Page 22 of The Naga Warlord’s Virgin Mate

He shook his head, shrugging his shoulders, and then he winced when that pulled on sprained and damaged tendons along his arm, which he’d wrenched when the revenant went down. “The Queen dismissed all your plans, you are branded a traitor. She said we could not trust them.” I could see from the look in his eyes that he was confused now, rather than angry that I’d chosen my mate over the Clan.

I felt a sick sense of horror wash through me. I knew I was an arrogant bastard, but I also knew that my plan of attack had been the very best. If the Queen changed them, and sent Joxra after me…Thunder Rock would have defeated Bitter Storm, they had many good warriors themselves, and fortified walls to hide behind.

“So they failed,” I growled, “They failed, damn it!” Noami was already patting my chest, a sympathetic look on her soft, pale features. She reminded me that there was more than the Clan to care about, there was more at stake. Though I was certain that Joxra and the remaining warriors would let us go.

“Why do you care!?” Joxra snarled, his hand slashing through the air toward Naomi, not to attack, he was just pointing. I still flung my tail up and curled several coils around his limb to stop him in his tracks. I did not trust anyone to touch Naomi, to even look at her made me feel restless.

“I care! I have fought for more food, lobbied for better rationing, I planned our hunting ground expansion. Just because I found my mate and had to leave, does not mean I wish to see the younglings starve! I care.” He had the good grace to look apologetic, to duck his head and point his chin horn down to angle it at his own, vulnerable throat. Yeah, that’s right, you know me. I would not betray the young and their hungry bellies. It was, I knew with blinding insight, the Queen that had done that, growing fat and lazy while the rest of the Clan starved.

“Krashe,” Naomi said gently, “I’m sure there are other ways to feed Bitter Storm. Trade, agriculture, new hunting methods... We’ll think of something.” I felt astonishment rush through me when she said those words, my eyebrows rising, my mouth dropping open in surprise. I knew Naomi had a kind heart, but why would she care about feeding my Clan when all they wanted was to see her dead?

“What? What did she say?” asked one of the other warriors from nearby. He was on the ground, at the foot of the boulders where Naomi had hidden for most of the fight. I’d caught him a good blow across the face during our first scuffle that had knocked him out. He’d managed to crawl to safety when the revenant had fired. Very lucky, the others I’d disabled hadn’t fared nearly as well as he had.

I raised my head to look around at the half a dozen males that remained of Joxra’s contingent of warriors. They were all watching us, following our exchange, even the ones I’d sent out to scout had already returned. “You might as well tell them,” Naomi said with a grin that I recognized as playful.

“She was proposing other ways to feed the Clan. But why Nomy? Why do you care? They want you dead…” I addressed my last words to my mate, but most of my focus was still on the warriors that surrounded us. I released Jorxa’s arm and moved us closer to my pack of supplies so I could locate the furs and wrap Naomi back up in them, her skin was starting to get those little bumps, her lips turning blueish which meant she was cold.

She sighed when I wrapped a thick fur around her shoulders, setting her down on a boulder so I could check her limbs. I was worried she might have injured her legs and hadn’t noticed yet so I carefully ran my hands over them. “I’m fine, Krashe. I didn’t get hit by anything.” I hissed at the lie, rolling up the leg of her pants to expose already mottling skin, she had bruises. I knew what they looked like on her because she’d had to explain the markings she already had on her flesh. Now there were even more.

“Oh, that might have been from when I threw myself off the top of that boulder,” she said begrudgingly. Her hand went to her hip to rub there, a sure sign she had more of those bruises along the rest of her body.

“Anyway, to answer your question. I’m not a monster, you tell them that,” she pointed at Joxra who reared back in response, then nodded at several of the other warriors. “Of course I don’t want any kids to starve. That’s just wrong.” She was right, my mate was no monster, she had the kindest heart, and the bravest spirit.

I translated what she said and then made sure the warriors all knew that we did not intend to be a threat to the Clan. “I am taking my mate away, take the wounded and leave. This is goodbye and Joxra, when you return, be prepared for chaos because they will have lost the fight, and many good hunters and warriors will be dead or gone. If I am a traitor, it is to the Queen, not the Clan. Think about that.”

