“It seemed pretty thorough to me.” He grinned toothily at Ranove’s obvious discomfort.
The duke glared at him and then shook his head with a wicked grin of his own. “I hope you studied that information well. Do not expect it to help all that much, though. Humans do not always follow their own rules. If you successfully claim your concubine, you will spend a lot of your time confused and wondering what you did to make her angry or hurt. If you are lucky, you will figure out how to make it up to her, and she will make that effort worthwhile.”
He hadn’t really considered what it would be like to actually live with Jessa on a daily basis. He and his primal had been so wrapped up in the excitement of wooing her and claiming her that what happened afterwards had been more a sexual fantasy than what would probably be a very sobering reality. “Any advice for what I should do after I offer a claim and if she accepts it?”
Ranove pondered his question for a moment before answering. “If she is meant for you, do whatever it takes to keep her.” With those words, the duke rose to his feet, keeping his head and wingtips bent to avoid slamming them on the ceiling. With a final nod at Gorzo and no acknowledgement for the low-ranking males who looked towards him with awe and respect, he headed back into the cockpit to rejoin Lilith and her handmaidens.
For a while after Ranove left, Gorzo pondered his words. Offering a claim to Jessa was probably still a long way off, though his primal was impatient and objected to that observation. The female was a complete stranger. He’d gained a strong impression of her that he very much liked, but he hadn’t truly conversed with her. If he claimed her as a concubine, he wanted her to be not just a companion for his bed but also for the times when he wasn’t in it. He didn’t expect a true-mating—as he’d once had, and as it seemed that both Duke Ranove and Prince Balfor had found with their human females. But he wanted her to be a friend as well as a lover, someone he could go to when loneliness grew into a burden. Someone who could fill even a small portion of the emptiness left behind after the deaths of his family and tribe.
His expectations were too high, and he knew that. He’d had yet to find such a friend even among his own kind, and they understood more about him than a human could ever relate to. He would be extremely fortunate if the female he chose willingly embraced him as a lover. To have her extend her friendship would be more than he probably deserved.
*****
Jessa stood in the waiting area of the primary skygate air-center of the Hub. Normally crowded, the air-center was beyond capacity now with mobs of people, from protestors being held back by law enforcement, to news agents armed with hovering vidcameras, to curious onlookers hoping to catch a peek at the umbrose.
Though visits from the once-demonized umbrose had grown more frequent in recent years, they were still considered a newsworthy event, and unfortunately, also an event that brought out xenophobic protestors.
Jessa ignored the vitriolic shouts from the protestors; though a part of her burned with shame, aware that she had once been among those pushing such fear and hatred upon the people. Some of the things they said were things she’d parroted herself. The defense that she hadn’t known any better at the time didn’t seem to be enough to make up for what she’d done. Perhaps because she was still a part of it, and much as she regretted that, she would remain so until she could return to Micah and see to his safety.
Though he was her central purpose behind all this, she couldn’t help the feeling of anticipation that gripped her when the umbrose cruiser descended from the skygate and floated down to the landing pad. Gorzo was coming. He would endure this spectacle, with people gawking at him and screaming hateful epithets and plastering his image all over the newstreams, just so he could see her again. For a moment, it made her feel special, until she remembered that she was using him and would eventually betray him.
And we called them monsters! She swallowed the sob that rose in her throat and blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. It wouldn’t do to let him think she was anything but happy to see him. She was no sentinel, trained from childhood in espionage and subterfuge, but she’d spent her entire life cultivating a mask to keep others from seeing her pain. She could do this, as difficult as it would be. She could fool him and make him believe she cared for him. As long as she remembered her true purpose, she could do whatever it took.
The noise level rose to deafening when the umbrose began to disembark. Jessa recognized the imposing Duke Ranove—the first to leave the cruiser—from newstreams, though this was the first time she’d gotten a clear look at him since recorded images of umbrose were always plagued by shadows. Casting a glare in the direction of the protestors, he paused at the bottom of the ramp and turned back towards the doors, his whole stance one of expectation.
When Lady Lilith stepped out of the cruiser, the noise from the crowds grew even louder. Ranove roared at the protestors, and they staggered back from the police barricades as one unit, eyes wide, signs sagging, and mouths silent and agape. Then the duke turned back to Lilith and lifted one hand to her as she made her way down the ramp.
His devotion to his concubine was so clear and so open for all to see that it brought a fresh wave of tears to Jessa’s eyes. Has anyone in my life ever looked at me like that? Has anyone ever focused on me as if there was no one else in the Universe? The answer came quickly and was a brutal reality. What the duke and Lady Lilith had between them was something Jessa couldn’t even aspire to. It was beyond her reach. Just as when she would watch parents adopt other children in the orphanage, passing her by, she both envied them and experienced a small vicarious joy from their love and happiness.
They linked hands at the bottom of the ramp as two veiled female umbrose followed in their wake. A series of catcalls and whistles greeted the slender, graceful females, but that too, was glared into silence by Ranove, even as he tucked Lilith against his side and wrapped his heavy arm around her shoulder.
