by Hope Hart
My mother was a wise female. Gentle and kind. Unfortunately, she knew better than to go walking without any protection. Two mishua had already been attacked, and our sentries had warned the tribe about the threat of hungry beasts as the cold season dragged relentlessly on.
My mother was smart, but she made a mistake. A “bad call,” as Beth would say. Just as Hana did. Both of them knew better than to leave the camp while unprotected.
The thought slams into me, squeezing my chest until it feels as if I will suffocate. All this time, I’ve felt as if the fault lay completely with me. From the look on my father’s face, he felt the same. So he turned his attention elsewhere, choosing to believe he was betrayed by his tribe. And I? I turned my attention inward, believing that I didn’t deserve to have love.
I wasn’t lying. I do love Beth. I thought it didn’t matter. That my love was irrelevant, given my past.
Instead, it’s the only thing that matters.
“Join with me, son. Join with Lafa, and we will make Dexar pay for his father’s arrogance.”
Distantly, I’m aware that the battle is ending. Voildi have fled, and even some of Lafa’s warriors are moving away, likely hoping to escape the punishment they’re owed for betraying their people.
“You are wrong,” I bite out. “Your mind has been twisted, and you can’t even see what you have done. You could have stayed and been a father. Instead, you joined with the Voildi? I am shamed to be known as your son.”
My father’s face darkens to an even deeper purple, his knuckles turning white as he clutches his sword. Then he glances over my shoulder, and a slow smile spreads over his face.
“I believe I have something that will change your mind.”
In the distance, Rakiz roars, and I spin, my blood running cold as Perik and Zetri drag Beth and Nevada onto the battlefield, close to the camp’s entrance.
“You will die for this,” I choke out, turning my mishua.
“Be careful how you threaten me, son. I currently have everything you hold dear.”
Beth’s face is white, while Nevada is flushed with rage. Both females are shaking, and Rakiz pounds past me on his mishua as he leaves Lafa for Tecar to end.
My mishua draws even with Rakiz’s as I select and discard possible options. He glances at me, and we automatically separate, approaching the females from opposite sides.
“Careful,” Perik’s voice sounds over the remaining battle. He shows me the long knife in his hand, the lethal blade positioned next to Beth’s delicate skin.
I’m wearing her dragon scale. What little protection she had is covering my heart.
“Let them go or die,” I snarl, and Perik grins at me.
“You don’t seem to understand,” he says. “You no longer tell me what to do. I now tell you what to do.”
“Perik?” Tazo’s voice is hoarse, and I meet his gaze. He’s approaching from the south, while Rakiz has moved in from the north, and I urge my mishua forward from the east as Tazo distracts Perik and Zetri.
Zetri jerks his head, shaking Nevada. She looks like a child next to him, and Rakiz freezes as Zetri holds her by her neck. He has no weapon, but he does not need one. He could break her neck in an instant.
Tazo moves closer, his gaze desperate as it meets mine.
“What do you want?” Rakiz growls, and Zetri laughs.
“Take your sword and drive it into your heart. Then I’ll let her live.”
“No,” Nevada says. “No, no, no, no, no!”
She twists in Zetri’s arms, and he snarls, shaking her.
“Karja, it is done,” Rakiz says, and Perik grins at me as I jump off my mishua.
My father’s voice sounds from over my shoulder. “I want you to have everything you want, son. If you want this strange, alien female, you will have her. As long as you join with us.”
Tazo is moving closer to Beth, and I turn to my father, hoping to distract him.
“If I join with you, you will free both females.”
My father tilts his head, considering.
“No,” a voice sounds, and we all turn. Somehow Killis is still alive. He sits on a mishua, likely driving the poor animal insane with his scent. He has removed her horns and tied her mouth shut, having positioned sharp pieces of wood along the underside of the saddle, which dig into the mishua’s scales until blood runs down her sides.
