Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Aurina thrust down her rising panic. E-beacons were made from the toughest materials, designed to withstand the worst of crashes. “I need to contact my family. They’ll be searching for me.”
Kavon urged her back against the mountain of cushions, and then crouched beside the bed. She shifted on the sheets. All that bare chest was a little too close.
“There is nothing left,” he said.
Her stomach did a slow turn. “Nothing?”
“And I forbid you to go out there. You are injured, and the Wilds are a dangerous place.”
She stiffened. “Forbid?” She shot to her feet, heedless of the pain. “No one forbids me, barbarian. I’m in charge of me.”
He cocked his head, his intense amber gaze tracing her face. “I claimed you. You are mine now, subject to my protection and my orders.”
No. No, no, no. She’d seen her mother forced to follow the orders of others—her boss, the landlord, the thugs on their street who demanded “security” payments.
Aurina hadn’t forged a life for herself just to land in the lap of a chest-beating barbarian.
She drew in a deep breath, then opened her mouth to educate him.
There was a rap at the door.
“Enter,” Kavon called out.
Aurina watched two young women enter, followed by the oldest woman she’d ever seen before.
The younger two were tall and lean, with dark hair and the same metallic sheen to their skin.
They wore leather, corset-style tops with flowing skirts that fell to mid-calf.
Apart from some openly curious looks at Aurina, the women didn’t speak, just set plates of food on low tables near the bed, and then backed away.
The old woman had white hair that flowed past her shoulders, and wore a robe-like dress. She stopped by the bed.
“I see you’re up and about.” The woman smiled, teeth flashing in the dark wrinkles of her face.
“She still has pain, Chaldora,” Kavon said. “Ease it.”
The woman made a rude noise. “I delivered you from your mother’s womb, boy, so I’m not bound to obey you.”
Aurina watched resignation flash on Kavon’s face, before he hid it behind a hard look. “No one appears to be listening to me this morning,” he said sourly.
The old woman’s lips lifted. “A woman who doesn’t bow and scrape and beg to be in your bed? Say it isn’t so.” Chaldora waved to the bed. “Please sit, young lady.”
Aurina waited a beat, then sat. “Finally, someone with manners who doesn’t toss orders around.”
The woman laughed. “If you are expecting polite requests from this one—” she jerked a thumb at Kavon “—you will be waiting an eternity. He is a battle-hardened warrior and warlord to boot. He only knows orders.”
Kavon made a harrumphing sound and crossed his massive arms over his chest.
The healer sat beside her. “You have an injury on your side. I tended it last night…may I check it?”
Aurina touched under the sheet, and felt the bandage adhered to her skin. With a nod, she nudged the sheet aside.
The woman set a battered leather satchel on the bed, opened it, and rummaged around inside.
Aurina shot a quick glance at Kavon, and saw him staring at the skin she’d bared. She decided to ignore him. Or try to. The man was so big and imposing, his life force just seemed to pulse through the room.
The healer leaned over, her warm, dry hand gently pulling Aurina’s bandage away. “They call me Chaldora.”
“Hi. I’m Aurina.”
Chaldora studied her wound and made a clucking noise. “My healers didn’t use enough salve. They are too used to letting the nanami do most of the work.” She pulled a jar from her bag and started to spread the paste over Aurina’s cut.
“Nanami?” Aurina was pleased to see that despite the unappealing smell of the salve, the pain eased instantly.
“Nanami are organisms that live in the bodies of all Markarians. They heal us, give us increased strength, speed, and senses. They help us survive.”
Cool. “You live in symbiosis with these organisms.”
Chaldora smiled. “Exactly.”
“What do they look like? Are you born with them? Can you control?—?”
Nearby, Kavon started pacing. “You have many questions, skyflyer. Nanami are too small to see.”
“You’re a skyflyer,” Chaldora said.
“I am.”
“Not a good one.”
A laugh broke out of Aurina. “I’m a really good one. I just ran into some…problems. Including the meteors currently bombarding your planet.”
“Meteors?” Chaldora’s brow creased.
Kavon stirred from where he was pacing. “The warrior’s omen.”
“Ah, the rain of stars.” The old healer nodded and pressed a clean bandage to Aurina’s side. “There, Aurina Skyflyer, your wound shouldn’t give you any more pain today. I’ll leave some salve so you can reapply it this evening.” She glanced at Kavon.
The warrior nodded. “I’ll see that she does it.”
Aurina’s jaw tightened. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She bit her lip. Be nice. You want to see your ship. She managed a smile.
Kavon raised a dark brow, so she figured her attempt at sincerity failed.
Chaldora packed her things back into her bag. “You know, Kavon, legend says the First Warriors arrived in our land under a rain of stars.”
