Kalen: Warlord Brides (Warriors of Sangrin Book 2)

by Nancey Cummings

  That couldn’t be right. The child would grow scared of her shadow and reliant on the soothing of others, never learning to soothe herself.

  Kalen frowned, rubbing a hand across his chest. He didn’t know why he was concerned about what long term coping habits the child learned. The warlord may order her destruction at any time. It was foolish to grow attached.

  “Are you my parents now?” The child spoke in Suhl, hissing tones drifting out the door. It was unnerving.

  “We’ll see. Good night, Esa.” Meridan responded in her native English which the child understood but had not yet spoken. She emerged from the room, a wistful smile on her face.

  Kalen frowned. “You should not make promises of that nature to the child.”

  “So she’s a child now. No longer an ‘it’?”

  He followed her into their bedroom. “There is much we do not know about her.”

  “We know enough.” She sat on a bench and took off her boots. “Thank you for buying us extra time, by the way. That was kind of you.”

  “It was not kind. It was logical.”

  Meridan rolled her eyes. “Logical or not, thank you for not advocating to kill an innocent child.”

  He did not like the direction her thinking headed. “We do not yet know if she is dangerous. Be careful, wife, and try not to grow attached.”

  “Why? Because of her party trick?”

  “That was not a party trick.” Teleportation without the use of a machine. The ability was disturbing. An abomination. Yes, Mylomon could teleport through solid objects but he was Mahdfel and, ultimately, loyal to his clan. A Terran child would lack the discipline to control herself. She put herself and the entire clan in danger.

  “She’s a child and needs a family. Her own clan.”

  “Do not attach yourself—” Unsure how to finish his warning, he let the words hang between them. “I know my words sound cruel, but I love you and do not want you hurt.”

  “She’s an innocent.”

  “She’s unknown.” He noticed she did not return his expression of love. Since confessing his emotions, she had not reciprocated. She said nothing. Yes, she held his hand. Yes, she smiled sweetly. But she did not love him. She accepted his claim but still had doubts about his ability as a mate. This upset him more than her harping about the Terran child.

  “Kalen—” Frustration crept into her voice. She gripped a boot in her hand, as if trying to decide if she should throw it or not. “This is important to me. I don’t want to tell you the decision to make, but please consider my request. This is important.”

  “The safety of my clan is important to me.” This clan took him in. True, he’d had to fight to earn their respect but that was true of any clan. This was his clan and his first obligation.

  Her shoulders sagged, worn down from the circular argument. “She’s just a child. She didn’t ask to be taken from her family. To have… whatever those lizards did to her. She needs someone to protect her because no one ever has.”

  He finally understood. His wife had been attacked by the Suhlik as a child. They destroyed her home, her mother, and for many years, her ability to have offspring. But she’d had others to protect her: her father, her sister, and even the warrior who pulled her away from the Suhlik attacking her. She would always protect any child she deemed as needing it, because she’d received the same protection when she had needed it. That was her compassion.

  “I was a simple minded male for not understanding, wife.” He sat on the bench and gathered her into his lap. She fit perfectly in his arms and did not squirm too much. He nuzzled her neck and shoulder, his lips brushing against the vivid red claiming mark. His mark.

  “Don’t try to distract me with sex again,” she murmured.

  “Is that what I’m doing?” A hand went under her shirt, cupping a breast and rolling her perfect rosy nipples between his forefinger and thumb. She moaned a little in protest but did not remove his hand. She reached for his horns, rubbing at the base. She did not fight fair, his spirited female. Was any male as fortunate as he?

  “She is a victim of the Suhlik, much as you were,” he said. “Since it means so much to you, I will examine the information from the research facility and learn what I can. I will fix her as I fixed you.”

  Meridan stiffened.

  “Fixed me?”

  She pulled away.

  “You fixed me?”

  Her tone was not the playful sarcasm she enjoyed but the angry sarcasm that preceded an argument. His efforts to placate his mate had backfired.