“How the fuck did you guys not kill this asshole?” Nevada asks, and Zetri slaps her across the face. Rakiz steps forward, his entire body shaking with rage.
Javir appears, his face draining of color as he stares at Beth.
Across the battlefield, someone roars, and we all turn as Tecar slides his sword into Lafa’s gut. But I have no room for satisfaction as the traitor falls to the ground.
Tecar jumps from his mishua and ends Lafa’s suffering, his eyes hard as he lifts his head and takes in our current situation.
Killis growls as Tecar mounts his mishua and makes his way toward us, sword swinging out as he casually beheads a fleeing Voildi.
“We offered to spare the females and children, and you declined,” Killis says. He smiles at Nevada. “I told you I would take your eye.”
She raises one eyebrow coolly, but her face pales as Zetri grabs her by the hair, ready to pull her toward Killis.
Beth screams, reaching for her friend, and I’m lunging toward her before I realize I have acted.
“Uh-uh,” Perik says. He slices his knife up Beth’s side, and I take a step forward, then freeze as he holds the knife close. “I will gut her in front of you, Zarix.”
Never before have I felt this helpless.
I would take the slice of that knife a thousand times if it meant that Beth didn’t have to, yet all I can do is watch and wait, hoping for my chance.
Beth will not be taken from me.
Javir pokes his head up from where he is now hiding behind one of the huge boulders that mark the camp’s entrance. He meets my gaze, and I catch a flash of a blade before he ducks his head again.
He’s showing me his weapon. I turn my attention back to where Beth is staring at me, tears running down her cheeks.
We speak two different languages, the communicators the only way we can understand each other. Yet I have memorized the shapes her lips make when she tells me she loves me.
She mouths the words now, tears in her eyes, and I step forward.
“Take me instead,” I say.
“No,” my father growls, but I pay him no attention.
Killis studies me and laughs. “Oh, how these proud warriors fall, so quick to beg. Your tribes will be no more thanks to a few weak alien females.”
Javir chooses that moment to strike.
Beth
My side burns, but if these motherfuckers think they’re going to kill us in front of our warriors, they’re idiots. My heart aches at the expression on Zarix’s face as he stares at me, shaking with fury.
That’s his father near him. The huge warrior on the mishua. I can see similarities in the way that they look, and he called Zarix “son” earlier. Zarix’s face completely shut down at the word, and he hasn’t looked at his father again.
Perik twists slightly, and I manage to make eye contact with Nevada. Her eyes are clear and hard, and the look on her face helps me wrestle with the fear that’s threatening to rise up and engulf me.
I blow out a long breath, and she gives me a tiny nod. We didn’t end up on this planet just to die horrible deaths.
“I’m going to be sick,” I murmur, and Perik automatically leans back slightly. Then the asshole holding Nevada screams, and I break out in a cold sweat as I see Javir’s blue face, his jaw set in the stubborn expression I know all too well.
He moves like a flash, sliding his knife along the back of Nevada’s attacker’s knees, and he passes her the knife as the warrior folds. Perik jolts forward, waving his knife at Nevada, who he’s obviously deemed the biggest threat.
I slam my head back into his face so hard that
I see stars. Then I twist, snapping my leg up in a grand battement. This time, however, the move isn’t pretty, and I bend my knee, jerking my head out of the way as I slam my foot into his chin.
I fall, off balance, but the warriors are there, and within moments blood sprays my face as Rakiz and Zarix kill the traitors.
I sit in shock, my hands shaking, and I watch as if from a distance as Killis attempts to turn his mishua, his eyes wild.
The mishua seizes her moment, not giving in to his awful torture as he digs the sharpened wood into her side. She swings her head from side to side, and my mouth opens as Vrex appears out of nowhere. He’s covered in so much blood it’s as if his clothes are dyed red, and he swings his sword, gutting Killis in the blink of an eye. It’s so fast it’s almost anticlimactic.
The mishua snorts, blood running down her side, and the sight of her is so sad that I let out a shaky sob, tears dripping down my cheeks.
