Ji’s gaze left the twirling, smiling females to land on the one he had wanted to mate. The allure of the beautiful, scantily clad dancers paled beside the possessive look Seta was giving him. “I would like nothing better than for you to take care of me, Sweet Joy.”
He watched Seta bow her head and then resolutely put her attention back on the dancers. It would be very tempting to tease her about being jealous later, but he would not. Ji had also caught their Ethosian host’s disappointed gaze after hearing Seta’s offer to him. It appeared he had some competition for Seta—not that he was going to let the Ethosian near her—but he could not risk being too rude to their host until their task was resolved one way or the other.
Chapter 13
Seta knelt in the middle of the bed, her hands busily braiding the end of Ji’s hair. He was lying face-down now because his head still hurt. She wanted to heal him, but Zorinda had already confirmed it was not within her power to do so. Malachi was some sort of exception.
Helping him wash and fixing his hair was the only way she could think to help. It was her fault Ji had gotten hurt. If she hadn’t fought with him, he wouldn’t have gone so far from her.
She secured the braid’s end with a small piece of bendable metal, making sure it would not be felt later.
“I never got a chance to thank you for trying to protect me,” she said.
Ji rolled to his side when Seta crawled under the covers. “I didn’t do a very good job. They surprised me before I could pull my weapon. If I hadn’t been angry at you they probably wouldn’t have surprised me. I’m going to have to learn to control my temper better.”
“You can say it without fear I will rebuke you. It was my fault you were caught off-guard and I freely admit it,” Seta said, closing her eyes and sighing.
“Okay. Yes. If you weren’t so argumentative as a female, these two weeks could have been our mating time. I can see life with you and your blasted integrity are going to be very adventurous for me. Is that enough flagellation? Are you properly chastised yet?”
Seta snorted. “Now you are mocking my apology.”
“Apology? I don’t recall hearing an apology. I just remember whining, which really is pathetic considering the kind of power you carry around with you all the time. I assume you killed all three of the males.”
Seta shrugged, moving the covers with her shoulders. “My laser killed two. Zorinda helped with the last one.”
Ji reached out an arm and tucked her closer. “Thank you for saving my life. I was not ready to return to the Creators yet.”
Sighing, Seta nodded. “I wasn’t ready for you to either.”
Ji put a hand on her stomach, thinking of what it would be like to feel his child growing there. Would the creature inside her interfere with the process? Would his child be safe? At every turn in his relationship to Seta, there was yet another question surrounding the creature who kept her alive.
“Garmon seems very nice for an Ethosian male. He also seems very interested in you.”
“I told him we are bonding partners. He would have been suspicious if I had said we were mates because he is quite intuitive. But his words are of no concern to me. I have no more wish for his interest than I have had for yours.”
“Would you have missed me if I had died at the hands of my attackers?” Ji asked. There was a tiny part of him which feared she might not have done so.
Seta turned her gaze, seeking Ji’s in the dark. “Yes. I would miss you, but I still believe you could choose better than focusing your attention on a female like me.”
“My existence is better for having found you, even if it means getting beat up now and again. I would suffer many such things to have you offer to braid my hair. My body delights in your hands caring for every part it. No greater healing exists than a loving female’s touch.”
“You are the strangest male I’ve ever known, Ji Warro. Crook your finger and any female would rush to do what you wish. Why do you waste your time on one who has to be jealous to offer anything?”
Ji smiled in the dark. “Because she is the one who owns my full compassion. She is the one who was enchanted by the child she was sent to steal. And I wait breathlessly to hear what you plan to do now about your quest.”
“I could never harm these people or their way of life, not even for the freedom of my siblings. What am I going to do, Ji? Hope lives in me again. And all I can think is how badly I wish Rena had lived to find out this truth with me.”
For the third time in a day tears streamed from her eyes. Instead of commenting on her tears, Ji tucked her closer and held her tight against him. After a while he finally spoke again.
“We’ll work on the problem together. Things have a way of working out as they are meant to most of the time. Everything is going to be okay, Seta. You’re a good person doing all the right things.”
“Tomorrow I have to tell the Garmon the truth and I dread knowing he will think me as bad as the one who sired me.”
She curled into Ji’s arms and wept like she had the night she had grieved for Rena.
***
He had never been more disappointed in his life, nor had he ever considered himself such a fool for having had amorous thoughts for someone like her. Knowing he’d actually thought of mating the deceitful female now shamed him. Why, when he looked at her, did he still want to offer her everything?
“Why confess to me now, Seta? You have to know I want to kill you for your treachery.”
Ji stepped in front of Seta.
“Move, Ji. Garmon has a right to be angry. I should have confessed yesterday before I accepted food from his table. On my planet such an action was a greater wrong than anything else I have done.”
Seta stepped around the side of her stubborn protector and put a restraining hand on his arm. “Please. I need Garmon to know I wish no harm to him or his people.”
Garmon’s gaze went from one of them to the other. “I don’t know what to believe. Endara stays here.”
“We are in agreement. Her mother wished it as well. It is doubtful my sire would have kept his word to me in any case. My death was part of every plan he had.”
