Ronan

by Leslie Chase

  Becca shook her head. “They’re not speaking Eskel now. I think that’s their religious language or something, not all of them speak it. Anyway, I think this is a local language, and I’ve got no clue.”

  She was right, I realized as I listened. Even I could tell the difference between the languages, the stuttering pops of Eskel and the sibilant sounds they spoke now.

  The confrontation got more and more heated, and I considered taking the chance to make a break for safety. My claws would cut the leather tying the cage shut, and we might make it to the trees before they noticed we’d escaped. But then what?

  On my own, I’d risk it. The forests here were unfamiliar to me, but I’d hunted on a hundred worlds. The locals would be fast, I’d be faster, and if any caught up with me I’d kill them. Or I’d die trying, and I had no fear of dying in battle.

  But Becca? My human mate had no experience of such things. The soft, beautiful, wonderful body of my khara was not suited to a life-or-death chase through unfamiliar ground.

  If it comes to it, I’ll carry her, I decided, knowing that it would not be enough. If we fled together we would be caught, and by too many zrin to fight. No, we had to stick to the plan and talk our way out — or at least wait for a better chance to flee, one where we wouldn’t be missed for hours.

  “We can talk to some of them,” Becca said, reaching out to touch my arm. “We’ll work something out with whoever comes out on top of the argument.”

  A smile tugged at my lips as I understood — she was trying to comfort me. My beloved didn’t want me to worry about her. I put my hand on hers, then pulled her close into a powerful kiss.

  “I will keep you safe,” I promised her as our lips separated. “No matter what happens here, I will protect you.”

  A silence outside the cage drew my attention. The argument was over, it seemed, and Kazzik didn’t look happy with the result. He stomped off, a pair of warriors following him.

  Three of the other aliens approached, spears in hand. Becca squeezed my hand as she turned to greet them. Their leader smiled, baring sharp teeth in an unpleasant grin, and spoke.

  18

  Becca

  “Kazzik says that you may be greater than the sky king,” the newcomer sneered. “I say that’s blasphemy, and we should slay you before the sky king returns from his meditations. I am Zorzaz, in charge while the sky king meditates.”

  He wore a similar outfit to Kazzik’s, complete with wireframe crown and a holstered stun carbine. But Zorzaz was the one who’d stayed behind to protect Korhmar while Kazzik was out hunting, so I guessed he was the more influential of the two.

  He drew a prytheen knife from his belt as he looked us over and Ronan tensed beside me. One of his blades, then: Zorzaz was threatening us with a weapon he’d stolen from us.

  I tried to meet his eyes with confidence. “You won’t like the results if you kill us.”

  “Oh?” Zorzaz drew a thumb along the metal blade, apparently fascinated by it. “And why not?”

  Okay, I needed a good reason. Ronan’s plan left my mind — this wasn’t the zrin to try and turn against Korhmar, at least not right now. Maybe Kazzik would listen, he seemed shaken by our arrival — but Zorzaz liked his place as Korhmar’s enforcer too much for him to switch sides.

  A sadistic grin spread across his face as I hesitated. No, he wasn’t going to help us. He wanted to frighten, hurt, and kill. Working for Korhmar gave him all of that. My resolve hardened and I realized the line I had to take.

  “The sky king won’t be happy if you judge us without waiting for him,” I said, watching for the telltale flinch. There! Zorzaz was frightened of a bigger bully, and Korhmar had established himself. Perhaps there was a way to bring him to our side if I played on that fear.

  “What will he do to you if you act without his permission?” I asked. He flinched again, glancing aside at the guards he’d brought. They stared at us, incurious and uncomprehending. Not everyone here spoke Eskel.

  “He has given me full authority to act in his stead,” Zorzaz hissed. “I can gut you for your insolence.”

  He didn’t like being contradicted, I realized, and his anger might get the better of him. I was playing a dangerous game, though so was he. If he tried anything, I was certain that he wouldn’t live through the attack. Ronan would see to that.

  The anger burning in Zorzaz’s eyes didn’t look rational though. I’d frightened him, and a frightened bully might lash out rather than give in. I needed more.

