Nadine's Champion: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Icehome Book 8)
Page 18
“No…” My stomach clenches, and not even Thrand’s reassuring hand on the back of my neck makes me feel better. “Why? What’s wrong?”
R’jaal has a thunderous expression on his face. “S’bren and M’tok are missing, as well. They told me they would go night-fishing down by the caves.”
T’chai lifts his head, his face still thin and drawn, his cheekbones far too prominent. “Mari and I just came back from the caves. No one is there at all.”
“Stolen,” Raahosh says in a harsh voice. He crosses his arms over his chest. “They have stolen the females.”
“Here we fucking go again,” Liz agrees.
THE PEOPLE OF ICEHOME
The ‘Castaways’ (Icehome Tribe)
Lauren/Lo – Adult female at the beach camp. Once had glasses. Likes to be a problem solver. Resonates to K’thar, newly pregnant. Friend to Marisol.
Marisol – Terrified adult female at beach camp who is fond of hiding. Gets stranded with Lo on the island. Resonates to T’chai. Due to his sickness, their resonance is ‘turned off’ by the healer.
Hannah – Resonates to J’shel when the island tribes arrive. Newly pregnant. Resident busybody. Now assistant to Veronica.
Angie – Adult female at the beach camp. Pregnant with mystery baby when awoken. Gives birth to Glory (a clone female). Resonates to Vordis. Now pregnant again.
Glory - A qura’aki clone baby, implanted in Angie. Newborn and cute as hell.
Willa – Adult female with a southern twang. Lo’s friend. Gren’s most ardent defender. Resonates to Gren. Pregnant.
Gren (rhymes with HEN) – Beastly, feral ex-gladiator male. Attacks on sight. Resonates to Willa. Soft and fuzzy, according to Aayla.
Veronica – Newest healer on the planet. Resonated to Ashtar upon arrival. Bit of a klutz. Needs to work on her bedside manner. Has enlisted Hannah to be her assistant.
Ashtar (Ash-TARR) – Flirty golden ex-gladiator and former slave. Drakoni male who can shapeshift to a “battle form” as a dragon and has the ability to communicate telepathically. Resonates immediately to Veronica. Stud.
Vordis (Vohr-DISS rhymes with Floor-Miss) – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Longtime friends/brothers with Thrand, another clone. The really devoted one. Hot sauce. Resonates to Angie.
Thrand (rhymes with ‘Bland’ - no one tell him this) – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Longtime friends/brothers with Vordis. The hotheaded, competitive one. Ketchup. Resonates to Nadine.
Tia – Teenager at the beach camp. Flirting with Sessah…and probably everyone else. Treats all the unmated men like they’re her personal harem.
Nadine – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Huntress and go-getter. Resonates to Thrand.
Callie – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Resonated to M’tok. Also hates M’tok. Resonance incomplete.
Bridget – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Friend to Veronica. Hooked up with A’tam. Broke up with A’tam. It’s complicated.
Steph – One of the adult females at the beach camp.
Raven – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Blonde, despite her name. Hippie parents. Likes to sing.
Penny – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Learning to hunt. Human sunshine.
Devi – Chatty adult female at beach camp. Scientist nerd. Hair flipper. Loves dinosaurs. Resonates to N’dek and is newly pregnant.
Flordeliza – Adult female at beach camp. Once a nurse. Kind of a clown.
Samantha – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Really fucking loves being on the ice planet, which no one else can figure out.
From the Old Tribe (Croatoan)
Raahosh (Ruh-HOSH) – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. Messed up horns. Mated to Liz and has 3 daughters, Raashel, Aayla, and now Ahsoka. Generally unpleasant to be around (except to his mate).
Liz – Snarky human mate to Raahosh. Mother to Raashel, Aayla, and newborn Ahsoka. Star Wars nerd. Salty.
Raashel (Ruh-SHELL) - Liz and Raahosh’s oldest daughter. A bit of a tattletale.
Aayla (Ay-LAH) - Liz and Raahosh’s middle child. Fascinated by Gren.
Ahsoka (Uh-soh-kuh) - Liz and Raahosh’s newborn daughter.
Sessah (SESS-uh) – Unmated, lanky, teen sa-khui from Croatoan. Currently dazzled by all the single ladies in Icehome.
Rukh (ROOKH) – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe and ex-outcast. His mate is Harlow. Brother to Raahosh, father to Rukhar and now Daya.
Harlow – Mate to Rukh, mother to Rukhar and newborn Daya. She assists Mardok with technology stolen/looted from the broken ships.
Rukhar (ROOKH-arr) – Harlow and Rukh’s young son.
Daya (DIE—uh) Harlow and Rukh’s newborn daughter.
Farli (FAR-lee) – One of the few sa-khui females. Mated to Mardok and has a pet dvisti named Chompy. Pregnant.
Mardok (Mar-DOCK) – Ex-soldier who has chosen to remain on the ice planet. Technology guru. Mated to Farli.
Taushen (Tow (rhymes with cow)-SHEN) – Hunter and mate to Brooke. Recently arrived at Icehome camp.
Brooke – recently mated to Taushen. Hairdresser back on Earth, recently arrived at Icehome camp. Will braid anyone that sits still for more than five minutes. Pregnant.
