Nikhil(27)

"I can see that," she gently rubbed the muscle on his arm. "But some loads are too much for even the strongest to carry alone."

"That is why, if the Goddess finds a warrior worthy, he will find his Ashe." His finger ran along her cheek again.

"Ashe." Mac reached up and touched the bead still in his hair.

"Yes, but if the Goddess truly wishes to bless a male, she will grant him a True Mate." He reached down and touched his True Mate bead that was now in her hair.

"You still haven't told me how it got into my hair."

"I can't tell you because I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"There was a time, long ago, when many found their True Mate. But since the Great Infection, there hasn't been a single one. Until you." His eyes glowed brighter as he gazed into her eyes, fingering the bead in her hair. "It is said when one meets their True Mate, their bead will transfer to them on its own. I believe... when I carried you on to the transport, my bead recognized you as mine and transferred to you."

"But... I'm not Kaliszian."

"That has never mattered. The Goddess considers us all her children, and, therefore, our True Mate can come from any species."

"I..." The sudden growling of her stomach cut her off and had her blushing.

"What was that?"

"Just my stomach. Ignore it. Tell me more about True Mates."

Nikhil's eyes widened when he realized what she was saying. Of course, she was hungry! He hadn't given her what Luol said she needed.

Food.

Rest.

Cleansing.

He'd done two of those things but had failed the most important one. Goddess, how stupid was he? How could the Goddess trust him with such a precious gift if he wasn't even smart enough to care for her? He was immediately out of the bed and rushing into the outer room.

"Nikhil?" she called out, sitting up in the bed. But the only reply she got was what sounded like cabinets opening then slamming shut. Before she could get up to find out what was going on, Nikhil was back, his arms filled with what appeared to be foil pouches that he dropped on the bed. "What are those?"

"Food packets. Warriors are given an allotment to maintain their daily needs."

"But...” She watched as he picked one up, pressed a white dot between his thumb and index finger, then grabbed the opposite end and ripped it open. She was about to say something else when she smelled the aroma of hot... something, and her stomach growled again. All she could do was stare at the steam rising from the pouch, her mouth watering.

"Open," Nikhil ordered, and looking up she saw he had a portion of the packet's contents in front of her mouth on what looked like a spoon. Obediently her mouth opened and she let him feed it to her. She closed her eyes as the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted hit her tongue. Well, the most delicious thing since she'd been taken, and she wasn't going to complain. Not after what they'd been forced to eat.

"Again," he ordered, lifting the utensil in his hand to her lips. The feeding continued until the packet was empty. Flinging it aside, he reached for another.

"No." Her hand on his stopped him from pressing the spot on another packet. "That's enough."

"It can't be. You need more. You...”

"Nikhil, I would love to eat more. I would love to gorge on everything in front of me until I burst. I never want to feel hunger like that again, but if I eat anymore, it will all just come back up."

"You don't know...”

"I do. The Ganglians... I don't know how long they had us, but they rarely fed us, and when they did, they were scraps. Except for the three meals they gave us right before they sold us to the Zaludians. The first meal we were all so hungry that we couldn't eat it fast enough and all got sick. The next two, we ate more slowly."

"They wanted you to appear strong for the Zaludians."

"Yeah, we figured that out. After that, it was only what the Zaludians gave us."

"How often was that?"

"They had the guys working in shifts, half on the first, half on the second. In between those shifts, they would bring food."

"That would be once a day."

"If you say so." She found her eyes growing heavy now that her stomach was full.

Nikhil noticed, and immediately cleared the extra packets off the bed. "Lie down, Mackenzie."

Mac wanted to protest, there were still so many questions she wanted to ask. But she found herself obeying, her eyes nearly closed.

"Later," he reassured her. "I will answer any question you have after you have rested."

"Lie with me?" she asked, her blurry gaze searching for his. "Hold me?"

"I will, Little One. Just let me dim the crystals, and I will hold you for as long as you want."