Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga)

by Bethany Aan

  “I want all of these drives translated and analyzed as soon as possible. Wake your team, if you need to, and any other systems specialists you need.”

  “Aye, sir,” Trey said. “What are we looking for?”

  “We’re looking for any reason in the cosmos a slave ship would be transporting these women for a hundred-fifty years, into this far-flung part of this galaxy.”

  “What do you mean ‘this galaxy’?” Bev asked softly, swiping at her tears. Hunter saw that she had more color in her face now.

  Jace hurried in at that point and Hunter quickly brought him up to speed. Jace’s countenance showed his concentration as his mind whirled through possible explanations for a moment, then he nodded.

  “That actually explains their lack of injuries from the crash,” he said thoughtfully. Ri raised an eyebrow at him. He chuckled and shook his head. “To be honest, you all should probably have died, or at the very least, you should all be in the med center still, mending broken bones, backs, and brains. It’s a miracle that you weren’t. But the gel that is used to sustain a body in stasis tends to keep that body very pliable. The longer you’re in the gel, the more pliable your bones tend to become. The gel is then absorbed and restores rigidity and muscle tone. The effects wear off very shortly after being removed from the gel, as in minutes after, but if you lot were able to get free of the gel before the ship crashed, you would still have been ‘loose’ enough that the impact wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much.” He gazed at Ri for a moment. “I have a feeling that you were one of the first ones released from the gel, and were conscious when the ship crashed, which is why you are the worst hurt.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” she murmured, but wanted to know more about a gel that could turn bones to cartilage and back again in moments. “Though I don’t remember being awake.”

  “Would you want to remember that crash?” Jace asked quietly. Ri shook her head frantically. Jace sighed, turning to Hunter. “Commander, I’d like permission to take some blood samples from the women, see if I can detect the chemical compound that triggers the phenomenon. I might be able to confirm how long they were in the gel, now that I know what to look for.”

  “With their consent, of course,” Hunter said, looking to Ri for permission. She quickly nodded.

  “I’ll even go first,” she said, offering her arm to Jace, who chuckled and reached for his med kit.

  Bev had calmed down considerably and was working with Trey to get more of the drives into the translating devices as his team members and several other teams arrived, were briefed, and got to work. Jace collected a sample from her, as well, then excused himself to go run the tests in his lab.

  “Hunter, you told me we are on a planet called Ishira,” Ri said thoughtfully, “But, where are we, in space?”

  Hunter brought up a star map. He showed her Ishira on the map, then panned out until she could see the galaxy they were in.

  “It’s not the Milky Way,” she breathed, touching the screen in wonder. She looked at Hunter with some confusion. “So we’re not even in our own galaxy? How fast can those slaver ships travel. And… But… a hundred fifty years? Why in the world would anyone hang onto us for that long? There can’t be any profit at all in that. I mean, they’d have to sell us for… well, a lot more than any of us could possibly be worth.”

  “I don’t know,” Hunter sighed, shaking his head wearily at her. “But there are a few things we need to find out, to help us, I think. In the first place, do you have any idea what your galaxy might look like from outside?”

  “I have no clue,” Ri shook her head regretfully. “There are artists’ conceptions, and we’ve been able to look at other galaxies, but not our own. Our furthest-reaching probe has… had just left our Solar system when we were abducted.”

  “Do you happen to have any pictures of those other galaxies somewhere?” Erik asked from his station, excited at the possibility. “If we can match the galaxies and certain stars, we might be able to get an idea of where you were, in relation to our position now.”

  “I had some on my laptop,” Ri said. Hunter handed her the pack she’d been using when she was taken. She dug through the bag, opening a zippered compartment and pulling out her laptop.

  “If you can get it to boot up, I should be able to find the pictures.” Hunter grinned at her as he handed the device over to Trey. She cocked her head at him as Trey and Bev worked to get her machine going. “Hunter, when did you find these?”

  “Yesterday,” he told her.

  “If we could remember what happened that night,” Bev said softly, “Maybe we’d understand more of this. But I can’t.”

  “I can’t, either,” Ri admitted. It made her head hurt to try. Hunter’s hand clasped hers on the desk top, silently urging her not to try too hard.

