Page 8 of Sol Survivor

“You stink of vasquva blood.”She met his glare, her yellow gaze clashing with his.“I will walk to the pools in the morning.For the injured, they will allow an extra ration.”

“When?”He flinched when she ran the wet cloth across his arm.White spots marred where the vasquva’s skin had burned his.“The challenge is at daybreak.I dare not keep the Ivoyan waiting while you fetch more water.”

“Ulvus will be challenging you.”

Drafe’s breath hitched.That massive son of a Kreta whore had been a pain in his ass since childhood, worse so when Larya reached womanhood.“Holy Osnir, Larya, you cannot mate him.”

“I know.”She stilled, dipping her chin to hide her delicate face.Her tiny body would be no match against Ulvus’s brutishness.

“If I let him win, the Ivoyan will choose him.”It went against Drafe’s very soul to do that, but he had to.One more year would not be too long to wait until the next rite of Uhann.He could train on his own, learn to hunt better, and take the time to find Larya a worthy mate.

She sniffed, raising her shimmering gaze to meet his.“As challenge victor, he will demand I go to his family and await his return.”

Drafe winced.If Ulvus didn’t survive Ivoy, Larya would never bear children.“The Ivoyan have to choose me then.”

She leaped to her feet to refill the stone platter.Not that Drafe could recall eating it all.

“When I go, I leave you unguarded, Larya.Who will you mate?”Darkness hit his chest like a boulder dropping into the unknown caverns beneath the village.He couldn’t abandon his sister without knowing her future was secure.

“Kael has asked.”

Drafe sat up and groaned, slumping again.“He has?You like him?”

“He is a strong male and a good hunter.”

Kael was honorable too, but not favored because of the jagged scar across his face.Drafe pursed his lips.“He will cherish you.Have him come see me, Larya.I want this settled before the challenge.Once the Ivoy arrive, your fate is sealed.”

A sweet smile graced her dark lips, as black as his own.She gathered her leather skirts and ran, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Kael?Drafe was blindsided by the male’s interest.Although, he could not fault him, for Larya was a typical Meorri woman with her black moonstone skin, her golden eyes, and the thick braids down her back.She had the gentlest nature and the biggest heart, willing to sacrifice much for another.

Kael was a massive male, scarred from childhood, ostracized because of it, despite having lost his family in the incident.The symbiotes were quiet on the details, except to say, Kael needed Larya’s softness.

Drafe ate the meat, sucking the juices off his fingertips before dragging himself off the bed.While she was away, he used the bowl of water to clean himself.Its brown depths swirled with yellow blood when he was done.Slipping on a fresh tunic over pants, he settled onto his bed again.

Heat generated from a stack of venai stones warmed the rooms.Stories were told of tribes burning trees for fuel.He didn’t believe them.

“Meorri aac Drafe,” Kael greeted from the doorway.

“Meorri aac Kael.”Drafe gestured to him to enter.“Larya tells me—”

“She speaks the truth.”Kael stood before Drafe, his stance wide, his hands at his sides—a male with nothing to hide.

Drafe studied him.Kael was a big male, his presence filling the small room.When he sliced a glance at Larya hovering at the door, his face softened, and warmth glowed in his yellow eyes.

That was what Drafe had been waiting for.“On the love Osnir once bore Kreta, do you swear to honor Meorri aac Larya, to care for her and cherish her?”

Kael’s chest puffed out, and in the steady light from the venai stones, his scar twitched.“As the suns bathe the sands, I do.”

Larya gasped and ventured deeper into the room, her eyes wide, her smile more so.

“Larya, sister of mine, do you accept Kael’s offer of protection, to bear his children, to care for him?”

She clasped her trembling fingers in front of her.“As the moon births the night, I do.”

Drafe laughed, holding out his palms to accept Larya and Kael’s hands.He guided hers to Kael’s and released them.“It is done.Congratulations, Kael, brother of mine.”

Kael roared and scooped a laughing Larya into his arms.Nuzzling her neck, he carried her out.

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