B Cubed #3 Borg (2 page)

            “Like
it did for him?” He murmured, thinking of his ghost.

            She
caught his reference. “Isaac lived a good life. He loved his mate and was able
to let her go when the time came because there was someone who needed her more.
And he stayed because you, my dear nephew, needed him, too. Let his gentleness
and ability to love guide you.”

            She
always spoke of his ghost as some benevolent being, but Dayen knew better. And
letting go of his mate, regardless of the reason, was unacceptable.

           
Mine.
He itched to be near her for the first time, to see her exquisite features
up close and inhale her intoxicating scent. He had a million questions.  What
would her voice sound like? Would her creamy skin be as soft as it looked?

            Would
she like him?

            Restlessness
urged him to his feet. “I must prepare.”

            Cass
gripped his hand even tighter. He frowned and looked down at her. Her eyes had
fogged over to a milky white color, blotting out her irises.

            “She’s
dying,” Cass breathed. Her knuckles turned white as she squeezed his hand.
Dayen had never seen her in the throes of prophesy before but he was sure that
was what this was. Who was she talking about? His stomach turned over at the
thought of his bride to be. There were many out there who didn’t want to see
them united. Wrath coursed through him at the thought of her hurt before he
even met her. She was his to protect, his to defend. If anyone hurt his mate,
he’d annihilate them, even if their final thoughts drove him mad.

Mine.

 He moved so fast the chair behind him toppled
over. Though he wasn’t sure his aunt could hear him he grated, “Who is it,
Cass? Who’s dying?”

Her creepy eyes fixed on nothing he could see
and she responded, “The Earth. And she will take us all with her.”

****

“Borg whore.”

One of the young men spat in Sage’s direction as
she made her way through the great hall in her wedding gown.  Lily, her little
mutt, growled low in her throat and the spitter laughed. His insult didn’t hit
her physically of course, flanked as she was by big Bred guards on either side.
She lifted her chin up high, tugged lightly on Lily’s leash and ignored them
all as she strode to the waiting tunnel vehicle, projecting what her Da had
called the Ice Princess Persona.  His words rang in her ears as if he was still
with her instead of fifteen years buried.
Never let them see you bleed or
they’ll want to see more of it.

He had been right. So tragically right.

Of course, many of the Born humans were unhappy
with her upcoming nuptials. Sage wasn’t all that concerned with her popularity
or public opinion. It wasn’t her job to make them happy. It was her job to make
sure they survived and right now she was failing miserably at it. This wedding
was her last ditch effort to save their dying race. The thought of accepting a
cyborg didn’t terrify her the way it did some other Born women. At least, no
more than the thought of accepting any man into her body.

She’d paid dearly the last time she’d done so.

Sage fought the urge to tug up the low cut
bodice of her gown, which revealed a great deal more of her than what she was
accustomed. It felt as though she’d spill over the scoop-necked bodice at any
moment. The ancient gown, fresh from its hermetically sealed status, looked
brand new. A dazzling white confection that seemed to glow in the darkened
caverns like a lantern in a mine. She had no idea why some long ago ancestor
had saved the nonsensical bit of fabric. It certainly wasn’t suited to life on
Earth, either above or below ground. It provided neither warmth nor proper
coverage. Clothing was for use, not decoration. 

Much like Sage herself. And Lily, who many
present would have slaughtered for a meal if Sage hadn’t decided to take the
dog with her. Pets were a luxury starving people couldn’t afford. But Lily had
been the last gift Da had given her and no way would Sage give her best friend
over to the hoard. She’d renounced enough for them.

Women whispered as she strode past them and Sage
lifted her chin to show them their words didn’t give her a moment’s pause. She’s
seen her reflection in the cracked looking glass, she knew exactly how
ridiculous she appeared. She was tall for a woman and round where most others
were lean.  Her hips and ass and thighs stayed padded, even on the brink of
starvation. The dress concealed nothing, tight as it was, but at least it was
long enough. Her dark hair, which she usually pulled back out of the way, hung
down her back in a straight fall of night against the almost white dress.  She
would have to take pains not to sit on it. If she even could sit, without
bursting from the gown.

Sage looked exactly as an obedient sacrifice
ought to on its way to the slaughter.

Someone fell into step beside her procession and
Lily growled a warning when she saw Uncle Rand, the leader of the colony.

He ignored the dog and said, “You look lovely,
niece.”

“Thank you.” He lied of course, but Rand was big
on formality. He wore his best clothes which were considerably less tattered
than the rest of the rags the Born wore. His dark hair, lightly sprinkled with
gray at the temples was perfectly shorn. He would show the cyborgs not a hint
of his weakness or his desperation.

“Nervous?” Rand assessed her critically with his
cool gray gaze.

Sage fought the urge to fidget under his
scrutiny.  He didn’t care a fig about her feelings one way or another. He only
asked because he didn’t want her to ruin this peace treaty that was the Born’s
only hope for survival. “I know my duty.”

“Must you bring that animal with you?” He
frowned at the dog, whose hackles rose from her collar down to her tail.

 Lily had been a sore spot with him since
negotiations began. But the little dog was Sage’s only condition and she knew
she’d need her best and only friend in the days to come. Honor and duty be
damned, she needed something for herself. All she said was, “I must.”

“Have it your way.” Rand moved toward Otev, the
council member who would see to the exodus of the colony after the wedding. 

“Are you ready, mistress?” The tallest of the
Bred escort asked as they reached the tunnel digger that waited to take them to
the heart of the world. He didn’t have to call her mistress, not now that his
people were free and she could see by the light in his eyes that he knew it.
Lily turned her distaste toward him. The dog was more skittish of men than Sage
herself.