With those words, I slung the pack onto my back, gathered Naomi in my arms, and under the sound of the Sleara’s chirp-kee-kee as a goodbye, we forged on. Leaving behind a cluster of confused warriors, frozen in place as they watched us depart. The shadow of the downed third-grade revenant cast them in darkness.

*

Naomi

I was quiet as we traveled, ignoring the little aches and pains that traveled through my body even with Krashe’s steady, soft swaying pace. My legs were cramping, spasms twitching along my thighs and calves. I’d asked far too much of myself in the past hour, starting with throwing myself off that boulder. It was a price I was willing to pay, it had saved my life, and then my actions had helped Krashe end that crazy machine.

What the fuck was up with this planet? Finding datapads and holographic picture frames was one thing, but these machines? Working and hostile? That was just insane. It made me even more grateful that I’d lucked out as much as I had. My Warlord and I had clashed, but I knew his heart now, and I knew that I was completely safe as long as he was at my side.

Over Krashe’s shoulder, I could see the downed form of the robot for a long time. But the figures of the Naga warriors that had chased us had disappeared. I wasn’t going to forget the confused expressions, or the baffled look that Naga I’d pulled to safety had given me. Let them ponder this. I was Naomi the brave, even Krashe said so. I’d distracted the robot when the others had fled and cowered, I was so proud of myself for that.

I wanted to ask Krashe a million questions about what was up with these robots but all he said was that they were revenants, they were more active during the cold season, and they had set territories they walked. He had plotted a course that should avoid most, and he seemed certain we didn’t need to fight more of them. That didn’t mean I wasn’t super worried that we’d just stumble upon another one, ridiculous considering that last one was as big as a house. You’d see it from miles away.

“It is only another day worth of traveling, go to sleep Naaah-ohmi, I will keep going through the night.” Krashe seemed determined to make it to our mysterious destination before the next sunrise. I worried that he’d exhaust himself by traveling that far after that massive fight. He might have somehow avoided any external hint of an injury but surely he was sore and tired. Though I had to admit that he’d looked so freaking badass when he rode that machine down to the ground. That was the stuff right out of action-hero movies.

I fully intended to stay awake with him through the night so I could keep him company and at first, the cramps in my legs certainly prevented me from falling asleep. Eventually, I nodded off, the darkness and the monotone journey lulling me to sleep. And when I woke, everything was different.

Chapter 15

Naomi

My eyes felt gritty and sandy when I blinked them open after a few hours of sleep. Sunrise streaked across the horizon, chasing away the velvet darkness with streaks of steel gray and dark purple that lightened into the first hints of the violet sun. The endless heather-like shrubbery of the tundra had made place for a huge, mirror-smooth lake that spread out across the land as far as my eyes could see. The water wasn’t frozen, which made me think it was salt water, but it was smooth as glass, with no waves disrupting the surface.

The biggest surprise was the building that rose up along the shore. It was built from white stone with the faintest hints of pink veining along the surface. It seemed to face the shoreline of the giant lake, but there was barren land between it and the water. At least several stories tall, it seemed to have withstood the test of time, it wasn’t even overgrown with plants but maybe that was simply because it was so cold around here that nothing much wanted to grow.

“Chirp kee kee?” Kiwi said from where he was curled up on my chest, a warm spot partially tucked beneath the furs I’d been bundled up in. Wiggling my hand free, I scratched him between his little round ears with a smile.

“We’ve arrived?” I asked, raising my eyes to look at Krashe. He was still cradling me in his arms, standing in place a short distance from the lake and the imposing building. His expression was dark and shuttered as he stared at the white facade of stone, eyes darting from one darkened window gap to the next. He didn’t look happy to be here, he looked worried.

He just grunted in response, a glare settling over his features when we started moving again. Well, good morning to you too, buddy. I huffed, no I shouldn’t start to get snippy back at him, he walked all freaking night; or rather slithered, I supposed. He had to be bone-weary, not that it showed, he just looked like his grumpy self. That was just his face, he had that resting angry look thing going on, whatever the male version of resting bitch face was.

I felt a first wash of apprehension myself when we reached something that was clearly the front entrance of the building. There were only shadows and darkness inside, I could not see a thing. How old was this building exactly? What if it wasn’t stable any longer and could collapse on our heads at any moment?