Chapter 14 #2
“Is there anywhere to keep these reivers so they stay out of trouble?” Shiloh asked.
Ellard glanced at Gweneth and smiled. “We know just the place.”
Planet Narenda, home of the dragon shifters
The Indy, the reiver’s ship, and Ransom’s ship kept close as they headed for the spaceport on Narenda.
Gweneth watched the green-and-blue planet come into view as they angled into the atmosphere.
Narenda had more water than Viros, hence the splashes of blue on the surface.
As they neared the spaceport, the jagged mountain range where the reivers had captured them came into view in the distance.
Between the mountains and the town, the forest and lakes took precedence.
Then, they were coming in to land at the spaceport, and Gweneth noticed ten dragon shifters, heavily armed, waiting for their arrival.
The reivers’ ship landed with pinpoint precision, and the captain powered down with competent ease. As the engines grew silent, she heard his sigh. Her blaster rose, and she nudged his shoulder to remind him of her weapon.
“No escape attempt. Aye, we had a good run,” he said and shrugged as if he had not a care in the world. “We be eludin’ capture for several rotations, made a good living from our pickin’s.”
“Silence,” Gweneth ordered. Something about him, his easy attitude, the watchful eyes, the tilt of his chin, told her he was lying through his teeth and would seize the first opportunity to escape. The man had intended to sell her and Ellard for profit, and she didn’t trust him for a sec.
He shifted his weight and made to stand.
“Stay,” she barked. “Open the entrance to your ship.”
“And if I say nay?” His gaze met hers in a challenge.
“I killed Malasses. I shot him in the gut three times. My hand didn’t shake.
” She didn’t attempt to break their visual connection, just stared back and prayed none of her inner turmoil leaked free.
While she’d help save Leeam and Sheera, she took no pleasure in her first kill.
Once, while Ry schooled her in the use of a blaster, he’d told her she shouldn’t learn unless she planned to fire the weapon to save herself or others.
Learning to operate a weapon came with responsibilities.
She must never point a weapon unless danger lurked, and she needed to remember that taking a life came with a price.
The faces haunted dreams, and a kill claimed a part of the shooter’s soul.
She hadn’t understood his calm yet determined words and had merely nodded and agreed.
Now, almost two rotations later, she comprehended his lecture.
She wouldn’t sleep well this eve.
“You shot him?”
“Yes.”
“Nay, don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth,” Ellard said from behind them.
Shiloh stood at his brother’s side, watchful, his feline close to the surface and ready to pounce.
“What you be doin’ with me and my crew?” the captain asked.
“That is up to Ransom and his people,” Ellard said. “Open your cargo hold to allow the dragon guards aboard.”
Some of the confidence seeped from the captain, and he lost his easy insouciance. He pushed a button on his controls, raised his hands, and stood.
“Gweneth!” a masculine voice roared.
“Gweneth!” another voice shouted, this one female.
“You’d better go and reassure your friends before they do some damage,” Shiloh said.
Gweneth smiled and went to the entrance of the bridge. “I’m here on the bridge.”
Ry jogged around a corner, followed by Kaya. In three giant steps, Ry grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Just when she wondered if she’d manage another breath, he released her, a hand on each shoulder as he studied her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
Kaya scrutinized her face for a long moment and finally nodded, her blue hair swinging to reveal her pointed ear. “You look different.”
“It’s been an adventure. I just want to go home.
” Gweneth wouldn’t reveal personal details.
Kaya’s intense interest told her she required a distraction.
“I managed to talk the dragon shifters into attending the festival. They’d like to exhibit their jewelry.
How did everyone else go? Are there enough of our neighbors interested to bring extra visitors to Viros? ”
“Everyone we approached agreed,” Ry said. “You had a good idea. Everyone thinks so.”
Pleasure rose in Gweneth, and she clapped her hands together and wriggled happily. “I can’t wait.”
“Do you need Mogens to treat any injuries?” Ry asked.
“No, but Ellard might need some treatment. He lost his Stores arm, and Malasses got him in the ribs with his horns.”
“A man with horns? A Kiraxes?” Kaya demanded.
“Yes.”
Kaya’s blue eyes narrowed to slits, her curiosity roused again. “The Kiraxes people are known as hard-arses. They mean business.”
Nothing less than the truth. “No, they don’t muck around.”
“How come you’re still alive? How come he didn’t thrust you out into deep space?”
“He needed us.”
“Why?”
Ellard walked up behind them and slipped his good arm around Gweneth’s waist. “Can’t you save your questions for later?”
Kaya looked from him to Gweneth and back, then focused on the physical contact between the two, her eyes shining with curiosity. “But I need answers now.”
“And I have questions for you and Nanu.” Gweneth narrowed her gaze on her friend and caught the slight ear twitch. A tell for Kaya. “I wanted to thank you.”
“Why?” Kaya backed up a step.
“The ship maintenance you and Nanu taught me came in useful. Someone screwed around with the wiring in the Gallant.”
“No! Why would they do that? Do you think one of those radicals who want to oust Lynx and Shiloh managed to get on board?” She had her innocent tone down pat but her right ear twitched again.
Definitely guilty.
“I don’t know,” Shiloh snapped. “But if I catch the culprits, I’ll toss them in the dungeon without a trial. Ellard and Gweneth could have died.” He shot a glance at his older brother, some of his anger dropping to the level of a worried frown. “Ellard needs a medic.”
