by Vi Voxley
Her fateds had summoned a nice little hovership to take them there. The journey had been rather dull, though. Both warriors were quiet and solemn.
Except for when they looked at her. Then their faces brightened up like sun shone on them. It was like their very beings gravitated to her, as if they couldn't go more than a few minutes without looking at her.
It was daunting, that's what it was. Joanna herself honestly didn't know how to feel. Every truth bomb that dropped on her served to convince her she was in over her head and she couldn't even see the surface.
I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for this responsibility. I don't want to be the reason why someone throws their life away.
The journey took some time because – as she'd already predicted – the residence of the Merives was on the other side of the city. Joanna bit back all the comments about similar things happening in ancient Terran history and how foolish they'd been even then, some eight thousand years ago.
It seemed some things were universal, though, like the need to divide people by "us" and "them".
"You'll be safe here," Rago said as they entered a large villa that left Joanna breathless with its beauty. "This is my home, shared with none. No one would dare come here without invitation either."
Joanna's eyes flicked to Eredin to see what the other warlord thought of the implied insult, but perhaps she'd misread Rago since Eredin was nodding.
"Yes," he said. "This is a good place for you. I don't make a point of visiting the Merives but you can't stay near my uncle. The man is –"
Eredin stopped, not finding enough words to express the anger that clearly boiled right under his surface.
"A charmer," Joanna finished, unable to keep the smile from her lips. "Don't worry about me. He doesn't have anything to hold against me, unlike you."
Rago and Eredin exchanged a long look and it seemed to Joanna that some of the tension washed away as they kept walking through hall after hall of beauty.
"We hold nothing against you," Rago said then and the softness of his deep voice hit something in her. "When it comes to you, nothing else matters."
Joanna didn't reply. She needed to sort out some smaller issues first before she could start even thinking about the big questions.
She looked around instead. The villa was truly breathtaking, like something out of history, yet everything seemed to work automatically. Large, intricately crafted pillars rose from marble floors.
Walls were covered with artwork so sublime and realistic that at some point Joanna realized they'd given way to actual vines and flowers. She couldn't have said where the change had happened.
The air around her seemed fresher, somehow. Terra had gone through its gorgeous nature a long time ago. For a while, it had been nothing but a wasteland. Nowadays, there were gigantic reservoirs and national parks to help humans reclaim Terra but it was nothing compared to Corolon. That was a world that had kept moving forward without tearing everything down to do so.
The warlords let her admire it without speaking a word.
Joanna felt like she should have been more distraught. After all, the events of the day had been so unbelievable she still kept pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Then she touched the curious root under her arm again, wondering if she should have been panicking like would have been a proper reaction.
She wasn't. An odd sort of calm filled her, a curiosity, an excitement Joanna couldn't remember feeling since she'd been a child and first learned humans could travel the stars.
It has to be the two-week deadline. It's so much easier to enjoy something, throw myself in it headlong if I know I can just get up and leave.
In all fairness, Joanna was keenly, almost painfully aware it wasn't that simple.
She kept peeking at her fateds, unable to connect the dots in her head and see them the way they saw her.
What she was feeling was the attraction. It was impossible for Joanna to deny that even if she'd wanted to, which she didn't. It had been a while since she saw a man who turned her on.
The time she'd spent on the Rivera had lowered her standards a lot, like it happened to all women who had a very limited pool to choose from. One of Joanna's friends had said she'd come to the point where she had only two points in her criteria – "has to have four limbs" and "doesn't scream out his own name when he orgasms".
It was safe to say that after months, years in space, Joanna had kind of given up on trying to find someone and postponed it until the end of her tour.
After that, Rago and Eredin were... She didn't have words for it. Her body had been in full mode of desire since the moment she'd set eyes on them. The tingling in her pussy, the wetness of her panties, they were all clues that it wasn't just a flash of lust that was going to pass when she took a cold shower.
It was something much more, a carnal, desperate need to let those men fuck the living daylights out of her.
Seeing the way the warriors looked at her, twin grins on their faces, Joanna wondered how much of her thoughts they could guess at.
"In here," Rago said and led them to a large, open gallery that doubled as a walkway behind the villa.
It opened into the most peaceful, divine garden Joanna had ever seen. All thoughts of leaving kept moving to the back of her head, away from her conscious mind. She had never seen anything so miraculous, even after traveling with the 26th Battalion for years. They were supposed to discover habitable worlds, planets that could house colonies.
Haverins had hit jackpot with their home world.
No, Joanna didn't want to leave. She wanted to throw herself onto the soft, impossibly green grass in front of her and stay there in the cool breeze.
Maybe be joined by two very hot bodies to help keep me warm.
"I can't believe anyone lives here," she said, unable to keep the envy from her voice. "If this was mine, I would never leave home."
"It could be yours," Eredin said, but Rago beat him to that thought.
"It is yours," he said, coming closer and opening a small door that led to the grove behind the garden. "For as long as you want it. Everything I have is yours."
