There was nothing but desert for miles and miles in any direction. A large lake was right near the energy signature, and that lake was the food source for the entire Serqethos Clan and their dragons. An ancient Naga city also lay partially buriedbeneath the sand there, and it had to be this location that was the source of the signature.
“Not a ship,” I said firmly. That, at least, I was certain of. “Let me see if I can reach the current Serqethos Shaman again, now that the Digmaster has taken us above ground.” I had worked hard that first night to fix the outgoing array, but nothing I had done had helped increase the output. Above ground, however, it should work just fine, and that was what I was counting on now.
We’d received word from Artek that Khawla, his human, Jolene, and his younglings had been rescued during one such stretch above ground a few days ago. So I knew it worked then, even if the Digmaster caused its own kind of interference, being a massive hunk of metal and all. I reached for my communicator and curled my arms around Felicia so we could both hunker down over it as I pressed the Shaman’s contact. Auby, perched on the console, leaned in from the other side. We must have made a weird image when Kaylass answered. Three very different heads peering at him from various angles.
“Levant, what is it?” the older Shaman asked. His brown scales were already growing dull with age around the corners of his eyes, giving him a pinched look. I did not know Kaylass all that well, but I had spoken with him at length when transferring my Serqethos duties to him. He looked worn, older, and even less rested than I did.
“The Council might have already informed you, but we are headed in your direction aboard a Revenant. I wanted to ask if you’ve had any unusual readings in the ancient city. The Revenant has locked onto an energy signature there.” I had wracked my brain for days to see if I could recall anythingunusual myself, but I had come up with nothing. Once I had the time, I was going to map out all the ruins; it was very remiss of us not to have done so yet.
I thought Kaylass, of all Shamans, would be most interested in what I had to say, but he shrugged and shook his head. His eyes pinched as he denied any such readings. Kayless was one of our most learned historians, especially when it came to one of the ancient mountain cities to the west, far beyond Serqethos—further still beyond Ahoshaga. Most of his life, he’d spent inside ruins, often alone, sometimes with apprentices. I thought he’d have been all over Serqethos’ ancient city. “If you have nothing else, I must return to my duties, Levant,” he said, and I was certain he would have disconnected if I hadn’t shouted, “Wait!”
Kaylass was famous for his curiosity, much like I was, so why hadn’t he asked a single question? Something was not right, not right at all. I knew I’d left Serqethos and the Clan was technically not in my care any longer, but I loved them. Loved each gold-scaled, stubborn dragon rider, and every soft-hearted Naga female who lived there. The great exception to any other Clan on the planet.
“What’s going on, Kaylass?” I asked. I hoped fervently that the male was just so immersed in his studies that he had no time for questions from a younger Shaman. That hope was dashed the moment I saw the tired, worried look in the older Shaman’s eyes. Now the paleness made sense, as did the pinched look of his brow.
“The fisheries have failed,” Kaylass said. “Your people are starving.” What? I blinked, unable to fully comprehend the awful news he’d just delivered. He disconnected the call before I couldpry further, and he was right to do so, because what help could I be, anyway? I’d never entered the fisheries we knew were there; none of us had. They had always worked, endlessly refilling the lake with fish to feed not just a Clan, but the ravenous appetite of the dragons that lived in harmony with us.
The ruin divers had seen some, but most never went deep, and went less deep with each year. We’d focused on the mine instead. That, I knew like the back of my hand. I swore, furious with myself for having been so complacent about something so important. It was technology; it was bound to fail one day, and it seemed that day had come. When had it happened? How bad was it?
“That didn’t sound good, Levant,” Felicia said. “Do you… do you need to be there? With them? I know you told me Serqethos was the Clan you’ve lived with the longest. That’s kind of your home, isn’t it? You must know everyone there.” I leaned into the way she brushed her fingers through my hair as she offered comfort. I’d done that each night for her, and I had never realized how good it felt to be on the receiving end. Felicia was offering me something I had never considered a female could offer in return. That was, perhaps, very blind of me, considering how sweet and soft the Serqethos females were compared to those of the other Clans.
Since meeting Felicia, all I’d done was push myself aside so I could see to her needs. This terrible news lifted blinders I didn’t know I’d worn. She was willing to do the same for me. A true mate, fated, and not one-sided like the bonds most Naga males experienced. No, Felicia was fully capable of being strong for me when I needed her, of offering her empathy and care.
“Very bad,” I said to her. “Serqethos is a desert. The only food source is the fish in the lake. If the lake has emptied…” My thoughts turned inward as I pictured what was going on at the camp: how Alshara would bravely try to keep everyone together, a young Queen with a far too kind heart; how Arakash would steadily try to be her counsel. Perhaps Zsandex would have taken all the dragon riders away, to the mountains where herds of Vakarsa might see to their needs. It might not be enough, the journey too far to be effective. If the fisheries could not be fixed, the entire Clan might have to relocate.
“Auby,” Felicia said over the buzzing in my ears. “I know your knowledge of the Digmaster is limited, but you don’t happen to know if we can go faster with this thing, do you? From the sounds of it, we don’t have three days to get there. We need to get there now.” Oh, yes, that was a good idea. We were already en route; if we could increase the speed of the Revenant, we might reach Serqethos sooner and offer help.
