Honor. His Honor. His mate. That was the only thing that made sense to him right now.
“You need to calm down. These are our friends. We’re safe now. They’re here to help.” She stroked her hand down his arm, then across his chest.
Slowly, under her steady strokes, he felt his nanami start to steady. The hypnotic motion of her touch was soothing.
“Brandall.” A woman dressed entirely in black stepped forward. “The men are staying back for now.”
“He needs help, Nera.”
“Kavon thinks he’s beyond that.”
Colm felt Honor’s arms tighten on him. “No. We have advanced medical technology. There has to be a way to help him.”
The other woman’s face was hard. “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do.”
Under his palm, Colm felt Honor’s heart racing with panic. “Would you give up on Nik?”
Something moved in the woman’s eyes now. “Dammit, Brandall. You weren’t supposed to fucking go and fall in love with a barbarian warrior.”
“Please. Please help him.”
The woman’s multi-colored gaze took them both in. Then she nodded. “You get him back to the ship without him killing anyone and then we’ll see. Got it?”
Honor’s hair tickled against Colm’s jaw as she nodded.
She spun to face him, her hands pressed against his chest. “Colm, I need you to listen to me. I need you to trust me.”
He stared down at her, his mate, his brave warrior. He leaned down and buried his face in her hair.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Follow me.” She held out her hand.
Colm put his hand in hers and let her tug him forward.
As they neared the group, and the other men, he growled. She paused. “We’ll stay at the back.”
They began moving back through the ice tunnels. Whoever was in the lead was holding a device that made a strange beeping sound that hurt Colm’s ears.
He stayed alert, ready to protect Honor from any danger.
Then they were stepping outside of the tunnels. The bright light made him blink.
“It looks completely different out here,” Honor said.
The sun was shining, gleaming off the white snow and ice. There were no storm clouds in sight.
Ahead, Colm saw a ship. And beside it a larger group of people. He tensed.
Honor squeezed his hand. “I’ll take care of you, my warrior. Trust me?”
He yanked her up until her feet were dangling off the ground and pressed his mouth to hers. She made a small sound and kissed him back.
“Mate,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, Colm.” She pressed her face to his. “I love you. Whatever happens, remember that.”
“Mate. Love.”
Her face went soft. Then he saw her gaze move over his shoulder and her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
Suddenly, Colm felt a prick at the back of his neck. He whirled, taking Honor with him.
Behind him stood the woman in black, and she was holding some sort of device in her hand.
“I’ve given him the correct dose for his weight and metabolism,” she said. “It’ll only take a moment for it to take effect.”
Honor stroked him. “Was that really necessary?” Colm thought her face looked sad.
“It’s for his safety, and everybody else’s.”
Colm didn’t know what they were talking about, but the next instant he felt tiredness crashing in on him. His muscles went lax.
As his legs failed, Honor caught him, struggling to keep them both upright.
His eyes went to hers. She’d let them incapacitate him!
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She stroked his face. “It’ll be okay.”
He sensed a warrior nearby, felt strong hands taking his weight before they hit the snow. But Colm kept his gaze on his mate.
“I’m here, Colm. I’m here.”
But lights danced in front of his eyes and her voice drifted off. Then there was nothing.
Honor paced the corridor outside the med bay on the Magellan. Her boots thunked on the floor until she reached the far wall, pivoted, and headed back.
Nervous energy was winging through her body, and there was no way she could sit in the waiting room chairs nearby. Aurina was there, rubbing her round belly and looking worried. Kavon stood against the wall, his arms crossed over his bare chest. His face was blank, but she could tell he was worried, too.
Honor ran a hand through her hair. It was still damp. Nik and Nera had bullied her into taking a quick shower and getting changed. She hadn’t wanted to be far from Colm, but it was nice to be clean.
The med team had been working on him for hours.
Honor sensed someone approach her.
“How are you doing?” Aurina asked.