Hero's Bride

by C. J. Scarlett

  Maybe, just maybe, we could actually find a way to help those women. Against all odds, it seemed that there might be a way to make it happen, simply because the two of us were together in this.

  But still… “Promise me you’ll be safe,” I found myself telling him as we moved over the ice.

  I cannot promise that.

  “You have to.”

  It is more important that you are safe.

  And even though his voice was entirely inside my head, a certain tone to it struck me as unusual. Was it annoyance? I had never heard a Kamani be annoyed before. I thought it wasn’t even in their nature. They were too peaceful for that. It struck me then that though I may be mated with him, I still had a lot to learn about the Kamani that I had fallen in love with.

  I hoped that we had many, many years ahead of us to learn all kinds of things about each other. Despite everything, the thought of that long future brought a smile to my face as we continued across the frozen plains.

  “I’ll be okay as long as I’m with you, Atik.”

  Yes. You will, he said with full confidence. And somehow, I felt like I could believe him. His assurance was a balm that healed all the years of hurt that I had been through. Somewhere in my distant past, someone had told me that love was the best medicine, and it had seemed like a silly old proverb—the sort of thing that old ladies told their grandchildren—but now I really and truly believed it.

  Thanks to Atik, I was healing.

  “Just… please. Be safe. No matter what happens,” I urged him again. “I only just found you. I couldn’t stand to lose you.” Only this time he didn’t respond, and I didn’t say anything else as we continued forward on our path toward the Ak-hal, set in our mission. We had everything to lose and we both knew it, but we also knew that this might be the only way to help the others without bringing down something horrible on the Kamani.

  We had to take this chance. We had to take a chance on love. On our love—the love of the human women and their mates. We had to do something that nobody else was prepared to do.

  We had to fight.

  Chapter 12

  Safe as I felt astride Atik, it didn’t assuage my fears when I saw the base of the Ak-hal rise over the horizon line. My heart sank at the first sight of the towers glinting atop the ice as I remembered the short days that I had been there—as I thought once more of the fact that Atik had been captured, and almost executed. Now, we had returned to that place, just the two of us, and we had no idea what lay in wait for us there.

  It was still night, and the only light came from the stars that dotted the sky above us. Even the Ak-hal had extinguished most of the lights on their base, so that it was difficult to see just how large the place was. There was only our memory to go on as we approached the base. I had been there as a captive, and Atik had scouted out the place for several days as an outsider before being captured, so neither of us had as much knowledge of the place as we would have liked when it came to this mission. However, we had to use what we did know to guide us in the task that lay ahead.

  “That’s where I was being kept.” I gestured to the smaller tower on the edge of the base. It was still difficult to see, but I could remember the place well enough. It was imprinted in my memory after the long days I had been there with Kypher, thinking I could never return to the Kamani again. “There are a few other women there too, but…” And now I hesitated. I didn’t want to bring up the subject of Kypher with Atik—we had never discussed this before, the fact that I had been used, abused by someone else before Atik found me. But he seemed to sense my hesitation.

  There are Ak-hal who will be a problem.

  “Yes. And I don’t really know where the women who will be executed are. If they’re even still alive.” And my heart sank as I thought about this—what if we were too late? I had my hopes that we had arrived in time to save them, going off my knowledge of the Ak-hal, but it had been a while since that life. Who knew how much had changed since the fall of the castle?

  But I couldn’t think about that. I had to take things one step at a time.

  “Get me close to that tower. I think I can get in, and I know people inside.”

  I could feel his hesitation. He didn’t want to part with me any more than I wanted to part with him right now, but I needed to learn as much as possible about the base, and the only way to do that was to find someone that I could talk to on the inside. After a long moment, Atik moved forward, through the shadows on the edge of the base until we closed in on the tower.

  I can get you close. But be safe, Clara.

  “I will,” I promised, though the confidence that I had felt earlier was definitely waning now that I realized exactly what I was getting myself into. I could sense the aura of danger just by being near the Ak-hal base now—the presence of them all around me, even if I had yet to see any of them.

  I slid off his back when we were in walking distance, and then stood near him as he shifted, watching as he took his human form again. Now more than ever, it was obvious how different he was from the Ak-hal, as I felt the warmth that emanated from him where everything else around me was nothing but ice and cold. Reaching out one last time for him—and doing my best to tell myself that this wouldn’t be the last time—I slipped my arms around his waist and allowed my head to rest against his chest, listening to his heart beating underneath my ear.

  “I love you.” The words slipped out almost unbidden. “I should have said it sooner.”

  As I stood with my head resting against his chest, I felt him kiss my hair—felt his fingers tangling through the curls as he turned my face up to meet his. Again, I was struck by the intensity of his gaze. Would I ever get used to the way he looked at me? I didn’t think that was possible. Every time his eyes met mine it was like the first time we were seeing each other.

  I thought back to that moment when I rescued him from execution. All I had been thinking about then was how desperate I was to save this innocent Kamani, and yet still somehow, I had known there was something special about him. I had been drawn to do something I would otherwise have been too frightened to do. Every second I spent with Atik, I transformed into a better version of myself.

