The Greater Good

THE GREATER GOOD

Susan Kelly

The Greater Good By

Susan Kelly

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THE GREATER GOOD

Susan Kelly

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© copyright July 2007, Susan Kelley Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright July 2007 ISBN 978-1-60394-059-7 New Concepts Publishing Lake Park, GA 31636 www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

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HISTORICAL FOREWORD The asteroid measured quite large by any standard. For the tiny green planet, called Earth by those ancients, the huge frozen rock hurtling toward them meant death. Fortunately, the people of this world knew something of technology. They set out to cheat fate and escape the extinction which so much of the planet’s life had suffered the last time such an event occurred. The cataclysm zooming toward them united them for the first time ever into one people and they won. They weren’t entirely decimated. The asteroid didn’t crash into their sphere of rock, but rather was turned enough, slowed enough, so that the instrument of death was instead killed itself. Caught in the gravity trap of the very planet it would have destroyed, the space traveler was forever imprisoned in orbit around the Earth. No one celebrated in joyous triumph on the planet surface. The addition of the new moon caused natural disaster after disaster. A desperate struggle to survive began. The asteroid, large enough to have its own gravitational pull, tilted its captor enough to change the Earth’s entire climatic scheme. Ice caps melted and tropics froze. Floods inundated cities and farmlands alike. Earthquakes knocked down mountains and lifted up new ones. The dual moons raised huge storms and lifted waves on oceans gone mad. Within months of the bitter victory over the asteroid over ninety percent of animal life perished as man relearned a lesson he constantly needed to be taught. Nature was and is the most powerful of forces despite man’s arrogant assumption of dominance over all things. Continents were cut off from each other. All technology was lost or destroyed. The survivors sought only to live, and so they did. Slowly, over centuries, small settlements established societies. Each community, unaware of the others, worked to recover civilization from the depths they’d fallen backward in history. Inevitably, dissatisfaction and curiosity, ever the bane and the hope of mankind, motivated some to explore. After twelve centuries of isolation the seas were once again crossed. The explorers discovered strange societies with odd customs but ultimately with the same goal. Survive and grow. To do so, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. A personal sacrifice for the greater good of the world has always been an honorable way to spend one’s life. One such example, recorded here, led to the rapid expansion of the western continent.

Maria Celibria Official historian for the University of Parlania-1527P.A.(post asteroid)

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THE BEGINNING: BARGAINS AND BETRAYAL CHAPTER ONE The wind howled and whistled through the trees. The nerve jangling noise combined with the crashing, foaming surf to block all other sounds. The man watched the tide swirling closer with each wave to the rocks where he stood. Even through the darkness he saw the whitecaps as they crashed against the large boulders thrusting toward the moon brightened sky. Herma checked up and down the desolate stretch of beach he’d chosen for this meeting. The body of water protected his back from the approach of spies and the white sand would reveal anyone stalking him from the land side. Stifling a shiver of distaste, Herma admitted he wanted to see this creature he planned to meet before it came upon him unexpectedly. He didn’t trust it, but he needed it. Herma wrapped his cloak a little tighter as another strong gust of wind blew in off the violent water. He hated the sea. The dark seething mass of water kept him trapped here with five hundred or so plebeian colonists. He sickened of the struggle to bring culture and order to the rough edged masses. He despised his long deceased parents for ever embarking on the exploratory journey that resulted in them being stranded on this barbaric continent. The most despicable thing about his existence here was the second generation of Realm dwellers he attempted to rule. Some of them actually seemed to thrive in this hellhole. Only a few, such as himself, longed for the leisurely life their parents had left behind. Why had his parents traveled to this saint’s forsaken colony giving their young son no choice in his future? Damn them. The warrior and hunter group disgusted him the most. They protected the population from the native humans like barbarians. The warriors were little better than animals themselves with their big muscles and animal grace. Worse yet, some of them actually believed they could think on their own. Talk of one of them moving into a place of leadership as a member to the Realm Council filtered to him with each report of his own spies. Murmurs of discontent with his policies circulated to his ears. As if the common laborers had the intelligence to know what was best! A brief flash of anger warmed Herma in the chill air as he recalled how one of the warriors had openly denounced his handling of exploration. He smiled as he contemplated the fate he planned for that upstart. Personal revenge and the removal of a popular leader who might someday challenge him would be quite a coup. With Juston Steele out of the way, Herma could place his own loyal man as leader of the warriors. The sweetest part of his plan would be the appearance that he acted for the good of all the colonists. First he had to get through this meeting. Herma needed the mineral he could only get from this fiend. So despite his disgust, he waited in this awful place, alone and cold. He shivered and scanned the tree line again. Nothing moved that he could see, but the twin moons created shadows under the tall pines that edged the sand. He pulled his cloak tighter against the tug of the unceasing ocean breeze and returned to his dreams and plans. If he collected enough

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redak crystals, he could reconstruct the power units needed to propel a ship across the vicious untamable sea. Herma only felt gratitude to his parents for one thing. The books they’d left him contained all the scientific information he needed to build the redak engines. The original settlers had given up on returning to Pernia shortly after arriving on this revolting land mass. His parents had described their birth land as overcrowded and violent, rich in technology, but poor in morals and peace. They saw this new land as bountiful and beautiful instead of seeing it as a barren landscape of ignorance. Something scraped against a stone nearby. Herma spun toward the noise. He suppressed his instinct to flee and waited for the creature to approach. It swung its long, heavily muscled arms as it lumbered toward him. Matted hair covered its arms, legs, and chest almost as thickly as the dirty mane on its large head. It wore no clothing so that even in the dark he could see its shrunken privates hanging between its legs. As if it fathomed his disgust with its nakedness, it used one of its large hands to scratch at its groin area. Though it appeared awkward and clumsy on the sandy beach, Herman knew the beast could move deceptively fast when it attacked. The cloud cover scattered much to Herma’s regret. Now he would be able to see the Savage’s face when he spoke to it. “Good evening, Zar.” It grunted in reply, pulling its thick protruding lips back in a semblance of a smile. Its face was a hideous likeness to a man’s features but for the large brow overshadowing its vicious, cunning eyes. That look of cunning had first led Herma to try and communicate with this animal. He had stumbled onto Zar on this very beach while searching for a secure place to start his project. ”I saw your sign for a meeting. What’s the problem?” Herma wondered where he had ever found the courage to stand his ground and speak to Zar on that fateful day. It had led to this distrustful partnership. “Your patrols hunt us. You were to slow them down. Many of my clan have been killed. The Blue Blade has taken many victims.” The guttural voice was difficult to understand, but not the anger and accusation coloring the words. “I have done the best I can for now. Some of the warriors go out on their own to hunt. I can’t control them completely.” A drop of sweat slid down Herma’s back. He knew he walked a dangerous path, but he needed Zar. Zar could find him enough redak to power his engine. All Herma had to do was sell out his fellow colonists and the healer bitches that lived in the mountains. A small price in his opinion. “If you can’t control them, I have no use for you.” The foul one stepped closer. The swirling wind carried his rank odor to Herma. The moonlight exposed the telltale glassy sheen in the Savage’s eyes. Knowing it had eaten some of the vinefruit before it met him started a ripple of fear crawling up Herma’s spine. Ingesting the fruit caused these merciless beasts to become even more aggressive. Herma’s hand tightened on the blade hidden beneath his cloak. A useless gesture as he had no chance of surviving if the beast turned on him. Showing fear could be fatal. “I’ll do as I promised. I already have a plan in place that will remove the one you call Blue Blade from the hunt. None of the other leaders will be able to replace him.” Some of Herma’s fear dissipated as he pictured the moment and the aftereffects. Juston Steele, the sword slinger with the famous blue steel blade would be gone, and there would be no more talk of electing him to the council. “I have a meeting with the Solonians set up. They’ll help

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us be rid of the Blue Blade.” A feral gleam appeared in the animal’s eyes at the mention of the Solonians. A hunger. Saliva dripped from the corners of its wide mouth. A long thick tongue slipped out and licked at its rough lips. Herma shuddered and his stomach roiled with distaste. The creature laughed, a sound more horrifying than its appearance. “Did you bring me more redak?” Herma asked, hoping to gain control of the conversation and put the beast on the spot. “No more until you fulfill your end of the bargain.” The cunning glinted in Zar’s small evil eyes. It reminded the man that though this creature appeared to be nothing more than an animal, it possessed an unknown level of intelligence. “Get rid of the Blue Blade that kills us, and I’ll bring you more of that useless rock.” “Very well, Zar. Meet me here the next time both moons are dark. Blue Blade will be gone by then.” The creature grunted before lumbering away. Herma watched it go, pleased with his night’s work. He lifted his medallion from inside his shirt where he had hidden it from Zar. It marked Herma as the Head Councilman of the Realm colony. His smile remained as he contemplated how his side of the bargain would destroy his people’s warrior hero. **** Juston Steele straightened from his leaning position near the rear exit of the Realm Council chamber. The Solonian delegation entered from one of the side entrances near the front of the large room. Their presence had instigated this unprecedented session of the Council. Selected private citizens, mostly wealthy ones, sat by invitation in the public seating facing the Council’s tables. Few of these people, he among them, had met the Solonians before today. Just and other members of the Realm Security Forces stood about the room. He tugged on the collar of his dress uniform, feeling stifled in the rarely worn outfit. He nodded at one of the Realm guards and frowned as he realized he didn’t recognize the young man. He glanced around the room. He didn’t know any of the other guards. “What do you suppose this is about, sir?” the guard closest to Just asked. Just glared at the youngster. “None of your concern.” The man swallowed hard enough for Just to hear it. He bobbed his head and moved away from Just a few steps. “Damn.” Just cursed his short temper. Fatigue drained what little patience he usually had. He and his small band of security forces had only returned last night from protecting another scientific research team exploring the north coast. He should have had a few days of down time. Why had he been ordered here? The purpose of this meeting remained a closely guarded secret. Just watched the Solonians filing into the room. They filled the first three rows facing the Council platform. Strange that they were all women. But they were fine looking. Blonde hair cascaded down the back of each lady. Some shades were dark enough to be almost brown while others looked pure white and every shade in between the extremes. The women of the Realm tended toward lean builds, but the Solonians’ long tunics hinted at generous curves. Just liked a bit of roundness in a woman.

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The last two Solonians entered. Gold bands around their foreheads marked them as the leaders. Just’s curious stare caught and was trapped when he looked at the younger of the regal pair. Her hair reminded him of golden sunshine as it shimmered and reflected the light. She turned and stared right at him with the darkest brown eyes he had ever seen. Warmth sparkled in the intelligent depths as she continued to return his stare. “By all the saints, I would give my last trade cent to wrap myself in one of those women. Imagine all that hair and soft woman beneath you.” Just spun to face the young guard who had joined him. He didn’t know this one either. The strangeness of the fact flitted across his mind before irritation crowded out the thought. That the young man’s voiced opinion mirrored his own improper imaginings only increased Just’s anger. “Keep your mind on your duty.” Just read the young guard’s name insignia. “If you need a woman there are whores at the pleasure house to take your trade cents, Cadet Wilan.” Cadet Wilan actually shivered as Just glared at him. Sighing inwardly, Just imagined the thoughts rushing through the boy’s head. He heard the things the cadets said about him. No soul, no mercy, no warm emotion of any kind. “I ... I meant no disrespect, sir,” Wilan whispered, his voice gone raspy. Disgusted that the kid was so obviously frightened of him and disgusted at himself for having similar inappropriate thoughts, Just shook his head. He’d been on the trail too long. “What you said sounded derogatory to me. The Realm wouldn’t even exist if not for the medical aid the Solonians offered our parents when they landed here. Keep in mind you’re alive today only because of their benevolence. Now go do whatever job you’re assigned to today. Keep your thoughts to yourself.” Just congratulated himself on the patience he had shown the young pup. His friend, Sky, wouldn’t be able to accuse him of frightening the kids again. Just turned away from Wilan and heard the cadet’s sigh of relief. “Actually, um, Leader Steele, sir?” Just turned his best glare on Wilan, intending to frighten the boy into leaving him alone. “I, um, was given the honor of escorting you to your seat. If you’ll just come with me, I can show you where you’ll be sitting.” Wilan sounded deferential, probably hoping for cooperation. “No, thank you, Wilan,” Just said, waving his hand in dismissal. “I can see everything I need to see from here.” “No. I ... I mean I’m sorry, sir. You must come with me. I’ve been ordered to make sure you sit in the correct seat.” Just wasn’t even listening any longer. He stared at the Solonians, wondering what was so important that the Queen and Princess had traveled to the Realm. He assumed they were the royal family although they called themselves by some other title. Just hoped to catch the eye of the princess again, but then Wilan touched him. For a few seconds, Just was back in the jungle. The screams of his men and those of the soft scientists drowned out the gentle hum of the council chamber. The grunts and growls of the Savages intermixed with the screams and shouts of his men and the scientists they protected. Reality crashed back into Just. They were out in the hallway and he had Wilan pinned against the wall. Just’s forearm crushed against the poor kid’s throat, the strength of the hold keeping the cadet high on the wall so his toes brushed the floor. Wilan’s breath wheezed and his eyes widened to the size of the giant moths that fluttered in the swamps at night.

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Just concentrated on the present, slowing his breath, calming his racing heart. “Don’t ever touch me again, kid. You’re half a breath away from spending the next lunar cycle in the mediward.” “Steele, stop terrorizing my cadets. I have enough trouble getting them to stick it out through training. I don’t need you scaring them half to death. Wilan, go back inside. I’ll take care of this,” Head Trainer Sky Turan ordered. Just eased Wilan down so his feet touched the floor. The cadet scampered sideways until he was clear of Just. Wilan nodded at Sky before speaking to Just. “I’m sorry, Leader Steele. I was only trying to do my job. Counselor Herma told me to use whatever means necessary to get you in the correct seat.” Just felt Sky’s glare on him, and he heard Wilan’s honesty in his explanation. Just groaned inwardly. Tonight the barracks would circulate another tale about the cold unfeeling bastard, Steele. “My apologies also, Cadet,” Just lied between his teeth. He didn’t owe the kid an apology. “I don’t like strangers to touch me, and I’m still a little edgy from being in the bush this past lunar cycle.” Wilan looked a bit shocked by the stilted apology, but he nodded at Just before slipping back into the meeting room. As soon as the door closed behind the cadet, Sky let loose with a booming laugh. He stepped forward and took Just’s hand in a crushing handshake and slapped his shoulder. The two of them had fought side by side many times. “Wilan’s not a bad recruit, Just,” Sky said, his eyes still twinkling with his mirth. “He looks like he should still be in basics school learning his reading and math.” Just thought Sky looked tired. His gray eyes carried the ghosts of lost comrades and desperate battles. Probably the same ones Just would see in his own eyes if he cared to look. Sky’s silver hair, unusual in a man only thirty-six years old, looked in a need of a trim. “You look the worse for wear yourself, Sky. Something going on here while I’m off on useless adventures?” Sky’s expression lost its levity. “I’m not sure, Just. I can’t put a finger on it. Maybe I’m getting too old for this. Or I’m getting as paranoid as you.” A tiny niggling of uneasiness tickled at Just’s instincts. When this little diplomatic function ended he and Sky would have to sit down and have a long chat. “How about if you join the girls and me for the evening meal tomorrow?” Sky asked as if he read Just’s thoughts.” The girls are asking about you, and Claudia might be home from patrol by then.” Just accepted. He enjoyed time with Sky and his three younger sisters. Claudia was only one year younger than Just. She was one of their finest warriors. Sky had taken on the care of his youngest two sisters when his parents passed away two years previously. Sky had stopped going into the field and taken over the training of the recruits. “How are my girls doing?” “They’re growing up so fast it’s frightening. Soon I’ll have to protect them from guys like you.” Just laughed along with Sky. “Not if they’re like their big sister, Claudia.” “She’s right behind you in rank, Just. She might be your superior one day.” “If she doesn’t give in to one of her suitors.” “They’re all afraid of her. Seriously, Just, you need to think about settling down yourself. There’s many fine women that would be glad to join with you.”

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“You’re going to replace me with some cadets like Wilan? Can you see him the first time the Savages come screaming from the trees? He’ll mess his pants.” “Maybe, maybe not. He had the courage to face you, didn’t he? If you knew what those young guys say about you ....” “Don’t exaggerate, Sky.” “You’d be surprised. They’re always shocked to see you’re not the tallest guy in the world. Of course, they think that sword you inherited from your father shoots lightning bolts at your enemies.” They laughed again. Cadet Wilan opened the door, his mouth dropping open when he saw them. Just wondered what tale the young man would tell in the barracks about the two battle hardened sword slingers actually laughing. Wilan cleared his throat and spoke to Sky. “Sir, Counselor Herma is waiting for Leader Steele to be seated before he speaks. He demands his presence.” “Thank you, Wilan. I’ll bring him in myself. Come on, Just.” Just hesitated before following Sky. “What’s this about, Sky? Why a special seat for me? Why was I ordered here at all? I’m not a security guard, and I’m due some down time anyway.” Sky frowned and ran his fingers through his silver hair. Just’s uneasiness blossomed when he saw Sky’s similar disquiet. Just recognized some of his restlessness was the natural feeling all men of action felt in the unfamiliar circus of politics. Wilan still held the door open and listened to their conversation. “They probably want your pretty face up front to entertain all those Solonian women.” Sky’s tone was light, but his eyes held a warning. Few of the experienced warriors cared for Herma or agreed with his policies. “Right, Sky. I’ll see you and my little darlings tomorrow night.” A familiar itch started at the back of Just’s neck as he followed Wilan to the front of the hall. He often felt that little warning when he was on the trail, but why now? He trusted his instincts, but why did they warn him of enemies here? Just noticed all the Solonian women watched him as he took his seat. He sensed a trap closing in on him as introductions started. The Deomo Sinda, what they called their queen, nodded regally to the polite applause. An attractive woman still in the prime of life, she carried herself with a style that spoke of a long lineage of royalty. The muscular, serious looking woman beside the Deomo was introduced as the Solonian Security Captain, Vilicia. As she rose and nodded curtly at the crowd, Just noticed she stood at least as tall as he did. Just’s stare locked with the Lady Katerina’s as she rose in turn. His heart stumbled then raced furiously. The white straight tunic she wore couldn’t conceal her full breasts and rounded hips. Made to cradle a man, he thought as his gaze lingered on her hip length golden hair swinging loose beyond her waist. Golden and precious, it swayed as she nodded. Her eyes, so dark he wondered if they were black instead of brown, contained the warmth he had noticed earlier. A light blush tinged her cheeks as she stared back at Just. His lower body tightened, shocking him with the sudden burst of lust. Had he been in the bush so long a simple look from a woman aroused him? What was he doing? Just blinked and looked away. Damn! He was ogling Lady Katerina as if she were a common whore. Thinking he would have to come up with his second damn apology of the day, Just glanced back at Katerina. She nodded as if acknowledging the spark he had felt

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between them. Puzzled and suspicious, Just returned the nod. She smiled at him and looked toward the podium where Herma droned on about the contributions of the Solonians to the Realm. Just reminded himself what important allies these women were to his people. Someone should kick his butt for the thoughts he was having about the Lady Katerina. The big brute guard, Vilicia, stared at him like she wanted the duty. His body still throbbed with arousal despite his self castigation. Just scanned the room out of habit, trying to turn his thoughts away from the forbidden. He again noted he didn’t know any of the guards personally. Even Wilan was gone as was Sky. Why was he here? Just felt very alone. **** Katerina hoped her face showed more composure than she felt. She’d used all her courage to meet the intense stare of the handsome male. Handsome didn’t properly describe him. Magnificent! He glided rather than walked. His lean muscles, obvious under the tight clothing he wore, bunched and extended beautifully. A hint of a wave gave his night black hair the appearance of being recently mussed. His blue eyes matched the color of the sky at high noon. All Solonians had various shades of brown eyes, making his unusual color even more fascinating. She glanced at him again, but he stared now at Counselor Herma. His gaze was intense enough to be unnerving. The strength of will behind it seemed monstrous. He was perfect. He was the one. **** Just wondered why Deomo Sinda seemed so tense as she rose to speak at the podium. His own misgivings grew as he noticed a number of the Solonian women stared at him. “Thank you, Counselor Herma. The succor we’ve extended to your people has given us benefits, as well. The time has come when we must ask the Realm for assistance in an important matter. Your leaders have agreed to our plea with the good will and honor of true friends and allies. I thank them and all of you for saving Solonia in our time of need.” The Deomo returned to her seat as puzzled applause followed her. Just noticed she cast a concerned look at her daughter, Katerina. Herma took the podium again, his smile triumphant and eager. The crowd seemed to lean forward in anticipation, but Just wanted to move away. His instincts screamed. “As you know, good people of the Realm, our Solonian friends have few men among them. They fear the continuation of their people as their numbers decrease each generation. Deomo Sinda has proposed to us a joining of our two races for the betterment of both peoples.” Herma paused as excited chatter broke out in the crowd. The Solonians remained quiet. Herma’s thin lips curled in a gloating smile. He stared at Just as he raised his hand for silence. “Of course, in joining two separate races, we must take precautions. We need to move slowly as we attempt to merge our two cultures and people into one. On the physical level, we have no way of knowing if offspring can result from the mating of a Solonian woman and a Realm man.” Every Solonian stared at Just now. They knew something he didn’t. Trap! He sensed it, but what was it? “To give our hopes the best possible chance of success, each race has chosen one of their finest individuals to be joined as a formal mating pair. If and when they have produced healthy offspring, we’ll conduct more joinings between our peoples.” Herma paused and gestured toward

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Sinda. Sinda stood and spoke to the gathering. “To show our strong desire to make this mating a success, Lady Katerina has been chosen to represent our people. We ask that the joined couple reside in Solonia since they will be my heirs.” Herma smiled and led the applause as Sinda sat once more. Suddenly Just saw it clearly. Very clever of Herma. The walls closed in on Just. He looked around, measuring the distance to the exits and freedom. No less than twelve guards blocked every door. Just looked back at Herma. The counselor’s malevolent stare greeted Just. A shiver of dark foreboding crept up Just’s spine. “The Realm is proud to have one of our finest volunteer for this important duty. “ Did only Just see the hatred and triumph in Herma’s eyes? “Please rise and accept this honor, Squad Leader Steele.”

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Chapter Two Just rose slowly as thunderous applause echoed off the high ceiling. His prowess on the trail as well as in the public arena contests had made him well known to the people. Just knew his popularity was one of the reasons Herma disliked him. He considered Herma’s cleverness. The Solonians had come to the council to ask for help and Herma had seen the opportunity to rid himself of a competitor in a public legal manner. The ovation went on, giving Just a chance to collect his scattered thoughts. He couldn’t put it all together. Herma had a deep dislike of the entire warrior class, but he focused most of it on Just. Not for the first time, Just wondered what scheme Herma plotted that necessitated ridding himself of a popular warrior. **** Katerina couldn’t resist looking at Just as they both obeyed Herma’s command to approach the podium. Her heart pounded with equal amounts of excitement and dread. She wished this part over. Herma had told Sinda it would be better to surprise Just with the plan. She hadn’t agreed then, and she didn’t now. Hot waves of anger rolled out from the man walking beside her. The intensity of the rage frightened her. How well did they know these violent people of the Realm? They stopped in front of Herma. She didn’t look at Just now. His physical presence seemed to tower over her, not so much his size but his sheer maleness. Her mother’s concerns that men were not to be trusted haunted Katerina. Would Just turn on her when they were alone? How could she defend herself against such a warrior? She put a trembling finger to the jarda crystal hanging on a thin chain around her neck. It would protect her once they held the Solonian joining ceremony. She glanced again at Just and found herself frozen in place as his furious blue glare turned on her. He frowned at her and shook his head once. A look of cool calmness replaced the fire in his eyes. It didn’t comfort her. She sensed all those emotions still seethed beneath his exterior controlled expression. “We’ll hold the joining ceremony now for all to witness,” Herma said with a smile Katerina could only term as gloating. Katerina was the last in a long line of gifted Solonian women with the ability to sense emotional energies from others. She concentrated on Herma, confused by the feelings of triumph and hate he directed at Just. Some of his nasty emotions bled over to her, also. Why would Herma hate her? What had Just done to earn such hostility? They’d been tricked, but how? “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake. My apologies to the Lady Katerina, but I would have remembered volunteering for such a duty.” Just looked only at Herma. Katerina recognized the statement as more challenge than apology. Katerina’s face heated at the insult. She had expected Just Steele’s surprise, but had not thought he would turn from his duty. The Council had assured the Solonians that Just was a loyal warrior who would do as ordered for the good of the Realm. She heard the murmurs of anger rising from her entourage. They were angry at the public humiliation of their princess.

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“You will do your duty as ordered, Steele.” Herma’s smirk was gone. He pounded on the podium with his open hand. “Quiet in the hall.” “My duty doesn’t require me to give up my personal rights and freedoms. The Council can’t order me to join with this woman. My duty is to protect my people, and I believe I’ve done that well enough.” Just’s voice sounded strong and steady compared to Herma’s frantic tone. Herma changed instantly from furious to cool and in command like a color changing lizard. She heard the folks of the Realm in the background questioning the high handed tactics of their council. Even a few members of the council looked dubious. “Let’s retire to my chambers. We can discuss the exact rights you possess, Steele.” Herma suggested, again brimming with confidence. “And where your duties lie.” Katerina felt Just relax beside her. Did he think the matter would be resolved as he wished? Katerina knew he was in for a surprise. After seeing Juston Steele in person, Katerina decided she would settle for no other man to be her mate. **** The Solonian women packed Herma’s large study to the walls. He counted twenty Realm guards, all strangers to him except one. Dagar. The cowardly bastard gave Just a mocking salute from across the room. Alone. Just reached for the sword that was not there. Damn the rules that didn’t allow him to wear it to diplomatic functions. Herma seated himself behind his massive desk. Katerina and the Deomo stood to his right, both wearing frowns. With no other Council members present, Herma no longer hid his hatred as he looked at Just. “Let me make this as simple as possible, Steele. Even a thick headed warrior like you should be able to understand. You’re going with these women as a volunteer, or you’re going in chains. That choice is the only one you have. Whatever rights you think you have are secondary to the needs of the Realm. I’m surprised you’re being so selfish and petty in this matter.” Just worked to control his anger, knowing control and calm would be needed. Before he could speak, Herma gave an order. “Shackle him now, Dagar. Then he’ll understand our insistence on his cooperation.” Stunned that he wouldn’t be given a chance to discuss the arrangement, Just stood frozen as the guards moved toward him. Realm law protected his rights and freedoms. For a wild moment he wondered if he couldn't escape the mad scheme. Then one of the guards touched him. Instincts took over where rational thought failed. Using the hand to hand fighting skills his father had taught him, Just quickly freed himself from the restraining hands. He pivoted lightly on his toes and used a spinning kick to knock the closest man to the floor. The heel of his hand dispatched another, giving the rest of them pause. They formed a loose circle around Just as he slowly retreated to a corner of the room. “You can’t lock me up. I have violated no laws. I’m permitted to speak to the Council on my own behalf, Herma.” Just kept his eyes on the guards as he spoke, wondering what the Solonians thought of all this. “Perhaps it’s time you learn I can do whatever I want, Steele. You men, rush him all at once.” With a sudden surge, the remaining guards rushed Just. He managed to strike down the first two to reach him, but the others were on him. Hands grabbed him from behind and Just leaned back into them. As they stumbled back, he lifted both legs at once and kicked two more men to the

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floor. More joined those behind him, holding his arms and forcing him face down on the floor. They piled on top of him, their combined weights making it difficult to breathe. Just struggled, refusing to surrender. He kicked out, connecting with something soft and eliciting a howl of pain from someone. Over the victim’s groans he heard the clang of chains. Just jerked one of his arms free and swung wildly at those on his back. The crunch of bone gave Just little satisfaction as someone lifted his head using his hair. The guard cursed at him and swung his own fist. Just saw the blow coming but he couldn’t avoid it. His head snapped back as the punch landed on his jaw. Blackness swam across his vision and his muscles lost all their strength. The weakness lasted a few seconds. Just renewed his struggle, though his limbs moved sluggishly. “Hit him again so we can get these chains on him,” one of the guards ordered. Someone pushed their knee into the middle of his back and another pushed his face against the wooden floor. A kick to the ribs stole Just’s breath and a fist to his ears started a buzzing in his head. He slipped toward unconsciousness, but then the cold metal chains touched his wrists. He used the last of his strength to jerk his arms away from the hands holding him. Someone landed another fist to his head. “Stop!” The command coupled such authority with rage that even Just froze. He turned his throbbing head to see Lady Katerina standing over them like an avenging goddess from a child’s tale. Even dazed as he was, Just realized she was angry. Very angry. His befuddled mind registered how beautiful and powerful she looked. “You will stop striking the future Deoman of Solonia. There are other ways to gain his cooperation. Vilicia, bring me the vial.” The tall muscular woman walked toward him. The guards made room for her as she knelt beside his hips. Just couldn’t turn his head to see what she was about. Panic renewed his strength as Vilicia wiggled her hand beneath him and untied his pants. She jerked his pants down part way despite his efforts to escape. Something stung his upper buttocks and then she pulled his pants back up. “I believe all you men will be safe now if you release this one man,” Vilicia said. Another time Just might have appreciated her sarcasm. None of the guards seemed to trust her enough to listen. They still held Just tightly. “Let me put it differently. If you don’t back away from Steele now, I shall continue what he started.” The guards obeyed her this time. They released their holds on Just and backed away. He pushed against the floor but nothing happened. His arms didn’t work. He tried to roll over, but succeeded only in turning his head. “Don’t struggle any longer, Steele,” Lady Katerina whispered as she leaned over him. “We’ll discuss this when you’re awake again and in better control of your emotions.” Just fought against the strange lethargy flowing through his body. Lady Katerina’s voice might have been at the end of a long tunnel. Using every bit of willpower he had, Just lifted his head to look at the lady. Even his eyelids tried to disobey him. He blinked and strained to keep them open. He shook his head to try to clear the fuzziness in his brain only to lose his balance and fall prone once more. “Hell and damnation. What kind of poison did you give me, witch?” he asked. He meant to intimidate the woman with his angry question, but his voice lacked volume. The sounds in the hall faded and his head refused to lift off the cool floor. Dark closed in on the edges of his vision. A

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revelation came to him as the dark took him. He was dying. She’d killed him. Hell of a day. **** Just tested his muscles before opening his eyes and giving away his consciousness. Instincts and habit had long ago taught him to be ready to fight immediately upon waking. Though a bit of drowsiness still clouded his mind, his thoughts had cleared enough for him to realize he’d been drugged and not poisoned. The Solonians were healers and would have such things. Cold heaviness lay on his wrists and he guessed his ankles wore similar shackles. Cloth rubbed against cloth alerting him to the presence of others. He heard the breathing of two people and caught the clean womanly scent he had detected about the Lady Katerina when he had first met her. Ignoring the pain behind his eyes, Just blinked twice and opened his eyes. Lady Katerina sat in a chair near his head. Her guard, Vilicia, stood directly behind her, glaring at Just. “He wakes already, Katerina,” Vilicia said, frowning at Just even more. “We should note that males need larger doses of sedatives than females the next time we need to use the drug. “Hopefully, Vilicia, we won’t have to use the drug on him again. We must convince him to use good sense.” Now Katerina frowned at him also. “Though we’ve seen no indication that he possesses any.” “Yes, it’s a wonder he’s survived as long as he has. This tendency to lose control can’t serve him well in his fight against the Others.” Just’s foggy brain wasn’t catching all their words, but he heard enough to know he was being insulted. Remembered anger rose to burn off some of the haze. Apparently rudeness was a part of Solonian culture as well as kidnapping. Rudeness deserved rudeness. “What the hell do you want?” The huge one stepped toward him, her lips pulled back in a snarl. It occurred to Just how helpless he was. The shackles held him stretched out flat on his back on a wooden cot. “Watch your mouth, chained one. It wouldn’t bother me to teach you some manners and respect toward your betters.” “Betters?” Just’s head hurt like hell, but the sluggishness was rapidly dissipating. “I see two common criminals who would rob a man of his personal rights and freedoms.” Katerina raised her hand, forestalling any response from Vilicia. The warrior gave Just a look of disgust before retreating to the doorway. She leaned against the stone wall. “I’m in the brig,” Just realized out loud. How would he escape from the stone dungeon? Most Realm structures were made of wood, but not this prison. He tugged on his restraints and found he could do little about his prone position. His mood went from bad to worse when he saw the sympathy on Lady Katerina’s face. “We’re not here to debate such issues as your manners or lack of same, Just Steele. I want to discuss our arrangement and your options.” Just started to interrupt, but her raised hand stopped him. Instant irritation flooded him because he obeyed her silent command. “Let me give you the basic facts. Your leaders have given you to us. Whether they have the right to do so or not is of no concern to my people. You’re under our control and will remain so. There’s no chance of escape, and we won’t change our selection.” Just pressed his lips together, waiting for her to tell it all. He didn’t trust her a bit. Her dark

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brown eyes held a determination that he feared would hinder his escape. “You’re perfect for our needs.” Katerina continued. “If we must, though we prefer not to, we can control you with drugs similar to the one you’ve already experienced. We can medicate you to keep you docile and cooperative. We also have a potion that will insure your cooperation as a sire of my child.” Katerina held up a small glass vial of brown liquid. A sharp metal prong topped the vial. The stinger, Just guessed. “I’m prepared to do so right now if that’s the way you chose.” Just’s heart accelerated. The suffocating trapped feeling closed in on him. His mouth and throat dried up as Vilicia moved to the side of his cot. He pulled against his shackles, his helplessness threatening to turn to panic. “Shall I pull his pants down again? I don’t believe I retied them from before.” Vilicia smiled at Just, all nastiness and superiority. Just tried to jerk back out of reach as she leaned over him. “Wait, Vilicia. Perhaps Squad Leader Steele would like to hear another option? Just risked a look at Katerina when she spoke. Sweat broke out on his back as she shook the vial. What kind of witches were they? **** Katerina watched Just swallow, his throat working like he had a melonfruit stuck in his gullet. It must be his massive pride he worked to get down. She regretted the less than kind persuasion she had used to get his cooperation. His life was more important than his pride so he would have to live with it. Katerina didn’t dare share with Just what she had picked up from Herma. The vicious hatred the councilor felt for Just was murderous. She had discussed it with her mother who sensed the same thing. Katerina believed Herma would find a more permanent method to rid himself of Just if the Solonians didn’t take the warrior with them. Katerina admitted another reason for her pressure on Just. After meeting him and seeing him in all his pride and stubbornness, she wanted him for her mate. No lesser man would do to sire her child. Katerina shook the vial and hid her hope that she wouldn’t have to use it. “I’m listening. I hope your next option is better than the first one.” Just’s tone was so cold and flat a shiver ran up Katerina’s spine. She remembered her earlier fear when he had been so angry at Herma. She pushed doubts aside and handed the vial to Vilicia. Just released his held breath, his fists uncurling and the muscles across his chest relaxing a little. Katerina lifted her gaze back to his face before her imagination led her to dangerous speculations. “There’s another option. We hadn’t realized you would find joining with me so repulsive.” Katerina paused, giving Just a chance to deny it. He didn’t. “However, since it is, perhaps we can come to another agreement. I propose a short trial of our joining. We should know shortly if conception is possible between our two races. You will stay until the child is delivered and then return to your own people. During the lunar cycles you’re with us, you can learn about our society.” But not everything, Katerina added to herself. “We can benefit from your knowledge and prowess as a warrior. You’ll be fighting the same enemy you do for the Realm and perhaps learning from our own warriors.” Katerina paused, giving Just a chance to think. She shouldn’t place so much importance on this man’s decision, but she was determined to have him at her side when they returned to Solonia. “You have two choices. Agree to cooperate for a short period of time and go free after a time or

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return with us as a slave forever. After the evening meal, I’ll return for your decision. Either way, we depart for Solonia at daybreak.” **** “I can’t believe this,” Sky raged. He slapped his open hand against the stone wall of Just’s cell. Just sat on his cot. Katerina had ordered the guards to undo his shackles before she left. They’d removed all but the one around his right hand. At least he’d been able to stand and take care of certain pressing personal needs. “Herma’s behind this, the sneaking bastard,” Sky snarled, adding some colorful curses. “Sky, sit down and listen. If Herma hears you bullied your way in here, he’ll have you in the cell next to me.” Just had used the hours since Katerina had left him to look at his situation. Sky sat in the sturdy wooden chair Katerina had used. “I’ll go to the council. I’ll get every one of them out of bed.” “Sky, I already told Lady Katerina I would go with her willingly in the morning.” Sky looked at Just as if he had turned into a stranger. “Why?” “I didn’t know you could get in here. I didn’t even know if you knew where I was. She gave me a deadline to give her my answer.” “She threatened you into agreeing to go with her. Such a promise doesn’t count.” “I gave her my word, Sky. No matter how it was obtained, I can’t go back on it.” Sky sighed and shook his head. “Who knows what they might do to you? They already used some heathen potion on you.” Just had worried a bit about that himself. “Forget about that for now. You need to keep an eye on things when I’m gone. Herma is up to something. He wanted to get rid of me for a reason beyond his dislike of me. There’s more going on here than this alliance with the Solonians.” “Are those women in on it?” Sky didn’t even question Just’s speculation. Neither of them had trusted Herma since the councilor rose to his leadership position. “I can’t tell, but I should be able to find out. With me gone, Herma might feel he can work openly on whatever he’s up to.” “What could it be? He’s already the top man in the Realm.” Just wondered the same thing. “Maybe he has a scheme to make his office that of a king or something along the lines of a dictator.” They spoke some more. Sky promised to bring Just’s horse and weapons to him in the morning. Sky left reluctantly and Just hated to see him go. He didn’t sleep, though he knew he would need his wits and strength in the days to come. Was Lady Katerina part of Herma’s plots or an innocent dupe? Did the Solonians plan an accident for Just when they reached their secret mountain home? No one in the Realm had ever visited Solonia. The trail to it was hidden. What if Katerina really only wanted him for his breeding capabilities? Warmth spread through him as he pictured her womanly curves and long golden hair. Could he trust her enough to bed her? It might be worth the risk. **** Katerina found the Realm joining ceremony to be a brief, cold affair. Councilor Herma presided over it himself, his gloating smile not fooling anyone. The whole thing annoyed her. “Do you, Juston Steele, take this woman to wife of your own free will?” Herma asked, his

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eyes glinting with challenge. Katerina didn’t look at Just. He shifted beside her, his arm bumping hers. His shackles tinkled, making mockery of Herma’s question. Just laughed. Katerina stared at him, noting his fine white teeth and genuine amusement in his eyes. “Go to hell, Herma,” Just said. “Are you ready to go, Lady Katerina?” Katerina could only nod, catching a glimpse of urgency in the depths of Just’s sky blue eyes. He put his hand beneath her elbow and a wave of his churning emotions washed through her. Trepidation, suspicion, anger, distrust. How could he laugh so realistically when all that was inside him? “Wait, Steele,” Herma ordered. Just tugged on Katerina’s arm and started walking with her toward the door, the chains around his wrist clanging in time with his long strides. “Steele!” Herma shouted. Just hesitated as they reached the door. He smiled at Herma, but Katerina sensed Just’s rage toward the councilor. What psychological game did he play at? “Herma, you have no authority over me now. I’m the future Deoman of Solonia, a colony the Realm can’t survive without. I believe I now outrank you, wouldn’t you say? Another day you and I will discuss your handling of this affair.” Just ushered Katerina out the door and closed it behind him, but not before Katerina caught a glimpse of the councilor’s red face. “That didn’t help things,” Katerina scolded.. “We left my mother and my guards in there. We can’t leave until they’re ready.” “I wasn’t staying to listen to that farcical ceremony.” Just slowed down enough that Katerina could walk instead of trot. He led her down a narrow wooden stairway. Most everything in the Realm seemed made of wood. Did that symbolize a lack of permanence or was it impatience? Building with stone took time, but the finished product lasted for many lifetimes. “Where are we going?” Katerina asked, irritated with the cavalier manner he exuded as if he expected her to follow him and angry with herself for the excitement running through her system. “To the stable. You told me we were leaving at daybreak. Are you a lady of your word or not?” Katerina stared at him, meeting his probing gaze. Why the sudden hurry? His chains clinked as he moved his hand away from her arm. Chained by his leader. No wonder he wanted out of this place. “I’ll have those chains removed as soon as we clear the city walls.” Just raised an eyebrow, a question in his eyes. He shrugged. With a twist of his wrists the shackles fell away and clanged to the floor. “Don’t do me any favors, my lady wife.” He turned and continued down the stairs. Katerina looked from his retreating back to the chains lying at her feet. Why was he in a hurry and how dangerous was this man she was taking into her homeland? She pushed the chains aside with her foot and followed Just. Despite her misgivings about the entire Solonian joining ceremony, perhaps her mother and the others were correct. The Solonians had something much stronger to control Just with than simple metal bracelets, a permanent kind of restraint.

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Chapter Three A light breeze, still smelling of the sea, stirred the tall, wide, blade grass as the horses walked through it. A few seabirds flew graceful arcs in the sky though the ocean was miles behind them. The morning star disappeared as the sun crept higher in the sky. Katerina rode beside Just in the middle of their small caravan. Thanks to the Realm colonists, these flatlands were now safe to cross. The Realm warriors had hounded the Others out of the open plains. Few of the Solonian women had ever seen the ocean until the Realm cleared the way for them. She counted the Realm soldiers riding with them. At least twenty young men and an officer who smirked at her whenever she snagged his leering stare. With the number of her own people, it made for a group large enough to dissuade most attacks even if the area wasn’t safe. Just rode without speaking beside Katerina. He hadn’t said a word to her since he had left her on the steps. A Realm woman had met him at the stable, her eyes filled with tears and hate as she glared at Katerina. Just returned the woman’s hug, but shook his head in answer to the pleas she whispered to him. Another Realm warrior, one called Sky, arrived to say his farewells. Sky took charge of the distraught woman and led her away after giving Katerina a cool nod. How much did she know about Just? Had the woman he called Karal been a lover? A future marriage partner? Katerina hadn’t even thought of what her claiming of Just might do to other people. Guilt swamped her. Then Vilicia called out something to Mia. Mia laughed and shook her head. All the Solonian women seemed happier since they had left the city behind. Katerina shoved her guilt aside. Solonia needed this joining. Nothing and nobody else was as important. Just’s large black stallion pranced and snorted, fighting against the tight rein. The half tamed beast matched his rider in temperament. The wind lifted both their black manes, and they tossed their heads and lifted their faces as if they tasted freedom in the air. Likely man and horse rode at the front of every excursion. Katerina’s own female horse walked calmly beside the fractious male. The jarda crystal hanging about its neck conveyed her wishes as quickly as she thought them. Thinking of jarda crystal turned her thoughts to the Solonian joining ceremony. A wave of dread coursed through her, causing her horse to dance nervously as it sensed her tension. She turned her mind to the beauty of the passing grasslands, calming herself and the horse. For the first time since leaving the Realm, Just glanced her way. His horse danced in reaction to the antics of her own mount. Katerina met his cool unemotional survey with what she hoped was one of her own. She reminded herself not to feel guilty for any of this. Not for the threats she had used to gain his cooperation or for what was to come. The first had likely saved his life and the second was for the good of her people. The good of the many outweighed the welfare of any one person. Katerina wondered wryly if any good would come of this. She doubted the thickheaded

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man beside her would understand the need for her actions. She didn’t need him to understand though, only cooperate for a little while. She sensed he had his own reasons for giving in to her plan anyway. “What are you looking for?” Katerina asked when Just went back to scanning their surroundings. He sat the horse so easily he might have been born in the saddle. “Habit,” Just answered, shrugging without looking at her. “Is your horse tamed?” she asked to keep a conversation going. It glared at the other horses as surely as its rider did their riders. “Tame enough.” Just turned to look at her horse. “Wild enough to retain its natural personality. Untamed enough to know how to fight for its freedom when it must.” Katerina guessed they weren’t talking about horses anymore. “Sometimes life is better in a domestic, tame situation.” “For whom? Who are you to judge what’s best?” With no ready answer, Katerina dropped the conversation. It would be a long year together if all their interactions were as civil. **** The party stopped at noon within sight of the foothills. The fare included fresh breads, fruits and cheeses, most of it provided by the Realm as a farewell meal. Just picked a spot by himself. He settled on a log, appreciating a meal without chains to inhibit his hands. The Solonian women sat together in one area and the Realm soldiers in another. The voluntary segregation reinforced Just’s growing doubts about this political farce of a marriage. Studying the faces of the Realm escort, Just noticed that once more he knew none of the men except their leader, Dagar. He knew it wasn’t coincidence. Dagar glanced in Just’s direction often, always wearing a smirk. Just ignored the incompetent bastard. Dagar was careless and arrogant on the trail. Just had long refused to have the man in his squad. The last time they had patrolled together, Dagar’s ineptness had cost two good men their lives. Just had called him on it front of a military hearing board, and Dagar was demoted. Dagar hated Just, perhaps explaining why Herma chose the dunce for his pet. With Just’s departure from the Realm, Dagar would probably have to be promoted to fill in a vacancy. Just concentrated on his food. His meals in the brig had been less than filling and he had missed at least one altogether. The present mattered, not the past. He needed his wits about him. For the time being he would consider the Solonians conspirators with Herma. As many of the travelers finished eating, they began to mingle. A few, stiff, uncomfortable conversations started between some of the men and the Solonian women. Dagar leaned toward Lady Katerina while the big guard, Vilicia, frowned at the swaggering fool. Just refused to acknowledge the slight twinge of irritation as Dagar put his hand on Katerina’s arm. Couldn’t the bastard see the lady was only being polite? Vilicia’s hand dropped to her sword, making Just wonder what Dagar had said to Katerina. Just smiled as Katerina rose and brushed Dagar’s hand aside as if it were a pesky insect. The lady chose that moment to look his way. “Saints in hell,” Just cursed softly as Katerina started toward him. Despite his reluctant participation in this joining, he admired the way her hips swayed with each step. Her riding tunic clung to her breasts and outlined her narrow waist. The Realm held few opportunities for a man to sample the charms of a woman. Most of the limited number of single women quickly found a

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husband, a husband that would be home, not away for weeks on end like he was. Katerina sat down beside him on the log with a whisper of a touch as her arm brushed his. Just hoped she didn’t try for small talk as if they were on a friendly jaunt across the countryside. Silence stretched between them, surprising Just. Curious, he looked at her. Katerina gazed across the way with an amused look on her face. Following the direction of her stare, he saw Vilicia now trapped in conversation with Dagar. “I thought you two were friends,” Just said. “We’re the best of friends.” “That might change after you left her to fend for herself.” “No, Vilicia will understand. I was giving her the chance to do what she wants to anyway.” “And what might that be?” Just found the sparkle in her eyes held his attention so he could barely follow their conversation. “Why, to knock that puffed up puppet right on his ass.” Just stared at his new wife as the foul language rolled off her tongue in the same regal tones as she always used. She didn’t seem to notice his surprise as she continued to watch with obvious anticipation. “I’d really like it if the fool puts his hand her on as he did me. She’ll knock him into tomorrow then.” “Why didn’t you do that when he touched you?” Just asked, thinking to himself that the delicate lady beside would never be so violent. “Oh, that wouldn’t be proper behavior for me.” “Then why didn’t Vilicia do it for you?” Just’s irritation grew. Katerina finally looked at him. The look in her eye hit him in the chest like a blow. A bottomless well of innocence and kindness swirled in her eyes’ dark depths. He watched her amusement fade as she returned his stare. This close he could see the smooth perfection of her skin and smell the freshness of her hair. “I guess she thought I was your responsibility now,” Katerina whispered. “My responsibility?” Just had no idea what they were talking about. All he was certain of was that her husky whisper and warm breath brushed over him and sent his body from a partial erection to full alert in less than a blink of an eye. Katerina parted her lips. Without thought Just leaned forward to sample their inviting wetness. The closer he moved the wider her eyes became. He fell into the dark unknown as he closed his own eyes and caressed her lips with his. With a quick inhalation, she moved back, but he followed. Before their lips met again, the sound of clapping broke into the little world they’d occupied all alone for a moment in time. **** Katerina pulled back, confused and flustered by the new sensations. Her lips tingled with remembrance of the hot touch of Just’s mouth. Her heart raced and her stomach fluttered in a funny way. She lifted her gaze to meet the hot blue one only a breath away. Though innocent of interaction with men, Katerina read the desire burning in her husband’s eyes. The clapping and the crunch of footsteps came closer. Katerina watched a curtain of coolness settle over Just’s expression as if the intimate moment had never happened. “Can’t wait to sample your bride, Steele? Do you want us to turn our backs so you can have a quick little ride right here?” Dagar laughed, the sound as coarse as his words. Katerina’s face heated as she comprehended his meaning. None of the other Realm

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warriors joined their leader in laughter. Many shifted nervously or ducked their heads where they sat or stood. Katerina’s own people appeared frozen, either in anger or shock at the man’s vulgar remarks. Sinda stepped forward, a concerned frown on her face. Just rose to his feet and turned to face Dagar. Dagar stood half a head taller than Just and carried more weight. His arms and legs were as bulky with muscle as the Others. Mouth set in a leering grin, Dagar swept his insulting stare over Katerina from top to bottom. A wave of repulsion rolled Katerina’s meal in her stomach. “Apologize to my wife, Dagar,” Just ordered, his tone so cold and hard Katerina took a step back from him. “What for, Steele? Everyone knows this is a breeding program. Why not get on with it? The rest of the boys and I may help out with some of these man starved women.” “Let’s pack and leave. We no longer need the Realm escort.” Katerina’s bid to end the building confrontation went unnoticed, except it brought forth more ugliness from Dagar. “Don’t tell us what to do, woman. This little party ends when I say it’s over. I think some entertainment is owed us for our hospitality. You can drop the royal act. You’re nothing but a bitch in heat ….” Just’s fist cut off Dagar’s vulgarity. The smashing blow to Dagar’s jaw lifted him off his feet and dumped him on his back. Dagar sat up slowly, spitting blood from between his smashed lips. “You bastard!” Wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, Dagar climbed clumsily to his feet. Without warning, he lunged at Just. Just stepped aside smoothly and aimed a kick at Dagar’s backside. Dagar sprawled face first in the trampled grass. When he stood up this time, his face contorted with such hate the onlookers stumbled back from the combatants. Dagar pulled a long knife from his belt and waved it in front of him. Katerina’s breath stuck in her throat as Dagar took a step toward Just. “I’m going to give you what you’ve had coming for years, Steele. After I carve up that pretty face of yours, we’ll have that party. I think your bride will be my entertainment.” “Sir, please stop this. Have you gone mad? It’s time we return to the city,” one of the other Realm warriors pleaded. He and a number of the other men wore looks of horror and disbelief. It seemed Dagar was acting on his own. “Stay out of this, young pup,” Dagar growled at the young man. “Don’t worry, cadet,” Just said, his voice calm reason. “You’ll be able to leave shortly. It’s up to you whether you take this piece of dung back with you. You could leave him here, injured and alone so you could get back before dark. That’s what he would do to you. Right, Dagar? Tell your men how you leave the wounded behind to save your own hide.” Screaming an obscenity, Dagar attacked. Just dodged the furious charge at the last moment and struck Dagar’s arm with a chopping blow that sent the blade pin wheeling into the tall grass. Dagar slid to a halt, holding his arm and grimacing in pain. His barrel chest heaved and his eyes looked wild. He stared around at the onlookers for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. Dagar shook his head and gave Just an oily smile. Katerina sighed with relief, thinking the fool was about to come to his senses. Instead, Dagar reached across his body and pulled a short wicked sword. He pointed it at Just, the tip only an arm’s distance from her husband’s chest. Vilicia moved in behind Dagar, putting her own sword tip against his backbone. Dagar’s

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smile froze as he felt the sharp point of her blade. “Cowards deserve to be run through, don’t you think, My Lady?” Vilicia smiled as she asked. “I wouldn’t have you dishonor your blade by using it on this horse’s behind, Vilicia. Let’s leave this place. Is there no one else to take charge in place of this animal?” Katerina hoped she sounded as calm as Vilicia. Inside, her stomach still quivered. Her new husband had almost been slain before her eyes. Dagar’s lethal blade was still pointed at Just. The cadet who had spoken earlier stepped forward. Katerina reassured him as he stumbled over apology after apology. She only half listened as she watched the trio of warriors standing in a curious looking row. Vilicia pressed forward slightly with her sword. “Drop the blade now, little man.” Her insult seemed to push Dagar over the edge. He stabbed forward toward Just’s chest— except it was no longer there. Katerina screamed, but Just had already leaped aside. Just swept his legs under the lunging man, sending Dagar into the dirt for the third time. As he began to roll over, Just kicked the sword from Dagar’s hand. Vilicia jumped between them and put her sword to Dagar’s throat. “In Solonia, attacking a member of the royal family can be punished by death. Please, Deomo, say it will be death.” “We will not mar my daughter’s wedding day with bloodshed no matter how appropriate.” Sinda spoke from behind Katerina. Though the Deomo spoke in an even tone, even Dagar finally looked frightened by the ice in her voice. “Tie this man up, cadet. I’ll need a full explanation of this man’s behavior before we do any more trading with the Realm.” The young warrior snapped out orders, his haste a bit comic. He supervised the handling of Dagar and had his men mounted and on their way before the Solonians tightened the girths on their own saddles. “Some slick moves, Steele. I thought he might run you through for a moment there,” Vilicia said in a cheerful tone. “No thanks to you. I hope some of the other women you call fighters are more competent than you,” Just snapped back. “You ungrateful male! That’s the thanks I get for saving your worthless life?” “Now, now. You two can argue about your warrior prowess another time. Let’s go home.” Both Just and Vilicia scowled at Katerina when she interrupted. Their expressions looked so much alike, both still spoiling for a fight, Katerina couldn’t help smiling at them. Giving each other one last nasty glance, Just and Vilicia went their separate ways to load their gear. Sinda came to stand beside Katerina. They watched the departing Realm riders. Concern replaced Katerina’s amusement. Was Dagar a perverted fool acting alone or were his opinions representative of the Realm population? Secrets abounded in their neighbor colony. As one, Katerina and her mother turned to watch Just mount his horse. “Is he really a reluctant groom or perhaps a willing participant in a great deception?” Sinda asked. “The animosity between Herma and my husband was real. I felt it.” “I agree. I could sense it even though I wasn’t very close to them. Still, I feel we played into the plans of another.” “Mother, the Realm depends on our medicines. They wouldn’t be foolish enough to destroy

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our friendship.” “Dagar has proven at least one of them is that foolish.” “We can’t change our plans now.” “Of course not, but we must watch your man closely. I hope we haven’t made a terrible mistake.” Sinda took Katerina’s hands in her own. The Deomo only showed her doubts to her own mother or Katerina. “Don’t worry about me, Mother. Just is an honorable man. I can feel it when I’m near him.” “It’s a mother’s job to worry. I hope, in light of the latest happenings, you’ll see the necessity for the collar ceremony.” Katerina stiffened at her mother’s reminder. The argument between them was as old as the plan to take a Realm man for her mate. Katerina had been thoroughly outvoted on the issue. Only Vilicia supported Katerina’s opposition. “I’ve not changed my mind on the matter. It’s a mistake.” “Let’s not argue again. The matter is settled.” **** Just rolled his shoulders, but the feeling of being watched persisted. Actually, most of the women stared at him from time to time, but this was different. Glancing around at the Solonians, Just encountered only the curious gazes of women watching a stranger. Where were their men? Waiting at the mysterious Solonian stronghold? Katerina gave him a questioning look, but he ignored her. His cursed pride wouldn’t allow him to ask about their destination. Vilicia led their little caravan higher into the foothills. Just wished he had his sword strapped to his back. The Savages could stalk them from behind the varied rocky outcroppings without detection until it was too late. The malevolent presence pricked at the edge of Just’s senses throughout the day. He imagined not all the Solonians supported the introduction of a stranger into their midst. He cautioned himself not to underestimate the lethal potential of antagonistic Solonians because they were women. Where were their men? “Something wrong, Just?” Katerina asked, her beautiful eyes narrowed with concern. Or was it? What secrets did his bride hide from him? “Something wrong? You mean besides being coerced into this joining? Besides leaving my home and friends behind? Besides leaving my people without their First Squad Leader? What could be wrong on this fine day?” Katerina’s mouth turned down. Did she look injured by his sarcasm? “I’m sorry for all that, but the Realm can replace your sword. We need you more than they do.” “And what I need?” Katerina lifted her chin. “You’ll be well taken care of in your time with us. You should learn many things that will help your people when you return to them.” Just shook his head and turned away from her. He scanned the Solonians again. Was the dark blonde lady on the short bay mare glaring at him more than the others? Was she the source of his unease? “What are you looking for?” Katerina sounded exasperated. “This part of the journey is perfectly safe. The Others, the ones you call Savages, are elsewhere this time of year.” “You know their movement patterns?”

