Hard Sands: Warlords of Atera

by Kyle, Celia

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nakan stayed silent for a time, merely enjoying these moments as he led Kalinda along the mountain path. The feelings of jealousy her words caused deep within him still lingered. Hearing she had once been promised to another… He knew the emotion was foolish and yet it persisted. Even after she admitted she had not cared for this other being as one would a mate, he could not shake the emotions. Her plan had been one much like the Right of Ka’Kode, he supposed. And it was not as if the other male was on Atera.

  He still could not completely banish the jealousy that had been stirred within him at the thought that his mate had almost belonged to another.

  Her words did convince him further than Kalinda had been sent by the goddess. Surely, Eana had known Kalinda was not meant to be bound to this other male. The goddess then redirected Kalinda’s ship, causing a catastrophe that led to their crash onto the Ateran sands. She had even ensured that Nakan was nearby at the time, that he would be among the first warriors to reach the vessel so he found and claimed Kalinda as his own.

  Such a sequence of events could not be mere coincidence. His kode might need more time to be convinced of the truth—he understood that she did not believe in the goddess or believe in Her ways as his people did—but Nakan had no doubts. Kalinda had been meant for him. She was his better half. It seemed fitting—to his mind—that she was both engineer and scientist. His kode would be the voice of logic and reason he needed in his life. Her knowledge would benefit all of the Ateran people as was befitting the Lady of the Hard Sands.

  They soon came upon a more difficult portion of the mountain path, the previously gradual incline turning steep and treacherous.

  He stepped aside to allow her to pass him. “Move ahead of me, my kode.”

  She lifted a single brow. “Why? Let me guess, you want to check out my ass while I’m climbing.”

  Nakan stammered out a reply. His thoughts had not even gone in that direction though now they did. “I… No… I did not… I assure you…”

  Kalinda laughed, eyes lighting up with her chuckle, and she reached for him, her palm gliding over his bald, scaly head. “Relax, I’m teasing you.”

  He shivered when she stroked his head. He did not know if human females like Kalinda understood how sensitive the scales on a male’s head truly were, but her touch thrilled him. He stared at her, growing desire consuming him. “Perhaps I was right,” he murmured.

  “Right about what?” Both her eyebrows lowered to a furrow between her eyes.

  Nakan slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, tongue flicking out to gather some of her delicious scent. “I believe you are meant to be the cunning mind to my fierce heart.”

  She blinked, lips parting while her eyes widened. “Oh my… Nakan…”

  He met her stare without hesitation and caressed her golden hair. Being this close to his kode stirred intense feelings within him once more. He was filled with the urge to complete the mating ritual, to take her beneath the twin suns on the mountain path. Take her as he should have done the first moment he met her.

  With any other female, any Ateran female, the bonding would have occurred in the Heart Sands during Ulmur. They would have retired to a private tent the moment they found each other and commenced with the mating that his body burned to embrace. Battling the urge daily was the most difficult task he had ever been challenged with, but he knew he had to hold himself back. For her. Until she was ready to be his in truth.

  Meeting her stare, he could not help but give in to at least some of his urges. Remembering the “kiss” she had given him before, he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Kalinda tipped her head back and melted into his arms, not pulling away when their lips touched. He held her close, savoring the taste of her, invigorated by her warm body pressed snugly to his. She was far warmer than any Ateran, a trait that aroused him and made him burn for her rather than dousing the flames of his need. Her soft curves filled him with carnal desires that spread down his body to gather between his legs until he felt his body stirring within his mating pouch.

  If only…

  Easing the kiss, he forced himself to back away from his tempting kode. He did not know how much longer he could control himself, and as much as he wished to hold Kalinda all day, he knew it would lead to him craving other things—things she did not wish to experience yet. He pressed his lips together and pushed his desire down, demanding his body submit to his chaste desires.

  Kalinda looked up at him through her long eyelashes, a small smile tipping the corner of her lips as she studied him. “Well, where’s that thing you wanted to show me?”

  He mentally breathed a relieved sigh. She did not object to his forwardness. Perhaps she truly enjoyed the small bit of shared passion. Perhaps…

  “Around the next bend.” He returned to guiding her up the more treacherous portion of the mountain trail. A few rocks slipped from beneath her feet, but he kept a strong grip on her to prevent her from falling to the harsh rocks below. Remembering the danger of the cave-in, he made a mental note to have a team inspect the paths for signs of danger.

  Nakan did not believe that Chaze’s accusations of his incompetence were founded in truth, but it was true that ensuring the safety of the people of the Hard Sands fell on Nakan’s shoulders. Even if he could not yet use the Stone Sense, at least he could order his males to perform maintenance on pathways and tunnels.

  No, he did not believe Chaze, but the male’s words did make him wonder if he truly had been somewhat negligent. These past days had been so consumed with Kalinda and his worries over the political situation that he had not had time to think of much else. Maybe he needed to re-center himself. Take his mind off his worries and sexual frustrations and focus on the day-to-day tasks that must be completed. When they returned to the city he would speak with Aarom about prioritizing tasks that had fallen to the wayside such as tunnel inspections and trade reports. These boring and repetitive tasks he supposed were exactly what he required after suffering through the strain of drama and tension that had been battering him.