  “Kill us and Korhmar will gut you too,” I told him, stepping closer, challenging him. Ronan tensed, ready to move, to defend me. His strong, powerful presence at my side steadied me, made me feel safe in a way I’d never had before I’d met him.

  Before, it would never have occurred to me to try something like this.

  The zrin towered over me. Between us, the wooden bars were far enough apart that he’d be able to reach through. If he decided to kill me, one spear thrust was all it would take.

  “You don’t want to get between the two of them,” I said quietly. “Ronan’s the one who injured your ‘sky king’, and Korhmar will want to take his revenge personally when he wakes. If you take that from him…”

  I trailed off, leaving the threat unspoken. Whatever he imagined would be worse than anything I thought up.

  Zorzaz hissed in frustration, but I saw the fear in his eyes and knew I’d scored a hit. He wrestled with his emotions as I stared up at him, not giving an inch.

  Everything happened too quickly for me to follow. I almost saw Zorzaz’s arm move, and then I was on my back on the cage floor. My shoulder hurt where Ronan had pulled me back, Zorzaz clutched his wrist and howled, and Ronan roared a challenge.

  A punch, I realized. Zorzaz wouldn’t kill us now, but he could still hurt me. Or so he’d thought until he met the fury of the prytheen warrior defending me. Guards leveled spears at Ronan’s chest but Zorzaz shouted at them, calling them off.

  For a moment no one moved. Then Zorzaz backed away, snarling empty threats at Ronan as he and his men withdrew. I relaxed: he wouldn’t risk our deaths now.

  Great. That would keep us alive long enough for Korhmar to recover. Given what Korhmar would do to us when he woke up, though, I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

  Alone again, Ronan and I looked at each other. I filled him in quickly, his rugged face hardening as I repeated Zorzaz’s threats. Ronan’s hands flexed, shooting a glare into the heart of the camp.

  When I finished, he sat in silence for a long moment before nodding decisively.

  “I will kill him,” he said. It wasn’t a threat. The hard certainty in his voice was something else entirely.

  “You can’t,” I said, grabbing his shoulder. Ronan looked as though he might burst into action at a moment’s notice. “You can’t take them all on, you’ll die.”

  He turned his head to look at me, a lopsided smile unconvincing under the anger in his eyes. “Khara, he threatened you. I do not care what happens to me, I will kill him for that. No one threatens you and lives.”

  I swallowed, not knowing what to do with that. A blush spread across my cheeks but I refused to let it distract me.

  “Ronan, you can’t risk it,” I told him, putting a hand on his chest. The strong beat of his heart under my palm gave me strength and the connection steadied us both. “We have to get word of this back to the colony. There’s a whole other intelligent species on the planet.”

  “A species who want to kill us,” he pointed out, though the murderous rage faded from his eyes.

  “Who have contact with space,” I said back, not letting him derail me. “Whatever signal that temple sent, it’s sent now. Someone’s listening to the zrin, and the colony needs to know about that. It’s more important than either of us.”

  “No,” Ronan said, shaking his head firmly and reaching down to brush my cheek. “Nothing is more important than your life, khara. The Joint Colony can burn if it saves you.”

  I swal
lowed. He’d give up everything for me, I saw that in his eyes, felt it in his touch. The gentle power of his fingers on my cheek, the thump of his heart, they filled me with a mix of joy and sadness. How long could we possibly last together?

  Part of me answered ‘forever’ without a single hesitation. The more rational part looked at the cell, remembered the angry zrin outside it, and doubted we’d live a day. If we were lucky we’d survive until Korhmar woke, but no longer.

  A day in Ronan’s arms is worth living, I thought. Stepping closer, I rested my head against him. His arm slipped around my shoulders and held me close.

  “Ronan, khara, beloved,” I whispered, tears welling in my eyes. “I want to be with you more than anything, but we came here to do something important. We can’t abandon that.”

  The growl that vibrated through his chest shook me and his grip tightened. We held each other wordlessly for a moment and then he sighed.