Then Felicia leaped to the next clever idea as she thought out loud. “Do you think the energy signature the Burrower has locked onto has something to do with those failing fisheries? I mean, a failing engine… it could be similar, could it not?” What her ship’s engine did, attempting to launch a vessel at Faster-Than-Light speeds through space—was very different. She was also right: a failing engine could still create a certain interference in Serant’s EM field, and that was what the Digmaster searched for.
“I agree, Felicia,” Auby said. “It could very well be the fisheries of Serqethos. The Digmaster’s records show it has headed this way each time your engine failed, but was called back once your engine started back up. If so, the fisheries must have been failingfor a long time.” Then he said something that eased the wave of guilt, or at least shoved it aside for now. “I believe we can increase our speed.”
Chapter 15
Felicia
It was hard to put a label on our days aboard the Burrowing Revenant. The control room was tiny and crowded, and with Auby’s sometimes curious, sometimes probing questions, privacy was limited. I was still struggling to accept the changes in my life, and I decided that time-traveling the way I had, trapped in stasis, was not for the faint of heart. It sucked, and I missed my dad. Most of all, I regretted not saying more of the things I had wanted to share with him. I’d been so cocky when boarding theFuture, convinced I’d make it back in one piece and go down in history as the first pilot to fly faster than light.
When I’d first met Levant, it had felt a bit like being torn in two. On the one hand, there was the intense attraction I felt for him, alien as he was. On the other, I’d been so convinced I needed to fix my ship and go back home. The longer I was here with him, the more I was beginning to accept that would never happen. I was even beginning to think I didn’t want it to.
I mean, think about it. What was there? A civilization that had moved on without me, my family line ended when my father died. I might be welcomed back as a hero, a long-lost daughter, but that was a hollow comfort—especially when I knew I could not take Levant with me, could never ask him to make such a sacrifice.
Twisting in the furs where I was currently lying and perusing data on his tablet, I took him in. Levant. The unexpected gift in all of this. How could I have been so lucky as to have it be himwho found me? Perhaps he was right to call us fated. What else but fate could it be that had dragged me a thousand years into the future? What else would you call it—that banishing him to the North Pole was exactly how he’d found me?
He was sitting on several loops of his tail in front of the massive, button- and screen-covered console of the Digmaster. His long black hair was partially braided back and beautifully highlighted with bright green strands. He wore only leather cords tied around his waist and an ivory bone necklace around his neck. It allowed me to trace the flecks of gold and green that dotted his wide shoulders and muscled arms.
The horns rising from his forehead were long and sharp, primal in a way that made him look just a little savage. I liked those horns very much, mostly because they constantly reminded me of how, without fail, I’d wind up gripping them when we had sex. And the sex? It was absolutely mind-blowing. The best I’d ever had. He smelled good, tasted good, in short, he drove me wild. Even better, I knew it was the same for him, and having a guy that into you was amazing. Seriously good for the ego.
“Are you in love with him?” Auby asked, his voice pitched to a whisper. I was still pretty sure Levant could hear every word. We didn’t have much privacy from Auby, but I also knew Levant’s much sharper senses meant he was tuned into everything I said or did. Auby was lying next to the tablet, his six legs curled beneath him, and his long, fluffy tail wrapped around him like a cat’s might. He had his nose right next to the tablet—pink and cute—and he’d been reading every word I wrote, offering unsolicited opinions.
Auby had gotten more comfortable, and now he didn’t just tell us data in his polite tone, but opinions with a good dose of sass. I liked it, and he knew it, which is why he kept doing it. “Excuse me?” I asked, focusing on the text on the tablet while heat crawled into my cheeks. I had definitely embraced my more feminine side a bit more around them too, but talking about feelings still wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t something I was used to.
The words danced in front of my eyes; I definitely wasn’t parsing the textbook Levant had supplied me about piloting Naga ships. “Love him? Are you in love with him? I know that’s what’s supposed to follow the mate bond. Has it happened yet? My previous companion never found her mate, so I’m curious. How quickly does it happen?” Auby was a little scientist himself; he was clearly collecting data to satisfy his own curiosity. Normally that was fine, but not at my expense.
From the corner of my eye, I could see that Levant hadn’t moved for some time. His hands had frozen on the Digmaster’s controls; he had to be listening in. My mouth went dry as I considered my answer. What did I say? I didn’t really want to rebuff Auby’s natural curiosity; it was harmless and sweet. I also didn’t want to say anything that could hurt Levant’s feelings.
“I’ve never been in love before,” I said. “So I don’t really know what it’s supposed to feel like?” I considered the question more seriously, because Auby was giving me these big puppy-dog eyes, ears quivering as if he were hanging on my every word. Levant was the most caring, sweetest man I’d ever met, or male, as they seemed to prefer around here. He tried to do so much to make me happy that I had to actually push back to do the same for him. Not that he didn’t trust my abilities; he just wanted me to be happy.
When he wasn’t caring for me, I could see the size of his heart in everything else he did. He was worried sick about his friends at Serqethos, researching day and night to figure out how to help. Contact with his Shaman friends was tough because the Digmaster interfered with the signal, and the outgoing booster was broken beyond repair. We only got snippets of news, and Kaylass, the Shaman at Serqethos, hadn’t answered again.
