"You know, Valan, suddenly I feel much better. And, I'm starving."
"I'm extending the agreement to the den."
"Good! I've always wondered what it would be like to make love on your desk."
Her words stole his breath, and his anger. "Come here, little cat, and I'll show you."
"No. I'm sick. And, hungry. Remember?"
"Come here and I'll make you feel much better."
"Feed me first."
Valan quickly prepared a food tray and glass of juice. He left them on his desk, then went to the bed. She rose to her knees and held her arms out to him. Carefully, he carried her to his chair. She smiled when she saw the juice.
He held a bite of food to her lips. She took it, then offered him a piece of a savory bread. Slowly, the food on the tray disappeared. As they sipped the juice, she rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her relax and knew the moment she fell asleep.
"I love you, little cat."
"Valan?"
"Shhh. Go back to sleep, Lia."
"Love you, too."
The next cycle she couldn't look at the desk in their quarters without blushing. He found her blushes amusing and teased her mercilessly.
***
The previous night he'd questioned her about the warriors in the gymnasium and what they'd done to her. Her answer sent him into a thundering rage and he'd tried to force a description of the attackers from her. She'd stubbornly refused to give it to him. She didn't really know why she wouldn't, only that it was important he not find out. At least not from her.
It didn't take Valan long to remember all of the details of the cycle and figure out the identity of at least one of the warriors. Cedrik Angusson. The identity of the rest of the warriors was easier to discover. Cedrik had four friends who went everywhere with him. It made sense the five of them had planned and carried out the attack on Lia.
Two cycles later Lia and Minda were exploring the ship when they saw Cedrik and his friends coming toward them. In the past, Lia had been frightened when she saw this particular group but recently they'd done everything they could to make her feel welcome on the Invincible. As they passed, they murmured greetings and kept going.
"Where do you suppose they're going, Minda?"
"Warrior's business I suppose."
Another group of warriors marched by going in the same direction. Royce Garrikson and Hugh Elofson were with them.
Lia watched them for a second then whispered, "Something must be wrong. They look so serious. Let's follow them."
"Uh, Lia, I don't think that's a good idea."
A third group of warriors passed them, closely followed by a fourth. Lia grabbed Minda and pulled her along as she fell in behind them.
"Valan and Cam won't like this."
Lia stopped. "What aren't you telling me, Minda?"
"Well, Valan found out who attacked you in the gymnasium and he's challenged them."
"You mean he's going to fight all those warriors?"
"Cam said there were only five of them. I think the other warriors are going as witnesses."
"I've got to stop him."
Minda grabbed her arm and held her ground. "Lia, you don't know what he's already done. When he took you to the punishment arena, he did it because the Council made him. He didn't want to. Ruler Arlenson and Educator Seligson and some of the other warriors called for your judgment. They wanted the Council to kill you, but Valan defended you. Cam said it was a miracle they decided to only use the bands on you. Afterwards, when you were so ill, he went to the training field every cycle and challenged six of his warriors for what they'd done to you. The Council finally ordered him to stop or they'd exile him."
"Why didn't he tell me? All this time, I've blamed him."
"Because in a way he was to blame. It was the way he brought you to Zarronia and treated you that they used against you. He felt responsible for what happened."
"Won't the Council be angry if they find out he challenged his warriors again?"
"If they find out they will. Cam tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen."
"Then, I've got to stop him. Don't you see Minda? When they attacked me, they were only trying to show their support for him." She jerked her arm from Minda's grasp and ran toward the gymnasium.
***
Valan and the warriors turned to stare at her when she burst through the doors.
"Lia, return to our quarters."
"Alright. But, first I want to say something to your war—."
"Now, Lia."
She walked over to him so the others wouldn't hear her. "Our agreement doesn't include the gymnasium, Valan." She covered his mouth with her hand when he would have ordered her to leave again. "Do you want to argue with me in front of all your warriors, or can I say what I've come to say then leave?"
"Speak." The word was muffled beneath her hand, but she understood it.
She turned and smiled at the warriors. "I want you to know I understand why you, uh, did what you did. And, I hope the time will come when you will accept me and show me the same loyalty you have shown my bondmate."
Cedrik Angusson stepped forward. "Madami Valan, we are sorry for hurting and frightening you, and we want you to know we already accept you and we deserve whatever punishment the Commander chooses to give us." As he spoke, the others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thank you." She sent a smile to them. "Well, I suppose I'll leave now."
"Lia?"
"Yes, Valan."
"The agreement now covers the Invincible and all of Zarronia."
"Good. I've always wondered wha…"
"Leave!"
"Yes, Valan."
Minda stood in the doorway waiting for her.
"Don't look so glum, Minda. I'll tell Cam it wasn't your fault. I'll tell him I tortured the information out of you."
"What's Valan going to do now?"
"He's only got the galaxy left to add to our agreement. Then, I guess he'll have to think of something new."
"What? I don't understand."
"Never mind, Minda. I've been ordered back to my quarters. Do you want to join me?"
"No! I mean, I think I'll go take a nap."
Lia laughed. "He won't hurt me, Minda. I'll see you later."
