Page 35 of Bound By the Vori

Inkol brought them to a room. “It is pretty but has an overwhelming floral smell. Someone went to the extremes with all the flowers in there.”

Throwing several cushions to the floor, she settled there with Reggie. There was something simply comforting in that moment of being close to the ground. She knew that logically it was ridiculous. Anyone who stormed into the room would see them just as well on the ground as they would along the benches, but it was a familiar illusion of safety that she was willing to go with.

Reggie’s face was a mask of misery as she flopped on a very large and very vivid red cushion. “Gods, this sucks. I can’t believe that we were almost poisoned.”

Kim hummed in agreement as she tried to get comfortable on her own cushion beside her, watching the males guarding them. Shaagra looked as scary as ever but right now she considered that working in their favor. Poor male also had the misfortune to having his ear talked off by Inkol. She shook her head in wonder. Inkol never looked particularly happy, it was rather surprising to see him acting like a social butterfly now toward the unreceptive male who was looking more and more annoyed at having his watch interrupted. And what a time to do it too. But people dealt with stress in different ways.

“Hopefully Rykaal finds whatever nutjob is behind this and pounds him into a smear on the floor,” she muttered.

Reggie giggled nervously. “Shaagra would be disappointed to miss that.”

Kim’s lips twitched in amusement. She wouldn’t be surprised at all if he did.

“I know he looks very fearsome, but deep down he’s a pussycat. He does take protecting me very seriously, though.” She slanted Kim a curious look. “I can tell that your males are the same way. They really love you.”

Kim’s lips tightened as she watched Shaagra’s agitation grow. Inkol couldn’t seem to help himself when it came to getting into the male’s face. Someone needed to tell him about personal space. It was ridiculous. He kept close, too close, and Shaagra very clearly increased the distance between them, going so far as to inspect other parts of the room.

“I wouldn’t know about that. They’ve never said it.”

Reggie startled her by snorting mirthlessly. “Vori aren’t too verbal with that if you don’t instigate it. They put a lot of emphasis on the doing. Mating and bonding, these are love to them. They don’t consider it separate. And they bond more deeply than most people really love, I think. Mostly because there’s a hormonal component to it as well. Vadal tried to explain it to me once in medical-ese, but I’m not going to pretend that I listened to much of it since he lost me pretty quick. But I can guarantee you that your males love you. Not only by the way they look at you, it’s obvious they’re deeply bonded to you. That is big love in Vori language,” she added with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t wonder if this is making them a little nuts.”

A fond smile tugged at Kim’s lips as she recalled their expression as she left. Neither had looked the least bit pleased, and Sijhord had appeared to be barely keeping it together being separated from her. Of course they loved her. She felt a little silly that she hadn’t clearly seen it before.

A low hiss came from the door, and Kim looked over and rolled her eyes as Shaagra practically spat at the other male who had clearly wormed closer than comfort toward him. “Damn, what’s with that male?” she muttered. “Is he really that lonely?”

Reggie grimaced. “I know that the males can get a little demonstrative and affectionate. It’s just in their nature. But he really ought to back off after that warning. Shaagra only lets few people physically near him, especially among Vori. The guard isn’t going to enjoy it if my mate loses his temper.”

Could teach him some manners, Kim reflected, but she kept that to herself. Rolling onto her back, she thumped the cushion under her head a few times in an attempt to soften it and stared up at the ceiling. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

She lay there bored out of her mind, wishing for something productive to do. Every now and then she was distracted by some unhappy noise from Shaagra, but the soft sounds of Reggie’s breathing beside her told her that at least one of them was able to just fall asleep without anything better to do. Kim felt too on edge to sleep. Every muscle in her body felt as if it were coiled and prepared for an imminent attack.

A tiny rustle teased her ear, and she tipped her head, listening for it again. It came louder and moved faster. Turning her head in the direction of the sound, Kim kicked Reggie with the toe of her shoe, startling the other woman awake with a choked gasp. Blinking bleary eyes, Reggie looked around her in surprise.

“Kim, wha—” she began, but Kim put a finger to her lips and pointed.

Something large was moving among the ferns. Something dark like the gleam of a beetle’s shell flashed, and her heart thumped a little harder as she stared at it. Moving very slowly, she gestured to Reggie to follow suit as she carefully sat up. The other woman crowded closer to her as she scurried back, practically crab walking into Kim. Something very long, very spindly, and with several thick barbs on its exoskeleton, pushed down the branches of several plants and slowly began to climb out from amongst the dense foliage.

“Oh, gods,” Reggie choked, making Kim quite certain that this wasn’t a Vori version of some royal pet.

Its long legs became more distinct as it climbed higher from the plants, its larger body becoming more prominent. Fangs flashed, its maw opening viciously, demonstrating for their benefit the death that awaited them.

“Shoyla,” Reggie whispered, and Kim felt dread pooling like ice in her gut.

That was a shoyla? It was like the Rottweiler of spiders. And that was just its torso. The more it exposed its location in the greenery, the more certain Kim became that they were fucked.

It was a good thing that Kim didn’t let anyone, or anything, decide her fate. Fingers sliding along the pillows and cushions, she located the decorative fringe on the heaviest one. Curling her fingers into it, she pushed Reggie back farther as her hand tightened, and tension ran up her arm as she prepared to strike. It wasn’t going to hurt the damn thing, but it would hopefully buy them some time for Shaagra to get away from the other male and help them.

It rose up on its front legs and then lowered with such a tap of finality that Kim got the impression that it was done playing with them. It scurried forward, breaking through the plants and overturning pots. Shrieking at the top of her lungs to the accompaniment of Reggie’s screams, Kim jumped to her feet and brought the pillow around swinging. It made impact with a hard whump, and the shoyla crumbled as its body flung away from there.

Kim stared at it in horror as its legs began to push its body up once again as it recovered. Shaagra’s snarl startled her, making her jump as he flung himself through the air. He landed, his tail rolling up around him defensively as he nudged his mate toward Kim and in the direction of safety. The shoyla hissed loudly and struck, but Shaagra’s tail whipped, moving him fluidly out of the way as a gruesome barb slid out of his tail. It sliced at the shoyla, slashing across its exoskeleton, leaving huge gouges behind. Pulling some sort of thick stick from the strap of his vest, he flicked it, extending the long metal parts of some sort of spear.

Shaagra’s tail whipping, and with vicious strikes of his spear, he pushed forward. Daring a glance over his shoulder, he shouted for Inkol’s help, but it didn’t come. He spun around at just the right moment as the shoyla rose to attack, and he was suddenly able to bury his tail barb deep into the undercarriage of the creature. It shrieked but he thrust forward with his spear, lodging that even deeper within the creature. Its front legs arched and pulled back for a moment before it toppled to the palace floor in a pool of its own bodily fluids.

Staring down at it, Kim lurched fully to her feet, dragging Reggie up with her. They both stared at shock at the creature and the gore-covered Vori as Inkol came up behind him with a concerned expression. Shaagra, not having the energy to fend him off, winced as the male clasped his shoulder tightly and helped him straighten. Unable to shrug Inkol off, Shaagra grimaced as the male bent his head in a respectful gesture, his tail curling.

Curling in. And it swung.

Kim gasped, her arms lashing around Reggie tightly as the barb within the male’s tail sank into Shaagra’s chest. Reggie screamed for her mate, her voice coming out as a sob as the male’s eyes widened and he slowly crumpled to the ground. Inkol pulled his tail free with a sneer as he glowered down at him.

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