Joanna's heart was beating very fast. It was so ludicrous, to think she could own anything that pretty, yet she didn't think the warrior was joking. The both of them were observing her with badly hidden desire, but not just that. There was a deeper feeling too, burning underneath all the lust and the pomp surrounding it.
She didn't know what to say.
"I would like to live here," Joanna went for in the end. "Just don't make me say anything today, okay? This has been a messed up day for all of us. I don't know what's going to happen and I don't think you do either."
She'd expected them to agree to that reasoning easily. To her surprise, both warriors shook their heads.
"No," Rago replied, a smile on his lips. "It's very clear for us what the future holds. It has you in the middle of it and everything else is just background."
"What about the Templars?" Joanna asked, incredulous. "You can't just give up."
"We have no intention of giving up," Eredin replied. "But it doesn't change how we feel about you. We'll do whatever we can to join the Templars. If my uncle finds a way to stop us, however, then we will choose you. There is no question about it. Not for us."
Joanna looked at the ground. She was standing in a Garden of Eden, the heavy military boots she wore suddenly seemed so out of place and unfeminine. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn a dress. Now the desire rose within her, to walk through that garden in clothes that fit the warm summer days, barefoot or in flip-flops that left her feet bare to feel the cool grass.
"And if I decide to leave?" she asked, avoiding their eyes. "If by the end of these two weeks, I go. Or if I'm forced to. We still don't know what this thing on my arm is."
"Then we will follow you," Rago said and the tone of his voice left no doubt he was being serious. "To wherever you will go until we make you ours and bring you back here."
Funny how when Haverin men say it, it sounds almost romantic.
"You would leave Corolon," Joanna stated, unable to believe it. "For me?"
"Until we had you back, yes," Eredin allowed with a smile. "The connection of Haverins to our world runs very deep but not nearly as deep as the bond between fateds."
"I have a really strange vision of you joining the crew of the Rivera," Joanna said, laughing.
Eredin and Rago shrugged like it was an option.
"They would have to make some changes, then," Eredin said, grinning widely.
Joanna loved that look on him. When he smiled, it made him look so alive, like there was an inner fire in Eredin that shone through his golden eyes.
"Yes," Rago agreed, leaning against a tall tree with long orange leaves that almost reached the ground. "We wouldn't take orders from any Terran officer. They would have to give one of us the command, of course. We would make soldiers out of the crew yet."
The amusement on his face told Joanna he wasn't being entirely serious but she liked the idea.
"How would you decide who ran the ship?" she asked.
"Duel," Rago said at once like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Eredin and I would battle it out."
"Who'd win?" Joanna teased, predicting the answer perfectly.
"I would," Rago and Eredin chorused together so immediately their deep, sexy voices blended together into one.
I think I'm getting the hang of these guys.
"Okay," she said, smiling. "I get that we have some things to work out here. Could we just forget about it all today? I'd like you to show me around here. And in the evening, maybe I could see the healer you spoke of."
"Of course," Rago said. "I already paged the best one from the hovership. He'll be here in a few hours. I'm sure he'll be able to help you or at least provide answers. And if he doesn't find a way to get it out of you, Eredin and I will."
I believe you. I don't know why but I believe you.
"Sounds good," Joanna said, turning back to the garden. "Now, I want to see everything. We have two weeks. I don't want to waste a second of it."
Nine
Eredin
Her joy delighted him.
It was more than enough to wipe his uncle from Eredin's mind. On any other day, he would have been concerned about the repercussions of what he and Rago had done. More so, on any other day Eredin would have questioned his own sanity if he managed to work together with Rago so easily.
Today, all he had eyes for was Joanna.
She was like a goddess, absolutely stunning in the rays of daylight playing in her dark hair. Her clever hazel eyes took in everything with such wonder and glee that Eredin wondered if she was seeing something he wasn't. He decided that it wasn't so. She simply enjoyed things so honestly, without holding anything back.
Eredin had been brought up to be a Templar. To be in the service of the gods was no laughing matter, so he had been encouraged to be serious and not make slight of anything. Now, just looking at Joanna broke down barriers he hadn't known he'd built.
The almost childish glee she did everything with was contagious.
When Joanna had finally exhausted her capacity to take in Rago's garden, they sent for food and drink. Exhausted, his fated collapsed on a large sofa on the walkway. Her eyes were bright with happiness and she hadn't stopped smiling.
It made Eredin hurt and rejoice at once. He couldn't have been happier that his fated was having such a good time with them. On the other hand, her miraculously good cheer told him that she hadn't taken Doraton Greole seriously when the man had had a point about the Haverin life. Somehow, looking at her, Eredin didn't think that Joanna prepared herself to have babies.
In that moment, he couldn't have cared less.
Two weeks, the messenger had said. It meant he had two weeks to convince Joanna to stay. And there was nothing a Haverin loved more than a challenge.
"So tell me," Joanna said when Rago's servants came in with trays of snacks and small pastries that she eyed hungrily. "What are the bonds, exactly? That man before was right. I don't know much about them. Terra only hears bits and pieces here and we can't really trust all the rumors they have about you. You have a way of making enemies."
