Page 46 of Ice Planet Barbarians

“It is agreed, my Georgie,” Vektal says. He caresses my cheek again. “I am the chief. They will listen to me. Any male who wishes to mate a human woman must have her agreement.”

I relax a bit at that.

“Agreement?” Raahosh sputters. “But resonance—”

“Doesn’t happen for humans,” I say sweetly.

“It is something to be argued about later, when my mate is not cold and hungry,” Vektal says, breaking in before Raahosh protests at me again. He puts a protective arm over my shoulders. “We have traveled far, and we will be traveling far again in the morning.”

“Of course,” Raahosh says stiffly. He turns and heads back to the trees, and Vektal and I follow him in.

The trees thicken, and as we approach the cliff, I see the entrance to an extremely large cave. The mouth of it is enormous and wide, bigger than any human or sa-khui—even if I stood on Vektal’s shoulders and tried to touch the ceiling. It narrows down further in, and this is where Raahosh and Vektal lead me. I cringe at the thought of spending endless hours in a deep cavern. It doesn’t strike me as safe.

But as we make our way through the winding tunnel, the air gets warmer. Noticeably so. It feels like we’re going down, so shouldn’t it be getting colder? I’m puzzled by this until the cave opens up into a larger chamber and the faint smell of rotten eggs touches my nose.

And then I’m just stunned.

The hill the sa-khui live in is hollow. The cave opens up into an enormous cavern that reminds me of a gigantic hollow donut. It’s circular, and the center is composed entirely of a large, incredibly blue pool. Another heated spring, I realize with wonder. That is why it smells so strongly of eggs.

I pinch my nose and look around in surprise. There are people bathing in the pool, a tiny child with nubs for horns splashing in the water as a man holds it and a female laughs nearby. The cavern walls round upward, and the roof has a hole in it, almost like a sunroof. From here, I can see snow drifting in, but it melts in the presence of the warmer air and drips down harmlessly.

The edges of the cavern ‘donut’ are riddled with caves, most with ledges and walkways built from additional rock or woven reeds of some kind. A reed-like bridge spans one side of the donut’s ceiling over to the other. There are aliens everywhere, too. Some sit in the entrances of their cave-homes. Another pair weaves baskets in the distance. Off to one side, an alien with enormous, arching horns and pale skin scrapes a hide stretched over a frame.

“Vektal is back,” a voice calls out happily. Exclamations of joy and chatter erupt in the cave . . . and all heads turn toward us.

And then everyone’s staring at me.

It feels weird to be the center of so much attention. As more heads turn and people stand, others approach. And there are a lot of men. A lot of them. Some are dressed only in loincloths due to the warmth of the cave. All of them are muscular, tall, and good looking for sa-khui kind, I’m guessing. And they’re all staring super intently at me with a mixture of curiosity and longing.

“My mate,” Vektal says proudly. “A human.”

“Mother, why is its face so ugly?” A tiny voice asks. Voices raise to hush it.

Raahosh looks chagrined or choked. I can’t decide which one. Vektal growls low in his throat and takes a step forward, clearly insulted on my behalf.

I giggle. To think that these weird people think I’m ugly. They’re the ones with horns, tails, glowing eyes, and a downy suede over their bodies. They’re the ones with ridges all over their foreheads and noses and, um, other interesting body parts.

Vektal drags me against his chest in a possessive grip, and I suddenly find myself pressed against one rock-hard, vest-covered pectoral. “This is my mate. I resonate for her.” As if on cue, his chest starts to vibrate, the thick, steady purr jiggling my cheek. “She is beautiful to me. Different, but beautiful nevertheless.” He brushes his fingers through my hair. “I have seen her bravery, her spirit, and her will. She has trusted me when she has no reason to. She has given me her body when she has no khui to compel her. And it does not matter what any eyes think of her but mine . . . and to me, she is the most wonderful, most attractive, and most compelling of creatures.”

My eyes prick with emotion. Okay, for a barbarian, he’s pretty good at making a romantic speech. I’m totally giving him a handy for real when we get alone again.

“What is a huu-mehn,” someone else asks.

“Are there others?” says another voice.

“He says there are five,” Raahosh says in that low, rumbly voice of his. “All female.”

I wince at the awe and wonder that fills the voices in the cavern. Fuck a duck. These guys are going to think it’s straight-up mating season if this continues. Especially if there are only four adult women in their tribe. That is a lot of unfulfilled sexual need. And what’s going to happen when they find out there are six women in stasis in addition to the six who are awake? “Vektal,” I murmur uncomfortably. As the other aliens get more excited, I get more nervous.

All eyes turn on me at the sound of my voice.

Vektal tugs me tighter against him. “There will be time to answer questions later. My mate has survived an ordeal. She is hungry and tired and needs the healer. Where is Maylak?”

“Here,” says a sweet voice. A woman with curling horns and long, flowing dark hair steps forward. She holds a child to her breast, and her belly is rounded with another. Her glowing eyes watch me with fascination.

“Good,” Vektal says. “Come with Georgie and me to my cave.”

She nods and hands her child off to another man. “Let me get my healing basket.”

---