TWENTY
THEY TRAVELED MOST of the day in silence.
Except for a few quiet ‘thank yous’ whenever Vikan helped her over a rock or a small inlet, Taylor hardly said a word, too consumed by her own thoughts and what had happened earlier that morning. Every so often, Vikan would ask her quietly, “Can we discuss this yet, luxiva?” to which she would shake her head and then they would lapse back into silence.
Taylor was retreating into herself. And she hated it. She’d done this when her grandmother had passed away. She had hardly spoken, she’d just continued on with her life, but she had felt…off. Not quite numb, but just…blank.
She didn’t want to do this, however. Not to Vikan.
But damn, had it hurt when she heard him saying Nitav’s name. It hurt when she realized, with dawning dread, that he’d willingly wanted to dream about his ex-mate.
It made her doubt everything he’d told her, that he was moving on, that he wanted to build a life with her.
It made her question whether Vikan wanted Taylor simply because she was his fated mate—a chemical reaction, really, infused with lust but not love—or if it was because he truly saw a future with her, because he actually had genuine, strong feelings for her.
He hadn’t voiced that he had feelings for her yet.
On the other hand, neither had she.
Plain and simple, it was just shitty timing. Just when she’d finally made the decision to stay with him, right when she was excited to tell him, that morning had been like a bucket of ice cold water dumped over her head. After that amazing night, after that amazing vision…it had felt like a slap in the face.
Taylor inhaled a long breath, looking up at the sky to track the suns. It had seemed like hours since they’d left that cave behind and she wasn’t any closer to figuring out what was going on in her head.
Vikan told her he’d sought out Nitav to say goodbye. For good.
Desperately, Taylor wanted to believe that. But how was it possible? Was he actually able to visit her? Before meeting him, Taylor definitely wouldn’t have believed in any of this. But when she’d seen the visions herself, when she heard what Vikan had told her about trying to change that little girl’s fate, when she felt the blood bond and their intense connection to each other, Taylor knew it was all true. And if that was all true, then it was certainly possible that he could contact Nitav.
How long had be been seeing her, visiting her?
Her heart clenched, beyond jealousy at that point. It just…hurt. Everything hurt.
The only question that she focused on, however, was: did it truly change her plans to stay with him? Taylor had told him nothing yet about what she’d decided, but in the privacy of her own mind, she thought it over.
And she realized that…no. It didn’t change the fact that she was planning to stay on Luxiria with him.
Because if they were truly going to do this, then she couldn’t just give up when she faced the slightest little hurdle. Taylor believed in fighting for things that were worth it. And anything that was worth it, the majority of the time you had to fight for and you had to fight hard for. Vikan, their potential relationship and future, was no different.
Did she think it would be easy to begin a life on a strange alien planet she knew next to nothing about? Did she think she wouldn’t encounter some problems, some culture shock? Did she think that Vikan and her wouldn’t fight over silly things, just like normal couples did, because they were fated mates?
She knew it would be hard. But, deep down, she knew it would be worth it. Everything screamed in her that it would be worth it.
Before they’d left that morning, Vikan told her that she knew him to his core and that she should trust in that if she didn’t trust his word.
Blowing out a breath, she knew that it was past time to talk to Vikan. She was still hurt, but their silence hurt a little more, especially considering how far they’d come during their journey. She missed him and he was walking within arm’s reach. She missed his grumbly voice and the way he touched her, missed the way his eyes softened ever so slightly whenever he looked at her, or heated to an inferno whenever she teased him.
They would work through this. Taylor wanted to work through this.
But literally, just as she opened her mouth to get his attention, Vikan stopped suddenly, unsheathing the blade at his chest, before pushing her behind him with a low, unexpected growl.
Taylor sucked in a surprised breath, wondering if he’d sensed an animal nearby, one of the ones he’d told her about.
But then, just above the bend where they’d been heading, a group of male Luxirians—four of them—emerged.
Vikan’s shoulders visibly relaxed, exhaling a sharp breath. He straightened and then sheathed his blade before glancing back at her.
“Do you know them?” she asked quietly, her gaze flickering nervously to the group that was approaching them. They were all shirtless, but instead of the black pants Vikan wore, they were all dressed in a gray suede. Long, curved blades hung in gold sheaths at their waists.
“Tev,” he murmured. “They are the border guards, come to escort us.”
Taylor caught his gaze. “We’re here already?”
Vikan inclined his head. “We crossed into Lopixa’s territory a while back. I did not expect them to escort us so soon, however. It means, no doubt, that Vaxa’an is already here.”
