Chapter 4 #2
To young men and women who had their world destroyed and had watched family members die or be slaughtered, the attraction had been immediate.
Myself included. I’d been determined to hunt down and kill the people responsible for slaughtering my mother, father, and little sister.
“I don’t know who she is, Wrath, and it shouldn’t matter. We took an oath as Verndari to serve and protect and that’s what we’re doing.”
“Yes, we did, but you were placed in charge of the mission, which means you get to deal with her.”
“I’ll handle her.”
“What about her fire-starting abilities?” He arched an eyebrow.
“That could come in handy.”
“Maybe. However, are you certain she’s not a plant? I’ve heard of the Freedom Fighter using women to lure in Savages for the games.”
“I only know what John told us.” John, a name he preferred to his official title as the Revelator. A holy man, perhaps the only one left. At first, I’d thought him a product of the drugs I’d been on. Only after I’d started healing had I come to realize he was a man of importance.
“What about the kid? We also saw what she was capable of. That’s not possible. I mean there have been rumors, but…”
“You of all people should know anything in this world is possible no matter how difficult to believe.”
“Maybe, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to stay concerned. I’m also going to get some sleep. My shift is in two hours.”
He punched my arm before rising to his feet and walking away.
I lingered by the fire for a few minutes longer before heading toward the building housing the child. Rock was guarding, more to keep a watchful eye that she didn’t take a turn for the worse.
“She’s out. The kid was famished, but Star gave her something to help her sleep.”
Drugs. That was why Star had taken risks in the city.
I’d checked her bag, finding an assortment obviously meant for whatever village she was living in.
All I’d been told by John was that she and her family had moved from place to place, but that the girl had been protected.
By whom I didn’t know, but I suspected it wasn’t a Verndari and certainly not a Savage.
She placed the two in the same category.
Given her age, she wouldn’t know the difference.
What she didn’t know was that we’d gotten a lucky break in finding her in the city, where we’d heard she hunted. The compound where she’d been staying remained a complete mystery. Kudos to whoever held the position of security.
I opened the door and instantly, the dog was alert. His tail thumped first before he lifted his head, eyeing me with great curiosity. When I came closer, the girl stirred, but at least her breathing wasn’t as labored as before.
And her fever was down. I adjusted the covering that had been found over her slender shoulders. What had the girl endured before being found?
As I closed the door, I tried to remember all that John had told me, but Wrath had been right.
I’d been groomed for years for a mission that would be my most important, the final step of my training unconventional with the healing necessary.
That was likely the reason for the sense of urgency humming in the background.
The Resistance was eager to crush the opposition.
After nodding to the guards, I moved toward the building where Blade and Wizard were keeping watch on Star. I certainly couldn’t put anything past her. The only aspect that provided any comfort was knowing she wouldn’t run without the child.
Visiting her wasn’t as much about asking questions as it was about trying to get an idea of why I was not only physically attracted to her but felt a connection that bridged an emotion I hadn’t been able to grasp.
Since being only a few feet away, I’d had a sense of knowing her from somewhere in my past. There’d still been side effects of the drugs, including memory loss.
The condition had been expected and also condoned since remembering could cause emotional turmoil, possibly allowing for disturbance in the frontal lobe leading to extreme difficulties.
In other words, memories could cause insanity.
As soon as I opened the door, she tensed.
She was sitting on a cot, the bed little more than metal springs with a patchwork of rags used as a mattress, but for many, the space would be considered a palace.
What we had found were a supply of lamps, with special additives keeping the kerosene from hardening.
Another luxury. Light.
She stood, facing me as any warrior would do, looking past me since Blade was standing close, the soldier peering in with the same curiosity I held.
“Keep an eye out,” I told him. “If there’s any movement, let me know. Otherwise, I don’t want to be disturbed.”
He knew better than to challenge me. “Yes, sir.” The answer was curt, Blade unhappy he wasn’t allowed to interrogate her. After he closed the door behind me, Star remained silent, studying me with as much disdain as before.
My reaction was even stronger, a sense of knowing that left my palms sweaty.
She’d removed her hat, which allowed her long hair to fall past her shoulders.
Blonde hair, the color so golden I was lost in the moment of sunshine.
With the flickering light of the candle, I was also captivated by her beauty, natural and unassuming.
If she was aware of how her presence affected me, she didn’t show it.
As opposed to when she’d fought valiantly, she was much more nervous, including a slight twitch in the corner of her eye.
She didn’t move, her glare quietly harsh, but she had her own questions, the same level of uncertainty. That was easy to see in her eyes.
“Is there something wrong with Wren?” The question broke the ice. Empathy. Some would call it a weakness, exploiting it to gain whatever they wanted, but she carried the emotion alongside her weapons.
“She is fine. You went against my orders giving her medicine.”
My comment brought a hint of her rebellious personality, her forehead wrinkling while she folded her arms. “I’m not one of your soldiers, Savage.”
I exhaled slowly, trying to maintain control, both a word and behavior that seemed to elude me. “You will do as I say until such a point you’re told otherwise.”
“I see. You think you own me.”
In closing the distance between us, I was pushed into a deeper sense of knowing that had me sweating across the back of my neck.
However, I had to know the reason for the connection and the strong sense of longing.
If there was one aspect about being a Verndari I appreciated, it was in requiring answers to every problem and working through the issue until I found them.
Only she wasn’t merely a problem. She was a cataclysm brought on by extreme need.
“What I think is that you’re being hunted.”
“It would appear a predator already found me.”
“The Borgata weren’t searching for us, Star. They were searching for you.”
“You’re so certain of that.”
I inched even closer until we were only a few inches apart. “I am.”
She mulled over the suggestion. “How do you know?”
“My instinct.”
“Oh, by instinct. Savage instinct. I didn’t know monsters had any aspect of intelligence let alone perception. You’re beasts who follow orders and nothing more.”
“Perhaps you’re right, but no matter your thoughts on who or what I am, the fact remains you are being hunted and if I had to guess, I’d say there is a huge bounty on your head.”
At least my statement seemed to bother her.
“Then I want my weapons returned.”
“Not until I know I can trust you.”
Her laugh sent a wave of vibrations through me. “When do you think that will be?”
“Never.” I was being honest.
“The feeling is mutual.”
We stood staring at each other, not moving even though the pulse on the side of her neck was as affected as mine. The heat between us was explosive as another sense of knowing strangled my thoughts.
I should leave her alone before my thoughts turned irrational, but ignoring the seriousness of my desire wasn’t anything I was used to dealing with.
Instead of walking away, I curled my fingers, brushing them across her cheek. She jerked back, lowering her chin while her breathing shifted again.
“I’m not staying here. I have a home, people counting on me. I will be leaving in the morning whether you want me to or not.”
Violence came naturally to me, a first thought instead of a follow through. Maybe that was why my reaction was without thinking, my fingers suddenly wrapping around the side of her neck. With my thumb under her chin, I tilted her head until she was forced to look me in the eye.
“I don’t know the reason I was asked to protect you, but that doesn’t matter. What does is that you will follow my orders until we reach our final destination. If you do not, I won’t hesitate to keep you in chains to ensure your safety. Do you understand me?”
“As usual, Savages only know violence.”
“We know danger, which is why I’m making you a promise.”