  “There was nothing wrong with me, Kalen. I wasn’t broken. And there’s nothing wrong with Esa.” She stomped to the bed, yanked a blanket, and thrust it at him. “You’re sleeping in the common room tonight.”

  “Wife—”

  “No! You don’t get to call me that.”

  “But you are my wife.” She was irrational.

  “I’m only your wife because you fixed me, you purple bastard. You said you wanted me but I guess you really wanted an improvement project.” She shoved at his chest. Irrational female. She had to have known that she was not strong enough to move him. Frustrated, she yelled and shoved again.

  “You will injure yourself, female.”

  “Get out! I’m trying to get you out of the room!”

  “This is my room in my quarters.”

  “This is our room and we’re fighting, so get out.” She pushed again. He complied and walked backwards to the door.

  “You get possession of our quarters when we argue?” That didn’t seem accurate.

  She threw a pillow, hitting him squarely in the face.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Meridan

  The door chimed.

  “What do you want?” Meridan crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, blocking Kalen’s entry.

  To his credit, he did not try to talk his way in or push past. Or kiss her passionately, press her against the wall and tear her clothes off.

  Was it wrong to be a little disappointed?

  “The Warlord requires you to return to the surface.”

  “Not interested.”

  A hard look settled on Kalen’s face. “The Warlord does not care if you are interested. It is an order.”

  “I’m a civilian, not one of his warriors.”

  “You are part of the clan.” He held out a white and red flex-armor suit like it was viper that might strike him.

  Meridan’s gaze went from his face to the armor and back again.

  “Kalen!” Esa ran at him full force. Meridan stepped out of the way just in time to avoid a collision. Esa wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing as if she feared she’d never see him again. “Are we rescuing Watson?”

  The girl peered up at him, eyes wide and hopeful.

  Kalen looked towards Meridan, beseeching her for help. She snatched the flex-armor from his hands.

  “We are!” Esa danced around excitedly.

  “We retrieve data only,” he said. Esa’s dancing ceased, shoulder slumped. He crouched down to look her in the eyes. “The planet’s surface is dangerous. I wish for you to remain safe onboard the Judgment. I wish that for you both.” He lifted his eyes to Meridan’s. “But I will obey the Warlord.”

  Subtle.

  “Why me?” Meridan asked. She stripped quickly to undergarments and tugged up the flex-armor. “Someone needs to stay with Esa.”

  “We must sift through the data quickly,” Kalen said. “We require your expertise on Terran biology to help separate relevant data from the irrelevant.”

  Right. The big bad aliens wouldn’t know Terran anatomy if they found a data file. “Couldn’t you just copy everything?”

  He shook his head. “Many Suhlik computer networks are wired to self destruct. We will only have a few minutes, maybe moments, to gather the research.”

  “Sure, do it the hard way,” Meridan grumbled as she zipped up the red and white suit. “Do not think I’m not pissed at you. Because I am.�
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  “Another idiom.”

  “I’m serious, Kalen. I’ll go to the surface because the warlord ordered it but we’re still fighting.” Another trip to the surface gave her a chance to locate Daisy.

  Mercy had agreed to watch Esa while she and Kalen went to the planet’s surface. Babysitting. That was not a problem Meridan had ever thought she’d have. It made her wonder how she and Kalen would cope if Esa became a permanent fixture in their lives. Of course she wanted her. Meridan couldn’t imagine the girl going with another couple. Or allowing anyone else to take her away. Esa was hers. The moment Esa had fallen asleep holding her hand, Meridan belonged to her.

  They’d make room for Esa. There was no other way. Kalen might need convincing but he’d come around. He tried to act all gruff and serious, but Meridan caught him smiling when Esa sang a funny little song to the teddy bear.

  Stay focused. Still mad.

  Back at the shuttle bay, events replayed themselves as they prepared to launch, only this time Paax and Seeran joined their crew, not Daisy.