And then Zarix is there, hushing me as he pulls me into his arms, rocking me like a baby. He’s holding me so tight he’s almost crushing me, but I don’t care, crawling up his body until I can bury my face in his neck.
“I thought I’d lose you,” he murmurs, stroking my hair as he clutches me to him. I shake and cry, sobbing against him.
“Is she okay?” a voice asks, and I pull back, wiping tears off my face.
I reach for Javir, who kneels and winds his arms around my neck. For a moment, all three of us are joined in a group hug.
“I’m fine, I promise,” I say.
Zarix clears his throat. “You were very brave,” he tells Javir, who turns a darker shade of blue as he flushes. “Your actions helped save Beth’s life.”
I narrow my eyes at Zarix.
“Still,” I say, “that was dangerous. You won’t do that again, agreed?”
Javir rolls his eyes, and the males share a look. I sigh.
“You need a healer,” Zarix says to me. In front of us, Rakiz has his arms wrapped around Nevada, who sends me a thumbs-up. Rakiz’s face is hard, and he glowers at the bodies of the traitors as if he wishes he could kill them again.
Zarix gets to his feet, holding me close, and I’m numb as we walk through camp. Injured warriors line up outside the healers’ kradi, and I tense in his arms.
“They need healing more than I do,” I say, and he frowns down at me. “I am taking you to Rakiz’s healer. I nearly lost you today. Please do not argue. I need to know for sure that you’re okay.”
I sigh but nod, and Zarix walks past the main healers’ kradi and into another large, spacious kradi. There are a few warriors being seen to, but an old woman smiles at me as Zarix places me on an empty bed.
“My name is Moni, child. Now let me see where you’re hurt.”
I introduce myself and show her my wound, and she tuts, reaching for a tray of instruments. I grab Zarix’s hand, and he kneels beside me, pressing kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, my mouth.
“Close your eyes,” he whispers, and I comply, blowing out a breath as my side burns.
Moni is quick, and within a few minutes, Zarix is lifting me back into his arms and striding back toward our kradi.
Someone has arranged for a large barrel of water to be brought in, and Zarix gently undresses me before wetting a large cloth and wiping every inch of my skin. He dries me tenderly, occasionally stopping to feather kisses along my shoulder or nuzzle my neck. At one point, he falls to his knees, and my mouth drops open as he wraps his arms around my stomach, careful not to brush the cut along my side.
He holds me close, and his huge body shudders for a long moment. His voice is hoarse, and my eyes fill with tears again as he trembles, obviously fighting not to fall apart. “Never again, Beth. Never. Promise me.”
“Shh. Never again,” I murmur. “I promise.”
He nods and gets to his feet, his face paler than I’ve ever seen it. Then he helps me lie down on our furs and strips, cleaning the blood off his body, his movements matter-of-fact.
He leans over me. “I want you to rest,” he says. “I need to meet with Tecar and Rakiz, but I will be back as soon as I can.”
My voice is small. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“Of course.” He lies down beside me, wraps his arm around me, and strokes my hair soothingly until my lids grow heavy.
Beth
I blink open my eyes as someone strokes my face.
Zarix.
I pull him close as it all comes back to me. We’re all safe.
“Were there many lives lost?” My voice is hoarse, and I wonder how long I slept.
“Fewer than two hundred warriors.”
I reach up and stroke Zarix’s frown away. “I’m sorry.”
He nods, gently rolling until I’m beneath him, completely surrounded by his huge body. He leans over me. “We need to talk.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Isn’t that my line?”
“I have hunted for Dexar for many years, never spending the credits I was paid. My kradi is large, and I am entitled to rooms in Dexar’s kradi if I want them.”
I frown in confusion. I’m not quite sure why he’s telling me this, but his eyes are intent, so I simply nod.
“There are other warriors here. Warriors that are not as…difficult as me. Warriors that are good at talking, with easy smiles. Warriors that deserve a female like you. But I’m begging you to be with me. Come back to camp and be my mate, Beth. No warrior could love you better than I could.”
