by Mary Auclair
“Not lovers, no.” Arlia sighed, then seemed to decide she could go on. “Maral was sent to Eokim by her family to find a mate. She immediately set her sights on Karian. He was the strongest young warrior in generations, and was newly appointed Commander in Chief of the armies. No other warrior ever had that honor at such a young age. He was already a legend, and the chief’s heir to boost. Whoever his mate was going to be, she was going to be the most powerful female of the tribe.”
“So she wanted him for his position.” Rose stared at Arlia, shocked and disgusted by the possibility. Eoks were completely devoted to their mates, and taking advantage of that was wrong and selfish. “How come she mated with Arlen, then?”
“When Karian scorned her, she seduced his little brother.” Arlia’s eyes darkened with anger at the faraway memory. “He had passed his Rite the summer before, and he was full of youth’s rash passion. All he saw was the greatest beauty of them all, and she had chosen him. Karian tried to prevent him from mating her, but you know how Eoks are when they feel the mating urge. There was nothing anybody could have done to stop him. He was crazy about her. He cherished her, gave in to her every whim, but soon, he understood the cruel truth. She didn’t care about him, she only cared about power, and he simply didn’t have enough. He’s been unhappy ever since.”
Rose and Arlia fell silent. There was nothing Rose could say to alleviate Arlia’s sadness at the fate of her son. Eoks mated for life, and Arlen was going to stand by Maral no matter what.
“I’m so sorry.” Rose looked inside the cup and brought it to her lips, then took a small sip. The liquid was thick, sweet and strongly perfumed with a taste that mixed peppermint and oats. It was delicious, and another, longer sip filled her belly with a comforting warmth. “I don’t want my presence here to cause any trouble.”
“This is your home now,” Arlia said, staring directly into her eyes. “Karian chose you. This makes you more precious to us than anything.”
The words filled Rose with guilt. Arlia didn’t deserve to be lied to.
“Karian didn’t really choose me,” Rose said carefully, considering each word. “He didn’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean?” Arlia lowered her cup to the countertop, her eyes wide as she stared at Rose with shock.
“I mean, Karian claimed me as his mate to save me, because I saved his life. It was because he owed me, not because of love.” Arlia’s face had frozen and was suddenly devoid of all expression, but Rose kept talking. “It’s just an accident that he made me his bloodmate.”
“Is that so?” Arlia’s tone was neutral, but her golden eyes shone with something Rose didn’t understand. “Karian told you that?”
“Not in those words.”
Arlia didn’t answer, but her eyes softened. She sipped from her cup, her long fingers wrapped around the clay surface, encircling it completely. After a few moments, she lowered it and extended her hand to touch Rose’s arm.
“Whatever his reasons, Karian chose you of his own free will. You have his heart.” Her voice was soft, but the seriousness of her words penetrated Rose’s body and a cold shiver ran up her spine. “There is no turning back once a bloodmating has taken place. Not without a sacrifice I’m not willing to make.”
There was a warning under those words, but Rose was too caught up in the rest of what Arlia had said to pay attention to it. Karian had chosen her. Hope surged, unabated, and Rose clung to it, unable to restrain herself.
CHAPTER 24
ROSE
T he next morning, Karian was gone again and Rose shivered in the cold bed. She curved up in the fetal position, gathering the sheets around her body, allowing the memory of last night to come back. They had made love until the early hours of the morning, losing themselves in each other like nothing else existed. The Mating Venom was acting up, making them crave each other more each time, turning them into lust-driven fools.
I’m needing him more each time. I’m going to get lost if I allow this to get any worse.
As many times as Rose said this to herself, she knew there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She wanted to think her craving for Karian was only the result of the Mating Venom, but deep inside, she knew it wasn’t. Her need for him ran bone deep, as intricate a part of her body as the ligaments and tendons holding her frame together.