  “No choice then,” he said. “We leave.”

  “There’s no way I’ll reach the flier,” I protested. “You’ve seen me travel, and I’m already exhausted.”

  And there’s no certainty that the flier will even work, I reminded myself, remembering my botched landing and the river carrying it away. The longer Ronan had to work on repairs, the better his odds were. I shook my head. “You have to go alone. You can make it on your own — I’d just slow you down.”

  He shook his head, expression stern. “We will leave in the dead of night. Slow and stealthy. We will reach the flier before they notice we’ve escaped.”

  Wishful thinking. There was no way to control how soon they’d find out we’d left, how quickly they’d start to chase us. And once they were on our trail, we wouldn’t have long.

  Ronan knew all that, but he didn’t care. Convincing him to leave me behind was out of the question. My heart pounded as I took his hand in mine, the strange yet familiar texture of his alien skin making me tingle.

  I had to try. It might be impossible, but I couldn’t let this man get himself killed for me.

  “I can’t run, I can’t see in the dark as well as you,” I told him, wishing I didn’t have to have this argument. “So fine, we can try to sneak out together. But if that goes wrong—”

  When that goes wrong, I meant, but I couldn’t say it aloud.

  “—if that goes wrong, you go on alone. Promise me?”

  Ronan stared at me as though I’d gone mad.

  “I’ll carry you if I must,” he said, lifting me with casual strength to show how easy it would be. The sound that escaped me was half-sob, half-laugh.

  “You can carry me a long way, big guy, but can you sneak your way through the jungle while you’re doing it? Can you run? Fight the hunters they’ll send after you?”

  “Yes,” he said simply. “If I must.”

  “No. We can’t both make it. You have a better chance on your own.”

  “I will not abandon you to die!” His protest was firm, implacable. I glared at him, trying to harden my heart. It hurt to argue with Ronan, hurt me deep in my soul, but it wasn’t just the only way to get word to the colony. It was the only way to save him.

  And that mattered to me more than I was willing to admit. I’d only met Ronan a few days earlier, but in that time he’d become the most important person in my life. The idea of losing him was worse than any argument could be. So I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

  “Maybe I will die, maybe I won’t,” I said, marshaling my words and choosing them carefully. “You’re the one who shot Korhmar, remember? Not me. And prytheen attacked the sky temple, not humans — the zrin don’t have reason to be angry with me, either. I have a better chance to survive here than you would. All I need to do is stay alive until you come back. Tell the colony what’s happened, get a rifle and some backup, and rescue me.”

  His eyes narrowed, and I saw his doubts written across his rugged face. Ronan knew exactly what I was doing — but I’d been careful. Every word was true, even if my conclusion was bullshit.

  “It will take days to get to the Joint Colony and back with help,” Ronan said. “Even if Auric lets me return for you.”

  “He will,” I said, focusing on the part of his argument that I had an answer for. “Even if he doesn’t, I know you. You’ll steal the flier if he doesn’t give it to you.”

  Ronan’s laugh came unwilling, but it came just the same. I smiled back. Neither of us was happy with how this plan was developing, but it was the best I had.

  With a sigh, Ronan put me down and turned away, looking out of our cell into the shadow-dappled forest. I put my hand on his back, offering what comfort and support I could but staying silent. At this point he needed to make up his own mind: I’d said my piece and he knew how I felt.

  “It might work,” he admitted unhappily. “Maybe they’ll spare you. Still a lot of luck involved.”

  I nodded. “You’re due some good luck, though.”

  “Hah.” It didn’t sound much like a laugh. “Nothing that takes me from your side is ‘good luck,’ my khara.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I silently slipped my arms around him and held tight. It sounded like he’d started to accept my plan, so why did I feel so empty? Winning an argument shouldn’t hurt.

  Ronan’s powerful hands gripped my own, squeezing. We stood in silence for a minute, and then he pulled away. Gentle but irresistible strength parted my embrace.

  He turned to me with a sad smile and wiped a tear from my eye. I hadn’t realized why my vision had blurred until he did that.

