Chapter One
"I think that's going to be enough, Babe," Ty said, taking another loaf of bread from Samira's hand and shoving it down into the bag sitting on the counter, "There's going to be food on the trail."
"Can you be absolutely sure of that?" Samira asked, her eyes sparkling with the tears that she was fighting to hold back, "You have no idea what's out there. Can you be absolutely positive that when you walk out of this compound that you are actually going to be able to find enough food to keep you going while you are away?"
Ty looked at his mate rushing around his bakery, gathering the loaves of bread she had baked for him, and felt his heart constrict. The truth was that he really didn't have any idea what it was going to be like when he and the Denynso warriors left the compound to go explore Uoria and find out what types of species, plants, and land existed outside of the small area of land that they had always occupied. Their kind had never left the compound and had existed completely within their small area of the planet without really considering what might be going on outside their boundaries. When they fought the wars that made them famous around the galaxy as the most fearsome and aggressive warriors in existence, it was against species that came to their planet and infiltrated their space.
It was one of these battles that had made them realize the desperate need to get outside of their compound and explore. In that battle, the final and brutal clash with their long-time enemies the KIimnu, they discovered that there was an entire realm right beneath their feet, a mirror of the land that existed above it, that had been home to a species that they had never even known was there. The idea that a species of creatures had lived right under their compound as long as they had been there without any of the Denynso, not even the king, even knowing that they were there was terrifying, and they realized that they would never be able to protect themselves or their families properly if they didn't know what was going on on the rest of the planet.
Now the warriors along with Ty, the nurturer and baker of the tribe, and Ciyrs, the healer, would be leaving the next morning on a quest that would take them into the furthest unknown regions of the planet so that they may make contact with other creatures and find out what else grew and existed on their planet. It was a frightening prospect, one that could be extremely beneficial to the Denynso and the humans that had come to live with them, or one that could put their entire clan, compound, and existence in danger.
Ty watched Samira draw a small paper-wrapped package out from under the counter and place it in front of her. His heart squeezed even harder as he looked at her, her shoulders trembling as she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He knew that his mate, this beautiful human woman that had been the biggest surprise in his life and the greatest thing that ever happened to him when she appeared just weeks before, was worried about him and his safety as he embarked on this journey. If he gave himself the time to really think about it, he would probably be worried about it, too.
He needed to do this, though. It was only recently, and through the support and love that Samira poured out to him from the moment that she met him was the reason he had been able to fully embrace who he was and the power that he had within him. His entire life the large, imposing Denynso man had focused entirely on taking care of the clan. He was the one who made sure that they had the food that they needed and that they recovered after battles. He was not a warrior. He had not been born to be one. A treasured, unique power he had inherited from his father and that he had hidden deep within him from the time he was a child, had proven that he was more than just a nurturer. Through uncovering and embracing that power he was able to step into the role of a warrior and join the ranks of the others as they marched into the final showdown with the Klimnu. It was his ability to move and control objects with his thoughts that had enabled him to be a powerful and unexpected force against the slimy, disgusting creatures that had been the bane of the existence of his kind for generations.
Now he needed to offer that same support and help to the warriors as they went out into the world to try to understand it better, and find more ways that they could not only improve the life they had, but to also protect themselves into the future. Samira had completely changed everything for him, and he was unwilling to let her be in danger if there was anything he could do to change it. They already planned on going back to Earth after the quest to marry the way that humans did, further solidifying the bond that had connected them as lifelong mates within the Denynso tribe. He couldn't in good conscious let himself do that if he didn't know that he could bring his wife and the potential future mother of his children back to a place that was safe.
"What's that?" he asked softly, trying to calm her with his voice.
"I made it for you," she said, sliding the package closer to him, "I've been working on it since right after we bonded. I just finished it last night."
Ty released the twine she had tied into a bow on the top of the package and unwrapped the thick brown paper. Inside was a complex-looking box comprised of gears and metal components. A small dip in the top caught his attention. He ran his finger across it and looked up at Samira.
"What is it?" he asked.
Samira smiled now, the expression a welcome break from the tears that streamed down her face and made her large eyes look deep and sad. She reached into her pocket and withdrew something, clutching it tightly in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she turned her hand over and opened her palm, holding it out toward him. Nestled in the middle of her palm was a gold ring, the metal antiqued and the design complex and beautiful. A series of prongs in the center held a dark red gem.
"I know that you probably don't know this because there's no reason that you should, but on Earth when people get engaged the girl usually wears a ring. It is just part of the whole ritual. Then both of them wear bands when they actually get married. Well, this was my great-grandmother's engagement ring and it was passed down through the family to me. I thought that since we are doing things a little differently than other human women are, that maybe I could give you an engagement ring instead."
Feeling tears starting to prick painfully in his own eyes, Ty took the ring from her palm and looked at it closely. Even though Samira was taller and larger than all of the other human women except for Zuri, the ring was still too small even to fit on Ty's pinky. She giggled when he tried to push it down toward the first knuckle of his pinky.
"No. It's not for you to wear," she said, "Let me show you."
She took the ring from him and nestled it down into the dip on the top of the metal box she had given him. As soon as it settled into place, the gears started to turn and Ty heard her voice coming through to him, telling him that she loved him and missed him and couldn't wait to have him home.
"This is incredible," he said when her voice stopped.
He was in such awe of her. He knew that Samira was incredibly brilliant and that it was the reason she had come to Uoria in the first place, as a way to expand her knowledge and to help the Denynso healer Ciyrs create healing ointments for the warriors, but it still stunned him. She was so young, and yet her beautiful, graceful hands were able to create something like this.
"If you push the button on the bottom, there are a few more of the voice discs that you can play. Just take out the ring, twist this top panel counter clockwise until it releases, lift it up, remove the disc that is in there, put in a different one, twist the panel back into place, and then put the ring back in and it will play just like that."
"Oh, just like that, huh?" Ty asked.
Samira laughed and looked down shyly. She often forgot how smart she was and that other people weren't able to understand the things that she did with almost no effort.
"If I were you, I'd listen to those discs by yourself the first time. There are a couple of them that may not be… appropriate for the other warriors to hear."
"Oh, really?" Ty said, lowering the box back onto the surface of the counter and walking around to Samira.
He slipped his arms around her waist and started guiding her backwards toward the door to their house, taking off his bag and putting it on the counter as they went.