Page 9 of Barbarian Brothers

“That explains the crash on Cloud Mountain, too.”

“We need help,” I say. “We mean no harm. We just want to go home.”

The men take another step forward, and I can feel my friends inching backward. I motion for them to stand still. It’s not like we can escape this. We could try, but we don’t really know who we’re up against, and if we’re to survive, we may have to be compliant before we figure a way out of this scorching-hot mess.

“I’m Binzen,” the curly-haired one says. “This is my brother, Izzo. We lead the Mal clan of the Fire Tribe.”

“We will not harm you,” Izzo adds. “But we cannot let you go, either.”

“Why not?” I reply, fear building up in my chest.

“You will be our wife,” Binzen declares.

A second passes in the most awkward silence before Cynthia breaks it with a tired sigh. “Well, shit.”

2

Amber

And we’re tied up again.

This time, however, a simple type of rope is used, wound tightly enough to make my wrists hurt. We can’t fight our way out of this. They’re all ridiculously big and strong, and something tells me their senses are heightened as well. They’d have to be in order to survive this harsh climate. I’ve seen enough nature documentaries to put two and two together, even on an alien planet. But what boggles my mind is the whole wife thing. What did Binzen and Izzo mean?

Truth be told, I know exactly what they mean, but why me?

How did they reach this conclusion? Are they really so desperate that they’ll take anything resembling one of their kind in order to mate? And why is my body reacting to Binzen and Izzo in such a shameful way? It’s as if I cannot control my own instincts and urges anymore. I’m hot as hell and turned on, struggling not to ogle the brothers while I adjust to the constant ache between my legs.

We’re taken farther up the river, sticking to the top of the plateau in order for the Fire Tribe men to have a better view of their surroundings. The girls and I remain quiet for a while, analyzing as much as we can about these creatures’ demeanor. The males keep looking at us, measuring us from head to toe with hungry and curious eyes. They keep a reasonable distance, though.

And when one of us looks at them, they immediately glance away.

“Did you know Umok?” I ask Binzen and Izzo.

I’m walking between them at the head of the group. Cynthia, Jewel, and Alicia are right behind me, flanked by six red-skinned fellas with bare chests and enough muscle between them to crush my friends in the blink of an eye.

“We know of him,” Binzen says, looking straight ahead. I can almost hear his heartbeat echoing next to mine. Izzo’s, too. It’s so strange, yet remarkably soothing. “The plague ravaged our society many moons ago. My brother and I were just children when our mother died. A savage war ensued as more men remained wifeless, motherless, sisterless. It lasted for decades, and many perished as a result.”

“You fought over the women?” I reply.

“Over the women, over the land, the dwindling resources,” Izzo adds. “But mostly about the ideology revolving around the rebuilding of our world. This isn’t the first plague to hit Sunna. Thousands of years passed since the last one, but that was just as dreadful.”

“This one is worse,” Binzen corrects him. “The last one hurt everyone equally. And our people were determined to stick together and survive it. This one is worse because it broke us intotribes.”

“You mean the Sky Tribe and the Fire Tribe,” Alicia concludes.

Binzen gives her a brief glance over his shoulder, but it’s nowhere near as intense as the way he and his brother look at me. “Yes. We of the Fire Tribe managed to save the most women, though they aren’t immune to the plague, either. They’re still dying off, one by one. But we have daughters from them. They’re still young, and we do what we can to protect them. We believe in preserving Sunna and our old way of life. Living in harmony with the fire burns in the belly of this realm. Rebuilding our homes and customs. Our families. One day at a time.”

“And what do those of the Sky Tribe believe?” I ask.

Izzo scoffs, shaking his head in dismay. “They preserved most of the technology we had before the civil war broke out. The ships and the infrastructure of a few cities along the Crimson Sea. Just enough to give them an edge. They made it their mission to go out beyond our star system to find women from other worlds and bring them back here.”

“Oh, well, mission accomplished,” Jewel mutters.

“We never wanted them to do this,” Binzen says. “If we are to perish, then we shall perish. But we do the best we can with what we are given and pray to the suns of Rey and Hyx to save us.” I presume he’s referring to the two suns Sunna orbits. I think I remember spotting at least one moon before things went tits up with Umok’s starship. “But we try our best to stop them from leaving Sunna.”

“See, that doesn’t make much sense,” I reply and lift my hands to remind them of the rope they tied around my wrists. “If you don’t condone your species mating with another species, why areyou taking us hostage? Why do you keep saying I’m going to be your wife?”

“You fell from the sky,” Binzen replies, his tone uncomfortably casual for this situation. “And my brother and I have already bonded with you. It’s an unbreakable link. We can’t explain it since you’re not a native of Sunna, but our bodies and our souls have spoken. We cannot go against our nature.”

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