  “Becca, my khara, we should not waste this time on sadness,” he said. “I will not have this memory be one of tragedy when we should think of each other with joy.”

  He didn’t say it would be our last memory of each other, but that hung over his sentence like a thundercloud. The odds of him making it to the flier weren’t great. The odds of me surviving here till he returned, worse. I sucked in a deep breath, held it as I counted to three, and let it out.

  No, I didn’t want his last memory of me to be a sad one. I smiled as best I could and jumped up at him.

  He caught me easily. My arms and legs wrapped around him as our lips met for a kiss, and the hungry passion of it surprised me. I let it wash away the fear, the pain, the anger, and Ronan’s hungry growl told me he’d done the same.

  Hands tugged at my clothes as he bore me to the ground. I pulled at his leather straps, still fumbling with the catches but getting them open. I almost managed to laugh at the irony: we’d learned the secrets of each other’s clothing just in time for the last time we’d need it.

  Ronan’s leathers fell away as he undressed me, sure and swift hands caressing me and unzipping my clothes. A moan escaped my lips and I shuddered as he stripped me, and soon we held each other, skin to skin, naked. His cock pressed to me, hard and firm, and my body ached to have it inside me again.

  Ronan’s body moved against mine, making my heart race, and I squirmed under him as he kissed his way down my body. His hungry mouth, his eager tongue, his sharp teeth, all lit my body up with a flame of passion. Suddenly I didn’t care if the aliens were watching.

  This might be my last night with Ronan. Nothing outside of that mattered.

  He parted my legs with easy strength, claws grazing the inside of my thighs, and my body arched under him. I groaned, fingers gripping his hair, my pussy wet and ready as his mouth found it. My breathing came in quick pants as he licked and kissed me, spreading my pussy lips, rough tongue dancing over my clit.

  The orgasm hit me almost at once, earth-shattering in its intensity. I howled and bucked under him and felt him chuckle, the sound vibrating through me. Gasping for air I drew him to me, pulled him up my body.

  With a hungry growl, he thrust forward. His cock, hard as iron, drove into me, buried itself deep in my sex. I shuddered, pulling him closer, wanting more, always more. His thrusts rocked me, pressed me into the hard ground, and each one went a little deeper. A little further
.

  Breath caught in my throat as I squeezed him and with a roar of triumph he brought me over the edge into another orgasm that rocked my world. He came with me, filling me as we clung to each other in a timeless moment that we both wished would last forever.

  It couldn’t, though. Eventually we collapsed into each other’s arms, spent and panting. I rested my head on his chest and he stroked my hair as we held onto the afterglow for as long as possible.

  The village was finally silent and dark, though I worried there might be hidden sentries watching us. Still, we would never get a better chance. Ronan’s claws flicked through the leather that bound the cage shut and we were free.

  He made no sound as he slipped out, deep blue skin vanishing into the darkness. I followed as quietly as I knew how, cursing every little noise I made. The village seemed empty, silent, doors blending seamlessly with the trees and rocks into which they were built. Zrin guarded the crashed flier, stolen flashlights illuminating the clearing around them, but aside from them no one was visible.

  No shouts of alarm followed us as we made our way out of the village. If a sentry was supposed to be on watch, he’d doubtless be in trouble in the morning. I started to feel like we might make it.

  As though that summoned him, a door set between two rocks swung open and Zorzaz stepped into my path, a flashlight in one hand.

  Fuck, I thought, despairing. I jinxed it.

  Zorzaz stared at me, as surprised as I was, and for a moment no one moved. He recovered first, snatching a knife from his belt with an evil grin. Why call out an alarm when he had the chance to kill me all to himself? No one would argue if he killed me while I tried to escape.

  I bit back a terrified squeal, scrambling away, certain I wouldn’t get out of his reach in time. That wickedly sharp blade darted forward…

  Ronan’s hand reached around Zorzaz’s neck from behind, claws extended, and sliced the zrin’s throat. With his free hand he caught the falling body and I lunged forward to catch the flashlight before it hit the ground.