Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Illan tried to keep his attention off Ziamee.
An impossibility when her cries of pleasure still thrummed through him.
He shouldn’t have led her down that addictive path, but he’d been too tempted.
That wasn’t an excuse but a fact. Everything about her fascinated him even though her need to be independent infuriated him.
He clenched his jaw, casting a glance at Amet, who paced the confines of the kuta. Coll and Brac had opted to join them. Illan valued their strength and intelligence. Xeus had chosen well.
“So she is alive?” he asked Amet, catching him by the shoulder.
Ziamee froze, her face pale.
“Yes. I saw a vision of herbs, then black-gloved hands grabbing and shoving her into a dark box…like this shuttle.”
Illan pursed his lips. “Ulta has struggled to isolate the second beacon. He says it is bouncing from point to point.”
Though the male had been grinning when he’d informed Illan of this.
No doubt, he found this challenging. Past Illan would’ve shut down the lima kuu’s enjoyment, wanting the information without delay.
Wiser him understood he’d get the location when he got it.
In fact, Ulta’s eagerness to finalize it meant the male would add extra time and effort.
“We are approaching milady’s location,” Brac said to the shuttle in general.
Illan jerked back, realizing his gaze rested on Ziamee…again. He’d strapped her into the seat the moment she boarded. Seba hadn’t come along, choosing to sleep at Ulta’s feet. The massive haunch of kreso had nothing to do with persuading the hulking beast to remain.
Illan smiled, but that faded. They hadn’t inserted an O.D.I. into Ziamee like he’d wanted. Nor had they tagged Seba and ported him home. Both would have to wait until Ziamee was calmer. She gripped her knees with such force that he winced in sympathy.
“Find a safe spot to land,” he said to Brac.
What filled the display vids was a plateau with neatly tilled rows.
Various colorful plants grew in abundance.
To the right of a cave opening, a waterfall trickled down one cliff into a small pool.
A few other items confirmed someone lived here: a bucket, drying garments, a stone-walled fire pit, and a stack of wood to the side of it.
West was a drop-off to the lake below. He raised his gaze and peered across the distance, trying to see where he and Ziamee had leaped off to avoid dying.
The jagged rock made him swallow hard. They could’ve smacked into it and died.
A footpath went from Faerar’s cave to the edge overlooking the forest and the giant multi-eyed beasts staring at them in passing. That proved Ziamee’s mother missed her.
He wanted to show her this, that she was loved. And she had to know she was. Her father had never abandoned her even though her mother had left her under his care. They had to have their reasons though Amet was far from forthcoming.
For Ziamee to find resolution, she needed to understand it all.
The kuta touched down, squashing a tended garden.
Only then did Illan unstrap her. He caught her fingers and urged her to her feet. “Remember, whatever we discover, it will help us to trace her.”
“If only she had an O.D.I.” She offered a weak smile. “I can see the merits. With your help”—she swept out a hand, indicating all of them—“we should be able to find her quickly.”
The shuttle door opened, flooding the compartment with a gust of dusty air. Brac and Coll left first, Amet behind them. Illan lingered, waiting for Ziamee.
“It’s hotter up here,” she said, jumping out, then spinning to take in what her mother had accomplished. “Illan,” she whispered, awe and sadness in her voice. “We have to save her.”
“We will, ohara.” He caught her wrist, then tugged her after Brac, who’d knelt beside the fire.
“It is burning. She was taken not too long ago. We have time.” He straightened, then tapped his O.D.I. “Any news, Ulta?”
“I am triangulating onto something north of you. Will confirm the coords when I have locked onto them.”
“My thanks,” Brac said, then strode toward the cave opening, his blaster in hand.
Coll followed, his focus on the ground. “Many footsteps, some small.” He glanced at Ziamee. “I would surmise your mother to be of your height and size.” He tapped the sand with his booted foot. “These are familiar. Brac, have you seen this tread before?”
Illan joined them, studying the tracks. “They are similar to ours.” He stomped and stepped back, proving his footprint matched. “But why would they be here? And how would we not know of their presence?”
Coll tapped his O.D.I. “Ulta, keep this channel open.”
“Affirmative.”
Brac skirted Amet peering into the cave. “There are lit torches,” he called. “But no one is here.”
En masse, they trailed him. Sure enough, grooves in the rocky walls held torches, their flames flickering as if well fed.
To one side leaned some sort of wooden mesh that had been used as a door.