Aurina blinked. What were they talking about? She saw Kavon’s gaze turn even more turbulent.
“I know you search for the legendary warrior’s sword, Durendal. It just seems a great coincidence that Aurina arrives with the same omens as our ancestors.” The old woman smiled at Aurina. “Keep that wound dry and tended, little sunset.”
She blinked at the nickname but nodded. “Thank you, Chaldora.”
The door closed after the healer, and a charged silence filled the large room.
“Eat.” He motioned to the food.
Aurina realized she was starving. She picked at the food on the platters, pleased to see most of it was fresh fruits and some sort of nuts.
She popped some orange fruit in her mouth.
Tart citrus flavor exploded across her tongue.
Yum. She kept nibbling, the silence throbbing in the room like a sore tooth.
“What’s Durendal?” she asked to break the silence.
Kavon paced to the window, pushing the curtain aside.
“A sword. A great sword of our ancestors. The First Warriors came here from the north, many, many years ago. They birthed the Markarians, gave us our warrior code, and taught us the Way of the Great Warrior. It is also said they brought a legendary sword, forged by a master smith in their homeland.”
“Their homeland?”
He let the curtain drop. “The land of the Great Warrior.”
Her curiosity was buzzing, but as interesting as the history of these barbarians was, she had other things to worry about. She cleared her throat. “Look, I really need to see my ship. It’s important.”
She saw him tense, a dark mood throbbing off him.
She hurried on. “How about a trade? You take me to the crash site?—”
“A trade.” Something lit in his eyes and his gaze slid over her.
The sheet had slipped off one of her shoulders and she hitched it up again. “Yes, a trade, barbarian, but I don’t trade my body. Ever.”
He raised a brow. “And I don’t need to pay for a woman. Ever.”
That she believed. She stood and walked toward him, refusing to let him think she was afraid. “I have something better to trade.”
His lips quirked, and she got the impression that was as close as this man got to a smile.
“Really?” he said. “And what is that, skyflyer?”
“My brain.”
This time he frowned.
“I work with my brothers, they help…travelers to reach distant destinations.”
Kavon nodded. “Like a caravan. We have them here for travelers heading off to far-off lands.”
“Exactly. We help keep the travelers secure?—”
“Your brothers provide protection.”
“Yes. And my job is to go ahead, to identify any problems or dangers, and search for suitable planets where we can stop.”
“You’re a scout.”
She smiled. “I am.”
“Our caravans have scouts.” Something moved in his eyes. “Not many women are scouts.”
She wrinkled her nose. “This is my surprised face.”
When he stared at her, clearly not getting her joke, she waved a hand. “Anyway, I’m good at finding things. I can help you find this sword.”
His amber gaze sharpened now. “I have my best warriors and scholars searching for Durendal. What makes you think you could be successful?”
“Like I said, I’m good at these sort of things. And besides, maybe you need a fresh set of eyes. If any of my things survived the crash?—”
“Some things did. I have them here.”
Her heart leaped into her throat. “Could I see?—?”
“No. It is my job to protect my people. I cannot let you have your technology.”
Her shoulders slumped.
His hard face turned thoughtful. “You would help me find the sword, and in return, I take you to your ship?”
“That’s the deal.”
“Then I also want you to share any knowledge you have that would help my people…with healing, farming, or mining.”
Her pulse spiked. “You have mines?”
“Many.”
“Okay, then, barbarian, I’ll help any way I can.”
He crossed his arms, studying her. “No woman has ever tried to bribe me with her brain before.”
She rolled her eyes. “This is my surprised face again.”
“I know you are making a joke.”
She held back a smile. “So? Do we have a deal?”
He stood, towering over her. All that smooth, bronze skin inches from her nose.
“I am in a good mood this morning, skyflyer. We have a deal.”
“Yes!” Aurina punched a fist into the air.
Large, firm hands gripped her arms. “We have a tradition here…to formally conclude a deal.”
As he reeled her closer, she felt the warmth pouring off him. No wonder he didn’t need a shirt. The guy ran hotter than the Ariel’s engines. “Oh?”
“There are a few ways to signal that we both agree. A warrior’s shake, an elder’s clasp, or…a kiss.”
Her chest bumped into his, their bare skin separated by the thinnest sheet. He pulled her off her feet so she dangled a few inches off the ground, and their faces were close. Her heart began to pound. “So, how about a warrior’s shake?”
“You are not a warrior.”
She wrinkled her nose. “A clasp, then?”
“Traditionally, that is only for our elders. You are not my elder.”
Hmm. “I don’t kiss strange men, barbarian. Especially not strange, alien, barbarian men.”