by Devi Mara
Abby blinked at her, too shocked to move for the first few seconds. Then, she let out a little squeak and scooted away from the muscular woman, who stared at her in confusion. Abby finally convinced Nitya she was fully capable of bathing herself. She quickly set about scrubbing herself in case the woman did not believe her.
Nitya had shrugged and grabbed a wide swath of thin fabric to tie around herself. She left Abby standing in the shower. Abby doubted she had ever bathed faster in her life. She scrubbed and rinsed, then repeated the action when Nitya shook her head.
“You must remove all of the scent,” the blonde had told her emphatically.
Abby was sure she had lost a couple layers of skin by the time Nitya was appeased. Climbing up the shower stairs hunched over to preserve a bit of her modesty, she snatched a towel and wrapped herself from neck to knee. Nitya gave her an odd look, but did not comment.
The fabric wicked all the water from her skin in a matter of seconds. She was completely dry by the time Nitya lead her to a room attached to the bathing chamber. She had been thrilled to put on clothes until she saw the hunting outfit she was supposed to wear. It was about a dozen shades of green, the colors mottled to create a camouflage effect. She had no issue with the color, it was the fit that made her blush.
“It fits perfectly,” Nitya said from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts.
Perfectly. Abby cocked her head to the side, looking at herself in a mirror. The fabric looked like canvas, but was extremely soft and moved with her. It was also extremely fitted. It fit like spandex without feeling tight. Small favors. She turned her back to the mirror to check out the back view.
“It’s a little…formfitting,” she muttered.
No way was she letting the prince see her in something that put her shapely thighs and round hips on display. Not a chance. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned to see Nitya setting a pair of boots next to her. Oh, no. She could not actually leave the room.
“His Royal Highness had that made specifically for you.”
The words jerked her out of her panic. She blinked at the woman.
“He did?”
Nitya nodded. “As is proper in these situations.”
Abby was not sure what to make of her wording, but she looked back at her reflection. He had it made just for her. Now, she had to wear it. Maybe, he would not think she looked too bad. She set aside those thoughts before she talked herself out of leaving the room.
She stepped into the heavily treaded boots and gasped when they closed seamlessly.
Nitya smiled at her. “I’m sure the prince is ready to depart.”
Abby nodded. As she followed Nitya from the room, she realized the prince was going to be dressed similar to herself. She tripped over nothing and had to stumble a few steps to regain her balance. Nitya looked at her with concern.
“Are you alright?”
Abby felt like her face was on fire. “Fine, fine. Just tripped.”
The other woman nodded hesitantly, but continued down the hall. Abby tried to think of anything other than the prince in a fitted hunting suit. Nitya seemed to pick up on her mood, as she fell back to walk next to her.
“How do you like Ghadrik?”
“It’s amazing,” Abby said honestly.
She looked around the hallway as they walked. Even with her mind occupied with other things, she could not help but be drawn in by the sheer grandeur of the palace. The walls were a bright white material that looked like the ivory from Earth. Thin veins of gold metal ran through the material making it look more like marble.
“What is that,” she finally asked, pointing to the wall.
Nitya followed her gesture and smiled. “Clay.”
“Clay,” Abby echoed.
“Yes. It is harvested near the mountains.” Nitya glanced at her. “It is harder than the diamonds on your planet.”
“Then how do you build with it?”
Nitya started to answer, when the prince stepped out of the doorway to their right. For a long moment, the three of them looked at each other. Abby could feel Nitya watching her reaction, but she could not draw her eyes away from the prince.
It was so much better than her imagination. His suit was similar to hers, but more gray than green, and it stretched tight across his chest, emphasizing the width of his shoulders. She knew she was staring, but nothing could keep her eyes from following the line of the suit down across his flat stomach and narrow hips.
She forced herself to skip over certain parts and took in his long muscular legs, before raising her eyes to his face. She blinked in surprise to see him examining her just as intensely. Immediately, she felt a blush rise to her face. She certainly did not look as good in her suit as he did in his. She shifted uncomfortably.
His eyes snapped to her face. She noticed he did not meet her gaze and, for some reason, it really bothered her. More than usual. She frowned.
“Your Highness.”
He nodded his acknowledgement. “Miss Ashley.”
She found herself needing to see his eyes, to check if they were as beautiful as she remembered.
“Not to be rude, but would you mind looking at me?”
He froze. “What?”
She was not sure what to make of his soft tone, so she reacted as she would to anyone else. She raised her chin and straightened her shoulders.
“Please, look at me when you’re talking to me.” He did not need to know she had come to crave his gaze.
“You accept my gaze?”
There was something odd about the question, but in the next minute he looked at her and she forgot about it. His eyes were as startlingly aquamarine as she remembered. Beyond the beauty of the color, the sheer volume of emotion he put into the look nearly floored her.
“Yes,” she found herself saying, not sure what she was agreeing to exactly.
Nitya shifted and Abby tore her eyes away from the prince to look at her. The blonde was smiling brightly at the two of them.
