by Vi Voxley
She scrambled away, breathing heavily. That was the only advantage she had – Faren truly was a giant and couldn’t possibly fit into the tunnel. All she had to do was climb to the other exit nearby and lose herself in the capital. She just needed a breather to figure out where she could go.
After a minute, she dared to peek outside to see what the general had made of her escape, but he was no longer there. Leiya shuddered, wondering if she had just done something really foolish. Would Faren forgive her this escape, when he’d trusted her to go along with him?
For a moment, she considered going out of the same duct she had entered, seeing as Faren was no longer there. But she discarded that idea quickly – she couldn’t see everything from the duct and he might be just outside, waiting for her. It was a safer bet to go out of the other exit as she’d planned.
Leiya crawled, the wind picking up as she went, but it didn’t bother her. She knew this place, remembered the layout. She began to breathe more easily. Even if Faren was looking for her, which he undoubtedly was, there was no way he’d figure out where she was. The ducts went everywhere.
But it really was tight there, even for her and she was fairly small. There were parts that required her to drop to her stomach and just slide further, inch by inch.
Finally, she saw the other exit. The light coming from outside was bright in her eyes, so she gave herself a moment to get used to it. She had to be absolutely sure Faren wouldn’t, by some magic trick, be waiting for her there. Leiya thought she’d played it pretty safe, but she wanted to be even safer. The other exit was still close to the park, because she simply couldn’t go further.
The air in the ducts got too strong there, she would still have had to come out at some point. In the park, she at least had a good idea of where to hide. It was risky, with Faren’s shuttle still there, but she thought it might be the last place he’d search, right under his nose.
She lay in wait for another full minute, watching people walking in the distance. Then she hesitantly crawled out. It turned some heads, but she’d expected that. People always recognized her. She smiled and waved as if it was nothing. They’d think she was a bit eccentric, but that was a price she was willing to pay.
Faren was nowhere to be seen. What was more important, no one seemed to be staring in any direction either and the horrible general would have drawn looks for sure. Leiya dared to breathe out properly. If anything, they were looking at the shuttle, which couldn’t be hidden in any way, standing peacefully at the landing platform.
Keeping to the shadows, Leiya slowly approached the park. There was the danger of Faren’s crew recognizing her, but no one seemed to move there. Possibly catching his gesha for him would have been an insult to the general. Frowning, Leiya thought people had probably died for a lesser offense by Faren’s hand.
The place she was searching for was a pond. It was an artificial construction, made for the pleasure of the Brions who enjoyed the greenery. Next to it stood a waterfall, her true destination. Not everyone knew about the cave behind it, but Leiya’s father had shown her when she was little. It was a sort of a secret. There she could wait out Faren, safe behind the noise and the water.
It was almost like running from an animal, but that wasn’t an unfair comparison. When dealing with Brion warriors and Brion generals in particular, one couldn’t be too careful. Their senses were so sharp Leiya was almost certain Faren could track her by smell. Better very safe than sorry.
She didn’t make it even halfway.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw Faren walking towards her. For the life of her, Leiya couldn’t understand where he’d come from. One moment he was just there, almost appearing bored. He didn’t run, just walked towards her with a confident stride. And now people stared.
Gods, you have got to be kidding me. Can he turn invisible?
That was all Leiya had time to think before her legs started running, knowing it was hopeless. She dashed over the ground back towards the buildings, hoping to lose him there. There were quite a few people in the park that day, surely that would slow Faren down… No.
He had disappeared again. Leiya stopped. Running just didn’t seem worth it suddenly. She looked around, but people were going on about their daily business again. So they had lost sight of him too. Her heart in her throat, Leiya edged forward, trying to hide herself in the protective shadow of a huge tower. He was somewhere, looking at her. She was sure of it.
No way to go but forward. She kept going by little narrow streets to somehow make it back to the ducts unseen. She got so close she could already feel the air moving faster when Faren landed before her feet with a thunderous thump she could swear she felt. He’d jumped.
He’d been on the roof above her, and he’d jumped three floors to land straight before her. And then that bastard had the gall to just straighten himself and walk – not run – to her, standing there stunned.
Fury rose within her heart again. He didn’t need to tell her how futile her little run had been. He was showing it clearly enough. No running, not even breaking a sweat. There was no escape from him and –
And he was suddenly very close to her, and Leiya found herself pinned against the wall. Her breath caught. His body was strong and hot against hers, and she shivered despite herself.
That was from a draft, she tried to assure her mind. What draft? asked the despicably honest part of her that had noticed the perfectly calm weather around her.
“Had your fun?” Faren asked.
The fact that his voice almost sounded amused infuriated Leiya to no end, but she didn’t get the moment to express that. It seemed Faren’s patience with her was at an end. Back on the shoulder she went.
The general’s mighty shoulders felt better under her body than she would have liked. Carried back to the shuttle with every person in the park staring, Leiya sighed.