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Katerina’s mouth snapped shut as if she’d said something she hadn’t intended. “You’ll learn what we know about the Others later. It’s one of many useful things we can teach you.” Wondering why they hadn’t shared such important information with the Realm before now, Just returned to his observation of the other women. “Don’t you believe me when I say you’re safe here?” Katerina sounded outright insulted now. “I believe you about the Savages, but they’re not the only enemy I have to keep an eye on.” “I guess there are a few mountain cats around here.” Just snorted. “They wouldn’t attack a group this size.” “What then?” “Well, there’s you and all these other women that brought me here.” Katerina’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. “We’re not your enemy.” Just gave her the glare he had used to intimidate scores of cadets and even Savages over the years. “Until I have my freedom back, the one who holds my leash is my enemy. A warning, my Lady. I have no mercy for my enemies.”

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Chapter Four Vilicia led them to a defendable spot on the trail as the sun touched the top of the mountains. The tall peaks towered over them like a giant staring down at insignificant insects crawling about its feet. Just wondered if the giant would prove friendly. He tried to commit their route to memory, but he saw few discernible landmarks. What guided the women? No one of the Realm knew exactly where the main settlement of Solonia was located. Just would be the first Realm colonist to see it. He wished someone else had the honor. As he had noticed at the noon meal, the women set up camp as efficiently as a Realm patrol. Just took care of his horse, Stone, seeing that his help wasn’t needed. The stallion snorted and danced away from the Solonians caring for their horses. Just stretched out the chore as long as he could, giving Stone a good rubdown and calming the fractious animal. “Too many strangers for me, too, fellow.” The horse nudged him as if he agreed. Just patted him and stared toward the camp. He hadn’t felt this alone since his parents’ deaths when he was only ten years old. Even when he scouted on solo missions, he had known he would return to his friends and fellow warriors, to his own small quarters and familiar bed. Giving a mental shrug, Just bade Stone behave and lifted his sleeping mat. There was no going back. Not until he fulfilled his part of the bargain he had made with Katerina. He had given his word and it bound him as solidly as shackles would to this woman. At least for a time. He carried his sleeping mat toward the area where Katerina worked on spreading out her own bundle of blankets. Just stood, wondering where he should sleep. Katerina turned and saw him. Without a word, she took his things and spread his mat out beside her own. Anger lanced through him at her presumption. How anxious was she to start that baby? He shouldn’t have kissed her today. At least then he wouldn’t be thinking about making a baby, too. Needing some distance from the tempting sight of her bending over his bedroll, Just decided to test his prisoner status. Katerina had taken his sword from Sky and placed it somewhere in the baggage. Katerina had assured him it would be returned to him after the joining ceremony in Solonia. It was the first time he had been separated from the blade since he had taken it from his slain father’s bloody hand. “I’m going to check out the area.” Just heard the challenge in his tone, but didn’t care. “Fine. The evening meal should be ready soon.” Katerina didn’t even turn from her task. Strangely disappointed that she gave him no argument, Just strode from camp. He climbed for a short time, scrambling over boulders and scrappy thorn bushes. He found a small outcropping of rock where he could sit and look down on the camp. The women worked on preparing the meal or other chores. He could see sentries posted at four points around the site. Under other circumstances, Just might have enjoyed journeying with such experienced travelers. Just leaned back, finding the rock still warm from the sun’s heat. Normally, today’s pace would have been an easy ride, but he was tired. The drug they had given him yesterday likely still

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circulated in his system. Just sighed. He wanted to roll up in his blankets and sleep. But his beautiful bride was putting their sleeping mats so close together he would hear her every breath. The night breeze would carry her fresh womanly scent to him. He’d spent a few miles today trying to identify that intriguing scent. If she wore the essence of some flower, he didn’t recognize it. Just spotted Katerina scanning the hillside. Did she wonder if he had escaped? He watched her, noting she wore the simple riding tunic and matching pants with a flare unmatched by Realm women wearing the finest of expensive dresses. How must she feel, princess marrying a simple soldier with no particular heritage except an exceptional ability to wield a sword? Their social standings might be mismatched, but Just was only human. He desired the woman. Only a dead man wouldn’t. His fantasies, suppressed all day, broke lose. Women of the Realm were lean and small breasted. Katerina’s generously round breasts dominated her profile. What would their plump softness feel like in his hands? He would gently squeeze them and rub his sword roughened palms over her nipples. Katerina abruptly left the campsite. She headed up the hill, taking the same path that he had. “Hell.” Just shifted and tried to adjust his tight pants to accommodate the results of his erotic thoughts. Could he even walk down the steep hill in this condition? He certainly didn’t want his wife to see him like this. Just picked his way down the hill, examining his feelings about the deal forced on him. He hated being used and manipulated. He also suspected Herma had some greater scheme working and didn’t act from hatred alone. How would he discover what was going on in his present position? Were his friends in the Realm in danger? He admitted the Solonians might have acted in good faith. They might have inadvertently saved his life. Herma might have resorted to more permanent means to rid himself of Just. He still didn’t plan to forgive the Solonians or Katerina for her part in forcing his selection as their subject in a breeding program. A sound below Just brought him to a stop. Katerina worked her way carefully up the slope toward him in the fading light. Katerina, beautiful, intelligent and clever. The hell if he wouldn’t enjoy the physical side of the bargain. How much courage did it take for her to accept a total stranger as husband? Surely she was innocent of men if Solonia had so few males. Most grown men found Just intimidating if not outright frightening. Katerina seemed oblivious to all that. Yes! He would have this woman and enjoy the physical benefits of this forced union as often as possible. **** Katerina negotiated the steep slope while her mind worked on other things. Like the spark of jealousy that blindsided her when she noticed some of the other women watching her husband stomp from camp. She’d enjoyed the play of his thigh and buttocks muscles with each step he took. Her pleasure was squashed when she became aware of the other female stares appreciating the same thing. Disgusted with the new emotion, Katerina lectured herself. She was the future Deomo of her people. No man would cause a conflict between the women of Solonia. She would rid herself of this unnatural possessiveness she felt for Just. He was a man. A desirable man, her head argued

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back. Though inexperienced with the particulars, Katerina recognized lust when it hit her. Her stomach blossomed with warm flutters when she looked at Just. The simple kiss earlier today had inspired all sorts of heated day dreams as they rode side by side. Katerina chided herself for her thoughts. Just likely had no kind thoughts about her. After he suffered the Solonian joining ceremony, he would despise her. Katerina scrambled over a pile of limestone, finding it more and more difficult to find her footing in the deepening dusk. She stumbled and pitched forward. Before she hit the ground, Just’s strong hands caught her around the shoulders and pulled her upright. Like a sign from the heavens, the First Moon rose behind Just’s shoulder and shone in Katerina’s face. It threw his face into shadow, but his eyes glinted with vibrant life even in the semidarkness. Katerina’s heart accelerated as Just continued to hold her. The heat from his body warmed the skin on her face. He stared at her for another long moment before pulling her closer. His hands slid from her shoulders to her back. He lowered his head and pressed her to his chest. This kiss was not like the other one. His lips moved on hers, demanding something from her. He opened his mouth and gently sucked on her lower lip. She gasped at the sensations spiraling from her mouth to join the tingle in her breasts. He clasped her closer, crushing her chest to his. She moaned, part confusion and part overwhelming sensual feelings. His tongue pushed into her mouth when she moaned again. She tried to pull back, a niggling of fear creeping into her thoughts. Her mind tried to keep up with all the new sensations, then he used one of his hands behind her head to keep her close and deepen the kiss. Rationality scattered. She realized her hands gripped his shirt as if it were a lifeline. She wanted this, wanted him. She relaxed and welcomed him fully. His tongue stroked hers and the earth dropped from beneath her feet. She moved her hands up to his neck and twisted her fingers in his hair. Triumph and feminine power shot through Katerina as a low groan rumbled in his chest. The kiss changed again, becoming wilder, almost frantic. She opened her eyes when her head spun with sudden dizziness. Her back was pressed against solid, uneven rock, and Just towered over her. He lifted her and laid her down on a large boulder. He continued to kiss her as he lowered his weight on top of her. Panic bubbled in her chest and cleared the fog of lust from her brain. Cool night air touched her stomach as Just slid his hand beneath the hem of her tunic. She stiffened when his hand rubbed over her erect, sensitive nipple. His pelvis pressed tight against hers. She knew enough about reproduction to know what poked into her abdomen. Fear locked her throat when she tried to protest. Did he mean for them to mate here? In the open? On a rock? She twisted her head and freed her mouth from his. Just froze. He inhaled a long ragged breath. He stood up and took her hand. He tugged her gently to her feet. They stood toe to toe for a moment. She managed to meet his stare and wished the moonlight wasn’t quite so bright. Hopefully he couldn’t see the heat flaming in her cheeks. Both of them panted as if they’d run up the mountain side. A small burst of pleasure blossomed in her chest at the further evidence of his arousal. Had the outburst of lust surprised him as much as it had her? She couldn’t bear to think he had planned this little encounter. She gave him a small smile only to have him frown in return.

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Keeping her hand firmly grasped in his, he turned and started down the slope. She trotted to match his pace while her body throbbed in regions begging for his touch. Her heart raced with excitement and fear. Not fear of him, but fear of the powerful sensations he inspired. “Why were you looking for me? Did you think I escaped?” She wondered at the anger in his words. Was he angry at her? “I was worried about you. It’s dangerous to be alone out here after dark.” “I guess you found that out.” The sarcasm in his tone sparked her own temper. “Well you haven’t demonstrated any capacity for common sense so far. I thought I should look out for you. You do get in a lot of fights.” “The only fights I’ve been in recently have been your fault.” His voice sounded less angry and even had a suspicious hint of amusement. “ “My fault?” She seldom raised her voice, but the stress of the past few days and the dread of what was to come frayed her temper control to a mere thread. “Yes. You could have chosen another when I deferred the honor of being your husband. And I was only defending you from Dagar’s attention.” “Well, your arrogance is as big as your wild horse. I don’t need one idiot male to defend me from another idiot male.” Katerina stopped, noticing they now stood on level ground. She jerked her hand from Just’s grasp. “Perhaps I should be concerned though. Perhaps all men of the Realm are of the same mold.” Katerina wished to have the words back as soon as they left her mouth. The wonderful kiss they had shared shouldn’t be compared to Dagar’s disgusting insults.” ”You better hope that’s not true, Lady Katerina,” Just said, his tone menacing. Vilicia appeared at Katerina’s side. When had they reached the camp? Katerina glanced around. Most of the women sat or stood near small campfires. They all stared at the spectacle of their princess and her reluctant groom. How many more times would she embarrass herself today? “Are you in need of assistance, My Lady?” Vilicia braced her hands on her hips and spread her legs wide in an aggressive stance. So much for Katerina’s hope that her argument with Just hadn’t been overheard. Just gave them both a cool look. “It’s a little late to be worried whether or not she’s safe with me.” He turned and walked to where Sinda and a few others pretended to eat instead of watch the entertainment. “Vilicia, thank you for your concern, but my husband is right. I have to trust him to …,” Katerina searched for the right phrasing, “to not hurt me when the time comes to be intimate.” Vilicia snorted in a way that always made Katerina smile. “I don’t like the way he dragged you into camp. And you had a strange look on your face like you did this morning when he kissed you.” Katerina’s insides clenched as the remembered the touch of his lips on hers and the feel of his weight on top of her. “This male female thing seems more complicated than the horses in the pasture make it appear.” Vilicia laughed and Katerina joined her. Just looked up from his dinner, frowning at them. Katerina controlled her mirth, afraid Just might think they were laughing at him. Vilicia laughed even louder when Katerina tried to hush her and told her the reason why.

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“Katerina, you’ve been like a sister to me since we could walk. I can’t believe the sensible leader I know would put any truth to those old tales of mating. It’s a physical thing, a necessary merger. There’s nothing complicated about it so keep your emotions out of it.” “I said nothing of emotions. I said complicated. I meant there seems to be many aspects besides the simple ....” Katerina made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “Never mind. Let’s eat.” Vilicia shook her head and walked over to join the others at their evening meal. Katerina stayed where she was, lost in thoughts of an erotic kiss and intense blue eyes that looked into hers and touched her soul. **** Herma paced on the beach but otherwise hid his irritation. He suspected Zar made him wait to amuse himself at Herma’s expense. Zar spoke from behind him, giving Herma a fright. How did the monstrous beast move so quietly? Did Zar play these tricks to let Herma know he could kill him at anytime? “Is the Blue Blade dead?” “He no longer fights for the Realm. You need not fear him again.” “He’s dead?” An almost human glee accompanied the words. “No. I gave him over to be a sex slave to the Solonians.” Herma smiled as he thought of the humiliation in store for Steele. “You fool!” Zar straightened, a fierce rage in his small eyes. “Blue Blade is mounting those bitches?” Zar spun in a circle and ravaged the sand with his hands. Saliva dripped from his gaping jaws as he roared his rage. “Don’t worry. Steele’s out of the way for now. He won’t kill any more of your people or interfere with my plans. He’ll eventually get you what you want.” Herma’s words calmed the Savage a little, but Zar still panted with pent up emotions, emotions that scared Herma. He threw another morsel to the beast. “I requested a large batch of the aladar medicine from the Solonians. If you know where they find the plants you might be able to capture one of the bitches for yourself.” Zar nodded eagerly. Herma had given them such information in the past and the Savages had captured some women. “Our last captive is still alive,” Zar grated out. “I had her last night. She still fights each time I take her.” Herma pretended interest while Zar described some of the more vile things they had done to the unfortunate woman. He didn’t care what happened to the Solonian. His own plans were more important than the fate of a few women. “Did you bring the redak as you promised?” Herma asked, daring to interrupt Zar. Zar reached back into the shadows and produced a small, pungent sack. Herma took it and looked inside. Glowing redak crystals filled the leather pouch. “This isn’t enough. I need at least this much more.” Animal slyness filled Zar’s eyes as Herma spoke. The savage played a clever game and Herma had no choice but to play along. “Not until you deliver the Solonian bitches to us. A few here and there are not enough. We need them to make children. Our own women are too few. When we have the women, you’ll have your redak.” Irritated, but not surprised, Herma closed up the sack. He could try his experimental propulsion craft with some of this redak and work on his larger boat while he waited for Zar’s delivery. “It’s simple. I’ll let Blue Blade be a slave for a while until his hate and anger toward his mistresses grows. Then I’ll offer Steele his freedom in exchange for betraying Solonia to my men.

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He’ll be able to lead us right into their main settlement.” “It may work. Are you sure Blue Blade will betray them?” “As long as he doesn’t know of your involvement he will. He possesses a great deal of pride. He’ll never forgive them for the degradation they have planned for him when he gets to Solonia.” **** Just woke fully alert as he always did when on the trail. His stomach growled, empty due to the famine imposed on it the last few days. The light meal the Solonians had served the previous night had been tasty but hardly filling. The warmth against Just’s side squeezed in closer. A soft hand slid across his chest and inside his shirt. He stifled a moan. His staff pressed against his pants with painful hardness. Katerina’s hand brushed over his nipple. He tightened his muscles as the hand continued its slow tortuous descent until it settled on his ribs. Katerina had moved over to share his mat at some time during the night. A morning breeze lifted a few strands of Katerina’s soft blonde hair, teasing his nose and lips with it. He brushed the white gold silkiness aside before it tickled him into a sneeze. Her slim foot caressed his calf before slipping in between his own sprawled legs. When was the last time he had lain with a woman? Never had he woke with one wrapped around him. He never snuggled. He seldom stayed through the night with a woman. Only a few days ago Just had been on the trail with a science expedition thinking only of survival. The thing he had wanted most in the world was long nights of uninterrupted sleep in a safe warm bed. A lunar cycle in the wild had left him physically and emotionally drained. His current situation seemed unreal, but the woman clinging to his side was no dream. How could his world have changed so much in two days? Katerina’s hand moved lower again, touching the waist of his pants. Saints in hell! Just disengaged himself, being slow and quiet. He climbed from under the blankets and tucked the edges around Katerina’s shoulders. He lifted a few strands of her white gold hair and let it slide through his fingers. It reminded him of the fine silk cloak his mother had worn on special occasions. He had buried her in it. That thought broke the spell even as the first morning solar rays illuminated Katerina’s smooth cheeks. He resisted the temptation to test the feel of her skin. Just stood up and stared down at his wife. Yes, he would enjoy some aspects of this union. Starting tonight, he would indulge himself in the physical benefits of having a mate. As for the rest, he would still be fighting the same enemy. The twice damned Savages had killed his parents and dozens of Realm citizens. Though his companions in the battle would be different, Just assumed the Solonians were competent fighters. How else would their people have survived so long? As a warrior, Just had learned to live day to day. He would do so now. He hadn’t made any long term plans for the future since he had buried his parents. He had vowed then to spend the rest of his life hunting the beasts that had murdered his mother and father. The next hunt, the next search, that was his life. Katerina stirred, snuggling further into his blankets as if she was searching for his warmth. Just wondered about having a child with this woman. Did Katerina actually think he would leave his child behind if they managed to produce one? He shook his head, confused and frustrated at the

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possibilities. Families were liabilities. Enemies could attack them. Families could be killed and leave someone all alone. Just turned away from Katerina and strode from the campsite. The sentries were good, but Just slipped through them. He could have easily escaped, but his word kept him prisoner. He perched on top of a rock beyond the camp perimeter. Would his prison be soft or harsh? He would like to think soft, but he had sensed danger when he walked through the sleeping women. Someone had watched him leave, her hatred stabbing him with its virulence. **** “You two are a strange pair,” Herma observed. Head Trainer Sky Turan and Councilwoman Karal Panor stood before his desk. It was well known the two despised each other. “I insist on a hearing, Herma,” Panor repeated. “You had no authority to commit Just Steele to serve the Solonians without consulting the rest of the council.” “The council approved the agreement.” “We didn’t approve sending Juston Steele. The Realm needs him here. We have no one to replace him.” Panor leaned over Herma’s desk as if she could intimidate him. Silly female. “Replace him? As a warrior or as your lover?” Herma smiled as the woman withdrew. Everybody knew the icy bitch took Steele into her bed. “Warriors have the same rights as other citizens,” Sky Turan said, giving Panor a look of disgust. “From what I understand, you forced Just to go with the Solonians.” “From what I understand,” Herma mocked, tiring of this conversation. He had important things to do. “You visited with Steele before he left. I’m sure you know exactly his circumstances, Turan.” “He was blackmailed into accepting.” “He went with the Solonians.” Herma stood up and gestured for Dagar to come forward from his post at the door. “Steele is gone. It’s done, now get on with your duties, Turan. Anybody can be replaced and I believe it’s your duty to train Steele’s replacements. Dagar, show my guests out.” “This isn’t over, Herma,” Panor sputtered. “Find yourself another bed companion, Karal. I’m sure Steele is quite content with his new lover.” Herma took a small delight as Panor’s face reddened. Turan spun around and strode from the room. Panor glared at Dagar and then at Herma. “I’ll find out what you’re about,” she vowed and followed Turan. Dagar shut the door behind them before speaking. “Turan tried to follow you last night.” “If he ever manages to do so, kill him.” “His death might raise suspicion.” Herma rolled his eyes. Dagar was so slow witted, but Herma needed him to watch his back. “We’ll hand his body over to Zar. Everyone will assume the Savages killed him.” Dagar grinned and nodded. “How many recruits do we have?” “Over twenty, but it’s not easy. Turan wins the loyalty of most of the cadets. Herma nodded. Perhaps Turan was the next obstacle he would need to clear from his path. “Keep a close eye on Turan and Panor. I don’t like the idea of those two colluding and asking questions.” “Yes, sir.” Dagar took his leave.

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Herma waved a perfumed hand cloth about after Dagar had left. He hated the sweating smell that clung to those involved in physical labors. He pulled the schematic for his ship plans from the bottom drawer of his desk. His trusted architects had already built the shell. He needed more redak for his propulsion engine. How could he get Steele to turn the Solonians over sooner than planned? Tomorrow morning the Solonians would have the joining ceremony they’d described to Herma in private. He wished he could see Steele’s agony.

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Chapter Five Sentries hailed the travelers as they passed through the western entrance to the hidden valley. Solonia had three access routes known only to Katerina’s people. Dread at the events ahead churned and almost overwhelmed Katerina’s relief at being home. Just had avoided her all day, even at the noon meal. Despite repeated attempts on her part to speak with him, he had kept a physical distance between them. Physical closeness, on the other hand, had ruled Katerina’s thoughts from the moment she woke. Even now, a delicious curl of pleasure fluttered in her stomach. When she had wakened in the predawn hours, she had found her head pillowed on Just’s warm shoulder. She sighed. His arms had been wrapped around her loosely and their legs were intertwined in an intimate way that should have felt strange but didn’t. His muscles had been tense and her thigh had bumped the proof of his arousal. He must have been awake also. She had decided to explore the contours of his firm abdomen further, but Just had moved away. Her disappointment was tempered when he thoughtfully tucked the sleeping covers around her. What had he been thinking about when he had knelt beside her for so long? Another sentry called a greeting. The reckoning approached. Katerina’s spirit sagged under the burden of her responsibility. She had volunteered for this, accepting the risk was her duty. She must lead by example. In truth, she feared what was to come. What they intended for Just was a mistake. After only two days, Katerina had his measure. He was a good, honorable man. Yet, violence lived in him. He was a strong seasoned warrior. He did seem cold and hard. Did he possess any of the warmer emotional qualities valued by her people? Her head spun as she debated it in her mind. The Solonians needed a man of his type. Surely his vocation had taught him to hide his human kindness away. There was passion inside him. She had experienced it. If there was passion, must not there also be compassion? Katerina touched the jarda crystal that hung about her neck. Only those of royal blood with the healing power could use the crystal. Her soul, her physical makeup, was dedicated to relieving suffering. A healer who took a life might go insane. At least so she had heard. How would she feel when Just underwent the joining ceremony? The twin moons gave enough illumination to light their way down the treacherous slope. Katerina studied Just as he rode beside her. Though only a warrior among his people, he carried himself with the bearing and pride of royalty. How would all that pride react to the ceremony? Katerina’s dread doubled as they approached the group of elders waiting in front of the large stone hall used for gatherings and providing living quarters for the Deomo and her family. “Greetings, daughter and granddaughter. I see your venture was successful. Welcome to Solonia, young man. This is the Hall of Dovan where you’ll reside with your wife. I am Anya, Katerina’s grandmother.” Anya smiled, still attractive, though she was over sixty years old. “Everything went almost as planned,” Sinda answered as she dismounted. Vilicia took charge, issuing orders for the care of the horses and the unpacking of gear. Just

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stared after his large black stallion as one of the women managed to lead the animal away. Katerina placed her hand on his arm and addressed the increasing crowd. “Fellow Solonians, Grandmother, allow me to introduce my future husband, Juston Steele. I hope you’ll welcome him as his people welcomed us in our time of need.” Katerina felt Just staring at her when she said future husband. She concentrated on looking serenely confident and happy as the women in front of her gave a half hearted cheer. Her mother saved her from having to decide what to do next. “Let’s refresh ourselves from our journey and meet in the main dining hall at moon’s apex for the joining ceremony.” Katerina relaxed a bit even though the reprieve was short. “Is there a place for me to get a bath?” Just stared at her, his eyes intense and filled with questions. Katerina berated herself. She was worried about what she had to face when Just was the one who would suffer. “Of course.” But where? After their joining he would share her bath chamber, but she intended to use it herself right now. “He can use my place, Lady Katerina,” Vilicia offered, seeming to read Katerina’s mind like she often did. “I’ll make sure he arrives in the hall on time.” Katerina smiled her thanks at Vilicia and nodded to Just. She made her escape into the hall, hoping she didn’t look like she was running away. **** “This way, Steele. You smell like a horse. I’ll have your baggage sent to my house.” “Shouldn’t you address me with a title like you do my wife?” Just could have cared less about titles, but he didn’t like this one’s attitude toward him. Vilicia stopped and turned to face him as they came to the entrance of a small neat house. Just was pleased to see fire in her eyes. “Lady Katerina has earned her title through her love and devotion to her people. Volunteering to join with you is the ultimate proof of the sacrifice and risk she’s willing to take for Solonia.” “It was foolish of her to volunteer without meeting her future mate first.” “Brave, not foolish. Of course, after meeting you all her worse fears were realized.” Just frowned at the return of mockery in Vilicia’s tone. “I would have thought you people would select someone less important for this experiment. You, for example.” “I did try to convince My Lady to let me replace her, but since meeting you it’s probably better she refused me.” “And why is that?” Just braced for another verbal blow to his ego. He almost felt like he was back in the officer’s barracks where the verbal barbs were brutal, but meant in good humor. The exchange of insults relaxed him more than he had felt in days. “Why? A puny thing like you probably couldn’t survive mating with me. I hope Deomo Sinda warns Katerina to be gentle with you tonight.” “I think I’ll survive,” Just responded, gaining a small satisfaction as Vilicia looked disappointed. “The bath is through there. I’ll toss in your pack when I find it. Should I close my eyes?” “Up to you.”

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Vilicia laughed as she turned and went outside to collect their gear. Just opened the door she had indicated to find a small sleeping area. A round tub made of pink mountain marble sat tight against one corner. After a few tries, Just figured out how to manipulate the levers protruding from the wall. Steaming hot water instantly poured from one tube and cold water from another. He stared in fascination for a few moments, impressed by the invention. A nearby hot spring? Regardless, the Solonians demonstrated more resourcefulness than anyone in the Realm. Just stripped out of his clothes and sank neck deep into the hot bath. A shallow dish sat on the wide edge of the tub. It contained fresh smelling crystals that foamed into lather when mixed with water. As he worked suds into his hair the door opened. “Do you want me to rinse for you?” Vilicia dropped his pack beside the tub. “No thanks. I don’t trust you not to drown me.” Just resisted the urge to cover himself when she stepped closer. “Hurry up then. I need to clean up, too.” Just sank under the water to rinse his hair and then stood up. The look on Vilicia’s smart mouthed face granted him sweet revenge. Despite her teasing, he doubted she had ever seen a naked man before. “If you would step back a little I could get out.” Vilicia recovered quickly. Just watched the appreciation in her gaze change to cleverness. “I think little is the key word here. I guess I don’t have to worry about you injuring the Lady Katerina after all.” Vilicia smirked at him and left the room before he could come up with a good rejoinder. Just dressed in the last of his clean clothing as he contemplated the night ahead. Anticipation coursed through him. Katerina possessed a very desirable body. He still remembered the feel of her breasts and other curves pressed against him. He had avoided looking at her all day, fearful his poised body would embarrass him. Did her response yesterday mean she desired him also? Perhaps the marriage would work out fine also. **** This marriage was going to be a disaster, Katerina thought. Her mother stood behind her, weaving tiny pink and violet blossoms through the intricate braid hanging to Katerina’s hips. “He will never forgive me,” Katerina predicted miserably. “It’s not you doing it to him. It’s a rule of our society. He consented to it when he agreed to this marriage. He’s intelligent for a man and will understand you weren’t at fault. Eventually.” “That could take a long time. We might lose his cooperation. I’m far from an expert on the subject, but even I know I need his help in order to have a child.” “Katerina,” Sinda said, a hint of amusement in her voice, “if you had any experience with men, you would have noticed the way your husband stared at you the past day. I think Just will be very willing to do his part.” A small wave of pleasure shivered through Katerina. Was that what had been behind his intense gaze all day? Lust? The pleasure shriveled as her guilt reared up again. “There has to be another way.” “Katerina, we’ve been over and over this.” Her mother walked around to face her. “Your duty is to follow the laws of Solonia. Trust in the experience of your elders. Their wisdom allows them to see things your youth prevents you from knowing.” Sighing in defeat, Katerina nodded agreement. She rose and looked at herself in the full

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length reflecting glass. The rose colored long dress outlined her form perfectly. She had never thought about her appearance much before, but now she examined it and tried to see herself as her husband might. Katerina recalled the lean, slimness of the Realm women. Did Just prefer their build to her full chest and rounded hips? Just’s blue eyes were so beautiful might he not find her brown ones plain and common? She shrugged. She couldn’t change anything about herself. After tomorrow’s ceremony it wouldn’t matter if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The goodness inside a person represented true beauty. Tomorrow Just would believe her devoid of honor and honesty. Tonight she would take his gift of joining and in the morning she would betray him. He would hate her. **** “Join hands to begin your physical union which will precede your spiritual union tomorrow.” Sinda smiled her blessing on Just and Katerina as they obeyed her command. The Deomo turned the couple around and raised their joined hands. The gathered women cheered and clapped with little enthusiasm. A lump grew in Katerina’s throat as she looked at the people she loved. So few of them. Many faces appeared concerned—concerned for her and for the future of Solonia. Had she put her growing feelings for Just before her people’s welfare? The Solonians needed the security of tomorrow’s ceremony. Peace settled over her heart as she resolved the inner conflict of the last few days. “You should retire now, children.” Sinda’s voice caught a little. She squeezed Katerina’s hand before turning back to the assembled population. All fifty-eight of them. “Let the celebration feast begin.” Katerina led Just off the large front porch where they had spoken the joining words and into the hall. Her heart pounded with a heady mixture of anticipation and fear. Her mother had given her little advice on what would happen in the marriage bed. Katerina’s father had been frail and weak like most of the last men of Solonia. Fathering a child had been difficult and unpleasant. Sinda had been honest with her daughter of her own ignorance of what a strong young man like Just would expect in bed. Conceiving a child was the important thing. Katerina would bear anything to that end. Both lamps in Katerina’s bed chamber were turned as low as possible, throwing most of the room into shadow. Someone, probably Anya, had filled vases with fresh flowers and placed them on the small bedside tables and the mantle. She had even turned down the bed coverings in silent invitation. Katerina stopped a few steps from the bed and turned to face her husband. The intensity in his steel blue eyes took her breath away. He didn’t speak as his hands moved to the fastenings on his shirt and he began to undo the ties. Her hands followed the work of his fingers as he stripped off the garment and tossed it aside. She received her first view of a bare male torso. He was magnificent. His taut, smooth skin stretched over the corded muscles of his arms and hairless chest. His flat abdomen rippled with more muscle. Unable to help herself, she hesitantly reached out a hand to feel the texture of his skin. Hot and smooth. There was no give under her fingers as if it were stone underneath rather than living flesh. Putting both hands on his shoulders, she traced a path downward across his chest. As she brushed across his nipples, a shudder ran through his body. He grabbed her hands with his,

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startling her into meeting his burning gaze. Excitement roared through her body in response to what she saw in his eyes. Her own skin heated, pushing aside the last of her reservations. “I didn’t expect you to be the type to use torture on a captive.” He pulled her into his arms as he spoke. Before she had fathomed his meaning, his lips covered hers. The heat she had felt before ignited into an inferno with his kiss. His tongue plunged between her lips and brushed against her own. She hesitated for a heartbeat and then responded in kind. His groan encouraged her aggression. He tightened his arms and placed one hand flat against her behind to press her against his arousal. She tangled her fingers in his hair to hold his mouth to hers. Vaguely she sensed things were moving quicker than she had expected. One of his hands slid across the side of her breast and even that vague thought scattered. He pulled away and cool air rushed between them. He breathed as heavily as she did. She stared at him, but he stared at her chest. He reached toward her waist and worked the buttons of her marriage dress. She watched his long strong fingers undo the buttons with slow efficiency. Fearful of his reaction to her body, her breath caught. He seemed so physically perfect how would he see her? He peeled the sides of her top back. She wore nothing underneath. Her erect nipples pulsed in rhythm to her heart as he stared at them. He stood silent and unmoving for so long she started to cover herself. He stopped her. “Beautiful,” he whispered and cupped one of her breasts in one of his callused hands. He squeezed gently and rubbed his thumb over her sensitive nipple. She gasped as a bolt of pleasure hit her. He met her stare now as he pushed her dress down her arms and over her hips. He took her hand and helped her step out of the dress. She waited for embarrassment, but it didn’t come. He moved back from her and swept his gaze over her. She waited for his reaction. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.” He sounded like he meant it. Before he finished speaking, he began to strip off the rest of his own clothing. Her relief at his words of admiration were replaced by shock as she saw his aroused body. Inflexible, roped muscles outlined his thighs. Not a trace of excess fat clung to his body. The sight of his engorged penis caused her heart to skip a beat before accelerating in panic. She stepped back as he stepped toward her. “Katerina, don’t be afraid.” “I think there’s been a mistake.” Katerina heard the quiver in her own voice. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling exposed and vulnerable.” Our people must be of a different species. This can’t possibly work.” “It will work. Trust me.” He held out his hand. He looked her straight in the eye and stayed where he was. Silence stretched as she considered her options. One thought burst through her muddled, frightened brain. She did trust him. Her special healer powers allowed her great intuition and sensitivity to the moods and motives of others. Just oozed with honor and integrity. She smiled at herself. She stood before him, alone and naked. He could overpower her if that was what he wanted. “I’m frightened,” she admitted. “I don’t know exactly how this is done.” “I wouldn’t expect you would.” She put her hand in his. He pulled her closer. “There’s no hurry, Katerina.”

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“Can I ask you a question?” “Anything.” “Are all Realm men endowed physically like you are?” He pulled her even closer and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair without allowing their lower bodies to touch. She heard what sounded like a smothered laugh. His warm chest teased her nipples. “I’m not sure if they are or not, but I am positive we’ll fit together fine.” He traced a path with small kisses from her shoulder up to her ear. Tingles of sensation spread in waves through her body. She instinctively dropped her head back to allow him better access. He continued to plant feathery kisses along her jaw line and then met her eager lips with his own. The heat rekindled between them. His penis pressed against her soft abdomen. As she leaned further into him, a low, deep groan escaped him. She gripped his thick, silky hair to hold his lips in a hot carnal duel of tongues. Her mother hadn’t described kissing like this. The room spun and Katerina thought the kissing had made her lightheaded. Then soft bedding cushioned her back. He had done that lifting thing again and laid her on the bed. He covered her with his warm body, supporting his weight on his elbows. Alarm shot through her as she moved her legs and bumped into his hard muscular thighs. His legs were in between hers! Then he kissed her again and her alarm surrendered to the heat. She ran her hands over the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders. She used her nails to lightly scratch a path from his shoulders to his strong buttocks. His moan added to her own excitement. His lips left hers to tease her collar bone. She held her breath when he continued down her body to find her erect, sensitive nipple. She moaned as he sucked her nipple into his mouth while he swept his other hand down her body. She held on to his hair, pressing his mouth to her, knowing but uncaring that she might be causing him pain. His wandering hand touched her between her legs. She melted. He stroked her slowly, spreading her liquid heat around. She moved her hips, wanting more. Frustration edged in on her pleasure. Then he touched her in the spot every nerve in her body connected to this night. “Yes,” she panted. He stroked and rubbed her sensitive nubbin. “It gets better,” he promised. “You’re so hot. You’re setting me on fire.” He used one of his long fingers to enter her. She lifted her hips to accept and aid the invasion. He moved his finger in and out of her while she matched the rhythm with small thrusts of her pelvis. “You’re ready for me, aren’t you? I can’t wait much longer.” She couldn’t answer. He used his legs to force hers further apart. He took his finger away and replaced it with what could only be his penis. “Say you’re ready.” The desperation in his voice penetrated the sensuous spell surrounding her. He wanted her permission to continue. A warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with physical pleasure. “Say you want me, lovely Katerina.” “I want you, Just Steele. Make me your wife.” She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his head to hers. She expected a kiss to match the gentle emotions she was feeling, but his patience seemed at an end. He drove his tongue into her mouth at the same time he thrust his hips forward to fully possess her. She reached down and tried to push his hips away. Too late! Pain stabbed her and quickly faded to unbearable tightness. She twisted her mouth from his and used her fist to pound on his

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shoulders. “Stop! Get off!” “Don’t fight me, Katerina. Relax.” He didn’t sound relaxed. “I can’t! Please stop now.” “Not yet. Let me kiss you.” This kiss was the sweet, gentle one she had expected before. The tightness eased as the kiss continued. He moved a little and a sliver of pleasure surprised her. She moved. He responded. They found a smooth rhythm. He stopped kissing her and whispered encouragement in her ear. She moved her grip from his shoulders to his buttocks, demanding more. He gave more, using deeper harder strokes. She held on, aware her control was lost, and not wanting to stop. Her insides wound into a tight knot. Then it happened. She dropped over an edge, but instead of falling she floated upward in a cloud of pleasure. She might have kept moving or stopped, she didn’t know, but he thrust one final time before his pleasurable moans joined hers. Tiny contractions continued to send waves of pleasure deep inside even as she sank back to reality. It lasted forever and was over too soon. Reality found them both breathless with him collapsed heavily on top of her. She stroked his wet back, enjoying the sensation of completeness having his weight on her gave her. Deeper examination of her feelings escaped her. The only rational thought she managed was a question. Was what she and Just had shared the duty her mother had spoken of with poorly concealed distaste? “Am I crushing you?” The pillows muffled his words. She stopped the motion of her hands and wrapped her arms around him. Her husband. “No. Stay where you are.” She smiled when he laughed quietly. She had never heard him laugh before with actual good humor. “Good. I think you almost killed me.” Her heart skipped in alarm. Her mother had warned her the act drained men of their vital strength. Solonian men managed the mating act only after days of rest and recovery from the previous time. It was dangerous for men, this vigorous exercise. How selfish she was to lie here, indulging in her own pleasure. Why hadn’t her healer’s instincts picked up on his physical distress? “I’m so sorry. What can I get for you? Let me get you a reviving drink.” She touched his neck, but his heart rate had slowed to a normal rate. “I wasn’t serious.” He leaned up on his elbows and looked at her. Amusement warmed his blue eyes. She searched his expression, confusion replacing her concern. “Are you sure you’re all right?” **** “I feel better than all right.” Just rolled to his side and pulled her with him. He didn’t resist when she pushed him to his back. She leaned over him and stared into his eyes with a concern approaching fear in her expression. Amusement and irritation mixed at her strange ideas. The pleasurable afterglow from their lovemaking would not allow him to work up any real outrage at her insult to his virility. Katerina had been innocent of men. Just basked in the knowledge he had brought her to orgasm her first time with a man. He had never been with a virgin, but he had heard men talk. Life was good. She fussed a bit more. The Solonian men must be a puny lot for her to have such misconceptions. Where were the males? He knew their numbers were few, but shouldn’t he have

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seen at least one? Katerina’s bare breast brushed his chest as she checked his pulse in his neck again. He put his questions aside for another time. He ran his hand down her back and pulled her hips against him. Her body was perfect, soft in all the right places. He squeezed the roundness of her hip and recalled how it felt to be cradled by her. His erection surprised him. So soon? She really might kill him. He pushed his arousal against her soft abdomen and watched her eyes widen. “I guess you’re going to survive,” she said with a growing smile. “We better try again to make sure.” His heartbeat hitched a little as her smile filled her eyes with a glowing warmth. He rolled her under him, refusing to wonder at his reaction to her expression. Other things interested him. Before losing himself completely to his lustful urges, Just indulged in a fleeting sense of satisfaction. The year might not be so bad after all. He had a beautiful lover to fill his nights and could still fight his enemies during the day. What more could a simple warrior hope to have in his lifetime?

