Page 26 of Claimed By Brothers

The latter option sends shivers down my spine, and not the good kind. The mere idea of going back to the Sky Tribe terrifies me, though nothing seems to cause me as much pain as the thought of leaving Binzen and Izzo behind—the irony is downright blistering, given that I intend to leave them. But I want to do so willingly in order to regain my freedom and my life on Earth. It’s different.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

“What would you like us to do?” Izzo asks, watching me intently as we walk to the base of the steps where two guards await. The Tallas people are almost as big as the Mal people but bulkier and shorter than the Hadana folks. With their long horns and thick muscles, I could easily compare them to bulls—the kind I’d hate to go up against since they look like they could easily tear me to shreds.

“I don’t want to go with the Sky Tribe,” I tell Izzo. It’s a half-truth at best. It makes me feel less guilty for what my friends and I are about to do.

“Welcome,” one of the guards says, greeting us with a warm smile. “Helios is waiting for you upstairs.”

“Good. I’m hungry,” Izzo quips.

“Rest assured, food and refreshments have already been prepared,” the second guard says.

We follow them up the stairs as I look above and admire the whole view. The town itself is an impressive feat of architecture, and the people seem to be well accustomed to climbing so many steps on a daily basis. I smell fresh fruits after they’ve been cut and peeled. I smell broth boiling on a fire somewhere. And I smell the flowers as they open their petals toward the twin suns. The more time I spend here, the more I learn and understand about this world and its fascinating ecosystem. These beings somehow thrive in the heat, and life itself has found a way to blossom in conditions we’d consider adverse on Earth.

“I’m glad you don’t want to go with the Sky Tribe,” Izzo whispers once we reach the top of the main stairs, where Helios awaits us with freshly picked flowers and his white toga flowing loosely down his massive figure, with a gold-plated belt strapped around his waist. “I wouldn’t want you to leave us, either,” Izzo adds, then lights up as he looks at Helios. “Helios, my friend. I’m so happy we’re able to do this!”

Helios smiles my way. “Welcome to the Tallas clan, Amber. It is a pleasure to have you here. Where is Alicia?”

“Safely back in my town,” Izzo jokingly cuts in. “Where she belongs, for the time being.”

“Does she know you’re here?” Helios asks.

“Yes,” Izzo replies.

“What were her thoughts on the matter?”

I can’t help but chuckle lightly. “If you think she’s gonna let you take her like a piece of meat, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Oh, no,” Helios says. “I intend to woo that marvelous young woman. She will come willingly, much like you did with Binzen and Izzo.”

While Cynthia is still struggling with her attraction to Kai and Maur, Alicia is even more resistant to the idea. As for Jewel, I shudder to think how she’ll react when two Sunnaites inevitably bond with her. I’ve yet to fully wrap my head around how these bonds work, but it’s clear that my friends and I have had different reactions to it. My chemistry with Binzen and Izzo was instantaneous, like fireworks. Maybe it’ll fizzle out just as quickly once I’m back on Earth.

“Come, let’s get you somewhere nice and cool,” Helios adds and escorts us into his main house, the biggest one carved into the plateau’s high wall. “You’ll be given the northernmost quarters of my home, completely isolated from my own,” he says. “You will have privacy for the night.”

“Thank you, old friend,” Izzo replies, clapping him on the back.

“Our land is more bountiful and slightly cooler,” Helios tells me. “We’ve gotten used to it, however. We’ve even grown to like it.”

“This region wasn’t inhabited before,” Izzo adds. “We’re creatures of full sun and heat, but we’ve had to make do with what we could get after the civil war broke out.”

“But you seem to have adjusted beautifully,” I say as we’re taken through another hallway and out onto a massive stone terrace overlooking the river. “This must be your town square?”

“If you could call it that,” Helios chuckles. “We don’t have as many gatherings in the evening as the Mal folks, but ours get rowdier.”

“Rowdier?” I ask.

Helios shoots me a fiery grin. “Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”

I admit, I’m curious. The tone of his voice alone is enough to have my mind firing up its engines, and Izzo’s grip on my waist tightens as he pulls me closer, as if he’s trying to tell me something with his body. But I smile and nod and keep my mouth shut as we’re seated around a table on this magnificent terrace while young boys and a handful of girls bring us drinks and hot food. I get to experience new dishes and spicy flavors while I listen to Izzo and Helios discussing their business.

Around us, the evening gradually sets in with deep shades of crimson and purple, yellow clouds streaking across the sky like wisps of wool against the flickering stars while the moons slowly begin their ascent. A fire is lit in the middle of the terrace, and the people gather—more and more with each passing hour as bowls of hot, fermented fruit liquors are passed around. I’m given one, as well, and I soon begin to suspect that this drink may have been infused with love grass. I recognize a hint of the peculiarly sweet taste along with my core getting hotter.

As if summoned, Izzo’s hand secretly crawls up my thigh as he continues his conversations with Helios. “You will have to visit us more often,” he tells Helios. “Alicia won’t take kindly to being brought here like we did with Cynthia and the Hadana clan.”

“Ah, yes,” Helios laughs. “I hear Maur and Kai are still having trouble wooing your medicine woman.”

“The bond has already formed between them, but she seems mentally more resistant,” Izzo concedes, then gives me a warm look. “It’ll make for great flames in the bedroom later down the line, but she will give into them, too. It’s only a matter of time.”

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