Page 27 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

I hear him calling my name. Crying out for me. Yelling. All I have to do is find him.

It’s dark. Really dark. Why is it so dark? What happened to the light?

I run. It’s too dark to see. I’m not sure where I’m running to. Or from. I think I’m running from something. No, I’m running to. To him. His voice. I have this feeling if I run far enough, fast enough, I’ll find him.

Ahead there is a glimmer of light. Hope swells in my chest. Light. If I can reach that it will help. I’ll be able to see, to find Khiara. I know he must be close. I can feel him.

The light increases, but not from any source, things are just brighter. The smooth floor gives way to sand, and my feet are sinking into its soft, warm embrace. I struggle to keep moving ahead as I sink deeper.

The warmth of the sand rises to my calves and moving forward becomes harder and harder. Almost impossible. I’m tired. More than tired. Exhausted. Can barely keep my eyes open. Are they open?

Suddenly I’m out of the caves and standing on a ledge looking out over Tajss. The rolling red-white striations of the dunes are occasionally broken by protruding cliffs and rock formations. I’m far above, it must be close to the top of the mountains. The horizon seems so far way and I can see everything between me and it.

A herd of bivo wandering the barren desert, looking for its next meal. A pack of gusters that race across the sands so easily it could be a thoroughfare on the ship. An oasis, full of life, a central point emanating out to the rest of the planet.

Something races under the sand. My stomach tightens. I’ve never seen one of the giant sandworms up close, but we’ve all heard the stories of them. The apex predators of Tajss. Traveling beneath its surface endlessly burrowing, churning, and turning. The line of its path will intersect with the bivo herd at any moment.

I want to cry out. Yell at the poor dumb animals to run. Scatter. Get out of its way but my voice still isn’t working. The air still won’t fill my lungs. Then, somehow, my view shifts. I’m above the planet, looking down. I’m in the stars above, but the skies are not empty.

There are eyes in the stars. Not literal eyes, or maybe they are. I can’t see them, but I know they are there, watching, waiting, and worse, craving. Tajss glistens in the light of its double suns, pulsing with life, and the eyes know it.

On some level, instinctual or some strange, incomprehensible way of understanding, I know they know. They know that life has returned to Tajss. And with the return of life, their greed is ignited.

Warmth covers my skin. Loving, embracing warmth and I’m being pulled down. Down to the sands and below, but as I do this knowing doesn’t leave.

My eyes snap open and I’m staring into Khiara’s warm, dark eyes. His brow is furrowed, his mouth twisted with worry. When my eyes open, his own widen and he gasps with surprise. Thenhis lips are on my forehead, peppering my face with kisses as he squeezes me even tighter to his chest.

I don’t resist his affections. I wrap my arms around his neck and tug until his lips are on mine.

19

SAYLOR

“Oh god, Saylor you’re okay!” Wren yells from close by.

I’m aware of her and dimly of Sek’su too, but much like before, I lose myself in Khiara. He consumes my thoughts and fills my body with this pounding, pulsing need that makes me willing to throw away all sense of propriety.

I kiss him and kiss him, and I never want to stop. I might not either if it wasn’t for the pain. Stabbing into my head and growing sharper each time I try to take a full breath I finally give in and groan. Khiara jerks back, his eyes looking over my body in a way that is a lot less sexy and filled with more of the ‘where are you hurt’ searching gaze.

I blink but when I try to speak the words catch in my throat causing a coughing fit. I double over as I gasp air, trying to get the dust out of my throat. Khiara is cradling me in his arms and adjusting them to keep me safe and protected. Finally, the fit passes.

“I’m… I’m okay,” I say, coughing more between words. Sek’su and Wren are close, watching and concerned. The fragmentedmoments dance behind my momentarily closed eyes and I still can’t make sense of it all. “What happened? Where is… the other guy? The one who was running for me? Did he attack? Was that it?”

Khiara looks over at Sek’su with a deep frown.

“Say,” Wren says, putting her hand on my arm.

She’s filthy. Filthier than I’ve ever seen her in my life and I’m sure I can’t look any better, but the sadness is palpable. I’m missing something.

“What? What is it?”

“His name was Kharta,” Khiara says. “He is… he is gone.”

“Gone? What happened? Was he… did we misjudge him?” I ask, fear tightening my throat.

“Not you, no,” Khiara says. “I did.”

I blink, trying to hold back the tears, but it’s not happening. They flow and honestly, it’s a relief. I didn’t realize how dry and burning my eyes were until the first sting of the tears rinses over them.

---