Page 40 of Einar

Andyet, the barest hint of hope sounds in his voice… even though we all know how perilous that particular concept is.Hopeis often a double-edged sword.

“True, but nowIhave a reason to want more.”

Andthe reason for my want lies sleeping peacefully in my med bay, unaware of how important she is and how very badlyIwant to worship her, love her, and be loved in return.Ican feelSlavic’seyes on me, but he says nothing more before turning and walking out the door to meet up withMurgul.

Checkingon the frail beings before me once more,Iensure their vitals are good beforeIleave the med bay and enter into my private quarters through the connecting door.Ineed to get suited up in case my brothers need me.Movingaround my room,Igather my matching throwing knives and shove them in the sheaths that line the interior of my well-worn boots before opening the door to my weapons case.Reachingin,Igrab my massive, double-bladed war axe and strap it to my back.

Runningmy thumb over the blades attached to my smaller axes,Icheck the bevels to make sure they’re razor sharp and battle ready.Thesmall bead of blood on my thumb assures me that they are.Satisfiedwith my armament,Ihead to the helm, my mind focused on the task at hand asIleave my heart and soul behind in my med bay.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

ROWAN

Fightingmy way through the layers of oppressive darkness, the realization thatIwas sedated floats across my conscious mind.I’vebeen drugged so many times in the past,Iknow the difference between emerging from the safe place in my mind versus waking from a drug induced stupor.Thelast conscious thingIremember was the giant green… thing reaching toward me beforeIchecked completely out.

Iwoke up again.Yayme…not.

Wincinginternally,Isilently chastise myself for my selfish thoughts.Ican’t leaveRubyalone, not now.Notafter everything we’ve endured and all that’s happened to us.

Notafter all she’s sacrificed for me.

“…BacktoSlavic, are you saying bad things could and will happen to him if this bond thing doesn’t happen?”

Ruby’sboisterous, incredulous voice sounds from close by and her words catch me by surprise.

Whoor what isSlavic, and why do we care if something happens to him?

“Absolutely.Itwill start gradually after several rotations, but if his collar fades completely and he is not strong enough to survive one of his hearts stopping, he will perish.”

Thatvoice… it sounds so familiar.Thenit hits me.It’sthe voice from the bug ship!She’shere with us too?!Idon’t know whether to be glad or sad for her, sinceI’mnot sure if here, wherever here is, is safe.

“Holdyour horses, did you say two hearts?”

“Yes, most of the dominant males of our species have two hearts.Itis one of the things that makes them so powerful but can also be their biggest weakness.Normallyif one of us loses a mate, the other is not far behind, as our lives are linked through our mate bond.”

Ourspecies?Matebond?Ifone dies, so does the other?!Whatis this?Aromance novel or something?

Thatmeans the voice isn’t human… butRubyis talking to her like an old friend, so that must mean she’s safe.Right?

“Youact like this is common knowledge and somethingIshould already know.”

“Thereare no secrets in theVoid, but it can be a place of joy or heartache.”

Ifthis “Void” is anything likeEarth, or my experiences onEarth, then it’s mostly heartache.I’velived through a lot, and none of it was remotely joyous.

“Isn’tthat the truth of any world?”

Peekingthrough my lashesIseeRubylook over at me in concern.Ishould feel bad about laying here, pretending to be asleep and eavesdropping on their conversation, butIdon’t.Ineed the information, but don’t have the energy to deal with any sort of interaction with another person.NotevenRuby.Becausethe pretty, soothing voice from the ship belongs to an extremely large, very green woman.It’sglaringly obvious she’s the same species that the angry giants belong to.

“BeforeRuarcnotices my absence,Ishould probably return.Iam glad that you nor any of the others had any adverse reactions to the translators.Ihave been talking to you in common tongue with no issues.Hopefully, this will help you andSlavic.”

Hercasual statement catches me by surprise whenIrealize neither of them are speakingEnglish.Shementioned translators soIcan only surmiseIwas given one whileIwas asleep.Asense of violation creeps over me.Justbecause what they did to me was helpful doesn’t mean thatIwanted it or gave my consent to have something permanent done to my body.

“Kallen, just to make sureIunderstand exactly what you’re telling me…this collar thing around your neck marks you as a mate?”

Thegreen lady’s name must beKallenbut after a second,Irealize whatRubyjust said.Whatthe hell does she mean collar?Thesecond the word “collar” registers to me,Ifeel nauseated.I’vebeen collared many, many times and it never boded well for me.Thatpoor woman… but my welling sympathy is cut short by her next words.

“No, it tells the world that you are mated to another.Ihave no idea if once your bond is consummated that you will have a matching one or not.Butif you take nothing else out of this conversation know this; he will weaken the longer the bond is not tethered together, and our world needsSlavic.”

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