by Mary Auclair
“Your place was not an easy one to fill. I would be lying if I said I will miss being the Commander in Chief.” Arlen smiled strenuously, obviously as ill at ease as Karian with the conversation.
“How is your mate? You must have younglings by now. Is your family house close to Mother and Father’s?” Karian immediately regretted his words as Arlen’s face closed up.
Images of his brother’s mating, of the painful fight he had had with Arlen just moments before he’d mated the beautiful female he had chosen came to his mind, but Karian pushed them down. He wanted to forget the words spoken in anger, the hurt and betrayal on Arlen’s face.
“Maral is well, thank you, brother.” Arlen looked away. “We have not been blessed with younglings as yet, but there is still hope.”
A heavy silence descended on them. Seconds piled on each other until the weight of the unsaid words between them began to asphyxiate Karian. He had to say something, anything. “Rose was a handful, I guess.” Karian chuckled, and immediately regretted it as pain ricocheted along his bones.
“She’s a hell-cat, that’s for sure.”
Arlen’s face split in a large smirk, lighting his eyes with true amusement. The tension lifted, and Karian felt the old link between him and his brother spring back, solid as ever. The years might have passed, and an old wound might still ooze blood, but Arlen was his brother and nothing could shake what tied them together.
“She bit Khal. The poor fool had to go to medical. That will teach him to be cocky around females.”
“Khal is with you?” Karian blinked, frustrated at the confusion he found himself in. “He must have passed his Rite now.”
“It’s been two years last month,” Arlen answered soberly. “He’s a good warrior, but he needs to learn discipline.”
Karian nodded, and silence fell between them again. Khal: his youngest brother. When Karian had left, Khal had been but a youngling, still playing with wooden swords and chasing small animals around inside the walls that protected his family’s house. The weight of those ten years settled on Karian’s shoulders like a stone blanket.
“Mother and Father?” Karian’s eyes latched on to Arlen’s. “Do they know?”
“I informed them as soon as we came back on the ship. They’re waiting for you back home.”
Back on Eokim. He had held on to the thought of home for so long, it seemed impossible that it was within his reach now. His old life, his impressive rise to the highest rank in the Eokian military, all this seemed far and unreal. Like it had never happened.
Karian looked around the medical room and noticed the talons and fangs banner hanging over the door. The familiar emblem resonated in his mind. He was aboard Honor, the jewel of the Eokian fleet, and his old commanding warship. There was so much he had to do to go back to the male he was before. He wasn’t sure he ever could be that male again. Not now that he had Rose in his life.
Nevertheless, he was determined to hunt down the Cattelans responsible for the slave trade on the Eokian moon where he’d been captured.
“You left the mating without telling anyone where you were going.” Arlen cut Karian’s thoughts short. “We didn’t even know where to start the search.”
There was old pain in those words. The weight of an unhealed wound separated them, and as Karian held his brother’s gaze, he realized there may not be a way to erase the cruelty of the last words they had said to each other. Or the cause for those words. No, there was no going back.
“It was a Cattelans’ illegal slave market,” Karian said, knowing very well Arlen probably knew by then who had taken him. “They set it on Ajnyan. It was a trap. I should have waited for reinforcements.”
“Yes, you should have.” Arlen looked away and his mouth stiffened. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re back.”
Arlen stretched out those last words, and Karian knew his brother had spent every waking minute of those ten years looking, searching for him. What his family had been through would have been nothing short of a total halt in their lives. All because of him and his recklessness in front of the slave market. Guilt and shame washed over him. He would have to make it right somehow with his family—he just had no idea how.
“I never doubted you.” Karian said the words with calm and warmth, knowing what it would mean for Arlen. “I knew you’d find me someday.”
Karian tried to sit up, but his arms gave way and he fell back on the table. Pain shot through his leg, and the world was swallowed in a colorless misery. This time, it didn’t take long for him to fight through it and swim back to the surface. When he did, two blue eyes looked right through him. It hadn’t taken long, but it was too much.
