Page 33 of Claimed By Brothers

Maur jumps in just as Umok is about to snatch her. They fight with everything they’ve got. Blades, claws, fangs, but Umok is bigger and stronger. Eventually, Maur is terribly injured and falls flat on his back as Umok sneers and tries to finish him off, but Jewel manages to get back on her feet and stabs him in the thigh with one of her knives.

He cries out in pain, then takes a few steps back. As he looks around, he realizes he’s outnumbered three to one, and there is clearly no way for him to take us away. Not at this moment.

“Retreat!” he shouts, and his men are quick to respond by immediately pulling back.

The Fire Tribe fighters try to take a few more of them down before they flee, but by the time it’s over, almost a dozen members of the Sky Tribe run off with Umok in the lead. Some of Binzen and Izzo’s clan move to go after them, but the brothers stop them and order them to tend to the injured instead.

I look to my right and see Cynthia kneeling beside Maur, doing her best with only the fabric of her dress and the blanket from her bag to stop the bleeding from his hip wound. Her hands are red as she presses down, and Maur snarls in agony and curses like a sailor from the terrible pain. Kai is with them, worriedly looking at his twin brother.

“We’ve lost two men,” Izzo says, and the sadness in his voice cuts through me like a knife. He stares at their bodies for a moment, unable to look away as his hands still tightly grip the obsidian swords.

“You could’ve run away,” Kai tells Cynthia. “You could’ve taken advantage of the skirmish and run off. Why didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t let your brother bleed to death,” she mumbles.

But I think we all know how she’s feeling, how I’m feeling. Alicia and Jewel may not be emotionally attached to any of these people, yet they stuck around, too. Maybe it was a mistake to escape the way we did. We owed it to ourselves to at least try. The problem is that we’re responsible for the deaths that occurred here today. Had we not run off, Binzen and Izzo’s men would still be alive. Maur wouldn’t be bleeding on the ground as Cynthia struggles to keep him conscious.

“He needs stitches,” she says.

“We’ll take him back to town. You’ve got everything you need there,” Kai replies, then gives her a hard look. “Will he survive?”

“If we move fast, yes,” she sighs, lowering her gaze. Deep down, she knows as well as I do that we’re to blame.

Jewel checks on Alicia before she turns to face Binzen and Izzo as they approach us with dark glowers and tight jaws. “If you want to blame anybody, blame me,” she tells them. “I insisted that we run.”

“It’s honorable of you to lie in order to protect your friends,” Binzen replies, then looks at me in a way that makes me shake with both fear and arousal. “I’m honestly disappointed, Amber. I thought we could trust you.”

I had this coming. I’m too tired to fight my way out of this. Our bond wouldn’t allow it, anyway. Every fiber in my body revels at the sight of Binzen and Izzo. My defenses have already crumbled.

“Come on,” Izzo says to his men. “We must take our brothers back and bury them.”

“I’ll carry Maur,” Kai replies, then looks at Cynthia. “I suppose you ladies are coming home with us.”

“Not like we have a choice,” she mutters.

Kai would probably smile and respond with something clever and funny just to rile her up, as usual, but the concern for his brother’s health is deeply etched into his features, a frown pulling his brows tightly together as he hoists Maur over his shoulder and starts walking back toward the river. I can barely meet Binzen and Izzo’s glares as I humbly move to join them, with Alicia and Jewel quietly following behind me.

“Umok knows we’ve got you now,” Binzen says without even looking at me. “He will know where to find you. We were aware that he would eventually send scouts along the Crimson River to try and locate you, but he saw our colors and marks. He knows exactly where you will be. And he will be coming back for you.”

“I didn’t think he survived the crash,” I say.

“It doesn’t matter,” he snaps. “You exposed yourself. You expedited this tragedy as soon as you decided to leave us.”

I feel awful. The guilt eats away at me, and I try to keep my tears from overflowing as I think of the two Fire Tribe men who died to keep my friends and me out of Umok’s grasp. We brought this upon ourselves, and it’s not even the most uncomfortable aspect of the entire situation. No, the most uncomfortable aspect is that I hurt Binzen and Izzo. They were really hoping to build something lasting and beautiful between us. Something based on our bond, on love and closeness, on patience and dedication.

This whole time, I’ve been taking their pleasure while plotting my escape.

12

Amber

As soon as we return to the Mal clan’s town, I can tell we’ve disappointed a lot of people. The boys and the elderly look at us with dark red eyes and scoffs, turning away to go on with their lives while a handful assist the fighters with carrying and burying their fallen brothers. There will be a funeral ceremony in the evening, but the girls and I are forbidden from attending. I wouldn’t have the stomach for that, anyway. My guilt won’t let me.

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 tricky thing, 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.

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