Page 26 of Taken to Heimo
Irritation flares as hot as the water pouring from the overhead grate. “So, you killed them because they dishonored you.”
“Hexa.” He stiffens. “Nox. That isn’t…”
“It is. And I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would care this much.” I didn’t thinkIwould care this much. I’m not sure I was thinking at all.
My heart…gapes. It feels like…like my heart’s been torn out of my chest and shoved into his. He stole it and I’m not strong enough to recover it. Not against the Krisxox of Voraxia.
“Svera, you can’t deny this! You showed me the garden. I belong there now. We both do.”
“Nox, Krisxox.” Hot water rushes over me, erasing what has been. “Now, we are just ruined.”
He roars and punches the wall again. “This is not over between us, Svera.”
“You’re right. Because this never happened. There is no us.”
7
Svera
The moment he leaves, I drop to my knees and lower my forehead to the floor. I pray. I stand and kneel and stand again. I hold my nagoom-cross so tight in my fist I plan to leave bruises on my fingertips.
Maybe they’ll match the marks he left on my throat.
I tried rubbing at them and blotting them with a cool cloth, but there are visible marks on my neck I can’t ignore. They stand out in dark plum against my light brown skin.
What did I think, that I’d be able to hide from it?Maybe I did.
I stare down at the head scarf on my pallet, wondering what to do. I’m not allowed to wear it anymore. I’m a ruined woman. Only virgins wear the scarves. Everyone will know I’m not married. Everyone will know that the Xanaxana came for me and I failed the test of the Tri-God.
Krisxox…he’s feltthisfor me for so long, but he’s managed to fight it. I feltthislong enough to open my eyes. To consummate it from that point took me less than the next moment.
Maybe he’s more deserving of the Tri-God’s love than I am. The Tri-God, like Krisxox, values strength and he is nothing if not strong.
The way he carried me, taking my body’s full weight. The way he moved me around where he needed me. Where I didn’t know I needed to be. The way he took control and held me through the initial pain.
Tears prick my eyes as I start to heat all over again. “No, no. Please. Tri-God.” I drop to my knees and pray for forgiveness.What will my father say?
He and my brother will try to kill him, of that I’m sure, and Krisxox won’t waste a second in slaughtering them for the insult. Hehateshumans. Nothing I can do or say can change that if he’s unwilling to change it in himself.
“He hates humans,” I whisper out loud. “And he’s my Xiveri mate.”
Just hearing it guts me at the same time that it sets my thighs alight. Ican’tget wet again. I’ve already washed twice.
I swallow hard and press my kerchief to my forehead. For as clean as I am, I can’t seem to get cool. Everything is hot and strained. The garden is still full of flowers and all of them are calling my name.
I need to distract myself. I need…to work. Yes, working will help me.
It’s an unreasonable hour to attempt to make contact with the Voraxians, but as I won’t be able to reach them on the coming solar since I’ll be with Miari, I figure that recordings will be better than nothing.
I pull out the retractable desk against the wall and power on the holo screen behind it. The moment my bio-signature is recognized, I pull up the most recent report from the Evras. They have been working closely with Voraxia’s biologists to determine which foods we might have any luck harvesting. Turns out, our options are limited.
But limited is still a place to start.
I am familiar with our agricultural practices on the colony since I often helped Kiki and her father harvest cane. We have plenty of it, too, so I bypass all suggestions for sugary crops, as well as the more um…adventurous Voraxian spices, and search the Evras’ log for something heartier. Something that can sate the true hunger so many on the colony know.
There.
I make a note at the large purple root. Viron is what Krisxox had called it before he handed me my tray.Hate? Then why does he still feed me each and every solarbreak?