  “I will keep track of you, wherever you go,” he said. “I can see everything even if it is dark. I will not lose sight of you.”

  “Ah… right.” I hesitated for a minute, trying to think. Was this really the best thing to do? “When I go in… I will look for a woman that I know. I will see if she can help me find some of the others. I don’t know how long it will take, but—”

  “I don’t care how long it takes. I will stay close. And if an Ak-hal comes, I will fight.”

  “No. If an Ak-hal comes, you hide,” I told him, frowning. “The whole point of this is that we’re going to stay hidden. Get in and out without them knowing that we’re here.” How typical of Atik to want to use the ‘Barbearian’ method of completing this operation, as Shay would have said. Subtlety wasn’t exactly the Kamani strong suit. “I don’t care if I’m in that tower or not. Don’t let yourself get caught, Atik. That doesn’t do you or me any favors.”

  He didn’t quite seem to understand what I said, or why I would suggest that he hide rather than fight. I didn’t know whether it was because he didn’t have the best grasp on the language I spoke, or the concepts I used, or some combination of both. But to his credit, he nodded. “If you think it is best.”

  “I do.”

  Gods of the Kamani help me—this beautiful, brave soul would drive me insane if we managed to survive this. I just hoped that he would keep his promise to me and not throw himself into a fight the first chance he got—not that he was driven to fight, peaceful as his people were, but because he thought that doing so would somehow keep me safer.

  “Just remember that they probably have something planned. And—”

  “I know, Clara,” he said. Then, probably to shut me up, he leaned down and kissed me. Hard. Immediately, the flurry of thoughts that had been cours
ing through my mind was swept away, and replaced by a heated sensation that went all the way from my head down to my toes. It should have been impossible for me to feel such a strong sense of desire for Atik at a time like that, but nevertheless, all I wanted to do was touch him—and touch him I did, letting myself touch his strong muscles one last time before I was forced to part from him.

  “I will keep to the shadows and stay hidden. And I will watch for you. But protect yourself, too, or I will be forced to come after you.”

  “Mmhm. Okay.” I exhaled slowly. “And… Atik. There’s one more thing.” Now, more than ever, I needed to say it. I needed to bring up the thing—the person— that had been weighing on my mind. “Among the Ak-hal, there’s someone—my former…” I stopped and shook my head. “His name is Kypher, and he still wants me. If he finds me, I’m sure it’ll be a big problem. Especially now that I’m with you. I will do my best to make sure that he doesn’t see me while I’m here, but there’s always a danger of it. And… you know that, we were…” I trailed off. More than anything, I wished that I could erase this part of my past, but it still haunted me. The memories were as clear now as they had ever been, even with Atik standing beside me.

  “I will protect you from this Kypher,” he said. “He cannot harm you while I am by your side, Clara.”

  “It’s not just that,” I said. But really, how could I explain? “I just… don’t want you to think about the fact that…”

  Atik’s face scrunched up in confusion. “You are worried? That I care about your past?”

  With a sigh, I nodded. But he just pulled me close to him again.

  “It means nothing. You are my mate now. You belong to no one else.”

  I nodded again. “Then… I guess… I guess we should start this,” I said. “It’s time now.” And finally pulling away, I gave him one last lingering look before I turned to the tower and began my march toward it, my heart heavy as I thought about what lay ahead of me.

  It was perhaps the longest walk of my life. Without knowing what would happen, or even if I should really be doing this, I kept in the shadow of the tower and made my way toward its base, eyes fixed on the low entrance that I had been taken into when I was first brought here as a captive.

  Now that I was closer, I could see them—the Ak-hal guards at the edges of the base. Just a glimpse of them brought a chill to my skin, but I forced the feeling aside, remembering what I had come here to do. First thing’s first, I needed to figure out a way into the tower. Libba would be in here, and though we hadn’t gotten along in the past, I knew that she sought freedom now, so maybe I could get some information from her—something that could help me, if I promised to help her escape with us.

  Standing back and staying where I hoped I couldn’t be seen, I waited for a long moment until I saw the nearest Ak-hal guard make his way toward the tower. With bated breath, I stood still. Would he see me? Would my plan be ended as quickly as it had begun? I ducked back and out of the way, hoping the mere fact that I shouldn’t be there would be enough to give me some form of cover. Fortunately, that seemed to be the case.

  The soldier stepped to the tower door. He did something with the lock, and it slid open, allowing him entrance. I waited, holding back just long enough for him to step inside and for it to close most of the way. Then, before it was completely shut, I caught it.

  “Shit,” I muttered, using one of the curse words I had learned from my time spent with Shay. My fingers were on fire from almost being slammed on. But I’d managed to keep it from closing, and after a long moment spent being sure that nobody was on the other side, I wrenched it open just enough to slip behind it, very much aware that now I was trapped inside. I would just have to think about that later, though.