  “The most pressing question, though, is… Who shot the abductors?” Hunter said into the silence that followed Ri’s admission.

  “If they waited around that long, for the ship to get this far, they’re not going to leave it to chance that they destroyed the slave transport.”

  “Commander,” Trey said, his voice excited. Both Hunter and Ri looked up. She rolled her eyes at herself as Hunter reached over to squeeze her hand approvingly. Only a few days and she was already used to the title Hunter had given her. Trey winked at her, but nodded confirmation that he’d been talking to her, as well. “I’ve got the most recent entries coming up now. It looks like these… merchants… were chased off course in this direction. They were attacked several weeks ago, further out, on their intended route. Their attackers let them get away a bit, then chased them in a new direction. Then attacked again. The slave ship was chased in a new and narrower corridor.”

  “They were being herded,” Hunter murmured as Trey sent the escape route to Hunter’s screen. “They were being guided… here.”

  Ri gasped at that, then met Hunter’s eyes, alarm and confusion vying for supremacy in her mind.

  “Hunter…” Jace began from the doorway, having heard the exchange. The commander nodded, tapped in a few commands, and brought up another chart. Ri and Jace leaned forward to see it. Jace’s face paled. He gripped the back of Ri’s chair until his knuckles turned white. “Gods of Ishira!”

  “Aye!” Trey breathed. Bev’s breath sucked in as well.

  “What in the name of the gods is going on?” Hunter asked, bewildered.

  “I don’t know,” Jace said, his eyes wide, “But I’m beginning to think that none of this has been an accident. Not our being chased to this sector, not the women landing here… none of it.”

  Hunter stared at the screen, his brow furrowing more with each passing minute. Finally, he sighed raggedly and tapped a few buttons.

  “Nothing on long-range,” Rom said quietly, looking at the new screen that was displayed.

  “Rom, I want eyes and ears in space,” Hunter said decisively, getting to his feet to pace. “There’s someone out there playing a game with us, and I want to know when they make their next move.”

  “Aye, sir,” Rom said, turning to bring up the perimeter and long range scanners.

  “What about radio silence?” Trey asked quietly. Hunter shook his head.

  “I’m more concerned about being taken by surprise now,” the commander admitted. “For all we know, whoever attacked that transport has long since disappeared now that the ship has crashed here. But I’m not willing to risk our lives on that. Eyes and ears in space, silent if anything Solvari shows up. Anything else, I want to know every detail you can find out, the moment you find it.”

  “Aye, sir,” Rom said, saluting Hunter and going back to work.

  “And the rest of it?” Trey asked, nodding toward the computers.

  “Translate as much as you can. I want it available on the main server for whoever can read and help collate the data. Contact Gust and see if any of his crew is available to come help out. Forensics might be able to help us piece together a timeline.”

  T
rey nodded and he and Bev set to work.

  “What about me?” Ri asked quietly as everyone else went to work. Hunter blinked down at her, then smiled gently and clasped her face between his hands.

  “First of all, you should rest. I need you healthy. I’m getting the feeling that we are going to be using our Reading powers a lot, soon. You and I will work closely to follow leads as they come up within the data, and see if we can Read our way through it.” His face tightened into a stern mask. “And both of you, Bev, Arianna… not a word of this to the women until we know more.”

  Several hours later, Ri had unwittingly fallen asleep on Hunter’s shoulder as he, Jace, Bev, and Trey talked about some of their findings. Hunter knew that she was exhausted, knew that she needed to go to bed, but he didn’t want to take her back to the dorm yet. Bev was yawning hugely, but her bright eyes said that she didn’t want to leave this party until it was over. Making the decision to call it a night, Hunter sighed and gently shifted Arianna into his arms, rising with her. She stirred long enough to see that it was him carrying her, murmured sweetly, and nuzzled her face against his chest, falling back to sleep. Bev grinned at that, then frowned, rubbing her neck.

  “I’m going to wake everyone in the dorm, trying to get settled,” she said ruefully. Trey grinned down at her.

  “We have a spare bed in our quarters,” he offered. She stared up at him, then slowly narrowed her gaze.

  “You have four beds in your apartment?” she asked innocently. His face flushed as he shook his head. “Then how do you have a spare?”