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Chapter Six Katerina watched Just while he slept. Even in repose, a grimness that spoke of years of fighting marked his features. Old scars decorated his chest and arms, testament to his profession. He lay on his back, arms flung over his head. The first rays of the morning sun filtered in through the windows while he slept on, oblivious to the terrible thing about to happen to him. Katerina tightened the muscles in her legs and thighs, enjoying the small twinges and aches. How many times had Just demonstrated his endless well of strength and endurance? Her sensual musing ended abruptly. No doubt she would have lots of time to recover. After today’s ceremony her husband might never look at her again let alone subject her to the delicious things he had shown her last night. She now understood addiction. Though sore and uncomfortable, temptation nagged at her to wake him for another bout of joining. Her mother’s and grandmother’s description of mating resembled what she and Just had done as much as the sea resembled the mountains. The sound of people in the courtyard interrupted Katerina’s musings. She climbed from bed and donned her robe. Just stirred and opened his eyes half way. Heat surged through her as his sleepy eyed gaze swept up and down her body. “What’s your hurry?” His deep voice rumbled over her nerves. “I ... we have the ceremonial joining this morning.” Katerina heard the tension in her own voice. She hoped Just thought it shyness after their first night together. “Do we eat first?” “After, in case you become ....” Katerina stumbled to a stop. She couldn’t explain the ceremony might make him lose his breakfast. “In case I what?” A soft rapping on the door saved her from lying. “It’s almost time,” Sinda called, her voice muffled through the oak door. “I’ll be right there, Mother.” Katerina knew her mother needed assurance. Would her mother believe the extent of Just’s virility? Would Sinda see it as further proof they needed this morning’s ceremony? Katerina moved to the shelves lining one wall of their sleep chamber. She pulled the new set of clothing she had prepared for her future husband. Would they fit? She frowned as she stroked the smooth black material, trying to delay the start of the day. “Is that for me? I’m out of clean attire.” Just sat up in bed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes. Please meet me in the courtyard as soon as you’re dressed.” Katerina looked away from Just. His mussed hair and bare chest made her want to climb back in bed. She couldn’t stay a moment longer in the room with him. She might blurt out the truth and offer to release him from his vows. The good of her people came first. She hurried out before he could voice the questions in his eyes. ****

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“Katerina? You are well?” “Yes, Mother. My husband was very ....” Katerina hesitated over sharing intimate details with her mother. Sinda had been very open when discussing her own sexual experiences, but Katerina couldn’t speak of last night to her. The magic Just had shown her last night was too private, too wonderful to spoil by discussing it the same as one would the weather. “Very what?” How to explain? Katerina stared without seeing at the entire population of Solonia milling about in front of them. This important ceremony would be held outside so all her people could witness it and feel secure with the man in their midst. “Katerina?” Her mother sounded concerned. “He was ....” The crowd parted as Just walked toward them. Katerina bit back her reply. Her heart pounded, both dread and remembered erotic pleasure fueling it. His dark hair gleamed with health. His blue eyes matched the cloudless sky, and he moved with the grace of a mountain cat. And soon he would hate her. “Time to begin,” Sinda said as Just reached them. He lifted one eyebrow with a questioning look at Katerina. Her grandmother joined her as the three members of the royal family faced Just. The crowd quieted as Sinda began to speak. “You have much to learn about our history and customs, Juston Steele. There isn’t time to educate you on all the reasons for this ceremony. We only hope you’ll cooperate and willingly submit as have all Solonian men for many generations.” Katerina watched the wariness build in her husband’s expression. He briefly met her stare while she silently pleaded for him to understand. Whatever he saw there seemed to increase his suspicions. “Cooperate and submit to what?” Just took one step back and bumped into Vilicia. Katerina noticed five other elite warriors stood behind Just. Anya took a step forward and lifted her hands in front of her. She held a small cushion covered with a silk cloth. Katerina held her breath as her grandmother removed the silk. The gold collar and its cold jarda crystal sparkled as it caught the sun. Just’s burning stare touched her. She felt it, but her courage deserted her. She couldn’t look at him, “What’s going on, Katerina? What is that?” Though his voice was low and quiet, the anger made it sound as if he shouted. “You must place the collar yourself, Katerina.” Her mother spoke as the Deomo now. “For the good of your people.” The words spurred Katerina forward. Duty took over when the heart was weak. She lifted the solid circle from its cushioned resting place. It parted into two halves when she touched it. The other half of the jarda crystal hung on a thin chain around her neck. It hung as a boulder on her conscience as she stared at the collar of gold. Once she placed it on Just’s neck it could not be removed until his death. She finally lifted her face and looked at him. Katerina had expected hatred in Just’s eyes and tried to prepare herself to deal with it. What she saw instead almost made her drop her burden. His beautiful blue eyes stretched wide, filled with what she could only term as horror. Her heart clenched as she understood. Freedom meant everything to this man. Hadn’t he bartered with her in the Realm dungeon to escape his chains? Hadn’t he fought the overwhelming numbers in Herma’s chamber without surrender? Now, she would take his beloved freedom from him

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permanently. “No.” Just spoke forcibly before making his last bid for freedom. Vilicia and the other warriors were too close. They wrestled him to the ground. Katerina watched the nightmarish reality as the women warriors struggled with her husband and slowly forced his face into the grass. Vilicia sat on his back and one warrior imprisoned each limb, holding Just in a spread eagle fashion. Katerina took the few steps needed to reach them. Her conscience screamed at her. Betrayer! The courtyard was eerily silent as Katerina knelt beside Just. She flinched when she encountered the fire in his gaze. Cold fire. Her numb hands worked on their own accord as she reached toward him with the collar. He jerked his head as far from her as he could, but Vilicia grabbed a handful of his hair and held him steady. Katerina slipped the collar beneath his neck, reaching around so she could link it. A flicker of emotion appeared in Just’s eyes. Katerina hesitated. Pleading? Had his massive pride slipped for a moment? The strange glitter in his eyes disappeared beneath his icy stare. She snapped the collar closed, joining it for all eternity, and rose quickly. The warriors released Just, their movements wary. He regained his feet and brushed blades of grass from his new clothing. Vilicia and the others stayed close. They were all too young to remember the last time a man was collared, but they knew what to expect. It wasn’t over yet. Katerina took two steps toward Just. She had to touch the collar to activate the jarda crystal and tune it to her own. Just held his ground, but leaned his head away from her as she reached for his neck. “I take you as my one and only lifetime mate.” Katerina said the proper words loud enough for the entire assembly to hear. Inside, she wished for his forgiveness. She touched the jarda on the chain around her neck and touched the jarda in his collar. She pulled the intricate angles and plans of the crystal into her mind, seeing the workings of the universe in its design. The jarda called to its other half and her wishes flowed along the chimeric lines connecting the twin crystals. At first nothing happened and relief flared in her mind. Perhaps Realm men couldn’t tune to the physic vibrations of earth crystals. Then Just’s eyes widened and his breath hitched. Agony filled his eyes and he clenched them shut. He threw back his head and his knees buckled. He fell to his side and curled into a tight ball. “No!” Katerina screamed, horrified. Her throat closed and her own breath filled her lungs to bursting. Just moaned and the sound galvanized Katerina. Was she not the royal heir, gifted in healing? She dropped to her knees beside him and clasped his head between her hands. She fed the calming healer’s touch to him and pulled his pain to herself. She whimpered as the agony spiraled up her arms and across her shoulders. Her nerves screamed at her to release him, but she held on. How much greater was the pain he felt? Her mother knelt beside Just also and took his hand. Katerina felt her mother flinch more than saw it. Anya joined them, kneeling behind Just and putting both her hands on his back. The pain lessened as the two older, more experienced healers drew some of his suffering to themselves. Vilicia harshly shouted to someone, but Katerina couldn’t understand the warrior’s words. She concentrated on Just. The crystal was killing him. Black spots moved in front of Katerina’s eyes as she redoubled her frantic efforts. It was her fault. She hadn’t fought enough to keep the collar from him. Her vision narrowed to a circular

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tunnel. She vowed to die if she must to save him. The tunnel narrowed until everything went black. **** Katerina blinked against the bright sunlight warming her face. The soft familiarity of her own bed cushioned her back. Sunlight coming in the west windows and she was still in bed? Fatigue crushed her body like a physical weight. “Katerina, open your eyes.” Worry and a hint of desperation colored the voice or she might have ignored it. Why was her mother so worried? Had she been ill? “Katerina, wake up.” Command did what kindness had not. Katerina opened her eyes. Her mother leaned over her, her brow furrowed in a deep frown. “Mother, you look terrible. You should go lie down.” “You should see yourself,” Sinda said with a small tired smile. Dark circles underscored her eyes and her shoulders sagged. “Mother, I had the most frightening dream. We can’t go forward with the collaring. I’m afraid it will kill Just.” Sinda took Katerina’s hand. “It wasn’t a dream. Don’t you remember? You fainted.” “He’s dead?” Katerina bolted up, swaying as a wave of dizziness rocked her. “No. He seems quite difficult to kill.” Sinda nodded toward the other side of the bed. Just sprawled in masculine splendor beside her. She reached out and smoothed her hand over his cheek to assure herself of his health. The heat of his skin thawed the ice in her chest. The jarda crystal winked evilly at her from his collar. “What have we done?” Katerina mumbled to herself, but her mother answered. “I’m not sure what happened. I’ve never seen anything like that. The collar isn’t supposed to punish with such vicious intensity. It would have killed a lesser man.” “We must take it off.” “You know we can’t. Every time that’s been attempted the wearer died.” Katerina bit her lip as the horror of the collaring threatened to claim her. “If all three of us hadn’t been there, he would have died.” “I believe so.” Katerina caught something in her mother’s tone. “Mother?” Sinda shrugged and rose to look out the window. “We’ll discuss it all after you rest. I must check on your grandmother. When the man became unconscious, you two went down ....” Sinda turned to face her again, her face pale with remembered fear. “I thought he had died and taken you both with him. Sleep now and we’ll all talk in the morning.” Katerina watched her mother leave. Too tired to worry further about what thoughts her mother hid from her, Katerina laid her head on Just’s shoulder and put her hand over his heart. His chest rose and fell with the steady rhythms of deep sleep. His heart beat strong and steady beneath her hand. Tomorrow she would worry. Tonight she held her husband. The husband she had realized today she could not bear to lose. **** Just fought his way up through thick fog. He fled from nightmare creatures trying to claw their way out of his insides. He blinked, not sure if he was awake and if the dreams might be the reality. Muted sunlight, filtered by transparent shades, warmed one side of his face. Normally he

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woke clearheaded and ready to meet the demands of his dangerous life. Now his thoughts dragged along like a man fighting his way through the shallows of the ocean. The room. Fresh flowers filled a vase on a small table. He knew this room. He inhaled, glad to find his lungs weren’t shredded by the clawing monsters, and recognized the scent. Katerina. A wave of pleasure surged from his chest straight to his groin as he recalled their night together. She must have risen without him. Strange that he hadn’t heard her. He usually slept so light he noticed a cloud moving over the moons. Just swung his legs over the side of the bed. The movement called attention to a foreign weight around his neck. He touched the cold metal and remembered. Pain. Clawing agony, not demons or monsters, brought on when Katerina had put the collar about his neck. He tugged on the ring of metal, shivering at the cold heaviness of it. “Conniving bitch,” Just cursed. He stumbled when he stood up before finding his balance. He used every profanity he knew as he dressed. The bath area had similar luxuries as Vilicia’s. He cleaned his face and teeth with cold water, but it didn’t cool his temper. He drank two large mugs of water from a bedside pitcher, his stomach flipping with cheer to have something in it. He pushed out of the door, determined to search every room until he found his deceitful wife. He wouldn’t wear a collar like some type of domesticated animal. Especially not a collar she could use to kill him. How the hell had she done that? First things first. Just rubbed his grumbling stomach. Where was the kitchen in this place? **** “I spoke to Erina,” Sinda said. “She did all the design work on the collar and with the crystal herself. She suggested Realm physiology might be different enough from our own to cause such a violent reaction to the tuning of the jarda crystal.” “I guess it’s possible. That doesn’t explain everything,” Anya grumped. Katerina thought her grandmother looked her sixty-two years today. “What other explanation could there be?” Katerina asked, rubbing her temple with her fingers. “Didn’t you feel it, Katerina?” Anya asked. “I felt it as soon as I touched your husband.” Katerina stared at her grandmother. She’d blocked out the memories of pain as much as possible, but now she allowed herself to remember. Yes, grandmother was right. On the edge of her awareness something had nagged at her when she tried to help Just. “Another presence.” Katerina closed her eyes and concentrated on what she had felt. “Someone else exerted some control of the jarda crystal. Hate and anger.” Katerina opened her eyes and found her mother and grandmother nodding in agreement. “Someone wanted Just dead.” “I fear it’s true.” Sinda paused to sip her tea. They sat around the centuries old oak table in the royal family’s private dining room. “Just should have only experienced some mild discomfort when you wakened the jarda crystal. Even your father, who was not a strong man, was only mildly affected by the collaring.” Anya took up the speculation. “We might never have suspected anything other than Realm males could not withstand the collar. One of our own frail men would have died instantly with that amount of punishment. This attacker never expected Just to survive.” “He wouldn’t have lived if we hadn’t been there,” Katerina interjected, her mind whirling with the idea of a Solonian as a murderer.

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“If Just had died on his first day here, I doubt the Realm would trust us with another man and we wouldn’t dare have one without a collar.” Sinda shook her head. “The experiment would have ended before it had a chance.” “You suspect Erina?” Katerina couldn’t fathom Erina betraying them or purposely killing another person. “She’s never spoken against the alliance between you and one of the Realm,” Anya answered. “Any number of people have voiced their displeasure.” Katerina listed the names of some in her mind. Could one of these gentle women she had known all her life do such a thing? They didn’t even know Just. “This is treason,” Sinda said. “And we must believe that since they have once crossed this line they will try again.” “How can we find her?” Katerina stared at her cooling tea. “This attacker doesn’t know we’re aware of them. They’ll want to remain undetected.” Sinda mused out loud. “She’ll wait for a chance to activate the collar when she can get away with ... murder.” “I’ll speak with Erina,” Anya said. “One of us needs to be close to the man at all times.” Just walked in before they could plan their investigation further. Katerina braced herself for his anger, glad she wasn’t facing it alone. His intense blue glare fixed on her as he strode toward them. The cold in the depths of his eyes rivaled the ice caves of the tallest mountain peaks. Despite the guilt swamping her, she kept her own gaze on him. Pride wouldn’t let her look away. “Some little thing you forgot to mention about our marriage ceremony, wife?” Katerina flinched at the vicious sarcasm even as she tried to think of a soothing retort. All the explanations she had practiced scattered in the face of his temper. “It’s over. I’m finished with this farce of a ....” Just’s icy gaze dropped to the table. He plopped into a chair and pulled the plate of fresh bread and cheeses toward himself. Katerina watched as he ate ravenously until every crumb was gone. He reached for the bowl of smoothberries next. She glanced at her mother and grandmother. They looked as enthralled as she was. Anya rose and walked to the kitchen. She returned with a large shallow bowl of hot porridge as he scraped the bottom of the smoothberry crock. “Thank you.” Just took the bowl and attacked it with the same enthusiasm as he had the first bite. Only the sound of his spoon tinkling against the crockery broke the silence of the dining room. He finished the porridge and looked around as if he expected to find more. He’d eaten every bite of the breakfast prepared for the three women. “Where’s my sword?” “What?” Katerina still reeled from the shock of seeing him eat. “I need my sword before I leave,” Just said. “You’re bound by the honor of your word to stay,” Katerina answered, remembering one of her prepared arguments. “You throw my honor in my face after the dishonesty of your own dealings?” Just snarled. Katerina took a deep breath before replying. “Even if you feel I’ve acted dishonestly, is your word so meaningless you’ll break your vow? You agreed to stay until we have a child.” “Remove the collar.” “I can’t,” Katerina answered, her temper rising at his stubbornness. “You won’t,” Just countered.

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“No, Katerina speaks the truth,” Anya said. “All past attempts to remove the collar from man or beast resulted in death.” “Not removing this one is going to result in some deaths if you don’t get it off me,” Just promised, glaring at them all in turn. “It can not be done.” Sinda used her Deomo tone of voice. Katerina looked away when Just turned his glacial stare back toward her. She repeated to herself all the reasons her people needed this marriage. All the reasons she wanted it herself. “You mean I have to wear this thing the rest of my life? This thing that you tried to kill me with?” Just asked, his voice low and dangerous. “Yes, but it can only be activated by a Solonian. It can’t be used against you by anyone else,” Sinda explained. Just stared at Sinda. “So if I leave now, I won’t ever experience what I did yesterday? Was it even yesterday or a few days ago? Are you trying to talk me into staying or convince me to go?” “There’s no need to convince you to stay,” Katerina said, meeting his cold stare with all the calm she could manage. Inside her heart raced. She stood on the edge of a precipice and Just’s decision would pull her back from the edge or send her over. “Your honor requires you to stay.” This time Just was the one to look away first. “Tell me why.” “There’s much in our history you don’t understand. A Solonian joining is sealed by the husband’s voluntary wearing of the collar,” Sinda answered although the question had been directed at Katerina. “Why would any man voluntarily allow this thing?” Just tugged at the golden ring. “It’s a symbol of trust and a means of protection,” Katerina answered. “Protection?” Just looked from one woman to another. “Protection from whom?” “It protects the women from their husbands,” Katerina answered. “Protection from men you told me were too weak to even ... who couldn’t even ... when we ... you said Solonian men ...,” Just stammered, his tanned face darkening even more than usual. “You said they weren’t ...virile.” Katerina managed not to smile. “The last generation wasn’t, but it wasn’t always that way. Many Solonian women suffered in the past from the abuse of men.” “So you expect the same of me?” Just acted more offended than angry. “We don’t know what to expect of you,” Sinda said. “Your current show of temper is not promising.” Katerina hastened to speak as Just’s eyes widened with further outrage. “We’re only following the traditions of our people. I ask you to cooperate with us as I did at the Realm ceremony.” “The two ceremonies don’t compare, and you know it.” Just rose, the few moments of heated anger in his eyes changing back to chilling cold. “You, Lady Katerina, held back knowledge of the collar from me, knowing I would never have agreed to your plan if I had foreknowledge of this.” He flicked his finger at the jarda crystal. “You dealt with me dishonestly, but I won’t do the same to you. As you say, my honor holds me here until a child is born. Be warned. I won’t be pleased with anymore half truths or lies of omission.” Katerina shivered at the menace and promise in Just’s words. He stared at each woman in turn as if to emphasize his intent. “My sword.” Just words were a command not a question.

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“I’ll get it,” Katerina said, but Just’s next words stopped her. “When can I speak to some of the men around here? Are you hiding them?” “Men?” Katerina croaked. Just lifted an eyebrow and then frowned. “You know, people like me with collars on their necks.” Katerina looked at her mother and then her grandmother. Both shrugged, leaving it to her. “That’s another thing, Just. You see, my father’s generation of men were not only lacking in virility. They failed to reproduce any males at all.” Just shook his head. “What are you talking about? I want to speak with some of these Solonian men who voluntarily put on one of these collars.” “They’re all dead.” She couldn’t be more honest than that. “Dead? The collar killed them?” Just asked, his voice rising in volume with every word. “No. Dead of old age.” Katerina braced for his explosion. “You’re the only male in Solonia.” **** “Then he proceeded to humiliate the next five challengers as easily as he had the first five.” “Was anyone hurt?” “Oh, the normal bumps and bruises earned in any training exercise.” “You don’t sound upset, Vilicia.” Katerina smiled at her friend as they enjoyed a late afternoon visit on the front porch. “I was angry at first, or maybe embarrassed.” Vilicia laughed at herself. “But Steele isn’t arrogant or a braggart. He kicks your butt and then asks who’s next.” “Still, I’m surprised you’re taking it so well. I take it he didn’t spare you either.” “No, he didn’t. I gave him a better fight than any of my warriors. I ended up with some trampled pride.” “And now?” Katerina watched Vilicia search for words. They knew each other so well. “I realized I had no reason for envy or jealousy, certainly not anger. This awesome warrior is not my enemy. He’s my comrade.” Vilicia looked at Katerina expectantly. Katerina nodded, beginning to understand. “He’ll help my warriors be better fighters,” Vilicia continued, enthusiasm in her voice. “In the last five days, he’s taught us many new techniques that will improve our chances against the Others.” Katerina stared across the front lawn at the horses grazing in the pasture. She had known Just spent every working hour training with Vilicia and the other Solonian warriors. He dropped into bed every night exhausted and rose before she woke. “Katerina, I don’t know how you feel about your husband, but as your Security Captain, I think you should know what I think of him.” “Please speak freely.” “I want him to stay as long as we can keep him. I know about the deal you made with him for a year, but I don’t want him to leave. I’ve never seen his equal as a fighter and I haven’t even seen him in a real battle. His presence improves our ability to protect ourselves tenfold.” Katerina nodded as she digested Vilicia’s opinion. Actual admiration colored Vilicia’s comments, unusual for the tough minded warrior. “And how do you judge him as a man?” Katerina knew her question was unfair, but she had to talk to someone. Her frustration had been

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building for five days. “I have less experience with men than you do.” Vilicia smiled until she looked at Katerina. “I guess this is a serious question. I can offer my general perception of him. He seems fair and honest. He’s tough and a bit cool to the others. But I understand that. He’s seen and brought more death than probably all Solonians combined.” “I should have prevented the collaring.” Katerina spoke the words she thought to herself all the time. She wanted to go back to her wedding night. Wanted to feel Just’s arms around her again and experience his lovemaking. He seemed not to miss it or her at all. He hadn’t spoken more than ten words a day to her since the morning after the collaring. He never touched her. Vilicia was silent for a few moments before she answered. “You know I spoke against it before as you did. But now that I’ve seen this man fight, I’m not so sure we were right.” “What do you mean?” “If Just Steele decided to turn on us all, he could do a lot of injury before we could stop him. The collar makes it possible to stop him in a hurry.” “He wouldn’t do that.” Katerina heard the lack of conviction in her denial. She didn’t know her husband. “What wouldn’t I do?” Katerina’s heart skipped a beat before taking off in rapid flight. Just stood beside her, having approached with the quiet animal like way he always moved. His dark hair glistened with moisture from a recent washing, and he carried a bowl of fruits and vegetables. He settled beside her on the same stone bench. He stretched out his long lean legs, his warmth reaching across the tiny distance separating them to touch her. Katerina watched with fascination as he took a bite of a peach with his strong white teeth. Her eyes drifted to the strong columns of his throat and the patch of bare skin where his shirt gapped open. “Well?” “We weren’t speaking of you,” Vilicia lied, rescuing Katerina who had forgotten the question. “Didn’t know there was another he around here. You killed them all off.” Neither woman answered. Katerina started when Just’s knee brushed against hers. She tried to think of a topic to discuss that would keep him at her side while he crunched his way through his snack. “I have some things to prepare for tomorrow.” Vilicia rose as she spoke. “Get a good night’s rest, Steele. You’ll get little enough the next three nights.” Katerina wished her friend had stayed. The silence that followed her departure felt awkward and hostile. She angrily put away her guilt. Enough was enough. “Please be careful tomorrow. The western lands can be dangerous,” Katerina said, hoping to start even a mundane conversation. “Worried I might get killed before we produce that baby you’re willing to sacrifice everything to have?” Just’s sarcasm toppled the thin control Katerina held on her temper. “Perhaps. It would be very inconvenient to travel to the Realm to pick another arrogant, stubborn, unforgiving, cold and remote man whose only goal in life seems to be to set a record for the amount of food consumed by a single person.” By the time she finished, Katerina stood facing Just. Her voice rose with each word so she shouted the last few. She refused to step back when

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Just stood and towered over her, his face dark and stormy. “I don’t eat that much,” he growled. Katerina blinked, taken back by his response. “I can’t help it if you serve inadequate meals.” A few women walking across the front lawn area slowed to listen and watch. Katerina glared at Just. How dare he try to divert her anger by picking out the minor insult and ignoring the others? Didn’t he know how to argue? She wrapped her royal dignity around herself and stared at the onlookers until they moved on to attend their business. “Could we please continue this discussion in private?” Just looked around as if noticing their public position for the first time. He took Katerina’s arm in a firm but gentle fashion. “I know a place.” He led her across the lawn and past the horse corrals. He started down the path to the cold mountain lake much to her surprise and pleasure. She loved the lakeside. The land dropped enough to hide them from the settlement and then flattened out to a rocky beach. Only the calls of a few birds and the soft slap of the water on the shoreline disturbed the peace. Katerina stared at the lake, searching for the calm she had found here only a short time ago. Before leaving for the Realm to choose her mate, she had spent time here searching for her courage and her hope. Now she sought that optimism again. She watched Just pace a short distance from her. He picked up a fist sized stone from the beach and threw it far out into the water. His mouth turned down in a frown as if the action displeased him. He repeated the action with a larger rock. Muscles rippled beneath the light brown shirt she had made for him long before she met him. A light breeze ruffled his finger length hair, blowing it back from his face as he stared across the lake. Katerina walked to a flat boulder a few steps away and sat so she could watch him. Vilicia had assured her Just was unequaled as a fighter, strong and quick as well as intelligent. Though her contact with men was quite limited, she thought he must be an exceptional example of the gender. He continued to toss stones into the deep water. She watched, admiring his physique and calling up erotic memories of their wedding night. As if she didn’t already think about it twenty times each day and most of every night. She undressed him in her mind, the memory of him totally nude heating her middle. **** Just tired of waiting for his wife to speak. Tired was the important word. Tired of being the outsider. Tired of training from dusk to dawn to avoid Katerina’s presence. Tired of fighting his attraction to her. Tired of being alone. Hell, he was even tired of being hungry. The battle of wills they fought couldn’t go on much longer. He hadn’t the patience for it. And he didn’t think he could win. She wasn’t even going to offer a token apology for the damn collar. He wanted to hate her for that. For his crushed pride. Tossing another rock as far as he could, Just examined his feelings. He hated doing it, but things were getting desperate. He preferred action to introspection. What did he really want? Long term, he wasn’t sure, but right at this moment he knew exactly what he wanted more than anything else in the world. Tomorrow he would leave on what could be a dangerous expedition. Tonight he wanted to experience the intense pleasure he had had the night before the

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collaring. He wanted to make love to his wife. Just rolled his admission over in his mind. It was his marital right to make love to her and according to their agreement, it was also his duty. He glanced at Katerina. She stared back at him. How might he explain his decision to her? They had barely spoken the last five days. Just took a step toward her, prepared to call some type of truce. Then he met her hot stare and the words stuck in his throat. His body responded to the flaming desire he recognized in her deep brown eyes. He walked toward her, drawn like a bee to a glass of sweet tea. She dropped her gaze to the front of his pants. When his next step carried him within her reach, she touched his erection. Then she squeezed. Just’s breath whooshed out of his lungs as if she had punched him. She slid her hands up his sides and tugged at him. He eased her to her back and lowered his weight on her. Saints! The feel of her beneath him almost sent him over the edge of control. She opened her mouth as he sought her lips. Her hips rose to press against him as he rubbed his palm over her hard nipple. He lifted away from her and tugged down his pants, wondering at his frantic haste but too far gone to care. He wasn’t tired anymore. **** The watcher peered over the boulder she hid behind, observing the couple on the shoreline. At first, she thought the man had attacked Lady Katerina. It wasn’t so. They stripped each other of their clothing as if the garments crawled with stinging black ants. Her stomach threatened to erupt as Katerina let Steele mount her, actually welcomed him with open arms. How could the lady not cry with the pain and shame of it? The bestial urges of men sickened her. Steele rolled to his back and took the Lady Katerina with him. The watcher covered her mouth to contain her horror. Not only was her future deomo a willing participant, now she rode the man as if he were a horse. Steele put his hands on Katerina’s breasts and touched her between her legs. Gagging, the watcher turned away and vomited in the dirt. She glanced again at the couple, fearful they might have heard her. Katerina suddenly threw her head back in apparent agony and Steele convulsed with his own pain. They both stopped moving and the Lady Katerina collapsed as if unconscious, draping herself over Steele. The watcher fingered the sliver of jarda crystal she held. It was the joining piece between Katerina’s crystal and the one worn by the man. Why hadn’t Steele died during the collaring? This thin jarda sliver should have been enough to destroy him. It had worked, but not enough. Steele looked so weak and spent right now, she was tempted to sneak closer and use the crystal again. Without the Deomo and Anya here to help, he might die this time if she could get close enough. She frowned as she studied the surrounding landscape. Too open. Too much risk of discovery. Opportunities would present themselves. She crept away as the couple stirred. She would kill him. Soon. **** Katerina dressed slowly, searching for words. Their lovemaking had been wonderful as before. Perhaps better. They had spoken no words since arriving on the beach. None had been needed for their lovemaking, but the argument that brought them here was still unresolved.

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“I think we need to talk.” Being fully clothed increased her confidence. “I don’t like this tension between us.” Just tightened the laces on his boots, his raptor gaze sweeping the rocky beach between them and the settlement. He turned toward her after a long moment. “I agree. We’re stuck together for almost a year. There’s no reason not to enjoy the benefits of being married.” “What exact benefits are you talking about?” He grinned and her heart tripped. He looked at the rock they had used for their lovemaking and then back to her. “Do I have to remind you so soon?” He stepped closer and tried to take her in his arms. She moved back, angry at him and herself. What did she expect? Of course he meant the physical pleasure. “You’re right. We should engage in intercourse as often as possible. The more often, the better the chance of conception. That’s our objective after all.” Holding her hurt inside made her voice stilted, but she couldn’t help it. Anger flashed in his eyes, confusing her more. Why was he angry when she agreed with him? What did she want herself from him besides his stud service? “I see no reason why we can’t be friends and work mates. There are many things in Solonian I would like to share with you.” His eyes widened and then he laughed, but not with amusement. “Friends? I don’t know about Solonians, but in the Realm, friends are people you can trust. They’re honest and open.” He stepped closer to tower over her. He tugged at the gold collar. “Friends don’t put these on their friends’ necks. They don’t purposely cause each other pain and almost kill them. At the very least, they would warn each other of the danger. We’re not friends, and you can take full responsibility for that.” He snatched up his sword and strode up the path without a backwards glance. She watched until he was out of sight. Katerina walked to the edge of the water and stared at the mountains beyond without really seeing them. She’d made a mistake and lost an opportunity to mend the rift between them. She shouldn’t have brought up the friendship issue. He needed more time to forgive her. She squared her shoulders and started toward home. She would take what they had and build on it. Even a stallion grew loyal and fond of the mares in its herd. If Just wanted a bed mate, a bed mate she would be. She would be the best he had ever had in his bed. They would find something beyond lust if they spent enough time in each others company. She had detected a mellowness in Just’s mood after lovemaking. She would use that time to gentle his attitude toward her and their situation. Tomorrow, Just was to leave on a three day trip to help gather aladar high in the mountains. She would see the expedition postponed. Her mother would agree. Producing offspring was more important than aladar. By the time she finished with that stubborn husband, he wouldn’t ever want to be without her.

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Chapter Seven “We travel through that pass to the ice caverns. We usually replenish out supply every two months.” Katerina pointed to the north. “The highest peaks have snow all year long, but our valley has the same mild temperatures as the coastal areas.” “How far does the pass go into the mountains?” Just asked. “That pass is a dead end.” Katerina basked in the simple pleasure of his interest in her— their—home. “The ice becomes a vertical, impassable wall.” Just nodded and turned to look again at the cultivated fields they were passing through. “How many women work the crops?” “Almost everyone does some of the work. Most of our people have small gardens for personal use. The community fields provide everyone with grains for making breads. The south end of our valley has orchards—apples, cherries, and peaches. You saw the goat herds.” Just stared at her, his intelligent eyes thoughtful. “You ladies are completely independent. I guess you befriended the Realm for only one reason.” Katerina stiffened, but Just swung his gaze back to the mountain pass. “I’d like to see the ice wall.” “We’ll be harvesting ice shortly,” Vilicia said as she rode up beside Just. “I might have organized an expedition for today if we weren’t taking this little tour. Just began asking Vilicia some questions of how they cut and transported the ice, giving Katerina a chance to study him while his attention was elsewhere. The last five nights had been lessons in lovemaking. No. Lessons in lust and sexual techniques. Just took her to the heights of passion not once, but several times each night. Yet, she sensed he held everything but his physical self from her. She knew his body well, but the man remained a stranger. Katerina’s mother had agreed with her about delaying the aladar gathering. The production of a child took priority. Katerina needed time with him. She shifted in the saddle, trying to ease the soreness in a very private area. Wryly, she admitted she now needed some time away from her husband. Not that he wasn’t gentle. Her discomfort came from overuse, not abuse. Katerina shifted again. Just turned to look at her, his gaze dropping to the spot she sought to protect. When he met her gaze again, she detected a hint of humor in the blue ice of his eyes though the rest of his expression remained as hard as usual. “Are we ready to camp for the night?” Just directed his question to Vilicia, but he kept his gaze on Katerina. “I thought we could travel a little further. There’s a good camping area we can reach before dark if we don’t linger here longer.” “Pick one closer,” Just commanded. “Can’t keep up, Steele?” Erina sneered the question as she urged her horse up beside Vilicia. Katerina’s initial shock at Erina’s tone quickly became anger. “Return to the hall, Erina.

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We’ll speak of this when I return.” Erina glared at Just and gave Katerina a stiff nod that barely passed as respectful. She jerked at the reins of her mount and heeled it into a gallop back the way they had come. “Saints in hell. You’ve got quite a temper, Wife.” Katerina almost exploded at the soft comment until she realized Just was looking at her with admiration. Men! They thought temper a good quality? Still the look in his eyes warmed her insides. “Vilicia, I think my husband was thinking of me. Could we camp at Cedar Springs? It’s not much further.” Vilicia glanced at Katerina and Just, but asked for no explanation. “Cedar Springs it is. Steele, you’ll have to take a turn at watch tonight since Erina left.” “I expected to take my turn.” Katerina watched the exchange. She sensed the mutual respect between Just and Vilicia, but not a lot of trust. She sighed to herself. The landscape changed to untamed grasses and sturdy scrubs that liked the rocky soil. No one spoke, the silence more brooding than comfortable. Without other distractions, Katerina’s thoughts lingered on her discomfort. She considered asking for a halt though the spring was less than an hour away. Suddenly Just leaned across and lifted her from her saddle. She squeaked with alarm as she dangled in mid air for a moment. He settled her across his lap without Stone breaking stride. Surprise kept her silent long enough to notice the relief of not straddling her horse. She wiggled around to get more comfortable, but Just put a hand on her hip to hold her still. “Stop that. You’re going to start something you really can’t deal with right now.” He didn’t look at her, but she knew of what he spoke. His erection pushed against her hip. “Sorry.” He did look down at her now. His expression was puzzled. “I’m sorry, Katerina. I didn’t know you were sore. You should have told me. We didn’t have to ... at least not so many times last night.” Vilicia dropped back from the lead position she had taken. She frowned at Just. “What’s wrong? Are you ill, Katerina?” Katerina wrapped her arms around Just’s waist before answering. “I’m fine. I’m not used to so much riding.” Just’s chest shook with silent laughter. She pinched his back and he laughed out loud for the second time since she’d met him. Vilicia gave them a look that said she thought they were both crazy before riding back to the lead. “I wasn’t lying,” Katerina said when Just stopped laughing. “I don’t usually ride all day like this.” “I believe you.” “Why are you laughing then?” Katerina smiled herself, his amusement lifting her spirits though she sensed he was laughing at her. “I was wondering what type of riding you were referring to. You did a lot of riding last night, too.” Her face heated. She pinched his back again. He didn’t flinch, only laughed again. Katerina saw the other women staring at them. She pressed her face against his chest, listening to the last rumbles of his laughter. His warmth against her cheek held back the chill from

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the surrounding hills as the shadows lengthened. The warmth, the strong rhythmic beating of his heart and the motion of the horse lured her into a drowsy state. One of Just’s arms left her for a moment and then returned with the warmth of a cloak. He pulled her even closer. She gave in to the irresistible heaviness of her lids. **** Just knew the moment she went to sleep. Another shaft of guilt stabbed him. He could use a nap himself. He hadn’t been able to resist the unlimited access to her body the last few nights. He couldn’t get enough of her. Even now he yearned to pull her to the ground and satisfy his urges. Murmuring in her sleep, she snuggled even closer. She slipped one hand between the laces of his shirt. Sweet torment spread from the spot her hand touched him. He reveled in the torture until the women in front of him turned from the trail toward the rocky slopes leading to the mountains. The larger boulders could hide danger the open fields hadn’t. He moved Katerina enough to give his sword arm more freedom. He smelled the chemical odor of the hot spring before he could see it. He had come on such before, but always in enemy territory. The hill leveled out somewhat as they came upon the springs. A blackened ring of stones beside the largest pool of steaming water gave testament to previous travelers. Vilicia gave quiet commands and two of the women jogged away to scout the perimeter. The third woman stripped the tack from the horses and led them to an open area away from the hot springs. Vilicia dismounted and pulled Katerina’s bedroll from the pile of saddles and packs. She spread it out near the well used ring of stones before rejoining Just. Just sat on Stone, not sure if he should wake Katerina or not. He shook his head when Vilicia raised her arms as if to take Katerina from him. He nodded toward Stone’s head instead. Vilicia frowned but took the horse’s bridle in hand. Just swung his leg over the stallion’s neck and slid from the saddle. He landed lightly on his feet. Katerina sighed, but otherwise seemed undisturbed. He laid her down on the pallet Vilicia had prepared, taking as much care as he could to not wake her. He pulled up the covering blanket and tucked it around her shoulders. One of the scouts returned and dumped a small armful of wood on the ring of stones. The woman returned his glare, but she arranged the wood in a quieter fashion. He stared down at Katerina in the failing light. He had looked at her like this once before and resisted the urge to touch her. Not today. Her cheek was smooth and warm under his fingers, her hair like fine silk. He brushed a few strands back from her face, her breath tickling his skin. A fierce sense of possession and protectiveness welled up inside him. He swore his sword heated in the scabbard riding his shoulder so intense was the emotion. Just stood up, breaking the contact. He shrugged off the alien feelings. Not that he was afraid to examine them. He understood completely. He liked sleeping with this woman so of course he felt the need to protect her. It made him responsible for her. Simple. He turned to tend to Stone and found the other four women staring at him. He swept them with a glare that he had used to send Savages fleeing. The Solonians scurried back to their tasks of setting up camp. Vilicia helped him brush down Stone and retrieve his own pack. “Thank you,” Just said. “Stone usually doesn’t let strangers care for him.”

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“He’s little more than a wild beast, but I had no trouble.” Just nodded, already thinking of a hot bath when Vilicia put her hand on his shoulder. He jerked back, prepared to defend himself. Vilicia raised a mocking brow. “No cause for alarm. Yet.” “What’s that mean?” “Katerina is my ruler by right and a sister friend by choice. I won’t see her hurt.” “You can see she’s unharmed. Ask her if you doubt me.” Just wondered at his lack of anger. He had never let a man threaten him as Vilicia thought to do. “There are many ways to bring harm. She worries about you. I fear she may be foolish enough to care for you in some small way.” Just stared at her. Katerina care for him? She had placed the damn collar on his neck. “Katerina worries only about producing a child.” “Good. When she’s certain she’s with child, you can move into the quarters set aside for the warriors. There’s plenty of room.” Just stepped toward Vilicia. “I’ll stay with my wife in our quarters while I’m in Solonia. None of this is any of your concern. Don’t mention it again to me or Katerina.” Just took a deep breath, wondering at the fire burning in his chest. Vilicia's small satisfied smile dumped ice water on the inner heat. He grabbed up his clean clothes and headed for the spring All women were daft and no man could understand them. He kicked a small stone out of his way. And the hell if he would give up his place in Katerina’s bed when she became pregnant. **** Katerina woke to the sound of muted voices and crackling flames. Confusion and fatigue combined to make her mind a foggy mass of thoughts. Twinges and discomfort awakened in various parts of her body as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Memory returned, bringing disbelief. “I never nap,” she muttered under her breath. Yet she yearned to lie down again and sleep until morning. Had she slept on Just’s lap and not even woke when they stopped? Remembering the gentle way Just had held her, his arms, so safe and warm, but strong as he carried her, warmed something inside that had little to do with lust. “You’re finally awake.” Vilicia knelt beside her, concern wrinkling her brow. “I can’t believe I slept so long.” Katerina could see the meal was almost prepared. “Where’s Just?” “Are you ill?” Vilicia asked, ignoring the question about Just. “I don’t think so. Where’s my husband?” “Why did you sleep like that? You didn’t even wake up when we stopped, and I know you’re a light sleeper.” “I guess I needed to catch up on some rest. Now where is Just?” Vilicia frowned, but let it drop. Katerina was glad. She had always been able to tell her friend anything, but the details of her marriage were too intimate. “He’s at the pool.” “I believe I’ll join him.” Katerina rose on stiff legs and found her pack close by. She pulled out a clean tunic, frowning at the plain, tan garment. She shrugged. It was what she had. She lifted a small leather pouch of bath crystals out of her pack.

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“You would tell if there was something wrong?” Katerina felt guilty at Vilicia’s question. Despite Katerina’s promise that it would not happen, Just was coming between them. “I would, Vilicia, but there are some things I can’t share with you.” Vilicia looked away and nodded. “Take what happiness you can from this union. Go to him.” Katerina hugged Vilicia, fighting down the lump in her throat. Then she hurried up the small slope to the largest pool. She found Just’s clothes first. A clean, neatly folded shirt and pants lay on top his pack. The blue shirt and black pants he had worn today were spread on top of nearby bushes. He must have washed them. A small sound pulled her gaze to the pool. Just met her stare across the still water separating them. He didn’t speak, but watched with some fierce emotion in his eyes as she undressed. The cool air nipped at her bare skin, chasing her into the water as soon as she drew off her pants. She walked in until the water covered her breasts. The warmth soaked into her tired, sore muscles. Wonderful! Strong hands circled her waist. Just pulled her against him, his skin even hotter than the water. She slid her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his damp hair. Her nipples peaked to sensitive hardness as they rubbed against his hard chest. His erection pushed against her belly and an ache grew between her thighs. Katerina met his stare, wondering at the questions she saw in the light blue depths. Twilight sat hard on the land, though the first moon had already cleared the horizon. They stared into each other’s eyes for long moments. She didn’t know what he waited for, but she needed to appease the urge to be closer to him. She tugged on his hair, eager to taste his lips. He resisted at first, then slowly lowered his head. She rose on her toes to meet him. Instead of the demanding intensity of his kisses since their first night together, this kiss was gentle and light. He brushed her lips with his own, pulled back and then returned with a teasing nibble. He sucked on her lower lip before dropping soft kisses on her chin. He traced a line around her jaw to the outer corner of her eye. She dropped her head back as he kissed his way to her other ear. Her hair floated around them. He turned her sideways and lifted her so she floated in front of him. His lips teased the mounds of her breasts, avoiding the sensitive peaks that yearned for his attention. He supported her with one hand and used the other to smooth all her hair into the water. She watched his eyes, but he looked only at her hair. She recognized the tense set of his face as arousal, yet he didn’t touch her elsewhere. He helped her to an upright position as she pushed her dripping hair behind her ears. He held up his hand, revealing a fistful of soap crystals. “You did come for a bath, didn’t you?” “Yes, of course.” Her face heated enough to make the water seem cool. “Turn around.” She obeyed without question, anything to avoid the amusement in his expression. Her embarrassment evaporated when he started to work the soap into her hair. His strong fingers massaged her scalp through her thick tresses. It was paradise. She groaned with the pleasure. His lips and fingers had aroused her with their talents before but not like this. Somehow it seemed even more intimate than a kiss.

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His erection brushed her hip and waist as he moved from side to side in his work. She ached for his touch elsewhere, but wanted him to continue forever. Too soon he put his arm around her shoulders and urged her to lean back. He scooped water onto her hair and worked the soap out until he looked satisfied. Her eyes tended to drift closed, but she forced them open so she could watch his face. He lifted her back to upright and then stepped back from her. She took another step toward him, but he retreated again. His rejection was like ice being dumped on her head. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m doing it for your own good.” Pride put anger in her words. “Doing what for my own good?” He sighed and looked at the sky. The moon was behind her, shining in his face, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She waited a moment longer for his answer before turning and splashing toward the shore. She cried out when he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. He forced her hand under the water and placed in on his erection. “I wanted to give you a chance to recover, but if you insist, I’ll be glad to accommodate you. One day shouldn’t make any difference in whether or not we make a baby this month.” She heard anger and frustration in his tone. He was trying to be thoughtful as he had been earlier today when he had carried her on his lap. She had ruined it, ruined his mood. Could he blame her for not understanding? She blamed herself, but men were so confusing. Why couldn’t they say what they thought? “I’m sorry. Thank you. I ... I don’t know why I didn’t see that. You’ve been wonderful today.” He looked startled and then suspicious of her honesty. His voice was gruff. “I didn’t do anything special except act like a husband. I think that’s how a husband is supposed to be.” Katerina found his discomfort endearing. Was he embarrassed because he had been kind? Was he softening toward her? “Let me wash your back.” Katerina stepped toward him. Just almost fell backwards as he scrambled out of her reach. “I’m not made of iron. You walk out of the water and get some clothes on.” Katerina giggled, but she made her way to the bank. Dismay doused her amusement when she realized she had forgotten a cloth to dry with in her haste to join him. She didn’t see anything to use among his things either. Did he plan to air dry? Shivers spread up her arms and back as the night air reminded her how close the snow covered mountains stood. “Use my shirt.” She jumped when he spoke from right behind her. He moved as silently as the dusk. “What will you wear?” “It’ll dry by morning. I don’t need a shirt to sleep in.” He shrugged, but his stare raked her bare form like hot fingers. She dried herself on the shirt and slipped into her clean tunic. It covered her to mid thigh, leaving her legs exposed to the cold. He pulled on his pants and waited with his back turned while she gathered her things. She took a moment to admire the outline of muscles across his shoulders. Droplets of water caught the moonlight as they dripped from his hair and traveled in rivulets down his back. “I’m ready.” She stepped to his side and took his hand. He looked at her with an unreadable expression and then glanced down at their interlocked hands. She wondered what inner

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decision he struggled with as they stood side by side. They seldom touched except in bed. Until today. Today when he had carried her on his horse, when he had washed her hair and she discovered anther level of intimacy. She meant to explore it further, expand on it, starting with holding his hand. He started toward camp, throwing his shirt over a bush on the way. He kept her hand in his, and she squeezed his fingers as pleasure curled in her middle. Something in the way he led her so carefully around rocks and bushes made her feel fragile and cherished. **** Just lifted aside the top covers and slid in beside Katerina. She was curled into a tight ball in the center of their bedding. He straightened her out so he could pull her into his arms. With a sleepy murmur, she flung one arm over his chest and buried her head against his shoulder. She slid one of her legs in between his so she lay half on top of him. Sweet torture. Her leg teased the painful erection he had been carrying off and on since their bath. Taking the middle watch offered some relief. Middle watch was the worse because one’s sleep was interrupted in the middle. He always took that watch and wasn’t surprised that Vilicia did the same. He hadn’t been able to sleep anyway. Katerina hadn’t wakened when he rose anymore that she had when he returned. Just lay on his back, one arm around her, staring at the sky. He needed to think, but it was so difficult with Katerina glued to his side as she was now. All evening, during the meal, she had rubbed against him. Accidentally on purpose, he suspected. Where was his anger at this woman? Despite his raging lust, he felt ... content. Had he ever been content before? This strange foreign emotion confused him, but he thought he could lay here with this woman forever in blissful peace. One of the other women shifted in her sleep. One of his captors, yet where was the tenseness and animosity of before? He reached up and touched the cold metal around his neck. Was he being ... tamed? Was he accepting his helplessness to do anything but cooperate with his mistress? No. He hadn’t accepted the collar. He would be free again. In the meantime, he would enjoy having a woman to warm his bed each night. If their everyday interaction became friendlier, so much the more comfortable for them both. His respect for her and the Solonians grew each day. They thrived in their mountain home without the aid of men. He wouldn’t ever forgive them for taking his freedom, but he could live here for a few months. He didn’t think past the birth of a child. One day at a time. He would live each day as best as he could. If he found contentment and some human warmth along the way, who could blame him?

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Chapter Eight “What the hell?” Just glared at Mia. “What are you doing?” “Preparing the sleeping mats.” Her genuine confusion only fired his anger. Just started forward, intending to retrieve his blankets from the neat spot she had spread it. Right in between two of the women’s sleep mats! “What’s the problem here?” Vilicia frowned first at Mia and then at Just. “I don’t know what your plan is here, but you can forget it.” Just cursed some more, getting angrier by the moment. “Plan?” Damn Vilicia looked as confused as Mia. Just’s stomach clenched with ... disappointment? Could Katerina have known about this? Condoned it? “I won’t share your sleeping mats. I’m not a stud to put to service.” Just gestured at his mat nestled in the middle and touching the blankets at each side of it. Vilicia looked at the mats and burst into laughter. “You flatter yourself, Steele. We don’t have any desire for your body. The nights are so cold this high in the mountains we have to sleep close together to share our warmth. Your wife warned all of us to take good care of you so we put you in the middle where you’d be warmest.” Just stared at Vilicia, not quite trusting her. He glanced at Mia. She smoothed the last of the mats, a large grin on her round face. As his anger cooled he saw the sense of the arrangement. “I don’t want to be in the middle.” Just thought he sounded like a green cadet, but his pride demanded he get some control of the situation. “Too bad. You wanted middle watch and middle watch takes the middle spot.” Just retreated. He scouted the perimeter, searching for the best spot for a sentry before full darkness fell. He wanted to argue further with Vilicia, but she was the leader. He wouldn’t undermine her position by fussing over such an insignificant thing. It had been a long time since he wasn’t the leader on an expedition. He didn’t like not being in charge. Later that night, Just wished he had argued more about the sleeping arrangements. Lying on his back, he stared sightlessly at the night star speckled sky. On each side of him a woman curled against his entire length. Mia had her head on his shoulder and her hand in the middle of his chest. Vilicia had her back to him, but her feet curled under his leg. Two beautiful women, close enough to be part of his skin and all he could think of was the remembered feel of Katerina in his arms. **** A cup of hot tea would hit the spot, but Just had spent many a morning eating a cold breakfast. “The aladar is used to make some of our more powerful medicines,” Lea continued. “But the stubborn plant won’t grow anywhere but on the high slopes above the tree line.” “Right out in the open,” tiny Mia said. “It’s dangerous. The Others watch the patches of aladar sometimes, knowing we’ll need some sooner or later.”

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“They’re damn smart,” Just agreed. The Solonians had a different name for the Savages, but the beasts were their enemy as much as they were to the Realm. “We’ve lost four warriors in the last year,” Lea said, her eyes fierce. “We don’t know if they’re all dead,” Mia said, giving Lea a defiant glare. “Better if she was dead,” Erina growled, joining the conversation for the first time. “I don’t understand.” Just looked from woman to woman. Erina glared at him like she always did. “The Savages take captives? I’ve never heard of that.” “They take us,” Lea whispered. Mia nodded in confirmation. “Why?” Just had never seen the Savages do anything but kill. “Why do you think, you stupid man?” Erina snarled. Just stared at them, horrible comprehension coming to him. Mia confirmed the suspicion beyond belief though. “They rape their captives.” Mia whispered. “Again and again until they kill her.” Just believed them. “Then why are you here? Why chance the aladar?” “The Realm requested a large quantity of it,” Lea explained. “So tell them it’s too dangerous for you to harvest it.” “They need it for medicines. It’s an important energy booster for those weakened by illness or age,” Mia said. “It’s better to die fighting them than to survive for a little while and suffer being captured.” “You’re wrong. Anything is better than dead. If you live you might escape. If you live, there’s always a chance,” Just said, growing angry that they would ever give up. “How would you ever recover or forget something like that?” Lea asked of no one. “Never forget what they’ve done to you,” Just answered, memories of his parents’ bloody death flooding him. “Let their crimes fuel your drive for justice.” “What would you know of what a woman must endure at the hands of a male? How different are you from the Others?” Erina spat. Just shook his head, wondering why this woman hated him so. He turned the conversation. “You don’t owe the Realm your lives. Why risk capture or death?” “Why do you care?’ Erina asked in her usual unfriendly tone. “You’re from the Realm. Your people are selfish and not to be trusted.” Just opened his mouth to respond, but then changed his mind. If the Solonians mostly dealt with Herma, he couldn’t blame them for that opinion. He didn’t trust some of his fellow Realm colonists either. “The trail is clear to the tree line,” Vilicia said as she reentered the camp. They had been waiting for her to return from scouting. “Let’s pack up and leave.” They climbed most of the morning, the slope becoming steeper as they went. Part of Just’s mind pondered what the women had told him at breakfast. What kind of people willingly sacrificed themselves to help strangers, people of a different race? **** “I think we have all we can carry,” Vilicia said quietly. Just tied up the bag of aladar nuts, relieved to be leaving the open slope where they had gathered the rock like aladar nuts. They were too exposed here. The cold fireless camp of last night had left them all edgy. The aladar nuts only grew in a few places near the peaks of the towering western slopes. The climb exhausted their legs and the

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nuts would burden them going down. Just scanned the tree line as they worked their way down. A few snow flakes swirled on the bitter wind, cutting through the double layer of clothing he wore. He brought up the rear while Vilicia took the lead. Attack seemed most likely from either the front or the back. Just preferred to lead, but Vilicia took them by a different route than before. Next time he would know the way. He vowed no Savages would capture a woman on his watch. He still wondered at the risk the Solonians took for the Realm. Was that why the council felt they owed the Solonians so much? His life seemed small payment for the price the Solonians paid to gather the aladar, though nothing justified the damn collar. They stopped to rest on a relatively flat spot on the mountainside. They ate their midday meal though noon was two hours gone. Just finished his meal long before the women. Why did Katerina prepare his pack as if they were in a famine? Did she think to starve him? He found a slight rise where he could check the landscape while the others finished. His thoughts turned to Katerina and the night before he left on this trip. He really should have tried to get more sleep that night. His wife had acted the aggressor for the first time, demanding his attention numerous times in the dark warmth of their bed. He couldn’t wait to get back. A movement at the fringes of Just’s peripheral vision stopped his musings and pulled all his attention back to his surroundings. He watched for more movement, keeping his eye on a small cluster of pines further down the slope and to his left. Vilicia joined him, dropping down beside him when he gestured at the ground. “What is it?” Vilicia demanded, her voice quiet, but sharp. “I saw something by those stunted pines.” Vilicia frowned and stared at the trees. “That’s the path we took to the top. It could be something looking for us.” Two small gray birds took sudden flight from the pine trees, their alarmed chirps floating toward Just and Vilicia. Vilicia cursed. “It’s as if the Others know when we’re going for aladar. They couldn’t guard this area constantly and our forays aren’t on a regular cycle.” “I’m going for a closer look.” Just expected an argument. Vilicia gave him a thoughtful glance before turning back toward the pines. “Be careful. I wouldn’t want to explain your demise to Lady Katerina.” **** Just returned to his comrades, taking a roundabout route in case anyone, anything, watched him. He also wanted a little extra time to contain his fury before he saw Vilicia and the other women. He ended up below them on the trail. A thicket of bramble bushes hid his approach. He could hear the women talking before they saw him. “Where did he go?” Erina asked. “Just spotted movement near the trail we used to climb the ridge,” Vilicia answered, her tone cool even for her. “Did you see anything?” Erina persisted. “No. Steele has better eyesight than I do.” “He saw nothing,” Erina barked.” He’s trying to escape now that he’s learned the way into our settlement. We must stop him.” “You’re overstepping, Erina. I’m in charge here. I gave Steele permission to investigate. I

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suggest you get control of your emotions. I brought you along because you’re one of our best fighters, but maybe I made a mistake.” “You side with the man against me again?” Just stepped into the open. All four women stared at him. “If I’d been a Savage you would never have heard me coming over your bickering.” Vilicia flushed at his reprimand. “You’re right. What did you find?” Just squatted in front of the women and pushed aside some leaves and pine needles so he could draw in the dirt beneath. “There are ten Savages in a camp to the west of the ascending trail.” Just sketched a crude map. “They have lookouts above and below, watching the trail. The trail we used.” “Why camp if they’re looking for us? Why not try to take us at the aladar patches where we’re exposed?” Vilicia asked. “I think they’re waiting for more of their kind,” Just speculated. “Or they might not know how many of us there are.” “Maybe they don’t even know we went up the trail,” Mia offered. “Could be any of those things. Well, they can sit there and wait. Let’s get out of here.” Vilicia rose and shouldered her pack as did the other women. Just stayed on the ground, bracing himself to give them the news. “There’s one more thing.” “What’s that?” Vilicia must have heard something in his voice. She dropped to her knees beside him, her brow crinkled with concern. “Didn’t one of you tell me a Solonian had been captured recently?” Just asked. “Yes,” Vilicia whispered, leaning toward him. Just lifted his gaze to Vilicia’s, seeing desperate hope in her eyes. “She’s with them.” “Alive?” Mia asked as she, too, knelt with Just and Vilicia in the dirt. Erina and Lea followed, their eyes wide as they stared at him. “Alive.” “Is she ...? Has she been ...?” Vilicia sputtered to a stop. “I’m sure she’s been brutalized.” “What are we going to do? There’s only five of us.” Lea asked Vilicia, but Just answered. “We’re getting her back.” “We may all die trying.” Vilicia looked at each of them. “I’ll do it myself if I have to,” Just said. “You’ll follow orders, Steele,” Vilicia said. “You better be prepared to use this collar if you try to stop me.” Just couldn’t believe they wouldn’t at least try. “Calm yourself. I’m not trying to stop you. None of us would leave her behind. We need a plan.” “I have a plan.” Just sketched out an attack strategy, explaining where the woman was located and the set up of the camp. “We better hurry in case reinforcements are on the way.” “It’s a daring plan,” Vilicia said. “You better be as good with that sword as you think you are. I should take your position.” “You know I’m better than you are, Vilicia.” “I know. Don’t get killed.”

