Page 3 of Koha'vek
At the bottom lay a woman by a rock and a tree that apparently stopped her from descending into the ravine. Her long, dark hair was tangled with dirt and leaves. Her clothes were torn and damp. Blood dripped on the snow from a gash on her temple.Her ankle looked swollen.
I looked around her. She had no pack, no supplies, and I wondered how she even got here.
I scanned the trees around us, and there was no horse, no pursuers, no signs of anyone else. What was she doing here?
I crouched beside her, frowning as I pressed two fingers to her throat. Her pulse was weak but steady. I unclipped my scanner from my belt. I still carry it, even though I rarely use it since I left the base. With the power up, a low hum and a green light passed over her body, delivering the diagnosis. She had a concussion, a sprained ankle, bruised ribs, and mild dehydration. Not life-threatening, but I knew it would be if I left her here. The cold would finish what her fall had started.
I clipped the scanner back on my belt and rubbed my hand over my face. If I left her in the snow, she would die. It wasn’t much of a dilemma, however. So many humans I couldn’t save. I knew I could save this one, yet if I did, when would I ever know peace again?
I slipped one arm beneath her knees, the other around her shoulders, and lifted her easily. She startled and made a soft sound. I froze, but she didn’t wake.
Her body was warm against my chest, fragile in a way that pulled at something deepinside me. I hadn’t touched another living being since I’d deserted, nor had I spoken aloud for just as long. Now this fragile, lone creature had fallen into my world like a meteor from the sky, a thought that made me look upward. What have I gotten myself into?
Making my way up the steep incline, I headed for home, holding her close.
The cabin door groaned on its hinges as I pushed it open with my shoulder, careful not to jostle the woman cradled in my arms.
My hearth fire from morning smoldered in the fireplace. I had banked it before I went to hunt that morning, and it still warmed the cabin. I laid the woman on an old padded sitting bench I’d covered with furs. I used slow, careful movements so I would not damage her further.
Before I tended her injuries, I went to the pile of neatly stacked wood just outside the door and got wood to revive the fire in the hearth. Setting a pan of water near the fire to warm, I unhooked my scanner from my belt to recheck the female’s vitals.
Her face was pale, smudged with dirt and dried blood. Dark lashes fanned across her cheekbones, and her lips parted slightlywith each shallow breath.
She was beautiful.
Not in the way I remembered from propaganda vids or stolen human entertainment files—those were painted faces, exaggerated features, all glitter and deception. This woman was real. Raw. Wild.
And she looked like she’d been running for her life. I retrieved a folded cloth from the food prep station and dipped it into the warming pot of water. Kneeling beside the bench, I dabbed gently at the blood on her temple. An ugly gash extended from her hairline to her cheek. Perhaps I pressed too hard because she flinched from my touch and mumbled something unintelligible.
I paused and spoke softly in the human language. “You are safe now. Rest.”
I finished cleaning the wound quickly and carefully, then wrapped her ankle. My scanner showed no broken bones, but multiple bruises. Her body had taken a beating, but it was resilient.
I treated so many humans injured as badly or worse, but from abuse rather than some kind of accident. Sometimes, my brethren abused them for fun. Our scientists abused them to see how badly they could injure them without killing them. It was torture, plain and simple.
I still carried guilt that I had done nothing to stop it, not that I had any standing to believe my objections would carry any weight. Gar’hako would have enjoyed inflicting punishment on me had I dared to protest.
This female was stronger than she appeared. After applying a healing antiseptic to all her open wounds, I covered her with a thick woolen blanket I’d found in an abandoned house in my travels.
I stood, watching her in the firelight, dancing across her face. She would awake eventually, and then she would see me, a monster her people had learned to fear. Though warm-blooded, they called us reptilian because of our scaled bodies and dragon-like features. That I had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth was the only resemblance to a human I bore. Instead of hair on my head, I had spikes, pointed ears, and golden snake eyes with vertical pupils.
I had no illusions that she would be glad to see me. I didn’t look forward to that revelation, but she couldn’t leave until she could walk again. Yet, despite the danger to me, I would not restrain her and hold her against her will.
Yet, if I let her go, she could run straight back into thedanger that brought her to me.
My gaze dropped to her face again. Her chest rose and fell, slow and steady.
I’d spent weeks avoiding contact with sentient beings on this planet, hiding and surviving. Nowshehad dropped into my life, entwining my fate with hers.
Our reckoning would come soon, but for now, I would keep her warm and safe and wait for her to open her eyes. I wasn’t ready to think beyond that just then.
Chapter Three
Ava
Warmth was the first thing I noticed, even before I opened my eyes. Cocooned in a warm, soft blanket, I could hear the soft crackling of the fire. My head ached, sharp and pulsing, and a nagging pain emanated from my ankle, and I tried to move. Groaning, I tried to sit up.
“Easy.” The voice I heard was deep and smooth yet not quite human. Something inside me froze, and I snapped open my eyes. Then I screamed and screamed.
