Wilderness Untamed

by Butler, J. M.

  That much was obvious. The Bealorns they had known were hedonistic at worst with a particular focus on honor and complicated social expectations and customs. None of which involved what was on display here. Especially not to a Neyeb, a member of their sister-race. To a Vawtrian, maybe. Though not even they threw slurs around so blandly.

  Much had changed. The facts slid around in his mind, but he could not order them. He could barely stand still. Whatever his brothers said, he didn't hear. Their words garbled together in meaningless mush and dripped away from his awareness.

  The doctor continued working. She filled the bowl. Had AaQar empty it in the main river. Then filled it again.

  She had him heal Amelia once more. Then, as the sun burned hot and red and sank deep into the western horizon, Laachtue called him over. "The long leeches are gone. I gave her the tonic as well to kill any residual eggs or hatchlings. It's up to her now whether she's got the will to fight through."

  Of course she would. She had to.

  Naatos swept Amelia up out of the water and carried her back to the fire. Another burst of healing energy eased her breathing. It barely took any time at all to strip her out of her wet clothes, slip her into the yellow gown, then wrap her in one of the blankets.

  AaQar helped Laachtue out of the pit as QueQoa held her up. WroOth continued to pace. Whatever his brothers said, it all fell away as he rubbed her hands and her feet.

  "Listen." Laachtue washed her hands, her soprano voice coming into focus. "I have other patients who need me in an hour or so. If one of you could take me back to where that one found me, I'd appreciate it. You can come get me if you need me, but at this point, there's not much more I can do. It's all on her now. If she regains consciousness, she'll need to continue healing and physical therapy. Unless that glow trick of yours can restore her to what she was."

  That wasn't how it worked.

  "You have our thanks," Naatos said without looking up. "I will find you soon and repay you."

  "You can repay me for this too then." She picked up her black bag. "I get the impression you all aren't from this area, and you don't look like any Vawtrian I've seen. Don't go into Darmusky or any of the surrounding cities. Vawtrians there, well, they aren't like you. And they aren't particularly welcome. They'll lock you up and cart you off sooner than look at you. Comfort houses or slave quarters or bait rings or whatever. I don't mind helping Vawtrians. I'll help whoever needs it as long as they haven't wronged mine. Press this if you need me. Don't use it in your camp in case they're tracking it. Get at least a mile out. I'll do the same before I deploy mine. Don't come looking for me before you get that signal."

  "One more question before you leave," AaQar said, stepping forward. "How long until the Grey Season?"

  "Maybe two weeks if they don't find a way to stop it. The levy is especially high this year. Not likely we're going to make it. The earthquake that shook the cities a couple weeks back—" She shook her head, the edges of her eyes wrinkled with worry. "Head for the northern mountains when you can. It's your best bet. Even with the Grey Season and all your skills, the cities aren't safe. Especially with your mate in that condition. If they find out she's a swear-to-the-potentate Neyeb, they'll cut her up and see what they can synthesize out of her or worse."

  "Knowing her, she'll find whoever wants the worst for her," WroOth muttered.

  "Thank you again for your aid," AaQar said. "QueQoa, do you want someone to accompany you?"

  "No." QueQoa offered Laachtue a small smile. "I'll take her wherever she wishes."

  "Careful, handsome. I might take that literally."

  QueQoa laughed, the sound not nearly so uncomfortable as Naatos would have guessed. He easily shifted into the iron dragon form. "You can climb on if you like." He dipped his shoulder.

  Laachtue climbed up easily, and he leaped into the sky with a heavy thrust of his wings.

  AaQar examined the device Laachtue had left. "More than a little new technology," he said, holding it between his thumb and forefinger.

  Naatos found it hard to dwell on that. It was important, of course it was. So was the timing of the Grey Season. Everything Laachtue had said. But he didn't care.

  All that mattered were these next hours.

  Carefully Amelia placed her in the hammock and then crawled in beside her. It wasn't easy. Even with the spacers, he disliked the way the fabric closed at the edges. But she liked it better than the ground.

  He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and adjusted her head on his chest. The hammock was better than the earth. And it did put them in much closer proximity. Her now gaunt body curled against his, fragile as bones dried in a kiln for a week. Her hair caught on his calluses and fingertips, dry as straw. The veins themselves had collapsed against her skin, little more than ink tracings now. Those would fade in time. They would fade as her strength returned.