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“One more thing.” Just’s stomach lurched as he remembered the bruised, naked woman tied to a tree. “I should know her name.” “Cara. Cara is the name of my best friend.” Erina spoke for the first time since Just stepped into the open. She looked stunned. “No one has ever been rescued from the Others. I mourned her.” Just placed his hand on Erina’s shoulder. “We’ll get her back.” “I don’t understand why you risk this. You must hate our people,” Erina said, her tone subdued. “I don’t like the way your leaders have treated me, Erina, but I respect and admire Solonians as a whole.” “Still, Cara is a stranger to you. I don’t see how you’ll survive this plan of yours.” Just looked away for a moment. The women waited in silence while he made the decision to share part of himself with them. “My mother and father were killed by the Savages. They did to my mother what they’ve done to Cara. I wasn’t old enough to save my mother, but I vowed that day to spend my life protecting others from that same fate.” “Let’s be off,” Vilicia said, her voice gruff with emotion. Just stood up, sorry he had told them so much about himself. What was he thinking? “Don’t get killed, Steele,” Vilicia said again. “We’re starting to get used to having you around.” **** Katerina walked toward the corrals. She was tired of pacing the porch. Soon it would be dark. Then she could pace in the hall. Stone snorted at her from the last corral before turning back to stare toward the mountains. Did the stallion watch for Just also? Katerina stared into the deepening twilight. They were a day late. They should have returned last evening. Her eyes strained in the dark for a glimpse of hope. She had worried through the dark hours of the night, then became angry. Now she had moved beyond those emotions. Dread hung over the entire settlement. No expedition had even been this late and returned unharmed. Katerina admitted the possibility they might be dead—or captured. Vilicia was like her sister, her confidant and ally. The other three women were of an age with her, trained and educated together. And Just. Memories of their last night together filled her with warmth. They had spoken few words, but communicated on a different level. She swore they had shared more than physical desire that night. Katerina didn’t believe Just had forgiven her for the collar, but they seemed to be moving on despite that. She blinked back tears. Had she imagined more than lust in his kisses and lovemaking? Had she held him for the last time? She stiffened her shoulders and blinked away her tears. She wouldn’t cry. Katerina spread her hand over her abdomen. One of the talents her healing gift allowed was a bond between mother and daughter. Her own mother had known the morning after she conceived Katerina. Katerina was always a speck of presence in Sinda’s mind, as Sinda was to Anya. No such speck lurked anywhere in Katerina’s thoughts. No babe reached out for her from her womb. Could their two races not interbreed then as feared? She looked inside herself.

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Something was different within her. A picture of an infant with dark eyes and dark hair flashed in her mind. Katerina closed her eyes and held the vision. The child had Just’s skin tone and leanness. It’s strong legs kicked energetically, drawing her examination downward. Katerina gasped out loud. “Katerina? Are you all right?” Katerina spun around. She hadn’t heard her mother approach. “Yes. I’m fine.” “Why don’t you come back to the hall? You need to get some rest. I heard you pacing most of the night.” “What if they don’t come back? What then, Mother?” “Then we go on as we always have.” “I don’t know if I can. They were ... are more than my friends.” “I know, dear. I was only a few years younger than you when Vilicia’s mother failed to return. She was like my sister as her daughter is to you.” Sinda put her arm around Katerina’s shoulders. They stared across the dark plain in silence for a while. “How did you feel when my father died?” Katerina had been too small to ever know the man that had sired her. “It’s difficult to say. After you were born, your father and I went our separate ways. We were busy with the genetic research. I missed his help and companionship in our work after he died.” Katerina’s stomach churned. Just knew nothing about her work. She didn’t want him to ever know. How could she explain why they did the genetic research? No, Just wasn’t her work partner. She wanted him as her life partner. “You’ve started to care deeply for this man.” Sinda stroked Katerina’s hair. “Yes. I can’t not care for him.” “He seems honorable and has appealing physical qualities. Still, it might be best if you ....” “Mother, it’s too late for that. I think I love him.” Katerina didn’t know she was going to say the words until they fell from her lips. Once she spoke them, she knew they were true. “It’s natural to feel close to a man you’ve mated with, that doesn’t mean it’s love. The lustful feelings will pass when you’re with child.” Katerina said nothing. Her mother wouldn’t understand, couldn’t understand. It wasn’t only lust, at least not on her part. Surely on their last night together, Just could not have been so gentle and passionate if he acted only on animal drives. A sudden shout echoed across the plain from the lookout posted near the foothills. Sinda called for torches as Katerina hurried toward the call. At last! Two figures could be seen staggering toward them. Marta, one of the sentries, held the other woman up with her arm around her waist. Sinda and the torches arrived as Katerina lent her strength to help. “Mia?” Katerina couldn’t voice her question. Blood oozed from an amateur looking bandage on Mia’s forehead. “Wait.” Mia panted so heavily, she leaned forward when they stopped. Torches and a number of women surrounded them. “What happened, Mia?” Sinda asked. “Behind me ... somewhere. Vilicia sent me ahead.” A grimace of pain crossed Mia’s face. “Someone else is coming,” someone shouted from the fringes of the gathering crowd. A

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number of women rushed out to meet the three approaching figures. Vilicia and Erina supported Lea between them. Lea held one leg off the ground and a bulky dressing covered it from thigh to ankle. The other two appeared uninjured though exhausted. The circle closed around them as everyone pressed closer. “Where’s my husband?” Katerina asked around the tightness in her throat. “The man has betrayed them,” Marta said viciously. “I hope he’s dead.” A shiver passed up Katerina’s spine. How could Marta hate someone, hate Just so thoroughly, when she didn’t even know him? She remembered the foreign emotions she had sensed during the collaring fiasco. “No.” For the first time in her life, Katerina felt the power of her position flow forth. The women next to her stepped back slightly. Marta shrank back, but her expression was still sullen. “You will not speak of him that way.” “Let me explain,” Vilicia said. She had let go of Lea to lean forward with her hands on her knees. She straightened and pointed back in the direction they had come. “He’s ...” Another commotion swept through the crowd. The women parted before Just as he appeared out of the darkness. He carried a long bundle of blankets over one shoulder and held his freed sword in the other hand. Blood spatters dotted his clothing, arms, and hands. Just dropped to his knees and looked up at Katerina. Even in the flickering torch light she could see the dullness of fatigue in his eyes. He laid his sword down with care and then used both hand to gently lower his burden to the ground. He kept one end upright in his arms and carefully uncovered the top. A tousle of dirty blonde tangles appeared first, than a bruised dirty face. Gasps of disbelief and shock broke the silence. Some started to sob as Katerina walked the three short steps that separated Just from her. She knelt in front of him, holding his weary gaze with her own. She placed her hand on top of his grimy one, aware of euphoric tears streaming down her cheeks. “Help us.” His voice was rough and low. He waited for her nod before he fainted and fell into her arms. **** Katerina found him asleep in his bath. She tested the water with her hand, finding it cool. Even though he slept, a strange lack of peace marked his expression. The tray of food she had ordered prepared for him sat untouched near the marble tub. His lack of appetite ultimately proved his exhaustion. Guilt assailed her as she thought of his plea for help. He had said ‘us’, yet here he sat, alone, sleeping in cold water. The news of Cara’s return had spread like smoke before a stiff wind. Katerina, her mother and grandmother worked through most of the night treating Cara, Lea, and Mia. Erina and Vilicia, both too tired to give details, would say only that Just had led the rescue. Just brought the miracle of Cara’s return. Katerina brushed a lock of Just’s hair back from his forehead. His hand shot out of the water, grabbing her hand in a painful grip of iron. A wild look filled his eyes for a moment. He blinked and released her, leaning his head back on the edge of the tub. “Sorry,” he said and closed his eyes again. “Let me help you dry off. You’re going to freeze in there.” Katerina shook out a towel. “That’s not necessary.” Just opened his eyes again.

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“I want to help.” Katerina wondered if he was angry because she had tended the injured first “Are you ready for bed?” Now she was sure it was anger in his tone. “Well, I thought to check on Cara again first. Why don’t you get out of there? The water is cold.” “I’m not cold.” “Don’t be stubborn, I ....” “Are you ready for bed yet?” “No, I said I ....” Katerina stammered to a stop as Just stood up in the tub. His body looked ready for bed, but not for sleep. She stepped back to give him room to climb out of the deep tub. He took the towel from her and slowly dried off. Her face and insides heated as she watched him. Muscles played under his skin a he rubbed the towel over his torso and then his legs. She stared at his hands and felt his own stare like points of light moving over her body. “You should have left while you could, wife. Now you’re going to have to stay.” She dragged her gaze up to meet his. The hunger in his eyes slammed into her and sent her own desires spilling over the top of her control. In that hunger she saw need. He needed her tonight. “I want you, Katerina.” She didn’t respond verbally to his simple statement. She reached out and touched his shoulder and then traced a path across his nipple. She continued over his flat stomach. She didn’t stop until she reached his erect penis. She stroked it lightly at first and then with more force. He shuddered under her touch. She stopped long enough to strip her clothes and drop them on the floor alongside his damp towel. Taking his hand, she led him to their bed and pushed him to his back. He went willingly as she continued to explore his body with her hands until he groaned in pleasure. Finally, she could no longer bear the fire of her own desires. She stared into his eyes as she straddled him and slowly lowered herself onto his penis. He threw his head back and clenched his jaw as she took her time. She hesitated, wondering if she was doing something wrong. His eyes blazed as he reached for her hips. He held her and drove his length deep inside her. She gasped at the feel of him so deeply inside of her. He lifted her and then drove deep inside her once more. A powerful climax clenched her inner muscles. He repeated his stroke and the ripples of sensation flowed down her inner thighs and upwards to her nipples. Still he lifted her and pulled her back down so she took him inside her along his entire length. The world spun as he rolled her beneath him. He braced himself as he continued his rhythmic thrusts. His need poured off him and covered her senses until she felt helpless beneath it. Sweat slicked both their bodies and still he demanded something from her, something she despaired to give. Her instincts screamed at her to help him, but all she could do was cling to him and take his body into her own. She slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders. Her heart pounded as her body became exhausted. She moved her hands further as she thought to pull his head to hers. They hadn’t even kissed. She brushed against the jarda collar and a jolt of emotions stormed into her mind. He jerked as if he felt it, too. Not understanding what had happened, she clasped both her hands on his collar.

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His emotions poured into her--the horror of the killing, the desperation of the battle, the rage at seeing Cara’s condition, the exhaustion of carrying the injured, the lack of sleep, the days of ultra alertness. She experienced it all through his thoughts. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and his eyes glistened. Together they suffered and all the while their bodies moved wearily as one. She hung onto his collar like a lifeline until a burst of freshness and cleanliness rushed from him to her. At the same moment he groaned and slammed into her one more time with his release. Her body clenched for a second time in glorious convulsions. His weight sank onto her as if he had poured his very life into her. She dropped her hands from the collar. Even in her fulfilled exhaustion, wonder filled her at the oneness they had shared. How was it possible? Somehow the marriage collar, the jarda crystal, connected them on a level beyond the physical world. Awe filled her. He shifted his weight off of her and gathered her into his arms. She wanted to talk of this miracle. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at him. His damp hair stuck out in a tousled mess. The wildness no longer roamed in the clear blue of his eyes. Whatever had happened with their lovemaking had rid him of it. She stroked her hand down the side of his face. He turned to her palm and planted a kiss. “Did you feel it?” she asked, still experiencing awe. “What?” The sleepy warmth in his eyes cooled to wariness. She loathed to destroy the moment, but she wanted to hear him admit their joining had gone beyond the physical. She slid her hands toward his collar. He grasped her hand firmly and stopped her. “Don’t.” He moved away from her slightly. “I need some sleep.” “I know. We can talk tomorrow.” She wouldn’t push. By not allowing her to touch his collar, he had proved to her he, too, knew something had happened. She watched him as his eyes drifted closed and his breathing slowed and deepened into sleep rhythms. The jarda crystal glowed softly with reflected lamp light. Remembering how she had thought the glow evil before, she contemplated the warmth she sensed now in the faint sparkle. Was it possible? The marriage collar was neither good nor malicious? It functioned according to the intent of the person who activated the crystal’s power? But someone had interfered at the collaring ceremony, someone filled with hate and determined to kill him, someone whose emotions were the complete opposite of Katerina’s. Just sighed in his sleep and rolled away from her. A long welt marked his back. She repressed a shudder as the horrors he had shared with her resurfaced in her thoughts. She was a gifted healer, accustomed to dealing with the pain of others. She could deal with the mental anguish of this man of hers. Mental anguish caused by his work. A work he excelled at according to Vilicia. He was more complicated than she had imagined. She examined him for other injuries before pulling a blanket over him. She didn’t dare to kiss him, remembering how her touch had startled him in his bath. If she touched the collar would she see his dreams? The stubborn man would likely refuse to discuss their experience tomorrow or admit to the compassion he kept hidden from the world. Only a few hours ago, she had thought she had lost him. Now he was back and they had bonded in a way unique among Solonians or the world for all she knew. What word could describe this thing that happened between them? She smiled as it came to her and leaned down to whisper it close to his ear. “I love you,

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Chapter Nine “It’s all right, Cara. You’re safe.” Katerina gently shook the woman again to help her wake from her nightmare. Anya, Sinda, Vilicia, and Cara’s mother, Allana, waited for the rescued woman to wake. Whatever she needed, further healing, a shoulder to cry on, they would give her if they could. “Katerina?” Cara’s words slurred a little around her swollen upper lip. Bruises splotched her face and most of the rest of her body. “I’m here. So is your mother.” “Good.” Cara struggled to a sitting position with Katerina’s help. “I want to talk to all of you.” “Are you sure you’re up to this, darling?” Allana sat on the bed beside her daughter. The poor woman had shed so many tears of joy her eyes looked more red than brown. “I’m fine.” Cara took her mother’s hand. “I have a need to tell this.” “You can stop any time you want. You have a lot of recovering to do,” Sinda said in her best Deomo tone. “Thank you.” Cara looked around her bedroom. “I would rather tell this only once. Where’s my rescuer?” “He still sleeps.” Katerina answered, hiding her surprise. “I’m sure he would want to hear your story, but we weren’t sure you would want him present.” “Of course I do. Am I correct, Vilicia, in assuming without him I wouldn’t have been saved?” “True. We wouldn’t have even known you were alive and with them if not for his alertness. We could never have freed you without his blade,” Vilicia answered without hesitation. “Then why wouldn’t I want him present?” “We weren’t sure if you wanted to tell your story with a man in the room.” “He’s a man to you, Lady Katerina. You’ve chosen a fine one, but to me he’s a fellow warrior. And he’s such a fighter as I’ve never seen.” Cara stared over them as she looked into her memories—her nightmares. “I’ll never forget the exhilaration of seeing the Others that raped me falling under his steel. I didn’t have a chance to thank him as I should.” Katerina knew from her strange emotional joining with Just that he had felt no joy in the slaughter. “I’ll go and wake him.” As she made her way back to the hall, Katerina wondered at her nervousness. She wanted to talk to Just about their deep intimacy of last night, but feared he would deny it. She kept her head down as she walked across down the lane, hoping no one would stop her with questions. “Umph!” Katerina’s breath left her for a moment as she walked into someone. His scent came to her even as his strong hands grasped her arms to steady her. “I’m glad to see you’re in such a hurry to be back in my arms.” A delicious shiver ran down her neck as Just’s deep voice rumbled close to her ear. “No. Well, yes actually. I ... I mean Cara wanted to see you. She wants to thank you.”

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Just released her and stepped back so he could look in her eyes. He frowned. He still looked tired, but his eyes burned with their normal intensity. Her stomach did a flip. She loved this man. She let her admission fill her, and her nervousness drained away. For the first time since the idea of this marriage had been discussed, Katerina felt totally sure of herself. She smiled at her husband. “Are you sure she wants me there?” Just’s frown deepened in relation to her smile. “Yes. Where were you going anyway?” Katerina’s curiosity grew as Just hesitated and looked embarrassed. “I was ....” He looked away for a moment and then looked back at her with a challenging scowl. “I was looking for something to eat.” She tried, but she couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up her throat. Women doing outside chores paused and smiled at her. At them. The sun shone a little brighter or so it seemed. The day was glorious. She linked her arm in Just’s and led him toward Cara’s cottage. “I think we can take care of that. We were all going to eat in front of Cara to encourage her own appetite. She’s half starved.” “I don’t think much of what she’s going to tell you will encourage anyone’s appetite.” “Do you think it will affect even yours?” “It’s your fault I need to eat so much.” “Mine?” Katerina stopped with her hand on the door handle. She looked up to find Just a breath away. Was that tender amusement she saw in his eyes? Her speculation ended as he lowered his head and gave her a knee weakening kiss. He lifted his head and reached around her to open the door. “You drain all my energy in bed. It takes a lot of strength to satisfy you.” Just opened the door all the way before she could think of a retort. He ushered her in front of him as she tried to smother a laugh. Her mother’s frown let her know her expression was inappropriate. Just walked over to Cara’s bedside when she motioned him closer. She silently took his hand and stared into his eyes. A fine trembling shook her entire body. Katerina and the others moved closer as huge tears began to slide down Cara’s cheeks. “You saved me,” Cara said in a hoarse whisper. Just nodded. “You are my general as they named their war leaders before the world changed. My loyalty and my life are yours, my lord.” Katerina’s own eyes teared up at Cara’s fervent promise. Just stared at Cara as she bowed her head. He sat on the bed and used his hand to nudge her chin up so she could once more meet his gaze. His voice was hard, but Katerina knew him well enough to see the compassion spilling from his suspiciously bright blue eyes. “If that is so, then my first order to you is to rest and heal. We need brave fighters like you. It will be my privilege to raise my sword beside yours. Together we’ll spill the blood of all who’ve harmed you.” “Thank you. I shall ....” Cara’s control finally broke. She threw her arms around Just’s neck as huge sobs tore from her throat. She held onto handfuls of his shirt as if she might fall into an abyss if she lost her grip on him. He returned her hug and ran a soothing hand over her back. Katerina thought her heart would burst when Just looked up at her. His eyes mirrored the anguish Cara verbalized. Katerina lifted her hand toward him, and he enfolded it in one of his while holding Cara with his other. An echo of Cara’s horror passed from Just to her. She wanted to

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take her hand back, but the look of relief on Just’s face stopped her. Allana tried to comfort her daughter while Anya and Sinda looked confused. Anya patted Allana on the back. “Let her cry, Allana. It worried me that she hadn’t shed a tear before this.” The emotional storm passed and Cara eased herself away from Just. Allana dabbed at Cara’s tear streaked face, now swollen even worse by her bout of crying. Just dropped Katerina’s hand and rose from the bed. He flopped in one of the chairs pulled near the bed, slumping a bit as if fatigued. Katerina sat in one of the chairs also, her own legs a bit shaky. What was happening between herself and Just? Were they beginning to communicate on a higher level of understanding? Shouldn’t she feel frightened instead of exhilarated? Did Just feel this also? Just looked everywhere but at her while Anya and Allana fussed at Cara. Sinda sat beside Katerina. “That was strange,” Sinda whispered. Just spotted the table by the window where a large tray of food sat. Katerina wondered if he had heard her mother’s comment as he walked over to it. “More than you know, Mother,” Katerina whispered back. Tonight she would get her stubborn husband to speak of this special thing between them. **** Cara’s tale should have destroyed Just’s appetite, but it had been a damn long time since he had eaten. It was a wonder the woman was alive. She spared her mother many of the worse details, but she hadn’t spared him when she threw her arms around him. He had spun into a vortex of emotions. He didn’t like it one bit. Last night with Katerina had been bad enough. Not bad, he corrected himself. Anything but bad. The incredible joining had cleansed him. Together they had been greater than the two of them individually. The terrible anger and despair had filled him as it always did after slaying the Savages. Why he felt that way he didn’t know and he had never told anyone of it. The beasts deserved no sympathizing from him or anyone else. Sometimes it took him days to lock away the negative emotions in a part of his mind where he could call it forth when needed. All that aggressive energy fueled his sword in the next battle. Some men told him his sword glowed blue in the heat of battle. If it did, it was that stored anger that powered it. He had often wondered if something evil lurked inside himself for such an instrument of death to come alive in his hand. Sky Turan had once told him that left-handed people like Just were often blamed for evil deeds in the dark days after the great cataclysm. Just munched on cheese piled between layers of light bread. Allana interrupted Cara’s story with an offer of tea and buttered rolls. His thoughts returned to the previous night. Somehow Katerina had pulled the poison from his soul and took it into her own. She had touched his collar and reached straight into his mind. When he had poured his seed into her welcoming body, the sun erupted into the night of his soul. He had felt human and whole instead of wondering if he resembled the beasts he hunted. He had slept through the night, no nightmares, no waking with pounding heart to meet an imagined attack. Peace had worked better than any medicine to help him sleep. Until Katerina wanted to talk about it. He hated the collar, no matter what role it might have played in last night’s pleasure. Now something odd had happened again with Cara. Just met

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Katerina’s warm gaze across the bed. Something new shone in her brown eyes. His new found contentment of last night faded. “Then the day before you rescued me, a new one joined the band,” Cara said. Just returned his full attention to Cara. “He told them they could capture more women if they climbed the mountain where you found me.” Just stiffened with shock. “Wait. You mean you understand their language?” “Of course. They speak the ....” “We’ll discuss that later,” Sinda interrupted. “Continue your tale please.” Cara looked as surprised as Just at the terse interruption. He glanced at Katerina, who wore an expression of dismay. Cara continued, “They were very excited about getting more women.” A look of pain crossed Cara’s face. Just knew they had abused her repeatedly in some sick form of celebration when they had heard that news. He tried not to think of how he had learned that information. “But how could they know we would be there?” Vilicia asked. Just shared her anger and bewilderment. “I’m not sure, but they mentioned two names. One was Zar. He’s the leader of the band, but he left a few days before you found me. He went to meet someone.” Cara’s faced paled around her bruises as she spoke of the beast. She took a deep breath before continuing. “He sent word with another to tell them where you would be. The group I was with was to go ahead and make sure you didn’t escape while he went for reinforcements. I believed he expected you to have a larger group.” Cara looked at Just with fierce triumph in her expression. “The messenger spoke of one they called Blue Blade. They were scared of him. Their fear gave me a tiny bit of satisfaction in a vast sea of despair. They hated this man so much, I praised his name out loud. They beat me for it and told me he was a prisoner of my people. I thought they might speak of Katerina’s husband, but I didn’t understand why they thought he would be a prisoner.” Cara paused as if expecting an explanation. Just’s mind raced, trying to put the pieces together. He needed one more tidbit of information to put the puzzle together. “Only a few members of the Realm knew I came here against my will. What was the other name you heard?” “Herma. Zar went to meet someone named Herma.” Just stood up and walked to the window. He leaned on the sill, gripping the wood with his hands. Would the betrayals never stop? Rage coursed through him. His hands itched to feel the sword. “Please continue, child,” Sinda urged, breaking the brittle silence. “We moved to the mountain pass to wait for you. I tried to think of ways to warn you, but they tied and gagged me so I couldn’t call out. I was so afraid I would have to watch another woman go through what I was suffering.” Cara’s watery laugh threatened to soothe Just’s anger. He blocked the sound out so he could bath in the heat of his rage. “The next thing I knew, blue lightening was slicing the animals to pieces. They screamed in their pain and fear. I heard Vilicia’s battle cry from up the slope. Then my general cut me loose and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of aladar nuts. We started to run down the mountain. I heard the steel ring many times before I lost consciousness. I woke up a few time when we stopped

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to rest and I remember being afraid to let go of him. My only thought was if I held on tight enough he would save me.” “You wouldn’t let any of the rest of us carry you,” Vilicia said softly. Just turned as Cara finished. Allana hugged her daughter. Sinda stared thoughtfully at the wall. He avoided looking at his wife. He didn’t want to see whatever had been in her eyes earlier. “Any details you would like to fill in, Vilicia?” Sinda asked. “Yes, Deomo.” Vilicia filled them in on the events that had led to the discovery of Cara’s whereabouts and their decision to go after her despite the odds. “It was Just’s plan, but it was a good one.” “Was it wise to risk five to save one?” Sinda asked coolly. Just’s fire flamed to full blaze. His anger made his voice softer, colder, and deadlier. “It was better for all of us to die than leave one of our own in hell.” Deomo or not, he ached for an argument. “Was that the true reason or was there another? Are you sure you weren’t looking for a reason to kill the Others?” Just turned away from Sinda’s calm authority. Her composure acted as ice against his flame. “It was my decision to go ahead with the plan,” Vilicia said. “I said I would go with or without you,” Just reminded her. “I don’t need you to defend me.” “Are you trying to free yourself from your imaginary prison by getting yourself killed?” Anya asked, joining the attack. Just felt cornered. His fire turned to icy calm as he went on the attack. “My motives are not your concern. You have the service of my body to produce a child. My thoughts and feelings are my own.” He directed the last at Katerina. Thinking he had won the verbal battle with those words, Just escaped before Katerina proved him a liar. **** “Do you think they should have left my child behind, Deomo?” Allana sounded devastated. Sinda rose and went to her. She put one arm around Allana and took Cara’s hand. “Of course not, I only wanted to get a feel for the man’s motives. He doesn’t know the history of the Others. He seems rather happy to kill as many as possible.” “You should have asked me. I could have told you his motive was purely the rescue of Cara,” Vilicia said in a strained voice. “I’m afraid you might no longer be an unbiased witness, Vilicia,” Sinda said sharply. “It’s clear to anyone who hears you speak that you’ve given your loyalty to Just Steele.” “I admit he’s the most fearsome fighter I’ve ever seen. But I would never put him above my loyalties to our people’s beliefs.” “I worry he’s too eager to kill. Taking the life of another, no matter the circumstances, should not bring pleasure.” “Mother, you’re wrong about Just.” “How can you know? You’ve only known him a short time, and he’s a man. His mind works differently from ours. Men place different levels of importance on things than women do.” Last night’s interlude with Just remained too new and wonderful to be shared with anyone.

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How could they understand? How could she describe the link she and Just had shared for a short time? “Mother, you’ll have to trust me on this. Just suffers for each death he metes out to others. He pays a price no one would choose merely for the vicious thrill of taking a life.” “But, Katerina, how can you know this? I admire the loyalty you show for you mate, but he’s not one of us.” “What does he have to do to become one of us?” Katerina asked. Her mother raised one eyebrow in surprise. “Each day Just and I grow closer in ways I neither understand or can describe. He’s becoming part of me.” Katerina gave Cara a quick hug. “Please excuse me. Herma’s betrayal hit him another blow. He needs me now.” **** Katerina found Just practicing sword play in the training yard. His shirt hung over a post, exposing his bare torso to the sun. Sweat ran in crooked rivulets down his back and chest. Bruises and scrapes she hadn’t noticed last night in the dim light of their bedroom marked his skin. Muscles that she knew must be stiff and sore, flexed and flowed under his smooth tight skin. Lost in her admiration of his physical beauty, it took her a moment to notice his sword. The blade glowed with an eerie blue luminescence. Each time he struck the solid wooden target, blue sparks flew in all directions. Mesmerized by the sight, she advanced slowly. He panted with his exertions, the sound loud even with the thunk of the blade against the wood. The heat of the sword matched the blue fire in his eyes. Just’s cold moods made her uneasy, but this burning anger appeared terrifying. Except she knew him. Behind this anger was the pain of another betrayal. “Stop.” The word came out in a soft whisper. He didn’t respond, but she could tell he knew she was there. The jarda crystal in his collar caught a ray of sun and winked at her. An idea formed. She put all the powers she used to touch people and ease their pain and set it toward Just. She only wanted to speak with him. She almost gave up, but then he stopped, his sword dipping toward the ground. “Get out of my head.” He kept his back to her. She stepped around to his side and put her hand on his arm. He flinched but didn’t pull away. She pulled her thoughts back to herself. Only then did he look at her. She managed to meet his burning, blue glare with what she hoped was calm warmth. She quivered inside as she contemplated telling him her news. “Please stop. I understand what you’re feeling, but ....” “No, you don’t,” he snarled. He shook her hand off. “What do you know of betrayal? How can you understand how I feel?” “I know your feelings. I have touched you.” “There’s a difference in knowing what I feel and knowing how I feel. You can’t understand betrayal if you’ve never experienced it. What do you know of that here in your insulated, safe, little world?” His perception of her life stunned her. He was right, though. She couldn’t see things from his perspective. Except last night, when she had held his collar, their souls and bodies were connected at every level. She had shared his despair and reveled in his fulfillment at his moment of release. “You’re right. I apologize.”

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“I don’t want your apology or your understanding.” “What do you want, Just?” “Free me. Let me return to the Realm.” “So that you might avenge yourself on Herma?” “Yes. Not only for me. For your people, too. He set up your gathering parties the same as he did me.” “Not the same. He set up my people to be killed or captured. He only moved to get you out of the way.” “He made me your prisoner.” His words and his tone hurt. That he still thought of himself as her reluctant prisoner after last night shook her belief in what had happened between them. “You’re not my prisoner. You’re honoring your agreement.” He turned away with a sound of disgust. She decided to chance it all, her happiness and newly recognized love. “Still I’ll release you if you still desire to go after I tell you a few reasons why you should stay.” He spun around to face her so quickly she stepped back in surprise. He grasped her arms and stared at her with fierce intenseness. “Honestly? No tricks?” “No tricks.” “State your reasons.” Just released her arms. “I know you’re angry with your leaders, but think who’s responsible. Probably only Herma is in contact with the Others. Surely you don’t think all your leaders have knowledge of this?” “Probably true.” “He likely has surrounded himself with some loyal guards. He’s still the leader and you have no proof of what we know. His word will be believed over yours. He only has to name you as the traitor and have some of his treasonous guard dogs speak against you.” She paused to let him think about what she had said. She felt the anger drain from him. “I don’t want to send you to your death or imprisonment. I believe Herma has a larger plan than getting rid of you or selling us out to the Others. If you stay, we can work together to figure this out. If you go back, Herma will find a way to get rid of you again. You’re a threat to him in some way.” “I have friends in the Realm also,” Just mumbled. “One more thing. My people have also been intentionally betrayed by this insane man, but we’ve suffered a deeper crime against us.” She didn’t expect he would believe her, but she meant to tell it all to him. “I was also betrayed by one of my own on the day of your collaring.” He glared at her, his anger stirring again. This time it was directed at her. “What are you talking about?” “The day I put the collar on your neck, someone in addition to myself focused through the crystal. That person attempted to kill you. You should have only felt a mild discomfort. Instead you would have died if I, my grandmother, and mother hadn’t helped you in time.” “The collar isn’t supposed to do what it did to me?” “It’s designed to stop a man if he attacked a Solonian woman, but only by weakening his strength enough for her to defend herself or escape. We’ve been trying to discover who wanted you dead.”

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“Why should I believe anything you say?” She used her last bid to persuade him to stay. She took his large tanned hand and placed it on her abdomen. His long fingers almost spanned her width. She smiled into his confused eyes. “I will never lie, by admission or omission to my husband again. I vow this on the life of our unborn child.”

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Chapter Ten “We need a plan to discover who’s involved in both plots,” Sinda said. Anya, Vilicia, Katerina, and Just sat around the table, putting their heads together on the problem. Just snacked on the bowl of fresh vegetables someone had put in the middle of the table. Katerina smiled at him across the table. Katerina. The mother of his child. His heart thundered. He would be a father. “What do you think, Just?” Sinda asked. “I ... what did you ask me?” Just tried to gather the tidbits of the conversation. What had they been talking about? “I asked you if you think more of the Realm Council knows of Herma’s dealings with the Others,” Sinda said, frowning at Just. “I couldn’t say for sure. I spent most of my time in the field and avoided politicians whenever I could.” “How can we find out?” Anya asked. “I have friends I trust if there’s a way to contact them.” Was he plotting against his own people by even discussing this? No. Herma was the traitor. “Some of the Realm warriors are part of Herma’s dealing. That pig, Dagar, didn’t care how much he offended us. He wanted to kill you,” Katerina offered. “I don’t know if that proves he knows about the dealing with the Savages. He gains in rank with me gone. Our animosity goes back to an incident where he left his wounded behind to save his own hide.” “Yet Dagar acted as if he no longer needed us,” Katerina argued. The smooth honey of Katerina’s voice slid over him. Since she had given him the news yesterday, his mind spent half its time elsewhere. Last night they had made love three times. Looking at her now awakened his desire to be with her, not only in bed, but near her. “We’re wasting our time speculating on things we can’t confirm. Let’s look at what we know,” Anya said. The older woman’s voice and demeanor commanded respect. “Cara told us the Others were excited about Herma’s promise to deliver all of us to them. Herma must have a plan to discover the entrance to our sanctuary.” “Planting a spy might be a good start to the plan,” Sinda said, staring at Just. The words surprised Just, but anger quickly took over. He stood up and leaned across the table toward the Deomo. “You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. If you want to accuse me say it clear.” “Relax, Just,” Vilicia said with a smirk. “If the Deomo thought you were a spy, she would have already ordered me to kill you.” “You? How many of your friends would help you try?” “With that collar on your neck, I wouldn’t need help.” Vilicia’s calm observation doused his anger quicker than a spark dropped in the water. Hell, she was right. Just sat down.

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“Before you rudely interrupted me,” Sinda said mildly, “I intended to point out that you would be the perfect scapegoat if Herma succeeded with his plan. He could deliver you as a traitor to the council, charged with our demise.” Relieved that Sinda didn’t think him a spy, Just concentrated on what she said and then shook his head. “There has to be more than that. The Realm still needs your help. Why would Herma feel this animosity toward you? I believe he thought I was a threat to his position on the council, but how would he benefit from having Solonia destroyed?” “Maybe he didn’t really care if we’re killed or not.” Katerina’s excitement showed in her tone and the sparkle in her beautiful dark eyes. “Maybe we’re only a bargaining unit. He needs something from the Others and the only thing they wanted in trade was us.” “Redak,” Just mumbled. “Cara said they were gathering redak crystals. They made her help.” “I never heard of it,” Vilicia scoffed. “I think I know what Herma is up to,” Anya said, her eyes narrowed. “There was another man who asked for redak crystals when I was still Deomo. It was not long after the newcomers came and established the Realm colony. He claimed he would be able to build a ship to return his people across the storm barrier of the sea.” Just saw the awful possibilities of Herma’s plan if their guess was correct. Herma didn’t need any of them if he could sail away. The only thing that didn’t make sense was why. Why would anyone want to return to what they left behind? Just remembered his parents speaking of their homeland. They had left the crowded cities and lawlessness to come to this land of golden opportunity. Anya seemed to read his thoughts. “This other man saw our land as barbaric and us as uncouth, lesser humans. He hated it here. Perhaps Herma feels the same.” Sinda nodded and took the thought further. “This would explain why he doesn’t care if he insults or destroys us. It also makes sense why he had to get rid of you. He had to know you wouldn’t stand by and let him sacrifice us for his personal gain.” “I’m not sure I would have discovered any of this before it was too late,” Just said, a little uncomfortable with Sinda’s faith in what he would have done. When had she turned around? “Herma could have arranged to have me in the field all the time.” “That brings me to a question I’ve been wondering about ever since I first saw you fight,” Vilicia said. “Are all the warriors of your people as good as you are?” “We’re Just’s people,” Katerina corrected. Just savored Katerina’s interruption. “I’m the best of the Realm, but there are other talented fighters.” Vilicia frowned at him. “Then why haven’t you totally decimated the Others? I counted how many warriors the Realm has. Until I saw you in action, I assumed Realm fighters must be very incompetent.” Her point took him back. It was true. Many times he and Sky asked to lead a force into the wild and take the fight to the Savages. Each time the Council denied permission. The council ruled by Herma. Vague reasons such as leaving the settlement open to attack if the warriors were chasing shadows in the wild hadn’t satisfied Just or Sky. “We weren’t permitted to be the aggressors,” Just explained. “We defended and protected.” “You pushed to change this policy?” Vilicia persisted.

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“Yes. I thought I was making progress convincing some of the council to allow an attack into the interior of the wilds.” Vilicia nodded with satisfaction. “Herma had to get rid of you either because you were undermining his power or because you were interfering with his agreement with the Others. The Others spoke of you. Maybe they demanded your head.” “I’m not easy to kill.” Vilicia’s theory made sense. Hindsight showed many instances when Herma’s policies had undermined any conquest against the Savages. “This may be all well and good that we’ve figured out the motivation of the enemy, but how are we going to get him?” “No need for sarcasm.” Sinda had a way of making Just feel like a fresh cadet. “I don’t believe we need to take any immediate action. If things are as we surmise, I believe Herma will contact us again very soon.” “Anything he wants will be a trap,” Katerina said. “Yes,” Sinda agreed with a smile, “but Herma has no way of knowing that we know of this treachery. He’ll probably have a plan to eliminate Just once and for all. And us. If he intends to destroy Solonia, everyone in this room is a prime target.” An odd tightness in Just’s middle reminded him of the instance before Katerina put the collar on him. Great danger over which he had no control. Damn if he would let it happen. Herma or his cohorts would not get near Katerina. “What is it?” Katerina touched his hand, startling him out of his dark thoughts. “I say we take this fight to him instead of reacting to his actions,” Vilicia said, stating Just’s exact thoughts. Could they all read his mind? “We have no real proof to take to the Realm council. We’ll wait until we’re contacted,” Sinda pronounced in a no argument tone. “There’s another issue I wish to discuss.” Katerina directed the comment to her mother. “I would like to know if any progress has been made in finding my husband’s attacker?” “What attacker?” Vilicia acted personally insulted. “I assume you’ve explained this to Just?” Anya asked. “Ask me.” It irritated Just when they discussed him like he wasn’t here. “What attacker?” Vilicia growled. Katerina explained what they believed happened during the collaring fiasco. Just noted the more details she gave Vilicia such as the fact that Anya and Sinda had been quietly attempting to find out who was responsible. “I’m afraid we’ve only narrowed our search to thirty-one women strong enough to work the collar with such lethal intent,” Anya reported with a sigh. “I have hope that the perpetrator had second thoughts when she saw the results of the collar’s use or perhaps when she came to know Just.” “Well, maybe I can narrow your search and destroy the hopes or second thoughts.” Just had their full attention. He would have to admit to himself that the agony he had suffered when collared was the work of someone other than Katerina. It came down to trust. He stared into Katerina’s eyes and saw the concern and warmth there. He let if fill him. “When we were on the trail, someone activated the collar.” They all began to question him at once, except his wife. Katerina took his hand and

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squeezed it. For a moment, looking into her eyes, he felt like they were alone. “Are you sure?” Sinda asked. “It’s not a feeling I’ll mistake for anything else, Deomo. It wasn’t like the first time, kind of a weak attack causing general pain and ....” Despite his attempt to sound casual, Just’s words trailed off. He repressed a shutter as he recalled the lancing pain and suffocating fear. “It may have been because I was so far away. I was scouting the Savages’ camp at the time.” Their various expressions amused him enough to ease his dark thoughts. Katerina looked horrified. Vilicia was furious. Sinda appeared sad and Anya was thoughtful. “Why didn’t you tell me at the time?” Vilicia stormed. “It could have been you.” Just fought not to laugh as Vilicia’s eyes widened in outrage. “Then why tell me now?” she sputtered. “We fought beside each other since then. You get to know a person when you face death together. I think if you had wanted to kill me, not that you could, you would look me in the eye when you did it. You also wouldn’t do anything to hurt Katerina.” Vilicia looked mollified, but jabbed back at him anyway. “You think your death would hurt her? Inconvenience maybe.” Just rose and pulled Katerina to her feet. “Why don’t the three of you put your heads together? There were only three other women with us on that mountain side.” Katerina smiled at him. He couldn’t quite smile back. Not when his blood ran so hot and fast through his body. He was taking her to bed right now. He only needed one more answer from the women. “Can someone explain to me how Cara could understand the conversation of the Savages? I wasn’t even aware the animals could speak.” Katerina’s hand grew cold in his. He looked at her and found her pale and her eyes wide. He urged her to sit down. “Are you ill?” Just patted her hand, wondering why Sinda and Anya didn’t do something. Couldn’t they see Katerina looked ready to faint? Was it the babe? “Katerina, I think it’s time you told him all of it. Why don’t you show him what you do all day in the greenhouses? It would be a good place to start.” Sinda spoke in a gentle tone. Vilicia and Anya looked at Katerina in ... sympathy? What now? Just decided he didn’t want to know. He had glimpsed a chance of happiness, at least for a little while. All thoughts of a return to their bedchamber fled as he looked again at Katerina’s white face. “Yes, it’s time.” Katerina rose and took Just by the hand. “I promised no more lies. This is the last of the secrets.” As she led him out of the hall, Just wondered if he would live through this surprise. Anything that caused that reaction in Katerina had to be worse than the collaring. Hell. **** “He helped the bitches kill or maim almost twenty of my best men,” Zar raged. Herma thought the term, men, was being misused, but he didn’t interrupt Zar’s ranting. The loathsome beast had repeated the same complaint over and over again since he had arrived on this beach. Herma wasn’t happy either. He had thought the twice damned Just Steele would be in chains or at least enslaved by the collar. Instead the warrior was leading the Solonians in raids against the Savages. He had counted

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on Steele wanting revenge on his captors. Herma nodded agreement to Zar’s continued vows of vengeance without listening. He mulled over the possible obstacles to the final steps in his plan to escape from this desolate land. He should have known Steele could be won over to the Solonians. Give a man a bitch to mount every night and he would be putty in her hands. At least a semi civilized muscle brain like Steele. Steele must be fighting for the women to get his reward in bed. No matter, Herma decided. He could still make all the pieces fall in place. “What are you going to do about this?” Zar growled, showing his sharp teeth. “We’ll continue as planned. I’ll let you know the time and place. You’ll need lots of ... men. I’ll set up a meeting with the Solonians to check on our little breeding program and make sure there are only a few Realm warriors present. Do you think you can defeat a few women?” Herma dared to let a bit of sarcasm in his tone. “The women aren’t a problem, but what of the Blue Blade?” “I’ll distract him.” The stupid beast feared Steele in an almost mystical fashion. Steele could bleed and die like any other man. “My own men will deal with him. Some wish for his death as much as you do.” “They’ll kill him? They’re able to do this?” Zar sounded skeptical. “Yes, but only if you deliver the redak crystal as promised.” “I have what you need in my camp already. I’ll wait for your message.” Zar pushed his face close to Herma’s, his rancid breath a blast of foul wind. “If this ambush fails, I’ll kill you.” Herma nodded, holding his breath against the revolting odor of his vicious partner. Zar’s lethal promise shook Herma’s confidence, but hardened his resolve to leave the land at any cost to anyone but himself. **** Sky pressed himself deeper into the shadows. He needed all his self control to stay hidden. His hands clenched into fists. He wanted nothing more than to pull his sword and slay the Savage and Herma. But if he killed them now he might never find out how many others might be in on this plot. Between the crashing surf and the moaning of the wind, Sky couldn’t hear a word of what the two talked about. It didn’t matter. Seeing them together was enough. How could a man sell out his fellow colonists like that? Sky moved away, using the shadows of the trees to cover his movements in case one of the conspirators thought to bring some guards along. Whatever plot Herma wove had started with getting Just out of the way. Still, it would be Sky’s word against Herma’s. Sky circled around the grove of small aspens where he had left his horse when he had followed Herma out to this deserted stretch of beach. His well trained mount waited quietly for him. Sky climbed into the saddle and urged the horse into a gallop, knowing each day he spent trying to bring Herma to justice was another day Just spent in hell. **** “What are these plants?” “They’re called vinefruit by my ... our people.” Katerina hoped Just might someday think of Solonians as his people. “I’ve seen it a few times.” Just frowned at the thorny bush. “Isn’t it poisonous?”

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“It seems to be to the people of the Realm. That was the final deciding factor when the Solonians first contacted the Realm.” “What do you mean?” Just stared at her with that soul gripping intensity in his blue eyes. Katerina swallowed her misgivings. She only hoped he didn’t turn from her in disgust when she told him the full truth. “Many generations ago, the Solonians noticed the males of our race seemed smaller and weaker with each generation. No one knew exactly why, although many offered suggestions.” “You mean they were sick?” “Not really. They were born tiny and failed to thrive as the female children did. The scientists and healers of the time studied the problem and eventually narrowed it to a missing substance in the body. They also found this substance occurred naturally in the vinefruit. At that time, Solonia was a peaceful colony of scholars.” “And the vinefruit worked to improve their health?” Katerina started walking down the familiar aisles of the greenhouse. The narrow paths meant Just had to walk behind her, giving her a reason to avoid looking him in the eye. Taking a deep breath, she continued the tale. “It seemed the answer at first. Almost miraculous increases in strength and stamina occurred for most men. A few men showed no benefits and some even became ill like the Realm people do. At the time we had a ruling council similar to the Realm made up almost entirely of men. The Deomo headed the council, but only as an advisor and mediator.” Katerina stopped in an open area. He deserved to see her face when she told him the rest of it. “The Deomo warned them not to overuse the vinefruit until a careful study of the long term effects could be done. Her warnings went unheeded. The use of the vinefruit increased and even some of the women started to use it. Those not using the vinefruit began to notice ... changes in those who did.” “Changes?” Just asked, sounding a bit dangerous in the quiet of the large building. The blue of his eyes began to look a little frosty. She lifted her chin despite her growing fear of losing what ground she had gained with him. “The users became increasingly aggressive. As their muscle bulk and strength increased, so did their propensity to violence. Petty crimes and civil disobedience soon escalated into assaults and abuse in homes. Families were destroyed.” Katerina’s thoughts drifted to the stories recorded in the Deomo’s archives. It was the stuff of nightmares. “Why didn’t the council stop it?” “The Deomo tried as did the few members who weren’t themselves users. But the majority of the members fell under the spell of vinefruit, exchanging strength and power for their humanity. When the Deomo pressed for reason, she was attacked and killed in the council chambers.” Katerina paused, but Just said nothing. He stared at her, his emotions well hidden. “The mother and daughter of the Deomo fled with some others to this stronghold. An unstoppable flood of violence, destroying life and property, inundated the Solonians. The weak that didn’t make it to this settlement were slaughtered in the chaos. My ancestors sealed this valley except for a few hidden passes. They spied on the ruins of their society. To their horror, the next generation of children born to the users inherited the physical and psychological changes of their parents. As generations passed, the users became more animal like and extremely vicious.” “The Savages.” Just painted the word with bitterness and disgust.