  “You’re quiet again. Something on your mind?” Kalinda’s voice floated back to him on the breeze.

  “Nothing but you, my kode.” Nakan knew his words to be a lie, but only a small one. He did not wish to burden her with his worries. She already handled enough stress of adapting to life on a new world, learning new rituals, and familiarizing herself with the customs of the Ateran people. He would not add to her worries by putting his own concerns to voice.

  Kalinda flashed him a small frown and he suspected she knew he kept things from her. He hoped she would not become offended—angry. He wished to be an attentive and caring male and knew that secrets could cause tension between a warrior and his kode. He swore to himself that he would make it up to her soon.

  They crested another rise, one that looked out over a broad, flat expanse of stone that was dominated on one side by a massive cliff face rising far above them. He gestured down to the cliff. From their position, he could barely make out the faint carvings etched into its sides.

  “What is that?” Kalinda narrowed her eyes in a squint as she tried to make out the carvings from a distance.

  Nakan raised his chin with pride. “The Ancestral Cliffs.”

  Kalinda gave him a questioning look, but he decided it was easier to show his kode rather than explain.

  “Come,” he led her forward. “This is an important custom among my people. I will show you.”

  He took her hand and led her across the shelf, his gaze on their destination. The weight of his ancestors looked down upon him and he hoped they would be filled with pride and approve of the alien female he had taken as his mate.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kalinda followed Nakan, attention flitting between watching where she stepped and the strange markings on the cliff. Her eyes couldn’t make sense of anything at first, but as she drew nearer, she recognized a pattern to the carvings. Portions of the etche
s repeated here and there almost as if it were… writing. The Ateran language?

  “What does it mean? What does it say?” She scanned the wide length of the cliff-face.

  There were writings across the entire length from the far left to about three quarters of the space. There were a number of strange symbols she assumed were words in the Ateran language, many of them connected by lines carved into the stone. Some had violent slashes across the words, as if they had been hacked into oblivion with a sword, though she couldn’t imagine why someone would deface the beauty of the cliff in that way. She wished her TransComm Implant had been designed to translate alien writing in addition to spoken language, but that was beyond its capabilities.

  Nakan gestured to the symbols on the cliff. “These are the names of my ancestors. My predecessors. The former warlords of the Hard Sands. Tradition states the name of the warlord’s mate be carved alongside his. Then the names of their young once born. It is a record of my people going back a thousand generations.”

  Kalinda slowly scanned the names, awe at the massive scope suffusing her. She didn’t know anything about her own ancestors other than her grandparents and a few scattered stories about her great-grandparents. Going back more than a few generations, she knew nothing at all. She supposed she could have done research if she desired, but it had never seemed important.

  Now, seeing the vast family tree that Nakan’s forbears had recorded… She couldn’t help but be humbled. Nakan came from a family with a long, deep history. She couldn’t begin to imagine the stories and lives behind each name carved into stone.

  “This was my sire.” Nakan pointed to a name near the end of the long list. “And my life-giver. This is our family line going back ten generations. “He gestured to a long series, one that stretched across the cliff, and each group connected with lines similar to the way humans drew a family tree.

  “What about this?” She pointed to a name further back—one slashed with a deep gouge in the stone. There were connecting lines further back along the cliff, but none coming forward to Nakan’s family.

  “That was Warlord Chuto. My ancestor, Warlord Nagira, defeated him in battle ten generations ago, and our family became rulers of the Hard Sands. Leadership has passed down through our line ever since.”

  Kalinda frowned as she studied the deep gouges across Warlord Chuto’s name. It seemed disrespectful to mar the name of the dead in such a way. But—she had to remind herself—Earth sensibilities didn’t have a place on an alien planet. “So, every time a name is crossed out,” she gestured at a handful of deeply marred names, “that means a warlord was defeated?”

  Nakan nodded. “Leadership is passed from sire to son as long as there has been no challenge to a warlord’s rule. When a warlord passes—in battle or from natural causes—the lesser warlords are given the opportunity to issue a challenge in an attempt to claim leadership. When my sire died a few stepped forward, but none matched me in skill.” Nakan straightened, posture speaking of the pride that filled him. “I must also face future challengers who invoke the Right of Ka’Eana—the Blood Challenge. Should I been stricken down, he would become warlord and all that I have would then be his.”

  Kalinda thought of Chaze and she wondered if he would go so far as to make such a challenge. “And if you are never challenged, or at least never defeated, your son would rule someday?”

  “Correct. Or should you bear only female young, the warrior who claims her as his kode would become heir to the Hard Sands.”

  Kalinda looked away, lips pressed together and jaw clenched. She didn’t like it when Nakan made such assumptions, speaking as if their mating was a foregone conclusion. Sure, she was coming to accept her attraction to him and there was a certain appeal to the idea of being his mate, but she wasn’t ready to commit. Yet to hear Nakan speak of their relationship, they were already destined to be together forever.