She went to their quarters and sat down in his chair. He'd be there soon, but he'd be angry she'd interfered.
She thought he'd said he loved her. He might have only said the words in a dream. She wouldn't ask him again. Not after the answer he'd given her on Lanteria. She'd told him she was happy and she was most of the time.
She loved him and knew she could never leave him now. He might not ever love her, but she knew he would never betray her. It was rather nice knowing he couldn't turn to another female. Their life together was working out quite nicely. He had her and the babies and she had him and the babies. And, Eirik. She could hardly wait to get back to Zarronia and tell him about the silkbeetle trees. Too bad, he'd never met her mother. Valan said Eirik preferred small, blondes. Her mother would have been perfect for him.
The door opened and Valan entered. She examined him for scrapes and bruises and didn't see any.
"Get me some wine, then disappear for a while."
"Yes, Sir." She rose, fetched his wine, then went into the bathing chamber and ran a bath. She wrapped her hair in a drying cloth and slid into the warm scented water. Was this his new discipline? Banishing her from his presence?
Ten micro-units went by. Then, fifteen. "
"Lia. Come here."
She stepped out of the tub and wrapped a drying cloth around herself and went to him. He stopped her at the edge of the desk.
"Valan?"
"You will never again interfere between me and my warriors. Do you understand?"
Oh, Tor, he was going to turn into the barbarian again. She swayed and the room began to darken.
"Lia!" He saw her put out her hand to steady herself and quickly reached out and pulled her onto his lap. "Little
cat, are you alright?"
"Don't turn into the barbarian again. I can't bear it."
"Lia. Don't you know I love you? Don't you know I would never do that to you again?"
His words made her heart leap with joy. "You love me? Are you sure? On Lanteria you said you didn't."
"I've aged since then and gotten smarter."
She giggled, remembering what Eirik said to her the cycle she'd met him. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Father told you what he said."
"Yes. Tell me you love me."
"I love you. I'll always love you." She hugged his neck, and brought his lips to hers.
"Don't ever run from me again, Lia. I couldn't live without you now."
"I won't. From now on, I'll only run to you. I promise." She sealed her promise with a kiss.
***
The next cycle they arrived at Zarronia. Eirik waited in the transfer station to accompany them home. He greeted Lia and listened to her eager description of the sights she'd seen on Lanteria.
"What about this adventure of yours which Valan's told me about, Daughter?"
"It was only a misunderstanding, Father. Are you angry?"
"No, I'm not angry, but I was very concerned when Valan told me about it. I'm very fond of you, Lia, and I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to you."
"Thank you, Father. I'm very fond of you, also." This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for to mention her mother. "You know, Father, it's too bad you've never met my mother. I know you'd like her as well. I've been wondering if Valan could possibly go back to Zhang and bring her to me. I miss her so much and I've been so worried about her."
"Would she want to come here, Daughter?"
"Oh, yes. I know she would." Then teasingly added, "She's small, and blonde and beautiful, Father."
Valan hugged her. "In that case I'll go to Zhang and bring your mother back here."
She threw her arms around his neck and planted kisses on his cheeks and mouth. "When can we leave? Oh, I can't wait to see my mother. She'll be so happy!"
Before Valan could come up with an answer Eirik interrupted them. "We'll have to discuss this with the other warriors, Daughter. I think many of their bondmates would also like to have their mothers join them here on Zarronia."
"Oh, Father, I hadn't even thought of that but I'm sure you're right."
Eirik smiled at her before he turned to Valan. "Tell me how the new engine design performed. Did it do as well as we hoped?"
"Better. We made the journey in a little under four cycles. The new fuel cylinders worked efficiently, as well. I think we could get more speed if we increased..."
Lia tuned them out and spent the time planning for her mother. Her old chamber would be used for the babies, so she'd give her mother the chamber across the hall. Nessa would be so happy to finally escape Selik and be reunited with her. She wished for the thousandth time she knew how her mother was doing. Did she think she'd never see her again? Or she was dead?
She’d been gone for over three moon phases and she was worried about what happened when her sire discovered she and the other women were missing. It would be dangerous for Valan to return. She knew what would happen if Selik or Gorm caught him. Oh, Tor, she couldn't let anything happen to him.
"Valan? I don't want you to go to Zhang. I don't wa…"
"Shh, little cat." He traced her lips with his finger and hugged her to him. "I don't want you to worry about this, Lia."
She nodded, but knew she wouldn't stop worrying. He kept his arm around her waist as they walked up the path to their home and entered the sunlit hallway.
"Lia, Father and I have some warriors business to discuss. Why don't you unpack our clothes, then join us in about twenty micro-units. I'll invite Father to stay for dinner before he can invite himself."
***
Lia laughed and hugged Eirik.
"I believe I'll call Borg and have him join us," Eirik said.
Valan groaned. "You might as well know now Lia is no longer crying every time I turn around and I no longer suffer from morning sickness. Brocco-beans have lost their power to make me run for the nearest bathing chamber."
"That's alright, Son. We've already found something new to tease you about."