I open my mouth, but the words don’t come out. I’m suddenly speechless. Zarix obviously takes my silence as denial, and his eyes widen slightly, his voice rough.
“I know I pushed you away. I was determined not to risk loving someone ever again. But you made me love you, and now I can’t do anything else. I know I don’t compare to your dancing, but I swear, if you let me love you, I will spend the rest of my days determined to make you feel the same way about me.”
And just like that, my life will never be the same. Dancing was everything until a hard-headed warrior saved my life and made me want things I never wanted before. My career was always going to end at some point, but Zarix? When he loves, he loves fiercely. His love is forever, which is why he refused to let anyone close.
A tear spills down my cheek, and Zarix brushes it away.
I let out a choked sob, and Zarix’s expression turns panicked.
“Of course I want to be with you. I love you, Zarix.”
Pure relief crosses his face, and he leans down, taking my mouth.
“Ew,” a voice says, and my hands come up, pushing against Zarix’s hard chest as we both turn our heads.
Javir gives us both an impatient look. “Does this mean I need to find a new kradi?”
I burst out laughing, and both males stare at me, identical expressions of confusion on their faces.
Epilogue
Beth
“Close your eyes,” Zarix murmurs.
I tilt my head, holding back a grin. “You know, you don’t have to keep arranging for all these surprises. I’m not going to suddenly change my mind. I chose your grumpy ass, remember?”
Zarix grins back at me, and I can’t help it; I pull him close. Just a few months ago, I thought I’d never get to see his smile. Now he’s smiling and laughing so much that his fellow warriors stare at him as if he’s been possessed.
Javir sighs beside me. “Are you two going to be gross again?”
I shoot him a look. “We’re being romantic,” I say, and Zarix narrows his eyes at him.
“Find somewhere else to be,” he advises, and Javir rolls his eyes but throws us a grin over his shoulder as he stalks out.
We’re hanging in Zarix’s kradi, which is indeed very large. It turns out that the one we stayed in last time we were here was a temporary one reserved for warriors who were away hunting. This whole time, Zarix has had a massive kradi just begging to be furnished, but he never spent enough time at camp to care about it.
Javir has his own k
radi next to ours, although he joins us for most of our meals. His mom was fine, but when we finally managed to get a message to her, she asked if we would mind keeping Javir with us while she gets back on her feet. Apparently Zarix has arranged for her hut to be rebuilt whenever she’s ready, but for now she can’t face going back to the place where her husband was kidnapped and her home was burned to the ground.
So for now, Javir’s ours. And despite his quick fingers and bad attitude, neither of us would have it any other way.
“Close them,” Zarix says, and then I’m grinning as he ties a piece of material around my eyes. He lifts me into his arms, and I strain my hearing, attempting to figure out where he’s taking me.
He’s no dummy. He’s obviously instructed everyone to be quiet, and I pout, jolting as Zarix’s warm lips find mine.
“Patience,” he says.
He walks for a few more minutes and then pauses. He walks a little more and then pauses again. This happens a few more times until I’m practically vibrating with impatience.
Finally he places me on my feet. He takes a deep breath, and I smile. My warrior is nervous.
He removes the blindfold, and I gasp.
It’s a dance studio.
Even wood planks line the floor, and from the jeweled-colored cloth on the walls, I’m guessing we’re in Dexar’s massive kradi.
Alexis or Nevada must have told him what I’d need. A large mirror stands on one side of the room, and Zarix has even set up a barre, made out of several pieces of thin, polished wood.
“Oh my God,” I breathe.
He knew how much I missed dancing, and he somehow managed to construct this room for me without letting me suspect a thing.
“Will you show me your dancing?” He moves to the wall, where several low seats sit, and I almost blush at the heat in his eyes.
“Now?”
A single sharp nod.
“Let me warm up a bit first.”
