CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
NORA
It was such a stupid thing to happen. The young Uatu woman was frantic when I was in her barracks to make sure they all got out.
“I can’t go without Leeko,” she cried. “With all this commotion he’s spooked and won’t come down. If I leave him here, he will die.”
“What’s a Leeko?” I asked.
“He’s an Artaenian flying dragon. He was just a baby when I found him in the yard at the slave compound,” she told me. “I raised him on scraps of food I saved out from every meal, and some of the others gave me their leftover food, too. He’s really very sweet, but he’s scared right now, and he won’t come down.”
I could easily understand why she wouldn’t leave him behind. I had found a tiny kitten once while I was in nursing school. I bottle fed that baby around the clock, and he grew up to be a big beautiful boy. I loved that cat, and my parents did, too. He went to Florida with him.
I knew if I were in her place, I couldn’t leave my pet in this failing starship to die in the cold dark of space.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Moralla Weyatu,” she replied.
“Okay, Moralla, you have to go with the others. I promise I will get some help to catch Leeko and bring him to you on the Kurellis,” I told her urgently. She started to cry as I practically pushed her out the doorway.
Well, that just upset Leeko even more. He swooped down at my head, and I ducked and hurried to get out of his way. I must have caught my foot on the leg of one of the bunk. I remember falling then lights out. I must have hit my head on one of the metal bedframes when I fell.
When I roused the first time, I realized Sahvin was carrying me, and I put my arms around him. The next time I woke, he was holding my hand to his cheek looking very worried.
“Hey, Sahv, I’m okay, honey,” I told him. “It doesn’t even hurt now.”
He blinked and looked at me as though he couldn’t believe I had spoken to him. His eyes looked suspiciously moist until he blinked again. “Ah, Nora, don’t ever scare me like that again!” he asserted. “I nearly lost my mind when I found you laying on the floor with blood dripping from your head.”
I sat up slowly and turned, dangling my feet over the side of the treatment lounger, and held out my arms to him. “Come here, sweetheart.”
He got up from the padded stool and came into my arms. I hugged him to me and pressed my cheek against his firm chest. “I’m sorry, Sahv. It was a stupid accident. Until today, I’d never even heard of an Artaenian flying dragon. Did they get him off the Rauner?”
“Yes, and they took him back to the girl, Moralla. She had smuggled him onto the ship wrapped in her clothing,” he said. “She cried when Argen put him into her hands. He cuddled up in her arms like nothing happened.”
“I never got a good look at him. Is he cute?”
“The others thought so. Harper said he looked like a four-legged dragon on one of the fantasy books she read as a little girl. Scarlet thought he acted a lot like a dog.” Sahvin told me.
“He doesn’t breathe fire or anything does he?”
“What a mess that would be if he did!” He just stood there holding me, rubbing my back as we talked. I could hear his heartbeat slowing to a more relaxed level. “He looks like some of the reptiles from Earth, but I looked it up on my AI tablet, and he’s warm-blooded, and they prefer warm climates.”
“Aren’t the largest population centers in temperate regions?”
“Yes. Moralla will have to keep him inside in the winter because he has no fur,” he said. “On some worlds, they eat them, but they are smart and can be trained much like Scarlet’s dog.”
“Then, I wouldn’t want to eat them.” Then I laughed. “Probably tastes like chicken.”
“That’s what you say about most of the protein cuts from the food processor,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, and it’s a good thing I like chicken.”
“We can go to our cabin, now,” he said resting his cheek on top of my head. “The AI Medic said you could leave when you awoke.”
I slid off the lounger and stood, still wrapped in his strong arms.
“Then, I think we better. I think someone needs some very personal attention.” I smiled up at him, and he dropped a light kiss of promise on my lips.”
I’ve always heard that make-up sex is really hot. Well, I found out that terrified-your-mate-is-going-to-die-but-doesn’t is way hotter. Energized by the infusion of nanites and stimulant, we made love for hours like we did when we first bonded. It seemed like the bonding pheromones resurged. Whatever the cause, I think I fell in love even more deeply with Sahvin that day.
Almost on a daily basis, I continue to be astounded and blessed to be loved with the passion and devotion Sahvin shares so freely with me. Whenever I have said that to him, his answer is always the same.
“That’s because we are meomee---solmatu---soulmates in any language.“