That was true as well. Haverins had many enemies and false accusations were a fair weapon in war.
"It's hard to explain," Eredin said, glancing at Rago who nodded for him to continue. "I have to say we aren't the best people to explain this to you. Our business is battle and war. We were brought up to be Templars. We never thought we would find you. Few Haverins these days have the blessing of a fated."
His voice changed as he spoke and Joanna noticed. She recoiled a little, the smile falling from her pretty pink lips. Rago glared at him.
"I'm sorry," Joanna said. "I didn't mean to poke at that. I never wanted you to lose everything because of me."
"We gained everything," Eredin argued and the way her eyes widened told him that she understood he was being serious. "We never dared to hope you could exist. Haverin bonds are complicated. The gods guide our lives, making us greater and better. The bonds are their way of leading us in the right direction. When a child is chosen to be a Templar, it is very unlikely that they will find a fated. It would be needless heartbreak and the gods aren't that cruel."
"But it has happened?" Joanna asked, picking a soft bread with a filling of berries and sweet nectar.
"It has," Eredin admitted. "Rarely."
"What becomes of them then?" she asked.
"The Templar has to decide."
"And? What have they chosen before?"
Eredin smiled, seeing the way Joanna's hand stopped as she waited with bated breath.
"They've all chosen their fateds," he said. "Without fault. That is what we needed you to know. You did nothing wrong. You never could. If we – if you were to leave, we would still think it was all worth it.
“If two weeks was all we were ever going to get, in exchange for something we trained our whole lives for, then so be it. We would treasure being with you above everything."
A smile flashed on Joanna's face before she turned sad again.
"The way you say that makes it sound like my leaving would completely break your hearts," she said.
"You can't take it like that," Eredin said at once. "That is not how fated bonds work. They always come with danger of devastation. It is not a reason to stay although I would give everything I have for you to choose not to go.
"The risk of heartbreak is the price of love. That is how it needs to be."
Joanna slowly set the pastry down and looked at them both seriously.
"I don't want you to think I'm taking this lightly," she said.
"We're not," Rago assured her. "I agree with Eredin. It is not an easy choice for you while it is no choice at all for us. All that matters to us is that you are safe and happy."
"There it is," Joanna said and her beautiful dark eyes glinted in the fading light of the day. "The way you speak of love and the bond, of everything. I've never felt anything that strong in my life. For anything.
“I want to know what it feels like, to love like that. I never thought it would find me and now it has."
The hint was clear enough in her voice. Eredin stood from his seat and walked over to her. Rago did the same and they sat on either side of Joanna, sensing how tense she was as her pretty lips parted to say something. Not a sound came before Eredin leaned down and captured her mouth with his.
It sent a shock of pleasure through him. Not lust, although that as well. It was pure, unchecked love that boiled in his veins as Eredin softly pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss. Joanna moaned sweetly, the sound going right to his cock, stirring in his pants.
He ran his arms all over her body, feeling the contours of the body he wanted to see naked and shivering before him.
Joanna whimpered when he slid his hands into her soft hair, pulling her even closer and letting his tongue sli
p into her mouth. She clung to him and Eredin could almost hear how fast her heart was beating all of a sudden. She tasted amazing, like the sweetest drink he'd ever had as he explored her hot, wet mouth.
He was burning, burning up in the flames of the bond and yet he wanted more. In the end, only his need to let her breathe made Eredin pull back. Joanna's eyes were wide and filled with desire as she looked at him before Rago pulled her to him.
Eredin had started the day, confident that he knew all the truths of the world. There was only one for him in the dim twilight evening, watching his fated, still feeling the ghost of her kiss on his lips.
No matter what, he couldn't let her go.
Ten
Joanna
She was losing her mind, fast.
A part of Joanna was pretty certain she'd lost it a while ago, because what else had made her accept the random proposal of an alien to come to a planet light-years from home. And all that in the company of two men who claimed to be her fateds, her true soul mates. They hadn't even known each other for one whole day.
Rago's lips on hers felt amazing, demanding and unyielding as if he knew exactly what kind of an effect he had on her. Joanna's entire body was burning as she refused to back away from the kiss that both excited and terrified her.
"You look amazing," Eredin whispered behind her, the warlord's strong hands wandering over her body, looking for ways to touch more of her.
She'd never been so conflicted in her life, yet the current that seemed to have dragged her in on the morning of that day wasn't giving in. The waves of pleasure that rocked over her convinced Joanna that it wasn't simple curiosity or lust, although there was plenty of that too. It was a pull much deeper and more profound than that.
"I don't know about you guys," Joanna breathed between two kisses, aware she was panting. "But if we are going to keep doing this, I'd like us to be somewhere considerably more private. Like a room with actual walls, maybe a roof."
The warlords pulled away, both regarding her with such desire in their eyes that Joanna honestly felt scared, only in the best kind of way. They seemed to be able to hold themselves together by sheer force alone and then Eredin confirmed her suspicions.