She was simply afraid to name the feeling that tied her guts together every time she saw his eyes burning with desire, making her heart lurch to her throat each time he entered a room. She ran her hands over her arms, making the skin prickle with the memory of other, male hands. Rose closed her eyes, allowing the images to flow over until a rush of desire came up. She opened them again. There was no point in allowing her treacherous body to react to a promise that had no chance of being fulfilled.
Getting up, she dressed quickly in Khal’s old youngling clothes, then headed to the kitchen. She liked the supple, well-worn synthetic leather tunic and leggings, which hugged her body closely without hindering her movements. She preferred it tenfold to Maral’s long gown, which made practically any physical task impossible. Having finished, Rose wondered what she should do with her time. There was nothing to do but wait until the Ring Council meeting, and she was going to become mad with the tension if she didn’t find herself a task to take her mind away from the worries and fears that came with it.
Heading for the kitchen, she reflected that Arlia liked to keep busy, and probably had a long list of tasks for the day ahead. A long day of work in the garden was exactly what she needed to tire her body and free her spirit.
Rose entered the empty kitchen, surprised not to see Arlia there.
“Arlia?” Her call echoed off the round ceiling, carrying like a song across the room. No one answered to her calls out in the gardens, either, not even Maak. Arlia wasn’t home. Rose shrugged it off. After all, she hadn’t been in Arlia’s life for long. She knew nothing of the other female’s habits. She could easily be visiting friends.
Rose picked one of Arlia’s harvesting baskets, then went outside. The mushberries needed to be picked, or they would spoil under the heat. She looked forward to the simple task, and the fresh morning air was perfect for it, so she went out with eagerness and found the bushes with their green, round fruits. The branches were bent from the weight of the berries, and she stuffed her mouth with the sweet morsels as she went along.
A sudden thump made her jump and she swerved around, her heart beating faster. The wall’s door, which sealed the house off from the Eokian wilderness and all the threats it contained, was banging against the heavy frame.
Walking slowly, Rose approached the door, intent on closing it, then her eyes picked up a familiar paw print.
“Maak!” she called, her voice dying quickly in the emptiness of the grassland.
Nothing but the perpetual soft wind answered her. Rose swallowed and looked at the sand over the two feet or so between the wall and the beginning of the grassland, not sure what to do. Arlia loved her pet, and Rose herself had gotten attached to the gentle creature in the two weeks since her arrival on Eokim. She would be sad if anything happened to it, but she knew the risk of venturing outside the walls. In only Khal’s old warrior’s clothes, with no weapons, she was no match for a predator armed with fangs and claws.
Just as she was about to turn away, a high-pitched, pathetic cry traveled over the grassland, and Rose felt her resolve break. She turned and rushed inside, then grabbed a long knife from the kitchen and ran back outside. At the threshold of the house’s enclosure, she paused. Fear prickled on her skin like goosebumps. Maak, Arlia’s pet, was a creature of softness and comfort, he was even less equipped to face the dangers of the wilderness than she was.
Straightening her shoulders, she stepped outside the family walls for the first time. A hot, dry wind licked her skin, making her heart flutter with fear. The air outside the walls was somehow different, harsher and less indolent than inside. It was a wild air, air meant to burn lungs in a despera
te run from predators.
With trembling hands, Rose held the five-inch blade high in front of her and stepped onto the dry dirt outside the walls. The door closed behind her, and the lock clicked into place.
As she stood outside, she wondered just how big a mistake she had made.
She stood with her back flat against the door, feeling its smooth, cool surface through her clothes. In front of her, about two feet from the enclosure, was the grass that covered the entire Eokian landscape.
Karian’s words came back to her.
Eokim is a wild planet, with many predators lurking in the grass for easy prey.
Yes, that was what she was. Easy prey, trembling and defenseless. The short blade she took from the kitchen wasn’t going to protect her in a fight with anything bigger than a large dog, and she doubted the wild animals Karian talked about were as gentle. No, the Eokian predators were waiting for her with fangs and claws, and with hunger for her tender flesh.
