Nikhil(8)

"What do you mean?"

"How can someone as large and clumsy as me," he said, looking at his massive hands and thick fingers, "be responsible for a being as small and fragile as my Mackenzie?"

"First of all, yes, you are large, Nikhil. That is undeniable. But clumsy? I have seen you train, and you are always very precise and are always in control. You are not clumsy."

"I am around females... our females and they are so much bigger than my True Mate."

"Then you and she will have to find a way to make it work because the Goddess would never bless you with a True Mate that was not perfect for you. Have faith, Nikhil."

"I scare many females, Luol."

"For some reason, I don't think you will scare this one. Here." Luol slid a chair up to him. "Sit. Talk to her."

"Talk to her?" Nikhil gave the Healer a confused look.

"We've already established that she can hear you and that she reacts to what you are saying and feeling. She needs to know she's safe and not alone, and I believe you are the only one that makes her feel that way."

Slowly, Nikhil sat, the chair creaking from his weight and asked. "What am I supposed to talk to her about?"

"I don't know. Anything, everything. Tell her about yourself, about what matters to you, what's important to you. It will come to you." Dimming the lights slightly, Luol left them alone.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Nikhil looked down at the tiny figure lying so still and wondered what he was to say. He rarely spoke to females, except his mother and sisters, because they all took one look at him and hurried the other way. He'd even had males step between him and a female as if they thought he would harm her by just walking by. The few times a female had offered him her friendship there hadn't been much talking. Where to start?

"Hello, Little One. It seems I have forgotten all the manners my mother worked so hard to instill in me. I asked your name but never told you mine. I am Elite Warrior Nikhil Kozar of the Kaliszian Empire." He shook his head when he found himself pausing, waiting for her response.

"I am the Warrior who found you. In the mine. Do you remember the mine?" Nikhil could have kicked himself for saying that when she jerked and cried out softly. Of course, she remembered the mine.

"Calm, Little One. You are safe. My vow." He consciously forced his hand to relax when the dome creaked slightly from his hand pressing against it, trying to soothe her.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you. I am not used to talking to females, especially one as beautiful as you." Nikhil knew if anyone heard him right then they would have thought him crazy, for the little female lying still once again was currently anything but beautiful. Her hair was a dirty tangled mess, with dried blood and who knew what else in it. And while the swelling had gone down on her face, it was still filthy and bruised. Her coverings were nearly non-existent, revealing the harsh conditions she'd survived. Layers of the dark, gritty dust the mines produced covered her body. There was only one thin trail that revealed her true skin tone, and it ran from the corner of her eye and disappeared into her hair. His heart stopped for a moment, then tried to pound out of his chest as he realized what had created that line. A tear. Her tear. He would make sure she never cried one again.

No, no one looking at her now would think she was beautiful, but she was to Nikhil. She was here, and she was his.

His True Mate.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Gryf walked into the medical wing, surprised to find Healer Luol treating one of his Warriors.

"What happened to you, Warrior Onp?" he demanded.

"Just a cut, Commander. Part of the ceiling gave way from a Zaludian blaster shot. The portable repair unit pretty much took care of it. Healer Luol is just making sure."

"Luol?"

"He'll be fine, Commander."

"Good." Gryf's gaze traveled around the medical unit. "Where's the female?"

"Still in the deep-repair unit," Luol told him, his gaze still on Onp.

"Still? It's been hours." Gryf didn't try to hide his shock. "We have other survivors that need the unit."

"They will have to wait. She was in terrible shape, and as I have never treated one like her before, I refuse to overwhelm her system with everything she needs at once. How she has survived this long, only the Goddess knows." Luol looked to Onp. "Rest that overnight, and by tomorrow, it will be fine." Nodding his understanding, Onp rose and left the room.

"Did she say anything?" Gryf asked once they were alone again.

"No, she's been unconscious the whole time. There is something you should know though, Commander."