Arlen thought him weak. Weakness wasn’t something an Eok warrior displayed, even less so the Commander in Chief. Clenching his fists hard enough to hurt, Karian summoned his training and pushed the pain down to the bottom of his mind as a remote, unimportant fact.
“Rose. She must be kept safe at all costs.” Karian growled to show his seriousness. “She’s mine.”
“There was no scent on her.” Arlen lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “When did you mate her?”
Karian hesitated long enough for Arlen to start looking confused.
“I haven’t sealed the mating,” Karian had to explain. “There wasn’t an appropriate time.”
“Then she’s not yours.” Arlen tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to mate her, or leave her to another who will. There are a lot of interested parties already.”
“No one touches her!” Karian’s voice boomed and filled the room, making Arlen pale. Satisfaction rose at the sight. He was still the superior warrior, and nobody was challenging him. “Rose is mine, and you need to make it known. Anybody who doesn’t respect that will answer to me.”
Arlen stared at Karian, his eyes wide and his jaw clenched. He wasn’t used to being talked to like that, Karian could see. Karian now needed to take back control, or he risked losing it for good.
Attempting once more to sit up, Karian pushed on his arms until he was sitting on the steel bed. This time, he sat up straight, and glared at his brother until Arlen nodded his understanding.
“Nobody on board even knows what she is, except maybe Kamal, but he hasn’t said a word.” Arlen’s voice fell and silence wrapped around the room.
Kamal. Karian couldn’t go there, not now. Maybe never. His older brother was as raw a wound as he had been fifteen years ago, when they had last spoken.
“Where is he now?” Karian kept his tone carefully neutral but a storm boiled inside him, just under the surface.
“Back to his ship. He stayed until you were out of danger, then he left,” Arlen answered, his tone matching Karian’s. “He’s gone now.”
“Of course he is.”
Silence came back, the kind that was heavy with unsaid words and un-kept promises. Karian made a small dismissive gesture, signaling to Arlen to let the matter drop, and pretended not to see his brother’s slight grimace. Kamal was an eternal subject of disagreement between them, and he didn’t expect Arlen to rally to his side anytime soon.
Karian forced himself to focus on what mattered most. They couldn’t figure out Rose was human, not before she had his protection.
“It doesn’t matter what Rose is. Only that she’s mine, and not to be bothered.”
“Fine.” Arlen’s eyes slid to Karian’s leg, still wrapped in the heavy healing cloths, and then back to his face. “I’ll have her brought to the females’ quarters.”
“No. Bring her to my personal quarters. And make sure only Khal or yourself escort her at all times.”
“Your quarters?” Arlen frowned and opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it and shut it. “Fine. I’ll relocate her in your quarters, then. I’ll tell Khal to babysit her. He’s going to be delighted to have her as a sister-in-law.”
Karian lay back on the pillow. Arlen spoke into the transmitter on his wrist, then nodded to him. Relief washed through
his wrecked body. Rose was safe with his brothers, almost as much as if she was with him. Safer, even, considering the state of his health.
“How long was I in here?” Karian looked down at the tube that fed his veins with the healing and nutritious solution.
“Three full days,” Arlen answered. “Still, your recovery is impressive. I don’t know how many could have survived a bite like that.”
“That’s because they didn’t have a little brother like you.” Karian couldn’t fight the smile that came. “You’ve been poisoning my life for a lot longer than that aakvan.”
“Good to see you’re still the same.” But Arlen smiled, a true one this time, one which reached his eyes and illuminated his entire face.
Fatigue spread its long fingers around Karian’s mind again. Now that it was safe and nourished, his body wanted to replenish itself. He welcomed the sleep, feeling his eyelids becoming heavier.
“I’m only alive because the Midnight God willed it. It was incredible luck that you found us that fast.”
