“Oh?” Darla wondered.

“Those ships are capable of traveling across star systems. All we would need to do is capture one.”

Darla’s head spun. Here she had accepted that she would likely be stuck on this planet for the rest of her days. And after the interesting turn things had taken, she wasn’t entirely certain that would be a bad thing.

But Shalia and the other humans would want to get home. And this might actually provide the means for it. But Shalia had other worries on her mind.

“What if a Dohrag ships comes sooner than expected? Won’t they realize what happened here and hunt us down?” she asked.

Heydar shook his head. “There are a great many other races spread across this world, as well as many visiting ones. All of them grant one another peaceful passage to and from this planet. None wishes to start a prolonged conflict.”

“But we took their shuttle. Killed their guards,” Shalia noted.

“Yes, but all of the races who use this world for its resources rely on this place as a resupply waypoint, as well as an inhabitable world upon which to provide their crews with much needed shore leave. None would wish to upset the morale of their crews. And in the case of the Dohrags, the cost of this team of guards would be a price they would willingly pay,” Heydar said. “Not to mention, if, for some reason, they were to be foolish enough to attack any of the others utilizing this planet, that would risk inviting all of the others to join forces in retaliation in order to keep this a neutral world. At least, on the surface appearance, anyway.”

“They do take slaves,” Shalia said. “Case in point.”

“Yes, but they do so with stealth, and only those they can capture without notice.”

The human looked at Darla’s lover curiously. “How exactly is it that you know so much about all of this?” she asked. “You crashed here with the rest of us, but you seem to have quite the grasp of the Dohrags and the rest.”

Kuxx stepped forward, his sense of honor inflamed. “What are you saying about Heydar? He is the reason we are all free.”

“Yeah, I know, and I’m grateful. But it just seems odd, is all.”

Kuxx pointed to a tattoo on Heydar’s shoulder. It wasn’t a rune, but rather a complex series of swooping lines, intersecting and flowing into a unique shape.

“Do you know what this is?” Kuxx asked her.

“Please, do not do this,” Heydar said.

“It is the high leadership mark of the Nimenni,” Kuxx continued, undaunted. “And only those who have successfully commanded many battle campaigns could ever dream of achieving such a rank.”

“Kuxx, please, enough,” Heydar said, but his loyal new friend had said enough.

The human women were equally surprised, sharing a look of both shock and curiosity. A high-ranking leader? And in battle, no less? What exactly was Heydar? Clearly more than he had let on. A warrior, no doubt, but was he some sort of general? Whatever the answer, it now seemed clear why so many were willing to follow his reluctant lead.

He glanced over at Darla, a pained look in his eye. This was not a part of him he wanted her to know. But to his surprise, she held his gaze. Held it lovingly and with no sign of remorse or disgust, but rather with caring and a healthy dose of lust. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Heydar actually felt at ease.

As for Darla, she realized that not only was this man more than she could ever have hoped for, but he was even more than that, if possible.

Damn, Dar. You really did score, she told herself, already craving his touch even more, if that was possible.

Kuxx and Shalia looked at the couple then at one another, each of them reaching the same conclusion at the same instant.

“We really should begin repatriating those released,” Kuxx said. “I am familiar with piloting Dohrag craft.”

“Then we should set to it,” Heydar agreed.

“Hey, listen, you guys go on ahead,” Shalia said. “You’ve already done so much, and it’s going to be a lot of work returning the freed captives to their people. I’ll stay here and help out while you two head back to the village. I can just have Kuxx drop me off when they’re all done making their runs.”

“Don’t be silly, we can wait for you,” Darla objected. “The others take priority, of course, but we can wait.”

Kuxx flashed his human counterpart a quick look.

“No, really, it’s okay,” Shalia said, leaning in close to Darla’s ear. “Besides,” she whispered, “we want to leave you two free to enjoy some quality alone time.”

Darla blushed, but only a little this time. Her shame had been replaced with the very hot idea of forest sex that her friend had put in her head. Shalia saw the thought register and somehow managed to keep her mirth in check.

“Okay, then, it’s settled,” she said with a conspiratorial wink. “I’ll see you back there in a bit. Enjoy the hike, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The opportunity to retrace their steps at a more leisurely pace was a surprisingly welcome change of plans for Darla and Heydar. Already knowing the route and the potential pitfalls was an added bonus. Merrily walking hand in hand for a spell wasn’t bad either.

There was still the potential threat of the Raxxians returning to search out the wreckage of their ship, but an approaching landing craft would be easy for them to spot, and evasion would not be a problem.

As for the other crashed sections, Kuxx and Shalia would be making survey runs as best they could while returning the freed Dohrag captives to their rightful homes. That meant that, for the moment at least, they were free to let their guard down a bit and enjoy the moment.

Darla had no problem keeping pace with Heydar now that her runes were nearly fully settled and providing her with abundant endurance and strength to spare. The rocky climbs and descents, as well as crossing over wildly uneven terrain barely fazed her on the return trip.

It was warm out, but not uncomfortably. Even so, Darla felt no hesitation peeling off her top as the sun traveled high in the sky. The fresh air felt amazing on her bare skin, and seeing Heydar’s trousers bulge at the sight of her exposed flesh was one hell of an ego boost.

They trekked out of the direct sunlight and under the cover of a copse of trees that stretched on for a good distance ahead of them. It was cooler there, but Darla’s top remained off. Heydar shed his as well, his radiant skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat from their labors.

Darla felt her body react viscerally to the mere sight of him exposed like that, her pulse rising slightly and her nipples hardening at the fresh memory of his hands on her, their bodies pressed together. Hard.

“Let us pause for a moment,” Heydar said, pulling the water skin free and offering it to his lover. Darla accepted, drinking deep, before handing it back to him.

Always the gentleman, she mused. Except when it’s time not to be, she added with a faraway grin.

Heydar drank his fill then tightly capped the skin, his violet and gold eyes locking on hers as a droplet of water trickled from the corner of his lips, his gaze flaring with unbridled desire. Darla’s runes began to tingle. Not the itching of healing ink, but something else.

Heydar stepped closer and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers, his tongue darting out to taste her damp mouth with an audible groan of pleasure. He pulled back, staring at her with such a deeply intimate look it made her heart skip a beat.

“You have become quite strong,” he said, reaching out and gently caressing her bare skin, tracing the lines inked on her body in a way that made her very essence feel aflame. “And you are developing your own runes,” he noted, not nearly as surprised as she thought he would be. “Only the most powerful have ever been known to do this, and even then, it is a most rare event.”