Alien General's Chosen (Brion Brides 4)(17)

Faren had let her run, naturally. His reflexes were beyond a mere warrior’s and beyond comprehension to civilians. No human could ever come close. It would have been no problem whatsoever to just reach out his hand a second before the starlet made her dash and catch her before she even took a step away.

But geshas had to be given the chance to fight. That was the Brion way, and Faren was a proper Brion. He’d come to collect her out of fear for her life, but there didn’t seem to be any danger, at least in the time frame of her presumed escape. It was all he could give her, letting her tire herself out.

The air duct was a clever idea on the starlet’s part, he had to admit. He was impressed. Faren didn't know many who would have chosen that path of escape. A Brion would have made an honest stand, but humans were different. She improvised.

Of course he could have sliced the duct open with his ax, or with his bare hands where the material was weaker, but she didn’t know that. She’d made an adequate tactical decision, going by the best of her knowledge. It was faulty and ultimately doomed to fail, but still – it was a relief. Faren had feared his little gesha would be, well, stupid.

Singing didn’t require particular intelligence, only the ability to recognize melody and pair lyrics with it. And humans lacked all the genetic gifts the Brions had. This was a pleasant surprise for him.

It was interesting to observe her in action. He’d spent so long in wars, and combat, and duels with his equals. Well, not really his equals, save for Gawen and Diego. But Leiya was completely untrained in all the arts of the warriors.

It was a pity, really, in a way. She’d done everything surprisingly right. Going for the ducts was a good idea. So was emerging from another exit. Faren was impressed she knew anything about the airways at all, but once again she was terribly outmatched. The warriors trained in the ducts and not in the easy parts either.

They spent a part of their endurance training in the central ways big enough to hold them and where the wind was so strong breathing was impossible. It was their task to keep moving, nails dug into the cracks between the metal plates, feet braced against the walls, counting seconds until they were out of air. Trying to find the next nook where they could take a breather. Quite a few perished there.

And, of course, he knew the layout by heart. This was Briolina, the home world of the Brions, and this was their capital. Every warrior knew how to defend their own city, but generals could walk blind through it and never get lost. So it wasn’t exactly a task to imagine the ducts around the one Leiya had chosen.#p#分页标题#e#

He ruled out the ones even she didn’t fit in and those where the wind was too strong. There were points she couldn’t cross and there were exits that were too far off the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize where she would emerge, but he could afford the time.

He could also afford to take the time to approach the mouth of the exit Leiya had just disappeared into and listen to her wait. Clever girl, that one. When she began moving and the sound of her crawling told Faren it wasn’t her intention to turn back, he took off too. At certain points where the duct was near the ground again, he listened to see if she was still moving. She was.

When Leiya finally emerged, he stood by to see what she was going to do. Brion warriors were known for being loud, and vivid, and at the center of attention, but it didn’t mean they had to be. Faren was very good at not being seen if he preferred to. He watched Leiya hesitantly make her way towards the park, allowing himself a small smile when he saw where she was headed.

No, he hadn’t been thrilled to discover his gesha was the biggest star on Briolina, bound to be loud enough for the both of them. But this escape had shown him maybe she wasn’t all that he had feared she would be.

Leiya was going for the waterfall. Clever, clever. Very clever. Just not good enough.

He allowed her to see him, amused despite himself at the fact that she turned and ran. It was pretty much what he’d expected the gesha to do, but he hadn’t expected to enjoy the game so much. She was showing spirit and not a bad mind. Faren was almost happy, an emotion he couldn’t remember feeling in a while.

He crossed the distance to the edge of the park easily and climbed the first building that was high enough. Some gasps followed his ascent, but that could be expected. It was tricky, after all, to climb a nearly flawless wall. His fingers found the small indentations easily, but then again he was a Brion general.

Leiya was pretty easy to find, considering she was set on making her way back to the ducts, which she clearly believed to be safe. Faren decided not to allow that to happen. He could track her without trouble, but he felt like she’d proven her point and he his. Bracing for impact, he pushed himself off the roof, accounted for her moving speed and landed right before his fleeing gesha. He got up, took a moment to enjoy the look of sheer shock on her beautiful face and cornered her.