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“Yes.” She hurried on, not wanting him to question her. “The Solonians hiding in this valley rebuilt their lives as best as they could, but they still had to venture out to gather certain herbs that won’t grow here. Then as now, the Others hunted them, to rape or kill for sport. The biggest problem was a lack of men among those unchanged by the vinefruit. Each generation gave birth to fewer boys and those were weak and often didn’t survive infancy. The last two generations have been all female. My own mother mated with a man the same age as her father. I never knew him.” “I believe this is where I fit into this story.” Katerina nodded and turned to start walking again. The coolness of his tone chilled her heart. “The collars were invented long ago when one of my ancestors thought to catch one of the Others and attempt to tame him. They thought removing the vinefruit from his diet and civilizing him might answer our problem of no males.” “I assume it didn’t work.” “No. Then somewhere along the span of years, one of the males in this sanctuary turned violent like the Others. He killed a number of women before being stopped. He had been secretly experimenting with the vinefruit. The incident caused mistrust and fear to grow between the men and women.” She turned back to face him. “That’s when the collaring at the time of mating began. One of the men actually came up with the idea as a way to restore trust.” “I guess it did the opposite between you and me.” Just turned away this time, fingering some of the vinefruit leaves as if it held something of great interest. Katerina feared to know what he was thinking. This shame of the Others’ heritage was a secret Solonia had kept from the Realm. How disgusted was Just? Did he now hate her? “What’s the purpose of this place?” Just swung his arm to encompass the rows of vinefruit. “This is my main responsibility as the heir to the Deomo. We’re using controlled reproduction among the plants in an attempt to produce vinefruit that will be less potent than that of the previous crop. Eventually, we hope to breed the property out all together.” “To what end?” “We take the pollen from these plants and fertilize the wild vinefruit.” Just looked bemused. “You’re going to deny the substance to the Savages?” Katerina nodded at his quick understanding. “Do you expect the Savages to go back to being normal people?” “Not immediately.” Just’s incredulity made her feel defensive. “They still get extremely violent when they feed on the fruit, but we hope they might slowly evolve to something more like us over time.” “How long have you been working on this?” “I took over for my mother, who took over for her mother, who took over ...” “All for something that doesn’t work?” “It has. The Others are less aggressive than they used to be. My grandmother says there was a time when they would have overrun your settlement no matter the loss of life for them. Instead, they back off when you attack them with superior forces.” “Why not destroy the plants?” “Any number of reasons. We use some parts of the vinefruit for important medicines such as the tonic for swamp fever and the ointment for joint pain in the elderly. Also, it was discovered

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a long time ago, a user denied his vinefruit would go insane with want and die within days. Until the Realm settlers arrived, re-humanizing the Others was our only hope of continuing our existence.” “So you transplant these less potent plants to where the Savages will eat them?” “No, it’s easier than that. We gather the blossoms during the flowering season from our plants and then cross pollinate the plants in all the known wild patches.” “We?” Just asked, his tone low and definitely dangerous now. “Yes,” Katerina answered, wondering about his mood. “I train a few women to help me. We have to split up since there is a very short time span when the plant is ready for pollination.” “You travel to the place the Savages go to get the food they would do anything to receive?” Just’s anger hit her like a solid wall. She stepped back, but he closed the distance and grasped her by the shoulders. “That is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” “No.” Katerina tried to shrug his hands off, but he held on. “Our warriors protect us. At this time of year, there’s little vinefruit to gather. By now, the Others have already picked all last season’s crop from the ground and stored it where they can use it as needed. The Others are no where near the plants.” The cold fire in Just’s eyes lessened, but not the intensity. “You mean it’s time to do this again?” “A few weeks from now. The weather could affect the exact time.” “You’re not going.” Katerina jerked herself out of his hands this time. Her own anger stirred. “I most certainly am. This is my main function until my mother steps aside as Deomo.” “Your assistants can do the dangerous parts. You’re not going to risk yourself or our child for some experiment that may never work.” “I’ll never ask my people to take risk in my place. Neither would you.” Katerina added the last when he opened his mouth to argue further. He clamped his lips together and frowned. “We’ll talk of this later. The Solonians have no use for the Savages now. We can join the Realm warriors and the Solonians together and destroy the beasts.” Katerina swallowed. She had feared he might suggest this. “No. You think of them as savages and they have killed many people, but they’re still of Solonian blood. They’re ill with the vinefruit. We defend ourselves against them, but we won’t hunt them down and slaughter them.” Just turned away from her and paced a few steps away. He turned back with a resigned look on his face. “There’s a goodness in your people that can get you all killed. If you were more like your enemies your lives would be easier.” “We strive to be as unlike the Others as possible.” She found a small smile. “Now tell me why you were so worried about telling me all this.” The question caught her by surprise. Wasn’t the answer obvious? “Because it’s the secret shame of the Solonians. The Others are part of us. You’re the first of the Realm to know this.” “You thought I would think less of your people because of your history? I think I’m being insulted. Do you think less of me because of what Herma has been doing to your people? Do you think less of me if I tell you the place the Realm settlers came from was a place of greed and corruption?” “No.” Katerina’s joy bubbled as she listened. No wonder she loved him. She closed the

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distance between them and slid her arms around his waist. Just pulled her even closer. “Do you think we could go to bed now?” Katerina’s heart quickened with excitement as she met his warm gaze. All the ice was gone from his beautiful eyes. “As a healer, I think you need a nap to recover completely from your ordeal. I better go along to make sure you follow orders.” The sun shone brightly as they exited the greenhouse. The laughter of a nearby group of women floated toward them. Vilicia stood in the midst of them, regaling them with a story. Katerina wondered if the day was as perfect as it seemed or did her happiness color it so bright? Just suddenly released his grip on her arm as he stumbled to his knees. He reached for his collar as his eyes widened in surprise and agony. Katerina screamed as he collapsed to the ground.

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TRUTH AND ENDINGS Chapter Eleven Katerina reached for Just, but he pushed her hands away. “No,” he gasped. “The baby.” He clenched his teeth as he curled into a tight ball of writhing pain. She knew he was right. Helping him could cause her to lose their child, but she couldn’t watch him die. Katerina spun around and saw Vilicia and the other women sprinting toward them. “Stop!” she screamed. “Vilicia, move everyone back. Move them far away and send someone for my mother and grandmother.” Vilicia obeyed without question, herding the women out of sight. Katerina knelt beside Just. He panted in short, ragged breaths, his eyes squeezed shut. She remembered what the rippling waves of agony had felt like on the collaring day. How did he stand it without screaming? She stretched her arm toward him, bracing herself for the pain. “Don’t even think about it,” Just ground out between his teeth. She jerked back at the command, surprised that Just was able to speak. His fierce glare impaled her own. “The baby is more important.” He ended with a gasp and snapped his mouth shut. “I can’t let you die.” Katerina blinked against the tears spilling over her lids. “I’m not dying. It’s not as bad as last time.” Sinda pushed in beside Katerina. Without hesitation, she grasped Just’s hand. Anya arrived a moment later and knelt at Just’s head. She placed her hands on his temples. The older women shuddered as they drew his pain into themselves. Helplessness swamped Katerina as she watched the people she loved most in the world suffer. After a few moments, Just pushed their hands away. “I can handle it.” He sat up, his movements slow and careful. He wrapped his arms around his knees and hung his head. “Why didn’t you help him, Katerina?” Sinda asked. Just raised his head and stared at her. Shadows of pain swam in his eyes, but his strength was there. He had decided to die rather than endanger their child. The depth of her love for him at that moment frightened her. “He wouldn’t let me.” “And you listened to him?” Anya asked. Katerina allowed herself a small smile which Just, unbelievably, returned. “Tell them,” Just said, his voice hoarse. “Just feared I might harm the baby if I touched him.” Katerina watched their expressions of stunned surprise change to elation. They hugged her, tears in all their eyes. As one, they turned to Just. The older women swept him into a double hug, laughing and crying at the same time. The laugher quickly ended when they touched him. They winced and pulled back from him.

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Katerina reached for his hand, but Just shook his head. “Don’t touch me yet.” How did he stand it? He sat there as if he only rested for a moment when actually pain still lanced through him. “We’ll celebrate later,” Sinda said, regaining her ruler’s demeanor, but Katerina could hear the emotion below the surface. Katerina gave the details of the attack while they all sat in the grass beside Just. Vilicia joined them, her expression fierce and troubled. “Can you add anything?” Sinda asked Just and Vilicia. “The pain eased as soon as Vilicia moved the women back,” Just said. “That narrows our list of suspects. We’ll need the name of everyone nearby, Vilicia,” Sinda said. “I’ll write it down before I forget anyone.” “How many of them were with you on your trip to gather redak?” Anya asked. “Two,” Vilicia growled. “Mia and Erina were present both times.” “Time to end this,” Sinda said as she rose. “Bring them both before me.” Katerina had seldom seen her mother so angry. Though not yet as strong in the healing talent as her mother and grandmother, Katerina intended to be present during the questioning. The healer’s talent allowed one to sense the emotions of others. Mind and body connected to form the whole. They would know which woman spoke the truth. “It might not be that easy,” Just said as he allowed Vilicia to help him to his feet. Vilicia’s mouth tightened as if she, too, could feel the remnants of his ordeal. “Why is that?” Sinda asked in a cold tone. Just looked warily from Sinda to Anya. Both women wore grim, determined expressions. “I’m not sure how I know, but the first time this happened, I sensed something different.” “Different in what way?” Katerina asked. “Stronger or .... I’m not sure. Almost like it was more than one source pounding at me the first time.” “You may be right,” Anya said quietly as if someone might overhear them. “One couldn’t have almost overpowered all three of us.” Vilicia cleared her throat. “Could we please move this discussion inside? I feel like a target out here.” Sinda lifted one of Just’s arms over her shoulder as did Vilicia. They made a slow procession toward the hall. How weak must Just be to accept the women’s help? Katerina bit her lip, vowing to find the one or ones responsible for trying to kill her husband. **** “I swear on my life, I didn’t do this.” “Did not do it today, you mean, or that you’ve never attacked my husband?” Katerina pressed. Erina lowered her eyes. Katerina felt the woman’s distress, but it elicited no sympathy from her. Mia had proven herself innocent with her answers to their questions. Erina’s guilt rang loud and clear to Katerina’s senses, but it wasn’t enough to feel these emotions. Erina must confess. “Why would you betray your people this way?” Katerina heard the disgust in her own words. Her mother and grandmother sat on each side of Erina while Katerina questioned her. Having the two powerful women flanking Erina was meant to intimidate her.

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“You, all of you, betrayed us first.” Erina finally looked up, her face flushed with her anger. “You brought a despicable man among us. You chose for selfish reasons to put us all in danger.” “So you sought to kill him? You thought you knew better than the majority of Solonia? You know the vote was heavily in favor of bringing a man here.” Katerina sought the strength to remain calm when she wanted to drive her fist into Erina’s face. Erina’s anger left her. She appeared to deflate and shrink. She dropped her gaze again. Tears rolled down her face and splashed on the table top. “It made so much sense at first,” Erina whispered in a rough, tortured tone. “He looked so arrogant and dangerous. We meant to kill him, thinking you would blame it on a reaction to the collar. We thought you would hesitate to deal for another man if you knew he couldn’t survive the collaring. And what chance the Realm would give you another man when the first one died so quickly in your care?” “You almost succeeded.” Katerina curled her hands into fists. They itched to strangle the woman. “I’m not sure. We had no idea the man was so strong.” “And on your journey to collect aladar you used the collar again?” “How did you know?” Erina looked up, her eyes red and swollen from her tears. Katerina wanted to make Erina’s eyes black and blue. “Just told us this morning. Your actions almost prevented Cara’s rescue.” “I thought he was trying to escape. When he returned to our position, he gave no sign of pain. I believed he was too far away.” “Why did you care if he escaped?” “He might have remembered the way into Solonia. He could have returned with more men.” “And you used the collar today to try and kill him again,” Katerina stated, her voice shaking with the anger she could no longer conceal. Erina lifted her tear streaked face again. She looked at each woman in turn. “Please believe me, I didn’t do this today. I know what I did before was wrong. I saw what Just did to rescue Cara. He was willing to trade his life for hers. I also realized the collar is no protection should he turn on us. He is so deadly, I doubt we could fell him before he killed many of us. I wouldn’t hurt him now.” “If you didn’t attack him today, then who? Who planned this?” Erina swallowed and wiped at her eyes. “I cut the jarda crystal, taking two thin slices from the heart of the stone.” “And these slices of jarda?” “They are the heart of the crystal and can amplify the power of the user. Even my limited abilities with the jarda were enough using this slice to activate the collar.” Erina reached inside her tunic pocket and pulled out a medallion of jarda set inside a delicate setting of gold. It was beautiful, innocent looking, but so evil in intent. “Give me the names of your cohorts.” Katerina couldn’t stop staring at the object designed solely to kill Just. “Tell us,” Sinda ordered when Erina remained silent. “Only one other that I know of.” Erina took a deep breath as if to brace herself before

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diving into the icy lake. “Marta came to me with the original idea. I designed the jarda collar so the two of us would have primary control instead of you.” **** “We searched all the buildings and the immediate surroundings. It would be easy enough for Marta to hide indefinitely in the valley and wait for her chance to strike.” Vilicia sounded angry and frustrated. “It’s not you fault, Vilicia,” Katerina told her again. “Yes it is. Erina and Marta were both part of my warriors even though Marta retired a few years ago.” Katerina gave up. Vilicia was determined to take the blame. “Where’s Erina?” “I have three warriors watching her in her home. I gave them orders to use whatever force necessary to see she stays there. What are you going to do with her?” “It’s my mother’s decision. We’ve never had a situation like this. At first I would have gladly put her to death with my own hand, but now I’m not so sure. She’s genuinely sorry.” Vilicia snorted, causing Katerina to smile. “Where’s my husband?” “Leading one of the search parties toward the east entrance. I don’t think she would be foolish enough to leave the valley, but we’re checking for signs near all the exits. Don’t worry, I sent enough women with him to bring down the Realm army and they know what to do if she attacks him.” “Did he appreciate that?” “He had to be reminded who gives the orders around here.” A shout from one of the lookouts interrupted them. Katerina’s heart jumped and skipped in her chest when she saw the messenger approaching from the east. Was this what it was like to love someone? Must she live in fear for his welfare her every moment? Just had certainly brought a lot of excitement into her life. The messenger jumped from her horse and handed Katerina a small leather pouch with the symbol of the Realm branded on its flap. “General Steele bids me deliver this to you with all haste, Lady Katerina.” Had all the women taking to calling Just, General? The title was so ancient the only thing known about it was that it denoted a warrior of the highest rank. “Where is the General?” Katerina asked. “He continues the search to the east and will return shortly. He thought you might want this message immediately.” “Thank you. Go refresh yourself and get something to eat.” “Thank you, My Lady, but with your permission, I’ll rejoin the search.” “As you wish.” After the girl took her leave Katerina looked at the pouch. There was a place to the east where the Realm sent communications to them by dropping letter pouches over a high smooth cliff no man could scale. The simple system had been set up shortly after the Realm and Solonia had started trading. Usually the Realm requested medicines. Katerina suspected this message was something different. Katerina unfolded the stiff, fragile paper made from dried sea plants. “Vilicia, find my mother and grandmother. I believe Herma is setting up his latest trap.” ****

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Just returned from his fruitless search and joined them as they gathered to study the message. He found some bread and cheese to munch on as Sinda spread the paper out. He recognized the bold dark hand writing of the head councilor. Just choked down his anger. He needed to think clearly so they could figure out how to spring Herma’s trap and turn it to their advantage. Sinda began to read, “To our friends and benefactors, my kindest regards.” Vilicia gave a loud snort, earning her quelling looks from the other women. Just smiled in agreement with her. “Please let me read without interruptions,” Sinda said. “My pardon.” Sinda continued, “I realize we made no arrangements for the Realm to have reports on the progress of our experiment. We’re as anxious for success as you are. To join our two great people as one will be the ultimate legacy for our descendants. Knowing the physical attributes and reported virility of the fine young man we sent to you, I can hope the Lady Katerina is even now breeding the first generation of our alliance.” Just frowned at the inelegant turn of phrase. Herma worded it as if he spoke of a brood mare. He brought his attention back to Sinda. “Please allow us to share in your joy by meeting our representatives so we might witness the health and well being of the blessed couple, the expectant mother and our own beloved Juston Steele. I’ve set a time of meeting as the day after the full moon two months hence. We will camp in the large clearing nearest the message drop point. Yours in service, Herma, Head Councilor of the Realm.” No one spoke as they mulled over the request. Just found it hard to believe the arrogance of the man. Did Herma expect Just to fall for his words of friendship? “He doesn’t even offer an apology for the behavior of his man, Dagar.” Vilicia spoke first. “Dagar was the commanding officer with those troops,” Just said. “By the time they got home, Dagar had probably threatened all those young cadets into silence. Herma might not know about the incident.” Sinda nodded her agreement. “His words indicates he expects us to trust him.” “We know it’s a trap. We can beat them to the meeting ground and set our own ambush,” Vilicia said eagerly. “No, we can’t do that.” Katerina frowned at Vilicia. A fierce sense of protectiveness welled up inside Just. The thought of Herma planning an attack against her sent his hand searching for his sword. It heated in his hand before he reminded himself that they needed to plan first. He would take care of Herma in time. “Why not?” Vilicia glared at Katerina. “That’s what they intend for us.” “Because innocents will die.” Katerina didn’t seem angry enough to Just. A bad feeling grew in his gut. “Will all the people with Herma be in on his plan, whatever, exactly, it is?” “Not likely, but who knows how many or whom he’ll bring. He probably has a few trusted henchmen and most of the other warriors will be following orders on a routine assignment. He’ll probably bring young men unlikely to question unusual orders.” Katerina raised an eyebrow. “So those young men could fall victim to Herma’s betrayal the same as us?” Just saw her logic. He should have thought of it himself. “Herma might set up an ambush

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with the Savages. He won’t care who is killed. What better way for him to look innocent than if his own men die trying to defend us?” “Then we must meet him and find who the guilty ones are,” Katerina said, all calm and sensible sounding. “You aren’t going to do anything.” Just had known she was going to say it but it angered him still. “Vilicia and I will handle this meeting. You’ll stay right here far away from Herma and the Savages.” “If I’m not at the meeting Herma will be suspicious.” “So what if he is? It will be too late for him to change his plans.” “We don’t know that. He’s asked for me by name. I’m going.” Just looked to the other women for help. Their expressions told him he wouldn’t get any. “What about the baby? Are you going to put her in danger, too? If you won’t think of yourself, then think of her.” “You’ll be beside me every moment. I trust you to protect us.” Her belief in his ability to protect her humbled him, but it didn’t make him worry any less. “If you’ll recall, when we first met, I couldn’t even defend myself.” “You didn’t have your sword with you at the time, and you were taken by surprise.” “You won’t be alone this time either. You’ll have the full force of the Solonian warrior community behind you,” Vilicia vowed. Just looked at the food left before him. He felt like his personal nightmare was coming true. Like his mother and father before, the people he cared for would be placed in danger. What if he couldn’t defend them? This was why he had avoided having a family. He couldn’t survive losing Katerina and their child. Katerina took his hand. She looked deep into his eyes and perhaps into his mind. “You were only a child when your parents were killed. It wasn’t your fault.” Just stared into her warm eyes, wishing he could read her thoughts as she seemed to know his. Was the emotion in her soft brown eyes special for him or only the compassion she held for all people? Just sighed in defeat. He turned to Vilicia. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to increase our training schedule. Your warriors fight too defensively. You need to take the fight to your enemies and everyone must fight as if their life depended on it. I understand where your reluctance to kill the Savages comes from, but they’re not your people. They’re a vicious murderous enemy who wants to kill you. From now on, they’ll be called Savages, not Others. We fight to kill. It’s the only way to win this battle.” Just met each woman’s gaze in turn, seeking their commitment to his pronouncement. They each nodded, though Anya looked sad. Their agreement surprised him, but he moved to the next thing. He started giving Vilicia instructions on the training they needed to do. “One moment please,” Katerina interrupted. “In a few days we need to pollinate the vinefruit. We’ll need as many as you can spare to protect us.” “We? You’re not doing that. Your assistants are.” Just saw the stubborn look in Katerina’s eyes. Damn if he would lose this one, too. “Why do it at all? If you know where all the vinefruit grows, we can lay traps and destroy the Savages when they go for it.” “Kill them all? Did you ever see a baby ... Savage? They look very like a human child. Would you run your sword through an infant with fuzzy hair and large brown eyes with milk on its

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breath?” Anya sneered. Just stared at Anya. Her glare burned as hotly as a knife left in the sun. Truth be told, he had never seen a female Savage or a young one. He had never considered their existence. Anya shook a finger at him. “No, Just Steele, you wouldn’t be able to take their lives.” Sinda and Vilicia nodded their agreement at him. Katerina squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. Just shook his head with disgust. They were right. How could he kill the little innocent ones? He looked at Katerina’s slim fingers wrapped around his own rough ones. Worse, he admitted to himself that he would do anything this woman asked of him. “Hell and damnation.” At least he could still curse like a Realm warrior.

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Chapter Twelve Katerina moved to the last clump of bushes. She tugged the scarf covering her mouth and nose a little higher. Despite the protection, her nose felt stuffy as if with a cold. She knew the symptoms would disappear when she finished pollinating the vinefruit. Her two assistants finished their bushes and started to help her with this last one. The tension of the last few days made everyone eager to finish. The guards all held their weapons in hand. Just stood watch somewhere out of sight. They had spotted no sign of Savages—she made herself use the term Just insisted on—near the vinefruit. The peace didn’t calm Just a bit. Only the occasional scrape of their boots in the rocky soil broke the silence. The sun sat dangerously close to the horizon as Katerina directed the women to put their pollen sack away. Some small hint of unease seeped into her mind. She looked around to find the reason for the shiver creeping up her spine, but everything looked the same. She studied her emotions and realized the feeling came from Just. “Hurry,” Katerina whispered. They quickly finished their packing and slung the bags over their shoulders. They gathered in a loose line to start the return trek. They had taken no more than a dozen steps when Just sprang from no where to the top of a small cluster of boulders parallel to the trail. He signaled the warriors to join him. Katerina moved closer to hear what he would tell them, but she already knew. “You three wait at the bottom of the hill to delay any that get by me,” Just ordered, indicating three of the Solonian women. Katerina couldn’t speak for a moment. “No, wait. You can’t remain behind alone.” “You have your orders.” The women nodded as Just gave Katerina a hard look. He grasped her arm and guided her to a spot in the middle of the other women. “I let you do your job. Now let me do mine.” Katerina wanted to argue more, but she knew hesitation could cost lives. She reached and pulled his head down to hers. The kiss was quick, but she put all the fierceness of her love in it. “Be careful.” “I’m not easy to kill.” Just ran his finger down her cheek and then spun away. He jogged back up the trail, disappearing from her sight too soon. The warriors hurried them down the trail, the slope increasingly treacherous in the deepening twilight. The three warriors dropped back as Just had ordered. The grassy plain stretched out before the remainder of them. It looked deceptively empty to one who didn’t know of the unseen depressions and gullies where an army of enemies could hide. The women spread out a little as they moved as silently as possible through the tall grass. The leaders roamed further ahead to check for hiding places. Full darkness found them halfway across. Wisps of clouds drifted in front of the thin slice of one moon and totally obscured the other. A muffled cry from the warrior at right point froze the others. Katerina pulled the short

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knife from her belt and sent a silent plea for help to Just. A warning shout echoed across the swaying grass before one of the scouts raced back to rejoin the main body. “Make a circle,” Katerina ordered. Just had drilled them all before they left the settlement on what to do in this situation. Weapons drawn, they waited for the attack. Katerina’s anger burned hot beneath her skin. She would not let her happiness be destroyed by these ... Savages. Her determination to protect her unborn child at all costs pushed aside her fear. “Please move to the center, Lady Katerina,” one of the women said. “No. I won’t allow you to put your life in front of mine.” Bulky shapes, darker than the surrounding plain, rose as if from the very ground. Somehow the Savages had slithered until they were almost within striking distance. Katerina heard a short harsh laugh from behind her. They were surrounded. She swallowed the fear trying to rise again. “Our brothers have killed the Blue Blade in the hills.” The Savage moved closer as it spoke. It’s voice shocked Katerina. Though Cara had told them the Savages spoke, hearing it herself seemed more horrifying. “There will be no help for you bitches.” Katerina felt the women on each side of her trembling, but the meaning of the beast’s words sank in as the shock of hearing it speak passed. Just couldn’t be dead. She would know it. “No. You lie,” Katerina said, her voice strong with her conviction. “He’s alive and your brothers are dead.” “I saw him fall myself. Now you’ll be my whores instead of his.” The beast rumbled in a caricature of a true laugh. Katerina screamed her denial and charged. Her foray released them all from their frozen state. The speaker staggered back as she flung herself against his chest. His rank smell hit her at the same time she plunged her knife as deeply as her strength allowed. He howled as he used a massive hairy arm to fling her to the ground. All around her, women engaged one or two Savages in skirmishes. A woman screamed from somewhere in the dark, but Katerina couldn’t see what was happening. The beast she had stabbed stared at the knife sticking out of his chest. The sliver of a moon slipped from behind a cloud so that when he lifted his stare to meet hers, she could read her death in the cold, merciless pits of his dark eyes. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you about staying home, Katerina thought to Just. She didn’t know if he really could hear her thoughts this way, but she put all her love behind it. The Savage lifted his roughly shaped spear and snarled at her. He thrust the spear at her middle with both hands. Seeing the point coming toward her baby gave Katerina speed and strength to roll to the left. The spear still glanced across her thigh. Pain jolted down her leg. She looked at the wound and was horrified to see it wasn’t a glancing blow after all. The spear swayed in the air. The tip was embedded in her flesh. The Savage laughed again in its hideous manner. It reached out and wiggled the spear enough to elicit her scream. “Now you’re mine, bitch,” it growled. How did the knife wound have no effect on it? He leaned on the spear to hold her still as he reached down to grip the front of her thick tunic. With a quick pull, he tore the entire garment down the middle, scraping her skin and leaving her breasts exposed. His thick, dirty fingers closed hard on one breast that was already swollen and tender with her pregnancy. Her heard spun with dizziness as she tried to bat his hand away with arms bereft of strength. The pain in her thigh

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faded to numbness as the darkness of unconsciousness reached for her Agony suddenly blazed through her hip as the Savage leaped back and jerked on the embedded spear. An eerie howl drowned out the Savage’s inhuman scream. A shimmering blue blade emerged in the beast’s middle and then quickly withdrew. Her attacker tumbled slowly, almost gracefully, to the side. Just stood behind it. He dropped to his knees beside her, ignoring the spear pinning her to the ground. Spatters of blood speckled his shirt, hands, and arms and his chest heaved with exertion. Just looked her over, his expression stark and frightening. “Help the others,” Katerina managed to say. She wanted to hug him, but there was no time. Just stared at the spear for a moment before nodding and rising to join the battle that raged a short distance from where she lay. Katerina couldn’t see what was going on, but she heard it. As Just entered the fray, the evil, ghoulish laughter of the Savages turned to screams and rough half spoken curses. Occasionally, a flash of gleaming blue, moonlight on oiled blade, identified Just’s position. No wonder the Savages thought his sword shot blue lightening bolts. Keeping her thoughts contained in case Just did sense them, Katerina concentrated only on staying conscious. Her stomach roiled threateningly and the pain in her thigh pulsed in an unrelenting rhythm with her heart. “My Lady,” Mia said softly as she came to kneel beside Katerina. Other women soon joined her as the sounds of fighting ended. A haunted silence settled over the plain. The odors of blood and death rode the cool breeze. “I’ll be fine,” Katerina said as she saw the worry on the women’s faces. She counted the faces surrounding her and came up three short. “Who’s missing?” “Everyone’s alive,” Mia assured her. “The General has them checking the dead and guarding our flanks.” They were all alive perhaps, but many were bloodied and bruised, clothes torn, and hair tangled. But they were alive and that meant a victory. Just pushed in between the women near her wounded leg. He didn’t look at it. Katerina noticed the relief flooding the expressions of the women. She felt the same way. “We need to leave soon. Some escaped and they could return with more than we can handle.” “I understand,” Katerina said, hoping she sounded braver than she was. Just stared at her for a long moment, his eyes cold in the dim moonlight. The blue sword caught the meager light and somehow gleamed with it. Many of the women eyed it with something akin to awe. Katerina put her hand on top of one of his. What she sensed comforted her. His emotions were not the ice in his eyes. The heat of battle raged hot and fierce inside him still, but he attempted to hide it from her. Just stood and put both hands on the spear shaft. He nodded to Mia who spread out some supplies. Katerina studied them, trying to distract herself. A folded white cloth. cleansing powder to fight infection, burta root to numb the wound. “I’ll do it, General,” someone offered from behind Katerina. “No.” Just gently set his foot on Katerina’s leg a little above the spear. He stared into her eyes. Someone put a folded cloth between Katerina’s teeth. She started to nod to Just, but it was too late. He pulled straight and true on the shaft. She

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couldn’t tell if the scream she heard was her own or his as the blessed blackness took her. **** The unrelenting pain dragged Katerina from unconsciousness until another jarring movement sent her spinning into oblivion again. Four women were carrying her on a makeshift stretcher. Sometimes she sensed Just near her, touching her, but then he would move away from her. Katerina managed to stay awake a bit longer when they reached the perimeter of their valley. Just made her take a few sips of water before he lifted her onto the back of his horse. She snuggled into his warmth, wondering why he wasn’t freezing as she was. He held Stone to a walk and the normally energetic stallion moved as placidly as an ancient mare. She listened to the strong beat of Just’s heart, concentrating on that rather than her pain. He was alive. He was safe. She could sleep now. **** “She needs to rest and so do you. Now go to the room prepared for you and get some sleep. I promise to wake you if there’s a need.” “Why don’t you go get some sleep, and I’ll wake you if there’s a need? This is my bedroom, after all.” Katerina couldn’t quite open her heavy eyelids, but the whispered argument between Just and her mother made her smile. Her mouth felt so dry it might crack if she opened it. “You look like you’re going to fall over,” Sinda scolded. “I don’t need two patients.” “You already have two patients. Are you certain the baby is going to be all right?” “Yes! You’re the most stubborn man ever born.” “Only since you brought me here. In the Realm, I’m known as a reasonable, patient man.” Sinda’s snort reminded her of Vilicia. A dull pain throbbed from her hip to her knee. Events flashed through her memory, the fight, the agonizing trip home, sleeping in Just’s arms. She slept. She woke sometime later with a clearer head. She opened her reluctant eyes. The lamps beside the bed glowed softly. She explored the bandage on her thigh, finding a thick padding wrapped loosely around her entire upper leg. Her uninjured side felt warmer than her other. She turned her head toward the fire and found instead her husband. Light reflected off Just’s bare shoulders. He sprawled on his stomach beside her, his face turned toward her. He wore his usual tight pants and nothing else. Dark circles under his eyes and a crease of worry or anger marred his forehead. He breathed the deep slow rhythms of sleep, but his muscles looked tense and ready. Katerina’s breath snagged for a moment when Just’s eyes snapped open. “Hello.” Her voice sounded rough to herself as if she had a sore throat. He rose to lean on one elbow. He frowned as he looked her over. “How do you feel?” The comforting sound of his deep voice swept over her. “Like I was run through with a spear.” Her attempt at humor deepened his scowl. “You should have stayed home like I said.” “Are you blaming me for this happening?” He sat up and started to pull on his boots with short, jerking motions. She tried to sort the emotions that poured off him. Disgust? Not with her, but self directed. He blamed himself. He finished with his boots and grabbed a shirt off the chest as he strode toward the door.

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“Where are you going?” “I told your mother I would call her when you woke up.” Apparently, Just had won his earlier argument with Sinda. “Wait. I want to talk to you.” “There’s nothing to talk about.” He started to open the door. “If you don’t get back here right now, I’m getting out of bed and coming after you.” He spun back to face her, a wary expression on his face. She threw the covers back before realizing she was naked beneath. Just’s eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. “You little fool.” He stomped back to the bedside. Despite the storm on his face, his hands worked gently to tuck the blankets back around her shivering body Katerina grasped one of his hands and he allowed himself to be pulled down. He knelt on the floor beside her rather than sitting on the bed. “Let’s talk about who’s a fool around here.” She ran her hand through his thick black hair. Anger roiled in his eyes as he glared at her. “I know who the fool is. I failed to protect you and our child.” “It wasn’t your fault. I insisted that I go. You told me it was too dangerous and you were right. No one could have protected me better than you did.” She yanked on his hair as he shook his head. “They came so close to killing you and the baby. I should have ....” “You did the best you could. I had to go and you know it. We were both doing the best we could. There’s no blame.” “You don’t understand how I felt when I heard you scream ....” He paused and the anger in his eyes changed to pain. “I thought I was going to be too late, like with my parents.” No words of comfort came to her. She pulled his head down to her shoulder. He wrapped his arms carefully around her and held her against him. A movement at the door drew Katerina’s attention. Her mother smiled and backed quietly out of the room. “If they ever try to harm you again, not this collar, not all the might of the Realm and Solonia combined will prevent me from hunting down every Savage roaming the earth.” He raised his head and stared into her eyes. The intensity in his eyes glowed so deadly and cold she shivered. He misunderstood and reached across her to tuck the blankets a little tighter. “I’ll find your mother now.” The emotional turmoil boiling inside Just didn’t show on his face. Maybe he didn’t love her, but he cared about her. He felt a lot of responsibility toward her. But would it be enough to keep him here when their one year agreement was up? **** Just wondered at the smile Sinda gave him when he found her in the main hall. His wife’s mother seldom looked at him with approval. She usually watched him a like a mountain cat protecting her young. Now that he would have a daughter of his own, he understood Sinda a little better. The hell if he would ever let his daughter mate with an unknown man the way Sinda had allowed Katerina. “Why don’t you get something to eat? When you’re done, bring Katerina the soup the cook has prepared for her. I should have her bandage and bedding changed by then.” Just made his way to the kitchen, frowning over the way Sinda issued orders to him as if he

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were a stable boy. He was hungry, though, and followed the order despite the way it was delivered. Vilicia sat at the small family table, enjoying her noon meal while answering the cook’s questions. Ursa, the cook, beamed at Just. He often visited the kitchen in search of food. He might have starved by now without her kindness. Ursa waved him to a seat and set a bowl of sweet porridge in front of him. He spooned the hot food in his mouth as quickly as he could. Halfway through the second serving, his thoughts turned from food alone back to Katerina’s close call. His mood darkened. “It wasn’t your fault. Bad luck brought them to your party. None of the other working groups were attacked,” Vilicia said around a mouthful of grainy bread. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck lately,” Just muttered. “Seems to me you’ve had more than your share of good luck,” Vilicia shot back. Just continued to eat. Vilicia’s comment didn’t deserve a response, not as long as he could feel the weight of the collar hanging around his neck. “Don’t you want to know what I mean?” Vilicia asked after he let the silence grow. “I know you’re going to tell me whether I want to know or not.” “There’s one of my points. You work with people who understand you and whom you understand.” Just shook his head. “That’s a stretch of logic.” “You live in a fine home with plenty of food and warmth.” “I had that before I came here.” “I didn’t say everything was better than before. You have a fine group of warriors willing to follow you to hell if you give the order.” Just nodded, conceding that point. “You know the leader of your new people isn’t trying to get rid of you.” “I know that because I’ve been collared to make sure I stay. That leader treats me like a slave or servant.” Just waited for the anger to swamp him like it usually did when he thought of the collar. All he felt was irritation. He hoped he wasn’t starting to accept it. He wondered again if he was being tamed like a horse being broken to the halter. Vilicia snorted and continued her list. “And most importantly, you have a family. A family that cares about you.” Just paused with the spoon halfway to his mouth. Visions of a tiny child with white blonde curls and huge brown eyes teased him. “You’re right about that. I have a wife and soon a child. I might never have married if I had stayed in the Realm.” Vilicia slapped the table, her eyes burning as she glared at him. “I don’t mean your wife and baby, you hard headed horse’s butt. Of course you have them, but you have more. Sinda doesn’t treat you like a slave. She treats you like a son. If she seems to give you orders and disagree with everything you say, it’s only the way parents act. Didn’t your own mother raise you that way?” Just frowned, giving the idea consideration. Sinda did act toward him much as she did toward Katerina. “And what of Anya? She’s been overseeing the making of your clothing and spending all her waking hours trying to find Marta. She’s not a young woman, but she’s been riding out every day.”

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Just hadn’t known that. “And what about me?” Vilicia asked, her face red for some reason that wasn’t anger. “You?” Just stared at her, confused with all the questions she had raised in his mind. “Katerina has always been like my sister. When you married her, you became my brother. I never had a brother, but I find I like it.” Vilicia stood. Unbelievably, her eyes glistened with tears. “You’re a very lucky man to have a family that puts up with your ill temper and surliness and manages to love you.” Her words froze him. She turned and stomped out the rear exit. Ursa had stood silently during the entire lecture and now turned to stare at him. “That girl was always good at getting in the last word. Did she put you in your place?” Ursa asked, glaring at him. “I guess she did. The same as every other female in Solonia has.” **** Just balanced the tray carrying the soup as he opened the door to their bedroom. He found Sinda and Anya adjusting Katerina’s pillows so she could sit up. Their low murmurs ended as he approached the bed. He put the tray on Katerina’s lap, cautioning her about the heat. “Is this all I get to eat?” “My appetite must be contagious.” Just smiled. Healthy appetite meant healthy mother. “I hope not. If I ate as much as you do, there wouldn’t be room in this bed for both of us.” “I’d find room.” Damn right he would. “If I were that fat, you wouldn’t want to be in bed with me.” “Eat as much as you want. The more of you there is, the better.” Someone cleared her throat, reminding Just of the other two women in the room. He glanced at Sinda and noticed a slight blush on her cheeks. It occurred to Just that the older women had little experience with men. The Solonia men before him had probably not been like him at all. Vilicia’s lecture still nagged at him. He tried to look at things from their side. Except for the damn collar, he had been treated quite well. So many little things that bothered him likely resulted from the Solonians lack of experience with males. “How does her wound look today, Mother?” Just asked Sinda, testing Vilicia’s theory. Sinda’s eyes widened, but she recovered quickly. “It hasn’t become infected. That was my biggest concern.” “Eat your soup, Katerina. If you finish it, I’ll bring you more in a little while.” Just returned her glare with a steady look until she started to eat. “Grandmother, have you looked in on the other wounded?” “Yes. They’re doing fine.” He nodded to Anya. “I don’t know what needs done in the greenhouse, but Katerina can’t supervise. Could the two of you fill in for her? Vilicia and I intend to check our back trail. We were in such a hurry, I’m not sure we covered it well enough. We don’t want anyone following us home.” “Of course we can take care of the greenhouse.” Sinda frowned at Katerina, who stopped eating to stare at Just. “You listen to your husband and finish your soup.” Anya added her command to listen to Just before they both left the room. “How did you do that?” Katerina asked.

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“Do what?” Just strove for innocence, but he was so pleased he couldn’t help but grin. “You gave my mother, the Deomo, and my grandmother, orders and they obeyed. How did you do it?” Just leaned over and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “Took some advice from my sister.” **** Katerina stirred restlessly, only half awake as she tried to get comfortable. She pulled the blankets tighter around her shoulders, but the bed still seemed too big and so cold. The bed dipped behind her and the blankets lifted to let in a gust of chilly air. Just slid in and pressed against her back. He moved carefully as he fit his body to the curve of hers. Sleep settled over her as the bed now seemed perfect. She woke later to find herself anchored to him by his arm lying around her waist. His hand rested between her breasts. She covered his hand with her own and pressed it even tighter to herself. Sleep dulled her caution, and she let her joy of having him with her flow freely. “I love you.” The arm holding her tensed, but she needed sleep too much. She drifted into a dream where he answered her with his own words of love.

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Chapter Thirteen Just let some of the water dribble over his chin and down his sweat soaked chest. The water added to the icy breeze cooled him off quickly. He had expected winter in these hills to be colder than in the Realm, but the only real difference was at night. Water froze at night and this morning they had wakened to a light dusting of snow. They seldom saw snow along the coast where the majority of the Realm settlers lived. Just leaned back against the corral fence as he took another long drink of water. Vilicia led the instruction while he took a break and studied the progress of their warriors. They had practiced every day since receiving Herma’s invitation. Just watched the women, concentrating on their skills, finding a surprising pride in their improvement. He had never understood Sky Turan’s contentment in being a teacher instead of a front line fighter, but now he saw the endeavor in a new light. He winced as Mia gave one of the other women a particularly nasty blow with the flat of her wooden sword. The downed woman scrambled back to her feet and quickly reengaged. They were tougher than they looked, these Solonian women. They took to his instruction like a mountain cat did to raw meat. He would bet on them to hold their own against any Realm detachment in a contest. He frowned as he considered it might come to that. In three days they would meet Herma and spring his trap before he ensnared them. Just expected a few Realm warriors such as Dagar were turned to Herma’s evil cause, but surely most of the warriors would be unaware of their leader’s treachery. Still, they must prepare for that remote chance. His people could defeat any like number of Realm fighters. Startled, Just wondered when he had started thinking of the Solonians as his people. Vilicia looked over at him with a question in her expression, and he answered with a nod. More and more, Vilicia let him make the decisions and take over command of the warriors. He wondered at her motives but admitted to himself the two of them worked well together. Vilicia gave the command for a noon meal break. Just pulled his shirt over his head as the women approached the water bucket. He usually felt comfortable around them, but recently he noticed a few of them looked at him in a way that wasn’t quite sisterly. He recognized appreciation in a woman’s eyes, but he had all the woman he could handle waiting for him in the hall. “For the next three day, we’ll take every afternoon off,” Just told them. “I want everyone rested and fresh for this little adventure.” He and Vilicia watched them walk toward their homes. They talked among themselves, not with excitement but with deadly purpose. “They’re ready,” Vilicia said, her tone laced with pride. “I wish I was,” Just said, his mood souring. “Can’t you talk to my stubborn wife?” “She wouldn’t be the leader we all love and respect if she could turn her back on this duty.” “She doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody.” “The Deomo must always lead. Nothing you can say will change her mind so you may as

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well accept her decision.” “Let’s go eat.” Just knew Vilicia was right about Katerina, but he didn’t like it. Why couldn’t these women see how dangerous this might be? There were too many unknowns in this trap of Herma’s. How was he going to protect Katerina and the baby? A woman Just didn’t know lingered a short distance away, staring at them. Just nodded, but the woman didn’t respond in kind. Instead, she swept her hungry gaze from his head to his feet and back up again. The look in her eyes sent a creepy sensation up his back. “Something wrong?” Vilicia asked when Just hesitated. “No,” Just rejoined her, but the force of the woman’s stare stabbed at his back until he reached the hall. Did he have another enemy? Sinda, Anya, and Katerina already waited at the table. Just wondered at their strained expressions. Hell, it looked like Katerina might cry. Just glared at the older women. They must have upset his wife. “What’s the problem?” Katerina’s eyes filled with tears at his question, but Sinda was the one to answer. “We were discussing the health of the baby.” Just’s heart dropped to meet his stomach and then tried to jump up his throat. Sinda’s tone led his mind to horrible possibilities. “What do you mean?” He heard the roughness in his voice. He didn’t like the look of sympathy in Sinda’s and Anya’s eyes. “A Solonian mother shares a bond with her daughter, a sense of awareness to each other. This closeness begins before birth.” Sinda paused in her explanation and swiped at her eyes. The Deomo’s tears frightened Just more than anything she could say. He thought Sinda was made of iron. “Katerina has yet to sense the child she carries.” Vilicia gasped and Katerina reached for his hand. Helplessness swamped him. He reacted with anger. “What does that mean?” Anya answered. “It could mean a number of things. You and Katerina are of different races. Who knows how different you are inside?” Just glared at her. “Get to the point.” “We’re afraid the baby may have mental or physical imperfections because of those differences.” “You’re wrong,” Just snarled back. His baby would be fine. “I hope you’re right,” Anya said in a soothing tone. “Perhaps the baby takes after me. Mothers in the Realm can’t sense their children before they’re born. The baby takes after me. My mother used to have a saying about that.” “What was it?” Katerina whispered. Just stared at his wife, seeing the hope in her sad eyes. He wanted to fight the enemy that made her worry. “My mother used to say this whenever she thought I was being like my father. She always claimed we looked and acted alike.” “Poor woman,” Vilicia muttered. Just ignored Vilicia’s jab. “What did she say?” Katerina prodded. “The Steele breeds true, or something like that. My father would always laugh and agree.” The women pondered it in silence. Just rose from the table, his appetite totally gone. “The baby is fine. I won’t believe anything else.” Just didn’t wait for an answer. He wasn’t

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going to let them try to convince him otherwise. A ball of flame burned in his stomach as he left the hall. His child! He pictured her with long blonde hair like her mother’s. He would teach her to be a warrior like himself. No one, man or beast, would harm her as long as he lived. And he would train her so that none could harm her once he was gone either. He pulled his sword as he entered the training yard. He worked against unseen foes, stripping his shirt when it became soaked with sweat. He attacked the wooden practice post until it lay in splinters at his feet and his breath rasped harshly in the silence. He turned toward another post before awareness of her presence froze him. His muscles quivered with fatigue as he held his sword in mid swing. Sweat dripped off his hair and stung his eyes. His knees shook with exhaustion, and it suddenly became too much. He dropped to his knees, driving the point of his sword into the dirt. He lowered his chin to his chest. For the first time since his parents had died, he felt defeated. Katerina’s hand brushed his shoulder and then touched the hated collar. Comfort flowed from her to him, and he was too tired to move away. Did he want to avoid this strange connection? He laid his hand on top of hers and almost fell over as her emotions surged into him. Her pain and fear were as great as his own. He cursed his own selfishness. He rose unsteadily to his feet. He opened his arms to her, and she stepped in without hesitation. She wrapped her arms around his sweaty torso. He held her so tightly he worried he might hurt her. “It will be all right,” he commanded her. He must not believe otherwise. Just pushed his doubts and fears out of his mind. Katerina nodded against his chest. Just sighed, thinking he had managed to convince them both to believe. Her first sob caught him by surprise. Another sob followed close on the heels of the first, despite his attempt to soothe her. Her sorrow erupted from the depths of her being. Just could do nothing but hold her tightly while his own heart cracked and bled tears. **** Katerina couldn’t believe her lack of control. Her mother had warned her pregnancy might make her emotions a bit rocky, but this was too unlike herself. She clung to Just as her pain poured into him. Knowing she added to his own pain finally gave her the strength to pull back from him. Her eyes burned as she lifted her gaze to meet his agonized stare. “I’m sorry.” She stepped back, the loss of his arms allowing a chill breeze to touch her arms and her very heart. “No apology needed.” He looked away from her and stared at the damage he had done to the training yard. He shivered in the cooling air. “I should get a bath.” “Maybe I should also.” Katerina looked down the front of her tunic. His sweat had left damp patches on the material. “Sorry.” “No apology needed.” The silly conversation made her smile a bit. His mouth quirked in response. He held out his hand to her. She took it eagerly and walked beside him back toward the hall. She noticed their audience standing on the porch watching them. Sinda, Anya, and Vilicia looked as sad as she felt, but she didn’t want to talk to them right now.

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Just must have thought the same thing. He nodded to the women but didn’t slow or alter his path. The three women stepped aside. Just led her straight to their bedroom. He urged her to sit on the edge of the bed while he worked the levers to fill the tub. He held her gaze with the unbreakable intensity of his own while he stripped his clothing off. She wrenched her stare away from his so she could admire his lean strength. His erect penis stood in an unabashed display as he let her look her fill. Her own desires stirred in response. He walked to her and reached for the hem of her tunic. Gently pushing away her helping hands, he lifted the garment over her head and took his turn examining her nakedness. Her arousal increased. When he covered the tips of each of her breasts with his palms, she inhaled with anticipation and pleasure. She groaned as he pressed and rubbed her erect nipples. He stopped and pulled her to her feet. He started to remove her leggings, pausing for a heartbeat as he stared at her slightly rounded stomach. A spasm of pain crossed his expression, but he hid it so quickly she almost didn’t see it. He led her to the tub and turned off the water. He helped her step over the side so they stood facing each other in knee high warm water. They sank down together, ending with his legs outside hers. Though they both had to bend their knees, they weren’t uncomfortably crowded. He picked up the natural sea sponge and sprinkled some of the scented bath sand onto it. He began at her fingertips and moved up her arm, lathering and massaging as he went. When he finished with one arm, he moved to the other. She didn’t know whether to go to sleep or moan in pleasure. When he pulled her to her knees so he could wash her chest and stomach, she fought not to moan with the bliss. “Stop! I can’t take anymore.” “Not yet.” He pushed her back to lean against the edge of the tub and starting bathing her feet. He worked his slow rapturous way up her leg, stopping a fingertip away from the place she wanted him to touch. She watched his face as he stared at his own hands, solemn and intent on his work. He suddenly glanced up to meet her stare. The sponge floated to the top of the water, but his hand continued beneath the suds. His hand found her wet, swollen center of nerves, sending her arching toward him. She gasped as his fingers demanded her response. He tortured her with a few flicks of his fingers before entering her with one. She flew over the edge of her control. Deep contractions continued inside her as he lifted her unto his lap. Her legs straddled his narrow hips and the tip of his penis touched her. Her body’s continuing muscular ripples pulled him inside, but she tightened as her highly sensitized interior protested the invasion. He pulled her head down and kissed her. She relaxed and her body welcomed him and enfolded him. He lifted her hips and began a slow rhythm of lovemaking. The emotions swirling between them tangled in a maelstrom of fear, need, and desire. She slid her hands up his smooth chest and gripped the collar on both sides of his neck. He hesitated, breaking the rhythm of his stokes, but then started anew. He increased the pace and the pressure built inside her again. She had climbed a gentle slope to her release moments before, but now she charged toward the peak. She let go of any control and her emotions flowed into his collar. He jerked in reaction and his own feelings escaped through the collar to her. It was too much. His arousal and hers combined in ecstasy beyond her imaginings. The world was the two of them in the tub and then the world exploded to send her flying high and floating slowly back to earth.

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She lay against his chest, no thought beyond their two bodies intertwined. No pain, no worries, only this man giving her everything he had to give her. She wasn’t sure of her own name, but she knew she loved him. **** He somehow untangled them and lifted her out of the tub. He dried her with slow tenderness and carried her to the bed. She snuggled close to his warmth as he lay down beside her. Neither spoke. She felt drained, empty, emotionally and physically, except for him. He leaned on one elbow and spread her wet hair out on the pillow. Irresistible heaviness weighed on her eyes. His hands running through her hair brought her a contentment and pleasure she didn’t want to examine. Her lids slid closed as she indulged herself in his care. He kissed her forehead, and she thought she smiled. A fluttering sensation in her stomach brought her eyes wide open. Just paused with his hand suspended in mid air. She held her breath and waited. It happened again. “What is it?” Just frowned at her. Katerina grinned at him and pulled his hand to her stomach. She pressed his callused palm tightly against her softness. He looked at their hands and then back to her eyes, looking more confused than ever. The fluttering returned stronger than ever. Their babe seemed to reach out to touch him. The look on his face caused a lump in her throat when understanding hit him. His mouth dropped open and something like awe sparked in his blue eyes. He held her stare with the unnerving forcefulness of his own while hope and joy blossomed in his eyes. Now they both held their breath and waited. Their child moved beneath his hand. Just sprang from the bed and threw his head back, whooping like a warrior after slaying an enemy. Katerina felt the babe leap in response. The door to their room burst open to admit Sinda, Anya, and Vilicia as well as a number of household workers. Their mouths dropped open as they stared at Just’s nakedness. He snatched the covering off the bed and wrapped it around his hips. Katerina laughed at the silly grin on her husband’s face. He glided over to Sinda in his strange attire and put his free arm around her waist. He kissed her on the cheek while the intruders stood in stunned silence. Vilicia laughed at Just, though she still looked confused. Katerina adjusted a blanket over herself while her mother sputtered in confusion. “Smile, Mother,” Just ordered with a grin. “Everything is going to be all right.” “How do you know?” Sinda demanded, managing to look angry and hopeful at once. Just turned to look at Katerina, a question in his eyes. She smiled and nodded, and then smiled some more when she noticed all the women behind him stared at the gap in the cover he had hastily donned. He turned back to the others and Katerina could see most of his buttocks were exposed. “My daughter told me,” Just crowed in triumphant. A moment of silence followed his pronouncement before the room exploded into a mass of confused questions. Anya and Sinda hurried over to the bed as Katerina sat up and reached for her tunic. She threw it back to the floor when she found it soaked by their antics in the tub. The questions continued but she ignored them all as she met Just’s warm gaze across the room. He still stood near the door where Vilicia and the other women admired what his inadequate

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attire revealed. Just smiled at her. The child moved again. His gaze followed her hand to her belly. Fierce possession replaced the warmth in his eyes. She pitied any who tried to harm this child. Vilicia apparently couldn’t resist any longer. Taking a huge swing, she slapped Just’s exposed behind with laughing gusto. Just yelped and turned on her, almost dropping his cover as he did. Vilicia ducked around him as he groped to save his modesty. Katerina accepted her friend’s hug as contentment filled her. Life was so perfect.