Then the warriors left the cruiser, and the silence of the crowd became more profound as the people grew less certain of their superior numbers and more afraid of causing offense. Gorzo was the last to leave the cruiser. By the time he stepped onto the ramp and straightened to his full height—wincing even in the muted sunlight filtering through the dome—only the sounds of the newscasters reporting broke the silence, so the gasps at his appearance were easily audible as people got their first good look at him.
Jessa felt a thrill of desire shoot through her when he stepped out. He was so big and muscular that the other warriors, even Ranove, seemed dwarfed beside him as he joined them on the landing pad. He turned his head, surveying the crowds of people and seemingly dismissing them as unimportant. Then he saw her. She knew the moment he did, because he grew still, not even his wings twitching behind him. Their eyes met, and Jessa heard not a word being said by Ranove or Lilith or any of the various officials and other people at the landing zone.
She didn’t even realize she was moving until she found herself crossing the wide gap that had separated the landing pad from the waiting area. She was halfway across before she saw that no one else had moved, and they were all staring at her in surprise.
Suddenly embarrassed, feeling all eyes upon her, she froze, looking around for an escape route. She could practically hear the hum of the hovering vidcameras as they recorded her humiliation. The umbrose warriors looked tense and prepared for an attack as they stared at her. Ranove watched her with a curious lift of his eyebrows and there was a crease between Lilith’s brows.
Chapter 6
The tableau seemed poised to go on forever in the Hell of Humiliation. Then a broad shadow fell over her, and suddenly Gorzo was at her side, stepping between her and the hundreds of staring humans to block their view. He took her hand, drawing her gaze first to his big, clawed hand as it encircled hers and then up to meet his eyes.
Good humor sparkled in the black depths, along with something else. His wings spread, further blocking the crowds, and then he bowed, deeply
and formally, to Jessa, raising her hand to touch the back of it to his forehead, between the swell of his horns. “It is my great pleasure to see you again, Jessa.” He spoke the words in DC Common, his accent thick, but his pronunciation precise, as if he had practiced each word. The way the smooth baritone of his voice caressed her name made her knees weak.
Her hand was shaking in his, clammy against his warm, calloused palm. He held her in a firm grip, and it was almost as if his strength passed through to her until her trembling eased. She smiled at him, feeling grateful at the way he’d taken the focus off of her and onto himself. She also felt a growing heat running through her as his scent surrounded her. Her gaze roved over his exposed upper body, bowed before her, rippling with muscle and marked by black tattoos in beautiful patterns. “It’s good to see you again, too, um… General Gorzo.” By now, she wasn’t surprised that she was able to say that with complete sincerity.
He lifted his head and smiled at her, though he kept it small so his fangs weren’t completely bared. “Please, it would honor me if you just call me Gorzo.” His smile dropped and his tone grew formal as he said, “You may summon me by that name, and I will answer.”
It seemed like something important to him. From what Jessa knew of the umbrose—which was far less than the Diakonos had believed they knew—the summoning was one aspect that they’d been right about. Apparently, the umbrose could hear their names whispered from half a continent away. She had no idea how, and they weren’t sharing that information with their human allies, but responding to such a summons was their choice, and Gorzo had just told her he had made it. She could call on him and he would come. She should be relieved that he already appeared to be so readily manipulated. Instead, her depression grew. “Thank you, Gorzo. I’m honored.”
It seemed to be the correct answer. He straightened and made to release her hand, but she tightened her fingers, unwilling to let go of him, almost as if he was an anchor in this sea of people who might sweep her away from him. His brow lifted, lightening the shadows that darkened his eyes. A slight smile spread his lips as he maintained his hold on her hand.
Jessa became aware that one of the officials from the Counsel was speaking, as Ms. Flores and another employee of Outland Connections checked off information on datapads while Ranove and Lilith herded the other males off the landing pad. “… would like to welcome our esteemed guests to Dome City. Please follow us to the convention center.” The focus was no longer solely on them as the crowds followed the others, watching umbrose males pair up with the human females they’d come this far to see.
She was reluctant to leave the pad now, where before, she had been ready to sprint to cover. As all the others abandoned it, she and Gorzo were left by themselves in a widening circle of space. She preferred being alone with him, though it should make her nervous. She’d rather stay here than follow the crowd to the convention center where Outland Connections had planned a “getting to know you” event for the prospective couples. This seemed more natural. This standing together, hand-in-hand, looking into each other’s eyes as they thought of what to say next.
The spell was broken when Ranove called out Gorzo’s name, gesturing that they should follow. Gorzo glanced at the higher-ranking umbrose and then turned back to her with a questioning lift of one heavy brow, as if he was leaving the decision of whether he should obey Ranove up to her.
“We should get going. We don’t want to hold anyone up.” It wasn’t what she wanted to do, but she couldn’t just grab a rental cruiser and take him on a private tour of DC instead. The itinerary for visiting umbrose was always set in advance and strictly adhered to because of lingering security concerns both from the umbrose—who’d given no reason for them—and the human agitators—who’d given plenty of reason.
