Chapter 7 #2
“My scar…” She paused with the tunic sliding over her top half.
“Came from Seba’s mother.” Her eyes darkened with sadness.
She drew in a shuddering breath and angled her foot to reveal her inner thigh’s mangled flesh.
“She was protecting him when we got too close. That was the day Mudya didn’t come home.
” She offered her other leg for his attention—it had an odd bow shape from mid-thigh to mid-calve.
“Fell from a chagla tree. Oz said I’d broken the bones in several places.
” She shrugged. “Padya did all he could.”
“May I?” Illan asked, for once she went into the med-E.D., all traces of her suffering would be gone.
Drawn by an unknown desire, he knelt beside her, cupping her hip to bring her scars into the light.
He ran a fingertip over each gray-blue jagged line.
What registered first was how soft she was.
His breath caught and held, his ears ringing.
A wild craving came over him, one he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Her muffled gasp teased his ears, snapping him out of his daze.
He didn’t lift his gaze past her thighs, her sex close enough to nuzzle.
Such a mating wasn’t the Durn way, but he was intrigued.
Iddan had transitioned with Cyndy, and with the wealth of emotions that had flooded their mindfusion, Illan ached to try the humans’ ‘lovemaking.’
He whipped his chin up to find her watching him. Her hand rested on his shoulder, and something intense passed between them. Her expression was that of wonder, and he doubted she even knew about any forms of mating.
He cleared his throat and rose, removing his touch with hesitancy.
“Tell me,” she said, leaning around him to snatch up the pants. “Why are your people not Durn?”
“Too few of us remain after the Great Nevid. Any Durn would know that.” He smiled.
She bowed her head, acknowledging his teasing. “And these Etterians are?”
“Universe travelers, warriors, living by a code of honor they are learning, is not as resolute as they once believed.” He sank into a comfy, content to watch her admire her boots before she knelt to put them on.
Sitting on a chair and doing so might not be normal for her.
“They consider themselves protectors of life, worlds, and cultures. When they picked up your distress signal, they informed me.”
“Why you?” She glanced at him while she stomped around the room. Her brilliant smile made all this worth it.
“Their king invited me to make Issneen my home. I have full access to their archives and what Durn information they have salvaged.”
She pursed her lips as she fiddled with the med-gun and which pants pocket to slide it into. “Much was lost, but Padya has a cube or two we cannot read. Those are all that remain after the crash.”
“Once we have found your father, I will ask him for help. One Durn cannot rebuild our history. Ready?” Illan asked, gesturing to the door. “First a med-E.D. assessment, then weapons.”
Her head shot up. “Truly?”
“Yes.” He squared his shoulders. “I do not like you defenseless.” That was true. He hated that all she had was a tiny dagger where half the blade had been sharpened away.
She scowled. “I have fought with my dagger before.” She jabbed with an invisible weapon.
He laughed. “A miracle you survived.”
She huffed but followed him to medical. Coll rubbed Seba’s lower back with a booted foot. The great beast purred between bites of kreso.
“Medic Coll, may I introduce Lady Ziamee?”
“Lady?” she mouthed before smiling at the older male.
“A pleasure. How may I assist?” Coll abandoned Seba, his attention now on her.
Illan cupped her elbow and steered her toward medical. “Past injuries affect her mobility.”
“Indeed. This way, please, milady.” Coll tapped the bed and settled behind the console.
She hesitated, then swiveled to glare at Illan, bringing her too close for his comfort.
“Is this where you drug me?” she snapped at him, her eyes wide and filled with fire. She waved the med-gun in his face. “Give me tools to lure me here?”
An answering burn sparked to life in his core, and he struggled to form thoughts. He liked her passion, as illogical as that was.
“The med-E.D. requires inactivity,” Coll said, not glancing up. “Even should you promise to be still, a slight twitch of a toe would alter the results.”
Illan crowded her until she bumped against the bed.
“I have done all I said I would.” He held out his hand for the med-gun.
“And without knowing what we are walking into when we search for your father, it is wiser to be well, unhindered. You are not without intelligence, Ziamee. I could have stunned you with my blaster, ported you to a cell at any moment, killed you from your swinging trap. I did not.” He drew in a ragged breath, for once at a loss.
Everything within him demanded she be well, with no pain, and happy.
Happiness hadn’t mattered to him or Iddan.
Until his brother had found his truemate.
Why Illan cared when he barely knew her was beyond him.
“Please trust me as one Durn to another.”
A pulse ticked at the base of her jaw, tempting him to run his thumb along that fluttering just below her skin.
She glanced at Seba—his purring stating she’d get no support from her pet.
Squaring her shoulders as she gathered her courage, she slapped the med-gun onto his palm and sprawled on the bed.
“I will remain by your side,” he said, his voice hoarser than he would have liked. Her hard-won trust…rattled his composure.
“You better,” she warned as the dome formed, sealing her in.
“It will lift you. Do not be alarmed,” Coll said.
She paled when the device did so. Her narrowed eyes promised retribution until she, at last, succumbed to the anesthetic.
Illan studied her now-serene features. He couldn’t recall gazing upon a more beautiful female. The few he called friends came close, though.
“Mm, nano-meds will be needed. The bones must be rebroken at the weak points. The muscles, sinews, and tendons of her right leg are an easy heal.” Coll withdrew a vial from a cold-closet.
“Will she be in pain?” Illan pressed his temple to the dome, mesmerized by the lighting flickering over her skin.
“No, although I am told she may bounce on her feet as if lighter than air.” Coll grinned. He touched the console, forming a circular entry through which he thrust his hand.
Illan took up position in front of the console’s display vids; the nano-meds entered her body through her nose. The dome sealed when Coll withdrew.
“How long?” Illan asked, tracking the nano-meds’ path as they repaired her throat, an ulcer forming in her stomach, killed a few parasites she must have ingested at some point, then settled in four places on her femur. A small batch had veered off to mend the damage Seba’s mother had inflicted.
“They break down the bone and rebuild it using the same material, drawing from her calcium reserves for added strength.” Coll selected a graph and zoomed in. “She is in remarkable condition after having survived on the unknown for such an extensive time.”
“Indeed,” Illan mumbled.
There was so much he wanted to introduce her to, but he had to take it slow.
To do otherwise might overwhelm her. Perhaps he could start with Durn foods?
An unbidden smile teased his lips. He couldn’t remember when last he’d had a kandyru tisane.
Not since meeting Quin, if he was honest with himself.
Coll nudged his chin at Brac. “He is planning the expedition to the east side of the lake where the heat signal pinged. The fly-over has revealed nothing definitive.”
Illan hesitated, not wanting to ‘abandon’ Ziamee when he’d promised to remain at her side.
“Go. I will comm you before I wake her.”
Illan bowed his head, and with one last glance at her, he strolled to the rehydrator, a cup of hot cocoa in his future.