  Now I had to find Libba. Her quarters were near the top of the tower, and I just had to hope that her mate wasn’t with her right now. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be that many Ak-hal out and about at present, so I made my way up the winding stairs of the tower without being spotted. It was a little painful to go back in my memory to those days I’d been held prisoner, but knowing that I was doing this for a good cause was enough to keep me moving as I inched forward step by step, almost unable to breathe for fear that someone would hear me.

  Every so often I would hear voices—the harsh male voices of the Ak-hal, or else the softer voices of their female mates. Not for the first time I wondered about those women who had chosen to stay with them and what had driven them to do it. Why opt for a life like this? For mates like the Ak-hal? There had been a time when I had made that choice, but hadn’t I learned quickly how horrible that choice was?

  But I wasn’t here to save them, I reminded myself. I was here to save those that wanted to be free. And so, I pressed onward and upward, toward the room where Libba waited. And finally, I found it, almost at the top of the tower.

  To my great relief, it didn’t seem that her mate was with her—at least, that seemed to be the case. The wide door was open a crack and I thought I could hear the faint sound of a woman inside, humming to herself. Quickly, I slipped in, and then shut the door as quietly as I could.

  Libba was at the far side of the room, standing beside a mirror and brushing her hair. And I immediately realized that something seemed… off. This wasn’t the woman that I had met when I had been held captive earlier—the woman who had been telling me how much she hated her life with the Ak-hal. This woman looked at peace with her fate. She looked comfortable, dressed in a red gown with jewels and a crown of chains along her brow.

  Reaching out, I felt for the door handle, but a voice stopped me.

  “Is that you, Clara? This certainly is a surprise.”

  Libba turned around, eyes glinting as she smiled at me from where she stood. This was the woman I remembered, I thought to myself—the one I had met all those years ago when she first arrived on this planet. This was the woman who had betrayed Shay. This was the woman I had expected to meet when we were reunited.

  “I…”

  “Oh, Clara, don’t look at me like that. Not when you’re the one who came barging in so unexpectedly.” Libba smiled and moved toward me, her head cocked to the side as she examined me. “I have to say, there’s something different about you. What’s happened since you ran off?”

  “Libba. What’s going on?” I finally managed, finding my voice. “I thought you were…”

  “Unhappy?” She laughed. “Why would I be unhappy when I have everything that I need? Of course, it’s terrible that your filthy Kamani destroyed the castle, but the Ak-hal are rebuilding. Getting stronger. And soon, they’ll take back everything that belongs to them.”

  Frowning, I shook my head. What did she mean? The Kamani hadn’t…

  And then realization struck.

  “The ships.”

  Libba gave me a look, as if this should have been the most obvious thing in the world. But I hadn’t even thought about those ships in what felt like a lifetime. I had traveled on one of those ships when I had first come to this planet, but the Kamani had put them away when it became obvious that none of the human women wanted to return back to Earth.

  Since then, they had done nothing but collect ice and snow out on the tundra. The only people who would care anything about the ships were the Ak-hal themselves, who would want the ships so they could return to traveling—so they could begin collecting women from Earth again, after so many of the women they had taken prisoner had either been killed or mated with the Kamani.

  “That was the Ak-hal’s plan?” I said in disbelief.

  “What? Is that too clever for you?” She laughed. “You’ve been among those brutes too long, Clara.”

  I was stunned. Here I had been expecting mass slaughter and the Ak-hal were being… well. Much more devious than I had realized, for one. I really did feel foolish. But I had stopped it, hadn’t I? The Kamani weren’t coming…

  “I learned a lot from you,” Libba continued, coming around and standing in front of me. “You w
ere so eager to believe that I had changed. We could never have put our plan together if it weren’t for your help.”

  Flinching, I took a step back from her. Her every word hit me hard as I remembered the time I had spent with her back in those days I was held captive. I thought back to telling her about the Kamani, about my life with them, about their routines, their habits, about the compound itself… And then the full impact of what she was saying resounded with me. Our plan. Who exactly had she been working with?

  I was about to find out. The door slid open behind me, and the presence in the room alone would have been enough to tell me who had entered, even if Libba hadn’t immediately ducked her head down obediently. I shuddered as a chill went over me, and then I heard a voice—his voice.

  “Clara. I knew you would be back.”

  Kypher. Turning slowly, I looked up, over that pale, chiseled face and into those cold eyes. They bored into me, practically turning me to stone as I stood before him. It took all my strength to remember that I wasn’t who I had been before. I wasn’t his mate. I wasn’t his to control.

  I forced myself to speak.

  “There isn’t anybody else coming,” I said. “Your plan failed.”

  “Did it?” he said.

  My head spun. Now the various threads clicked into place. I had been used by him every step of the way. He knew I was close to Shay, to Khofti—to many important people among the Kamani. He knew that I had knowledge that many of the other women wouldn’t have had. I had been fed information about a possible trap, too. That was the only reason the Kamani had stayed away for as long as they had—otherwise, they would have been here ages ago to rescue the women who had been taken.

  “But why?” I found myself saying, this final puzzle piece still confusing me. It didn’t make any sense.