  “Is a retrieval team being sent for Daisy and Mylomon?” How much time and opportunity would she have to locate Daisy?

  “They’ve already been dispatched,” the warlord said, easing into a seat. “Do not trouble yourself.”

  Too late for that. The Mahdfel were all about their “brothers” and the “clan” but they failed to understand the bond sisters shared. Meridan would always worry about her baby sister. They could be old and grey and she would still worry. She’d probably worry even more.

  The order came to strap themselves in, followed by a smooth disembarking from the battle cruiser. Several minutes into the journey, a transmission came through. “We have a problem.” Meridan recognized Mercy’s voice. “Esa is gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?” Meridan asked immediately. She was already unbuckling her harness and moving to the central comm unit, as if proximity would add clarity to the message.

  “She’s not here. We laid down for a nap and she’s not here. The computer says she’s not on the Judgment.”

  “Computer,” Kalen said, “locate the Terran known as Esa.” Meridan was already moving to a storage compartment.

  “The Terran Esa is located on Medical Shuttle Alph,” came the sterile reply.

  Meridan slid open the access panel. Esa was huddled in the dark storage compartment. Her face lifted, chin firm and not fearing reprimand. This girl would be a handful in her teenage years.

  “You left me.”

  Kalen

  Meridan strapped Esa into a seat between Kalen and herself. When the girl had realized she would not be punished for stowing away, she smiled brightly. “Watson needs me. We’re going to rescue him.”

  The warlord raised an eyebrow, smirking at Kalen, who could only rub the base of his horns in frustration. What could he do? Turn the shuttle around? Lose the brief window they had to land on the surface safely? Even if they did return to the Judgment, with Esa’s… abilities, she’d just be able to teleport back onto the ship. They couldn’t stop her from coming.

  Her stuffed companion animal needed rescuing. Kalen smiled at the notion. Terrans were wildly emotional, letting sentiment shape decisions, their will fierce.

  Meridan caught him smiling like a fool and narrowed her eyes.

  Ah, so she was still upset about the words they’d spoke last night. And rightly so. His words were hurtful.

  “I did not want this.”

  He would have never expressed that idea to Meridan because it was not true. They were said hurriedly and in frustration. Yet, they were also true to some degree. This is what he desired, just not how. He did not want Meridan to be injured, to have her physical self altered, and to be forced into a match. But it had happened, whether it was how he wanted to be matched or not, it happened.

  He wanted all of Meridan. All of her smiles, kisses, cries of joy and passion, even the sobbing cries of sorrow. Everything she would share with him, he would accept without hesitation, even her basic human compassion.

  It was not basic. It was endless. Had she not demonstrated this time and again?

  Because she found the good in so many.

  Because she helped so many.

  Because she hadn’t given up on him.

  His tattoo burned. With a frown, he scratched his chest in a fruitless gesture as the exo-armor prevented any relief.

  That was why she was angry. That was why they’d argued. She cared for him. She cared enough to keep pushing forward, pushing him forward. She did not say she loved him, but she showed him.

  Meridan was his. All that was hers was his. She claimed Esa as her own. Esa was his female child.

  Daughter.

  Another fruitless scratch against his armor. So curious.

  Was he not a strong enough male to provide for his mate and the ever expanding flock of little ones her endless compassion would surely collect?

  He grunted, decided. Meridan was fortunate her mate had a strong back. She could foster all the foundlings and he would provide.

  Meridan

  The shuttle landed near the research facility. The warlord deemed it unwise to leave the child by herself, so she came with the team. Paax delivered a stern lecture about the proper behavior for a warrior and to always obey her warlord. She nodded, eyes wide.

  The lecture vanished from her mind as soon as she exited the shuttle.

  “We’re going to rescue Watson!” She bounced alongside Meridan, swinging her arms as she walked. No armor. No helmet. No gloves. Not even study boots. If they encountered a Suhlik, the girl was toast.

  “How does a warrior behavior,” Paax snapped at her.