Beyond that, carved into the rear wall, was an alcove forming a bed.
Shelves held handmade garments and a few carved objects: cups, bowls, and utensils.
Strips of drying paper hung over a solid rack. Beside that was a stack of notes.
Everything was well-organized.
“Smells like her,” Ziamee said, blinking back tears. “Had we come sooner, she might not have been taken.”
“She wasn’t ready to return to us,” Amet said.
“You spoke to her?” Brac asked.
Amet met and held Ziamee’s gaze. “I never stopped.”
“Mudya didn’t want to talk to me.” Ziamee turned on the spot. “She’s not here, and north is all Ulta can narrow it down to. Let’s just fly that way.”
“Milady is right,” Coll said. “Once we get the exact coords, we will be closer than if we wait here.”
“Go ahead,” Brac said. “I will plant sec vids in case she returns while Coll powers up the kuta.”
Ziamee marched on, her spine stiff. Not once did she glance at her father. Illan didn’t blame her, and yet, he understood Amet’s need to protect her. A decision had been made when she was too young to understand. He was at ease, certain they would learn the details in due course.
She sank into her seat and strapped herself in.
Illan knelt before her and checked the latch. “We will find her,” he whispered and ran his hands from her thighs to her knees.
The pain darkening Ziamee’s eyes hit him hard.
An unseen force squeezed his chest, almost snapping his ribs.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to whisk her away from this…
situation. She wouldn’t appreciate his efforts; that she’d made abundantly clear.
Which left only one recourse: he’d train her to protect herself and trust his ability to teach her well.
The moment Brac leaped into the compartment, he smacked the button for the door to seal.
Coll launched the kuta, and when they were high enough, he swiveled its nose north.
They skimmed along the ground covered in green and orange forests.
A few rivers headed toward the waterfall and lake, gleaming like slivers of mercury in the sunlight.
Mountains in the distance were the palest lilac, but until then, just flat land rolled out as far as the eye could see.
“Uninhabited according to the kuta scans,” Coll said.
“I expected something…more,” Ziamee said, her eyes wide, her voice raw. “For so long, I imagined this as a different biome, but it’s…the same, isn’t it?”
“For the most part,” Amet said, coming to stand behind Coll.
“All this is to be discovered, documented. We could spend our entire lives here and not capture it all.” He offered Ziamee a weak smile.
“Which is what I proposed to your mother. No, she wanted off this world. It took us years to be granted permission to travel to a new world in another system. Not this…Vora.”
“Few were chosen per unknown planet to minimize the impact our presence made.” Illan clasped Ziamee’s fingers, giving them a squeeze. “I can understand why your mother wanted to leave.”
“Staying was our only choice,” Amet gritted out.
“One you made,” Illan said, trying to get to the truth. “You said the beacon stopped working?”
Amet held Illan’s gaze, unflinching. “Yes.”
Illan frowned. His instincts screamed that Amet was acting…odd. “And you did not try to repair it?”
“With what parts?” Amet shrugged. “The past is as it is. I cannot change it, nor do I wish to.” He glanced at Ziamee. “Except for those incidents where you were harmed. I’d give my life to not have you suffer.”
“Did Mudya know?” Ziamee asked, her voice small. “Did she choose not to return?”
“I hid that from her. Your anguish was mine to bear.” Amet faced ahead, ending the conversation.
Illan reeled. How had Amet managed to shield his truemate? Only a gifted few could do that. Illan had struggled when mind-fused with his brother. It had taken all his strength to do so, and yet, Amet stood there undaunted.
No, he couldn’t be a—
Nizena.
Illan activated his O.D.I. and typed a message to Iddan to investigate this further. If he had the time now, he’d delve into what archives he had access to. But his priority was Ziamee. And he’d like to return to Etteria with some news worthy of retelling.
Having found Ziamee and her family meant his mission was a success.
Securing them all on the scimitar to Issneen would be the next step.
If he could convince Ziamee to come with.
She had to do so willingly. He’d never force her, even though he ached to show her a different world.
Perhaps he should approach the topic from that angle?
“There,” Brac said, tapping the display vid where a point flashed for a second. “That has to be her location. Ulta?”
“I cannot confirm this,” Ulta said, his voice filling the kuta’s compartment. “What is your visual?”
Coll glided the kuta to a halt and circled the location. “An object is there, but the forest hides much.”