The Barbarian's Captive (25 page)

“I know, but thanks aren’t necessary, sprite. I’ll always take care of you.” He asked of physic once again, “Now, are we done here?”

“Yes, Princep. I should have the results in the morning.”

“Excellent, I’ll expect to hear from you then.”

Chapter 15

D
azed, and more than slightly confused after the most unusual gynecological exam of her life, Kerr took her home to rest. But as she thought of what might be revealed by the tests, the orgasm fog wore off in a flash. Once again she became worried and anxious, and as she’d told him earlier, about to come out of her skin. A nap wasn’t going to distract her from the thoughts swirling a mile a minute through her mind.

Fortunately, when they walked in to their fourth floor residence, they found Aylan’s wife, Neela, had arrived to take her on an outing. Eva looked hesitantly at Kerr, having only met the woman briefly, once.

“It’s up to you, but before you decide, it’s important to know that Neela has a reputation for being on a first name basis with the most skilled and sought after artisans on the planet. It will be fun, sprite, and might otherwise occupy your mind.”

“First on the agenda: the bakery, then the street market, where you can find anything you could possibly want.” The lively older woman winked outrageously. “Mind you, I didn’t say need, I said
want
. What is your fancy, prima? Jewelry, dresses, shoes? Whatever catches your eye, rest assured the vendors will fawn over you to get to Kerr’s credits.”

“Oh… I, uh…” She shook her head, never a big shopper. As an independent woman for the last decade, she wasn’t sure how she felt about spending his money.

“It’s fine, Eva,” he assured her, with a gentle smile. “You won’t break me with a single trip to the market.”

Neela laughed. “You couldn’t break him with daily trips to the market for an entire annum. His family owns a uladite mine, dear.”

A man of constant surprises, she blinked up at him before giving Neela a nod. Anything was better than relentless introspection and doubts.

As promised, they went first to a small bakery down the street. The heavenly scent of yeast breads, cinnamon, and cookies made her mouth water when they walked in. She couldn’t help but laugh when she didn’t recognize a single thing in the glass cases. She let Neela choose and they spent a whole time cycle — which would always be an hour to her — sampling a variety of blue, pink, and yellow treats.

When she popped a white and yellow swirled confection into her mouth, the taste closely resembled the petite-fours her grandmother always set out at Christmas. The familiar flavor exploded in her mouth, her eyes rolling back while she moaned. “Chocolate. I thought I’d never taste it again.” She reached for another one. The only thing missing was something lemon. A teacake, lemon bar, or her favorite lemon meringue pie would do nicely. “Do you have citrus fruits?”

“I have no inkling what that would be, prima.”

“Call me Eva, please.” She bit her lip. “How do I explain citrus? They are succulent fruits grown on trees in warm climates back on Earth. Some are sweet and others very sour, but they’re so luscious and full of flavor that we squeeze them to make juices.”

“Wait, I think we might have something similar.”

Neela popped up to the counter and returned with what looked like an orange tart. It wasn’t quite what she expected, tasting more like apricot. “It’s good,” Eva told her with a grateful smile.

The next stop was an outdoor street market, much like they had at home, with row upon row of vendors hawking their wares. They spent hours browsing, Eva reluctant to buy, despite Kerr’s encouragement and Neela’s prompting. Leaving her companion haggling with a weaver over the cost of a bolt of sapphire blue silk, she wandered among the booths.

As she was admiring a string of luminous purple hued stones, the merchant came up and began reciting his sales spiel. She glanced up with a smile, prepared to indulge him, but her heart stutter stepped as she caught sight of Kerr exiting a building behind the colorful row of tents. He was laughing, his brilliant smile lighting his face. She raised her hand to wave, stopping short of calling to him when a woman followed him out.

The trader noticed her distraction and turned to see what had drawn her attention.

“The Princep appears very happy these days, prima. We thank you for that.”

