It felt good to run.

The next morning, when she woke up, Jackie felt the familiar ache in her limbs. The artificial light that was made to mimic the early hours of the day also reminded her vividly of what had happened the night before.

The half-naked warlord lying next to her was also a dead giveaway.

Jackie had managed to slip out of Kol-Eresh's arms without waking him, although going by her experience, the harbinger probably merely allowed her ten minutes of solitude for a shower. She had also found the first pleasant surprise on the Leviathan that actually gladdened her, although the fur carpet and the delicious food had also been nice.

Someone kind and dutiful and obviously Terran had left her a little bag along with her new wardrobe that Jackie had quickly brushed through. They were mostly adorned with a violet pattern she assumed signified Kol-Eresh's standing and position. Those she had expected and yes, there were some very naughty pieces of lingerie there as well that Jackie swore she'd find a way of avoiding.

The bag was very appreciated, though, with a toothbrush and other necessities she'd already begun to miss.

Breakfast had come next.

Jackie had dreaded that moment. She had somehow, using the latest known denial and memory suppression techniques, managed to justify the night before to herself. If she kept believing it happened because of a shock and that she was half-asleep throughout it, maybe her conscience would stop pestering her.

It didn't, but at least Kol-Eresh didn't bring it up either. Jackie had fully expected to be treated like a new wife, yet the harbinger didn't lay a finger on her as he'd sent in orders for breakfast.

She could almost believe the bastard was teasing her.

There was simply no other reason to eat half-naked. The wardrobe had yielded her a tunic that was much more modest.

"Are we out of the wormhole?" Jackie dared to ask conversationally. "I don't feel the ship rocking anymore."

"Yes," Kol-Eresh said. "The Leviathan exited early this morning. We'll be at Luminos tomorrow."

Tomorrow. So much for trying to get accustomed to a few things before seeing my new home world.

"Alright," Jackie said.

She'd decided that her best chance, after the humiliating display she'd put on the previous night, was to keep the harbinger as far away from her as possible. It meant pretending that she was settled on getting used to the life he offered.

"I have to oversee a few matters today," the harbinger told her as she drank something that weirdly resembled tea. "Can I trust you to stay in these quarters and not try anything foolish?"

Jackie laughed softly.

"I'm light years from home," she said. "By your own admission, there aren't any life-supporting planets out there even if I could pilot a ship, which I unfortunately can't. And I already proved to you I'm not so great at combat either, so... there is nowhere else for me to go."

Kol-Eresh nodded.

"Reasonable," he remarked. "I like that. If you keep up this kind of behavior, your life on Luminos could be a very good one. As the fated of a harbinger, you'd be allowed more freedom than the others. Given that you earn it first, of course."

"Earn it," Jackie couldn't stop herself from asking. "What type of earning are we talking about?"

She was imagining gold bikinis.

Kol-Eresh's dark, sharp eyes told her that he was aware of her line of thought.

"I mean trustworthiness," he said. "If I return to my quarters tonight and you are here without any reports that you tried to escape, that is the first step."

Trustworthiness. I can't believe he'd dare to use that word.

Jackie's tongue got the better of her again.

"Nayanors are a weird species," she stated. "Everything you respect about yourselves is completely taboo for me and the other women. You're saying that you don't want me to do everything in my powers to escape when you would most certainly do exactly that if our roles were reversed."

Kol-Eresh laughed, nodding.

"That is true," he admitted. "But you are not a Nayanor. Now, can I trust you to stay?"

Jackie had considered that and decided to go for it.

"You can trust me a little more, actually," she said.

"How so?" Kol-Eresh asked, frowning slightly. "There might come a day when you accompany me to a raid and I will not post guards at your door, but not today. Usually harbingers show that kind of leniency when the bond has lasted for years and the female has children back on Luminos, waiting for her."

Gods.

"Nothing like that," Jackie said, suddenly very aware of the tremble in her hand.

