Page 46 of On a Barbarian World

Aurina twisted, looking back behind them. “Wow, look at the view. You can see your estate.”

He grunted.

She pointed. “Over there. Look⁠—”

“I’m sure it looks much as it does when I’m in it,” he grumbled.

Her gaze whipped up to his face. “You’re afraid of heights.”

“I am not afraid of anything. I just like my feet on the ground.”

“You dislike heights, then.”

He fought back a scowl. No one had ever irritated and captivated him the way Aurina did. “I dislike some things. The Great Warrior guides me in all things…and if he doesn’t, I just keep working until I conquer it, but fear doesn’t factor into it.”

She made a noise in her throat. “Do you beat your chest while you’re at it?”

He frowned at her. “Why would I beat myself?”

“I…never mind.”

“I have something for you.”

She raised her brows. “Oh?”

He pulled the object from his pocket and held it out for her.

“My stunner.” She raised her gaze to his. “You trust me with it.”

“Out here, danger lurks in every shadow. I want you safe.”

She took the device and slipped it into her pocket. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

They kept climbing, the midday sun beating down on them. Soon the mountain’s peak was visible, and not long later, they crested the last rise.

Several scaly lizards, the size of large dogs, scuttled away. Kavon preferred it that way. He was just happy they hadn’t encountered any of the mountain’s larger creatures.

He halted Tarm. He scanned around the rocky peak, and watched Aurina do the same. His warriors pulled to a stop beside them.

“There is nothing here,” Colm noted.

“Let’s rest before we look further.” Kavon reached into the leather bags attached to his beast, and pulled out some food and a skin of water.

They dismounted, and he watched Aurina perch on a rock and nibble at the dried fruit he passed her. She bounced a little. “It’s been a very long time, Colm. If the First Warriors crashed here, it was thousands of years ago.” She paused to scan the mountain. “We have to look for the tiniest clues. It might not be obvious.” She frowned. “Hell, it might be long buried.”

“Or it may not be here. A ship may never have existed,” Colm grumbled.

She put her hands on her hips. “The theory makes sense. Your language did not develop here, it came from another planet.” She let out a breath. “Look, I know this doesn’t fit into your beliefs about your ancestors⁠—”

Her gaze found Kavon’s, and he found himself caught by the deep green of her eyes.

“—but it doesn’t necessarily change your beliefs about them,” she went on. “If they did crash here, they didn’t have to spend their time and energy educating the native race. They must have still been a driven, honorable people.”

She set the remnants of her snack down and stalked away. She stopped near the edge of the cliff, far too close to the precipice for Kavon’s liking.

“She’s right, Colm.” He was surprised to hear the words from his mouth. “Even if the First Warriors were skyflyers, it does not change all the good they did for our people. Maybe we could learn more about them, if we do find the ship they arrived in.”

Colm packed the leftovers of his food away. “Perhaps.”