1
Sunif
The rope bites into my wrist and rubs my skin. If the woman on the other end of the rope would stop pulling, there would be less chafing. Even though her colony has given her to us, in exchange for one of my brothers returning with her people, she continues to resist and fight me with every step.
It will make for a long walk back to the ship.
And a slow walk, which will cause the warriors on the ship to send another to search for us. With only three of them remaining on the ship, there aren’t enough of them to sail it—which means they cannot steal the boat and leave us stranded.
I do not want to sail without Aldit, but after he chased after Ruby, he might be lost, or dead. Or captured by the humans. I do not trust them to remain true to their word. At least if he is captured, he and Tiril will have each other.
The bravery of Tiril still aches my heart. My flicks up to the stars appearing in the sky. I hope to see him again, before death claims us and we join the banished who came before us.
Behind me, Mia gasps.
I sense her panic.
As I turn I lift my arm, catching her and preventing her from landing on her face.
As thanks, she glares at me. Her annoyance rolls off her and hits me like tiny prickles. My kam pick up on her distress, and I know I am part of the cause. That her friend chose Edilk as a mate, is also upsetting her. I don’t think she’s worried about Tiril.
Orik and Bridget are a few paces ahead of me. They are both silent. She does not fight him the way Mia does me. For a heartbeat I am envious that she is not fighting him. But while Mia resists, I am not thinking about mating. As much as I long for a mate, it is better that I do not have one.
Somewhere behind us, Edilk and Sabine have stopped to make camp for the night so they can have some privacy to celebrate their mating. We started with five warriors and are down to three. I pray that the banished warriors who came before me watch over my brothers while they are alone, and that they return safely to the ship so that we may be together again.
“How many are waiting at the ship?” Mia asks.
“Three.” I buzz Orik with my kam, silently letting him know we need to find a place to rest. I do not want Mia falling in the dark and wounding herself.
For all the trouble she is causing, I do not hate her, and I do not wish her ill.
It is my duty to keep her safe, so that when I return home, I can present her to the tribe and restore both my family’s honor and my own. She will then be free to choose any warrior she wants.
I am hoping my tribe will be as welcoming as Edilk believes his will be. That any woman will be enough and that she doesn’t need to be one of the Honey. Perhaps that human women can bring on the rut is a good sign.
If she chooses one of the warriors waiting on the ship, my plan will be in disarray. “I thought you did not want a mate?”
“I don’t.” She shrugs and looks away as though she can hide the deception from me. Her people are used to lying because they do not have the ability to deeply sense another. They have no kam with which to send or receive signals so they can only communicate with words. Their teeth are small and white, and their eyes are also small—which is probably why they don’t like to move at night. She is not pretty by Honey standards, but I like the curve of her ass and her spirit.
Unlike captured warriors, who became slaves, captured women become valued assets of their new tribe. As always, they get to choose their mate. From the glint in her dark eyes, I know she will not choose me, and if she knew my plan, she would choose another to spite me, and I cannot allow that even though I respect her desire to fight fate.
“Neither do I, so perhaps it is best that we agree on one thing.”
She crosses her arms across the inviting swell of her breasts, drawing the rope tight between us. “What one thing?”
“That we pretend to be mates.” If the others believe she has chosen, they will not attempt to take her. That leaves Bridget to choose one of the others, assuming she does not want to wait until we reach home. I do not want to make a crossing with four warriors and one unmated woman. The ship isn’t big enough for the displays the men will be driven to put on.
I push away the memories of what desire felt like because that will only lead to the memories of the forbidden mating and then my banishment. They burn like a fresh wound even though it was ten years ago.
“I’ll think about it. How long until we reach the ship?”
“Another day and night.” Can she tell that I have a reason for wanting to pretend she is mine? “Think hard, Mia, because I can make your life very difficult.”
“More difficult?” She tugs on the rope. “Really?”
I pull on it, and she stumbles toward me. “Yes. I could’ve let you fall. I do not need to rest, but you do. You will want food and water when we stop for the night, but I will be fine until dawn.”
Orik lets me know that there is a suitable place to rest not much further along the trail.