  “With dignity.”

  “And silence. When we go inside, you must remain silent. Can you do that, little one?”

  She nodded, eyes wide again. Perhaps she would remember this time.

  The facility was much the same as when they had left. Esa shadowed Meridan’s steps. They traveled down, into the belly of the facility and finally stopped in a room filled with computer terminals.

  Seeran sat at a terminal and waved Meridan over. “Once I’m in, we’ll only have a few minutes. Tell me if a file looks correct.”

  “I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

  “Something about the little one.” He shrugged. “It should be obvious. The Suhlik as not very creative about naming things.”

  Right. A non-creatively name file about a little human girl who could teleport. Should be obvious.

  The lights in the room changed color from white to blue.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “We have company.” Paax drew his sword. “Stay,” he commanded and went into the corridor.

  Esa tugged at Meridan’s hand. “Meri-dan,” she said in that funny way of hers.

  “What is it?”

  “Watson needs me.”

  “We’ll find him on the way out.”

  “No. He needs me now.”

  Meridan looked down at Esa’s innocent face and then back at the computer screen. “How close are you?”

  “I’m in. I don’t see anything labeled Esa or five. I’m open to suggestions, Kalen’s female.”

  “Look for something labeled Watson.”

  “You think?” Seeran asked. They only had a minutes and she only had a wild hunch. “Huh. There is something.”

  Esa tugged on her hand, trying to drag her away. Sounds of conflict rang out in the hall. “We have to go now.”

  “One minute.”

  “No!” The child flickered away, out of her grasp. She skipped towards the door and then disappeared.

  “We have a situation,” Meridan said on the comm unit. “Esa is off looking for her Watson.”

  The warlord barked unflatteringly things. Kalen said, “The Suhlik are here. I count five. Six.”

  “I got it,” Seeran said, pushing himself from the terminal.

  Paax shouted orders from the corridor. They retreated to the s
huttle. Meridan stood still in shock. Esa was missing and they weren’t going to search for her. They would retreat and abandon her.

  Seeran rapped a knuckle on her shoulder. “With me.”

  “We have to find Esa.”

  “We will,” he said.

  “Swear to me.” This damn planet. First Daisy. Now Esa. Every trip to the surface took another person from her.

  He paused, his gaze shifting to the combat in the corridor. “I swear to you, Kalen’s female, we will find your child.”

  Once the warriors cleared the corridor, they pushed upstairs. Meridan had a vague idea that Esa had returned to the room in which she had been found. Messages came over the comm unit. More Suhlik were arriving.

  “You think we have something they want?” Kalen asked.

  The warlord grunted. “They are attempting to prevent us from leaving.” He turned to Meridan. “It is the child they want.”

  “We have to find her,” Meridan said. “We can’t let those… those monsters take her.” Not sweet Esa.

  Once on the main floor, the unit moved with caution.

  A girl’s scream pierced the silence.

  Kalen pulled Meridan back. “Let me go. She needs us.”

  “She needs you to remain safe. Stay at the back of the party,” he ordered.

  Quickly the party moved through the corridor, sweeping each intersection and jogging to the next. Finally, they arrived. The room where they discovered Esa waited at the end of the corridor.

  The girl appeared in the door, clutching a chocolate brown blob of fabric and fur. “Meridan!”

  The light coalesced around her. She flickered forward. A figure appeared in the door behind her, a golden-skinned lizard.

  Esa froze in place, only a few steps out of the door. The Suhlik hovered over her, holding a device in one hand and claws extended in the other. The girl’s eyes flickered from side to side, obviously trying to flicker or skip out but unable to teleport.

  Meridan had half a dozen simultaneous thoughts. The Suhlik had a way to contain her teleportation. Their scans didn’t show an implanted device. They had looked for biological weapons, not mechanical. Esa was too far away. No one could reach her in time. No Mahdfel would attempt a rescue on a foundling so clearly compromised. Finally, Watson was a teddy bear.