“Not luck, brother.” Arlen looked at him, his face shedding his mockery. “Rose led us to you. She killed the aakvan with an ionic blade and was on her way back to the pod for the medical kit when we found her.”
Karian’s head lowered on the pillow.
“Of course she did.”
Sleep enclosed him, and he drifted off. His last thought before being swallowed by the dreamless darkness of the healing sleep was that he had done it. He had claimed Rose. Now, all he needed was to tell her.
CHAPTER 14
ROSE
Her legs hurt from the pacing, but she didn’t care.
Rose looked at the hideous expanse of white on the back wall, where only the faintest trace of the door was visible. Karian’s private quarters were luxurious by spaceship standards, but they made her feel queasy. It was too white, too clean, and too cold.
It was a stupid, bare room. No frills to be found here. Only a mammoth-sized bed in the center, flanked by a series of drawers embedded in the walls and a circular table with two chairs, all in a sterile white polymeric surface. Not a dash of color to break the damned whiteness. She was so bored she could feel her brain turning into jelly. Everything in this room screamed of a rational, military mind.
Still, it was better than the holding cell.
Those Eoks didn’t lose any time. As soon as she was cleared by medical, they locked her up like a common criminal. Rose shuddered with anger at the memory of the last time she saw Karian’s two brothers. Who did they think they were, anyway? Sharp words and curses were all she exchanged with Arlen. That one was as cold as a fish, and had even fewer feelings. As for Khal, he hadn’t been much fun since she’d bitten him.
Neither Khal nor Arlen had deigned to talk to her since. They wouldn’t even let her know how Karian was doing. She had to scream and fuss and make a general scene just to know if he was still alive, and all the information she was given was a grim nod from Arlen.
Things had changed when they’d taken her from the cell to lock her up in the white room.
Then seven more days had passed. Ten days since they’d left the Saarmak moon. Ten days since those blue hunks had found her on her way to get help, taken Karian away from her in some sort of medical bubble, and locked her up.
The sound of heavy footsteps resonated from the hallway, coming in her direction. Rose froze, then turned to face the barely visible door, crossing her arms over her chest. She stuck her chin out, squaring her shoulders in the most intimidating stance she could think of. She was ready to pummel Arlen with questions until he told her more about Karian’s situation. This time, he wouldn’t get out the door without giving her some worthy information.
The door slid up, revealing two tall, blue males. The first one was Arlen, cold and sapphire blue, looking at her with an ever-disapproving expression on his face, and the second… the second made her heart stop beating.
“Karian!”
Rose jumped forward, her heart following a beat behind her. Her open arms closed around a firm, warm chest, and her cheek rested on his heart, eager to hear it beating. Emotions raged inside her, emotions she had kept on a tight leash up until just now, and tears began filling her eyes. Rose let them come, and soon, she was crying against Karian’s chest, not caring about anything else but the fact that he was alive and well. That he was there with her.
My Karian.
A few moments later, she realized she was holding Karian, but he wasn’t holding her back. Slowly, she peeled her face from his chest to look up at two blazing blue eyes in the middle of an expressionless, midnight blue face. His features were neutral, but his eyes blazed in a way she didn’t understand. Why wasn’t he returning her embrace?
“Rose. I see you were well cared for.” Karian tilted his head to Arlen. “Thank you, brother.”
“She was not an easy female to care for.” Arlen frowned at Karian. “She will have to understand the proper way to act as your mate before we get to Eokim. She is not living in a savage land anymore.”
Her arms fell from Karian’s sides and she silently took a step back. After a second, she added a few more steps until she stood in the middle of the room, her empty arms hanging at her sides. Words came to her mouth, words she had spat at Arlen a dozen times before, but they caught on her tongue at the sight of Karian’s nod of approval. Her legs turned into rods of steel as she watched Karian thank his brother for his service to his female, and dismiss him. As Arlen took his leave, not sparing a single glance for her, the steel melted from her legs and turned into hot, scorching lava. The door closed, and she was alone with Karian.