Garmon sank into his chair, frustrated beyond anything he’d felt before. Nothing in him believed Seta had ever meant them any real harm, so there was no use pretending she did. He would save his energy.
“I cannot wage war on Suzerain Trax. It is not the way of my canton and we have no reason. I was sent by my dreams to save Endara and I did. Beyond that we have no need for more females at the moment.”
Seta nodded. “If I found a way to bring her mother here would you take her in as well? She is a captive and being abused as my father tries to get her with child again.”
Garmon sighed. “You break my heart and now you’re asking for a favor?”
Ji straightened and Seta gripped his arm again. “Stop, Ji. I made him no promises. He jests.”
Garmon snorted. “You are naïve if you think I jest. I have never mated. You are the first female I have said such words to in my life.”
“I am not for you,” Seta declared.
“Are you for the Siren then?” Garmon demanded, his tone bitter.
Seta glared at his question. “The question shows how little my previous conversations meant to your ears. You may treat your females better, but even you think I am incomplete without a male to mate. Did it ever occur to you that I like not being mated? Why is it so hard to believe I could prefer not having a male making constant demands on my time? I am not a typical Ethosian female, Garmon of Ker. My life has a higher purpose. At least the Siren accepts all of me and he fights himself not to ask for more than I want to give.”
A guttural sound of frustration rose through her body and left her throat. She looked at both males staring in shock at her.
“Fine. If it must be said, I am for the Siren. He is for me. I have chosen a mate. Since my death is imminent, both of you can turn your attention to easier females when I have returned to the
Creators.”
You are not going to die, Seta. I won’t let you.
“You just say that because you want me to keep the Siren in our life,” Seta hissed, practically snarling the words aloud.
Garmon stared. “Who are you talking to, Seta? What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Ji cleared his throat, stepped in front Seta, and bowed his head to the confused Ethosian.
“Seta has a terrible temper and at time seems deranged when angry. It is one of her many flaws. I have adapted to it, yet still find it challenging. At least you will be spared it.”
Garmon snorted. “You could have any female you want, Ji. Why her?”
“Our bond is a mystery to Seta and I both, but she owns my full compassion,” Ji said firmly.
Garmon snorted again, head turning as someone burst into his quarters. “I’m a little busy here, Jelro.”
“Garmon—there’s been a mine implosion. Come. Seven are trapped inside the mine.”
Garmon rushed around them, leaving Seta and Ji staring at each other.
“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” Ji said after the Ethosians had left.
Seta shook her head, feeling her eyes return to normal. “I got angry and was calling up Zorinda’s power over an insult, Ji. What am I becoming?”
Ji shook his head. “You keep asking me questions I can’t answer. This is as new to me as it is to you. How about we go see if we can do anything to help? It might convince Garmon we truly do not mean him or his people any harm.”
Chapter 14
Chaos reigned at the opening of the mine. People dug at the piles of rock, throwing them aside. Just as Garmon had said, crying females were among those working the hardest and fastest. Seta grimly surveyed the scene. “You’re in no condition to lift rocks yet, but I will help as best I can.”
Ji’s hand on her arm stopped her. “You are correct, but ask Zorinda to help make you strong.”
Seta shook her head. “I do not trust myself to control her power yet. You saw what I almost did while arguing with Garmon over nothing.”
“Then ask her what can be done,” Ji insisted. “Ania and Liam direct Malachi well enough. I am sure you have what it takes to control Zorinda. Trust yourself, Seta. The longer those males are trapped in the rocks—the more their lives are at risk.”
Seta nodded and pulled her arm from Ji’s hold. She closed her eyes and looked within.
Zorinda, what can be done to help these people?
Ask the child to make the stones dance. I will help.
Endara?
Yes. She has power over the stones, much like the power a host has over a demon.
Seta looked around in panic. Could she trust Zorinda’s words?
“Ji—find Endara and bring her here. Zorinda said there is something she can do. In the meantime, I will carry rocks and help the others.”
Not waiting to hear his agreement, Seta started off in the direction of where a group was moving rocks along a chain of Ethosian hands. She got in line at the end, tossing each rock sent to her into a large pile.
Time passed with hard work while she waited for Ji to return. When he did, it was with Endara holding an older female’s hand. She left her place in the chain and walked to where they stood.
Stooping down to eye level, she knelt in front of Endara. “Hello, little sister. Would you like to help me move some rocks?”
Endara nodded and dropped the female’s hand holding on to her. She lifted her arms to Seta.
“Will the one inside you speak to me if I help?”
Seta snorted. “I don’t know. But if she gives me a message for you, I will tell it to you right away. How’s that?”
Endara nodded.
Seta held Endara and looked at the rocks being moved out of the way. “Can you make the rocks dance? The one inside me says you can.”
Endara nodded and got very excited. “Yes. Yes. Yes. I have been waiting so long for someone to ask me. It was my secret.”
Seta set her down on the ground again and offered her hand. “Hold my hand. We need to make the rocks dance out of the mine—all of them—until the workers are released.”
She felt Endara squeeze her hand hard as they stared at the rocks still covering the mine’s opening. Seta heard her say, “Come out now.”
