And with that, we were ready. We exited the tent and moved to join the others.

Buroudei’s warriors, as well as those of Gahn Irokai, were already hard at work getting everything ready out by the boulders beyond the tent. A massive herd of irkdu, ours and theirs, remained still as their masters loaded them with weapons and supplies for the journey. I watched as women brought valok and dried meat, carefully wrapped for the trip, to the men packing the irkdu. When I saw Rika speaking to another warrior, I turned to Buroudei.

“How come you don’t bring Lavrika’s blood to a battle? That way you can heal people who get hurt.”

Buroudei led me towards his irkdu. It was easy to spot. It was the only one with the saddle. As he began detaching my saddle, he answered my question.

“To heal fatal wounds, you need large amounts of Lavrika’s blood combined with the skills of a healer. Unless you go to the Lavrika Pools, as we did, but that is not common practice. It was the first time it has been done, to my knowledge.”

My heart swelled as I digested this fact. No one had ever gone to the pools to get healed before? And Buroudei had done that, just for me?

I cleared my throat.

“OK, but can’t you still bring some small jars anyway, just in case?”

Buroudei pulled the saddle from his mount. Though it was a large piece of equipment, it almost looked like a toy in his arms.

“It is pointless. The Lavrika’s blood does not stay fresh long in the sun. It must be kept shaded, so it is difficult to travel with. When our healers travel to the pools to refresh their supplies, they must take special heavy jars and travel with canopies over their irkdu to keep it fresh before reaching the shade of their tents where they store it deep in the sand. It is not practical to bring all of that to battle, especially when, without a trained healer, we would only be able to deal with very superficial wounds. And we do not bring our healers to battle as they are too important to the tribe.” He stared at me as he said that last part, and I panicked, thinking he might suddenly change his mind about bringing me with him.

“OK, I get it. Let’s go find Galok.” I spoke quickly as if to distract him. He regarded me warily, but acquiesced all the same. He left his spear resting against his irkdu’s side, hefting my saddle and taking my backpack from me.

“I can carry it. It’s my stuff.”

Buroudei just grunted. He did not give it back.

It didn’t take long to find Galok. Even with the addition of Gahn Irokai’s men he was still the tallest of the group. His long black hair, usually flowing freely down his back, was braided for battle.

“Galok. Your orders have changed. You are to travel with Zeezee on your irkdu, and keep her out of harm’s way. You are to keep her away from the battle, and only if we are successful in our endeavor, are you to reunite with the group.”

Galok’s brows contracted.

“You mean I will not be fighting? I will not be joining in the glorious battle for the new women?”

“Hey,” I cut in, not sure I liked the way he’d phrased that. I didn’t like the idea that my friends were being fought over like objects.

Buroudei’s voice lowered in warning.

“Galok. These are your orders.” Then, his voice softening somewhat, Buroudei added, “There is no one else I trust to do this for me.”

That seemed to satisfy Galok for the moment, and he raised his tail over his eyes. I was beginning to recognize the gesture as one of greeting, acknowledgment, and respect.

Buroudei handed the saddle to Galok, then turned to caress my cheek.

“I must go speak to Gahn Irokai and ready my mount.”

I nodded, leaning into his touch.

“I understand. I’m good here.”

His tail twitched. Then, with a quick, soft kiss on the top of my head, and a don’t-fuck-up look tossed at Galok, he put down my bag and moved away through the crowd. I watched him until I could no longer see him among the other men, and then turned to Galok.

Galok was strapping my saddle to his irkdu with ease, as if he already knew how. It struck me as strange, since I hadn’t seen a single other person use a saddle.

“You really seem to know what you’re doing,” I remarked as he got everything into place. When he was finished, he turned to me.

“Yes. We use saddles when we are cubs.”

I frowned, unsure if that was meant to be some kind of backhanded comment. But Galok grinned, and I relaxed. I didn’t know him well, but Buroudei trusted him, and so far he seemed like a pretty good guy.

“Do you have any children?” I asked. His face fell for a moment, then blanked into expressionlessness.

“The Lavrika has not yet blessed me with a mate. But soon, I hope. Very soon.”

Poor guy. It was heart breaking to see how lonely these warriors were. But the amount of hope so many of them seemed to be placing upon the human women was making me uncomfortable. I was pretty sure that not all of the other girls would be as happy to fall into bed with an alien as I apparently was. I changed the subject.

“Sorry you got stuck with babysitting duty.”

He cocked his head.

“I do not know this word, babysitting.”

“Ah, I mean, sorry you have to look after me instead of joining in with the other men.”

He grabbed my bag and handed it to me before helping me up into the saddle. Then he got up behind me, making sure there as a good few inches of space between our bodies. I stifled a laugh at the subtle show of chivalry. Or maybe, rather than chivalry, it was done out of fear of what Buroudei would do to him if he got too close.

“Do not concern yourself. It is a great honour to guard the Gahnala.”

Gahnala. That was a word I hadn’t had the chance to as Buroudei about in detail yet.

“What is that? The Gahnala.”

I strained in my saddle to look at Galok behind me. His gaze was unnaturally intense on my face and he leaned forward, the glimmers of his eyes drawing tight. Then he shook himself and shifted back a few inches further. I guess I’m just as alien to them as they are to me. Not like he’s ever seen a human woman this close. His obvious curiosity didn’t offend me. In fact, it was kind of cute. If anyone else ended up with a willing human mate, I secretly hoped it would be him.

“The Gahnala is the mighty Gahn’s mate. She is very respected among our people. Usually, after a Gahn is mated with his woman, there is a ceremony to mark her as the Gahnala. But there has not been time for that yet.”

A ceremony? Like... a wedding? I flushed at the thought and turned around, facing forward.

“Thanks.”

We didn’t get much more of a chance to speak after that. Because soon after, just as the asteroid moons were falling and the hot Zaphrinax sun began to rise, we departed, and the sounds of the irkdu and the battle cries of the warriors would have swept my voice away, unheard, over the sands.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Buroudei

Gahn Fallo’s territory was beyond the Cliffs of Uruzai, a full day’s ride from our tents. We maintained a good pace over the sands and did not stop for breaks, eating and drinking as we rode. Anyone who needed to stop to relieve themselves did so quickly, before speeding up to rejoin the group. I rode at the head with Gahn Irokai and Taliok. Normally Galok would also be at my side, but he was in the middle of the pack with Zeezee. By staying in the middle, she would be shielded from any potential predators or threats that could accost us. So far, there was no evidence of zeelk or krixel activity. And that was very good.