Page 35 of Einar

“Ido not know if you can hear me wherever it is that you have hidden yourself, littleStarshine.Justknow thatIwould sooner slit my own throat than cause you any harm.Ihave waited for you my entire life.Please, give me a chance.Thatis allIask for.”

Mybroken words elicit no response from her, as expected.Shedoes not twitch, sigh, or even blink in acknowledgment to the sound of my voice.Sighingheavily,Istand, turn and gently lay her back down on the bed, situating her body in a comfortable position, her limbs as malleable as a toy figurine.

“Istill do not even know your name, little mate.Consideringyour sister’s apparent and extreme antipathy for me,Isincerely doubt that she will be willing to assist me in learning it.”

Anothersoft ping from my comm grabs my attention.Glancingat it,Isee thatBikarhas sent me yet another message.Ignoringit, just like the others he has sent recently,Ibegin checking my mate’s vital signs yet again.Icannot help it.Icame so close to losing her that ensuring she still lives is almost a compulsion at this point in time.

Suddenly,Ifeel theZenithjerk beneath my feet and all around me, signaling that the ship has either come to a complete halt … or we have docked atNavale.Asfar asIwas aware, that was the plan, andIhave no reason to thinkSlavicchanged his mind.

Arewe really atNavaleso soon?

Ino sooner have that thought whenBikaroverrides the lock on the med bay door and strolls in.

“Brother,Ibring news and orders from our esteemed leader and oldest sibling!”

Bikar’soverly cheerful voice is grating in the peace and quiet of my med bay.Ipray whatever female fate pairs him with has boundless limits of patience becauseIam the most easy going of all of us andIstill want to beat him to a pulp more often than not.

“Youcan tellSlavicthatIam not going aboardNavale.Iam staying here with myStarshine.Sheneeds me.”

Iam not sure what my face looks like, butBikar’snormally exuberant face falls a bit at my words. “Icannot imagine what you are feeling right now,Einar.Butshe is not the only one who needs you.Herneeds are great, yes, but there are other females on this ship that require your medical expertise and our lifegiver would be disappointed in all of us if we did not do our utmost to help them the best we can.Thatbeing said, you are the best we can offer.Youare the finest medic in the entireVoid, bar none.However,Slavic’sexact words were, ‘Lethim knowIwill put his ass in a holding cell if he does not do his part.Therewill be no mercy given to anyone who will not protectALLthe females.Heis not the only one being forced away from theirStarshine.’”

Guiltfills me.Heis correct.

Ihave been selfish, which is unlike me.

WhatdoIdo with you whileIam gone, little one?

NoddingatBikar,Igo to the cabinet and snag a vial of sedative.

“Einar, what is it that you do?”

“Mymate … she is not right.”

Icatch his look of confusion before he asks.

“Ido not know what you mean…”

“Youhave seenSlavic’smate, yes?Sheis full of fire and spunk with a sharp tongue.Mineis nothing like that, no matter that they are full-blooded sisters.Icannot chance her waking up here alone without me, or more importantly, her sister.”

Heobserves me asIinject the sedative into her saline line, and we both watch as her eyes close as the drugs go to work.

“Iwill tend to the other human females as soon as we complete our task atNavale.Sincenone of them have expired as of yet,Iknow none of their wounds are life threatening.Willthat suffice?”

Bikarstarts walking toward the door at my question. “Ido not see why not.Yourwords make sense.Slavicwants you to guard the ramp in case someone breaks through the outer hull locks.Iam headed back to the control center;Ineed to keep track of everyone.”

Noddingmy understanding,Ihead to my room and grab my axes.Bucklingmy belt around my thickness,Idrop both my axes into the weapon frogs on either side of my waist.Walkingthrough my room into the connecting med bay,Icheck on my mate once more, trailing my fingers through her beautiful red hair, before exiting the room and heading toward the ramp.

ChapterTwenty-Four

EINAR

Standingat the top of the ramp, my massive feet braced shoulder width apart,Iglare at the closed cargo bay door before me.Slavic,Ruarc,Murgul, andFalonare off theZenith, leavingBikaron board to monitor everyone’s location and me here to guard the main entrance on and off the ship.Ourcomms are all tuned to the shared channel, andIhave been listening with increasing alarm asRuarcandSlavicrelay information.

“Wemust get the frack out of here now.TheVelgriddixhave issued a bounty for any information concerning a certain flesh cargo and the pirates that stole them.Apparently, the main swarm ships are under the assumption that there was a breeding princess on board.Theyeven sent out a detailed description of the ship, and guess who it resembles?”

Thebottom drops out of my stomach atRuarc’swords, and it takes everything in me to remain whereSlavicordered me to stay, guarding the ramp.Myinstincts are clamoring at me to return to myStarshine’sside and protect her at all costs.

“Shet, get back on board, but we will need to stall as long as possible.Theyjust started refueling andFalon’scomm signal is flashing.Iam going to head down to the lower levels to see ifIcan find him, but you leave us if it becomes necessary.”

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