Taylor’s stomach sank.
All the guards inclined their heads to Vikan when they stopped only feet away from the both of them. And then, in Luxirian, Vikan spoke.
All four of the guards eyes were on her, their expressions curious yet wary. The tallest one, with a long braid that curved over his shoulder, responded to whatever Vikan had said in guttural, crisp sounds. Taylor wondered if she’d be able to learn Luxirian, though she doubted she’d be able to speak it.
Whatever the guard said made Vikan jerk his head in a nod, his muscles tightening.
“What is it?” she asked softly. “Vikan?”
When one of the guards stepped forward, Taylor watched as he unclasped a set of black chains from the gold sheath at his waist.
And when he clasped those chains around Vikan’s wrist, binding them together in front of him, Taylor gasped, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Luxiva,” Vikan murmured, looking at her. At the word, a ripple of energy went through the guards, but Taylor paid them no mind. Even as the guard tightened them, Vikan said, “All is well. Do not worry.”
“Don’t worry? You’re in chains!”
“I am sure Vaxa’an means it as a precaution,” Vikan told her. Even as he said it he grit his teeth, his jaw ticking, obviously frustrated that he was bound. Vikan didn’t strike Taylor as the type of male who took imprisonment well. He didn’t like to be caged. And judging by the four guards sent to meet and restrain him, perhaps Vaxa’an knew that as well.
“We’ll talk to him, Vikan. We’ll make this right,” she said, determined to free her mate. “I promise.”
* * *
It hadn’t taken them long to reach the center of the outpost once the guards guided them to it. Taylor had stood next to her mate the entire time, hating the jingle of the heavy chains and knowing that such a proud male like him couldn’t stand them.
Her first thought of Lopixa, once they crested the cliff and she had a good view of it, was that she’d seen it before. And she had, in her visions. But in her dreams, there were vague imprints of what the outpost looked like, like shadows drifting across a wall. And seeing it in person, in bright daylight, was something else entirely.
It was…impressive and a lot bigger than she’d thought. There were two distinct areas, one on the lower cliff, that jutted out towards the sea, and a smaller section on the higher cliff. She knew that was where Vikan’s home was…where she would live as well.
On the lower section, there were small homes made out of what looked like beige sandstone with circular windows and pointed roofs that shimmered like mother of pearl. A narrow road, lined with white shells and pebbles, wrapped around the vast amount of homes, weaving in and out like a labyrinth. Different kind of structures, little open stalls with open fronts that Taylor assumed were shops or food vendors, were separated off furthest from the sea and she knew that it was the marketplace.
The area closest to the sea looked like an open recreation area, where she knew the lunar celebrations took place amongst other gatherings.
The upper section of the outpost, accessed by a steep set of stairs carved into the cliff, was where the guards led them. Luxirians stopped and stared as they passed, no doubt wondering why their Ambassador was in chains with a strange looking female, led by armed guards. Taylor wondered if they’d ever seen a human before.
Next to her, Vikan was practically humming with suppressed energy as some of his people called out his name questioningly, to which he made no reply. The guards bit out something in Luxirian whenever someone stepped in their path to confront them, but they didn’t stop and they pressed on.
When they reached the upper level, Taylor’s legs were burning after the amount of stairs they’d had to climb and still they didn’t stop. There were less buildings on the upper level, but what they lacked for in quantity, they made up for in size. A towering building in the very center of the landing was apparently their destination and Taylor had to crane her neck up to see the top clearly as they came to the very base of it.
Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader of Luxiria and the male who had ordered her mate to be put in chains, was waiting for them when the guards led them inside, into a bright, spacious area that reminded Taylor of a throne room. The floors echoed their footsteps in the cavernous space, booming off the walls as the guards inclined their heads in a steep bow to the familiar Luxirian leader.
Vaxa’an was standing over a metal table. Small computer screens, like the ones Taylor had seen on the hovercraft, were laid out before him and he was speaking with another Luxirian who was dressed in white robes. He stopped mid-sentence, however, cutting off whatever the other Luxirian male was saying, when he saw them enter.
Immediately, Vaxa’an’s eyes raked over Taylor, assessing her, as if he truly believed that Vikan was capable of harming her. When his gaze landed on Vikan, her mate’s chest rose slightly, his chin tilting up. Proud male.
Vaxa’an growled and then bit out something in Luxirian. Taylor assumed it meant something like ‘get out’ because all the guards and even the male in white robes departed the throne room immediately, leaving only herself, Vikan, and a very pissed off leader.