She bit her lip and forced her hand to stay still. The chalice clattered when she set it at the table. Kol-Eresh's eyes followed her, but the harbinger said nothing.

"I would like to run, if that's possible. Guards are okay, if you think they're necessary."

"Run," the harbinger repeated.

"Yes," Jackie said. "When you took me from Terra, that is what I was doing. I have no idea what Nayanors do for a training but I can't shake the mental image of a room full of mechs and all kinds of terrible machines trying to kill you."

The smirk on Kol-Eresh's lips said that wasn't far from the truth.

"Obviously I'm not suited for that, but I run," Jackie went on. "It's one of the things I enjoy doing very much. I'd like to keep that up, even here."

The tremor was growing stronger all of a sudden and it was harder to keep smiling. The small relief that exercise offered had so far been more fun for her and not actual treatment. Jackie had asked mostly as a whimsy, but now she couldn't imagine what she would do if Kol-Eresh refused. To be cooped up in his quarters all day, it would be the death of her.

Possibly literally.

"Very well," the harbinger said to her instant relief. "I will summon a guard for you."

"Thank you," Jackie said, holding on to her left arm and hoping it wasn't noticeable how badly she was shaking.

* * *

So there she was.

The small arena had something resembling a track that she could use. The ground below her feet was made to mimic some terrain that she assumed was Luminos. The rough, unyielding feel of it didn't exactly speak of sandy beaches and pretty waterfalls. As much as Kol-Eresh had told her, Jackie was expecting a cruel, rough world like Nayanors themselves.

The guard who had accompanied her – Holom – was practicing on some kind of a strange contraption in the middle of the arena. He'd tried keeping an eye on her very dutifully, but after seeing she was doing nothing interesting, started on his own workout.

A few days ago, Jackie would have thought that he was a feast for the eyes of a woman, but now, looking at the topless warrior battle the mech he'd chosen... she could only think of the harbinger.

It was amazing how he managed to make all the other seven-footers in his ship look like poor clones of him.

She kept running, trying to calm her breathing and focus on the path ahead.

The tremor wasn't going away as fast as it had before, but running was definitely helping so Jackie planned on doing that until she dropped from exhaustion.

Heads turned as she passed the warriors training on the arena. Jackie tried to keep a safe distance and not get in anyone's way, but she was still getting odd looks. The more she thought about it, the more she was sure she heard the word "female". It seemed the warriors were not used to a woman joining them on the arena.

Some looked quite insulted, not that Jackie cared. They did accomplish something, and that was to make Kol-Eresh easily rise above them in her eyes. Seeing the gruff, posturing warriors eye her like she was some whore of their commander's that they had to entertain for his sake, Jackie found herself to be thankful.

Whatever else the gods had done to her, at least they hadn't gifted her to one of those guys.

Jackie felt her heart pounding faster, but for a long time she didn't pay attention to it. That was the normal part of running.

Until it was so loud she could hear it echoing in her head. She made it to the seat where she'd left her hoodie and water.

Her hands were shaking very visibly when she reached for the bottle. Jackie spilled most of it, trying to take a few sips. The world was going dark and red around her as if a vein had burst in her eyes.

It's happening, Jackie got to think before she collapsed on her knees, trying to breathe. I should have told him...

The warriors were coming over, concerned looks on their faces as the fated of their commander slid to the floor, trembling from head to toe.

"Call the healers! Alert the harbinger!" she heard someone call.

The minutes she laid on the ground of the arena, the warriors’ muffled voices reaching her through some mist in her head, were the longest and scariest in Jackie's life. There were tears running down her cheeks. Her fingers were digging fruitlessly into the ground beneath her, hoping that it would help her hold on to life for just a few moments more.

Until he came for her.

The last thing Jackie could remember was seeing Kol-Eresh, coming toward her with a look in his dark eyes that made her tortured heart skip another beat. The warriors were backing away from him as he strode across the arena like a warrior god, looking powerful enough to battle death itself.

Jackie's grip on the ground faltered and the darkness took her.