“I have something for you,” the prince said, pulling her attention back to him.
He moved closer to her and held out a bundle wrapped in red leather-like material. It was about as long as her forearm and moderately heavy when she took it from him. There were at least a dozen laws against taking something from a member of a foreign government. She ignored them.
Carefully unwrapping the cloth, her eyes widened. A dagger, wicked sharp and jagged, glinted in the light spilling in the window behind her. It curved gently, the outer edge razor thin and the inner edge a line of backward facing teeth. The dagger came to a severe point, the weapon clearly intended for both slashing and mortally wounding opponents.
“Wow,” she breathed, before she could bite it back.
She raised her eyes from the weapon to see the prince watching her closely. She offered him a small smile.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She was sure she saw relief in his gaze, before he smiled politely.
“You are welcome, Miss Ashley.”
Still gazing at the gift, she said, “Call me Abby.”
He went still. “Truly?”
She glanced at him. “Of course.”
She studied his face, trying to figure out what the thoughtful frown meant. After a moment, she mentally shrugged and began to attach her new gift to the belt around her waist. She was not surprised when the dagger fit into a slot on the left side of the belt as if made for it.
“Are you ready,” the prince asked.
She nodded. “Definitely.”
He sent Nitya an unreadable look and she nodded, turning to face Abby.
“It was pleasant to spend time with you, Abby,” she said formally.
Abby nodded. “You too, Nitya.” Aside from the awkward shower part, she added mentally.
Nitya bowed to the prince and walked down the hall that lead to the throne room. Once she was out of sight, the prince stepped closer to Abby, just out of reach. He looked down at her.
“Will you call me by my name, as well?”
She stared at him, her eyes moving over the strong jaw and sharp cheek bones, before meeting his gaze. She decided she would like to call him hers, but she would settle for his name.
“Edric.”
She was sure she did not imagine the shiver that went through him. He smiled a moment later.
“Shall we?”
He held out his arm to her, placing his hand on hers when she accepted the invitation. They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. He seemed to be in no hurry to release her when they reached the craft sitting on the front lawn. He pressed the panel to open the side of the enlil and helped her into the seat.
“So, where are we going?” she asked once they were airborne.
Edric tapped on a few glowing squares at the base of the window. The pattern seemed to be random, but she assumed the glyphs meant something.
“The plains south west of the city. I thought we may hunt sisu.”
“That’s the stuff that tastes like pork, right? See-soo?” She was sure her pronunciation was off, but the prince just smiled.
“Yes.” He looked out the window to check their progress.
Already, they were approaching the outer edge of the city. The vast central courtyard was far behind them and only estates lay ahead. She wondered about the living arrangements.
“Do people get to choose to live in the city or country?” She assumed where they were was considered the country.
“It is mostly dependent on occupation,” Edric answered, turning away from the window to look at her. “Desta, for example, is an armorer and arammu bonded. She and Roshan live outside the city where she can have a large personal shop, separate from the one she uses for her official duties.”
Abby nodded. That made sense. She fell silent when the enlil began to slow. The edge of the plains lay in front of them, a carpet of green that went for about half a mile before butting up against the tree line. She could not contain her excited grin.
Edric opened the door the moment the craft landed, obviously sensing her need to explore. She let him help her from the enlil and turned in a slow circle. From the ground, the tree line seemed much closer. The forest was comprised of trees that made the sequoias of Earth seem like saplings. She stared in awe.
“Chibrum Forest,” Edric said. “It’s half the size of Texas.”
“Wow. Your air must be really clean.” She mentally smacked herself for the inane observation. “So, hunting?”
Edric gave her an amused look. “Yes, hunting. Though, you are correct about the air quality. There is a higher percentage of oxygen in the air on Ghadrik.”
She smiled at him thankfully. Nice save. She tried not to watch when he turned around and bent to get their weapons from the second row seat. She failed. A part of her mind giggled as she admired the view. Too soon, he turned with two compound bows in his hands.
She immediately focused on the interesting weapons, her mind no longer on his gorgeous behind. She noticed one was visibly smaller than the other. She assumed that one was hers and reached out to take it.
“This is called an alal,” Edric said, as he handed her the bow.
Her eyebrows shot up at the light weight. “It can’t weigh more than a couple pounds.”
He nodded. “Light, but strong. That is how all of our weapons are made.”
“Nice.” She saw him smile from the corner of her eye. “Show me?”
He nodded and took a strong stance, his legs shoulder width apart. Meeting her eyes for a moment, he grabbed an arrow from the quiver at his feet and notched it.
“There are a few differences between a Ghadrikan bow and what you have used in the past.” He raised the bow to his left as he spoke. “The bow will move with you when you draw back your arrow.”
He illustrated the point, by grasping the end of the arrow and pulling it back to near his right ear. He held the position and glanced at her. She was not admiring his biceps.
“Notice how the ends of the bow have drawn together?”
