Chapter 24 Dana
I speared another meatball with the tip of my fingers and plopped the bite-size piece into my mouth. These tasted nothing like the ones from the packages; they were infinitely better since Gnnar had made them from scratch himself.
I was recovering in our quarters here in the stronghold because every bed in the infirmaries, both here and in Ellaston, was filled with people who needed more medical care than I did.
One of them was Amir, who was being carefully monitored as they weaned him off the drugs Nova Vita had had him on. He’d known about the drugs and the results if he didn’t return to Nova Vita and had still come here to warn us. He didn’t know the name of the drug he was on, but they’d figured out quickly that it was the same thing Igor had been on when he first arrived. It would take some time, but they were weaning him off slowly.
Despite Gnnar’s reservations, we’d gone over to Ellaston to visit him, and I’d forgiven him for the role he played. Gnnar, not so much, but he’d come around.
During our quick visit, Mark had hired me to be the director of the yet-to-be-formed Ellaston Gazette. The pay was still undetermined, considering the colony still ran on barter within themselves and with the surrounding Vokiren tribes. But that was fine by me. I got to be the start of something new, and that was priceless.
Besides, I owed them so much already.
There was a knock on my door. It was probably Julie or Tasha.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Julie came barreling in, waving her tablet in the air. “Did you hear?”
I frowned. “No. What?” I didn’t like not being the first in the know, but I was recovering from a concussion, so I forgave myself.
Also, technically, Julie was my agent collecting data for me. The first thing I did as director of the Ellaston Gazette was bring her on.
“Some big off-planet electronics corporation is courting Ellaston for a direct trade deal for the ore. They’re going to bypass Nova Vita completely. And guess who’s going to get the exclusive coverage if the deal goes through?” She didn’t give me the chance to reply. “That’s right, us!” Julie rubbed her hands together like she couldn’t wait.
If the deal went through, it was going to put Ellaston on the map and get us recognized as an official colony. Nova Vita was going to be so pissed. Being officially recognized and accepted as a colony meant that they’d think twice before attacking lest our trade partners retaliate.
Despite Dr. Noble claiming that it had been personal, that wasn’t what our investigation turned up. Sure, she and Dr. Kim had been banished to secret labs and no longer listed as Exotech employees, but the credits used to fund their work were still traced back to a small Exotech subsidiary, as well as to private donations by Nova Vita leaders. This included the hiring of the mercenaries present during the attack. It might have been a private matter to Dr. Noble, but Nova Vita and Exotech had a hand in it.
And that brought us to Dr. Noble herself. When they’d sent a team to the crash site to salvage the shuttle, her body had been missing from the crash. There had been no sign of it, not even ash. And it hadn’t been the work of the local animals because the pilot’s body had remained untouched.
Gnnar had been sure she was dead when he dragged me off her. And no, I didn’t remember any of it. One day, I’d need to see a therapist about going feral and killing someone in a fit of rage, but perhaps I hadn’t killed her at all. Could she still be out there? And what about Dr. Kim?
“Vokira to Dana.” Julie waved her hand over my face. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I didn’t want to worry her with the thought that Dr. Noble could still be out there with a freshly developed hate-on for me.
“You know, we can talk about it if you want.”
“Nope. I’m good. Thank you.”
“How’s the headache?” she asked.
“Better today. Much less like an omelet.” Being ordered to only eat, sleep, and rest helped.
“Good. You had me worried.” She eyed the last meatball on the serving platter. “You gonna finish that?”
I quickly speared it and shoved it into my mouth before she could steal it. “Yup. Gone,” I said around a mouthful of deliciousness.
“You lucky bitch. I want a warrior who can cook.”
“You mean, you need a warrior who can cook. I’ve seen you burn water, Julie.”
“I’m better now, I swear. They held classes when we first arrived.”
“Sure. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
With my food done, I stood and stretched before gathering up my serving platters and containers. I’d amassed quite a few in the past two days and I really should get them back down to the kitchen. That was the thing about staying here rather than at our nest. Things here weren’t really ours. Gnnar had to book one of the big kitchens during off hours to test out his recipe.
But that was fine. His room had a small, personal food storage unit that helped keep things cool and warm things up, but no kitchen. When you remembered that these warriors had been part of the Kadri military, the living setup made sense.
“I’ll help,” Julie said, grabbing another platter.
“Thanks.”
We made our way down to the nearest kitchen and were waved away by the Kadrixan there when we tried to help wash the dishes. So we decided to sit out in the valley instead to get some fresh air. Watching the warriors train also happened to be one of Julie’s favorite pastimes.
Except today, she had a scowl on her face. I followed her gaze to the Kadrixan on the right. Grtirr, the medic. Without his robes, he looked a lot more… normal. In fact, he was pretty damn hot, super fit and fast too. Not that I was noticing, because I only had eyes for Gnnar.
“Do I sense a crush?” I asked, waggling my brows.
“Me? On him?” She pointed to her face. “Does this look like the face of someone with a crush? Hell no. Did you know the jerkwad forbade me from volunteering for the serum testing? When they made a call out for volunteers, I went in with Lily, Jessie, and Sarah, and he was like, ‘no, not you.’”
“Why?”
“He claims it’s because I was sick when I first came in. My kidney function was still subpar when I arrived here, and he’s basically been treating me like an invalid since. He used to make comments if I didn’t finish my food and would check on me to make sure I was taking my vitamins like I was some misbehaving kid.
“I’ve had normal kidney function for a whole year now, and even Krxare asked what the problem was if the drug and serum were metabolized by the kidneys and if it posed any dangers to the other ladies. He said no but still wouldn’t let me participate because I had a ‘weak constitution.’ Weak constitution, my ass!”
“Maybe he likes you and just doesn’t know how to express it?” I was really going out on a limb here.
“No way,” she whispered since we were getting within earshot of the fighting warriors. “And if I were his anything, he would know by now because he’s touched me dozens of times during my checkups. I’m definitely not his mate, thank fuck!”
Tasha and Clara came to join us. I’d finally met Clara yesterday. I never would’ve pinned her as Krxare’s mate since the Kadrixan leader seemed so strict, and Clara was super chill. But I guess it all worked out since her brother, Chris, co-led Ellaston with Mark.
She was telling us all about the swimming pond she planned on installing at Ellaston when a dark red form flying into the valley caught my attention. No matter how many times I saw Gnnar in flight, the image always left me in awe. He was so majestic and powerful. And he was all mine!
“There’s your warrior,” Julie said, elbowing me. “I guess that means the shield system has been thoroughly checked and rearmed.”
I got up and said goodbye to my friends, old and new, as he landed. And soon, I was in my warrior’s arms, and he was planting kisses all over my face.
“Miss me?” I asked with a giggle.
“Every moment I was away.” He made a face. “You are much better company than Vostak.”
That had me chuckling. “You better think so, cuz I’m never letting you go. You’re stuck with me forever.”
“You say that like it’s a long time. I love you, Starlight. When it comes to you, forever isn’t nearly enough.”
Warmth and happiness welled up in my chest, filling me up until they threatened to leak from my eyes as tears. “I love you too, big guy.”
I turned my face to the setting sun, ready to embark on the next step of our journey together forever.