  She wondered if he had already picked out names for their theoretical children. Thinking of children, she didn’t even know if humans and Aterans could conceive kids. Not all humanoid species were compatible, at least not without some help from a geneticist. Assuming she agreed to marry him, it was entirely possible they might not be capable of bearing offspring.

  She didn’t voice her thoughts, though. She was not willing to upset Nakan at the moment. Instead, she returned her attention to the cliff wall. She pointed to the most recent name. “Your father? What was he like?”

  Nakan stared at his father’s name, silent for a time. “He was strong and wise. He kept us from war for many years. There has always been conflict among the territories—internal strife among the provinces or skirmishes between the Hard Sands, Red Sands, or Living Sands. Before I was born, there had been a lengthy war between my people and those of the Red Sands. Peace was eventually forged and since then, we have done our best to remain diplomatic, engage in trade and maintain peace. But there are always obstacles we must overcome.”

  “What kind of obstacles?”

  “Resources.” He made a gesture to the east. “The Red Sands mine for the most valuable metals used in the crafting of metals, building of hovertrains, and any other technology.” He gestured to the south. “The Living Sands is the most fertile territory, filled with abundant food, and the ever-precious Healing Sands.” He then swept his arm across the mountains around them. “Our greatest export are the stones we mine—particularly the deahmid. Whenever possible, we conduct fair trade with the other territories in exchange for food, metals and tools, but fair trade is not always easy.”

  He shook his head, sadness overtaking his features. “Our deahmid stones grow scarce. Until I discover a new deposit, our most precious resource grows thin. This can lead to problems on both sides of the borders. The Red Sands occasionally oversteps their bounds, going against the wishes of the warlord to raid the Hard Sands. They take what they need by force. Then my own people may retaliate, leading to violent skirmishes into the Red Sands. During my sire’s time, such conflicts were rare. He was capable of keeping the lesser warlords under control and ensured that trade thrived across the sands. All were satisfied. With resources now scarce, tensions rise, and I am not certain peace can be maintained.

  Kalinda frowned and crossed her arms. “I don’t understand. They’re your people. Can’t you order them to stop fighting?”

  Nakan’s challenging glare focused on her. “On your world, do the people always obey their leader without question?”

  Kalinda wrinkled her nose. “No, I guess not. Some people think they know better than their leaders and take matters into their own hands.”

  He tipped his head. “As it is here. Should the situation continue to devolve, it is possible one of the lesser warlords will challenge me for leadership. Even if they do not, some would work from the shadows and do what they feel is best for them and the people of their province. Others will lash out in anger and fear, turning to violence because it is all they know. That is only on this side of the border. If the Red Sands strikes first, even my most level-headed warlords will retaliate. Either to defend their territory or to send a message that the Red Sands cannot attack without consequence. If we did nothing and allowed our lands to be invaded, it would embolden them, and the attacks would worsen.”

  “And their warlord can’t do anything either?” She remembered briefly seeing the red-hued warlord of the Red Sands—Drazan—during the first days after the humans crashed. Drazan had been the first to discover the humans’ ship. He had taken Kalinda and the others to a place called the Heart Sands where they had been cared for though they may as well have been prisoners. When the Aterans from the territories had parted ways, a handful of women had been brought to the Hard Sands. The others were divided between the Living Sands and Red Sands. Kalinda hadn’t been able to contact the other humans to see if they were all right. She only hoped they were being well-treated in the other territories. Though if Nakan was correct about the threat of war, it was possible none of them were truly safe.


  “Drazan of the Red Sands is a strong leader, but like many warriors, he is volatile and hot-headed. I would not say he wishes for war, but he is not as diplomatic as my father was and as I would like to be.” He shook his head. “If we are to avoid war consuming the sands, I believe I must lead the diplomatic front. However, I am not sure where to begin…”

  He turned away, head hanging. Kalinda hesitated, unsure how to comfort him in that moment, but the depth of the need to soothe him spurred her into action. She reached for him, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

  Nakan stepped away from beneath her touch and straightened before turning to the cliff wall. “I apologize. I did not mean to burden you with such issues. That was not the purpose in coming here.”

  Kalinda opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that there was no need for an apology, but she closed it, choosing to remain silent. She didn’t know what words would make a difference now.

  “This is my name.” Nakan brushed his fingers over the most recent carving on the wall. It stood alone, connected by a thin line to the names of his parents. “It has stood alone since the day of my birth, awaiting the name of the one who will stand by my side for the remainder of my life. For the name of my mate.”

  Kalinda stayed silent out of frustration now. She wanted to protest but somehow knew that putting voice to her objections would only break Nakan’s heart. He had suffered so much already—the loss of his parents, inheriting a throne that only brought conflict and tension, and the prospect of war.

  How could she stand in the shadows of his ancestors and tell him that she wouldn’t be his mate? She wanted to ask for more time, to make him understand that this was too much for her to cope with, but the words remained lodged in her throat. He seemed to need this so badly, almost as if adding her name alongside his would be a sign from his goddess. As if their bonding would give him the inspiration he needed to lead the Hard Sands Aterans into a new age, one filled with peace instead of bloodshed that threatened to overwhelm the lands.