Page 32 of Barbarian Brothers

Cynthia is across the river, tending to Maur’s wounds. She’s going to get an earful of her own on the matter, I’m sure. Alicia and Jewel are taken to their house next to ours, but from now on, six guards are assigned to stay close to them at all times. It’s disheartening that it has come to this, yet it’s wholly understandable.

It made sense when we left. Now, not so much. Given that Umok survived and already had men waiting for us by the Cloud Mountain ridge proved we were never getting off this planet as easily as we’d hoped. I haven’t given up on the idea, though. I just need to convince Binzen and Izzo to help us—it’s a trickything, considering how upset they both are. They’re well within their rights, and I am more conflicted about this than ever before.

Once I’m bathed and clean, dressed in a short layer of white silky fabric loosely hanging from my shoulders by two slim silver straps, I’m taken back to the house to spend time with Valen. It hurts to be so close to this little guy while knowing I left him behind not that long ago. But his giggles and toddler babbling soothe my heart, and soon enough, we’re laughing and hugging; he’s playing with my long, red hair and planting kisses all over my face. I’m filled with joy and love, the guilt slowly subsiding.

By nightfall, I’ve yet to see Binzen and Izzo. I know Alicia and Jewel are okay. I occasionally peek out the window and see the guards still standing outside their house. They’re under house arrest, so to speak. Binzen and Izzo are handling their comrades’ rites, so I put Valen to sleep and retreat to the bedroom, deciding to stay awake until they come back. I have to apologize.

When they do come back, they carry deep shadows over their crimson eyes, and they don’t say a word. They never take their eyes off me, though, as I sit on the edge of the bed, working up the courage to speak. Binzen removes his clothes, leaving them on a chair, then turns to face me. Izzo takes a few extra seconds doing the same, a muscle ticking furiously in his jaw.

“Are you going to sit there and say nothing?” Izzo asks.

“I don’t know where to start,” I reply with a heavy sigh, hands in my lap and a thickening sensation stuck in my throat. “I’m sorry,” I say with a trembling voice. “We thought we had every possibility covered. We didn’t think the Sky Tribe would be waiting for us.”

“Then you were foolish,” Binzen replies bluntly. “They are better equipped and better armed. They took great chances, leaving Sunna on ships they were not able to rebuild because all the great minds that designed them perished in the civil war. Of course, they were going to bide their time. Eventually, they were going to find you here, but you gave away your connection to us by running.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my brow furrowed.

Izzo scoffs. “Umok picked up on our bond. Sunnaites can sense when a mating has occurred. We’ve imprinted on you, Amber. And that just pissed him off even more. He’ll come back with more men and more weapons. He won’t stop until he’s taken the four of you away for breeding.”

“The fact that the Fire Tribe had the audacity to enjoy the so-called fruits of his labor will only make the Sky Tribe all the more determined to take you,” Binzen adds. “You put everyone here in danger, Amber. Everyone. The children. The elders. And the little girls who have survived thus far.”

Tears prick my eyes. “You could’ve just let us go,” I say. “You could still do that. You could help us get back on one of those ships. Alicia could fly it with the help of a Sky Tribe technician or something.”

“Was that your plan?” Izzo laughs, the bitterness dripping from his voice.

“They never would’ve helped, even if you put an obsidian blade to their throats,” Binzen says.

“I believe a person would do anything in order to survive,” I reply.

Binzen comes closer, a pained look settling in his eyes. “Is this really what you want, Amber? To get away from us, despite our bond? You’ve already given us your body and your heart, yet you still wish to leave us behind forever?”

“It’s not easy, but I have to go home. I don’t belong here.”

“I will not hear of this again,” Izzo snaps. “Get it through your head, Amber. You have the blood of my brethren on your hands. How many more must die in order for you to understand that this is where you belong now?”

The tears flow freely, warm as they roll down my cheeks. My lips quiver, and my heart breaks a million times over as I begin to consider his words as my harsh reality. But is it that harsh? I was already having second thoughts since before we escaped last night. I was already doubting my decision. The earthling in me, I can feel her dying with each moment I spend here. I’m fighting something I have no control over. Fate.

Izzo comes closer, his cock twitching and his breath ragged with a mixture of anger and arousal. “You don’t get to cry your way out of this one, Amber,” he says. “You are ours, and we are yours. It’s time for you to receive us wholly and fully. That’s what a wife does.”

“But you have to want it,” Binzen adds. “Tell us, do you want it?”

“Yes,” I mumble, looking up at him.

“Then stand up,” Izzo growls.

I tilt my head back as he approaches me, my whole body trembling in his presence. He bares his fangs and grabs me by my waist, pulling me close. I feel him hard as a rock against my belly, my pussy slick and dripping wet with desire in an instant.The fire burning within me never faded. I see that now. I never stood a chance. He kisses me, his mouth crushing mine.

Our tongues dance through a blazing routine, my breath hitching with Izzo’s rough touch. He digs his fingers deep into my ass cheeks, the claws scratching but never breaking the skin. All I can do is rest my palms on his muscular chest and revel in the feel of his dark red skin as he devours my very soul, deepening the kiss into something feral and possessive.

“You belong with us,” Binzen says it again as he sits on the bed’s edge in my stead. “Now, give me everything, and I will give you this world.”

I pause, and Izzo turns me around, so I face his brother. “What do you mean?”

“We have to protect you and your friends,” Binzen replies. “We will go to war for you, Amber. And we will take back the whole of Sunna in order to keep you safe and happy. No matter the cost. But I need you with us, wholly and without hesitation.”

“Binzen, going to war means more death and—oh, God…” I lose my train of thought as Izzo slips a hand around my hips, his fingers sliding between my hot, wet folds to find a swollen clit in desperate need of attention.

“Enough talking,” he grunts, his cock wedged most unceremoniously between my ass cheeks as he flicks my tender nub into a high-tension frenzy. “Let your body speak for you, Amber. It’s calling out to us. It’s been calling out to us since you left.”

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