He smiled to her at the door once more and couldn’t shake the feeling he’d done something terrible when Urenya’s beautiful eyes went wide with horror.
The trip down to the surface was tenser than any Narath had ever experienced. Even warriors who had fought their way across battlefields for many years more than he looked serious. The only one who didn’t was the commander, but Narath had never known Diego Grothan to be afraid of an enemy.
“Landing in two minutes,” the voice of the pilot announced over the sounds of incoming fire from the Atherin fighters.
“I think you have the least to worry about,” the commander said so quietly only Narath heard him, sitting by his side in a compartment packed with Brion warriors, all hand-picked to fight at his side that day.
He didn’t know what to say.
“I don’t worry,” he boomed proudly. “I’m a Brion warrior.”
The commander sent him a knowing glare.
“Don’t lie to me. I’ve always said there is no honor and no true courage in denying the enemy was powerful. Only a fool wouldn’t be concerned for the outcome of today.”
Narath knew even less how to respond to that. After a second, he said,
“I apologize, Commander. Of course the Atherins are formidable. I just don’t think I can afford to think like that, because of…”
“Urenya,” the commander finished for him. “It’s only natural. A warrior with something to lose always fights with that in his mind. But she is the reason I think you’re the safest of us today.”
The shuttle landed with a nauseating thud and they got up.
“How?” Narath asked, pulling his heavy spear free.
Diego grinned.
“I don’t think fate would pull the same tragedy on her twice.”
The shuttle doors opened. They ran out and found that the ground was trying to kill them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Urenya
Again.
That was the only word that seemed to have remained into Urenya’s vocabulary as she sat on the med bay’s table, doing absolutely nothing.
Some time ago, she’d realized how much she had taken over from Seleya. The Elder healer had often given them a lecture on some theoretical thing while hands deep in the chest cavity of a body, stopping to point out some easily overlooked thing they should see. Urenya had adopted that method of working as though it was the only way to do things.
The first people who had come to see her had been a bit surprised she didn’t stop working on her projects or even on a patient if they happened to be unconscious. Soon, however, the discovered it was easier to confess something or ask advice if Urenya didn’t sit there staring into their mouths as they spoke. So that was how she did things, several at once, never messing up any of them.
And now she was sitting there on the table, frozen to place, motionless. Not even her mind seemed to be working properly. All it apparently tried to do was drive her insane. Patren’s leaving smile had been so eerily similar to Narath’s that it was impossible not to start drawing parallels. Only the next image, by logical order, was the image of Narath dead and charred, and that hurt in a way she could hardly bear.
Why in the name of all the gods had she wished for a warrior? Yes, Narath was big and strong and made her body feel all sorts of things towards his muscled, perfectly crafted frame; that was true. But if this was to happen every time he went to war, she’d soon lose her mind. How did the other geshas do it? And not only them, what did the gerions whose fated were warriors do?
She took a deep breath, but it didn’t help one bit. Then she took another.
Strength, Seleya had taught Urenya, didn’t come from denial and from refusing to be weak. It came from acceptance and moving on.
She was a healer, she had duties to attend to while the Triumphant was at war. Soon the med bay would receive the first bodies or the first wounded if they got them through the bombardment. The huge Brion battle ship had enough of an army even on its own, but its support flotilla and its fighters should end it soon.#p#分页标题#e#
So she took another deep breath and punched the wall so hard it hurt, but not hard enough to break her precious hands, a tools of the healer’s work.
They were Brion, her and Narath. He would return to her or he would not, but she would not be found sitting there doing nothing. She believed her gerion would return to her, always.
With that, Urenya got to work and refused to see Narath in every face she did her best to fix.
They won. She wasn’t surprised by that in the least. They were the Brions, and they didn’t lose. Diego Grothan didn’t lose.