Leiya’s body was almost against his. Despite having felt Leiya’s body close to his before, Faren found himself craving for more. There was suddenly a hunger in him to have her close to him. Not in a practical way like carrying her. In a much more intimate, personal way.

That was a peculiar sensation. Before, he’d mostly felt lust soar in him when his blood was up from battle. In times like that, he’d chosen a suitably attractive woman from his crew to satiate that need.

This was different, but of course it was supposed to be.

He ignored the flash of lust and the sudden throb in his groin, but emotions had always been easy to ignore for him. He also hoped she wasn’t very proficient in reading valor squares. That would have been unfortunate. But fair. He could read her by her reactions.

Seeing that she was about to continue her fighting, Faren decided to take it to a bit more private setting and picked her up again.

Her scent was maddening. It made walking considerably more difficult, but even that was interesting to him. He didn’t back down from challenges, and she was undeniably one.

She got quiet when they reached the shuttle and the doors slid shut behind them.

Suddenly the fear in the starlet’s eyes was very obvious to see and needed none of Faren’s skills. He’d expected as much. After all, he was aware of his reputation – and hers. Outside, on Briolina’s surface, she was Leiya, the singing star of the Brions. Now they were in his world and away from the public eye.

No more kicking, no more screaming. She slid into the opposite corner from him and sat there like a defeated animal.

That wouldn’t do, but Faren had no idea how to fix it. That was not a part of the binding everyone talked about. It was up to the couple themselves to figure out what their relationship would be like. Only he had never been that good with talking to someone. And being human, Leiya was bound to fight as hard as Isolde had. It wasn't in human nature to believe in the binding blindly.

“You mustn’t fear,” he said. “I will not hurt you.”

Leiya looked at him and smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile.

“You took me from my home. You literally came and nearly killed my friend and carried me away despite what I wanted.”#p#分页标题#e#

He couldn’t argue with that. The events had occurred exactly that way.

“It was necessary.”

“What part of it exactly?”

The sharpness in her tone was back. It was another peculiar experience for Faren. No one else spoke to him like that.

“All of it.”

“I seriously doubt that. There had to be another way.”

“For what?”

“All of it.”

Her spirit was lovely, if a bit tiring. Faren shrugged.

“I acted as I saw fit. I spared your friend’s life.”

“Only because I asked for it!”

“Yes.”

That seemed to shut her up for some reason. Her eyes were suddenly not so full of hate. That was something to note. Did she like it when he did things for her? That seemed reasonable, but unnecessary. She was his gesha now. Of course he would do everything he could for her.

“You didn’t even let me say goodbye,” she said then, sadly.

“I need to make sure you are not in danger. Then you are free to go wherever you want. Provided you go with guards.”

Her eyes glared daggers at him.

“Free to go,” she gritted through her teeth. “Guards. Then. I am not your prisoner!”

“No,” Faren agreed.

“Then don’t treat me like one!”

He was going to say he didn’t, but he saw the point she was making. It wasn’t his intention to imprison his gesha, but until he was sure it was safe for her, he had to act in her best interests whether she liked it or not.

“It is for your own good.”

She laughed. Instinctively, Faren’s fists clenched. He was a Brion general. No one laughed at him, but her humor wasn’t really directed at him anyway. It was a hopeless, maniacal laughter so unlike the one he’d heard echoing at the reception in her beautiful voice.

“That is what all monsters say,” the starlet said bitterly. “That you have to do it. For my own good, of course.”

Faren had been called many things in his life. He and Gawen had always been different and always been feared. The Brions weren’t a species to sugarcoat things. They said what they thought. He could take it, just like he dealt it back himself. From being called a weird child to being called a monster by many others when he was adult, Faren had never truly cared. Only Gawen’s and Diego’s opinions had ever truly mattered.