  And it would. She would wake up. She would come back. She had to.

  And he'd make life good for her. Whatever it took, however long, she'd be healthy, safe, and most of all happy.

  "Come back to me, veskaro," he whispered. "Come back."

  * * *

  The darkness and the cold intensified. If she let up for even a second, she felt herself sliding away.

  The Ki Valo Nakar's voice faded entirely.

  She'd been here before. With the mind shade. In Dry Deep. And more than ever, she didn't want to go. She dug her fingers in, pressed her feet down.

  "No. No!" She choked on the words as if it were a nightmare.

  Gulping in a deep breath, she forced the air into her lungs. There wasn't anything to grab onto.

  Then a thread of warmth snaked along her wrist.

  Yes!

  She grabbed hold of it. Seized it with both hands.

  Her hands and arms limbered.

  It was hot, abrasive, and utterly distinct from the cool slick darkness. Catching against her skin, wrapping around her fingers, curling about her neck.

  Not entirely comfortable but impossible to miss. Guiding her back. Calling.

  She wasn't sure how she was following it. Some part of her resisted, afraid that it would only hurt more. But on the other side of that, yes, on the other side of that was what she wanted.

  Slowly that warmth expanded. It burned in her fingertips and her toes and along her core. It made her ache. Writhe. Each breath throbbed.

  But that was life, wasn't it? Living hurt. Sometimes. Then it got better. Sometimes worse again. All these cycles of up and down. And this discomfort, this pain, it stood between her and getting back to them—to him. To everything good that remained. Everything that might yet be.

  The heat engulfed her, almost too tight. Slowly she opened her eyes, her other senses returning. Woodsmoke, meat roasting, too much blood, that earthy musky scent that was Naatos.

  He tipped her chin back. "How do you feel?"

  Darkness had fallen. Not the endless emptiness she had seen before but the rich warm indigo blackness of living night. And he lay with her in the hammock. She gasped with relief. It felt as if she hadn't taken a good breath in ages. "Ragged." Her voice rasped as if she had gargled with nails and sandpaper.

  "I can't imagine why," he said, his crystal-blue eyes glistening.

  Her lips trembling, she clung to him, the darkness and haze of the cold and Dry Deep lingering. Of everything. But he was here. Real and solid.

  He pressed her close, his cheek against hers. Two tears trailed from his eyes and onto her cheek.

  "If my dreams hadn't been so horrible and faded so fast, I would be afraid this was just a dream and that I would forget everything," she whispered.

  "Given where your last intimate dreams ended, I know exactly how I can prove that this is real. Once you're better." He kissed her neck, then her cheek. "For now—" His voice broke off.

  That was all right. He didn't need to say anything else.

  She savored the warmth of his arms around her, treasured his touch. His arms tightened ar
ound her as he breathed her in.

  "I knew you'd find your way back to me, sweet onion fish," he said gently. He smoothed her hair back from her face.

  "I felt you, you big scorpion." She coughed into her fist but smiled. A knot formed in her throat. "I think I felt you calling me, veskare."

  "Good," he said. "Because I will always be calling you."

  She peered into his eyes and found herself warmer and happier than she had guessed possible. There was hope, life. A promise of a future shone in his eyes, brilliant and good. And she believed it would be. It had to be. At least for a while.

  Shifter King Coming Soon

  While most of the time I simply include the first chapter of the following book to serve as the teaser, I felt that you readers deserved something that gave a little more insight into where this series is going. Amelia's journey requires a fair bit of healing, but there's a lot more that happens from telekinetic battles, illusionist attacks, sentient dragons, shattered temples, and ravaged races. Besides, Wilderness Untamed included more than enough suffering and pain, so I want to find something happier or at least brighter.

  That of course left me with the unfortunate decision of what was the best choice for a teaser. And I am spoiled with options ranging from the battles with the Abliatos, the revelation of the Vawtrian fate among others on Ecekom, the return of some old characters, and continued challenges with the Ki Valo Nakar among others.

  Maybe even QueQoa sharing his POV (he has been remarkably shy thus far, but I suspect that that is going to change rather soon). He does have a little short that will be coming out once I make the final changes.