Rocks started rolling and shifting. Ethosians scrambled to get away from the movement. She felt all eyes shift to her and Endara, standing hand in hand. In a short while, all the rocks were nearly upon them. Endara yelled, “Stop” and they did, falling where they were.
Dusty miners, several limping, stumbled out of the gaping hole in the rock wall. They caught up the females hovering just beyond the entrance and hugged them close. Seta tore her gaze away from the joyful reunions to look down at the smiling child surveying the scene.
“You’re awfully little to move all those big stones. Did you do it all by yourself?”
“Rinda helped,” Endara said, shrugging.
“I see,” Seta answered. But she didn’t. A flutter in her gut validated it just the same. “She said to tell you her name is Zorinda and she thinks you’re amazing. But she would like it very much if you let her existence be our secret. Don’t tell anyone about her, okay?”
Endara giggled. “Okay. I like secrets.”
“I just bet you do,” Seta said, swinging the girl up in her arms and spinning them both around. “I think when you are bigger, you’re going to be a very special person to Garmon and his people.”
“She already is,” Garmon said, his voice close to her ear. “Who is Zorinda?”
Endara drew in a breath. “Shhh. . .she’s a secret inside of my sister.”
Garmon raised an eyebrow. “Indeed. A female with a secret. What a novelty.”
“You have the typical Ethosian bad attitude about the best qualities of a female, even after they save you. I’m glad now I chose the Siren. At least Ji makes me feel appreciated,” Seta declared.
Garmon laughed. “My offer for you remains, Seta of Trax. Stay in my canton and I will do my best to make you happy for all your days. Perhaps you could adjust my attitude over time.”
Surprising herself, Seta laughed back at Garmon’s bragging offer.
Then she turned to look for Ji and found him standing off to the side observing. He bowed his head to her very slowly. When he raised it again, there was a look in his eyes she’d never seen before. It was resignation. . . and some sort of determination. Like he’d come to some decision he hadn’t yet shared with her. All her years with him overrode their intimacy with her instincts singing about the need to correct what he was thinking.
When he turned away to speak to Endara’s keeper, his withdrawn attention alarmed her. It bothered her much more than knowing she had to free Ineid as well as face her father’s wrath. She passed Endara to Garmon, who hugged her fiercely and thanked her for helping. Her throat tightened with emotion again. The Ethosian really was a good male.
But then so was the one she walked to.
***
Ji’s distant politeness had driven her from their quarters in search of something—anything. She couldn’t stand their stilted conversation anymore. He had told her of the Paladin’s captain’s promise to collect them from Ethos, but his voice had lacked enthusiasm. Afraid to push for his real thoughts—knowing well he would tell her—Seta walked aimlessly through the canton, admiring all she saw.
“Sister!”
Seta turned and smiled when Endara made a running leap into her arms.
“Want to see me make the rocks dance again?”
Wondering what a child her size could do on her own, Seta nodded and let her slide to the ground. Endara raced off with Seta following slowly. Now and again Endara would stop and look back impatiently. It made Seta smile. She probably got her impudence from living with the arrogant Garmon.
Endara finally stopped in the middle of a pile of beautiful crystals and gemstones. “Garmon said these are not mine to keep, but that I could
dance with them until they are sold.”
Seta couldn’t help laughing when Endara spun in a circle, her whole body shaking, arms and legs flailing all about. Around her every stone lifted and jumped in the air about half the child’s height off the ground. Seta clapped and yelled praise.
“Dance with me—please,” Endara begged. “O-Rinda will like it too.”
Seta snickered as she stepped through the crystals and gems, which parted instantly at her approach.
“Hold up your arms and twirl—like this,” Endara ordered, never ceasing to move.
Seta started to hum and move in an old rhythm she hadn’t thought of since she was an innocent girl. She let her body remember the movements and fall naturally back into the motions. Beside her, Endara laughed and giggled, overjoyed with sharing the moment.
Tears—more tears than she knew she had—streamed down her face as she laughed and danced with the child. Undeterred by the outpouring of her emotion, Endara moved until at last she grew so tired she fell to the ground. The rocks instantly did the same. Laughing, Seta stopped dancing and sat on the ground herself.
“It makes me tired to dance with rocks,” Endara said softly.
Seta reached out and pushed Endara’s hair back from her face. “Practice a little each day. I bet the bigger you get—the easier it will become.”
“Will you dance with me each day?” Endara asked.
Seta dropped her hand and shook her head. “No. I can’t, little sister. Your job is to dance with rocks. Mine is to do something else. But I would like to visit my new favorite sister now and again. Would you like that?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” Endara dove at her before Seta could properly prepare to catch her. She ended up flat on the ground, holding the happy child on top of her. She wrapped her arms around Endara and sent all the gratitude she felt out into the universe.
Sniffling tears again, she rose with the giggling Endara in her arms. “I am so very, very glad to have met you, Endara. Don’t forget me when I’m gone, okay?”
“Endara?”
“Chula calls me to evening meal,” Endara whispered.
The Tracker's Quest: (Forced To Serve #6) Page 11