She gave him a dubious glance, before shifting back to where Kerr spoke animatedly with the beautiful Primarian woman. In the two weeks she’d known him, he’d never laughed like that, nor smiled so wide, making Eva highly doubtful that having herself as a mate was the source of his newfound happiness. His head angled down as he said something near her ear, prompting the woman to smile up at him and lay her hand on his chest.

They looked good together with midnight hair, deep golden skin, and both of them gorgeous. The woman was the ideal height for Kerr’s tall frame, unlike Eva who was at least six inches shorter than the average Primarian female. He didn’t have to strain his neck to look down at her, or to whisper in her ear — or meet her lips with a kiss.

The image caused a pang of hurt in her chest.

“Who is that female with the Princep?” Eva tried to mask the sharpness in her tone caused by her jealousy.

“That is Zalina. Her mother was the childhood friend of Max Kerr’s late mother. The two of them were practically raised together. They are of an age and rumors say they were once hopeful of being mated. They didn’t match well though, which for our Princep is essential. So, it never came to be. The family line must continue.”

He turned back to the pretty brunette, beaming.

As she suspected all along, their idea of mating was a mercenary business, the males having to settle for a mate based on biology, and duty to their people rather than following their heart. Envious of the connection he apparently shared with the woman from his past, she still saw the unfairness of it all and wondered what it had been like before the asteroid had changed life on Primaria. If not for that, would Kerr and Zalina be mates, matching percentages aside? Sad for them — and the twist of fate that had separated them — she felt sorry for herself too, wondering if he ever longed for what might have been.

“What happens if an incompatible pair fall in love? Are no exceptions made when the heart is involved?”

“In days gone by, concessions were often made. But we cannot risk our survival on whims of the heart, prima Eva.”

Dispirited, she watched as Kerr and Zalina strolled down the street, leisurely, as if in no hurry to be anywhere or to separate. She stiffened when Zalina grasped his arm, tossed her long gleaming hair over one shoulder, and tipped her head to the side, laughing up at him as though what he’d said was the most amusing thing she’d ever heard.

Eva wrinkled her nose as her stomach clenched. Travel the universe far and wide, and some things didn’t change; the woman was blatantly flirting. Kerr didn’t seem to mind although. He didn’t appear to encourage her, nor return her touch, but then he flashed that winning smile, and she realized he didn’t have to. That alone was enough to melt any female’s heart, just as it did hers.

“Everyone is full of excitement that you have been found, prima, despite our shock that an off-worlder would be a near perfect match with one of our own.”

“Near perfect,” Eva repeated, her throat aching. Her misery palpable, she watched the pair move down the sidewalk together, conversing, their smiles interspersed with laughter.

“Yes, word has spread that you matched more than 99.5%, which is incredibly rare.”

Everything revolved around those damned tests, flawed as they were. Then suddenly, like someone had flipped a switch in her brain, the pieces fell into place. The number Jarlan had reported during her exam that had made Kerr smile, wasn’t her temperature as she’d presumed, but a match rating — and evidently she was off the charts.

“We are hopeful of an heir by this time next year.” The merchant continued, lifting his chin toward the purple pearls she still held. “Those will look beautiful against your fair complexion, prima. May I wrap them for you?”

“No, thank you,” she said absently.

Her excitement over the outing had evaporated. Vaguely, she heard him trying to lure her back to see another “lovely piece” but she had already moved on down the row. She didn’t stop further, ignoring the cry of the barkers and the curious eyes as others became alerted to the Prima’s presence, clamoring for a good look.

Needing time alone, to think and calm her jealousy, she stepped between two tents. Without waiting for Neela, she made her way quickly down the sidewalk toward home. She was up the stairs and inside the main corridor in no time. Near the main stairs, she spied Aylan speaking to Kerr and darted down a smaller secondary hallway out of sight. She wasn’t yet up to facing him, nor answering questions about why she was out unattended.

Making her way through the maze of hallways on the active first floor, she found an empty alcove and collapsed on a bench. Out of the main flow of traffic, she took a few minutes to collect herself.

“Trouble in paradise?”