She focused on the weapon. “Yes.” It was actually interesting how the bow almost formed a full circle.
“When you release the arrow, it will trigger a sensor and the bow will snap back into place.” He demonstrated by casually releasing the arrow.
The arrow vanished from view.
“The effect is an arrow that travels over one thousand feet per second. Twice the speed of any bow on Earth.”
“More like a bullet,” she said thoughtfully.
He nodded and bent down to grab both quivers, holding one out to her. “Would you like to try?”
She watched him swing his own bag over his shoulder, fixing the strap across his chest. She quickly did the same with hers. It was odd to wear the quiver on her back, as every bow she had ever owned had a built in holder for the arrows. She rolled her shoulders to get used to the feeling.
Sensing his eyes on her, she pulled an arrow from the bag over her shoulder and notched it.
“Just let the bow do the work,” he said softly.
She raised the bow, pulled back the string, and let go. The surge of power from the bow almost took her breath away. The moment she released the string, an electric jolt went through her body and she could almost feel the air splitting around the arrow. She turned to Edric with wide eyes.
“That was awesome.”
…
Abby was remarkably good at tracking. That was the excuse he gave himself for watching her every move. The truth of the matter was that he could not take his eyes off her. It was more than the hunting attire, though that was very pleasing on her, it was the way she moved through the underbrush. As if she were already a part of his world.
She did not walk, but stalked between the trees. Eyes narrowed and head on a swivel, she split her attention between the tracks in the dirt and their surroundings. Every time he looked away to scan their surroundings, he found his eyes drifting back to her. The swing of her hips, her lush curves. He mentally shook himself.
They had been hunting for just over three hours, evidenced by the shadows growing beneath the trees. After Abby tracked and brought down the sisu and he returned it to a stasis chamber at the back of the enlil, she had asked for something more challenging. The nearby forest was teeming with small predators, so he agreed.
After he showed her the tracks they were seeking, she had taken over the hunt. If he thought of it too long he became extremely distracted. Even on a small game hunt, he had to maintain his focus. He glanced at her, again.
She suddenly stopped midstep and hummed thoughtfully. After a moment, she glanced over her shoulder at him. He immediately moved to her side.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
“I’m not sure. A scuffle of some kind.”
He stepped closer to look at the ground. The tracks of the niksum ended abruptly, as if the jackal-like creature had been snatched as it was fleeing. He knelt down to make out the shape of the larger tracks in the dirt. In the fading light it took him a moment to recognize the creature responsible for the niksum’s fate. He inhaled sharply.
“We should stop for the day,” he said, even as he scanned their immediate surroundings. He needed to get Abby back to the enlil.
“What? Why?”
He had hoped to sound casual, but it was obvious from Abby’s tone she sensed something was wrong. He answered her without taking his gaze off the nearby trees.
“An urbat has wandered down from the mountains. We need to get back to the enlil quickly and quietly.”
He glanced over to see her staring at him with wide eyes. He gestured for her to follow him and let out a sigh of relief when she did not hesitate. They walked in silence for several minutes, before he sensed her inching closer to his right side.
A moment later, she whispered, “What’s an urbat?”
He paused to listen to the forest. There was nothing but the sound of the wind in the trees. He urged her on.
“
Think of a tiger mixed with a timber wolf and covered in thick, leathery hide.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That would be one seriously ugly-” She broke off at the sound of a low growl.
He slowly pulled his hunting knife from his belt, reaching for Abby with the other hand. At any other time, his heart would have surged at the feel of her sliding her hand into his, but could not enjoy it with the urbat hunting them. He tugged her behind him.
She lay her palms flat against his back, moving with him as he turned in place. The growls stopped just as a branch snapped off to their left. He mentally calculated the distance to the enlil. It was too far. Unless, the urbat was distracted. He kept his gaze on the shadows, but gently nudged Abby with his elbow.
She leaned against his back, her cheek against his shoulder as she looked up at the side of his face.
“Do you remember where we left the enlil?”
She glanced around and nodded. “That way about half a mile.”
He checked to make sure she gestured the right way and nodded. “I want you to wait for my signal and when I tell you to run, head for the enlil.”
She stiffened. “No.”
“Abigail.” He sighed. “Abby, please.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with some kind of dangerous creature thing. Not a-.”
A low growl made her fall silent. He tried to take a step away from her, nudging her further behind him. She refused to move away. The sound of a knife leaving a sheath made him look over his shoulder. She held her dagger in her right hand, bow slung across her back.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m staying.”
She started to say something else, when her eyes suddenly went wide. She grabbed his arm and jerked him toward her, the urbat landing where he had been seconds before. The creature paused to take in the situation and gave him a moment to back away.
The urbat was heavily muscled, its black and grey skin stretched tight over bone and sinew and splashed with the bloody remains of the niksum they had been hunting. Its large, black eyes moved from him to Abby and back, as if trying to gauge which one of them would be more of a challenge. It took a step toward him.