Page 71 of Protected by the Alien Warrior Triad

“You don’t have to do this, Forn. We can… We can go somewhere else… We can run!”

He shakes his head. “No. Iwillfight for you, and Iwillwin you – and then you’ll heal my tribe. This is what will happen. I know it, Tammy, I know it just as certainly as I know that we are meant to be together.”

He reaches forward, his fingers trailing down my cheek, and then he smiles sadly at me. He could die tomorrow. Those three fish-eating Aurelians could beat him down and break him.

“The challenge is made and accepted. Tomorrow, you will fight. If you win, the woman is yours – but the Orb-God may still not accept her,” warns the soft-voiced Aurelian from behind the stone throne.

“How will the Orb-God accept me?” I ask.

“When you prove your worth. When you heal this tribe, I know that you will be accepted.”

No pressure, Tammy. No pressure. You just need to find out why a contagion is killing off these Aurelians. Oh, and you don’t have access to any medical supplies – not even your own medical kit.

I walk to the stream running through the cavern. There’s an older Aurelian coughing and hacking there. I can tell he’s close to death. Black residue coats his chin.

Forn stands behind me and gently touches my shoulder. I turn, and he leans closer to me, his lips grazing my ear.

“It is a dishonor to be seen in such a state,” he whispers, and his voice makes me tremble. I nod, and leave the old Aurelian to his suffering.

Instead, I walk to a young human woman with scared eyes. She’s pregnant, and her cough breaks my heart.

“When did you get sick?” I ask her.

“Two… Two days ago,” she says faintly.

The sickness is getting worse. If Forn, Hadone and Darok were this bad, then they would have died in battle with the Scorp warriors. So what is causing this contagion, and why is it getting worse?

I interview more subjects, trying to keep myself as objective as possible despite the obvious misery. There’s a theme – most of the sick have been getting much worse recently. I’m not sure if that will be the key to unlocking the mystery of the sickness, but I file it away anyway.

“Let’s go,” I eventually say, after I’m satisfied that I’ve gotten all the information I can. There isn’t much. None of my other questions lead to any additional clues.

“Do you know what’s causing this?” Forn demands, and I hear the worry in his voice. His triad obviously has problems with some of the members of the tribe, but he cares deeply for their safety. He’s a natural leader, and I could imagine him taking over for Chief Rattler if the sickness kills their current chieftain.

And then I would be the mate of the leader of the tribe.

I never cared about status. I never thought I’d be anything but a lowly mechanic in one of the poorest cities of the periphery. But if I heal this tribe, that alone would put me higher in the social order than the former-noblewoman Diana. And if I was the mate of the leader…

You’re thinking like a shallow woman from the Capital, Tammy! Some highborn gossip, obsessed about the ranks of the houses.

Forn and I walk the path up through the tunnel. It’s claustrophobic after the near confrontation we’d just had, and I keep expecting to see the fish-eating triad ahead of us.

The moment we’re in the jungle I breathe easier. It’s sickening, knowing that I could become just as ill as the members of the tribe. I feel as though I have a duty to the sick humans and Aurelians, especially the children – but I’m painfully aware that my future is fraught with risk.

I could become sick and die. Worse, if Hadone, Forn and Darok are defeated by the fish-eating triad, then I won’t just have to deal with heartbreak – I’ll have to run, or escape from the new triad that wants to claim me, but obviously doesnotwant to treat me with the same respect as my triad.

What did Ton mean when he said that Hadone stole his woman? Does Hadone already have a mate here? Does he view me as simply another woman to be added to his collection? Do these Aurelians keep harems like the ones my friends joined on Colossus?

The thought fills me with jealousy. There are too many emotions and fears pulsing through my mind to be able to think rationally. As we walk back up the tunnel, I try to clear my head and think about how I’m going to heal this tribe.

“Have you ever seen a sickness like this before?”

“No, never,” responds Forn gruffly. We emerge outside, and I watch the sun, hot and heavy in the sky overhead, slowly begin descending.

I feel like it’s a mark of the upcoming doom. Forn must have already telepathed the news to his warrior brothers. His face has turned into a stern mask. I know that he’s contemplating his future – and whether or not he’ll actually have one.

He has to fight unarmed. Oh, Gods – what a brutal proposition.

“The fight… Is it… Is it to the death?” I ask, my voice wavering. I somehow know the answer before I ask it. Forn’s eyes confirm the answer. He takes a deep breath.

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