Rose paused and scrutinized the landscape. The land was flat around the family enclosure, and she was able to look freely at the Eokian world.
It was a dizzying sight, all that grass, covering the earth as far as the eye could see on every side, blanketing everything in a treacherous green velvet. Panic prickled the back of her neck at the idea of the creatures hiding underneath the cover of that lush vegetation.
Looking into the distance, she noticed the faint gleaming of a number of roofs over the grass, in the distance. Those were other Eokian houses, surrounded by their own walls, securing the members of the family. They were too far away to give Rose any hope of help if she needed it.
Her eyes strayed to the beaten dust on the dry dirt around the walls. Paw prints of a large animal were still visible, spaced evenly and moving towards the tall grass only a few yards from the door. Beside the animal’s paw prints were other prints, the sandal imprints clearly recognizable.
Rose’s heart sank deep in her chest, like it was suddenly set loose in its prison of bones.
Arlia.
Maak had ventured outside, probably in search of scraps of food, and Arlia had gone after him.
“Arlia?” Rose called, but only the wind answered.
She steadied herself, hugging the blade to her chest so hard it hurt.
With a few steps, Rose entered into the grassland. It closed behind her, swallowing her. She could disappear and there would be no proof that she had ever existed. The stalks came to her shoulders, giving her the impression of swimming in a sea of green fingers. The tips of the taller shoots tickled her chin, like hidden hands reaching out from under the cover of grass to graze her face. It was a ghastly feeling, and it made her want to run back to the house and hide inside the walls, but she couldn’t leave Arlia outside alone, not when she could be in need of help.
The prints were hard to find in the grass, but she made progress. Rose pushed aside the stalks to find the paw prints, traveling at a sluggish pace until the walls were about a hundred yards behind her. There, a patch of grass appeared disturbed, a large portion of it flattened, the plants broken.
A bright red scar marred the ground, making Rose stop in shock. She gathered a bit of the slime between her fingers, rubbing it between her thumb and index finger. Blood. This was blood. It was fresh, not coagulated yet. She looked down at the ground with new eyes, finding more blood and a few tufts of the silken white fur.
Whatever happened to Maak, it wasn’t good.
She had to find Arlia, and fast. Even if there was no indication that she had been there when Maak was attacked, she could still be in danger. Rose took a step, then stopped.
A cold hand gripped at her insides. On the ground, between her feet, was a shiny object, almost buried between stalks of grass. Rose squatted and picked up the star-shaped necklace, its twirling crystal casting rainbows across the green of the grass. It was Arlia’s necklace, the one Enlon had given her after their bloodmating.
Rose’s breathing accelerated until it was fast and harsh, and fear invaded her senses, increasing them tenfold. She feverishly put the necklace around her neck and searched the ground for signs of Arlia, but found nothing else.
“Arlia!” she shouted, throwing caution to the wind. If any predator was in the area, it had probably spotted her anyway. “Arlia, can you hear me?”
She waited, scrutinizing her surroundings for signs that Arlia was there, but nothing moved. She picked up the pace, following the blood trail. It was easier than following the paw prints, but it filled her with dread.
Please, let it not be hers.
A good half hour later, the dome of Karian’s house was shining in the distance. Rose tried to swallow but her throat was closed off. Telling herself she wasn’t scared didn’t change anything.
Nobody even knows I went out.
Rose had made a mistake by rushing out, but it was too late now to go back.
She went back to the blood trail. She was still able to follow it, but it was becoming fainter by the moment. Either the predator had picked up its pace, running away with its prey, or the meerit had stopped bleeding, a sure indication that it was dead.
Where is she? I’ve been walking for over an hour, I should have found her by now.