The Island Clans
Clan of the Strong Arm
K’thar (Kuh-THARR) – Hunter, de-facto leader of Strong Arm, resonates to Lauren/Lo. Owner of Kki/Fat One.
J’shel (Juh-SHELL) – Young hunter of Strong Arm, resonates to Hannah. Very cheerful. Long braid. Dirty talker.
N’dek (Nuh-DECK) – Hunter of Strong Arm, recently lost a leg in a kaari attack. No longer depressed and sitting around the fire a lot. Resonated to Devi and has prosthetic leg.
I’chai (Eye-shy) – deceased female, mother of Z’hren
Z’hren (ZRENN) – Orphaned child of Strong Arm, now child of Gail and Vaza
Fat One/Kki (KUH-kee) – nightflyer pet of the clan
Gail – adopted parent of Z’hren, older human female, once of Croatoan.
Vaza – adopted parent of Z’hren, older sa-khui male, once of Croatoan
Clan of the Tall Horn
R’jaal (Arr-JAHL) – Clan leader of Tall Horn. Kinda lonely.
T’chai (Tuh-SHY) – Hunter of Tall Horn, resonates to Marisol. He is attacked by skyclaw on the island and nearly killed. His wounds get infected and he nearly dies, so the healer stops his resonance.
M’tok (Muh-TOCK) – Hunter of Tall Horn, resonates to Callie. She pretty much hates his guts.
S’bren (Suh-BRENN) – Hunter, brother to M’tok. Means well. Still pretty clueless about women and currently hung up on Penny.
Clan of the Shadowed Cat
I’rec (I WRECK) – Clan leader. Kind of a shit-stirrer.
O’jek (Oh-JECK) – Hunter. Quiet.
A’tam (Uh-TAMM) – Hunter, said to be the handsomest on the island. Currently messed up over Bridget.
U’dron (Ooh-DRONN) – Hunter. Fisher. All around sporty type. Plays a mean drum.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Hello there!
First of all, I KNOW. Cliffhanger! Some of you are thinking ‘what the hell, Ruby Dixon?’ It IS a cliffhanger, yes, but the couple’s story is resolved, so this isn’t a REAL cliffhanger. It’s a…soft one.
(Heh heh, soft.)
Don’t worry! Next month, we’re diving right into Callie and M’tok, and then after that, Penny and S’bren, so you’ll get answers very quickly, I promise. I wouldn’t be that cruel to you! My current goal is to do hit these three connected stories and then catch up on other things (dragons, IPB). Right now I’m really enjoying being back with the Icehome tribe, though.
Speaking of the tribe…I get a lot of messages asking about Marisol and T’chai. They’ll be featured more in upcoming books, but there’s definitely more to their story. See, I had this brilliant idea that I’d introduce everyone from the get-go so you could get to know the
m as people. It works great in concept, but execution is a juggling act for sure. It also means some characters get their moment in the spotlight sooner than others. I promise you I haven’t forgotten about anyone! In fact, they’re mentioned in the next book…
But let’s talk about Nadine and Thrand! I loved this pairing because Thrand is, well, he’s a bit much at times. ;) He needed a heroine who had no time for his bullshit and didn’t need to depend on him. I thought Nadine, the fledgling huntress, was perfect. She’s self-sufficient and doesn’t want anyone doing shit for her, so they’re a perfect pairing. Someone softer like Sam or even Angie wouldn’t do well with him. He’d run roughshod over them because he only has one speed: full blast. But Nadine is level-headed and practical and she’s a good balance for his ultra-competitiveness.
She’s also lonely. I haven’t gone into too much detail about family and what our castaways are leaving behind on Earth, because everyone processes grief differently. Some aren’t missing Earth at all (Devi, Sam) and some are really, really struggling to figure out what the future holds (Callie). Nadine struggles with being sad, but with an entire tribe of sad people, grieving just feels kinda selfish because of course everyone’s sad at what they left behind. In Thrand, she feels she can unburden herself, and that’s key to her bonding with him.
And of course, Old Grandfather is back. I know he should be Old Grandmother, but for continuity’s sake, I kept the name as Old Grandfather. Maybe our erstwhile hatchling will show up in future books, or maybe he’ll spawn an entire camouflaging line of skyclaw to torment the next generation. We shall see!
One more housekeeping note I’ve been asked: does the cootie pick the mate or does the mate fall in love and influence the cootie? The answer is…both? The cootie/khui will always look for the best genetic match up to propagate the strongest species. That being said, there is research out there that suggests that happy people in love are healthier overall, so I like to think that might affect a khui as well. Parasites like happy endings, too! ;)
Until next month! <3
Ruby
WANT MORE RUBY DIXON ?
Here are a few of my suggested backlist reads for whatever you’re in the mood for! All are Kindle Unlimited. Happy reading!
Want to start Icehome from the beginning?
Lauren’s Barbarian
Veronica’s Dragon
Willa’s Beast
…or start from the VERY VERY beginning?
Ice Planet Barbarians
Or maybe you’re feeling like epic fantasy romance?
The King’s Spinster Bride
Bound to the Battle God
Whatever it is you’re in the mood for, enjoy!