  “What I meant was,” Trey backpedaled, “I will take the couch and you can have my bed for tonight. To keep from waking your companions, and also so that you can sleep in. If you go to bed now, they will wake you in a few short hours. You need your rest, as well, if we are to continue this project later today.”

  “Ahh,” she murmured, as though trying to detect a lie. Trey, Rom, and Erik all held onto similar expressions of complete innocence. Bev was too tired to argue. Hunter refrained from saying a word, glad that Ri wasn’t awake to give away his cousins’ game. Finally, the little blonde nodded. “You’re right. I won’t get any sleep at all if I go back to the dorm right now.”

  The group left to find their respective beds while the rest of the teams shut down computers and went to their own quarters. At Hunter’s insistence, Jace pulled himself from his research to shut down his station, then looked at Ri in Hunter’s arms.

  “What do we do with the little bit?” he asked softly, his eyes showing his affection for the sleeping woman. Unable to keep from touching her, Jace fussed with the blankets, tucking them securely around her feet after checking her leg.

  “I don’t want her back in that dorm,” Hunter said succinctly, then told Jace about the incident with Amy as they shut off the lights and made their way up to their quarters. Jace sighed and cursed beneath his breath.

  “The girl is going to be more trouble than she’s worth, I think,” he finally said as they reached their apartment. Jace opened the door so that Hunter could carry Ri inside, then closed it behind them. “I did a psyche scan, and she has no chemical imbalances that would cause such behavior.”

  “That is almost more troubling to me,” Hunter admitted, looking around the apartment. Jace shook his head, grinning wryly.

  “Put her in my bed,” the younger man said. “You know I don’t mind the couch, and you sleep better in your own bed.”

  “Thank you,” Hunter breathed, then looked down at the sweet woman in his arms. “I don’t want to let go of her.”

  “Then don’t,” Jace said with a shrug. “But you get to explain to her why you’re making love to her when she’s still injured and vulnerable.”

  “I wouldn’t…” Hunter stopped and grinned helplessly at his brother. “Aye, I might.”

  “I would,” Jace said, chuckling. “Which is why neither of us will sleep with her until she is better.”

  Hunter grunted at that, then gently put her to bed in Jace’s room, tucking covers around her securely as Jace plumped pillows beneath her broken leg. They both stared down at her for a long moment.

  “I want to keep her,” Hunter murmured. Jace clapped him on the back.

  “So do I, brother. But for now, sleep. We will figure out the rest as we go.”

  Seeing the wisdom in that, Hunter nodded, kissed Ri tenderly on the forehead, and gratefully went to find his own bed.

  Arianna awoke later that morning to the muted sounds of water splashing in the bathroom off of Jace’s bed chamber. Rolling onto her side, she snuggled the pillow on his bed, burying her nose in his scent. The smell of these guys was enough to make her head spin. Pheromones were definitely compatible between their species! She heard the water turn off and quickly shut her eyes. Almost. She tried to even her breathing so that he would think she was still asleep, then watched through her eyelashes as he exited the bathing room, naked, and padded over to his closet.

  All thoughts of pretending to sleep were shattered when she got a full look at his nude form. She sat bolt upright in the bed when she saw his sex, a soft cry of distress escaping her.

  “What?” he asked, whirling to face her, dropping into a fighting stance. He saw her pale face, her mouth open in shock, and hurried over to her. “Are you hurt? What is wrong?”

  She gaped at his crotch, but he was too busy trying to figure out where she was hurt to really notice. Hunter did, though. He’d heard as well as sensed her surprise, and had come on the run. He was also naked. When he saw where she was staring, he choked back a laugh. Jace was so concerned over her well-being that he was still fussing over her when Hunter could no longer contain his amusement.

  Arianna started guiltily and switched her gaze to Hunter, who’d crossed his arms and was leaning against the doorway, grinning wickedly at her, his staff already at half-mast. Seeing Jace’s flaccid member had startled her. Seeing Hunter’s growing cock took her breath and the rest of her color away.

  “Oh. My. God!” she breathed, sinking against the pillows and throwing the blanket over her head. “Ohmygod. Ohmygod.Ohmygod!”