Taking a deep breath, Rose put her head down and walked, then stopped when she found herself at the beginning of a small clearing, where the grass had been beaten to the ground. There, a lump of soft white fur lay on the trampled grass, its silken length painted in bright red. She approached Maak’s remains, squatting down at its side, then ran her hand over its head, pulling the long hair away from its eyes. The two large blue orbs fastened on her, and the meerit opened its flat mouth, letting a pathetic call out of its jaws. Rose’s gaze ran over the plump body; its stomach was torn open and guts spilled on the ground. There was nothing she could do for Maak. The creature was dying in horrific pain.
Maak bleated again. Pain, so much pain in those blue, trusting eyes. Rose’s heart lurched and tears ran down her cheeks.
“Hush.” She ran her fingers along the softness of Maak’s head. “It’s going to be over soon.”
Rose brought forward the sharp blade and set it on the animal’s throat. Maak looked at her. Understanding and acceptance flashed in the animal’s eyes, and something akin to gratitude.
She pushed on the blade, putting her full weight behind it.
Maak’s bleating was choked off as the blade cut its throat, and a torrent of blood gushed out, covering her hands in red. In a second, the blue eyes lost their shine and she knew he was gone. Rose choked back a sob, then got to her feet.
Arlia was out there somewhere, and she wouldn’t give up until she found her.
“Arlia, are you there?”
She had steadied herself to repeat her call when the grass on her left began to move.
Her first instinct was to think it was Arlia, unable to call out, but hearing her and trying to attract her attention. Then the grass moved again, but this time in a different spot, and Rose realized her mistake. This wasn’t Arlia.
Her chest heaved faster as adrenaline rushed into her bloodstream, making her muscles ready to run. Rose knew what those new creatures were even before the first snout appeared between the grass stalks. Karian’s words were etched in her mind and a slow, deep shiver ran down her spine.
We have a pride of killkons this side of the Long Lake.
The creature that stepped into the small clearing was about three feet tall, its head coming to the level of her elbows. It had short, black on green brindled fur, matching the grassland in a perfect camouflage. It was longer than it was tall, reaching a good seven feet in length, and six legs gave it agility and extreme speed. It was a surprisingly graceful animal, with a shapely body and a long tail, which flipped the air in rhythm with its steps, making it appear as if it was dancing and not stalking its victim with deadly intent.
The three shining copper eyes of a second killkon appeared from the darkness, settling on her, and a long, forked tongue ta
sted the air in a flicking motion. At a glance, Rose understood they were male and female, a mated pair of hunters.
Time was suspended as the killkons locked their gazes on her. She slowly stood up, her knees shaking with utter terror. She clutched the kitchen knife between her fingers so hard it hurt, its smooth wooden handle slick with the meerit’s blood. The blade wouldn’t help her fight off that nightmarish predator. If she was lucky, she might deliver a good blow and injure one of them, but not both.
They were frozen, beasts and woman alike, sizing each other up in an unmoving challenge. Rose was a novelty, an unknown quantity, and the predators were curious, flicking their tongues forward and staring at her with their terrible, intelligent stare.
Carefully, Rose inched backward, fighting against her instinct to turn around and flee. This would trigger the hunt and kill instinct of the predator in a sure way. Her only chance was to make herself appear as challenging an adversary as she could, so they lost their interest in her and returned to eat their freshly killed prey.
A few seconds later, the large male killkon walked over to the dead meerit, sniffing the body of the animal before tearing into its flesh, forgetting Rose’s presence altogether. She had won her bet with him. She was large and standing her ground, and the animal preferred the safety of an already dead meal to the exhaustion of hunting down a second animal.
As Rose inched back a second step, the smaller female killkon twisted her head, her deadly gaze flickering with intelligence. She knew what Rose was doing, and she was deciding whether to allow her to leave with her life or not.
In slow motion, Rose lowered the blade, holding its handle with both hands for fear of letting it slip to the ground. The female killkon wasn’t finished with her: either because she hadn’t concluded her analysis of Rose’s strength, or because she knew the male was going to eat the lion’s share of the meerit and she wanted to have more prey to feast on.