Oh, fuck me.
CHAPTER TEN
Faren
She had spirit, Faren had to give her that.
Not much appreciation for warriors, though. That was hardly surprising, especially for a human. For one, she was known for disliking them. And secondly, not being a warrior herself, the little starlet clearly lacked insight into what they were capable of. Now that he knew she wasn't blessed with the keen senses all Brions were, it made more sense that she didn't seem to have a proper idea of what he was capable of.
He didn’t take offense. On the contrary, it had been fairly amusing.
Her body had given her away first. Of course, she had tried hard to hide it, but to a warrior of Faren’s skill, it was laughably easy to see. Tense shoulders, fidgety hands – he’d barely needed to see her eyes, but Leiya had told him everything he needed to know when she had looked at him. Her eyes had been terrified in many ways – of him, of her future with him, of the prospect of being caught. He’d almost felt sorry for her.
Faren had let her run, naturally. His reflexes were beyond a mere warrior’s and beyond comprehension to civilians. No human could ever come close. It would have been no problem whatsoever to just reach out his hand a second before the starlet made her dash and catch her before she even took a step away.
But geshas had to be given the chance to fight. That was the Brion way, and Faren was a proper Brion. He’d come to collect her out of fear for her life, but there didn’t seem to be any danger, at least in the time frame of her presumed escape. It was all he could give her, letting her tire herself out.
The air duct was a clever idea on the starlet’s part, he had to admit. He was impressed. Faren didn't know many who would have chosen that path of escape. A Brion would have made an honest stand, but humans were different. She improvised.
Of course he could have sliced the duct open with his ax, or with his bare hands where the material was weaker, but she didn’t know that. She’d made an adequate tactical decision, going by the best of her knowledge. It was faulty and ultimately doomed to fail, but still – it was a relief. Faren had feared his lit
tle gesha would be, well, stupid.
Singing didn’t require particular intelligence, only the ability to recognize melody and pair lyrics with it. And humans lacked all the genetic gifts the Brions had. This was a pleasant surprise for him.
It was interesting to observe her in action. He’d spent so long in wars, and combat, and duels with his equals. Well, not really his equals, save for Gawen and Diego. But Leiya was completely untrained in all the arts of the warriors.
It was a pity, really, in a way. She’d done everything surprisingly right. Going for the ducts was a good idea. So was emerging from another exit. Faren was impressed she knew anything about the airways at all, but once again she was terribly outmatched. The warriors trained in the ducts and not in the easy parts either.
They spent a part of their endurance training in the central ways big enough to hold them and where the wind was so strong breathing was impossible. It was their task to keep moving, nails dug into the cracks between the metal plates, feet braced against the walls, counting seconds until they were out of air. Trying to find the next nook where they could take a breather. Quite a few perished there.
And, of course, he knew the layout by heart. This was Briolina, the home world of the Brions, and this was their capital. Every warrior knew how to defend their own city, but generals could walk blind through it and never get lost. So it wasn’t exactly a task to imagine the ducts around the one Leiya had chosen.
He ruled out the ones even she didn’t fit in and those where the wind was too strong. There were points she couldn’t cross and there were exits that were too far off the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize where she would emerge, but he could afford the time.
He could also afford to take the time to approach the mouth of the exit Leiya had just disappeared into and listen to her wait. Clever girl, that one. When she began moving and the sound of her crawling told Faren it wasn’t her intention to turn back, he took off too. At certain points where the duct was near the ground again, he listened to see if she was still moving. She was.
When Leiya finally emerged, he stood by to see what she was going to do. Brion warriors were known for being loud, and vivid, and at the center of attention, but it didn’t mean they had to be. Faren was very good at not being seen if he preferred to. He watched Leiya hesitantly make her way towards the park, allowing himself a small smile when he saw where she was headed.
No, he hadn’t been thrilled to discover his gesha was the biggest star on Briolina, bound to be loud enough for the both of them. But this escape had shown him maybe she wasn’t all that he had feared she would be.
Leiya was going for the waterfall. Clever, clever. Very clever. Just not good enough.
He allowed her to see him, amused despite himself at the fact that she turned and ran. It was pretty much what he’d expected the gesha to do, but he hadn’t expected to enjoy the game so much. She was showing spirit and not a bad mind. Faren was almost happy, an emotion he couldn’t remember feeling in a while.
He crossed the distance to the edge of the park easily and climbed the first building that was high enough. Some gasps followed his ascent, but that could be expected. It was tricky, after all, to climb a nearly flawless wall. His fingers found the small indentations easily, but then again he was a Brion general.
Leiya was pretty easy to find, considering she was set on making her way back to the ducts, which she clearly believed to be safe. Faren decided not to allow that to happen. He could track her without trouble, but he felt like she’d proven her point and he his. Bracing for impact, he pushed himself off the roof, accounted for her moving speed and landed right before his fleeing gesha. He got up, took a moment to enjoy the look of sheer shock on her beautiful face and cornered her.