  Hunter threw back his head and laughed. Jace, his face darkening, looked at his naked brother, then down at himself, then at Arianna’s shrouded head.

  “You are not hurt?” he asked Arianna carefully. She shook her head. He snatched the blanket from her grasp, tugging it fully from her possession. She blinked up at him. When she realized that both men were highly amused by her reaction, the color rushed back to her face.

  “No,” she answered in a mortified whisper. Jace’s face went dark with frustration, his amusement put on the back burner.

  “Then why did you cry out?” Jace thundered. “You scared ten lives out of me!”

  “I… I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I just didn’t… I wasn’t expecting… “

  She threw a helpless look at Hunter, who merely grinned hugely and offered no assistance whatsoever. The beast.

  “Did not expect what?” Jace asked angrily, crossing his arms over his muscular chest.

  “That,” Arianna pointed, then covered her flaming face with her hands. Hunter nearly doubled over with laughter.

  Jace looked down at himself, where she was pointing, and found nothing out of the ordinary.

  “What?” he asked, throwing a bewildered look toward his brother.

  “I do not think she has seen men of our… er… endowments before, brother,” Hunter chuckled. “We appear to be more impressive than the men of her world.”

  “They’re huge!” Arianna cried, peeking once more before hiding her face again. They continued laughing until she threw a pillow at each one. “Oh, stop it!”

  “Your face, little one!” Hunter laughed, leaning back against the wall. “It was as though you have never seen one before.”

  “Well, I have,” she huffed. “Many times, in fact. But those are… yours is… oh, for heaven’s sake!” she threw up her arms and tried to get out of the bed, to escape t
heir laughter and her embarrassment. But her leg gave out the moment she tried to put weight on it.

  Their laughter stopped the moment she cried out in true distress, and gentle hands caught and lifted her. Hunter hugged her to him, nuzzling her cheek.

  “Do not worry, little one. When the time comes, you will not think it so distressing.”

  “I’m not sure… I don’t think it will work,” she said weakly, hiding her face against his neck. He chuckled again as Jace quickly checked to be sure she hadn’t done any damage to her leg.

  “It will,” Jace said, throwing her a hot look when she looked up again. “We will be sure that you are more than prepared, and any pain is buried beneath so much pleasure that you will not notice it.”

  Her body responded to his words and tone, though her face remained inflamed. Further mortifying her, both men caught her scent of her sudden arousal and remarked on it. Their gentle teasing finally reassured her, though she never would have imagined it would have that affect. Hunter carried her into the bathroom and wiggled his eyebrows at her as she balanced on her good leg and waited for him to leave. She threw a towel at his head when he asked if she was sure she didn’t need his help, then laughed and closed the door.

  She stayed in the bathroom for awhile, not wanting to face them yet. Using the excuse of washing up, she took her sweet time, hoping that they would have to leave to go to their chores or shifts or whatever. Deciding that she could only stay there so long, though, she finally drew in a deep breath to steady herself, then hopped to the door and opened it. She hadn’t hopped more than three times before Jace was there, ignoring her when she insisted on getting to the living room under her own steam. He just picked her up and carried her to the couch. He seemed to be vastly amused still, but she was very happy to see that both men were dressed now, their frighteningly huge cocks stuffed away behind their pants. No shirts, but at least they weren’t naked any longer.

  Jace deposited her on the couch, along with her blanket. She watched as the two prepared the morning meal, their companionable and sometimes snippy conversation reinforcing their assertion that they were brothers, indeed. It reminded her so much of her younger days living at home, when she and her siblings had many of the same arguments and teasing, that she became a bit nostalgic. If this was the kind of thing she could look forward to each morning once she was being truly courted, she was game. The brothers performed their tasks as though they had been doing it for decades, which they might have, once she thought about it. Hunter had said that he was one hundred sixty-seven. She seemed to be one hundred eighty five earth years, which they had roughly figured translated to about one-fifty-two Thorsani. The men had been trapped here for ten of this planet’s years, though she wasn’t sure how that translated to either her time or theirs. Her head was spinning trying to figure it out. Banishing the thoughts, determined to figure it out later, she sighed and wished she could do something to help prepare the meal.