Chapter 17 Tovis
The sounds of fighting did nothing to cover the percer’s bellow as he charged the combined forces of humans and sytos. I grabbed Jessa around the waist and hefted her over my shoulder, latched onto Jiith’s wrist and ran.
My hooves hit the dirt hard enough to jolt my bones as I poured every ounce of my strength into fleeing. Jessa was right, the percer was a good distraction and we needed every minute of the head start she’d given us.
If the humans killed all the sytos, we had nothing to worry about, but if the Kwin survived with even a few guards she’d come for us. After a mile, Jiith stumbled, a few minutes later he collapsed and I picked him up, too.
The added weight slowed me down, but unless I was willing to tear his arm off, I had no choice but to carry him. I ran until the shadow of the human city disappeared behind us, and I ran a little farther after that, looking for landmarks to guide me toward camp.
Between Jessa and Jiith, I knew we wouldn’t get there tonight. But I’d need rest and sleep to travel the distance, and I wasn’t closing my eyes until I knew the sytos couldn’t creep up on us.
It took some time before I realized the percer was tracking me. My ears barely picking up the crunch of steps in the distance and when I looked behind, I could just see the outline of his bulk in the moonlight.
I paused for a moment, turning fully to watch the boar. He stopped, too, far enough away he was nothing but a dark blur, but close enough there was no mistaking what lurked in the distance.
“Is that the percer?” Jessa whispered.
“It is,” I confirmed. “He’s not attacking though.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to figure out why he was following.
Percer sows were predators, but the boars were omnivorous scavengers.
He wasn’t hunting us and he wasn’t attacking.
Unless Jiith was closer to death than I thought and he was hoping for an easy meal, there was no reason for him to be here.
As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, Jiith let out a pained cough.
“I heard the others talking about him,” he said hoarsely. “They found broken eggs at his nest, his pack had abandoned him, probably because he was injured.”
I considered the information. Percers were not native to my planet, everything I knew from them came from the fights, and the gossip of the guards outside my cell. I could only guess at the boar’s motivations.
“Is he lonely?” Jessa asked tentatively, her hands gripping my ribs as she tried to twist her body to look at the beast. “If they’re social animals and his pack is gone, is he hoping for protection?”
“I fought him,” I pointed out. “Hurt him badly. He wouldn’t see me as a friendly face.”
“He’s hurt and alone,” she said slowly. “We did let him out. Maybe he’s just desperate.”
The boar ventured closer as we watched him, his movements slow and almost submissive. His bad leg was tucked against his body, forcing him to hobble on the other three and he kept his tusks pointed down as he limped forward a few steps and lowered himself to the ground.
“He’s not attacking,” I finally said. “We’ll worry about him if that changes.”
“You need to rest soon,” Jessa said. “I don’t think I can run on my feet, but I can walk.”
“What’s wrong with your feet?” I demanded, my worry shifting from the percer to my mate.
“I cut them up on the glass last time I fed you,” Jessa said. “It’s not bad, but it will be if I run barefoot on rocks.”
My jaw clenched as I considered our options. We were miles from the sytos now, and they would need to regroup if they survived their fight with the humans. It seemed wiser to rest and move on faster tomorrow than push ourselves and be weak if it came to a fight.
“We’re sleeping here,” I decided, lowering Jessa and Jiith to the ground.
My mate hissed when she stood and grabbed my arm.
My tail flicked as I recalled her running over the glass.
She’d been feeding me for days, always barefoot.
I doubted tonight was the first time she’d stepped on the shattered glass.
“Let me see your feet,” I ordered, dropping to my knees in front of her. My sudden movement pulled Jiith off balance and I wished we weren’t still cuffed together.
Jessa looked between my horns, her forehead creasing. “But the percer-”
I shook my head. “I can only deal with one thing at a time. We rest for now, if he attacks, I’ll kill him. But I want to see how bad you’re hurt.”
She set her hands on my shoulders, balancing herself as I lifted one of her feet.
Bits of dirty tape clung to her skin, but whatever bandages she’d had were long gone.
Dozens of small cuts had scabbed over but her largest toe was still bleeding, the edges of the wounds red and angry, bits of dirt clinging to the blood.
“I had a medpack in my bag,” I said. “But that’s long gone.”
“I’m fine,” she muttered as I carefully set down her foot and reached for the other. “Tovis, I’m fine.”
“Human feet are already tiny and fragile,” I said, reaching for a touch of my usual cheerfulness. It wasn’t easy, smiling whenever you felt worry, making a joke when all you wanted was to sleep and heal. But I’d seen firsthand what happened to those who lost hope.
Despair bled the life from a body just as easily as a knife. A few smiles and a moment’s lightness had eased my fellow turochs hearts before we escaped, and I knew Vret had only survived the blow that shattered his pelvis because I made him laugh and curse at me whenever the guards checked on him.