Vaxa’an switched to English as he addressed her, “Are you hurt, female?”
Taylor frowned. “No.”
“Then why does your skin look blue? My luxiva calls them bruises, tev?”
Surprised, Taylor looked down at herself just as she perceived Vikan doing the same. He made a distressed sound in the back of his throat just as she too saw that bruises had bloomed over her arms and wrists and she knew that she’d have a mottling of them between her thighs.
She hadn’t even noticed, given what had happened that morning.
But Taylor didn’t care and she was pissed that Vikan had encountered this treatment from someone he considered a good friend. So she raised her chin to Vaxa’an and bit out, “Because that’s what happens when your mate fucks you for hours on end.”
Vikan inhaled a sharp breath, just as Vaxa’an exhaled one.
That was when Vaxa’an turned his cold eyes onto Vikan. “You mated her?”
Vikan didn’t look away from his Prime Leader once. “Tev.”
“When I spoke with you that span, when I last saw you,” Vaxa’an started, his voice quiet, yet booming around the throne room, “I said I wanted you to return to Lopixa until the females were gone.”
“You also gave me that order as my Prime Leader,” Vikan bit out, his chains swinging as he shifted his body closer to Taylor. “As my friend, you left that choice up to me.”
“I did not mean for you to steal her from the command center,” Vaxa’an rasped, his voice hardening.
“You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not standing right here,” Taylor said. “And he didn’t steal me. I told him I wanted to go with him.”
Vaxa’an looked taken aback, “Rebax?”
“Luxiva,” Vikan bit out. “Nix. Vaxa’an, this was not her doing. The fault is entirely mine.”
“Vikan,” Taylor said, turning to him. “Let me—”
“Tell me what happened,” Vaxa’an growled, cutting her off.
“He did nothing wrong!” Taylor cried, jerking her head back towards Vaxa’an. “Please, this is ridiculous.”
Vikan was silent for a brief moment before he finally said, “After I spoke with you that span, I returned to my dwelling in the Golden City. I lit up yikava, hoping that it would blacken the world until she had already left, until the choice was left to fate.”
Taylor’s breath hitched.
“It kept me numb for most of the span, but I dreamed of her. Constantly,” Vikan confessed. “I reawakened and it was night. And I knew right in that moment that I could not let her go. I did not have time on my side, however. I told the guards at the command center that I was taking over the watch so they would leave. Then I took my female. We made it a fair distance before we ran out of fuel. We have been traveling on foot since,” Vikan finished. “It was a foolish, rash decision. But I do not regret it. If you must imprison me, fine. If you must strip my rank, fine. But I do not need the gift of foresight to know that any male, including you, would’ve done the same in my position. Do you deny it? You did not claim your female in the most honorable way either, but our hearts make fools of us all.”
Taylor’s lips parted. His heart? Did that mean…?
Vaxa’an studied his friend, his jaw pulsing. “I wish to speak with your female alone.”
“Nix,” Vikan growled. “She does not leave my sight around you.”
“I will,” Taylor said, cutting off whatever it was that Vaxa’an was about to say. Vaxa’an’s blue eyes connected with her own and she said slowly, “I will speak with you alone. But first, you must release him from those chains.”
“He has committed a serious—”
“I don’t care,” Taylor said, impatient. “I’ve forgiven him for it and as you can see, I’m fine. He took good care of me. And I can’t stand to see him in those chains!”
Vaxa’an let out a sharp breath through his nostrils. Then Taylor jumped when Vaxa’an suddenly called out in Luxirian. The guard that had originally cuffed her mate appeared. Vaxa’an jerked his head to the metal and in a short moment, Vikan’s hands were free.
“Now, I will speak to your female alone,” Vaxa’an rasped. “And I know that you will not go far, as long as she is near. Leave us.”
Vikan stared down his friend and leader. When he turned to Taylor, his eyes softened just the slightest amount and Taylor was relieved to see it. She reached out a hand, running it down his cheek, hoping that everything that she wanted to express was in that touch. His eyes closed and he huffed out a short breath.
“I’ll be okay,” she said softly. “Go.”
Vikan decided to trust in her word. A moment later he jerked his head in a nod, clearly reluctant to leave her. But he did a moment later, striding back the way they’d come so she and Vaxa’an could be alone.
When she turned back to the Prime Leader, she realized everything would be okay. Because Taylor could be damn persuasive when she wanted to be.
And she’d never been this determined in her life.