She took one last look around the cavern, at the
faces of the people she’d known all her life. Some stared back with
indifference, more interested in the spectacle than her future. Others didn’t
bother to hide their disgust. It didn’t matter to them that she had no choice,
was just a bargaining chip for Rand and the Borg-Bred coalition. She, a Born
female was about to unite with a cyborg, gifting her mate as heir to their Born
clan.

Sage swallowed as she surveyed the room and accepted
that her well-being meant nothing to any of them. How ironic that she was their
representative, when she didn’t have a friend in the room.

She wished her dear old Da was here today. She
needed his guidance, his soft encouragement to help firm her resolve. Sage was
terribly afraid she would take one look at her “mate” as the cyborgs called it
and run screaming from the hall.

When another man made a lewd gesture she thought
it would serve them all right if she did leave them to rot.

“Yes,” Sage said to the Bred who’d addressed
her. “And my name is Sage. This is Lily. What should I call you?”

“Lewin,” The man’s smile reached his chocolate
brown eyes. And he offered his hand for her pet. Lily sniffed and backed away
hurriedly. The small dog was worthless as a protector.

Lewin straightened up. “I am to be your escort
until the ceremony. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Thank you.” The only thing she needed was to
put something between herself and the loathsome stares of the crowd. Sage
lifted her skirts so she could climb the steps into the tunneler to wait for
her uncle.

The inside was small and cramped. She took in her
surroundings with a glance and slid to the back, trying to stave off terror
when Lewin followed her inside the vehicle. Panic clawed her chest as the big
Bred male encroached on her space but she shut her eyes and concentrated on her
breathing, not allowing her emotions to overrule her good judgment.
They
won’t hurt me, it would violate the treaty.

            Too
bad she hadn’t found a way to reason with her fear. Lily tucked herself against
the back of Sage’s legs in silent support.

“No one here will harm you, little one.” Lewin
said softly.

At first she thought he was reassuring the dog,
but when she opened her eyes she saw that Lewin had focused on her. She
wondered how he knew, if her panic appeared as ugly on the outside as it did in
her heart.

He shifted slightly, clearly trying to give her
more room. “My Only One suffers the same…affliction.  She doesn’t like tight
spaces or to be surrounded by strange males. When we were first freed she lost
consciousness from her fright on the trip below ground. Nothing would soothe
her fear, not even knowing we were to be free.” He was gentle and tactful and
Sage appreciated his discretion.

Talking helped. Something about the low, gentle
cadence of his voice reassured her. “And how is she doing now?”

Lewin smiled again, pride etched across his
features. “She is expecting our second young.”

“Congratulations. I wish you both good health
and fortune.” How odd that this man she’d just met was so decent to her while
the people she sacrificed herself for had nothing but snide remarks to toss her
way.

Lewin opened his mouth to reply but her uncle
appeared and he thought better of it. Smart man. Rand would not like her to be
conversing with a Bred, no matter how innocent or well intentioned. Rand blamed
the Bred for their current predicament.

After her uncle had taken his seat, the pilot
pointed the nose of the tunneler at the ground. Sage closed her eyes and
reached down to stroke Lily’s soft ear.

Here goes everything.

The noise of the machine drilling through the
earth wasn’t enough to drown out the worries that plagued her. Not about the
Bred males or even the confined space, no. Her mind had leapt ahead to meeting
her soon-to-be-husband for the first time.

Though Sage had been present for the
negotiations between the Born and other factions, her intended hadn’t shown up
at the summit. It was strange, almost as though he had no interest in their
union, or the commingling of their people. He’d signed his name to the document
though, the agreement between their people for both the marriage and the merger
of the factions.

When she asked Cormack, the Bred representative,
abut why Dayen wasn’t in attendance his explanation had been vague and
unsatisfying. Uncle Rand had a different take on her future groom’s absence.

“The cyborgs are assessing the level of our
desperation. They wanted to see if we’d been willing to agree without meeting
the man who is to inherit the clan. To see if I’d marry you off to one of their
monstrosities sight unseen.”

Personally Sage thought he was more of a
monstrosity because he hadn’t hesitated or even asked if that was all right
with her.

Strictly speaking, the other factions didn’t
insist on the union. It was the Born that insisted that their leader must have
ties of either blood or marriage to the colony. And since she was the only
female from their line, she was the sacrificial goat.

Stop that. It’s not helping anything.

As much as she resented her role, she couldn’t
see another way for herself or the remaining Born. Without the Bred to do the
work, their numbers had dwindled. People died from starvation or exposure to
the elements. She had nowhere to run, and refusing this merger would have been
an insult to the other factions and a death sentence for those still on the
surface.

The man from the great hall had called her a
Borg whore. Maybe she was, having sold herself in the contract, but that was
the last thing she ever would have wanted. Sage didn’t know how to be a wife. 
She had no female relatives to teach her any of the feminine arts. Her sexual
curiosity had been brutalized out of her, and now even if she’d had someone to
ask, she wouldn’t for fear of dredging up the cesspool of repugnant memory.

What would her new role entail, other than
spreading her legs when the time came and taking him in like a good little brood
mare? Goosebumps broke out over her skin as she imagined it.
Remembered
it. 
A man’s weight on top of her, pinning her to the mattress, touching her
whenever he desired, shoving himself into her, ignoring her cries of pain….

She shuddered at the memory and Lily pressed
against her as their vehicle bounced though the tunnel it created. Her insides
lurched from more than the bumpy ride. If there was anything in her stomach she
might have expelled it.