Shock rendered her speechless. It was Eryn. Looking for her mate, Eva scanned the room beyond the woman. “You’re here alone? I had heard…”

“Ram is nearby. He doesn’t trust me not to go apeshit crazy on him and his fellow slavers.”

“Yet you’re out and about? That’s progress, isn’t it?” She felt a brief glimmer of hope before the cynical guard quickly dashed it.

“Progress,” Eryn spat. “The only progress is that I’ve duped him. He thinks he’s fucked me into submission.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m biding my time.”

“For what?”

“I’m not staying here. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going on with my mission.” Eryn sat beside her, gripping her hand tightly as she lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. “I want you to come with me, Eva. The rumors going round are that you haven’t transformed. Before you do, it’s your chance to get out.”

“How?”

“I can’t say, but I’ll come for you when it’s time.”

“Eryn.”

Their heads came up in unison at the sound of the familiar voice. Ram stood at the end of the short hallway. His lavender eyes narrowed with suspicion, before shifting to Eva. “I hate to cut this short, prima, but my mate and I must go. We can arrange another visit sometime soon, however.”

He held out his hand and Eryn dutifully rose to her feet.

“I’d like that, Ram, very soon,” Eva said softly, a subtle emphasis on her last words making the underlying message very clear. As Eryn walked to his side and took his hand, Eva marveled at the abrupt change in the woman’s demeanor. She didn’t know it was possible for Eryn to speak in a modulated tone, let alone do
meek
.

With a last meaningful glance from her shipmate, they were gone.

* * *

D
istressed by the events of the day, Eva went home and up to the garden. She tried to find solace in work, but her mind wouldn’t settle. Distracted, she kept knocking things over, making a mess, and doing nothing for the seedlings that needed a delicate touch during transplanting. After an hour of getting nothing done that wouldn’t need redoing, she gave up and made her way back to the residence. She bypassed their room with the big bed and the bathing pool, places that reminded her too much of him and all of his promises, and curled up on a couch in the lounge staring out at the mountains. The colors that usually seemed so vivid were muted by her somber mood. Lost in her thoughts, she sat still and quiet until she heard the sound of her name from outside the door.

“I’m here.”

Kerr appeared immediately. He looked harried, his hair a dark, tousled cloud around his head as if he’d mussed it with his fingers rather than bother with a comb. “There has been an explosion in one of the mines.” Before she could reply, he’d disappeared back down the hallway. She followed, finding him in the huge closet in their room.

Eva’s hand rose to the door jamb, steadying herself, her heart jumping in her chest, thinking of another harrowing time. She looked at him with concern. He had to be remembering that awful day. “Is anyone hurt?”

“The call just came in. I’ll know more when I get there.” Seated on one of the benches, he pulled on heavy boots and retrieved a pair of thick, sturdy-looking gloves from a shelf, then he was up and striding to the door where she stood. He brushed a kiss against her temple. “I’ll probably be late.”

“Please, be careful,” she called after him as he rushed out.

Crossing to the windows, Eva stared out at the break in the mountains through which several of the mines were accessed. She watched for a long time for signs of trouble; there were no flames or billowing smoke as she’d expected. It looked like a normal cloudless day.

A sound in the hallway made her turn. Thinking it was Kerr returning, she hurried to meet him, shocked to see Eryn striding her way. The woman was flanked by Yolanda and Britha, two of the other guards from the
Odyssey
. All of them were armed.

Robbed of speech, Eva stared at the new arrivals in utter amazement. “How are you here?” she finally choked out.

“They were captured, like us,” Eryn stated plainly. “But instead of hunting them down and carrying them off like barbarians, your king sent a warship. They took control and brought the entire crew here to be mated. I keep telling you, they’re nothing more than slavers.”

Reeling from the news, she staggered back a few steps, laying her hand against the wall to steady herself. As she tried to process what she’d learned, Eva shook her head in disbelief, but she couldn’t deny the two women standing in front of her.

“It’s true,” Britha said. “They used some kind of paralytic gas, boarded us, and took control of our ship.”

“And by doing so,” Yolanda said, rage in her voice. “They doomed our world. Which makes them murderers, too.”