Page 6 of Ruarc
“You are wrong! My sire would have honored our mate bond no matter where you ranked on our world. Not very many knew this, but my mother was a commoner, and he loved her until she took her last breath. Even though love is what drove him and our current King, his own brother, apart. My uncle wanted my sire to set her aside or keep her as a mistress. So, you will not dare blame him for your own actions. If anything, my sire would have punished you for how you have treated me once our bond appeared. Why will you not give us a chance?”
“Look at you, Kallen! Then look at me. The mines destroyed my skin and the Aynar ripped out my tusks. I am a scarred, creditless, homeless male, and you are a born princess. If I solidified this bond, you would spend the rest of your life running from the authorities. We are nothing more than a bunch of common criminals with nowhere to call home. I will never be worthy enough to stand next to you. I cannot allow myself even the idea of wanting you when I know you will regret that choice later.”
“You are an idiot. Why does what others say or feel matter so much to you? What about me? Have I ever pushed you away or said you were unworthy? Have you ever asked what I wanted? Does my opinion mean so little? Would you really rather die than bond yourself to me?”
“Yes, I would.”
Staggering back away from him and his vile words, pain flares from deep within me. He could have struck me, and it would have hurt less than what he just said to me. The small amount of hope I have been holding on to all this time slips away, and I feel myself weaken further from what he just said to me.
He must have seen what his words did to me because I feel his hand hesitantly brush against my arm, and I violently jerk away from his touch. My steps are clumsy and awkward as I struggle against our bond that feels like it is strangling me. I clench my hands tightly, my long claws painfully digging into my palms as I fight the tears that he seems to pull out of me effortlessly. I do not think I have ever been so grateful as to hear another calling out my name.
“Kallen, Ruarc, come here. We need to reassess our next steps.” Slavic’s boisterous voice echoes all around us and I turn, ignoring Ruarc calling out my name.
“Brothers, even though this situation is not ideal, I do not see why we cannot proceed with our previous plan before the females showed up. Einar, I want you to take Falon, Heather, and your mate south toward the crashed cargo ship. I will head north with Ruarc, Kallen, and my own Starshine. I believe our comm units will operate on land, but when Bikar commed me about the incoming shuttle, I only received a few words, and the rest was static. Thankfully, the females brought extra provisions for themselves, so there is no reason for us to stall any longer.
Einar, Falon, if you have not heard from me in two risings, return to this location. We will do the same. If you see any signs of the Korgon’s or Velgriddix, take cover immediately, and the moment it is safe, grab one of the shuttles and return to the Zenith with the females. Do not wait for us, Einar. You have your own Starshine to protect, and she comes first.”
I see Ruarc flinch at Slavic’s words, but I refuse to acknowledge him. Ruby, on the other hand, is standing quietly tucked up against Slavic, her eyes glaring at Ruarc as he starts to walk away from all of us.
“Wait a moment, we are going to walk?”
“Yes Falon, the shuttles are too large and do not handle well at low altitudes, you know this.”
“Brother, you are lucky I showed up! And you will owe me after this little announcement.”
“No, you are lucky I have not beaten you into a pulp for endangering my mate, so do not push your luck, Falon.”
“Always resorting back to violence. Slavic, if you would all come with me, I will show you my latest creation.”
We all follow Falon to the cargo hold at the back of Slavic’s shuttle. Falon releases the hatch only to disappear inside. Moments later, he comes out with two flat disks. Laying them on the ground, we all stand above them, looking down, not having a clue what they are. He then runs over to Einar’s shuttle before coming back with two more.
“I know you old males are skeptical of new tech, but these little beauties will allow you to travel much further than you can on foot, and they even self-charge as long as it is light.”
“Falon, I am still slightly confused.” Einar picks one up, gingerly turning it over in his massive hands.
“Here,let me show you. Touch this button on the top, then set it down. After that, all you need to do is stand in the middle, and it will lift you off the ground. Simply lean to one side or the other to go in the direction you want to head.”
Dreading the probable answer, I ask, “Do you have more of these, Falon?”
“No Kallen, just the four, but they are designed for our size, so the extra weight of you females should not be an issue. However, brothers, before you grab one of the females, I would take a moment and get used to how it feels under your feet first.”
Slavic is observing his disk objectively, “Falon, when did you design these?”
“Several lunar rotations back and they have been sitting in storage ever since. The nights on the Zenith are long, and these started out as a side project for me. I simply wanted to see if I could get my idea to work. Once you get the hang of it, they arequite fun. Even though I would not expect you to understand that term, Slavic.”
Ducking my head, I hide my smile. There is no way Ruby is going to let a comment like that slide. She is fiercely protective of Slavic, grumpy male or not.
“Say one more slur toward my man Falon, and I’ll cut that pretty ponytail of yours off in your sleep.”
“Are all the redheads in your race as feisty as you, Ruby?”
I cannot help but laugh when she looks over at Rowan, then simply replies, “Yep, pretty much.”
With some trepidation, Einar, Slavic, and Ruarc each take a disc in their hands, and then the laughter truly begins. Of course, Falon is a pro, but the other three are on their asses more than they are standing, and I do not believe I have laughed this hard in rotations. Several times, Falon must stop one of them from throwing the thing into the nearby tree line, but finally they all conquer the disk, each of them standing on it with confidence. Slavic grabs their bags off the ground, then holds out his arms for Ruby. She lets out a big whoop before jumping into his arms, causing the disk to rock back and forth. His eyes widening is the closest thing to alarm I have ever seen from him before he quickly stabilizes the disk to Ruby’s laughter. She settles herself on his hip like a youngling, and when the others start teasing her, she sticks her tongue out at them.
Rowan is more graceful; she simply steps onto the disk herself, balancing her small frame against Einar as they stand there together as one. Falon reaches out grabbing Heather, who laughs at his antics but quickly settles in front of him. That’s when all eyes turn toward me, and I realize they are all waitingon me. Ruarc hesitantly reaches a hand out toward me, but I promptly ignore it. Bending down, I pick up my small sack of belongings and turn to walk down the path on my own.
“Kallen, comehere!” Rolling my eyes, I ignore him and continue on my way. Of course, he growls that out like I am embarrassing him or something.