Leiya’s body was almost against his. Despite having felt Leiya’s body close to his before, Faren found himself craving for more. There was suddenly a hunger in him to have her close to him. Not in a practical way like carrying her. In a much more intimate, personal way.
That was a peculiar sensation. Before, he’d mostly felt lust soar in him when his blood was up from battle. In times like that, he’d chosen a suitably attractive woman from his crew to satiate that need.
This was different, but of course it was supposed to be.
He ignored the flash of lust and the sudden throb in his groin, but emotions had always been easy to ignore for him. He also hoped she wasn’t very proficient in reading valor squares. That would have been unfortunate. But fair. He could read her by her reactions.
Seeing that she was about to continue her fighting, Faren decided to take it to a bit more private setting and picked her up again.
Her scent was maddening. It made walking considerably more difficult, but even that was interesting to him. He didn’t back down from challenges, and she was undeniably one.
She got quiet when they reached the shuttle and the doors slid shut behind them.
Suddenly the fear in the starlet’s eyes was very obvious to see and needed none of Faren’s skills. He’d expected as much. After all, he was aware of his reputation – and hers. Outside, on Briolina’s surface, she was Leiya, the singing star of the Brions. Now they were in his world and away from the public eye.
No more kicking, no more screaming. She slid into the opposite corner from him and sat there like a defeated animal.
That wouldn’t do, but Faren had no idea how to fix it. That was not a part of the binding everyone talked about. It was up to the couple themselves to figure out what their relationship would be like. Only he had never been that good with talking to someone. And being human, Leiya was bound to fight as hard as Isolde had. It wasn't in human nature to believe in the binding blindly.
“You mustn’t fear,” he said. “I will not hurt you.”
Leiya looked at him and smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile.
“You took me from my home. You literally came and nearly killed my friend and carried me away despite what I wanted.”
He couldn’t argue with that. The events had occurred exactly that way.
“It was necessary.”
“What part of it exactly?”
The sharpness in her tone was back. It was another peculiar experience for Faren. No one else spoke to him like that.
“All of it.”
“I seriously doubt that. There had to be another way.”
“For what?”
“All of it.”
Her spirit was lovely, if a bit tiring. Faren shrugged.
“I acted as I saw fit. I spared your friend’s life.”
“Only because I asked for it!”
“Yes.”
That seemed to shut her up for some reason. Her eyes were suddenly not so full of hate. That was something to note. Did she like it when he did things for her? That seemed reasonable, but unnecessary. She was his gesha now. Of course he would do everything he could for her.
“You didn’t even let me say goodbye,” she said then, sadly.
“I need to make sure you are not in danger. Then you are free to go wherever you want. Provided you go with guards.”
Her eyes glared daggers at him.
“Free to go,” she gritted through her teeth. “Guards. Then. I am not your prisoner!”
“No,” Faren agreed.
“Then don’t treat me like one!”
He was going to say he didn’t, but he saw the point she was making. It wasn’t his intention to imprison his gesha, but until he was sure it was safe for her, he had to act in her best interests whether she liked it or not.
“It is for your own good.”
She laughed. Instinctively, Faren’s fists clenched. He was a Brion general. No one laughed at him, but her humor wasn’t really directed at him anyway. It was a hopeless, maniacal laughter so unlike the one he’d heard echoing at the reception in her beautiful voice.
“That is what all monsters say,” the starlet said bitterly. “That you have to do it. For my own good, of course.”
So it caught him off guard when that word from Leiya’s mouth hurt.
“Is that what you think of me?”
“It is what they call you,” she said, pouting, but her eyes were wary. Hesitating. Afraid. Just like all the rest, after all.
“That is not what I asked.”
Faren realized that at some point, his voice had dropped low and dangerous, more like his tone when he addressed his warriors or spoke to his fellow generals. Leiya had retreated even more, now really cowering from him.
He should have known better.
“I…” the starlet began, but no more words came from her.
Probably for the best. They would have been fear-tainted words anyway. Faren had no use for them. He didn’t like it when people told him what they thought he wanted to hear. That was simply another form of lying. A pity. For a short while, he’d hoped she was better than that. A gesha wasn’t supposed to fear her fated, but in all honesty Faren hadn’t truly thought that could happen.
“You will understand,” he said, but even that came out sounding like a command.
He hadn’t really expected her to answer, but a very quiet voice said,
“You don’t talk to women much, do you?”
He did not. It was true. Most of the women he interacted with were members of his crew and his warriors. He thought of them as their positions first and women second, except for those times after a battle when he was looking for a companion.
“No,” he confirmed.
Leiya nodded slowly. Not entirely robbed of spirit then, at least.
