Page 51 of Orc's Possession
I grab her and swim as fast as I can to the surface. When we break through, three of my warriors dive into the water with knives held in their teeth to cover my retreat as I pull Paloma out of the water. Ossa stands at the water’s edge, holding Evve in her arms.
“She’s not breathing,” I say as I lay Paloma on the ground. “Tell me how to save her, Ossa. I beg of you!”
I’ve never begged anything of anyone in my life, but the words come to me easily because I’m desperate. I’ve only begun to know my female, but I know I don’t want to lose her. For more than what she means to my people.
What she means to me.
“Turn her on her side,” my sister instructs.
The moment I do, water pours from Paloma’s mouth and she chokes, but takes in air at the same time. I pull her against my chest, holding her as she coughs out more water and then sags against me.
“I couldn’t breathe,” she says, shaking.
My eyes find Ossa. I don’t need to say thank you. My sister understands.
“She is strong, your female. She saved Evve from being trampled by the yengas.”
“I told her about the racanna,” Evve says, her little arms tight around Ossa’s neck. “But she didn’t understand me.”
I hold Paloma against me, amazed she’s alive. She is stronger than I realized. I’ve been a fool, leaving her unprepared for my people and the hazards of where we live. She saved Evve and nearly died in the process, but I cannot blame the yengas or racanna. They are animals who survive on instinct. I bear the responsibility of what happened to my female. I left her unable to communicate with my people. If she’d had a language chip, she would have understood Evve’s warning.
“You saved me, Atox,” Paloma says, her beautiful brown eyes staring up at me.
“She calls you by your personal name, brother,” Ossa says, sounding shocked, but not angry.
“Does that mean you approve of her?” I ask in Orcan.
“Is Evve, okay?” Paloma turns her head to the side looking for the youngling.
“She lives, because of you,” I reply. “Ossa is grateful. We all are.”
“You want me for a mate,” she struggles to speak between coughing. “but I’m not allowed to call you by your name and Ossa is. Let me leave, Grak. You don’t want me.”
“I want you, Paloma. Very much.”
Ossa approaches and recounts what happened while I was gone from our camp, but I cannot absorb what she’s saying. The image of Paloma’s eyes open while the last air bubbles left her body still haunts me, even though she is now safe. Later, after we’ve tended to injuries and restored our camp, I will speak with Ossa.
“Ossa hates me,” Paloma slurs her words. “I bet she’s jealous that you chose me over her. Take her, Atox, and let me leave.”
“She is thanking you for saving Evve. Evve is her youngest youngling. And Ossa is my older sister.”
“I didn’t know,” Paloma squeaks as she buries her face against my chest, which steals my breath. I sink my hand into her short hair, grateful that she lives. She leans on me, her hands clinging to my arms. It is the first time she’s reached for me.
“There is much you don’t know,” I whisper. “But I will correct that. For now, you will rest.”
I lift her into my arms and wait by the water’s edge long enough to ensure all three of my warriors make it out. As we walk up the hill, Evve recounts the story of what happened, of how she hid by a tree when the yengas stampeded. She points out where she hid before Paloma found her.
Nothing remains of the area. The tree had been knocked down, splintered, and ground into the dirt. Hundreds of yengas funneled into the canyon that leads to our mountain, and they destroyed much of the woods in their path. I nearly lost my sister’s youngling and my female.
“The human saved my Evve,” Ossa says, her voice filled with awe as she takes in the destruction. “The human was close to me when the yengas came, Atox. She could have run to the tunnels, but instead she searched for Evve. I may have been wrong about her.”
Paloma turns in my arms, her movement slow and her face full of exhaustion. Her gaze moves from Ossa to the youngling my sister carries. Paloma smiles at Evve, before her head drops against my shoulder and her eyes close.
“She deserves your respect, Ossa. As she will carry my younglings in time.”
“Are you sure that is what she wants?”
“She wants to return to her people.”