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Chapter Fourteen “Hell and damnation.” Katerina directed one of Just’s favorite curses at his back. The women riding near her glanced at her uneasily before quickly returning to their scanning of the rocky hills surrounding them. None of them wanted Just to catch them being anything less than fully alert. Every person, including herself, had received at least one of Just’s stern lectures on safety. He delivered his displeasure in quiet tones so only the guilty party could hear. Somehow, the controlled fury in his tone and posture intimidated more than if he had yelled. This stony ultimate warrior had replaced her gentle considerate lover of a few days ago. Any opinions or disagreements she voiced about Just’s handling of the expedition to meet Herma were rudely dismissed. She understood his need to tightly control the situation, was even comforted by his attitude, but he could have spared her a kind word. Two days of travel had left her tired and grumpy. Just turned in his saddle from his lead position and frowned at her. Katerina produced a large, toothy smile, wondering if it looked like a snarl. His last lecture had made her feel like growling at someone. She noticed Just’s left hand rested on his sword hilt at his hip. Even in the bright sunlight, the blade seemed surrounded by a blue glow. Did the lethal weapon really have luminescent qualities? Katerina casually examined the landscape, not expecting to see any sign of an ambush. Vilicia and a number of their best warriors were out there somewhere, hoping to trip up whatever trap Herma planned. She silently sent them her best wishes. Just slowed his horse until he rode side by side with her. He didn’t look at her or speak to her. His sharp gaze swept from side to side. Sentries hailed them as they entered an open valley. Some of the men greeted Just by name. The blue and gold banner of the Realm flapped in the breeze over a large tent near the center of the valley. A few other smaller tents stood close to the large one. Katerina studied the placement of the camp. She had visited this valley years before while gathering wild garlic to cross with their domesticated strain. A dense cluster of trees shaded the camp and hid a spring, the only source of water in the little valley. The trees and tall grass also camouflaged a steep incline. The slopes climbing toward the higher mountains sported scattered shrubs and stunted trees. No enemy force could hide there. Were they wrong about Herma’s intentions? “Remember my instructions?” Just didn’t look at her when he spoke. He seemed to be counting the Realm warriors. “Yes.” Katerina resisted rolling her eyes. “Don’t leave your side for any reason unless we’re attacked. Then mount my horse and ride to the valley entrance to meet Vilicia.” “Your knife?” “Ready up my sleeve.” “Don’t forget ….”

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“I won’t forget anything.” She interrupted him and finally made him look at her. She reached out and touched his arm. “Everything will be fine. I know you’ll protect us.” “Anyone who touches you is a dead man,” Just growled, his tone so fierce and different from his calm appearance it startled her. “Don’t do anything idiotic like get yourself killed,” Katerina warned him. “I’m not easy to kill, and Herma is about to find that out.” They stopped as they neared the cluster of tents. Herma stood before a long table laden with a feast of Realm foods. Katerina noticed a ring of Realm warriors closed behind them. They were now encircled. “Welcome, Lady Katerina,” Herma said pleasantly. “Please dismount and dine with me. Where is the Deomo? I asked her to join me also.” Did the man not notice his own arrogance or didn’t he care? As if he could order the Deomo to attend him. “She chose not to attend.” Katerina let him think on that. No explanation and no apology. In truth, her mother had wanted to attend, but Just and Katerina had convinced her of the importance of one of them avoiding the trap. If things went bad, someone must take vengeance. Herma’s smile slid off his face much like a boot slid across the black mud of the swamp. His eyes glinted with anger. Just helped Katerina dismount. Herma turned his attention then to her husband, his smile malicious. They walked toward the Realm counselor, holding onto the reins of their mounts as Just had instructed them. “I see you’ve brought your slave with you,” Herma smirked, all semblance of respect gone. “Or should I say stud? How’s that collar work on a Realm man, Steele?” “Not as well as it would work on a Realm bastard who betrays his allies and his own people,” Just answered in an emotionless tone. “I see there’s no reason for pretense. I had hoped these bitches would have disposed of you without my help. How could I have guessed they would like your bedroom performance so much they would keep you around?” Herma smiled hatefully, his true nature making his face almost like one of the Savages. The Realm warriors pressed even closer as Herma spoke. The disgusting one, Dagar, moved up to stand beside Herma. Herma gestured disdainfully at Just’s sword. “Drop your weapons. If you hope for help from the ones you have scouting the area, well I’m afraid they ran into a large group of Savages who are probably enjoying their charms right now. Oh, and before I let my men dispatch you, was our little experiment a success? Is the lady breeding?” “Lady?” Dagar said with a sneer. “Her and how many others? Do you mount a different one every night, Steele? Do they keep you busy all day long? I’m surprised you have the strength to stand.” Dagar leered at Katerina and the other women. But when Just shifted his weight slightly, Dagar jumped like someone had waved a knife at him. “Enough of this,” Herma snapped. “If none of you resist, only Steele has to die. You women can entertain the men the rest of the day. If you perform well enough, perhaps they’ll spare you. The Realm could use more whores.” “You’re right about one thing. Enough of this.” Just drew his sword so quickly, Dagar

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didn’t even raise the blade he already held in his hand. Just held the point of his sword to Herma’s throat. “I suggest you tell your friends to drop their weapons, or you die first.” Just’s words fell with deadly promise in the silence, but Herma remained unfazed. A poisonous smile spread across the councilor’s face. A chill of apprehension skittered up Katerina’s spine. “You’ve always had more boldness than brains, Steele,” Herma said, his smile broadening. The trees rustled over their head. Katerina started to look up when a huge hairy form dropped from above and landed on top of Just. Suddenly everyone seemed to be shouting or screaming as more dark forms fell among them. Katerina pulled the knife from her sleeve, looking for an opening in the battle going on at her feet. The Savage remained on top of Just, its teeth tearing at one of his arms. Katerina stabbed at its head. It lifted its face away from Just’s arm and snarled at her. Katerina swung her knife toward its eyes but something hit her arm. Her knife fell from her numb fingers as an arm, a human arm, wrapped around her neck. Someone half lifted and half dragged her away from the battle. She dug in her heels and tried to kick the man’s shins, both to no avail. “Stop it, bitch, or I’ll break your neck,” Herma hissed close to her ear. He tightened his grip on her neck until she fought for each breath. As they moved further away from the chaos, Katerina saw her people were greatly outnumbered by the Savages. The Realm warriors fought side by side with the Solonians against their common enemy. It was small comfort to know the Realm warriors had been fooled by Herma into helping him. She tried to shout with joy when Just rose from the mass of swarming bodies with his sword in one hand a blood covered knife in his other. He shouted something over the noise of killing and some of the Solonians answered him. His sword flashed blue as he cut down opponent after opponent. Each swing of the blade landed a killing blow. The Savages fell like grass before the scythe. He searched for her. She knew it. Her heart cried out to him though her voice was trapped by Herma’s hold. Herma increased his pace as if he, too, saw Just’s purpose. “The horses are behind this rise.” When had Dagar joined them? Herma released his hold on her throat, taking her upper arm in a painful grip. Dagar grabbed her other arm before she could twist away. “My husband is going to kill both of you,” Katerina promised, her voice as scratchy as her throat. “Shut up.” Dagar swung a fist at her. Katerina ducked under the blow and smiled at the fear she sensed in her captors. They topped the rise and started down the other side at a dangerous pace. Two horses pranced nervously where they were tied to a small tree. Katerina tried to drop to her knees, but the two men pulled her along. “You’re dead men,” Just shouted when they were only paces from the horses. Dagar dropped her arm and whirled. He lifted his sword to block Just’s first attack. Blue sparks flew as the blades clashed. Katerina tried to trip Herma as he continued to the horses. She twisted to see Dagar working his sword with frantic haste. Herma tightened his bone crushing grip on her arm as he climbed into the saddle of one of the horses. She kicked at the horse, sending it sidestepping away from her. Herma reached down

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and slapped her across the head hard enough to stun her. As he pulled her across the saddle in front of him, Just’s howl of rage echoed toward the mountains. Dagar screamed as Herma gathered the reins. Katerina struggled weakly, her arms and legs not quite obeying her commands. She felt Herma put his heels to the horse’s sides, but it half reared in its confusion. Katerina’s tunic tightened around her neck and chest as someone grasped her from behind. She was jerked from across Herma’s thighs. She braced for impact with the ground, but Just caught her in his arms and eased her to the grass. He let go of her as soon as her feet touched the ground and sprang at Herma. He pulled the councilor off the horse with none of the gentleness he had shown her. The horse galloped away, leaving only the sounds of the breeze stirring the grass and the distant murmur of the battle to break the silence. Herma’s face glistened with sweat as he brandished a knife in front of him. He glanced wildly from side to side as if looking for aid. “Now we end this.” Just’s words sounded like the pronouncement of a sentence. Katerina agreed with him. Herma was pure evil. “You mean to kill me with your sword while I’m armed with only a knife? That hardly fits that code of honor you claim to follow.” “Don’t even begin to think you understand anything about honor. You’re less than a worm. Defend yourself, traitor. I don’t have time for prisoners.” Knowledge of his forthcoming death grew in Herma’s eyes. “You won’t let him do this, Lady Katerina. I know Solonians don’t believe in killing.” “You don’t understand Solonians at all, worm. How could you know what ‘bitches’ such as us believe?” “Before you die, Herma, I want to thank you for introducing me to my wife. If you hadn’t done that it might have taken a long time for me to figure out what a traitor you are.” Just smiled, a cold parody of humor. “I mean what a traitor you were.” Herma cursed them both as he began to back away. Just stalked after him, narrowing the gap between them. Katerina sensed anther presence. An unfriendly presence. Just suddenly gasped and his eyes widened. He slapped both hands to his sword hilt as he collapsed to his knees. Katerina froze in shock for a moment, but then scrambled to her feet and looked wildly around. Fifty paces away from them Marta stood, staring at Just with a satisfied smile on her face. Katerina ran as fast as she could toward Marta. She saw Herma moving closer to Just, his knife thrust out in front of him. Knowing she couldn’t reach the two men in time, Katerina pounded up the slope toward Marta. She saw Just block Herma’s first stab but a second attack drew blood from Just’s shoulder. Marta turned to meet Katerina’s rush, drawing a small knife from her belt. Katerina didn’t slow. Just was helpless until she stopped Marta. Katerina flung herself at Marta’s legs, tumbling them both to the ground. Marta’s knife flew into the high grass. Marta was a larger, stronger woman, but Katerina’s fear and rage powered her attack. She swung at Marta’s head, putting all her strength behind her fist. She connected with Marta’s jaw, stunning the larger woman. Katerina put her hands on each side of the woman’s head. Katerina

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closed her eyes and concentrated as never before. She sent pure waves of healing rest into Marta’s mind. Marta tried feebly to push Katerina’s hands away, but it was too late. Katerina sent more waves of relaxing sleep through the contact and watched Marta’s eyes drift closed in sleep. “I didn’t know you could do that.” Startled, Katerina pulled her hands away from Marta and looked up at Just. He stared at Marta. A tightness around his mouth and eyes were the only indications of the recent pain Marta had cast upon him. How was he even standing? The effects of the collar weren’t so easily or quickly overcome. Blood oozed from his right shoulder and ran down his arm to drip off his hand. Katerina struggled to her feet, accepting his help as her own exhaustion buckled her knees. She reached for him, hoping she had something left to ease his pain. Just ducked away from her hand when she reached for him. “I’m in better shape that you. Keep your strength for yourself. We’re not out of here yet.” She nodded. Her legs shook with the effort of standing. “Is Herma dead?” “No, blast his forsaken soul.” Just took her arm and helped her walk up the slope. The grass caught at her and impeded her feet. “He escaped when he saw he couldn’t kill me. I thought you might need me, so I let him go.” “How is it he didn’t kill you?” A tingle of energy trickled into her body. She couldn’t understand what was happening, but her legs felt stronger. “I’m not sure. Maybe Marta was far enough away so I didn’t feel the full results. The pain was there, but I could still function.” Katerina stopped so suddenly Just lost his hold on her arm. As soon he let go the trickle of energy stopped. She stared at him. He had been giving her energy, giving her his strength. She could hear the sounds of fighting beyond the rise. She searched for the words to question him on this strange ability, but before she could ask him three Savages burst over the hill. They stopped and stared at Just’s sword, glinting blue in the sunlight. They looked back over their shoulders again. They decided to go forward. Just shoved Katerina behind his back as he met their attack. One tried to circle around him to get at her, but they were no match for the dancing, lightning movement of Just’s weapon. The Savages still writhed in death’s agony when Just grasped her hand and ran up the slope. They stopped and stared at the scene below. Dead and dying Savages lay scattered across the camp. A few Realm soldiers chased those escaping toward the hills. A large number of Realm men helped the wounded and guarded the perimeter. Vilicia stood in the middle of it all, arguing with a tall, silver haired man. Katerina smiled as the tall man stepped back when Vilicia poked him in the chest. “Who are all these people?” Katerina stared in wonder. “I don’t think Herma fooled everyone like he thought,” Just answered. “That man Vilicia is flirting with is Sky Turan. He must have followed Herma.” Katerina smiled at Just’s description of Vilicia’s conversation. It looked like her friend was ready to attack this Sky Turan. At that moment a shout went up as someone spotted them. Vilicia led the charge up the slope. **** Just sank wearily to the ground beside the small fire. He ached everywhere. No, that wasn’t quite true. Some places flat out throbbed with pain. Between Marta’s attack and the other small wounds he had taken, Just couldn’t identify a part of his anatomy that didn’t hurt. Well, maybe one

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part, but he was too tired to use that part and surely Katerina was exhausted also. His wife leaned over to hand him a cup of something hot. Probably some strange Solonian tea, but he had come to look forward to their interesting herbal concoctions. Katerina’s lips curved in a tired smile. He returned it, thinking how lucky they had been. Three Solonians were injured badly, but all would recover. He wouldn’t even contemplate how many they might have lost if Sky and Vilicia hadn’t arrived when they had. Apparently the two had joined forces when Sky came upon the women fighting the ambush group sent to intercept the Solonians. Just analyzed the camp site they had chosen for tonight one more time. They were near the entrance to the valley with the sheer walls of the mountain protecting their back. They had enough warriors to break any frontal assault the Savages might try. Sky walked among the guards watching over their prisoners. Besides Marta, there were a number of Herma’s men who had survived the initial attack by the Savages. Just and Sky had already discussed the possibility of their innocence. Some of them probably had done nothing worse than follow the orders of the wrong man. Sky would see they received a fair hearing once they returned to the Realm. Katerina moved closer to his side as twilight deepened. The mountain air stirred, dropping the temperature even more. Just raised a weary arm and pulled Katerina against his right side despite the twinge in his shoulder. Damn Herma. Pain shot from his neck to his finger tips, but it was worth it to have Katerina safe at his side. “Am I hurting you?” Katerina asked, looking at him with that wonderful warmth in her brown eyes. “Not at all.” Just looked her right in the eye with that fabrication. “Liar.” She settled herself tighter against him anyway. Perhaps she needed to be near him as much as he wanted her there. Sky and Vilicia arrived at the fire at the same time, ignoring each other in a ridiculously obvious fashion. At least they had ceased arguing about everything. “The guards are set like you wanted, General.” Vilicia had been calling him by that title whenever Sky was around. She treated Sky like the enemy instead of the savior he had been. For that matter, Katerina stiffened against his side when Sky joined them. He understood the initial distrust the Solonians had shown the Realm warriors, but he had introduced Sky as his best friend. Didn’t the women realize Sky and his men posed no danger? “Are you sure that be-damned woman is far enough away from you?” Sky eyed the collar around Just’s neck as he asked his question. The surliness of his tone and expression left no doubt of his feelings. Sky acted as suspicious of the Solonians as they were of him. Just had explained some of what had happened since he had last spoke with Sky, but not all the details. The collar issue enraged Sky much as it had Just at first. “I think she’s far enough away. I don’t think she would do anything here anyway.” Just leaned back and closed his eyes as he spoke. He was too tired to play peacemaker among the three others around the fire. They hadn’t found the slice of jarda crystal Marta had used to activate the collar. Katerina and the others were more worried about it than he was. “What are your plans now?” Sky asked. “Sleep. I’m going to sleep all night and not worry about anything. You and Vilicia are in charge. Don’t wake me up unless a Savage is about to step on me.”

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“You know that’s not what I meant.” “What do you mean, Realm man?” Katerina’s voice was as cold as Just had ever heard it. He sighed and opened his eyes. They weren’t going to let him sleep until he settled what ever it was that was causing friction between them. “I mean that Just is a ‘Realm man’ like me. His place is with us. Herma had no authority to hand him over to you. Herma’s gone now and we can straighten out this mess.” Sky was as cool as Katerina. Talking to the future Deomo didn’t seem to impress him, but his tone irritated Just. “Your entire council made the decision and backed Herma on it,” Katerina shot back. “Not everyone did, and those who backed Herma weren’t aware of what Herma was plotting. They thought Just went along with you willingly after that private discussion in Herma’s chambers. Hell, it took me two lunar cycles to convince them that Just had been held prisoner until he agreed to join you.” Just sat up at that. He had thought the entire council, except for Karal, had betrayed him. “Are you sure they didn’t know, Sky?” “Positive. When I convinced them, I received permission to investigate Herma’s activities in secret. I discovered his association with the Savages. When he announced his plan to meet with you, I figured he had something nasty planned.” “Did you find out why he did all this?” Just wondered if Anya had been correct. “Most of it. He got rid of you to please the Savages. Apparently, he knew about this collaring thing and believed it would take you out of the fight like the Savages wanted.” Sky paused to look at the collar in disgust. “In return the Savages supplied Herma with redak crystals. I think this was supposed to the final part of the deal where he handed over the Solonians and you to those bastard beasts.” “Why did he want redak?” “It took us a while to figure it out, but Councilor Panor remembered it had been used to make a propulsion machine for ships. Apparently Herma intended to build a vessel to return across the sea.” Just and the others sat in silence for a while. Herma’s deadly plans for them surely were the result of an evil soul. “You still haven’t answered my question, Just,” Sky persisted. “What?” Just had forgotten the original point of this discussion. “You can come back now. You don’t have to honor a deal made by Herma. Come home. The Realm needs you. We still haven’t come close to replacing you.” Katerina froze against him, seeming not even to be breathing. Vilicia leaned toward Sky, her posture a threat. “You’re wrong, Sky. I made vows of my own I must honor. It doesn’t matter if Herma’s actions pushed me into a corner. I can’t go back on my promises.” The two women relaxed. Sky leaned back and threw a stick into the fire. “Hell and damnation. I thought you might say something like that.” Feeling Katerina staring at him, Just looked down to meet a look of intensity he seldom saw in her eyes. She seemed to be waiting for him to say more. He gave her a questioning look, wondering what other assurance she could want. He looked up and found Vilicia glaring at him. Hadn’t he said what they wanted to hear? “Are you content then to live among strangers?” Sky asked.

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Just shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about his feelings, especially not in front of three people. Katerina didn’t push him to expose his emotions in private, and he sure wasn’t going to start doing it in public. He had ignored her sleepy declaration of love a few nights ago. He had no desire to examine his situation too closely. Why couldn’t everyone let things go on as they were?” “It’s not too bad,” Just answered as they all waited at him. “The food was inadequate at first, but it’s improving.” They stared at him with various amounts of disbelief and anger in their eyes. Maybe he shouldn’t have made light of the question. He was too tired for this. “I think we should get some sleep. An early start will see us in Solonia before dark tomorrow.” Just made it an order, ending the discussion. Nightmares stalked his sleep. In each one, Katerina held a small babe in her arms while she sent him away. She told him his duty was done, his promise fulfilled. Each time the dream recycled, he fell to his knees and begged her to let him stay. He cried out all the ways he could be useful, but in the end she turned him away.

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Chapter Fifteen Katerina turned and watched the last of the Realm warriors disappear behind the huge, rocky outcroppings. She took her first relaxed breath since this entire fiasco had begun. At first, she had feared she might lose Just to Herma’s insane schemes, and then she had feared she would lose him to the Realm. No doubt Sky Turan had saved many lives yesterday, but she couldn’t help but see him as her enemy. How dare he try to tempt her husband from her side? And imagine the nerve of the man to keep reminding Just of the collar around his neck. She glanced sideways at the hard man beside her. Just rode his horse like he had been born in the saddle. Though she knew he was a mass of bruises and small wounds, he gave no indication of discomfort. His face might have been carved from stone this morning. Even Turan had stepped carefully around Just when they had made preparations to depart for home. Just glanced at her and then away. The cold in his eyes was frigid anger. But why? She replayed the conversation of last night over in her mind. He had said he stayed out of duty to promises made. She should be the angry one. He stayed for duty not .... Katerina turned her head and stared blindly at the hillside. What had she expected? His declaration of undying love? He had been forced into this marriage and despite all they had been through together it still wasn’t a joining of his choice. She was sure there was more than duty, honor, and lust between them, but was it enough? How many times had she reminded herself to take what time she had with him and enjoy it? But she could settle for that? She wanted his love and not for only a year. She wanted forever. She wanted him to want it also. Pride kept her from declaring her love for him, but also fear held her tongue. Would he withdraw if she repeated those three simple words, especially if his own feelings were more shallow? He had never mentioned the night she had been injured when she had whispered her love to him. Had he even heard? Worse, did he not care that she loved him? A flutter in her middle seemed a sign their child shared her concern. As if he sensed the child’s actions, Just frowned over at her. He stared at her rounded belly before returning to his alert watchfulness. Just made a hand signal to one of the women riding to his left, and she passed it on to another rider. The hand signals were something Just had taught them all before they left on this trip. Katerina watched the signal being passed up and down the column. The riders moved into a more compact, organized group and swords slid from scabbards. The glint of blue steel brought Katerina’s attention back to Just. If his expression had been hard before, it was like comparing mud to the diamond it was now. “You were foolish to leave your protectors behind,” Herma shouted from the hilltop to Katerina’s left. The hate on Herma’s face gave her shivers. Just moved in between the two of them. A small stone tumbled off the hill to her right, announcing the arrival of at least twenty Savages. A like number moved up to surround Herma. One of them was the largest Savage Katerina had ever seen. Her cheeks heated as she noticed all the naked male Savages were sexually

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aroused. To her surprise, Just laughed, although she heard no amusement in his laughter. Anger and uncertainty moved across the beastly faces looking down on them. “Do you think you’ll fare better against Solonians than against the Realm? Herma, do these beasts know you’re leading them to their deaths, or are they so dumb they follow you blindly?” Just sneered. The monstrous Savage beside Herma stepped forward with a roar. His intimidation fell flat when none of the women even flinched. “We’re not dumb followers of this weakling. I’m leader of this band. I am Zar, and I’ll kill you as my father killed yours, Blue Blade. I’ve waited for this chance since I watched you slice my sire’s head from his body as he mounted your bitch mother. You’ll watch me mount your own bitch before you die.” For a long moment there was no sound except the nervous stamping of the horses. Katerina couldn’t look away from Just’s face. Only one who knew him well could see the remembered pain crossing behind his cold eyes as he stared at Zar. Just dismounted. “Then let’s end this now. You and me, bastard. Keep the others back while I slice your neck the same as I did your cursed from hell father.” Zar held up his own wicked blade. It was thick and curved, larger and longer than a man could handle. He grinned, his teeth as sharp and long as the fangs of a mountain cat. He rambled down the hill as Just moved away from the horses. Katerina knew she should feel fear, but instead she was calm. At one time, the sight of so many Savages would have frozen her with horror. Now, like the women around her, she sat her horse with confidence. Confident not only of the outcome of a battle between her husband and Zar, but of any fight between the two forces gathered here. She glanced at the Savages watching from the hilltop. Did they seem uneasy and a bit fearful? Zar flinched when the sun glinted off the shiny blue steel of Just’s sword. Just smiled in return, and Zar missed his footing. Zar glanced back at his band as if reconsidering the one on one battle. “Afraid to face me?” Just taunted Zar. “Call Herma. Perhaps he’ll help you.” The jibes worked to spur the Savage forward. Zar held his sword in both hands like a club. Muscles bulges across its chest and arms and a fearful howl boiled out of its throat. Suddenly it charged, and Katerina’s breath caught in her chest despite her trust in Just’s abilities. Just stepped smoothly aside at the last moment, letting the beast stumble by when it met only air. Just turned to meet Zar’s next charge, but instead of waiting for the beast to recover he pressed the attack. Zar started to lift his sword, but it was too late. Already the blue sword moved with angry promise on a sweeping arc. Katerina gasped as Zar’s head separated from his neck and rolled across the rocky ground. The Savage’s body folded in graceful slow motion to join the grisly head in the dirt. Just continued the flowing movement of sword and body so that he faced the Savages on the hill before Zar’s body landed. “I am not the boy who killed Zar’s father. I am a man. A man of death. Death to all Savages is my purpose in life. Step closer and join your leader.” Katerina gaped at Just. She believed the cold promise in his words. Not a sound greeted his invitation. The Savages seemed as stunned by his quick victory as she was. She glanced at the other women. They didn’t appear surprised at all, but they had seen him fight more than she had. Her belief in him was based on faith in the man. Their confidence resulted from proof in battle. No wonder they called him general with such respect.

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Just took a step toward the slope. It broke the spell. The Savages screamed obscenities and ran. Within a heart beat, not a one was in sight. Herma remained a moment longer and gave them a final venomous look before fleeing also. “Should we pursue them?” Vilicia asked from beside Katerina. Her friend seemed as hard as Just at the moment. “No. We have wounded to see to safety.” Just stared at the point where Herma had disappeared for a long moment and then turned and cleaned his blade on Zar’s lifeless body. The Savage might have been a clump of grass for all the attention he gave it. He swung into his saddle before giving more orders. “Vilicia, put more scouts out. Spread them out. Let’s not be surprised again.” Katerina watched Vilicia nod and hurry away to see Just’s orders carried out. When had he become the one in command? Now that she thought about it, he had been telling everyone what to do for a while now. Including her mother and herself. She smiled ruefully. Despite the collar, he had taken control over them. Instead of the physical force they had so feared, Just had used the force of his personality. She would have to be careful or he would be completely in charge of Solonia. “What’s wrong?” Just frowned at her, probably wondering how she could possibly be smiling at this time. The cold anger still lurked in his eyes. “It’s over now, isn’t it?” Katerina wanted to comfort him, but now wasn’t the time. The pain of his parents’ death oozed like an open wound in his soul. “Herma will try to cause us some trouble if he can, but it’s over for now. Let’s go home.” Home. His words washed away the last vestiges of her anger from the night before. He called Solonia home. There was hope. She would find a way to make him stay. She vowed she would even use the collar if she must. **** Just pulled Stone to a walk and dismounted. Stone needed to cool down before they reached home. He was returning from checking with some of the outlying guard posts. Probably no outsider would ever find the secret entrances to the valley, but with Herma on the loose he didn’t plan to take chances. He had convinced Sinda and Vilicia to post extra sentries on each entrance for a few weeks. They had agreed for a short time period that was about to expire. Just didn’t agree with them that Herma had probably expired in the wilderness. Herma was wily when it came to his own benefit. Of course, Katerina sided with him on the issue like she did on most things. Though they disagreed about numerous little things, they seemed of like mind on important matters. Just smiled to himself as he recalled their lovemaking last night. His beautiful wife was so soft and giving he couldn’t get enough of her. Lately, he had resisted waking her in the middle of the night for a second bout of heated sex. She needed her rest as her body increased with child. But last night she had woke him after a few hours of rest. Recalling the way she had used her mouth and tongue had him hard all over again. Katerina had never repeated her words of love since she had muttered them while half asleep. He didn’t need to hear them. He was happy and three little words made no difference to him. His chest had tightened in a funny pleasurable way when she had said the words, but he didn’t need them.

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A strange sensation prickled the back of Just’s neck. He shrugged away his lustful thoughts and checked his surroundings with more care. He had returned from the east which meant he had to pass through the deserted part of the Solonia settlement. This area, more than any other, was testament to the desperate situation of the Solonians. Their numbers had dwindled so drastically in the last few generations that entire blocks of cottages stood empty. Just usually liked riding through this peaceful section. The silent emptiness of the homes here reminded him of the Solonian goal when they had taken him against his will. The sadness of this deserted section stabbed at his soul. Today, however, Just didn’t feel like he was alone. His warrior instincts screamed at him. A trap? Danger? Stone lifted his ears to an upright position, flicking them back and forth as he responded to sound too quiet for Just to hear. Just put his hand on his sword hilt as two women stepped from a darkened doorway in the house to his right. He heard the scrape of a boot from somewhere behind him. “Hello, General,” the oldest woman said, a nervous tremor in her voice. Just recognized her face but couldn’t put a name to her. Some of the Solonian women seldom visited the hall, making it difficult for him to learn their names. “I am Risa, this is Nema,” the woman said after Just didn’t return her greeting. She gestured toward the women behind him. “Jena and Bela.” “Was there something I can do for you?” Just let the battle fire flow through his body. Despite his doubt that these four women could harm him, his mind and body thought differently. He let his instincts guide him. The amused smiles on Risa’s and Nema’s faces at his question was a further alert. “Yes, there’s something you and only you can do for us,” Risa answered, motioning the other two women to come forward. “We hoped you might cooperate with us willingly, but you haven’t even noticed we existed.” Just relaxed a bit when his retreat was no longer cut off. One of the women who walked forward looked familiar. He waited, trying not to be rude. Many of the women accepted him, but he knew there was still some suspicion. He would make the effort to alleviate it when he could. “Do you know me, General?” the youngest woman asked. He had seen her before. She looked of an age with Katerina. “I’m sorry I don’t know your name. You’ve watched some of the training exercises in the afternoon.” She was one of the women who made him uncomfortable when he took his shirt off. He realized a male body was an unusual sight for the younger Solonian women, but it didn’t relieve his perception of being weighed like a stallion at stud sometimes. “I thought you might want to join the warriors.” “Not likely. My name is Bela, and I watched you train for an entirely different reason.” He didn’t mistake the glint in Bela’s eyes. In all their eyes as they watched him like he was a fish swimming toward a net. “Nice to make your acquaintance, ladies. I’m expected at the hall.” Just turned toward Stone. He had one foot in the stirrup when a tingling started in his collar. The gut wrenching agony wasn’t present, but he knew the bite of the collar. Rather than pain, weakness spread to his limbs. He tried to pull himself into the saddle, but his muscles refused to respond. Like a blanket falling from the edge of a bed, Just folded softly to the ground without a sound. ****

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“He says we need a larger, sturdier, corral if we want to breed that beast he rides to our mares.” Vilicia leaned against the newly erected section of fence as she spoke. “And do we need that?” Katerina watched the women working on the large project. Some women dug post holes while others shaped thick poles into uniform sized rails. All this on Just’s suggestion? “I think it’s a good idea. Our stock has become too inbred. Stone is the finest horse I’ve ever seen. His blood line will give our mounts increased stamina and size. Just owns other breeding stock he wants to bring here from the Realm as soon as the corral is finished.” Katerina smiled at Vilicia’s enthusiasm. Her friend was one of Just’s staunchest supporters. Surely a man that made all these plans intended to stay in Solonia. Why bring his horses here if he planned to leave after the baby was born? A firm kick to her ribs seemed an omen of agreement from their child. “Where is Just?” Katerina had walked to the corral, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband. She found excuses every day to wander near his location. Inevitably, Just would stop whatever he was doing to greet her and inquire into her welfare. Always finding an excuse to touch him, Katerina could assure herself of his presence. The closer the birth of her baby came, the more nightmares she had of Just leaving Solonia. So each day she sought him out and spent a few moments with him. Just didn’t seem to mind, making her intrusions seem welcome. “He rode out to the eastern outpost early this morning.” Vilicia frowned toward the east. “Actually, he should have been back by now. I can’t imagine any problems on such a short trip.” “He wants to leave the guards in place until Herma is found.” “I know, but that slime could never find his way into Solonia. If he’s even still alive. It’s boring wasteful duty for the women taking their turns at the entrances. One more month and we’ll pull them in.” Katerina privately agreed with Vilicia, but she wanted to support Just publicly. She knew he worried about Herma’s whereabouts. “I think we should trust Just on this. He knows Herma better than we do.” Vilicia grinned, gesturing at the new corral. “Your husband is having almost everything his way around here, and you know it, Katerina. We train his way. We patrol his way. Even Ursa prepares our meals to his taste. Hell and damnation if we don’t curse his way, too. I think it’s a good thing if Just Steele doesn’t arrange everything to his exact satisfaction in Solonia.” Katerina joined Vilicia in laughter. It was all true. “I’ll see you shortly. It’s almost time for the noon meal. We know Just will be back by then.” **** Awareness returned slowly, one sense at a time. Just smelled dust and faint decay. He heard the quiet murmur of female voices to his left. Blinking a few times, he found he could keep his eyes open and focus on the pale, stained ceiling above his head. The fog cleared from his sluggish brain. He realized he must be in one of the deserted dwellings. The four women had used the collar to incapacitate him. Anger woke him to full alertness. He gathered his muscles to spring to his feet only to be stopped short as the rest of his senses warned him. Anger turned to near panic. He was naked! Nothing but a thin sheet covered him from the waist down. Worse, his hands were securely tied over his head and his legs were tied in a slightly spread position as certainly.

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“I see you’re awake, General. May I call you Just?” Risa leaned into his field of vision, giving him a quick head to toe exam along with a smirk. “What do you think you’re doing?” Just snarled, hoping his anger hid his dismay. The women knelt beside him, two on each side. Jena spoke impatiently, giving him a look of disdain. “Let’s get on with it. Someone will come looking for him if he’s late returning. If we hurry it’ll be too late for them to do anything.” “You’re right. Get the maracine,” Risa ordered. Just tried to pull in a full breath, but his heart wanted to explode from his chest. His first panicked thought had been that they might be planning to castrate him in some misguided attempt to protect Solonia. But what in the hell was maracine? “What did you do to me before?” Just asked, stalling for time. Katerina would worry about him eventually. How long had he been unconscious? Nema looked at him in surprise. “We used your collar to weaken you as it’s intended to be used. Surely, Lady Katerina does that on occasion. It’s what it was meant for, after all.” “I’ve never felt that before.” Now all the women looked at him in confusion. “We all witnessed the unusual way Marta wielded the power of the crystal once, but that was an aberration. The collar is designed only to weaken you as it did today,” Risa explained. “Are you saying the Lady Katerina has never used your collar as it was intended to be used?” “No.” Just eyed the long thin bottle Jena carried as she returned to his side, kneeling near his head. “Has she never given you the maracine?” Nema asked. “What the hell is maracine?” Just tested his bonds as the women exchanged more perplexed looks. “How did you get her pregnant?” Bela asked. Just’s face heated. “The usual way. Not that it’s any of your damn business.” The women exchanged more puzzled looks. Finally Nema spoke with wonder in her voice. “Do you think we don’t need the maracine? After all, he is an outstanding physical example of a male.” Risa shook her head. “We’ll still need it. He may have the necessary physical prowess, but that doesn’t mean he’ll cooperate.” The others nodded agreement while Just fumed at their mysterious discussion. “What the hell is maracine?” he repeated. Jena shook the bottle as Risa explained. “The Solonian men, may the saints bless their departed souls, were somewhat less virile than you obviously are.” “Much less,” Bela interjected. Risa frowned at Bela before continuing. “They had difficulty performing their marital duties, so the Deomos formulated a potion to help them in their labor. “ She gestured toward the bottle Jena held. “Maracine helps a man rise to the occasion, so to speak.” Just’s throat dried. It wasn’t quite fear he felt, more like horror. He remembered Katerina threatening him in the Realm dungeon with the possibility of using such a potion to gain his cooperation in the production of a child. She must have been speaking of maracine. “I don’t understand,” Just said, though he thought maybe he did. “It’s rather simple. We want to have children as badly as Lady Katerina. There’s no reason

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why you can’t service those of us willing to have you. You’re a young, strong man capable of impregnating many women. We planned this so we’re all in the right time of our moon cycles to conceive. We couldn’t get you alone last month, but today you rode right into our hands.” Nema patted him on the shoulder like he was a child being commended for good behavior. “You know this is wrong or you wouldn’t have ambushed me like this. You should take your concerns to the Deomo.” Just hoped Katerina missed him soon. “Oh we tried that.” Bela waved her hand in dismissal. “Deomo Sinda wouldn’t even consider the idea. She said you were the exclusive mate of Lady Katerina. She promised we would have the opportunity to find mates among the Realm after Katerina gives birth to a healthy child. But we don’t want permanent mates. We want children as soon as possible.” She rubbed her hand across Just’s bare chest. “Besides, why settle for a lesser man when we can have your seed?” Just shivered beneath her hand. The other women edged close enough that their knees pressed against his body. Jena stopped shaking the bottle and nodded to Risa. **** “I want to go look for Just,” Katerina demanded while still a few steps from Vilicia and the other warriors. “Right now.” “I know he’s late, but ....” “But nothing, Vilicia,” Katerina interrupted angrily. “Get me a horse and all of you mount up.” Vilicia’s expression stiffened at Katerina’s tone, but she sent the warriors scrambling to carry out the instructions. Katerina sighed as she sensed the hurt in her friend’s cool manner. “I’ve been getting a feeling something is wrong since before the noon meal. I know something’s happened.” “Like what?” Vilicia gave her a dubious look. “Just is in trouble. I felt him call to me a moment ago as if he were in the same room with me. Don’t ask me to explain.” Katerina struggled with her impatience. She wanted to gallop somewhere, find him, help him, but she needed Vilicia’s help. Vilicia turned to watch the women hurrying toward them with the horses. “He usually returns through the deserted cottages when he goes east. Damn depressing place. We’ll start a search there first.” Katerina put an arm around Vilicia’s shoulders, meaning to thank her for believing her. Her words froze on her tongue. Stone trotted toward them, his gait awkward as he tried to avoid stepping on his dangling reins. Katerina thought her heart stopped. It was one thing to feel Just’s need in her mind, another thing to confront the proof of his peril. “Let’s ride.” The women mounted almost before Vilicia had the words out of her mouth. Katerina appreciated the grim determination on their faces. Just mattered to them. “Perhaps it would be best if you waited here,” Vilicia said. “There may be danger, and we’ll be riding hard.” Katerina mounted her horse before answering. “I must go. I don’t know what has happened to my husband, but I’m sure he needs me ... me specifically.” **** Risa looked hopefully at Just. “I don’t suppose you’ll cooperate and swallow the maracine on your own?”

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Just pressed his lips together and clenched his jaw. The women moved closer to his head. Nema straddled his chest and used both her hands to lift his chin. Risa grabbed his hair in a painful grip and pinched his nose shut with her other hand. Just held his breath as long as he could before relaxing his lips to breath through his clenched teeth. Bela joined the silent battle, using her strong fingers on the joints of his jaw. He thought she was going to dislocate something, but he gave in first. Jena emptied the sweet contents of her little jar in his mouth as soon as his teeth parted. Bela and Nema together forced his mouth closed again. Just held the liquid in his mouth, unable to spit it out and unable to breath with Risa still pinching his nose closed. Swallow or suffocate? He gulped the potion. The women loosened the holds and life giving air filled his starved lungs. “Damn bitches!” Just continued verbalizing every curse word he knew and even made up a few. The women blushed, but when he ran out of things to say he remained their helpless prisoner. “How long until the maracine works?” Bela pulled the thin covering off Just and stared at his flaccid penis. Just struggled to turn his body away from her scrutiny, but his bonds wouldn’t allow him. His abductors either didn’t care or didn’t notice his embarrassment. “Why are you asking me?” Risa asked. “I have no more experience with males than you do.” Just couldn’t believe this. Four virgins thought to rape him. Probably not a one of them had any idea what to do. “Let’s study the breeding text while we wait,” Nema suggested in an eager tone. The others nodded agreement as Nema pulled a huge tome from somewhere. Just tried to block out her voice as she selected passages to read. “It says men are quite stimulated by the use of lips and tongue on his genitalia as well as his nipples. Try that, Jena.” Just didn’t even have time to brace himself as Jena leaned over him. Her long blonde hair spread over his abdomen. She kissed his nipple first and then started to circle it roughly with her tongue. Surprise pulled a gasp from him. He told himself it was surprise. “Oh, look, girls. It makes his little nipples stand up all tight and erect,” Nema said with wonder. She nudged Jena back. “Let me try that.” Nema attacked with more enthusiasm than Jena. Just rolled his head from side to side, but there was no escape. His brain refused to follow his will. He tried to turn his thoughts to other things, but his mind centered on the beginnings of arousal. Heat pooled between his legs and a heaviness filled his lower abdomen. Was it the result of the maracine or the touch of the women? Did it matter? His traitorous body sent a rush of hot blood to his penis, leaving him lightheaded. One of them took his testicles in her hands. Just cursed as the Solonians squealed with delight. Just fought for control, but he ached. Sweat beaded on his brow and upper lip. Damn. Had he ever felt so painfully hard? Katerina, please help, Just thought, but hope left him when a hot mouth closed over him.

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Chapter Sixteen Lust! No other thought clung to Just’s mind. He needed release. He cursed against the gag Risa forced into his mouth when he tried to call for help. He cursed the women, the collar, his restraints and his own loss of control. The potion had moved his brain to some spot between his legs. He needed. The women argued with each other. Just tried to concentrate on their words if only to take his mind off his damn cock. “We can’t do it the way the book says,” Nema insisted. “He can’t climb between our legs when we have to keep him tied up.” Just vowed to climb on top of any or all of them if it would relieve the deep ache in his groin. Of course, they couldn’t understand a word he said behind the gag. “Wait,” Nema continued in an excited voice. “Here’s some information on alternate positions. Maybe I can find something ....” She flipped pages while the others leaned toward her. Just sweated. One touch was all it would take. If one of these crazy virgins so much as scraped him with her finger nail he would explode. He needed release from someone, somewhere. If he could get his hand loose, he would do it himself. “Bela,” Nema ordered, “straddle his hips.” Hitching her skirt to her waist, Bela stood over Just. He held his breath, hoping she would touch him. “I’m supposed to put that big thing inside of me?” Bela squeaked. “Yes. Grab it and slide it in. Didn’t you use the lubricating lotion to ease the way?” Nema snapped. Bela gave Nema a doubtful look, but she reached for his cock. She wrapped her fingers around his length as if he might escape. Giving as much as a shout as he could behind the gag, Just thrust his cock through the ring of her fingers. His climax pleasured him only in that the unbearable ache was gone. Sanity returned to him as the whining Bela shouted at the others. Just closed his eyes so he wouldn’t see his seed spread over her hand as she held it up to show the others. He wished he could shut out her words, as well. “Look what happened. He did that on purpose.” Bela smacked his chest with her clean hand. “He did not. Don’t be such a horse’s behind.” Nema sounded a bit frazzled. “It says right here, ‘insert the male member into your body as soon as it attains enough hardness. Delay can result in an untimely eruption and loss of the precious seed’. You waited too long to put it in.” Just opened his eyes as someone began to clean him off with a rough cloth. Risa finished her ministrations then handed the cloth to Bela, who used it to clean her hand. Anger mixed with shame to provide a bitter upset to Just’s stomach. He couldn’t believe his loss of self control. Had he really wanted to throw himself between these bitches’ thighs? A few moments ago, he would have sold his soul to have anyone satisfy his need. Knowing the maracine was responsible provided a minor balm to his damaged pride.

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“How do we get him ready again? We need to hurry before someone misses him. “ Jena seemed to be the only nervous one. “The book says it could take hours before a man can do it again,” Nema moaned. “I brought some of the instruments recommended in the front of the book.” Risa pulled a bag to her side and pulled things out of it. “Here, we’ll each take something and try it.” “What do I do with this?” Bela held up a fist size wooden ball covered with blunt spikes. Not waiting for an answer, she rolled it back and forth over Just’s chest. Just braced himself mentally against the renewed attack. Bela rolled the ball over his nipples and his heart jumped. Jena traced a path from his ear to his hip with something light and feathery. Heat rolled up his thighs and down from his middle to meet at the base of his cock. Bela smiled as he lost his struggle and his hardening penis nudged her thigh. “I think our stud is about ready. Katerina chose wisely,” Bela purred. Just turned his head away and closed his eyes. Sweat rolled off his forehead as he searched for some key to winning back control of his own body. Bela grasped his cock lightly this time as she tried to direct it to her entrance. Just jerked his hips to the side, earning curses from the women. He would have smiled at his minor triumph, but the pain of unquenched desire kept his jaw clenched. Someone squeezed his testicles. Hard. Just snapped open his eyes. Risa leaned close to his face. “Don’t do that again.” Just nodded agreement when she increased the pressure. She loosened her hold, but kept her hand on him. The maracine sang in his blood, keeping him hard and willing despite the abuse. Bela positioned herself above him. This time Just didn’t look away. He felt numb with disbelief. These women were mad. All the women watched Bela’s slow struggle, ignoring Just as if he were a saddle about to be sat upon. Finally, she had the tip of his cock in proper position. Risa tightened her hold on his testicles again, but it wasn’t needed. The maracine conquered him. Just, much to his shame, wanted the same thing as Bela. Lust raged insanely in his thoughts. Bela started to lower herself. Just used his last bit of pride and will power to not thrust into her. Suddenly, hell erupted. Some force tore Bela from atop him. Just moaned his loss against the sodden gag, raising his eyes to a find a storm worse than a funnel wind standing over him. Katerina’s normally gentle eyes, sent lethal daggers straight at him. Saints help him, all Just cared about was the engorged aching of his cock. Katerina roughly tore the gag from his mouth. Just realized a struggle between his captors and rescuers raged about him, but he could only focus on his furious wife. His last vestige of pride fell under the demands of the potion coursing through his body. “Please,” he whispered. “Please touch me.” **** Katerina leaned on one elbow, keeping her silent vigil over Just. He kept his eyes closed, shutting her out. She wanted to hold him, but she knew he wouldn’t welcome the contact. The effects of maracine diminished slowly. Sweat from their latest bout of lovemaking still covered him. Not lovemaking, Katerina corrected, drug inspired lust. After the first frantic release Katerina provided for him, Just asked her to leave him alone. She couldn’t do it. Before he could argue further, the maracine worked its havoc on him again.

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Katerina had offered her body as the receptacle of his ungovernable urge. After that he didn’t ask her to leave again. She lost track of the number of times he had turned to her. He fought the drug each time but always lost the battle. The only reason they both could continue was the quickness of his climax each time. Watching Just’s chest heave and the exhausted sprawl of his arms and legs, Katerina worried for his health. How long could he go on like this? Damn to hell the four who had done this to him! Groaning, Just threw an arm over his eyes. Katerina lowered her gaze to his penis. She stifled her own groan when she saw his rising lust. When would it end? “I’m sorry,” Just muttered, his voice rough. “Don’t apologize.” Katerina blinked back tears. He apologized when he should be cursing all Solonians. “I wish I could do more to help you.” “You’ve helped.” Just removed his arm from his eyes and looked at her. The wildness of the drug lurked in the depths of his eyes, but not as predominately. A different emotion glistened in the blue depths. Shame. “Thanks for not leaving me alone.” “I could no more leave you than leave my own body. Let me help.” Katerina moved on top of him, taking him slowly into her sore body. His need was less frantic. He directed her movements to a slow rhythm, using his hands and fingers to help her find her own release. The previous quick couplings had been joyless for her. He climaxed soon after her, his body relaxing immediately with fatigue. Katerina slid off him, hoping for an end to the maracine. She placed a light kiss on his lips as his eyes drifted close. Within moments his breathing settled into the rhythms of sleep. Katerina rose from the pallet as quietly as she could, moving a short distance away before dressing. She ducked out of the doorway to find the sun setting behind the tile rooftops. Vilicia rose from her seat on neighboring porch and waited for Katerina to approach. “How is he?” “Asleep for now. Did you send for the things I need.” “Yes.” Vilicia kicked a shrub growing beside the porch. “The four witches are being held with Marta. Damn their souls to hell. How could they think ...?” Katerina placed a comforting hand on Vilicia’s shoulder. The other warriors had been as upset as Vilicia. Katerina had actually had to intervene on behalf of Just’s attackers. Just’s loyal fighters wanted to strip and flog the four women who dared to abuse their General. “We’ll deal with them later. Let’s worry about Just for now.” Vilicia nodded stiff agreement. “I managed to get the water running in this cottage.” She gestured at the one behind her. “The tub is still intact if you think it would help.” Katerina smiled, thinking of the layers of dried sweat and the smell of sex coating Just. “I think he would love to bathe. Start that bath. I don’t expect he’ll sleep for long.” Katerina found Just sitting against the wall of the dim room when she entered. He gulped deeply from the mug of water Vilicia had provided earlier. Katerina’s gaze fell to the blanket covering Just’s lower body. Was he beyond the influence of the maracine? “Would you like a bath?” “A bath?” Just looked confused by the simple question. “Vilicia found a working bath in the cottage next door. She’s already preparing the water.”

