Infala: The Priest’s Temptation (Mark of the Infala #9)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Ella’s head felt fuzzy. Fuzzy mixed with a dull throbbing behind her eyes. Eyes she realized were closed and did not seem to want to open.

Open, you bastards.

Ella strained, and, with great effort, she finally managed to peel her lids apart, her aching head screaming at her for the foolish attempt.

Nevertheless, she succeeded, and what she saw was most definitely not what she expected.

The violet-skinned man with piercing silver eyes and close-cropped golden hair standing over her was wearing a thin tunic, his defined musculature clearly visible as he leaned closer, a damp cloth in his hand.

He gently wiped her forehead, a look of utter kindness in his gaze as he tended her with the utmost care.

“What the hell?” she mumbled. “This is one weird-ass dream. Sexy as hell, but weird.”

A gorgeous little grin creased his lips, his eyes still radiating gentle concern. “If you can understand me, this is no dream. Lay still, you are in no condition to move.”

Ella’s head felt like someone had driven a spike through it. She winced, trying to pull away. That was when the real pain hit her. Every inch of her body was screaming at her, unwilling to move as though all her limbs were no longer hers to control.

Little did she know, most of her bones were broken, some in multiple places. And her skin? It didn’t hurt at first, but now that she was regaining her senses, it felt like she’d been doused in mild acid. Not excruciating, but very, very unpleasant, to say the least.

“Did you understand my words?” the strange man asked again, his very voice once more eliciting sharp pain in her head.

“It hurts when you talk! What did you do to me?”

He sighed and nodded, gently pulling the crusted hair from the spot behind her ear. “Hmm.”

The mystery man took a small jar of ointment from a pouch in the bag at his side and removed a small dab of a thick green goo with his finger.

“Don’t you dare put that shit on me. What are you doing?”

He locked eyes with her and sighed, then shrugged. “Trying to spare you pain. Let me work.”

Ella didn’t have much of a choice; her body was not about to obey her commands.

But his expression when the pain hit her head once more was one of regretful care, not cruelty.

The stuff on his finger stung when it touched her skin behind her ear, but a moment later a delightful cooling sensation replaced the burning.

He watched a moment then nodded, apparently satisfied.

“Pain?” he asked. Just one word.

“A little, but barely any compared to before. What did you do to me?”

“A healing balm. Particularly powerful at that. It has helped stabilize your flesh. You felt pain because your translation rune was damaged in the crash.”

Confusion flooded Ella’s mind. “Crash?”

Then it hit her. Her abduction from Earth. Her captivity. The cruel aliens who had kept her locked in a compartment with a few others. But not humans. Aliens, all of them.

“Wait. I remember. There were these big green guys. Raxxians.”

“I am aware,” he said, a look of distaste flashing across his face. “Do not worry. None survived.”

“Survived. So, we really crashed. It’s kind of a blur. There was a bang, then I was thrown against the wall in my bunk.”

“Ah, that would explain it.”

“What?”

“Raxxian transports have sleeping areas built into the walls of the holding compartments. Your being in that indentation is likely what saved you.”

A sinking feeling hit her. Something in the way he said that.

“The others?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. You are the only survivor.”

Ella felt a surge of despair knot in her stomach. She tried to push up to her elbow, but her body absolutely refused.

“Do not try to move. You were severely injured in the crash. Many broken bones. Most, to be honest. And you received burns across nearly all of your body.”

“Burns? But I don’t feel—”

“That’s good. It means the healing gel applied to your burns is working, as is the mending field projected onto your person.

It will take time to see which runes might have survived, of course, but your skin needs to mend first. Our healers are unfamiliar with your race, and as such they were forced to employ a bit of guesswork. ”

Flashes of memory struggled to make themselves known, but Ella had been seriously concussed and barely aware of what was happening when they crashed. All she had was a blur of images and horrible sounds. Now, only fragments cut through the dizziness, pain, and nausea.

“I remember a smell. Strong. Acrid.”

“Your ship managed to come down in the most inhospitable location in the entire realm. The fire swamps of Orzigar, in fact.”

“Fire swamp?”

“More of an acid and molten lava, to be precise.”

“No unusually large rodents?”

“What? I don’t think that translated correctly.”

Ella laughed, her body suddenly screaming in pain, her broken ribs reminding her what a bad idea that was.

But the pain sparked something. An image flashed in her mind’s eye.

A worried man, streaked with ash and sweat, frantically pulling her from the wreckage, ignoring the flames burning his skin with his fierce intensity focused on the human in his arms. His tunic was torn, tattoos visible on his broad chest, an ornate white one standing out, occupying the center. And his eyes. So silver. So beautiful.

“It was you. You saved me.”

“I happened to be first to the crash site. Frankly, it is a miracle you survived, Gods be praised.”

Ella’s head was swimming. So many jumbled thoughts. Memories. Information. It was all too much for her concussed brain to take in. Her stomach flipped once, then twice.

Oh, no. Please, no.

“I’m going to be—” she managed to say just as she turned her head to the side and vomited, her body shrieking in protest.

The man didn’t flinch. In fact, he immediately wiped her lips and cheek, then placed an absorbent cloth on the small puddle beside her head before putting another damp one on her forehead.

“You need to rest.”

Ella realized she was looking not at her compartment, but at a ceiling. She was in a building, not a spaceship. Confused panic welled up. “Where am I?” she asked, her eyes widening with fear.

“You are safe. You have my word.”

“I was abducted by aliens, so pardon me if I don’t take your word for it.”

An amused chuckle escaped the man’s lips. “Fair enough. But nevertheless, you have my word. I am Draikis, by the way, and you are in the healing chambers of the Novarian Brotherhood of the High Dotharian Sect. My order. And you?”

“Me? I’m not part of any sect.”

He chuckled, flashing that dazzlingly bright smile. “I meant your name.”

“Oh.” Ella felt butterflies in her stomach. Or was it pain? Maybe a bit of both; she couldn’t be sure. “Ella. My name is Ella.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled with his warm grin. He placed his hand on his chest and gave her a little bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ella. Though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

This guy is quite the charmer, I’ll give him that.

“I—whoa…” Ella’s words trailed off, her head spinning into a whirlpool of darkness.

She fought back as hard as she could. She had so many questions. So much she wanted to ask. But her battered and healing body had other ideas, and no matter what she wanted, Ella slipped into a deep but restless slumber.