The illusion he was healthier than he was, was the only reason they hadn’t dragged him from his cot and killed him.
We’d escaped, but we were all tired in a way sleep alone couldn’t fix. If I got a laugh or a real smile out of Jessa, I could rest easy tonight.
“You don’t even have feet,” she said as I inspected the jagged skin on her heel. “Maybe they’re supposed to look like that.”
I poked an angry red spot, not liking the warmth under her skin, or the slight swelling around the wounds. Jessa let out a squeak when I pressed harder on the red patch.
“Ow, ow, stop,” she gasped when I pinched at the hard spot I’d found.
“There’s still something in here,” I said, holding her ankle tighter when she tried to pull away. “It already looks infected, I need to get it out.”
“Can it wait until we have tweezers?” she begged, her fingers digging into my shoulders as I squeezed and manipulated the meat of her heel.
“I’m sorry.” I swallowed down the guilt of hurting her and pinned her foot to my knee, tilting my head to get as much of the moonlight as I could. Jessa yelped and my head wrenched to the side as she grabbed one of my horns.
“Careful with the head gear, you almost took my nose off,” she laughed weakly.
“Cover the tips with your hands,” I ordered her. “I’ll be quick.”
She did as I asked, and once I was sure my horns weren’t an issue, I pinched the wound and worked the shard of glass out with brutal efficiency.
“Holy ow,” Jessa squealed. The glass glistened with her blood but it was out. I tilted my head back, gently freeing my horns from her grip and showed her my palm.
“If you’d walked a mile with this in your foot, it would have been much deeper.”
Her face twisted and she picked the shard off my hand. “So gross. I knew that spot hurt worse than the others, but I had no idea I had something that big in there.”
“We’ll rest here until dawn,” I said. “I’ll carry you tomorrow if you need.”
“Does that offer extend to me?” Jiith asked. He’d been so quiet I'd almost forgotten he was still cuffed to me. Jessa looked just as startled and I smiled at the idea that she’s forgotten him, too.
There hadn’t been time for a proper courtship, but my mate was just as fascinated with me as I was with her.
I let myself fall back, groaning in relief once all my weight was off my legs. Jiith was forced to sit beside me, his arm held as far from his body as he could manage to give us some space.
“I don’t plan on ripping your arm off and leaving you to die, if that's what you’re asking,” I said.
Jessa shot me a worried look and I held up my free arm and beckoned to her.
“Come, mate. Rest while we can.”
She limped to my side and took my hand, letting me help her down beside me.
“You keep saying ‘mate’ like I’ve agreed to all your claiming nonsense,” she said. The way she tucked herself under my arm and into my chest belying her words.
I leaned back slowly, cradling her head on my shoulder and staring up at the full moon. The dirt was hard, but still warm, and I was tired enough even the rocks under my back wouldn’t bother me for long.
“You’re my mate until you spurn me. And once we reach camp, and we’re safe, I’ll gentle you in the way of my people and you’ll be mine forever,” I murmured softly.
“I’m in no position to make demands,” Jiith said stiffly. “But if you could woo your mate when we’re no longer attached, it would be much appreciated.”
I tugged at our cuffed hands.
“I’ll woo my mate whenever the urge takes me,” I said. “Luckily for you, we’re all far too tired for that.”
The syto scooted away a few more inches and slowly laid down on his side, a groan of pain leaving him.
“I’ll see what I can do about the cuffs when the sun is up,” his words slurred weakly.
Within seconds, his breathing slowed in sleep. Jessa must have been listening as closely as I was because she lifted her head to squint at him over my chest.
“Is he going to make it?” she whispered, her mouth so close to my ear her breath tickled the hairs inside.
I turned my head, my horns scraping the dirt as I took in the injured male.
He’d lost weight he couldn’t afford while we’d been starved, and even Jessa’s gifted ration bars had barely brought him back from the edge.
There was a rattle in his breathing and a shallowness that told me he had broken ribs and his tentacles barely moved anymore.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He was on the edge before they cuffed us together. Flinging him around the arena did more damage.”
A small hand curled on my chest and I turned back to look down at her.
“If he dies, know you did what you could,” I told her.
Jessa pressed her cheek against me and sighed.
“I kind of hate him,” she admitted. “But I feel bad, too.”
“He’ll have the chance to redeem himself if he makes it to camp, past that it's up to him.” Gigi and Uriish had broken free of their syto ways, Gigi more so than the captain. But I knew that sytos could be more than enemies.
It was Jiith’s responsibility to prove himself or fail in that respect.
I kissed her soft hair and pulled her body on top of mine.
“Sleep, Jessa. We’re safe for now, and we have far to travel in the morning.”
Her body was a boneless blanket within minutes and I closed my eyes, determined to savor every second of having her so close.