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Katerina wasn’t sure whether to speak in a bright or a soothing tone so she settled on matter of fact. “Vilicia’s here? Does she know ...?” Katerina put her hand to her chest. Her heart actually hurt as she watched Just realize others knew what had happened to him. She knelt beside him and took his hand in both of hers. Was this how Just had felt for her when she had been wounded by the Savages? Did he feel this despairing failure to protect the one he cared about? “They’ll be punished. I promise.” Just said nothing. He returned her stare with his own emotionless gaze. It frightened her to see his usual vibrant intensity absent. He seemed far away from her. “I would like that bath.” Just pulled his hand from hers and rose unsteadily to his feet. He kept the blanket wrapped crookedly around his narrow hips and started to leave the room without her. Katerina blinked back tears she would not, could not, let him see. The tears spilled over, however, when Just paused at the door and pulled his shoulders back so his posture was his usual, upright, graceful carriage. He stepped with his accustomed arrogance outside to face Vilicia. Her heart spasmed for him. “Your bath is ready,” Vilicia said as Katerina joined them on the porch. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me.” Vilicia suddenly burst into tears much to Katerina’s consternation. Just looked horrified. “You should yell at me, demote me, cast me out as your second in command.” “Whatever in the hell are you talking about, Vilicia?” Just asked, his shoulders slumping wearily. “I failed to protect you. This is my fault, and it’s not my first failure. There was Erina and Marta. Now this.” “Vilicia, you couldn’t have stopped this. These women planned this for months. They waited until an opportunity presented itself. The only way it could have been prevented was if this collar wasn’t on my neck.” Just sounded so reasonable while looking a bit ridiculous standing on the porch with only a thin blanket for protection. His hair stuck out at odd angles, stiff with dried sweat. The better outdoor light revealed a variety of scratches and what looked like a bite mark on his bare chest. Katerina’s anger flamed anew at his attackers, but Just’s remark about the collar hit her square between the eyes. She was the one who had put it on him, making him forever vulnerable. “I’m all right,” Just assured Vilicia. Vilicia sniffed a few times, giving Just a critical once over. “No permanent damage?” Just shook his head. “No permanent damage.” Vilicia dropped her gaze to the floor. “May I hug you then? To be sure.” Just looked at Katerina in surprise, but she could only shrug. Vilicia had caught her off guard also. “I could use a hug from a friend right now,” Just said solemnly. Vilicia threw herself in his arms, almost knocking his only covering from his hand. She backed off as quickly, her face flushed and her eyes still wet. “Well, try not to drown in the tub. I can’t be rescuing you all the time.” “I’ll do my best. I don’t think I could drown in one of those tubs unless I do it on purpose.” “Don’t even joke about that,” Katerina snapped, stepping toward Just. Her heart thumped

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wildly. “Many Solonian men in the past took their own lives rather than face their poor health. It’s not a matter for levity.” “Calm down, Katerina.” Just went down the steps and crossed to the next cottage. “I’m not going to take my own life because a couple of crazy women took advantage of me.” Katerina bit her lip to hold back her reply to Just’s cold words. Of course Just wouldn’t do something so cowardly and his cold anger was better than his blankness of before. “Bring me my things as soon as they arrive, Vilicia.” She hurried after Just, feeling so unsure of what she should say or do she was tempted to leave him alone. But he needed her. She was sure of that. Just was already in the tub, scrubbing his chest and abdomen vigorously. He had no soap or bathing crystal, only his hands. Katerina had smelled the scent of other women on him earlier. How he must want to wash that smell away. It sickened her to recall the sight of Bela astride him. “Here are the things you wanted,” Vilicia said as she entered the room without even a knock. “Cara brought them. I thought you might want this close by, Just.” Just smiled in appreciation as Vilicia put his sword close to the tub. She turned and left with a nod to them both. Katerina unwrapped the bundle of things she would use to return her husband to good health, free of the potion. She only wished she had something to heal the part of him that was really injured. **** Just leaned back in the tub, watching Katerina fuss with her supplies. The maracine still swirled in his veins, but he could control it now. Katerina leaned forward to examine the contents of a small jar, exposing a fine view of her lovely breasts. Just gripped the sides of the tub until his hands hurt. He wanted to leap out and .... He slid all the way under the water, hoping to wash the lust from his thoughts. He didn’t quite feel himself, but each moment was better than the one before. Physically, he was tired—totally, completely exhausted. Despite what he had said to Vilicia, he might accidentally drown by falling asleep in the tub. He surfaced and winced at the soreness in various parts of his body. At least one part was sore enough he would refrain from using it for a few days. He could resist Katerina that long. Emotionally, Just felt numb. He thought he should be angry, a killing rage even. The burning shame that had choked him earlier was gone. He was empty. “Look what my mother packed for you.” Katerina smiled as she approached, holding out a clean cloth and a small clay jar of cleansing sands. “I’ll do your back.” Heavenly torture. Just tested his control as Katerina soaped and scrubbed his back and then his hair. He almost failed when she started on his chest. When her hand moved lower he stopped her. The maracine would defeat him again if he let her continue. He took the cloth from her and washed away the last of Bela’s scent. He would kiss Sinda for thinking of the soap when he got back to the hall. Just pushed the warm thought aside. It threatened his numbness. “Drink this.” Katerina demanded as she shoved a mug into his hand. “What is it?” Just looked at the amber liquid. Another damn potion? “It will counteract the maracine.” Just handed it back to her. “I can handle the rest on my own. No more drugs.”

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Katerina looked like she wanted to argue but then thought better of it. She turned back to the bundle on the floor, lifting out clean clothing for him. “Are you ready to get out?” Get out and face everyone. All the Solonians knew what maracine did to a man. The tale of his abduction would have spread like smoke in the wind by now. How many other Solonian women looked at him and saw only a potential stud? How many undressed him with their eyes, imagined having him as the four women today had planned? Hell no, he wasn’t ready to get out! “I can dress myself.” “I know that.” Katerina frowned at his irritated tone, but sympathy shone in her gentle eyes. “Only Cara and Vilicia are here.” Sighing, Just rose from the cooling waters. Katerina busied herself putting items back in her bundle of goods, giving him privacy as he dressed. Was his discomfort making her selfconscious of his nudity? Damn. He offered her his hand when she finished her packing. Smiling uncertainly, hopefully perhaps, she took his hand with her small delicate one. Numbness wavered again so he released his grip as soon as she was on her feet. Katerina’s smile faltered and then bravely returned. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. “It will be all right, husband.” Her simple statement shouldn’t have meant anything, but it did. Just returned the hug, and his emotions leapt in his throat. Swallowing the lump before it could make itself known, he disengaged himself from her arms and scooped up her pack. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, not liking the roughness of his tone. Nodding, Katerina took his hand and let him lead her outside to the gathering twilight. Vilicia stood across the street beside the horses. Cara waited on the porch. She moved toward them, her step hesitant. Just braced himself to receive her comfort. He should have known better. “You once slew the demons that demeaned and brutalized me. Give me leave and I’ll avenge you, General,” Cara vowed fiercely. Just cursed his foolish pride. Compared to Cara’s ordeal, what had he suffered? Mostly injury to his ego, very little actual physical abuse. This brave woman in front of him had been an innocent when captured and raped by the Savages. How many times had she wished for her own death? The numbness inside him crumbled beneath the pureness of Cara’s devotion. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Just caught one of the glistening drops on his fingertip. He raised his eyes to find Katerina watching him from beside Cara. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she stared at him. All this for him. Pressure in his chest made it hard to breathe. “Don’t cry for me, Cara,” Just whispered, his voice trembling. “I’m unharmed. I wouldn’t have you suffer the pain you would feel if you acted against my attackers. You’ve survived so much with your soul untarnished, but I don’t think even someone as strong as you would be untouched by that. Let’s not act unlawfully like the women did here today, but rather within the bounds of our society. We won’t act the part of the Savages. Not ever.” Cara nodded her agreement. “Permission to hug the general. Please.” Just couldn’t answer, so he spread his arms and let her step into them. He managed not to flinch at her touch. Memories of hands on his exposed, helpless body lay too close to the surface for real comfort in a woman’s touch. Except Katerina. Just felt Katerina’s gaze on him while he held Cara. Katerina, who had stayed with him and helped him through his nightmare. He hadn’t wanted her to witness his disgusting,

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uncontrollable response to the maracine. His lust had raged so fiercely, he expected her to fear him as she would a Savage. Instead, she had stayed and comforted him and treated him gently. She had helped him find the temporary lull in agony release brought him. Cara finally moved away, brushing at her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic. She nodded once to Katerina before hurrying to join Vilicia. Just wished he had thanked her for helping him overcome his self pity. He looked at Katerina, wondering if she was ready to go home. The words stuck in his throat when Katerina’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She stared at his face as if shocked. “What?” Had she suddenly decided he was a beast after all? “You’re back!” Just raised an eyebrow at her. He didn’t have a chance to ask her what she was talking about because she flung herself against him. Just wondered if he could withstand all this hugging today. “You’re a very strange woman.” Katerina laughed, and Just found he could smile at the sound. He led his giddy wife to the horses and lifted her easily into the saddle. His hands lingered on the swell of her abdomen. The babe, as usual, seemed to respond to his presence. She kicked against his hand. The last of his emotional upheaval fell from his shoulders as his child touched him. He willed any lingering anguish away. The hell if he would let this incident ruin what he had found in Solonia.

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Chapter Seventeen “He’s still asleep?” Sinda asked. Everyone knew Just rose early each morning. “He was exhausted, Mother.” Sinda narrowed her eyes at Katerina. “I still can’t believe he would sleep this late. It’s almost time for the noon meal. Explain.” “Oh, all right.” Katerina glared at her interfering mother, but no one said no to the Deomo when she used that tone. “Just was so restless last night that I helped him sleep.” “And does he know you helped him?” “No, and he won’t unless you tell him.” “Katerina, it’s not ethical to use your healer skills on someone without their knowledge and you know it,” Sinda scolded, sounding truly shocked. “I know, Mother,” Katerina admitted, feeling miserable. “But he was having nightmares. I couldn’t stand to see him relive it all again.” Sinda’s expression softened. “Don’t do such a thing again, Katerina.” “I can’t promise that, Mother. I would do anything, break any rule, if I thought it necessary to protect my husband. Excuse me now. I must speak with Vilicia about Just’s future security and the allegation hearing later today.” Sinda walked out on the porch with her. “Are you truly in love with this man, Katerina?” Katerina stared at nothing. She had told her mother about the year agreement she and Just had. “Daughter, I admit he hides his kind heart beneath all that arrogance. He seems a fine honorable man and a true leader, but when the year is up he’ll leave.” Katerina walked away. He wouldn’t. Somehow she would keep him. **** Just heard someone enter the bedroom. He lay on his back, sprawled over most of the bed. He recognized the footsteps approaching the bed as Sinda’s and Anya’s. At least a blanket covered him from the waist down. “He’s a handsome man, isn’t he?” Anya said. She stood on one side of his bed and Sinda on the other. “Yes, but what does it matter?” Sinda asked, her tone impatient. “Come now, Sinda. You’re not so old you don’t appreciate that. I certainly do.” Sinda placed her fingertips on each side of Just’s head. He snapped his eyes open and glared at her. She pulled back immediately. “Don’t touch me.” Just wondered what a powerful Deomo like Sinda could do to him. Something worse than the women had yesterday. He did trust her. Maybe. The two women made him feel surrounded. “Were you faking?” Sinda asked, fixing him with her usual glare. She sat on the edge of the bed. “How do you feel?” Anya asked, saving him from answering. She sat down on the bed

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also. She took his hand in hers. Just pulled his blanket a little higher and sat up against the mound of pillows. He wanted to jerk his hand away from Anya’s but restrained himself. “I feel all right.” “You rested well then? No nightmares?” Sinda asked. “No.” Just sensed something behind Sinda’s question. The two women were making him nervous, but his instincts remained silent. “No nightmares,” Just lied. Sinda gave him a knowing look, but let it drop. “We’ve come to offer our help.” “Help with what?” “You need not deny anything to us. We were able to help Cara with her emotional wounds. Such injuries can be deeper and more scarring than physical damage.” Anya patted his hand as she explained. “I really don’t need any help. I’m uninjured,” Just insisted. “Even though you’re not Solonian by birth, I believe we can help you by touching the collar. It was designed to pick up emotional energy,” Sinda said as if he hadn’t spoken. “I’ve already discovered the function of this damn collar,” Just answered. Sinda knew how to irritate him. “Don’t be stubborn or prideful, son.” Sinda took Just’s other hand. “Let us help you and you’ll be better able to deal with your trauma.” “Mother, Grandmother,” Just said with his jaw clenched. “I -- have -- suffered -- no -trauma.” “Denial is part of healing, but you must face your torment now and work through it,” Sinda said, an edge to her voice. Just tugged both his hands free. “I don’t need your help. Please leave my room.” He folded his arms across his chest. Sinda and Anya exchanged puzzled concerned glances, before Sinda turned back to him. “You’ll have to speak of the crimes committed against you in front of a magisterial quartet later today.” Sinda actually sounded sympathetic. “It won’t be easy to discuss the atrocities done to you in front of these women.” “Are you two going to be there?” “Of course,” Sinda answered. “My wife? Vilicia?” Just waited for their nods. “Cara? Mia?” “Any who have something to say of yesterday’s events,” Sinda said, clearly puzzled. “Then I see no problem for me. I’m sure some of the things I must say will be uncomfortable, but if my family and friends are there to support me, I’ll be fine.” Just looked the Deomo in the eye. “That’s all the help I need from you, Mother.” Sinda stared back for a long moment before answering. “You’re a strong man, Juston Steele, and quite dangerous.” A trace of bitterness crept into Just’s thoughts. He heard it in his tone. “The women who attacked me reminded me how helpless I am. I’m not dangerous at all in Solonia.” Sinda rose as she spoke. “The only thing that keeps me from actually fearing you, son, is the fact that you have no idea of the power you’ve attained here. I won’t be the one to enlighten you.” Just stared at the two women as they left his room. Whatever was Sinda talking about? ****

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The magisterial quartet took only an hour to decide the fate of the repentant women. Katerina held Just’s hand as Allana, mother to Cara, read the quartet’s ruling. Just’s concise description of his ordeal hadn’t been denied by any of the accused, so the guilt of the kidnappers was not in doubt. “The four of you have gravely shamed not only yourselves, but all of Solonia,” Allana said, her voice stern and unforgiving. “Your treatment of Juston Steele, our future Deoman, is eerily similar to the manner in which the Savages deal with their captives.” Katerina heard gasps from the prisoners. There was no greater insult in Solonia than to be compared to a Savage. Allana continued in a cold, hard voice. “You will be sent to the far northern fields to work in the milo fields. After the harvest is finished, you’ll remain in the housing there until Lady Katerina delivers her baby. After that momentous event, if further alliances with the Realm are formed, you will be given the opportunity to leave Solonia and make your home in the Realm. If they will have you. Knowledge of your crimes will proceed you. If you go, you may never return to Solonia. If you stay, you’ll remain in your exile for fifteen years. You’ll leave this settlement first thing in the morning.” Tears ran down the faces of three of the women as they heard the harsh sentence. Bela didn’t cry but managed to look more miserable than the others. Katerina refused to feel any sympathy for them. They had plotted to rape and abuse her husband as if he were no more than a useful animal. Just tensed beside her as the four offenders walked back on their way back to confinement. He stared at each of them with a deadly coldness in his eyes. Bela blushed wildly and turned her face away. Katerina ached to snatch the bitch by her hair. She would never forget entering the cottage and seeing Bela astride Just’s hips. Katerina asked herself again why she couldn’t have arrived a few moments sooner. She pushed her dark thoughts aside as the magisterial quartet approached. Allana was once again the spokeswoman. “We apologize, Juston Steele. We feel great shame that such atrocities were brought to you by Solonians.” “There are those in all societies who can’t or won’t follow the rules, insisting on twisting things for their own benefit. Feel no shame of fault for the work of those four. Thank you for your fair judgment.” Katerina gaped at Just as the panel filed out of the hall. Her mother, grandmother, and Vilicia looked as astonished as she felt. “What now?” Just looked from one to the other of them. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?” “No,” Katerina answered. Would she ever know this man of hers? “You were actually a bit elegant.” “Yes,” Sinda agreed. “You sounded like a Deoman should when addressing his people.” Just scowled at them. “Why is that so surprising? Do you think I’m too ignorant for that position? Did you think I might be an embarrassment to such a station?” “Don’t act so offended, Steele,” Vilicia said with mock gravity. “It’s that you usually behave with such disregard for polite discourse and exhibit few manners. We’re a bit shocked when you show any decorum at all let alone ... elegance.” Katerina started to say something to defuse the situation, fearing Just might really be angry

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and offended. He surprised her again by grinning. “Why should I bother with good manners with the four of you? You’re my family. You’re stuck with me regardless of my social conduct.” Just smiled even broader and headed for the kitchen. “Where are you going?” As if she needed to ask, Katerina thought. “I have some catching up to do with Ursa. She thinks I have fine manners all the time.” Just didn’t pause in his stride. The kitchen door swung shut on his last words. A whiff or something delicious drifted to them. For a long moment they all stared at the door. “That boy has filled a place in our lives I never realized was empty,” Anya said thoughtfully. “You better make sure he stays, Katerina.” “I intend to do my best, grandmother.” But would her best be enough? Katerina stared at the door for a long time after the others went about their duties. How was she going to keep Juston Steele in Solonia? **** “Another meeting?” Katerina took the newly arrived missive from her mother, reading it with growing trepidation. The words frightened her as they had last time. It wasn’t from Herma, of course, but she trusted it as if it was. “It sounds truthful enough,” Sinda mused. “Sky Turan has written his own note, promising his presence.” “I’m sure the words written here are truthful.” Katerina glared at the thick, coarse paper. “It’s the ones not included that concern me.” “What do you mean?” Anya paused in her stitching on a tiny gown. “I told you how badly they want Just to return to his previous position. Sky Turan’s presence proves it will be another attempt to take my husband from me.” “Oh, Katerina.” Sinda pulled Katerina into her arms. The growing swell of her pregnancy made the action awkward. “He said he’ll stay until the babe is born. Let’s trust him to be a man of his word.” “He returned with those horses last week, didn’t he?” Anya scolded. “He could have easily stayed in the Realm then if he had wanted to desert you.” Katerina found a wry smile. Hearing her mother and grandmother defend Just a few months ago would have amazed her, but no longer. The two older women accepted him as a full member of the family and more. He was the beloved son and grandson neither had ever had. “Have a little faith in the boy, dear.” Anya often called Just a boy, an appellation he tolerated only from her. “I’m afraid the Realm will find a way to make him feel obligated to return. He takes duty seriously.” “What reason could they use?” Sinda asked. “I’m not sure. It’s been very peaceful lately.” An understatement, Katerina thought. The Savages seemed to have disappeared since Just had slain their leader, Zar. None of the scouting parties Just led into the mountains found sign of the Savages or the renegade, Herma. “Katerina, you’re worrying over nothing. We have the requested herbs and medicines available. We can’t deny the Realm our aid because of Herma’s actions.” “I know, Mother, but I don’t see why they want to speak with Just. Not unless they’re going to make another attempt to coerce him to leave us.”

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“Would you deny him the opportunity to see his friends?” Sinda asked in reasonable tone. “Can you imagine the loneliness he must feel at times? What must it be like for him to be the only man among us?” Katerina knew her mother was right. Just almost never mentioned his life before Solonia. She had the impression he had spent the majority of his time in the wilds fighting Savages. Sky Turan seemed the only person he spoke of as a close friend. “You’re right, of course. I’ll have to go along to this meeting. He’s working on the new corral now. We can make our plans.” She threw the last words over her shoulder, leaving the room before they raised an argument. **** “What are you doing here?” Just cursed himself for his harsh tone when he saw the hurt in Katerina’s eyes, but he worried about her. Her belly looked massive to him. She could fall on this uneven ground. “I hadn’t realized I wasn’t permitted to be here.” Just grimaced at her stiff words. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it. You shouldn’t be walking all the way down here.” “Of course she shouldn’t.” Vilicia smirked at him. She brushed saw dust from her hands and walked over to join them. “Shall I get some help to carry you to your bed, my lady?” “Don’t you have anything better to do than listen in on private conversations?” Just tried to glare Vilicia into the ground, but these tough women refused to be intimidated by him like the men of the Realm were. “Vilicia should stay. I brought this.” Katerina handed him a rolled piece of paper, the thick, rough kind made in the Realm. “No doubt you two will need to make plans.” Just read the bold script inviting them to another meeting with the Realm, this time to sign a peace agreement. Many important people would be there from the Realm, scientists, merchants and of course, political leaders. Sky had added his own message, giving his personal assurance of their safety. He handed the papers to Vilicia so she could read them. “It sounds sincere, and I know we can trust Sky. Do we have the medicines they ask for?” That was the one area he hadn’t learned much about in his time in Solonia. The healer’s lore was a secret passed from mothers to daughters. It took a lifetime for them to learn it. “Yes,” Katerina answered. “I could pack it in a day.” “We could leave the day after tomorrow and make the meeting place in plenty of time. I would like to be there first. Vilicia, pick two dozen to go with us. We don’t want to leave the valley unprotected.” Vilicia didn’t argue as she turned to go. It was one of the reasons they worked so well together. She might poke fun at him over personal things, but she was all business when it came to fighting. She was the best second in command he had ever worked with and there had been many. “Will your mother be going?” Just looked at the papers again, finding no mention of who the Realm wished to speak with other than him. “I’m not sure. Any peace agreement dealing with the future should include me. My presence should suffice.” Just knew his mouth dropped open with shock, but he couldn’t help it. His beautiful, very pregnant wife still surprised him. “You’re not going.”

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“Yes, I am.” She put her fists where her hips used to be. “The trip is not that far.” He groaned, seeing the storm brewing in her deep brown eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re with child.” “Well, thank you for the diagnosis, kind sir.” She raised her chin defiantly. “I’m having a baby. I’m not ill. The exercise will be good for me.” Just tried to think of another reason for her to stay home. “Why do you want to go? I didn’t think you liked Sky. Your mother can handle the peace agreement.” “I like Sky fine. Even if I didn’t, we’re not going for a social visit. We’ll take care of the business and come home.” “I doubt it will be that easy. I know Karal Panor. She’ll want to sit and talk.” “Then I shall talk to her. You can spend some time with Sky while I get to know the new Head Councilor.” Just turned back toward the horse corral. He didn’t really see the animals as he contemplated a private conversation between Katerina and Karal Panor. He was sure Karal intended to try and convince him to return to the Realm. He had no intention of doing so, but Karal might try to change Katerina’s mind about keeping him for the remainder of his year. “I’d rather you stay home. You’re near your time.” “I’m very healthy. You’ve heard Mother and Grandmother say it is so. There’s nothing to worry about.” She moved beside him, rubbing her hand in a soothing manner across his back. The motion reminded him of the way he soothed a fractious young horse. It had the same result, too. The smallest, most insignificant touch of her hand acted as a balm to his spirit. She had yet to repeat her words of love and perhaps she regretted them. But when she touched him with this casual gentleness, he felt loved. He longed for these moments of closeness and as so often happened when he basked in her warm attention, his passions wakened. He wanted her with a fierce urgency. He turned and took her in his arms. His mouth covered hers as she welcomed him with sweet surrender and gentle demand. Why was he urging her to stay behind? He didn’t want to spend even one night away from her. **** Katerina let herself drown in the inferno of his need. She sensed he often took refuge in their physical closeness when he might be forced to examine his feelings. “Let’s go inside.” He whispered the words against his lips, his breath as light as a feather. She nodded, letting him take her arm. Despite his obvious urgency, he walked slowly and carefully over the ground made uneven by the constant pounding of hooves. How cherished she felt. She longed to tell him of her love, but held back, afraid to lose this close companionship they had now. They avoided the main hall, walking quickly down a side passage to their room. Just stripped out of his clothes before the sound of the door closing faded. Katerina sat on the edge of the bed, smiling at his enthusiasm. He smiled back, totally unabashed at his complete nudity. Since his kidnapping three months ago, Katerina appreciated even more her husband’s generosity with his body. She valued even more the fact he gifted only her with his attentions. He never gave the slightest hint of attraction to another woman, not even now when she feared he might find her form less than desirable. Without a word, he knelt at her feet and began removing her light weight shoes. Moving

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his hands up her thighs, he rolled down her light stockings. His touch sent delicious shivers up and down her spine. When he finished, he stood up and helped her to her feet. Turning her around, he began to undo the buttons he had helped her with a few hours before when she rose. He planted tender kisses on her back as he pushed her dress off her shoulders. The dress pooled at her feet, leaving her as naked as he was. She fought the hot blush rising to her face but failed. Her waist was gone, her breasts swollen and heavy and lately her hands and feet grew in size as the day progressed. His lean hardness contrasted so greatly with her changed form she wanted to hide it from him. Before she could reach for a blanket, he dropped to his knees in front of her. He placed more kisses on her taut stomach and then wrapped his arms around her hips and laid his head on her abdomen. “You’re so beautiful, filled with my child.” Emotion roughed his voice. She ran both hands through his thick, silky hair, holding him tightly to her. The baby stirred, pushing against the spot where his head touched her. He laughed quietly. Her love strained to burst forth from her chest, its immenseness painful. But she said nothing, only held him to her. After a time he rose, picked her up in his arms, and carried her to the bed. His lovemaking was sweet and long. Afterwards, she fell asleep in his arms, but not before bittersweet tears spilled from her eyes to splash on his chest. **** ”I guess you’re going to let her have her way again,” Vilicia said. “What are you talking about?” Just’s mind remained on the tears his wife had wept before falling asleep. Why had she cried? He knew he hadn’t hurt her. “You’re letting her go with us to this Realm meeting even though you know she should stay home.” They had reached the training yard where a number of warriors warmed up for their mid day practice. Just stopped and glared at Vilicia. “I don’t ‘let’ Katerina do anything.” He tugged at his gold collar. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the one running things around here.” Vilicia snorted. “That’s a pile of horse dung. You tell everyone what to do, and they jump.” “Not Katerina.” Just watched the women warming up. They used the graceful fighting moves he had taught them, the fighting techniques his father had passed to him before his tenth year. “I can’t deny her wishes.” “Won’t deny her, you mean.” Vilicia pulled her own wooden practice sword and took a step toward the other women before turning back to him one more time. “Why don’t you admit it, Just?” “What?” “You would move every rock of every mountain to a different spot if it would make her happy. Admit you would do anything for her.” Vilicia didn’t wait for an answer. She joined the other women while he stared after them. Just watched the women without seeing them. Everything was so complicated. His life used to be so simple. He had duty to his warriors and the Realm. Sky and his family were his only close friends. That was all there was to his life—that and the attempt to stay alive to fight another day. Now he had a beautiful, intelligent wife and a baby soon to be born. Now he had to worry

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about how she felt, what she thought. It was damn difficult. How was one person supposed to guess what another one was thinking, especially if it was a woman? Why had she cried earlier? Hell and damnation. And why did he have to be so concerned with her happiness? And the biggest question of all, why wasn’t he trying harder to extradite himself from the emotional tangles Katerina wove around him? “Who’s ready?” Just picked up his own wooden practice sword, the heaviest of them all. A volunteer stepped forward. Mia was one of their best, but she lasted only two swings of his sword. A quick succession of women fared no better. Finally only Vilicia was left. Just stripped off his sweat soaked shirt, his breathing heavy and deep. The last time he had defeated the women in practice so thoroughly had been his first month in Solonia when his resentment at the collaring burned hot and wild. “Having a bit of trouble with your temper today, General?” Vilicia gestured angrily at the other women, many of them nursing bruises. “You can take the blame for that.” Just motioned at her to prepare herself. “I find the thought of moving mountains inspires me.” Vilicia looked surprised for a moment before she burst into laughter. Saluting with her wooden sword, she came at him. He downed her as quickly as he had the others. He sighed. The exertion relieved his frustration not at all. Why had she cried?

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Chapter Eighteen Friendly sentries greeted them as they approached the small camp in the middle of an open field. Not a single tree stood near the tents. No ambush from above like last time. “I wanted to get here first,” Just muttered. Katerina ignored him and put on what she hoped was a cheerful expression to greet the people lined up to meet them. It was difficult to pretend interest. All she wanted was to get off her horse and lie down on the ground and sleep. The dark green grass brushing the belly of her horse would surely make a soft bed. Feeling Just staring at her, Katerina managed a smile when she looked over at him. He frowned back, not fooled a bit. “You can lecture me later if you like. Please wait until we’re alone,” she whispered so on one else would overhear. “I’ll hold you to that,” Just whispered back. They reined up in front of Sky Turan and a few other young Realm warriors she remembered from before. An older man and a beautiful woman waited along side of Sky. The woman would have captured Katerina’s gaze anyway, dressed in a tight, sheath dress, but what held Katerina’s attention was the possessive look in the woman’s eyes as she watched Just dismount and greet Sky. When Just came to Katerina’s side to help her down, the woman finally lifted her gaze to Katerina’s. The clear blue eyes issued a challenge as certain as if she had spoken. Katerina was suddenly very glad she had come along. She put her hands on Just’s shoulders as he lifted her down. He lowered her slowly to her feet. She thought to pretend to need his arm to lean on to keep him close, but found she didn’t have to act. She groaned as her body protested the rigors of the long ride. Just leaned over her, his disapproval radiating against her like the rays of the sun. She glared at him. “Quit frowning at me. These people will think you don’t like me.” Amusement erased Just’s frown. He grinned at her. “Do you think I do?” Her mind blanked as she lost herself in the pleasure of his genuine amusement. “Think you do what?” “Do you think I like you?” “Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “Good to see you again, Lady Katerina.” Sky’s tone didn’t hide the lie in the words. “And you, sir,” Katerina lied back. Just sighed before leading her toward the others waiting in front of the largest tent. He nodded to the older man and the woman. “Head Councilor Karal Panor and Emon Barter, may I present my wife, Lady Katerina Steele?” The man stepped forward, bowing over her hand as he raised it to touch his forehead. “My pleasure, Lady Katerina. Please call me Barter and I may call you ...?”

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“Call her Lady Steele.” Just surprised her with his hard tone. “As you wish, Squad Leader Steele.” Barter looked a bit sad, but not surprised by Just’s attitude. “Steele will do. I’m not a squad leader any longer.” “We could fix that,” Sky muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. Katerina ignored him. “The pleasure is mine, Barter. “ She wasn’t going to say anything else until the woman said something. Katerina stared at Panor with all the regal coolness she could muster when her temper was sparking inside. She remembered the woman now. Panor was the woman who had rushed to the stable to hug and kiss Just farewell when they had left The Realm. Panor raised one eyebrow, her lip curling in a derisive smile. Heat rose in Katerina’s face as she imagined what she looked like at eight months along and fresh from a long ride. Her instincts flared, warning her this woman was an enemy. Katerina lifted her chin and without thinking rubbed her hand over her large stomach for comfort. Panor watched the motion, her smirk turning to a frown. “Let’s get out of this heat. I’m sure the Solonian needs to take all that weight off her feet.” Panor hooked her arm with Just’s in an irritating, familiar manner. “Turan, escort the Lady Katerina please.” Sky offered his arm, leading Katerina behind Just and Panor toward a long table shaded by green canvas. Sky whispered, “It’s a good thing the Head Councilor isn’t wearing one of those collars. I believe she would be dead if she was.” Katerina looked up in surprise at her escort. Sky wasn’t smiling, but suspicious crinkles marked the corners of his eyes. She couldn’t resist smiling, realizing for the first time that Sky Turan was a handsome man. She had been so busy worrying he might tempt Just to leave she saw him only as an enemy, not a man. “Am I that obvious in my feelings?” “Maybe a little less conspicuous than a sea storm hitting the beach.” Katerina laughed at Sky’s dry tone. Just looked over his shoulder, but Panor tugged on his arm, calling his attention back to herself. Katerina’s dark mood returned. “Don’t worry, Lady Katerina. I only met you once before, but I’ve know Karal Panor for a long time.” Sky stopped, taking her hand from his arm but holding it for a moment longer. “Karal is no match for you.” Katerina watched Sky walk away, wondering if he had accepted her marriage to Just. Her shoulders slumped for a moment with fatigue and perhaps a touch of self pity. Then Karal Panor laughed. Katerina straightened her spine and moved under the canopy. It was slightly cooler. A young man wearing the uniform of the Realm poured water into earthenware mugs. Just left Karal and came to her. She waited where she was, sending the councilor a message. Before this day was over, Karal would know to whom Just belonged. “Are you all right?” “A drink would be nice,” she said with her sweetest smile in place. Just led her to one of the benches at the table. He handed her one of the mugs of water. Katerina sipped the cool liquid, feeling refreshed as it slid down her throat. Karal seated herself opposite Just, her admiring gaze following his actions as he lifted his own drink. Katerina watched in amusement as Just drained the contents of his cup in one long

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swallow. The muscles and tendons on his neck moved in an enticing display she might have enjoyed another time. Knowing Karal watched Just spoiled it. “Why have you called this meeting, Councilor Panor?” Katerina asked, forcing the woman to look at her. “Didn’t Just show you my invitation?” Katerina pressed her lips together, gathering her patience. “I showed the missive to my husband. All messages come to me.” “Of course. How could I have forgotten Just’s lack of personal rights and freedom in his present situation?” “Are you avoiding my question?” “Not at all. I only thought it was quite clear.” Karal paused and sipped delicately at her drink. “After the recent unpleasantness, I thought we should have a written peace agreement between out settlements to prevent such an occurrence in the future.” “Herma was a special case, Karal.” Just joined the discussion. “He betrayed you and us. No written agreement would have prevented what happened. He was ... is a madman.” Katerina smiled at his use of the word ‘us.’ He had placed himself with Solonia. “I agree. All contracts instigated by Herma are invalid. Who but a madman would have sent you away into slavery?” Katerina decided she could hate this woman. “Just isn’t a slave. He’s my husband and the leader of our warriors.” “Let’s not debate history,” Just said. “What exactly would you want in a written agreement, Karal?” “On our part, we put in writing a nonaggression agreement in our dealings with Solonia.” Karal looked at Katerina again, not attempting to hide her dislike. “In return, we would like the Solonians to agree not to kidnap any more of our men.” Katerina rose so suddenly, she sent the bench flying backwards. “I don’t have to listen to this. We’ll be leaving now.” Just stopped her with his hand on her elbow. He tightened his grip when she tried to pull away. He voice was cooler than the water they had been drinking. “I wasn’t kidnapped, Head Councilor. The arrangement I have with the Solonians is private. It isn’t the business of the Realm or any persons representing them.” Katerina had seldom seen Just so angry. What amazed Katerina was Panor’s lack of perception of Just’s mood. Katerina hoped the silly woman pursued the issue. “You say that in front of this woman who holds your leash, but I can only wonder what you would say if we were alone.” Karal glanced at Just’s collar. “What would you say if you felt safe to speak freely, Just?” “I am speaking freely. You’re not listening.” Just stood up and started to guide Katerina out of the tent. “We’re setting up camp outside your perimeter. If you have something sensible to say this evening, we can talk again.” Katerina thought she had learned to read Just’s moods pretty well over their months together, but she was mystified now. She concentrated harder, seeking his emotional energy. “Stop it.” “Sorry, I only wondered what you were thinking.”

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“Then ask me.” “What are you thinking?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” Katerina stopped in her tracks, spinning to face him, ready to launch into a tirade. As she opened her mouth to let him have it, she saw his unrepentant grin. She froze. Just laughed at her, drawing the attention of some nearby Realm soldiers. They looked more surprised than her. “Very funny.” Katerina started to walk toward the Solonian camp. She didn’t want Just to see her answering smile. Just caught up to her, walking silently by her side. Her hand brushed his lightly. Without hesitation, he turned his hand and captured her fingers with his, holding her hand in a sweetly natural way. “I think Karal has her own personal agenda, and it’s not necessarily the same as that of the Realm,” Just said after they had walked for a while. “Is there no one honest to deal with in the Realm?” “I’m not sure Karal is being dishonest, entirely. I think she does have a legitimate agreement to show us. That’s why I gave her the chance to talk to us later. I hope she can put aside personal issues.” Katerina groaned inwardly. She had been so busy being jealous of the beautiful Karal she had almost walked out of an important negotiation. She was no better than Karal when it came to letting personal feelings get in the way of important decisions. They reached the tent Vilicia had erected for them. It only had room for their packs and their sleeping mats. A bed on the ground had never looked so good to Katerina. “Why don’t you lie down and rest?” Just said as if he had read her mind. “What are you going to do?” Katerina was exhausted, but hesitated to leave Just unprotected from the wiles of Sky and Karal. Who knew what those two would say or do to convince Just to return to the Realm? “First, I’m going to check with Vilicia on our plans for security and unexpected problems.” He pushed her gently toward the tent opening. “I’ll be close by when you wake up.” “I only need to rest a little while. I don’t intend to fall asleep,” Katerina protested as she let herself be urged inside. “Fine.” He turned and started to leave the tent. “Karal Panor is a beautiful woman,” Katerina said to his back. His shoulders stiffened. He stopped and turned to face her. Even in the dimness of the tent she spotted the wariness in his eyes. “Many think so,” Just said in a neutral voice. “Are you one who does?” “I don’t think she’s unattractive.” Just smiled, but his eyes remained guarded. “Recently, I find myself attracted to a woman with more pronounced curves.” “A fat woman you mean?” “No, that’s not what I mean,” Just snapped back, glaring at her. “It sounded that way to me.” Katerina wondered how they had gone from laughing to arguing so quickly. She was fat. It amazed her Just still found her attractive. Tears burned the back of her eyes. “Hell and damnation,” Just cursed, taking a step forward so he could gather her close. “I’m sorry.”

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Katerina returned his hug, her eyes drying rapidly in the secure circle of his arms. She was too tired for this. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong. I feel so on edge since we got here.” “I noticed.” Just smiled again, this time with no wariness in his eyes. “I didn’t think I needed to apologize either. I only wanted to stop the tears.” Katerina smiled back. “I think I better rest now, before we get into a discussion again.” She pulled his head down for a quick kiss, but he had other ideas. Just slanted his mouth across hers. Their tongues met and dueled. They were both breathless when they pulled apart. “Go lie down now, or you aren’t going to get any rest.” Just turned her around. Katerina threw what she hoped was a seductive look over her shoulder as he ducked out of the tent. Once alone, her self doubts returned. She ran her hands over her massive middle, drawing comfort from the presence of Just’s child. As she stretched out on the sleeping mats, she compared her present physical appearance with the trim figure of Karal Panor. What man wouldn’t look at such a woman? Katerina faced the fact that she was jealous. And scared. Karal looked at Just with a sense of possession. She had expected Sky to try and convince Just to return to the Realm, but she hadn’t anticipated a woman using her feminine allure to take Just away. Katerina trusted Just to protect her and her people. She was even sure he would keep his word and stay until the child was born. But did she trust him to ignore the invitations being issued by Karal Panor? For all Katerina knew, it might be an acceptable practice in the Realm to have intimacy outside the marriage contract. Katerina vowed to make it clear to Just and Karal that she wouldn’t tolerate such a thing. Just was hers and hers alone. **** “Stand watch over Katerina’s tent until I return,” Just ordered Vilicia. “I don’t want her unguarded at any time.” “Where will you be?” Vilicia sent a suspicious glance toward Sky Turan, who waited nearby. “What’s wrong with you? The Realm is our ally.” The hostility of the Solonians toward the Realm irritated him and made no sense. “Herma is our enemy, not these people. There’s no reason not to trust them.” “They’re going to try to talk you into returning with them.” “Would you miss me?” Just teased. “Of course. I would also miss my horse, Berry, if she ran off. Both of you could be replaced, but it would be inconvenient.” Just knew she wasn’t serious, but the thought of anyone replacing him as Katerina’s husband wasn’t a joking matter. “Stay by my wife until I return.” “Yes, General,” Vilicia answered, adding a sarcastic salute. Just walked to the small rise where Sky waited for him. Seating himself beside his oldest friend, Just watched the sluggish activity of the camp. The late afternoon sun shone warm and bright, but the area would cool off quickly at sunset at this altitude. “Things are going well?” “Fine,” Just answered. “How are your sisters?” “Still crying. They both thought you were going to wait until they grew up to get married.” They shared a chuckle. A comfortable silence settled between them. Just broke it after a

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while. “Sky, do you remember that trunk I left with you?” “The one with your parents’ things?” “Yes.” Just continued to stare at the camp without seeing it. “I would like you to bring it to me next time we meet.” Sky said nothing for a long time. “You’re staying then?” “Solonia is my home now. I have a family there.” “I thought as much last time. After I returned home, I thought about your situation.” Just said nothing. He had expected another argument from Sky. He wanted to get it out of the way while Katerina was not around. “You seemed different when I saw you last. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly. Until later.” “And what did you figure out?” “Contentment.” Sky spoke softly, as if sharing a secret. “You were content. Even though you had almost been killed by Herma and that Solonian witch, you were content.” “It’s more than that, Sky. I’m happy.” Just realized as he said it how true it was. He was blissfully happy. “Even with that collar around your neck?” Just smiled without humor. “I didn’t say everything was perfect, but there’s nothing I can do about it without giving up everything else.” “How can you trust someone who would do that to you?” “You would have to know the history of Solonia, Sky. There are things you don’t know, and it’s not my place to tell you.” “I can’t believe there’s anything important enough to make Juston Steele content to wear a slave collar,” Sky scoffed. “You don’t believe it now, but I hope someday you discover for yourself what I have found.” “I thought we were friends.” Just laughed with Sky, relieved his friend wasn’t going to argue with his decision. All he had to do now was make sure Karal didn’t find a way to ruin his chances for a life with Katerina. **** Katerina blinked as her eyes adjusted to the muted light of the late afternoon sun. She must have slept most of the day away. Vilicia sat cross legged on the ground beside the tent entrance. “Have you been sitting here the entire time I slept?” “General’s orders.” Vilicia rose and stretched, her attention turning to a circle of activity some distance away. “Why are you calling him that? You call him by his name all the time at home.” “I want those Realm boys to understand he’s part of the Solonian people now.” Katerina silently agreed with the idea. “Do you have any thoughts on how to make Councilor Panor accept that?” Vilicia turned back to her. “That skinny bitch is giving you trouble?” “She’s determined to convince Just how badly we’ve treated him and that his place is with the Realm.” Vilicia grimaced. “I think Panor believes his place is with her, leave the Realm out of it. Stop worrying, she can’t compete with you.”

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“Thanks.” Katerina could always count on Vilicia. “Look at this body and compare it to her trim, healthy one. She’s beautiful. And she takes every opportunity to remind Just of the bedamned collar.” “I hardly think he needs to be reminded of the collar,” Vilicia said dryly. “You underestimate your husband if you think he makes his choices based on physical appearances alone.” Katerina gave Vilicia a doubtful glance. She needed more reassurance than that. “You can’t be blind to the way he looks at you?” “He frowns at me all the time,” Katerina said, more glum by the moment. “He frowns at everybody most of the time, but in your case it’s a sign of his concern. He worries about you constantly. Just didn’t want you to come on this trip, but he couldn’t say no to you. He cares for you deeply.” “Do you think he loves me?” Vilicia laughed out loud. “How can I answer that? I know less of love than you. Do you love him?” “Yes.” It was so easy to say, to admit, to enjoy telling someone. “Do you tell him so each day?” “No,” Katerina whispered, suddenly afraid she had made a big mistake. Pride and fear had kept her from saying the words to Just again after her first slip. Had he even heard her? Vilicia watched her with one eyebrow raised in question. “Don’t you think you should tell him?” “Yes!” Katerina strode toward the Realm encampment. “I’m going to tell him right now.” “Wait, not so fast.” Vilicia stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She gestured toward the circle of Realm and Solonian warriors. “Just is putting on a show with his friend, Sky. I believe Panor if over there, enjoying the sight of your husband’s bare chest.” Katerina balled her hands into fists. Enough of Karal Panor ogling Just. Her vision narrowed to a small area directly in front of her as Katerina marched toward the cheering group. Men and women gave way before her until she stood on the front line. Katerina forgot her mission for a moment. Her stormy glare snagged on the sight of two beautiful—no other word would fit—almost nude men engaged in a dance of aggression. They used the unarmed fighting style Just had been teaching the Solonians. These two men were masters, the grace and skill they used to combat each other on a level by itself. A cheer went up as Just blocked an attempted strike by Sky’s foot. Both men moved so quickly it was difficult to see exactly what happened. Sweat gleamed on both their tanned torsos. Just seemed quicker, but Sky was taller and more muscular. Each man sported a few dark welts, attesting to the other’s skill. “An awesome sight, isn’t it?” Katerina’s temporarily abated anger returned in full fury as Karal spoke from beside her. She couldn’t speak at first, such was her anger. “Just is gifted with such a fine body,” Karal continued, her voice a purr. “Fine everywhere.” Katerina stared at her, unable to believe the implication. Karal smiled without humor, looking pointedly to Katerina’s swollen middle. “Of course, you would know that. You’ve seen that part of him at least once.”

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“I don’t speak of the private lives of myself and my husband.” “Come now. Then again, I guess you don’t know what it’s like to compare men and their performances. We should have a long chat. I can assure you, Just is known to be very pleasing in bed. I’ve never found another to match his skills.” Katerina felt helpless, exposed and naive. Images of this woman in Just’s arms filled her mind. Karal was merciless. “I bet that big cock of his was a surprise for a little innocent like you. You probably had no idea what to do to please a man like him in your bed, did you? He’s probably ready for a real woman by now. One shaped like a woman.” Vilicia pushed her way in between them. “You vicious bitch!” “It’s all right, Vilicia.” Katerina placed a soothing hand on Vilicia’s shoulder. “Councilor Panor is jealous. I might feel the same way if I had irrevocably lost Just to another. Especially when that woman carried his child.” Karal’s face reddened, her earlier condescension gone. “He doesn’t care for that child. What you did to him was rape by intent, if not by force. I was told you threatened him with the use of potions to get his cooperation.” Karal must have had spies in the Realm dungeon to know this. “You know nothing of our marriage and even less of Juston Steele as a man.” “I’ve know Just intimately for years. I know what he wants and what he needs.” Again Karal gave Katerina an insulting head to toe survey. “He was to come to my bed the day you took him away. This is the day I will take him back from you.” Lifting her chin, Karal turned and walked through the crowd. How many had overheard the argument? Katerina’s body shook with the force of her anger, or was it fear? “What was that about?” Katerina jumped when Just spoke from behind her. She turned to find him watching the retreating form of Karal Panor. He used his shirt to wipe the light film of sweat on his face and bare chest. Sky stood beside Just and scowled at Vilicia as he also used his shirt to wipe himself dry. Just swung his intense stare back to Katerina, inspiring a little rush of desire like always. Did Karal experience that also when Just looked at her? The thought of that woman running her hands over the smooth muscles of his chest, as Katerina wanted to do right now, fed her anger and fear. “Could I speak to you in private?” “I need to clean up first.” Just’s casual remark was at odds with the wary look that came into his eyes and the sudden tension in his stance. Katerina’s fear increased. “We can talk while you do.” She turned back to their tent, hearing him curse softly as he followed. He walked slightly behind her the entire distance. **** Just pulled the clean shirt over his head, taking his time tucking it into his pants. Coward, he chided himself. He couldn’t think of any way to put off Katerina. She sat with false patience on a flat rock nearby, watching his every move. He hadn’t felt this uncomfortable under her scrutiny since their first month together. Damn Karal. What had she told Katerina? Sighing with defeat, Just sat beside Katerina. He braced himself for her questions, but she surprised him.

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“Do you want this child?” Just opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn’t know how to answer. He couldn’t say he was scared to death of this child for a lot of reasons. “Why do you ask such a thing?” “Answer the question,” Katerina demanded, her expression grim. “I would give my life for this child.” Her brown eyes looked troubled as they searched his own. She turned away and looked out over the camp. “What did you and Karal discuss?” Just cursed himself for pushing, but he couldn’t stand not knowing. “I wouldn’t call it a discussion.” She smiled without humor. Just watched a variety of emotions cross her face. His tension grew with her silence. “Do you love her?” “No.” Again her question had surprised him. Love? An elusive emotion at best. “Would you have married her if ...?” Katerina finished with a gesture. “We never spoke of it.” He had never considered marrying Karal. “You don’t love her, never had any intention of wedding her, yet you shared your body with her?” Just felt himself falling headfirst into the trap. He had thought Katerina wanted reassurance of his lack of attachment to Karal. “Isn’t that rather unfeeling and ...,” Katerina pinned him with narrow eyed fury, “animal like?” “Exactly. We were satisfying our animal urges.” Just nodded, glad she understood. “Is that all what you wanted to talk about?” Tears welled in her eyes. Damn. Now what had he said. And why was he defending something that had happened long before he met Katerina? “Katerina, it didn’t mean anything. Karal and I are ... were friends.” He didn’t think it a good time to mention Karal was one of numerous such friends. Hell if he even remembered all their names. “And when we’re together, are you satisfying your urges also?” Silent tears ran down her cheeks, but her chin remained high and her gaze steady on his. “You’re my wife.” Damn, but he was cornered. “That’s a safe statement.” Katerina did look away now, but not before Just saw the hurt in her eyes. “Hell and damnation.” He had known he would have trouble when Katerina and Karal finally spoke. The hell if he would let Katerina force him into some kind of confession. Why couldn’t she accept the happiness they had together? “Wasn’t the goal of this marriage to produce a child? Haven’t I done everything you asked of me?” “Maybe it’s my fault you don’t understand what I need from you.” “What do you need?” Just cursed himself for asking. “I need you to give me the same thing I give to you.” Just didn’t respond, but inside his heart hoped and feared. His logical mind screamed for him to stop her from saying it. Large, damp brown eyes, gentle and deep like the first time he had seen her looked into his soul. “I want you to love me the way I love you.”

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Her words sent his being flying at the same time he heard the final lock on his emotional chains snap closed.

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Chapter Nineteen “Did your wife kick you out of your tent?” “No.” Sky’s amusement irritated Just. “She needs her rest.” Sky looked doubtful. “I guess she understood about you and Karal.” “There’s nothing about Karal and me to understand.” “Are you sure Karal feels the same way? Even I understand she wants you back.” “Back?” Just refilled his and Sky’s mug with water. It was hot under the canopy as they faced each other across a table. Sky had been sharing news of acquaintances and happenings in the Realm. “I never belonged to Karal Panor, and you know it.” “I know Karal is one in a long string of bed partners for you, but does she know?” Sky took a long drink. “I think you better make it a little clearer for her.” “I suppose you’re right.” “As usual.” “When have you become an expert on women?” “I don’t have to be. Any fool can see your wife is in love with you, and you’re crazy about her.” Denying Sky’s words would have been easy this morning, but not now. Katerina had spoken to him from her heart. Exhilaration still rippled through him as he remembered the look of love on her face. Now he knew what the mythical emotion looked like. Did he love her? Maybe. Probably. As close as he could tell. “Sky?” Just hesitated. He wasn’t used to talking about such things, not even to his best friend. Or was Katerina now his best friend? “How can a man know if he’s in love?” Sky sighed and stared into his drink. “Hell if I know. I remember when the fever took my mother, my father gave up the fight. He cried when she died, sobbed as he held her in his arms. He couldn’t live without her. I guess that’s love.” Just’s heart skipped a beat as he imagined Katerina being taken from him. Unthinkable. He had buried his parents. He couldn’t survive losing his family again. Loving someone carried a lot of risks and great potential for pain. He had forgotten that lesson and now it was too late. **** “Your health has been good while you carry?” Councilor Barter continued to make a valiant effort to keep the evening meal pleasant. “Yes, thank you.” Katerina felt sorry for the kind man, but she couldn’t raise the enthusiasm needed to ignore the tension at the table. “It must be difficult to carry on with your duties.” Karal’s voice dripped with false sympathy. “Why would I have problems?” Katerina asked through clenched teeth. “Well, carrying all that excessive, I mean, added weight. Surely it keeps you from some of your responsibilities?” Katerina thought she heard Vilicia growl. Karal’s rudeness seemed a palpable presence

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since they had all sat for this final meal together. Barter looked embarrassed. At least Sky and Vilicia directed their animosity at Karal instead of each other for a change. Only Just, seated beside Katerina, kept his emotions hidden. They hadn’t spoken since she had left him sitting with his mouth open after she demanded his love. “Katerina hasn’t had trouble with her duties.” “Really?” Karal turned her full attention on Just when he answered for Katerina. “What are the duties of the child of the Deomo?” Katerina held her breath. She had never asked Just to keep the connection between the Savages and the Solonians a secret. Would he expose their hidden shame to these people? “Her duties involve things of great importance that are no business to the Realm.” Just smiled at Katerina and it was if he touched her. “You can’t imagine the things she works on accomplishing.” Katerina savored the feeling of a secret shared. He knew how much the secret meant to her. “I’ve been giving your situation much thought, Just.” Karal reached across the table and put her hand on top of Just’s. “I see no reason you shouldn’t return with us for a visit and assure your friends and colleagues of your well-being.” “I would like to visit some time, Karal.” Katerina’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart shriveled as Karal smiled triumphantly. Just lifted Karal’s hand off his own. He placed his arm around Katerina’s shoulders and pulled her tightly to his side. “I’m afraid it’s too close to my wife’s time to come right now.” Just placed a light kiss on Katerina’s forehead. “After the baby is born, we would love to pay a visit to the Realm.” Just turned a suddenly cold glare on Karal. Katerina shivered, remembering the glacial quality of such a look from the days immediately following the collaring ceremony. Karal’s eyes widened, but she seemed unable to look away. “The invitation was for both of us, wasn’t it?” Just asked in an icy voice. “I would be highly insulted if anyone neglected to give my wife the proper respect due her.” Katerina almost pitied Karal as the councilor sat frozen, pinned in place by Just’s fierce scrutiny. Almost, but not quite. Sky continued to eat, but a small smile curved his lips. Vilicia openly smirked at Karal. A bubble of triumph started in Katerina’s middle, rose up her throat and pushed her lips into a wide curve. Maybe Just didn’t love her, but he had shown his loyalty to her. It was something, a part of him, given to her. “I’m ... I’m sure Karal intended the invitation for both of you.” Barter wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Katerina took pity on the man. Karal still hadn’t moved, but the woman’s face had become quite pale. “Of course.” Katerina placed her hand on Just’s thigh and gave him a warning squeeze. “That is what you meant, isn’t it, Karal?” Karal took her fixed stare from Just, turning to Katerina with a hopeful, somewhat confused look. She nodded her head vigorously. “Yes. Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. An invitation for both of you to visit at your convenience.” “We would be delighted to visit after the birth of our child.” Katerina tightened her hold on Just’s tense thigh, finally pulling his attention to her. “Isn’t that correct, heart-mate?”

