Page 4 of The Warrior
“You have my permission,” I said with a small nod, although I didn’t like the way the two women exchanged a small giggle.
Magni moved closer to the first woman and helped her to her feet. With a nod to her shirt, he said, “Clearly you don’t know much about our culture.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Your t-shirt. There’s no way you could have seven Nmen. The first would kill the others for touching you.”
“Really? They would fight over me?” She looked giddy when he placed her over his shoulder, his arm hooked around her knee and his hand holding on to her wrist in a fireman’s carry.
The woman gave her friend a smile and placed her hands on Magni’s back to steady herself – or to feel his muscles.
“Is it true, would they really fight over us?” the friend who sat on the ground asked Finn.
He nodded. “Yes, we Nmen are very protective of our women.”
“That’s so sexy,” the woman on Magni’s back cooed.
I would have sworn I didn’t have jealousy in me. But seeing another woman flirt with my husband was a new experience, and when she nuzzled his broad shoulders, it made me want to yank her spiky hair.
“Hey, keep those hands to yourself, I’m a married man,” Magni told the woman and began the climb across tree trunks to get her back to her other friends.
“Laura.” Magni had stopped and was looking back at me.
“What?”
“Stay with Finn,” he ordered. “Don’t go anywhere!”
This time I forgave him for being bossy. His words to the woman had eased my jealousy, and I appreciated his telling her off.
People who had escaped the earthquake in drones returned for their friends. Khan, his wife Pearl, and members of the Council of the Motherlands gathered in deep conversation. With the border wall partly collapsed, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had them so upset.
Magni was ordering people around, telling them to fill up the drones and return home. The few who had injuries were directed to Finn. With everyone eager to make sure their loved ones were safe, the area soon emptied, leaving only the swarm of border drones flying back and forth along the destroyed wall, blaring out alerts that anyone crossing the border wall unauthorized would be detained.
“It’s a miracle that no one was killed,” Finn said as we walked back toward Magni’s drone.
“It’ll be worse in the cities where there are more buildings,” I pointed out.
Finn stopped cold with his face frozen in a grimace.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Worried about his friend Athena, a priestess he’d stayed with for a part of his stay in the Motherlands, Finn insisted that we call her. When she didn’t respond, he turned to Magni with panic in his eyes. “I need to borrow your drone.”
“What? No.”
“Athena might be hurt, and I can’t go home until I know she’s safe. I need to see her,” he exclaimed.
“Can’t it wait until I get Laura back home?” Magni argued.
“No, it can’tfuckingwait,” Finn shouted. “Athena lives alone and chances are that there is no one with her.”
Magni frowned. “But I thought you didn’t like Athena…”
Finn cut him off, shouting, “I need your fucking drone.”
Magni was torn but in the end, he threw his hands in the air. “All right, then take it. But you’d better not wreck it.”
Finn didn’t say goodbye. He just sprinted for the drone and took off.