“How are Sheera and Leeam? Has Niran woken?” Gweneth asked.
“They managed to shimmer from the ship,” Ransom said from the end of the corridor. “You are welcome to rest and recuperate at my home.”
“Thank you,” Ry said. “But my mate is about to deliver our child. We’ll fly back to Viros. Mogens can treat Ellard and Gweneth on the flight back to Viros.”
Kaya eyed Ransom and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Pity we’re not staying longer.”
“What about my ship?” Shiloh asked.
“It is repaired and ready for you,” Ransom said. “Ellard, I will arrange for your luggage delivery to the spaceport. It won’t take long.”
Gweneth went to Ransom and hugged him. “Thank you. We will contact you with more details about the festival.”
Ellard growled, and Ransom smiled and placed distance between him and Gweneth. “I would like that. We will enjoy our visit to Viros.”
Shiloh offered his hand to Ransom. “The king of Viros bid me to extend an invitation to stay with us at the castle during your visit. We can place a suite of rooms at your disposal.”
“And the other dragons in my party?”
“We can discuss that, but most of the other visitors will stay at the Feline Inn, which is not far from the castle. You are welcome to have guards at the castle if you wish.”
The tenseness in Ransom dissipated. “That is acceptable. Thank you. I will escort you to your ship.”
“Everyone to the Indy,” Ry said. “We’ll depart as soon as the luggage arrives.”
“The males on this planet are prime,” Kaya said.
“We don’t have time for you to play with them,” Ry informed her. “I want to get back to Camryn.”
Less than a cycle portion later, the green-and-blue planet grew smaller and smaller and disappeared from vision with the naked eye.
Gweneth unstrapped her safety harness and stood. “I’m going to my cabin to sanitize and change.”
Mogens stood too, his face a pearly gray, an indication his mood hovered midway between happy and angry or disturbed. “Do you require any medical attention?”
“I have a few scratches and grazes. Nothing serious. Ellard is the one who requires your aid,” she said.
Mogens regarded her and tilted his head in acknowledgment. “Come with me,” he said to Ellard. “You can sanitize in my cabin.”
“I don’t—”
“I can smell your blood. You wear a wound on your side. Go with him,” Ry said and his voice held a snap of tension. “Mogens is skilled and will help.”
“Ellard, Mogens will help you,” Gweneth said, her tone imperious. “Don’t make me hold you down for him.”
Kaya coughed, her head cocking like a curious bird.
“Check on Gweneth first,” Ellard said after a lengthy silence.
“My cabin is near Gweneth’s,” Mogens said, a ribbon of black dissecting his face. “I don’t need to read the clouds to learn of your stubbornness.” Mogens issued a heavy sigh. “All felines are stubborn.” He glanced at Gweneth. “Half-felines too.”
“Very well.” Ellard stood and followed her and Mogens off the bridge.
“I wonder what happened between them.” Kaya’s nosiness trailed them, as did Ry’s comment about this being none of their business. Gweneth and Ellard would tell them what they wished them to know.
“But aren’t you curious?” Kaya demanded.
“No, I want to get back to—”
Gweneth didn’t hear any more but guessed Ry wanted to be with his mate.
They passed their mess room and the galley and headed into the accommodation corridor, where they all had cabins.
Their corridor wasn’t gray. She and the others had painted a colorful mural of the different things they’d seen during their travels and her residual tension seeped away. Home.
“I am not badly injured.” Gweneth came to a halt outside her cabin door. “Please, I’m telling the truth. I have bruises from when the ship jumped around. A couple of shallow cuts. Nothing is painful, and I’m healing rapidly.”
“Go and sanitize, child,” Mogens said. “I will deal with this stubborn feline first.”
Gweneth pressed her palm to a decoder. Her cabin door slid open. “I’ll come to your cabin once I’m finished.”
Alone in her cabin, Gweneth sighed, feeling more tired than she’d ever felt before.
Although she’d told the truth about her injuries, her body ached.
Bone-deep. For a sec, she studied her image in a looking glass.
A wild woman stared back. Hair loose and fluffy.
A scratch on her cheek and a dirty smudge on the other.
Her tunic bore three rips, and her trews had a hole in the knee.
Her mud-splattered boots needed a good cleaning.
She forced her arms upward and managed to pull off her tunic. A big bruise covered her left side plus a few minor scratches. The faint bruises on the upper curves of her breasts made her smile. Ellard. She didn’t mind those ones.
Gweneth turned away, tugged off her boots and trews. Her underwear hit the floor, and she stepped into her sanitizer. Warm spray pummeled her aching torso, and she sighed again. Luxury. The scents of lime and basil filled the air, and her mind shifted to Ellard again.
He’d become quiet, his thoughts turning inward.
He’d decided he wasn’t worthy of her or some such idiocy.
Maybe he worried about his handicap, but she refused to let him get away with a retreat.
They were good together, and she wanted him.
She loved the big idiot. She, more than anyone, knew what it was like to get judged on appearance, so that excuse meant nothing to her.
Gweneth turned on the drying function and let the warm air soothe her aching muscles while she formulated a plan.
Two cycles. She’d give him two cycles to clear his thinking before she acted.
She’d beat down his objections once.
She could do it again.