Page 44 of On a Barbarian World

“Any legends about places that are special to the First Warriors, or where they first appeared, or where they visited a lot?”

“Just that they came from the Wilds.”

Okay, that was as good a place to start as any. “Thanks.” As Chaldora turned to leave, Aurina thought of one more niggling thing. “Hey, Chaldora?”

The woman glanced back with a raised brow.

“Why, when the barbarian shoves food at me, does everyone look like he’s hit them over the head with the hilt of his sword?”

Chaldora smiled. “A warrior does not waste time feeding a woman he simply dallies with. When he takes the time to feed her, offer her sustenance with his own hand, he is…staking a claim.”

Aurina sniffed. “I should have known.”

“Not of ownership,” Chaldora said. “Of his intent to provide for you.” With a last mysterious smile, the scholar left.

After the woman had left, Aurina stared across the room for a long while before she shook off confusing thoughts of Kavon and went back to the books. She pored over story after story, but wasn’t having much luck finding any special reference to a specific location in the Wilds.

Suddenly the door slammed open. Startled, she spun and saw Kavon standing there.

Heat flushed over her. Dammit. She was hoping the hours apart would have dulled the impact of him.

But no. He looked just as tempting as earlier.

“Chaldora told me you’ve had a breakthrough, but she wouldn’t tell me anything about it.”

Aurina nodded. “I asked her not to, not until I’d done some more research.”

He strode closer, his long legs eating up the distance. “And?’

She pulled in a deep breath. “I believe the First Warriors crash-landed here, like me.”

Kavon jerked to a halt. “Impossible. They were of Markaria. From the north.”

She frowned. “Kavon, just because you say something doesn’t make it true. All my research shows you’ve never found any ruins or sign of anyone living in the north.”

His frown deepened.

She turned on the chair. “It doesn’t change the things they did, how they helped your ancestors.”

He grunted.

“I need to find where their ship went down.”

He strode closer. “There is no ship. They were not skyflyers.”

She leaped up. “Barbarian, I know you aren’t stupid. Why won’t you consider it?”

He was silent for a moment, staring past her at the wall.

“Kavon—”

“The First Warriors…they were benevolent, honorable. They were the protectors of Markaria.”

All the fight went out of Aurina. “You think if they crashed here and were stuck, that they just helped the native species because they had no choice?”

He kept staring at the wall.

She moved closer. “That may not be the case, Kavon. The truth is, even if we do find a ship, we will probably never know their motivations.” She lifted a hand, hesitated, then touched his hard chest. “It doesn’t have to change your beliefs. They helped, they taught, they loved. They couldn’t have done all of that out of desperation. They may not have wanted to leave.”