. I opened my mouth to scream or suck in air, and all I got was a mouthful of qua.
On instinct, I spread my limbs to keep myself from sinking and opened my eyes. Through a cascade of bubbles, I latched onto the sight of shiny blue scales and black hair. I reached out for Sax, and panic slammed into me when his limp arm floated away.
“Sax!” I screamed underwater like a crazy person. I pushed through the qua, swimming my way toward him until I wrapped my legs around his body. His eyes were closed, and a trickle of blood leaked from a gash in his temple. “Sax!” I screamed again.
Wrapping my arms under Sax’s armpits, I kicked, trying to move toward the surface, following bubbles and a distant source of light. We broke free from the qua at last and I heaved massive gulps of air into my lungs as I tugged Sax’s limp body toward what I hoped was the shore. I glanced around desperately, one arm clutching Sax’s massive chest. I exhaled a sobbing breath when my gaze fixed on the bank and a small slope where I might be able to drag him out.
When my feet finally touched a sandy bottom, I almost wept with relief. With a lot of stumbling and grunting, I hauled Sax out with my hands under his armpits. When the qua lapped at only his feet, I fell onto my ass, taking a moment to catch my breath before I scrambled to my knees beside his body.
His chest rose and fell. “Oh, thank Karma,” I muttered. “Thank you Fatas. Thank you everyone.”
I couldn’t believe we’d survived that fall. You’re alive because Sax sacrificed himself for you and took the brunt of the fall, dummy.
I listened to his heartbeat, which was strong, but he was still unconscious. I glanced around frantically, suddenly remembering we had freaking enemies after us. We seemed to be in the clear for the moment. I couldn’t see or hear any Kulks, not that I was confident in my ability to hear them. With their armor, it should take them some time to reach us from the top of the cliff.
“Wake up, Sax,” I muttered, running my hands over his body. “Please, wake up.”
I checked for broken bones, lumps on his head. Other than the cut on his temple, he seemed to be intact. But then my gaze reached his left thigh, the one he’d been favoring. It looked bigger than his right, swollen, and despite the coolness of the qua, was hot to the touch.
Finding a tear in his pants, I wiggled my fingers inside the hole, stretching it wider until the material ripped down the center. I glanced down at his exposed skin—
Bile rose in my throat and I gagged, tears immediately springing to my eyes. His entire leg was a sickly black. The area where he’d told me a branch had poked him was now a puss-filled crater, the edges ragged. I hesitantly touched it, and the infected heat coming off his skin made me hiss.
He’d been running on this for two days—two fucking days! —and he hadn’t said anything. I angrily wiped away tears before reaching for our drenched pack. I didn’t think there was anything inside to treat his wound, but I had to do something, anything to help him.
A groan reached my ears, and I peered into Sax’s face as he squinted, his eyes blinking open, the irises nearly black and hazy with pain. He licked his lips and peered around us, focusing on the waterfall in the distance.
He grinned at me, but the action was forced. “Good job getting me out of the qua. The fall hit me harder than I thought it would.”
“The fall hit you harder?” I spat. “The fall? How about you tell me why your leg looks like a war zone? You told me it was just a scratch from a branch! Was it poisonous? Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
He lifted onto his elbows with a wince to see his pant leg ripped open. His color paled, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed onto the ground again.
“Sax?” I gripped his face. “Are you okay?”
He opened his eyes again, but I didn’t see the nor
mal alertness I’d come to know from Sax. He blinked rapidly, and he seemed confused. “I—” He frowned. “Fleck, I can’t think.”
I peered again at the cut on his temple, worried about a brain injury, but it had already clotted and stopped bleeding. There was no lump around it. “Did you hit your head? What’s wrong?”
He covered his face with his palm. “No, I didn’t hit my head.”
“Then what’s wrong? Sax, please.”
“Borhan,” he whispered softly, dropping his hand to the ground with a flop. The sound of that vile Uldani’s name sent a bolt of panic down my spine. Sax peered up at me, his brow furrowed and his eyes fogged with pain. “Back at the lab, he stuck me with something before I killed him.”
I had to have heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, what? He stuck you with something?”
Sax licked his lips, and I held some qua to his mouth for him to drink. After he swallowed down a few gulps, he sighed heavily. “Yeah, a needle. I don’t know what was in it. But he got me. I figured it was nothing.”
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his leg. “It’s not nothing. It’s so not nothing. How long has it been like this?” He didn’t answer me, but the muscles in his jaw ticked. That told me all I needed to know. He’d been dealing with this for a while. I closed my eyes briefly and hung my head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What difference would it have made?” he said. “I need medis, and we don’t have it. All I could do was get us home as quick as possible.”
“I wouldn’t have let you carry me. I would have pulled my own weight. We’re a team, Sax. You told me that. And you can’t hide stuff from this like me.”
“You were worried enough. I didn’t want to worry you more.”
I hated how angry I was getting, but the helplessness of our situation was combining with my fear, twisting it into an ugly fury that needed an outlet. “Why? Did you think my weak human heart couldn’t hand it?”
His eyes went wide, and his nostrils flared. “That has nothing to do with it.”