On the other hand, it had taken days. Urenya had no idea how anyone on the surface had dared to sleep, but they couldn’t have been awake for days with all the exhaustion of the battle taking toll on their bodies. Apparently the answer was – under heavy guard and on land scorched with flamethrowers creating temperatures no living being could bear.
“They’re bringing up a shuttle full of bodies,” her assistant was telling her. “Narath’s with them.”
Urenya thought she heard her heart die and stumbled, pressing her hand to her chest since it truly felt as though something had burst.
The assistant backed away, looking horrified.
“I’m sorry, Urenya, I meant he’s bringing them. He’s fine, he’s fine.”
Urenya pushed her aside, storming out of the med bay, considering for a brief moment painful ways of killing the assistant, but gave up that idea as soon as she saw Narath stepping out of the shuttle. No other thought could possibly have entered her mind other than how to get to him in the fastest way possible, dash past people, run, run, run and finally jump to those magically, amazingly strong arms. Narath caught her easily, his embrace around her firm and longing, his face buried into the crook of her neck, pressing kisses to her skin.
“You’re alive,” she had to say it to make it real, or else Narath would disappear.
He would vanish into thin air if she didn’t confirm in words she was actually seeing him, wrapping her hands around his neck, kissing him.
There had to have been a moment when they’d left the hangar, because suddenly there seemed to be less people around them and the lights were different.
“Where are we going?” she asked, dizzy in her happiness.
“To my room,” Narath growled, then stopped dead in his tracks so suddenly he nearly dropped her. “Unless you’re still fighting.”
Urenya couldn’t bring herself to let go of him to slap him for that, so she bit him playfully on the ear.
“I hope you’re joking,” she said. “Take me.”
It could have been interpreted as Narath taking her to his room, but luckily her gerion didn’t need what she truly meant explained to him. With a grunt that made her shiver, he quickened his pace, and Urenya didn’t take her lips from his until the door to his room had shut behind them.
Only then did she let go long enough for Narath to put her down. For a long second, she stood before him, staring up into his eyes, her head spinning from the realization fate had decided she could be happy after all. There he was – her big, strong giant. With those miraculously thick arms and the way his growling sent every nerve in her body shivering. She simply sighed, shaking from head to toe before him. Seeing that, Narath grinned and growled very, very much on purpose.
She possibly shouldn’t have told him that it drove her insane. He would have figured it out at some point himself, for sure, but she’d given him such a weapon. One she definitely didn’t mind being used on her.
He pulled her to him, kissing her fiercely while his hands unhooked her robes. Feeling his hardness against her body, Urenya shivered. She didn’t think she could wait to have the healer robes properly removed. They took ages to put on and he didn’t even know all of the little parts, and…
“Don’t bother,” she whispered. “Narath. I want you. Now, I need you now.”
One part she was most certainly thankful for was that the fated didn’t need to say much for the other to understand them. She didn’t mind that particular trick at all as Narath’s green eyes lit up and his grin spread even wider. He kissed her deeply while his hands ripped her robes in two like they were made of thin air. Urenya whimpered in her throat, running her hands over Narath’s biceps, feeling the strength there, the muscles playing under his skin. He chuckled, clearly pleased that she liked him so.
Oh but she could enjoy it all in more detail later, right now all she wanted was to be rid of all the clothes and Narath’s armor and on her back on the bed with her gerion making her scream like he’d promised…#p#分页标题#e#
She didn’t need to tell him any of that either. While she was tearing the remains of her robes away, Narath set to work on his armor. Piece by piece it came off, and Urenya’s movements got slower and slower every time until she just stood, staring.
He was perfect. Not just in perfect form, like she’d known he was from watching him fight, but perfect in every way. He truly was a giant, somehow more so without the armor that should have added to his height. His limbs were thick and strong and toned, his chest flat and smooth but for the ridges of steely muscle. And when she dropped her hungry eyes to his groin, she couldn’t stop her tongue from darting out. She’d felt his cock before, through his pants, but touching and seeing were still different things.