Lava poured down her spine, coursing through her veins, hot as fury.
Karian stared at Rose, his unreadable face closed off. It reminded her of that first time they’d stood facing each other, in the pod. Only then, he had been in a cage. Only then, he had been at her mercy. Now, it was her turn to be caged.
“You’re healed,” she said in a shaky voice, full to the brim with fury. She wanted to say so, so much more. She wanted to scratch his eyes out with her nails and kiss the life out of him at the same time.
“Yes, I am now at my fullest.” Karian brought his hand up and passed it over his skull, breaking the stare to look down at his feet.
Rose squinted her eyes, glaring at him until he sighed and nodded.
“I am sorry I could not come sooner to talk to you. There were duties I needed to attend to.”
Oh no, you’ll have to do much, much better than that.
“Duties? Duties are important. I understand duties.” Rose lifted a challenging eyebrow, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Why would you forget your duties to come see me for five minutes? Please don’t let me take time away from your important duties!”
The last words exploded, carried away on a wave of anger. Karian didn’t flinch, didn’t move, but his lower lip stiffened and his eyes flashed.
He was angry at her? No, this wasn’t going to go down that way. She wasn’t going to let Karian control this conversation.
“So, for how long have you been healed?” She flipped her hair out of her face with a jerky, angry movement.
“I woke up seven days ago.” Karian straightened. “I have been working since, although gradually at first.”
Lava turned to ice at the thought that he had left her in here, alone and forgotten. Rose struggled to control herself not to scream mindlessly at him.
“Nobody told me anything. They wouldn’t even let me see you when you were in medical.”
“Of course not. It is not Eok custom to allow outsiders in the medical wards.”
“Oh,” Rose breathed. Outsiders, he’d said. Her mouth dried up, and her throat constricted. Did he really think about her that way? “Well, you could have at least sent word.”
Silence fell between them. She knew he was an important person for his people, and after all, she had no claim to his time, or to him. A cold furrowed inside her heart, and she f
orced saliva down her clenched throat. What did she expect anyway? They weren’t lovers, they were allies only because of a strange twist of fate. Nothing more.
“What now?” She controlled her voice to keep it flat and toneless. “What’s going to happen to me?”
This was the real question, wasn’t it? She was at his mercy. He could do whatever he wanted with her, no one would interfere. Would he keep his word, or take advantage of her?
“We are headed toward Eokim.” Karian looked at her with a calm resolve in his shining blue eyes. “In the meantime, you are to be confined to my personal quarters for your own protection.”
“And does your female have a say in this?” Rose put as much scorn into the words as she could, which was a lot. “Or maybe I should forget I can speak and think for myself?”
“Don’t take what Arlen said to heart.” Karian winced. “He’s just embarrassed you kicked his ass and lived to tell the tale.”
“Damned right I kicked his sorry ass.” She crossed her arms on her chest. There was so much she had planned to say when she finally saw Karian again, and now that he was there, she didn’t know where to begin. “When are you going to bring me back to Earth?”
Karian flipped his head up to her, his eyes like slits. His features were twisted in a pained-angry expression. For a heartbeat, she was scared, then it was gone. He hesitated, then shook his head.
“I’m not sending you back.”
Karian’s voice fell with a following of heavy silence. Rose almost collapsed under the weight of what lay behind the words.
“You can’t do this. My family needs me.” She fought to control the trembling in her hands. She took a step closer. He had to understand, had to know how desperate she was to get back to the people she loved. “You know this.”
He stared down at her, his lips pursed and his eyes unreadable.
“I can’t let you go.” Karian inhaled, then held his breath before continuing. “I have claimed you as my mate.”
“You have what?” This, she had not seen coming. Rose was stunned and confused, but she could feel the raging inferno of anger burning down in her mind, slowly picking up speed. “So now I’m what, your property?”