Without a word, he gestured with his free hand that she should lead the way, turning as she did, so that their hands remained clasped. He strode easily by her side, his walk smooth and confident, her hand cradled in his as if it was made of precious glass.
*****
They loaded into luxury cruisers provided by Outland Connections. These vehicles were sleek on the outside, but still spacious on the inside—if the passengers were human. They were unable to fit all of them into the three luxes they’d brought, so there was a brief incident where Gorzo overheard the woman called Ms. Flores using her wrist communicator to order one more lux at an additional last-minute expense.
Perhaps the woman hadn’t realized that his translator was off for the moment only because he could understand their speech and didn’t want it repeating everything to him in that annoying machine tone it had. He was impressed that she seemed unfazed by his appearance and had even stepped closer to him to make the call as to be out of earshot of those who would understand her.
The first three luxes took off with a female umbrose in one of each of the first two, along with a male umbrose and his human female “date,” leaving Lady Lilith and Duke Ranove to take the third to chaperone a third umbrose and his human female. That left Gorzo with one of the other four males and his date, as well as Ms. Flores and another official Gorzo didn’t know nor care to know.
The other humans were an annoyance because they kept talking to Jessa, distracting her attention away from him. How am I supposed to learn anything about her if she’s always surrounded by other humans who won’t shut up? He stifled a growl from his primal.
Looking across the still cramped “luxury” cruiser at the other male warrior, Kafane, Gorzo saw that he was equally bereft of the attention of his human choice. They shared a commiserating look, before Kafane recalled who he was and ducked his head respectfully to stare at his hands, which were braced on his knees to keep from imposing on the space of the fragile woman beside him. Gorzo spared that woman a glance, just out of curiosity. She was not as beautiful as Jessa—no female he’d seen was—but she was also lovely. She had dark brown skin and a wide and ready smile that flashed bright teeth as she talked and laughed with the other humans. Gorzo found it interesting that she had beaded braids in her hair like he did, yet the other humans did not treat her as if she were strange or barbaric.
He wanted to ask Jessa about that, but had to hold his tongue for obvious reasons. The ride to this “convention center” seemed to take longer than the ride from Sanctuary to Dome City, which was almost four hours now that they had the route down. The passage of time hadn’t really slowed down, but it felt that way being crammed into the overfull cruiser trying to keep his elbow spurs from stabbing anyone on the seat beside him—which would be Jessa on one side and would definitely put a damper on whatever this was they might have between them.
By the time they reached the convention center, the steady brush of Jessabelle’s body against his from the motion of the cruiser had nearly driven him mad with desire. Her scent clouded his head, and his primal crouched within him, eager and waiting. Only his willpower kept his muscles from trembling with the effort of resisting the more primitive side of himself. So it was a relief when the cruiser finally stopped at the center and the doors slid open, allowing the occupants to file out onto a walkway nearly as crowded with annoying humans as the air-center had been.
Gorzo was used to the reactions of the human crowds in DC. He’d visited on two other occasions with Balfor’s representatives. Since he’d been expressly warned not to harm anyone, he’d kept his temper in check as weak humans shouted insults at he and his fellow umbrose. It was even more difficult to maintain his composure now, since the insulting humans had extended their comments to include Jessa. He wanted to tear apart anyone who threatened her, even if they only lobbed nasty words at her.
Looking down at Jessa to avoid the sight of the hateful humans who tempted his primal to call for carnage, he noticed that her face remained expressionless as they walked the gauntlet of humanity held back only by armed guards and thin barriers at waist level made of light that for a human would only be symbolic. Gorzo suspected he and the other umbrose were the real
reason behind the fact that the humans kept their actions limited to hurling insults. He recognized that most of their hatred stemmed from fear.
Fortunately, the walkway was short, and they were soon inside the lobby of a building that was built like most of the structures in Dome City: gray, white, and uninspiring. Unlike his fellow brethren in Sanctuary, Gorzo had no opinion about human architecture. The umbrose he’d grown up among—and whom he still considered his true people—had lived in temporary caves, or tents carried by the herd of utepis they’d raised and tended. The utilitarian buildings humans erected seemed practical to him, if not lovely. In truth, he found the domes themselves to be an artistic marvel, a reminder that despite the ugliness humans were capable of, they were still capable of so much beauty.
To see a further example of that, he need only look at Jessabelle, who’s expression had lightened now that the noxious crowd was beyond the large double doors of the convention center.
Chapter 7
Jessabelle had been afraid that they’d be stuck in some group setting in the convention center that made it as impossible to speak one-on-one with Gorzo as the situation in the air-center had been. Instead, the main hall of the center had been broken up into small alcoves using ferns and booths. Though true privacy was still only an illusion thanks to the myriad of security cams and guards, it would be much easier to have a conversation with Gorzo while sitting in one of those booths alone.
Of course, that also meant she’d be alone with Gorzo. It wasn’t that she felt unsafe with him, though the guards couldn’t do much to stop him if he really wanted to hurt her. They’d never reach him in time. Yet she understood on a visceral level that Gorzo wasn’t the type of person to harm an innocent.
Jessabelle's Beast (Shadows in Sanctuary Book 3) Page 5