Page 40 of Claimed By the Alien Barbarian

“Hold on, Molly.” I reached out and latched onto a vine to my right and released the first, using the root structure to swing along the base of the island until I reached the tunnel the clan kept clear. “Not long now.”

When we dangled on the edge of the tunnel, I stretched out to grab the root that would take us up through the darkness, though sunlight winked far above. One tug, and we shot upward, not stopping until we’d emerged from the channel and hung above the opening. I swung out, leaping toward the grassy surface nearby, landing neatly.

Molly flung herself off me and raced over to a tangle of bushes, disappearing beneath them.

“You can continue to cling to me, if you’d like, mate,” I said. “Or you can stand beside me.” I could barely hold back my laugh.

Kerry shot me a glare. “I think I’m pissed at you.”

Pissed . . . “You need a bathing area?”

She huffed and detached herself from me, sliding to the ground with my help. “Eventually. Pissed means irritated.”

“What are you irritated about?”

She poked my belly, though not hard. “Before we left the everlipe, you could’ve warned me we’d be projected up toward the island at a breakneck pace. That we’d almost smack into it before you played Tarzan to fling us over to a tunnel from hell.”

“How else did you think we’d get up here?”

Her sigh rang out, and she appeared to piss out her irritation along with it. “You’re right, but still.”

I took her hand and squeezed it. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She squinted toward the bushes. “Will Molly be alright here?”

“We’ll take her with us.” I strode over to the bushes and shifted them until I spotted our pet huddling beneath a cluster of broad leaves. She peeped when I lifted her, and I snuggled her against my chest as I rejoined Kerry. Shooting me a glare much like Kerry’s, Molly leaped into my mate’s arms.

“It appears she needs to piss away her anger as well,” I pointed out.

Kerry snorted, and her eyes sparkled, which was infinitely better than the scowl she’d just sent me. “Yes, I’m sure she does.”

I held out my hand. “Let me take you to the village and introduce you. Tomorrow, we’ll start investigating.”

“Can you ask your clan gods to help?”

Closing my eyes, I hummed, reaching out. No voices replied. Sighing, I opened my eyes. “This is the land of the stone gods. The trees here don’t hold Celedar gods like on the mainland. If they did at one time, they’re long dormant.”

“Can you wake them up?”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Too bad. I can picture a tree army uprooting itself, stomping around with branches lashing, not only revealing who the bad guy is but smacking them off a cliff.”

“A wonderful dream.”

“Yeah.” She held my hand as we started down the narrow trail weaving through the thick, waist-high grass topped with tassels.

“Purple grass is a new thing for me.” She brushed her hand across the top. “Grass is green where I come from. The trees aregreen too, not light purple like those on Zuldrux.” She stopped, frowning at the grass. “It’s harder than I’d expect it to be, too.”

“Stone.”

Her eyes widened. “What’s stone?”

“The vegetation is stone.”

“Vegetation is a living thing.”

“So is the stone—here. As I said, you’ll only find stone gods at the Dastalon Clan.”

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