Lia giggled and Valan groaned before he sent her up the stairs with a pat on her bottom, and a reminder to come rescue him from Eirik in twenty micro-units. Eirik disappeared while he'd been busy with Lia, then returned carrying two tankards of ale. Valan took one and led him into his den.
"What were the results of the testing of the other bondmates?" Valan asked.
"All male children. The Council is in an uproar. We've kept the news from the other warriors for the time being. Borg told them he wanted to examine their bondmates to make sure that their pregnancies were progressing as expected. They are, by the way. All of them are healthy."
"Good news and bad. What will we do now, Father?"
"Keep searching. We figure there are enough Wrothian females for the warriors who need them now and in the next ten annuals. Hopefully, we'll find another compatible race before then."
"What about the machine we found?"
"The scientists have made some progress on it, but so much of it was destroyed before we found it. They've managed to piece together a strand of DNA and they're almost positive the race who built the machine is compatible with us. The linguists have much less to work with. The engineers finally managed to design a way to activate the discs which were inside it, but the language is so primitive. Aulun Garrikson believes it isn't one language, but many repeating the same message."
"Then, the machine must have been designed and sent by the inhabitants of several planets."
"That's what we thought until we questioned several historians and discovered a long time ago it was common for the people of one planet to speak many languages. This is another reason why we believe they're a primitive world."
"They haven't managed to unite, then? It might work to our advantage."
Eirik smiled. "Yes, it will. Now, all we have to do is find them. There are starcharts in the machine. Most of them are intact."
"What do the people look like, Father? Are they like us?"
"Yes. Some of the males appear to be close to our size. The females seem to be smaller than a Zarronian female. They're about Lia's size, and very nice to look at. Lots of small blondes!"
"I think Lia wants you to like her mother."
"If she's anything like Lia, I just might," Eirik said.
Valan was surprised by his father's words. He'd never considered Eirik would some cycle choose another mate. But, his father was still young and very attractive to females. He'd always had a kourtisan although he'd been very discreet. "How did you manage to survive losing Mother?"
"I was determined that you would survive. For that to happen I had to survive." Eirik shrugged. "It hasn't been easy. There isn't a moment that goes by I don't yearn for her. I can never bond with another female but I can choose a female and take her as my mate. Bonding and the conception of children happens only once in a warrior’s life."
This was news to Valan. Bad news. He'd been hoping Lia might have daughters the next time they became pregnant. "I hoped that Lia and I could have another pregnancy since she's Wrothian."
"I understand the pain this knowledge brings to you but the scientists say we won't be able to have more than one pregnancy with the Wrothians."
Valan nodded and looked away.
"Borg doesn't know why we're only producing male sperm."
Alarm filled Valan. "How do we know the virus isn't still here? Maybe it's killing Lia right now."
"Be calm, Valan. We've run tests and can't find any residue of the virus in our water, soil or air."
"Then, I'll have to wait and hope my sons will give me granddaughters some cycle."
Eirik smiled. "Yes. We'll wait and hope together, Valan."
"I'll wait to tell Lia until the other warriors have been informed.
"
"Yes. It would be best. Now, I'm going to summon Borg and you can have Lia join us."
Valan went into the hall and yelled up the stairs for her. She answered him from the kitchen. He pushed through the door, took one look at what she was eating and fled. She caught up to him in the bathing chamber.
"Shame on you, Valan. You lied to Father!"
"Close the door, Lia." She did, then wet a cloth and gently ran it over his face. He rinsed his mouth, then grinned at her. "This will be our little secret. Right?"
"Maybe. What will you give me to keep quiet?"
"Little cat, you need to worry about what I'll give you if you don't!"
"What would that be, barbarian?" He pulled her to him and whispered his answer in her ear.
She giggled. "That's not possible."
"We'll find out tonight." As they stepped out of the chamber the doorbell rang. Lia opened it and smiled as Borg greeted her. Valan sighed and led them into the reception room where Eirik waited.
Borg refused to sit. Instead he paced the floor as he told them about the music he and his friend, Ryr Vadagson, discovered in the alien machine.
"What alien machine?" Lia's question silenced the warriors for a moment. Eirik shrugged and began telling her how they'd found it and what was in it.
"But, why do you need to find these people? There are a lot of females still on Zhang."
"Yes, Lia, there are. But, don't you think they would be upset if we were to bring all of them back to Zarronia? Other than the mothers of the warriors' bondmates, I mean." Valan was curious to know how she'd feel about the raid if she knew they intended to bring most of the females back to Zarronia.
"Well, at first they'll be frightened like we were but I'll tell them how wonderful Zarronia is and how nice some of you are." She grinned at Valan.
"So, you think Zarronia is a better world, and you're happy to be here with us?" Eirik asked.
"Oh, yes, Father. On Zhang, we were treated as merchandise, and we were traded from one owner to another. Some females were even abused or killed by their owners, but here, you value us too much to treat us that way."
"I believe we should bring the females back here and we should have you and some of the other bondmates go on this journey and tell the females what Zarronia is like."
Valan's Bondmate (Zarronian Warriors Book 1) Page 23