  But I couldn’t settle on one. Additionally, I learned that the preorder for Shifter King had not gone live. yet. Bearing that in mind, I decided to strike a compromise and buy myself a little extra time to decide.

  The preorder should go live no later than Thursday, August 26, 2021. When it does, I will update this ebook with the preorder information as well as the teaser chapter. I will also post the teaser to my website (jessicambutlerauthor.com) and send it out with my newsletter.

  Thank you so much for reading and for your support. If you have the time to leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again and have a wonderful day!

  Acknowledgments

  Maya Angelou's famous quote "there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you" has always rang especially true to me. It has never been more true for me than with Wilderness Untamed.

  Of all the stories I have ever written, this one has been the hardest. Some of that came from incorporating elements I knew would be especially challenging for me because I wanted to grow as a storyteller. Part of it also came simply from life. In addition to a rough struggle with covid and a bad bout with influenza and pneumonia, I miscarried again and dealt with complications. Covid took other loved ones while also intensifying certain conditions. Loki, my beloved cat and writing companion, passed away as well from an unidentified upper respiratory virus. My website got hacked, a friend stole from me, and on and on it went.

  The past couple years have been hard for a lot of people. Startlingly so. The number of lives lost and forever changed has been staggering. I'm sure that you were affected as well. I can only hope that things are getting better now or that they have already improved significantly.

  What has helped me so much is that my faith and I was blessed every step of the way with absolutely incredible people. They not only supported me through all of my fears and concerns with this book but also with life and all that was going on in both the big and little pictures.

  I am grateful to all those who have walked through me both now and through other stages. If anything has been hammered home in these past months, it is the incredible importance of community and connection.

  If you've read my previous acknowledgements, then this list of people whom I thank will be rather familiar. My whole family in their utter wonderfulness. My dear friends especially Miranda Honfleur, Janeen Ippolito, Emily Godhand, and Katherine Bennet. I am an incredibly blessed woman in so many ways.

  I would like to thank all of those who were involved in the creation of this story. Especially Tony Holabird for his proofreading and notes in helping me finalize this manuscript.

  An enormous thank you to all of the amazing beta readers including Katie Applegate, Rachel Cass, Jessica Jorn, Monique Hemme, Marit, Ananda Clarke, Alexis, and Maddie Winters.

  I do want to note that there are a few people who have been involved who like to maintain their privacy and asked that their names not be included. They helped just as much, and I am deeply grateful to them as well.

  To those of you who reached out to me with words of encouragement and kind thoughts, I can't thank you enough. As much as I love writing, I don't think I'll ever find the words to convey how much your words meant to me.

  Last but certainly not least, I give the biggest thank you I can give to all of you readers who have been so patient with me and continued this journey. I know that this book has taken so much longer what I initially intended. Thank you for understanding this and for supporting me still. There are a lot more stories coming, and I can't wait to share them all with you.

  If you want to drop me a line or say hello, feel free to reach out to me at hello@jmbutlerauthor.com. Thank you again, and may you have an absolutely wonderful day.

  Sincerely,

  Jess

  About the Author

  Jessica M. Butler is an adventurer, author, and attorney who never outgrew her love for telling stories and playing in imaginary worlds. She is the author of the epic fantasy romance series Tue-Rah Chronicles including Identity Revealed, Enemy Known, and Princess Reviled along with independent novellas Locked, Cursed, and Alone, set in the same world. She has also written numerous fantasy tales such as Mermaid Bride, Little Scapegoat, Through the Paintings Dimly, Why Yes, Bluebeard, I’d Love To, and more. For the most part, she writes speculative fiction with a heavy focus on multicultural high fantasy and suspenseful adventures. She lives with her husband and law partner, James Fry, in rural Indiana where they are quite happy with their three cats.

  For more books or updates:

  www.jmbutlerauthor.com

  Also by Jessica M. Butler

  The Tue-Rah Chronicles

  Identity Revealed

  Enemy Known

  Princess Reviled

  Tue-Rah Tales

  Locked

  Alone

  Cursed

  Standalones

  The Mermaid Bride

  Through the Paintings Dimly

  The Celebrity

  Little Scapegoat

  Anthologies

  Once Upon Now

  Vices and Virtues