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Just’s eyes widened for a moment when she used the endearment. She vowed to name him so at every opportunity. She slid her hand higher on his thigh, feminine power sweeping through her as he inhaled sharply. “My wife is correct as usual.” Just rose as he spoke, moving immediately behind Katerina and helping her to rise. “If you’ll excuse me, Katerina needs her rest. We have a long journey tomorrow. Karal, if you would have the documents ready at day break, we’ll present them to Deomo Sinda. Good eve.” Katerina contained her laughter until they were clear of the light spilling from the tent. She hadn’t felt his lighthearted since the request for this meeting arrived in Solonia. “What’s so funny?” Just pulled her close against his side as they walked. “I’m not sure. The look on Karal’s face, or maybe your hurry to leave and poor Barter.” Katerina laughed again. Just said nothing as he continued walking quickly toward their tent. When they arrived, he turned Katerina toward him and pulled her tightly against his body despite the babe between them. His mouth recovered hers, changing her amusement to shivers of desire. His lips teased at her until she opened for him, giving his tongue free access to her sensitive interior. She moaned as he gently kneaded one of her swollen breasts. The familiar ache of arousal spread from between her legs. Her nipples strained against the thin cloth covering them, her knees weakened and tried to give way. He lifted her and laid her among their sleeping mats. His lips moved to her jaw line, to her neck, and finally took one sensitive nipple into the hot suction of his mouth. She ran her fingers through his hair, savoring the silky texture she had come to know and enjoy as she held his mouth to her breast. One of his hands found its way under the hem of her roomy tunic. His fingers worked their magic on her thighs before moving to the center of her longings. She raised her hips in supplication, and he gave her what she wanted. As always. One of his long fingers entered her wet sheath while his thumb played on the taut nub of nerves outside the entrance. She could feel the coiling of tensions starting already. She wanted him inside her. She pushed his hands away and silently urged him on top of her. Resisting her attempts, he instead guided her to her side with her back to him. She heard the sliding of clothing as he stripped out of his clothes. Then his heat was against his bare buttocks. He used his feet to push her pants off the rest of the way. The broad head of his penis slid between her legs. He worked it rhythmically back and forth, fueling her need. “I want you inside me.” He didn’t make her beg, but adjusted himself to her opening. In one smooth stroke he entered her fully and deeply. His groan rumbled against her back, but she barely heard it as her climax flowed over her. The contractions of her muscles went on and on as her body attempted to pull him deeper. When the last shiver left her limp and replete, she realized he hadn’t moved since entering her. He lay still and hard, firmly entrapped in her body. She wrapped her hand around his strong rough one on her hip. “I love you.” A strong shudder passed through the lean body folded against hers. He thrust strongly in and out one time and gave up his seed with a shout he muffled in her hair. Maybe he couldn’t give his love yet, but Katerina knew she possessed parts of him. She would have the rest of him. Sleep beckoned as he kept her close, their bodies still entwined. She

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vowed their hearts would also be so in the future. **** Pretending interest in the meal in front of him, Sky hid his smile in response as Katerina’s joyous laughter floated toward them. He risked a glance at Karal. The Head Councilor’s face had gone from pale shock to red anger as soon as Just and Katerina made their hasty exit. One didn’t have to read minds to know Just wasn’t concerned about his wife’s rest when he hurried from their company. Steele had looked like a stallion scenting a mare in heat. Sky was happy for his friend. He understood Just’s loneliness, having his own share of that feeling. Just wasn’t alone anymore. Sky didn’t expect his friend would ever return to the Realm except to visit. “Aren’t they a lovely couple?” Sky knew the irritating woman was trying to prick Karal a little more. He appreciated Vilicia’s loyalty but considered her a trouble maker. “What would you know of couples?” Karal sneered at the Solonian warrior, all pretense of graciousness gone with Just’s departure. “Or do you?” Karal narrowed her eyes, her anger becoming thoughtful. “I know love when I see it,” Vilicia answered calmly. “Do you?” Karal smiled without humor. “I suppose with the lack of men in Solonia, it’s only natural.” “What’s only natural?” Vilicia sounded suspicious now. Sky wondered where Karal was leading this conversation. He had seen the viciousness in the woman before. Barter excused himself, but no one paid attention. Sky wanted to leave also, but he couldn’t leave Vilicia to face Karal alone. Vilicia might be strong physically, but in a war of words she would be no match for Karal. “I’ve heard rumors. I didn’t believe them until I met you. You’re such a ...,” Karal swept the Solonian with an insulting look, “such a strong looking woman. I’m sure many of the other females in Solonia find you quite attractive. Tell me. Do you have a monogamous relationship, or do you enjoy the charms of many?” Sky gaped at Karal, unable to believe she would dare such an insinuation. He watched confusion, then comprehension spread across Vilicia’s proud, beautiful face. The female warrior rose with dignity, her chin held high. “I understand why it was so easy for Lady Katerina to win the heart of Juston Steele. No wonder he chose to seek the warmth of her bed each night since the first day he arrived in Solonia. He’ll never return to your cold arms.” Vilicia walked stiffly from the tent. Sky had admired Vilicia’s physical traits from the first time he noticed her with the Solonian delegation to the Realm. Her personality was another thing, irritating him at every meeting. But the self control and pride she had demonstrated with Karal made him wonder who the real woman was. He rose to follow her, stopping in front of the stunned Karal. “You’re a real bitch, Karal. I'm glad Just escaped your attentions. Leave him alone.” “Are you threatening me?” Karal failed to pull her dignity together, so her question came out as pathetic. “Yes.” Sky left it at that, hurrying to catch up with Vilicia. She stopped as he approached, but didn’t turn to face him. “Do other men in the Realm believe that of us?”

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“Not that I’ve heard,” lied Sky. “Good. I have plans and such beliefs could interfere.” “Plans?” Sky walked around in front of her, wishing he hadn’t when he saw the damp track of tears on her cheeks. “Yes,” Vilicia answered with determination in her voice. “Just has already taken my place as leader of our warriors. As soon as Katerina delivers her healthy daughter, I’m going to find a Realm man to mate with so I can have a child.” “Mate with?” Sky was stunned. The thought of some faceless Realm man tangled in a naked embrace with Vilicia wakened his anger. “Yes,” Vilicia continued, apparently oblivious to his growing ire. “I’m going to ask Just for a recommendation, someone with intelligence and a strong physique.” “And then you’re going to take him to your bed?” Sky received a small amount of satisfaction when the silly woman finally sensed his anger. Her eyes widened and she took a step back from him. “Does he get a choice, or are you going to collar him first?” Vilicia narrowed her eyes at that. Her hands fisted on her shapely hips, her breasts rising with each sharp breath she took. Sky tried not to stare, but his gaze was drawn to the vee neck of her tunic like insects to the campfire. He called on his anger to save him. “And then what? Are you going to keep or maybe pass him around to a friend that wants a stud? Keep the breeding program going?” Sky wasn’t sure why he was saying these things, but damn she made him angry. “Don’t worry yourself, Turan.” Vilicia started to walk toward the Solonia camp. “I’m sure no Solonian would be desperate enough to select you for a mate.” Sky stood for a while in the darkness after Vilicia disappeared among the tents. The woman certainly knew how to get in the last word. **** “I’ll be in touch.” Just shook Sky’s hand. Both groups had broken camp at dawn and were exchanging last farewells. Just frowned at the sight of a number of Realm men speaking with Solonian warriors. The women knew so little of men ... how like animals they could be when it came to certain urges. He would be glad to get the two groups apart and his women safe in Solonia. “What’s wrong?” Sky asked. “I’m a little uneasy,” Just confided to Sky, glaring at one cadet in particular who dared to put his hand on Mia with familiarity. “I don’t trust all these lustful men with my girls.” Sky gave him an incredulous look. “You must be joking. Worry about the men! I don’t see any of them putting a collar on one of these women and planning a breeding program using them as brood mares.” Just led with his left fist and followed with his right. Seeing Sky lying in the grass didn’t even begin to slow the burn of anger in his gut. The entire gathering froze and silence fell like a blanket over the area. “It’s true,” Sky said angrily. “Look at yourself. You better check the future plans of the Solonians. When Katerina’s baby is born and you’ve proven your virility, the rest of those women intend to look for a breeding partner, also.” “Sky.” Just shook his head. He offered his friend a hand up. “You know it’s not that way between Katerina and I. And the Solonians have always been honest about their plan to seek

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husbands from the Realm if things work out.” “Are you sure they plan to find husbands?” “What are you getting at?” Just couldn’t understand Sky’s change in attitude since the day before. “Some of these women want nothing more than a convenient stud.” Sky poked a finger in Just’s chest. “I even hear you’re going to provide inside information on the acceptability of possible matches. Just saw his friend was serious, but he couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh. Sky’s scowl turned even darker. Katerina approached cautiously, followed by Vilicia. When they questioned him, Just laughed even harder. “I don’t think it’s funny,” Sky muttered. “What is it, Sky?” Katerina leveled a warning look at Just. He managed to stop laughing, but he couldn’t hold back a big grin. “Your husband is ....” Sky blushed. “Sky’s worried.” Just laughed again, enjoying Sky’s discomfort as Katerina stared at him. “He’s afraid we’re planning to kidnap all the men of the Realm and use them as breeding stock.” Just started to laugh again but stopped when none of the others showed a trace of amusement. “That’s not what I said,” Sky said in a quiet, even tone. “If you think my concerns are so ridiculous, why don’t you ask your second in command?” Just looked at Vilicia, surprised to see her face redden as Sky gestured toward her. “What’s he talking about, Vilicia?” Katerina asked. “How should I know? Turan turns words around until they mean what he wants to believe. I explained to him last night he doesn’t have to worry about a Solonian taking him for a mate.” Just laughed again, once more doing so alone. Katerina stared at Vilicia with concern. Vilicia’s face looked carved from stone. Just decided it was past time to leave. “Mount everyone up, Vilicia. We have a long way to go before nightfall. Did Karal deliver the documents, Katerina?” “Yes, she did.” Katerina finally smiled. “She was quite polite and respectful.” Just nodded. He hadn’t expected any more trouble from Karal. “Sky, I’ll be in touch in a few months. I think there are a lot of things that need to be worked out.” Just shook hands with Sky again. “Sorry about the fists.” Sky shrugged. “Hardly felt it. Best of luck, Just.” Katerina surprised Just by giving Sky a brief hug. “I hope you can visit us someday soon. Together we’ll work out the misunderstandings between our people. I give my personal promise to you, Sky Turan, no more Realm men will be collared against their will.” Just appreciated the surprise on Sky’s face since he felt stunned himself. He had planned to discuss the collaring issue with Katerina after their baby was born. A fierce swell of emotion welled in his chest as he helped Katerina mount her horse. He didn’t try to name the emotion as he enjoyed the wonder of it. Katerina smiled her thanks. She carefully leaned down to place her hand on his cheek. Her words carried only to him. “I love you.” **** “No one’s following.”

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“Lead the way, Vilicia.” Steele’s words carried to Herma’s hiding place in the rocks above the trail. Finally, he was having some luck. He had searched for the entrance to Solonia for weeks, subsisting on berries and water. Then when he had decided to give up, the bastard Steele showed up with his pregnant whore. Herma watched the quiet procession of horses, listening to Steele give orders. Steele himself didn’t take the lead. He carried his sleeping wife across his lap. Steele seemed to be the one in charge, though, making him wonder how many of the women were spreading their legs for the bastard. Slinking from his cramped position in the shadows, Herma moved quietly in line with the rear most rider. The stupid Solonians were so confident no one had followed them this far that they barely watched their back trail. Herma stayed close to the huge boulders lining the sides of the seemingly impassable path. No wonder he hadn’t been able to find the entrance on his own. He had no trouble keeping up while afoot as the horses slowed to weave their way through the rocky terrain. One of the last riders suddenly split away from the group and rode back toward him. Herma ducked into the shadow of a man sized boulder. The rider passed so close, Herma was tempted to spring up and pull her from the saddle. The anger constantly burning in his heart urged him to grab the bitch and snap her neck, but some bit of sanity held him still. If he satisfied his blood lust with this one, he would never find his way into Solonia. The other riders would look for their missing member, and he would be discovered. He had no desire to face Steele’s damned blue sword, at least not on an equal standing. The rear scout finally turned back to catch up with her fellows. Herma couldn’t keep up as the pace of the horses increased. He listened for the occasional ring of hoof on rock to lead him through the maze. He giggled with delight when the path led to an open valley. The going became easier for man and beast. Herma soon lost sight of the mounted group, but it no longer mattered. He was inside. Herma had been fighting for his life that ill-fated day Just Steel had him at sword point. He had read his death in Steele’s cold blue eyes, but the Solonia woman had felled Steele somehow. Herma was sure she had used the slave collar somehow. He had returned to the scene of the fight later and searched the area where the woman had stood. Herma pulled the thin wafer of crystal out of his pocket. This had to be the device the woman had used. He stopped to rest, his hate occupying his thoughts. Steele had to die. Herma believed he could put everything back together if he could rid himself of Steele. Maybe the sniveling Savages would come out of hiding if he killed Steele. The beasts believed Steele meant to hunt them down after he had frightened them with his arrogant display of slaying Zar. He would take them Steele’s head and they would help him again. Then he would show them the way into this valley. Herma laughed out loud, imagining the horror of the Solonians when the Savages overran their little haven. “Soon, Steele. Soon you’ll know the revenge of Herma.”

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Chapter Twenty Katerina woke unusually early, feeling well rested for a change. Memories of their arrival home were foggy. She remembered being cradled in Just’s arms through the last part of the journey. Rolling to her side, she drank in the sight of Just lost in slumber. Just’s force of will was so powerful when he was awake, she sometimes didn’t appreciate what a handsome man he was. Having Karal Panor pant over him reminded her Just had had a life before he had come to Solonia. How many women of the Realm might have welcomed him into their arms and beds? Even in her innocence, Katerina recognized Just’s experience in lovemaking. Sprawled on his back, legs and arms flung in haphazard masculine grace, Just had kicked the covers so his privates were barely covered. Katerina looked at him, admiring the familiar planes of his body. Leaning up on one elbow, she used her other hand to explore the taut skin of his chest. The first light of dawn crept in through the window. Just blinked once and then again until his eyes stayed half open. The sleepy look in his eyes aroused her as much as his usual focused intensity. The quick hardening of his penis hastened her own readiness. The way he always responded so instantly to her, more than anything, gave her confidence in her feminine power. She pushed his hands away as he reached for her. This time she would pleasure him, give back to him a little of what he always gave to her. He lay back and let her have her way with him. When she finally straddled his hips to mount him, a film of sweat covered him. She savored his moan as she lowered herself and took him inside with tormenting slowness. When she had him fully captured, he lost his restraint. Gripping her hips, he guided her in the rhythm he wanted. Slow and gentle at first, then fast and hard until she moaned. They reached their peak together, him taking her by surprise when she saw the agony of pleasure on his face as he spilled his seed. He eased her spent body to his side, holding her as close as her advanced pregnancy allowed. She said the words, “I love you.” He responded by tightening his arms and kissing the top of her head. She nestled closer to his shoulder and refused to despair. She had time. He would accept his fate and fortune and realize he loved her. Until he did, she would tell him of her love at every opportunity and one day he would say the words back. **** The prisoner wrinkled her nose at Herma as he stepped over the body of the guard. He realized he was filthy and had lost weight while hiding in the wild, but that would change. “Don’t stand there, you stupid bitch,” Herma barked. “Come with me before we’re discovered.” “Why should I? Why are you helping me?” She glared at him with hate and distrust in her flat brown eyes.

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“I’m helping you because we share the same goal.” Herma wondered if the woman was as insane as she looked. He reached inside his shirt and pulled forth the sliver of crystal. “I believe you dropped this last time I saw you. You saved my life that day, and now I do the same for you. All I ask is that you complete your task and kill Just Steele.” “I am called Marta.” She snatched the crystal from his hand. A fanatic gleam lit her eyes as her fingers closed around it. “What is your plan, Realm man?” **** “What do you think, Just?” Katerina looked at her mother in surprise. She couldn’t believe her mother had asked Just for his opinion about the Realm proposal. Anya also gave him a questioning look as the four of them sat at the morning meal reading the documents. “The Realm isn’t asking for anything more than what you’ve given them in the past. They only want it in writing.” “They distrust us?” Sinda asked with a frown. “I don’t think it’s that.” Just stared at the documents. “I think they want to protect themselves from another leader like Herma taking matters into his own hands. If there had been a written treaty between the Realm and Solonia, Herma could have been stopped when he forced my marriage. The other councilors would have had a reason to question and examine any dealings with Solonia.” “You could be right,” Anya agreed. “I think the question is do you trust them?” “Should we?” Sinda asked Just. “Of course we should,” Katerina said. “We can’t hold the actions of one man against the entire Realm.” “I’m not so sure. At least we should be careful in our dealings with them. The Realm will always put their needs first, and we must do the same.” Katerina thought her mood couldn’t climb any higher as Just spoke of the Solonians as his people. The baby kicked at that moment, hard enough to draw Just’s attention. He put his hand on her middle, a slow smile spreading on his face as the babe moved again. “Our little warrior agrees with me.” A commotion in the kitchen drew their attention to the door. It suddenly flew open even as Just leaped to his feet. Marta stepped into the room. Katerina heard moans from the kitchen as Marta moved further into the room. Katerina started toward Marta when Herma came through the kitchen door. He held a knife to the neck of Ursa, forcing her to act as a shield in front of him. “What is the meaning of this, Marta?” Sinda asked with calm command. “You must know you can’t do anything with all of us here.” Katerina was glad her mother spoke. Her own throat was so dry she could barely breathe. Herma and Marta looked too confident. Just moved away from Katerina, his battle ready tension adding to her fear. “You’re a fool, Sinda. You always have been, but bringing this man into our fortress was too much. He must die. If it costs me my life, I’ll have died to save Solonia.” Marta opened her hand, letting the light glint of the sliver of jarda crystal. “Die, Steele.” Just fell to his knees, knocking aside one of the chairs. Katerina screamed a curse at Marta.

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Sinda and Anya rushed around the table and knelt beside Just, whose back arched with agony. “Stay away from him or this hag dies.” Herma pushed his knife higher under Ursa’s chin, drawing a drop of blood. The poor woman’s eyes rolled with her fright. Vilicia flung open the front door to the hall, drawing her sword as she took in the scene. “Drop your weapon, bitch, or this servant will die.” Herma’s powerful diplomat’s voice carried easily across the hall. “Listen to him, Vilicia,” Katerina ordered. “I’ll kill you, Marta,” Vilicia snarled. “I’m willing to die to rid us of this vile man.” Marta panted as she spoke, her face scrunching with the effort she put into her attack on Just. Sweat ran in thick rivulets down the sides of her reddened face. Katerina forced herself to look at Just’s crumbled form, afraid he might already be dead. He was on his side, facing Vilicia. He wasn’t dead. One of his hands moved quickly, giving Vilicia instructions with the signals he had taught the warriors. Vilicia started to edge her way around the room. Sharp blue eyes swung around to stare at Katerina. She read the pain in his eyes, but overriding it was fierce determination. She could help. She would help. Katerina was sick to death of people interfering with her happiness. She screamed at the top of her lungs, freezing everyone in place. “You sister of a snake, may you burn in hell!” Katerina took a step away from Just and toward Marta and Herma. As she hoped, their attention was on her. Vilicia slid closer to the kitchen door. “The pure blood of our ancestors has been diluted in you, Katerina.” Marta’s voice shook with strain. “The babe you carry will be even less worthy to lead Solonia. I’ll kill it also.” Katerina no longer had to act to make a scene. Attacking Just, a full grown man was one thing, but to threaten Katerina’s unborn child was too much. She charged as fast as her bulky form would let her, her rage focused on Marta. Sinda’s and Anya’s cries were a dim noise. Before she covered half the distance, a look of surprise moved over Herma’s face. He turned to face the charging Vilicia with Ursa held in front of him. The scene slowed as Katerina saw Herma’s hand tightening on the knife at Ursa’s throat. She expected to see the dear woman’s blood spurting over the edge of the blade. Instead, a flash of silver passed Katerina’s line of vision. A blossom of red grew on Herma’s neck below his ear. A knife quivered in the wound, a simple table knife used to cut fruit. Herma dropped his own weapon and clawed at his neck. Ursa scrambled away, rushing to Vilicia. Vilicia pushed the woman behind her back and held her own sword toward Herma. Herma’s knees folded slowly, dropping him to the floor. Herma stared past Katerina’s shoulder. His mouth flapped open and closed as he tried to speak. All he produced was a few gurgling sounds as blood frothed from his mouth. Katerina jumped, her heart almost stopping when someone touched her elbow with a whisper of contact. It was Just, alive and standing. He moved slightly so they didn’t touch, but she had already been jolted by his agony. Tight lines of pain bracketed his eyes and mouth, but he stood steady as a rock. Katerina wanted to throw her arms around him, but he moved further away from her. He was right. That kind of pain might hurt the babe. “It’s over, Marta,” Just said, his voice somehow steady and commanding. “The jarda no

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longer affects me.” “No. That’s impossible. I can kill you with this. You’ll die,” Marta screeched in a maniacal tone. She stepped toward Just. Katerina stepped in front of Just. The closer Marta was to Just the stronger the power of the jarda. “Kill her, Vilicia.” Vilicia picked up Herma’s knife and started forward. “You’re not permitted to order my death,” Marta cried, her frantic gaze flicking from Katerina to Vilicia and back. “Solonians don’t kill each other. It’s our law!” “Unless you have first murdered or plotted to murder one of our own.” Sinda stepped behind Katerina. Her mother put her hand on Just’s back, unseen by Marta. Sinda’s quick intake of breath spoke of the intensity of his pain. Anya moved up to Just’s other side, also laying her hand on his back. “He’s from the Realm,” Marta sneered. “Our laws don’t pertain to outsiders.” “That’s been your mistake all along, Marta. Just became a Solonian the moment I married him,” Katerina yelled at Marta. Marta looked confused for a moment, as if she might have second thoughts about her actions. The moment passed, and she regained her superior air. She dropped the jarda to the floor. “I see the futility of trying to rid Solonia of it’s full grown vermin.” Marta pulled a knife from inside her loose tunic. “But I can make sure his seed doesn’t further contaminate us.” Things happened so fast, Katerina barely comprehended Marta’s intention to stab the unborn babe. Katerina flew into her mother’s arms as Just thrust her out of the way. Katerina screamed as her mother collapsed under her, sending them both to the floor. Sudden silence followed, broken only by the sound of running footsteps. More warriors ran into the room, with Ursa leading the charge. Someone helped Katerina to her feet. Most of the women looked past her, their expressions ranging from rage to concern. “Hell and damnation.” Just’s muttered curse freed Katerina from her fear of seeing what had become of him. Turning, she found him and Vilicia standing side by side, staring down at Marta’s body. She should feel sorrow, the woman had been ill in her mind, but only relief filled her. Katerina hurried to Just, wrapping her arms around him from behind. Her knees started to give way as pain lanced through the contact and warm sticky liquid coated her fingers. Katerina spun him around, her own gasp echoed by those watching. His shirt was torn from side to side, the tan material soaked with blood. “She stabbed you,” Katerina croaked. “A little slice,” Just said, actually shrugging. “If Vilicia hadn’t been so slow, she wouldn’t have gotten me at all.” “Me? You’re the one who was too slow.” Vilicia feigned anger, but she appeared as shaken by the attack as Katerina. “All that food you consume is catching up with you.” Katerina couldn’t bring herself to share their strained amusement, but many of the other women in the room smiled or laughed. “You need to lie down and let us check that wound,” Anya ordered briskly. “That might be a good idea,” Just agreed, his eyes devoid of their usual blue fire as he looked at Katerina. “Between the damn collar and the damn knife, I feel a little ....” Katerina watched in horror as Just’s eyes rolled back in his head and he began to wilt to the

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floor. Vilicia and a few other women caught him and eased his descent. Katerina knelt at his head. “Just?” Katerina patted his cheeks gently, aware of others gathering around them. Sinda issued orders while Vilicia cut away his bloody shirt. “Just.” Just’s eyes fluttered a few times before staying half open. “What happened?” Katerina stroked his face, feeling his pain and not caring. “You fainted, but it’s all right now.” She blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from falling. He was all right, but it frightened her to see him so weak and confused. “I’ve never fainted before in my life.” Just’s arrogant whisper was barely audible before he slipped under again. Katerina lifted his head onto what remained of her lap. “I think we better stitch this up before we move him. It’ll be easier if he’s unconscious.” Sinda’s face was pale, but her voice was firm. She gestured at Marta’s body. “Vilicia, remove that from our hall.” Katerina only took one quick look at Just’s gaping wound as Anya and Sinda efficiently stitched it. It was superficial, she told herself. She had treated more serious, deeper wounds herself without flinching. But seeing the slice across the taut abdomen she knew so well nauseated her. Before they finished, Just woke enough to thrash around. He stilled when Katerina bade him, but then he blacked out again. He tried to escape the needle as he hung between consciousness and darkness until some of the warriors had to restrain him. By the time the stitching was done, Katerina sagged with weariness both physical and mental. “Let’s put him to bed while he’s still out of it,” Sinda said. **** Just wondered why he couldn’t wake up. His eyes were heavy. Maybe he dreamed, but never had pain visited his nightmares like it did now. His middle was on fire, and he was starving. The murmur of voices, words indistinct, finally guided him out of the fog. He was in bed surrounded by Sinda, Anya, Ursa, Katerina and Vilicia. Everyone but Katerina listened to Vilicia talk about Herma. His wife looked only at him, her face lined with worry. Memory returned, everything right until he ... fainted? “You’re awake,” Katerina said, her expression brightening. “I think I would rather not be.” “You saved my life.” Ursa beamed at Just, a few tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. Katerina moved back so the large woman could lean over the bed. Ursa kissed Just’s cheek and wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders. “I can never thank you enough.” Just winced as the strength of Ursa’s hug sent needles of deeper pain to his abdomen. He gently pushed her back so he could look in her eyes. “No thanks are necessary, Ursa. When I came here, a lonely hungry stranger, you welcomed me into your kitchen.” Just smiled. Ursa fed him with undisguised pleasure at any hour of the day. “Friends are never in debt to each other. They’re there for each other when they’re needed. If I were half as good at my duties are you are at yours, you would never have been in danger today.” Ursa puffed and straightened, a large smile on her face. “I’ll go and prepare you something to eat right now. You didn’t get a chance to finish your meal earlier, and you need something extra to speed your recovery. You stay right there, and I’ll bring you a tray.”

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Ursa hurried out the door as if he might leave if she didn’t get started right away. “You’re a natural leader of people, Steele,” Sinda said, as she gave him one of those considering looks of hers. “You know how to make people feel good about themselves, make them feel important.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Just countered. “I don’t try to make anybody feel anything. Ursa is important to me. I’m starving.” “That’s it exactly,” Sinda said. “You don’t have to try. It comes naturally to you. You’re a very dangerous man.” Just didn’t hear a threat in Sinda’s words, but he didn’t trust the shrewdness in her eyes. “How do you feel?” Katerina asked. “Will everyone leave me alone if I say I feel fine?” “No.” Katerina smiled. “So you may as well tell us the truth.” “Mostly I’m hungry.” “That must be why you fainted, lack of nourishment.” Vilicia smirked. “If you had been any slower, I wouldn’t have a stomach to fill,” Just shot back. “I don’t think we need to go into that,” Katerina said, her face going pale. Just sat up and despite the resulting tearing pain, he reached for Katerina. She looked like she might faint. Suddenly, everyone seemed to have a hand on him, pushing him back to lie prone. “Are you trying to tear out all those stitches, you fool?” Sinda scolded him angrily. “It took a long time to put those forty-two bits of thread in your tough hide. You won’t like it if I have to redo some of them while you’re awake.” Just knew he was outnumbered. He relaxed back into the pillows. He wasn’t in any hurry to sit up again anyway. The women moved back a little except Katerina who sat on the bed beside him. She tried to take his hand, but he wouldn’t let her. Pain still grated on most of his nerve endings. “Has anyone figured out how Herma got here and how he freed Marta?” Just asked. Vilicia answered. “We haven’t had a chance to backtrack, but I think Herma must have followed us the last time we were out. He freed Marta by attacking the guard taking her for her morning exercise.” Just searched his mind for the guard schedule. “Lea?” “She’ll be fine except for a headache. You might want to talk to her later. She feels responsible.” Just nodded. Lea shouldn’t blame herself. She guarded against an escape attempt by Marta, not an attack from another person. Katerina picked up the tale. “Herma must have known Marta had some special power over you. He witnessed her attack during his ambush attempt. He found the jarda crystal and freed Marta to help him get his revenge.” “It’s proof of the illness of their minds,” Anya added sadly. “Any sane person would have realized they had no chance to live through their rash actions.” “I feel no sympathy for either of them,” Katerina said. “Neither can I,” Just agreed. “I didn’t know Marta that well, but Herma was evil.” “We’ll send a message to the Realm. They’ll want to know of Herma’s death,” Sinda said. The women discussed how much to tell the Realm about the attack. Just listened, but preferred watching Katerina to joining the conversation. After they agreed on the missive, Sinda

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fixed her no nonsense glare on him. “I have one more question then we’ll let you rest. Would you care to explain how you were able to overcome the effects of the collar?” “Yes, please do.” Anya leaned closer. “I felt the power of the jarda when I touched you. You shouldn’t have been able to stand up, let alone throw a knife and speak with perfect calmness.” Just resisted the urge to squirm as the four women focused on him. He couldn’t explain it. He shrugged, stalling. The door swung open to admit Ursa. She carried a tray heaping with a variety of food. Just grinned as his stomach growled in welcome. “Ursa, you’re the life saver.” Sinda and Vilicia helped him to sit up, though he could have done it himself. Fresh fruit, hot porridge, warm bread and large mug of berry juice crowded the tray. Just dug in while Ursa beamed at him. The happy cook left after Just assured her everything was wonderful. “Are you going to answer the question?” Sinda asked. Just paused in mid bite, returning the slice of bread to the tray. Hell, he should have known they wouldn’t forget. “I’m not sure how I did it.” Just looked at Vilicia. “Vilicia, do you remember when you first started training and you got hit really hard for the first time?” “Yes.” Vilicia smiled at the fond memory. “I thought my head had been disconnected from my shoulders. I was useless the rest of the day.” “And what about the next time?” “It hurt as much, but I picked myself up and handled it. I knew what to expect.” “That’s as close I can come to an explanation.” Just waited for the others to nod agreement as Vilicia was. Sinda and Anya looked more confused than ever. Katerina voiced hers. “You mean you get used to it?” Just shook his head. “No, you can’t get used to that much pain, but because you’ve experienced it before, you can deal with it. You can function beyond it.” “It’s a matter of mind over body,” Vilicia added, her admiration clear. “Son, I felt a small part of your agony when I touched you. No one can handle that much pain and act as normal as you did,” Anya said gently. Just wanted to reach for Katerina’s hand, but he looked at Anya. He felt like he was making some kind of commitment or something, but they weren’t going to be satisfied until he told the whole truth. “Grandmother, I can overcome any obstacle, any amount of pain, if the reason to do so is important enough.” He looked at Katerina then. Her eyes sparkled with emotion. “Believe me, the reason was the most important thing in the world to me.”

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PART III: BEGINNINGS Chapter Twenty One Just paced outside. He had tried pacing inside but found the hall too small for his energy. Now that he was outside, he felt too far away from Katerina. He went back inside and soon felt stifled. He ended up back on the porch. Some women stopped to speak with him, but he responded with short answers. Soon they kept their distance, staring at him and whispering among themselves. He appreciated their genuine concern, but he needed to agonize by himself. Katerina’s stomach had grown to horrifying dimensions the last few weeks. He had spoken privately to Anya about it a few days before and hell if the old lady didn’t give him one those secret woman smiles. The kind that meant she was laughing at him. Normal, Anya said, but he didn’t see how that was possible. How could Katerina give birth to a child of such a size? He had seen horses unable to deliver an over large foal. No! He couldn’t picture Katerina suffering such agonies. Beyond that, he still worried about the health of the child. Despite his assurances to Katerina, Just was less than certain the babe would be all right. The little one was active, though. Her acrobatics kept them both awake many nights, not that he minded. He often lay awake after Katerina slept. He kept his hand on her belly, waiting for one more kick, one more turn, one more slice of heaven with his wife and child. He stopped and stared at the hall entrance, his home for nine months. His home for the rest of his life if he had anything to say about it. Not the building itself, but the woman inside. Their agreement was over with the birth of a healthy child, but he planned to make their joining a permanent arrangement. Vilicia walked out the door, looking tired and worried. She had been allowed in the room with Katerina, unlike himself. Just fought a sick feeling in his stomach as he waited for her to come to him. His legs didn’t want to walk and hear the news that had her looking so worried. “You can go in now,” Vilicia said in a strained tone. “Is something wrong?” The words snagged in his throat. “I don’t think so. It’s so frustrating to not be able to do anything. I’ve never seen a human birth before. Sinda and Anya said it’s normal for it to take so long.” Just sagged with relief. He understood Vilicia’s helplessness. He tried to comfort her, knowing she cared about Katerina, also. “It’ll be fine. Katerina is strong and healthy.” Vilicia nodded and gave him a quick hug. She hurried off to speak with the other women before he could return the embrace. Would he ever get used to the female habit of hugging and touching? As anxious as he had been to be with Katerina before, Just hesitated now. He understood childbirth could be painful. Could he stand to see that? And dangerous, too. He had heard of women dying. His made his way to their bedroom, his steps sluggish.

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The scene in the room was peaceful and crowded. At least five women besides Sinda and Anya busied themselves at some task. They spoke in muted voices as if Katerina slept. He stared at Katerina, meeting her calm gaze across the room. Pillows propped her up and one of those secret woman smiles played on her lips. As he neared the bed though, he saw lines of strain around her eyes. Just sat on the bed next to her, unable to find a single word. He had a strange desire to apologize. He knew it was ridiculous, but her pain seemed his responsibility somehow. Katerina suddenly reached out and took his hand in a bone crushing grip. Sweat beaded on her brow. She closed her eyes, but not before he read the pain in them. An eternity passed before she stopped panting and relaxed her grip on his hand. Katerina opened her eyes and smiled at him. Just was horrified. He stood and spun to face the other women in the room. Most of them stepped back before his rage. He glared at Sinda with all the power of his will directed at her. “Why aren’t you doing something?” “What do you mean?” Her calmness and confusion further infuriated him. He took a step toward her. “She’s in terrible pain,” he said between his clenched teeth. He wanted to shout every curse he knew at her, but that might upset Katerina. What was the matter with these women? A sound from Katerina pulled him back to her. She panted with another contraction. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and took her hand again. Helpless and useless, he held on until she relaxed again. Sinda joined them, sitting on the other side of the bed. She wiped Katerina's damp forehead with a cloth. After she finished, she looked at Just. Sympathy and impatience warred on her regal expression. “Don’t speak to me in that tone, young man,” she snapped. “We can’t stop her pain. There’s a danger to the child is we use our remedies during the birth process. Also the labor is shorter if the mother remains fully alert.” Another contraction interrupted her explanation. Just held on, his despair growing. Anya put her hand on his shoulder. “Why can’t you help her like you helped me when Marta used the jarda?” Just begged. “Take some of the pain yourselves.” “Stop talking about me as if I weren’t here.” Katerina poked him in the chest. He caught her hand and held it. “There’s a danger to a healer who does that. They can even die. I won’t let Mother and Grandmother take that risk to save me a little pain.” Just looked at each of them as they nodded in agreement. Damn. “It’s not that bad,” Katerina assured him. What a time for her to lie to him. Before he could call her on it, another contraction started. Conversation ceased again until it passed. Katerina asked everyone to leave. They did so with some reluctance. They were alone, and he still couldn’t find the words he needed. Katerina touched his cheek. He pressed her hand there before turning to kiss her palm. “We’ll be fine.” Hell’s fire! She was comforting him. “Of course you will be. I ….” Just stumbled to a stop. He couldn’t tell her now that he couldn’t go on if anything happened to her. “I’m a little uncomfortable around this stuff. The horses make it look so easy.”

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She laughed, but another contraction cut her off. This one arched her back off the bed. He leaned over to retrieve the cloth Sinda had used and patted her face gently. The other women returned to the room as he helped her resettle on the pillows. He hadn’t told her anything. He needed more time alone with her. “Why don’t you wait outside? It could be hours yet.” Anya spoke kindly but firmly. An order. “Hours?” Nods answered his question. Just looked at Katerina, and she nodded also. He leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were hot and dry under his, their kiss too short. He held her gaze as he backed out of the room, trying to convey silently what he hadn’t been able to say out loud. He stared at her until one of the women closed the door in his face. For a long time, Just stared at the door, not even sure what he was thinking. Touching his father’s sword hanging at his side, Just felt the heat of his own emotions reflected back to him. It wasn’t anger. It was something he had little experience with. Still, he recognized the gut wrenching fear for what it was. **** Katerina stared at the door, ignoring the soft murmurs around her. She wanted him here with her, but it was a selfish thought. Just didn’t look like he would survive seeing her in labor. Another contraction wiped any pleasant thoughts from her mind. It was the worse one yet. The peaceful center of her being became more difficult to find with each pain. A tiny voice, her healer instincts, told her something was wrong. She had no experience to interpret the messages drifting to her. She had to tell them. “Mother, I think there’s a problem.” Sinda smiled softly and sat on the bed with her. She patted Katerina’s hand. “You’re experiencing natural jitters. Things are moving along as they should.” “No.” Katerina’s certainty grew. “I know what I know.” Her mother understood as did Anya, who had been listening. Sinda rose and moved to the end of the bed. She motioned to Katerina to lift her knees. She then lifted Katerina’s robe and gave her an intimate examination. The other women kept a respectful distance. Katerina struggled with her control as another contraction overwhelmed her. Sinda rose as the contraction faded, her face pale and grim. Tell me,” Katerina whispered. Everyone crowded in to hear. “A foot. I see a foot.” Stunned silence. “No. Please. No, it can’t be,” Katerina cried, her voice rising to a wail. “It’ll be all right.” Sinda pulled herself upright, a stubborn look settling on her face. “First, I’ll need lots of hot water to keep my hands as clean as possible. We must find the other foot. The baby can be delivered that way.” Everyone scrambled to do something. Anya sat by Katerina and held her hand, murmuring comforting words. The babe had to make it. “Mother, if it comes down to the child or me, save my daughter. Promise me.” Sinda raised her chin as high, probably to keep the tears from spilling out of her eyes. She gave a short nod. “I promise, but it’s not necessary. I’m the greatest healer Solonia has ever known. I’ll save you both. Her mother was the best.

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Four hours later, Katerina was too tired to care if she lived or died. Tiny bit by tiny bit, Sinda worked to find the other foot. She claimed progress, but Katerina suspected her mother lied to keep her going. Her strength of mind and body was gone, overwhelmed by the power of her contractions. “Yes! I have it,” Sinda shouted. “You can push now, Katerina.” Katerina tried when the next wave of muscular agony slammed into her, but her strength failed. She fought to remain conscious. Vilicia had returned at some point and now tried to encourage her. Katerina felt herself slipping away. She had failed. Failed her child, failed her people, failed Just. She hadn’t even told him she loved him the last time they spoke. That thought gave her the strength to open her eyes. “Get him, please.” Vilicia nodded. Katerina gave into the heaviness pressing on her eyes. The contractions seemed far away, almost as if they happened to someone else. Rest was all she wanted. A pleasant picture of Just training with his sword surfaced from her memories. Sweat glistened on his bare shoulders as his muscles rippled and flowed with his movements. He turned and saw her. A warm welcoming smile spread across his face as he walked to meet her. But when he got close enough, he grasped her by the shoulders and started to shake her. She concentrated to decipher his urgent words. “Open your eyes and look at me.” He was angry? Her eyes were open, weren’t they? “Katerina, wake up!” How dare he order her that way! Blinding light stabbed her eyes when she blinked. Reality crashed into her with the renewal of pain. Just leaned over her, a fierce frown on his face. She tried to lift her hand and failed, but he took it in his own and pulled it to his cheek. Tears overflowed her eyes. She thought she must have been crying for a long time. “I’m sorry.” Blue eyes blazed fiercely at her. She loved that part of him. “Sorry for what?” His voice was soft but rough. “For many things. For taking you against your will. For the collar. For failing your daughter.” A lump the size of her breaking heart filled her throat. “But mostly I’m sorry for having not told you I love you at every opportunity during our time together.” Stark pain crossed his face. Then his face hardened to stone. “There’s nothing you can do?” Sinda’s pale face moved into her line of sight. “We’ve tried everything we know, including sharing her pain and giving her our strength.” Katerina followed her mother’s gesture toward the chair on the other side of the bed. Anya slumped in exhaustion. Katerina’s attention returned to Just. He took both her hands and pressed them to the collar on his neck. She stiffened at the heat emanating from it. “Hold on.” He kept his hands over hers, trapping hers there. A gasp forced its way out of her throat. Life and energy flowed from him to her. Strength returned to her hands. She held on for her life. As her alertness increased so did the pain. She watched his eyes widen. First with surprise, then with agony. She tried to pull away. “No,” he said through clenched teeth. He pressed her hands even tighter to the collar. His stare focused with greater intensity and her pain faded until it was almost gone. “Push,” Sinda ordered, breaking through Katerina’s wonder at the miracle.

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She pushed and pushed. Pain tried to take her again, but Just pressed her hands tighter to the collar. Only an ache remained for her to deal with, but sweat rolled down Just’s brow. “Once more.” Sinda sounded excited and hopeful. Anya swayed beside Sinda. The other women crowded close. Sweet relief flooded Katerina as the babe slid from her body. She stared into Just’s bleak eyes as they held their breath. A small mewling at first, then a shaky thin cry cut into the silence. The next sound was a full angry wail, quickly drowned out by the cheers and excited words of the women. Just leaned down and hugged her, crushed her to his chest. Some of the conversations around her penetrated her bliss. “Unbelievable ....” “Not in twenty generations at least ....” She thought they spoke of the special bond between herself and Just. Her mother carried the loud bundle to her. Every female eye streamed tears. Vilicia sobbed outright with joy. Then her mother handed her the child. A perfect face, even all red and wrinkled with displeasure. Sinda smiled. “My dear daughter, I present you with your ... son.” “What?” Katerina pulled her gaze from the baby to stare at her mother. The royal family always had daughters. But Sinda looked jubilant. Katerina looked at Just, finding his expression stunned as was she. Katerina carefully lifted aside the bundling clothes. The evidence was there. The little one truly resembled his father. A soft kiss brought her back to the man. Her man. The father of her child. “Thank you, wife, for my son.” “Thank you, husband, for my son.” “The Steele breeds true,” Just said with a wide smile. The same words he had used to calm her fears months ago. “The Steele breeds true,” she agreed, her face aching with her large grin. Someone started to laugh and soon the entire room joined the merriment. Sinda leaned over and looked at her grandson. He lay quiet now, his large blue eyes looking from Katerina to Just. Dark hair stuck out at odd angles over his head. Katerina saw her mother looked pleased. “Isn’t he perfect, Mother?” “Yes. Well done, both of you. A boy!” Sinda turned a warm gaze to Just. “You do insist on doing things your way around here, don’t you?” Just grinned. “I do what I can.” “Is there anything you can’t do, Juston Steele?” Sinda ran her finger along the babe’s cheek. “This explains why you felt no bond with the child, Katerina. A son would not be sensed like a daughter.” Katerina gasped as a mild contraction took her by surprise. Only moments had passed since the birth, but things weren’t completed yet. Sinda took charge. “Just take the child and tell the people. They’re all waiting outside. The rest of you, we need to finish here with the afterbirth and then get my daughter cleaned up so she can rest.” Katerina reluctantly handed her son to Just. He held the babe as it he were made of spun glass. Just stared at him, enthralled. “He won’t break, boy. His parents are people of sturdy earth rock.” Anya’s comment

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caused a small grin, but Just still looked worried. He didn’t move. “Go, General, tell your people the good news.” Katerina watched the surprise on his face. He nodded and walked with care to the door. Vilicia gave her a quick hug before following Just. **** Just had trouble walking to the exit. He couldn’t look away from the miracle in his arms. His son was so tiny. Blue eyes matching his own never wavered from his face. A child, blood of his blood, another addition to his family. He stepped carefully outside, surprised to find the night lit with torches. It appeared every Solonian was present. He looked out over the crowd. His people. He loved them. He would give his life to protect any one of them the same as he would for his family. They pressed closer, eyeing the bundle. “Lady Katerina is fine.” A wild cheer went up. He waited for the quiet to return. Vilicia came out of the hall and stood beside him. His sister, through thick and thin. “I present to you our child.” He raised the babe high in the air. “Our son” There was stunned silence for a long moment then pandemonium—whooping, shouting, screaming. Just pulled his son close to his body as the boy started to cry again. The women closest to him quieted when they heard the baby’s wails. Like a bucket of spilled water, the silence spread back through the ranks until once again there was no sound except the crying of the child. Vilicia stepped off the porch and turned to face him. Just noticed the women nearest the porch were his warriors. As one, they knelt in the grass and the others followed, paying homage to the young royal child. Just heard someone else join him on the porch. Sinda gasped. “Solonians do not kneel,” she whispered. “What have you done to us? You’re changing everything.” “You should have thought of that before you brought me here,” Just said without heat. Sinda gave him a wry look. “To believe we thought we had you under firm control.” “You do. Now. But it’s not the collar. My chains are living. I hold one of them. Some others kneel to him. The other rests inside. Even you are a chain to hold me.” He looked again at the bowed heads before him. “Only death can free me now. I have no desire to escape.” “I believe you, Just, but I think there’s someone else you should be telling this to.” The women rose from the ground with renewed cheering and applause. Just nodded and smiled, but his mind already tried to find the words he would need to convince Katerina he wanted out of their deal. **** The hovering women finally left, leaving Katerina alone with her thoughts. The euphoria of the birth wound down enough to let the emptiness in her heart return. She knew what she must do. She loved him. He didn’t love her in return. He had had months to say the words. As if her thoughts had drawn him, Just opened the door and entered. He still cradled their son. He lifted his beautiful blue eyes and stared at her. “He’s sleeping.” He transferred the babe to her arms, his touch lingering. He settled himself on the side of her bed. They both gazed on their child for a few moments. “I think ....” “We need ....” Katerina shared his smile as they both talked at once.

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“Let me go first,” Just said. She nodded in agreement. She was in no hurry to end this moment, perhaps their one and only as a complete family. “I want to end this ridiculous agreement we made when I was in the Realm dungeon.” He startled her, bringing it up only an hour after their son was born. Anger fueled by hurt, deep hurt, screamed to be released. She tried to discuss it easily as he was. “I agree. Please remove your things from my room. Vilicia can escort you from the valley first thing in the morning.” She ignored the stunned look on his face. “Thank you for my son. I’ll let you know what I decide to name him.” Why did he glare at her? She was giving him what he wanted without a fight. She couldn’t maintain her anger, the hurt was too much. She remembered her vow to use force to make him stay, but she loved him too much. She wanted to beg, but some last bit of pride survived her exhaustion. “You’ll let me know what you name him?” Just asked in a soft, lethal voice. What was wrong with him? “Yes. You may give me your opinion of course, but it will be my decision.” “In that case, let me give you my opinion.” His voice was even softer. “I’ve given you nine months of my life. I’ve left all my friends behind to come to a strange land where I’m the only man. I’ve starved on what you people call a meal. I’ve spend hours training warriors to protect Solonia. I’ve been attacked by members of your society for no other reason than my gender.” She opened her mouth, but he gave her a look that froze her tongue. “I’ve been assaulted by a madwoman using this collar you put on me. I’ve shed my blood and led your fighters against your enemies. Today, I gave everything I have to give you so you and our child would live. Now you tell me to pack?” The way his voice rose at the end of his list of accomplishments fascinated her. She had never heard him yell before. The babe stirred and looked at his father. She took a deep breath and decided to risk it all. “All you say is true. You’ve given all that and more. You’ve given so much for the greater good of Solonia and the Realm.” She paused and looked at the wonder in her arms. “But you must give one more thing. There are words you need to say. You’ve never lied to me so if you say it, I’ll believe you.” She didn’t try to keep her desperate hope out of her eyes. She bared her soul, wanting no misunderstanding. “I love you, Lady Katerina, my wife, my friend, my lover.” All his guards were down, leaving his heart open to her. Then he kissed her, on her forehead, her eyelids, and finally her mouth with a tenderness that freed her tears. Tears of joy. “I love you, General Steele, my husband, my friend, my lover.” It was as if they had again spoken their joining vows. He was hers. Forever.

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EPILOGUE Just frowned at the warriors practicing in the training yard. Katerina smiled at his frown. He had been like this for days now, ever since the six Realm men had arrived. “Stop worrying so, Just. They can take care of themselves.” “I’m going to kick Wilan’s butt.” “Why?” “He knocked Mia down again.” Katerina laughed. Just turned his frown on her, which only made her laugh harder. His expression softened as he looked at her. She recognized the desire igniting in his blue eyes. They had been making up for lost time the past month. “If I recall, you gave her much rougher treatment the first time you practiced with her.” “That was different.” “Mia isn’t complaining. Wilan seems a fine young man. I think he’s about to ask permission to step out with her.” If the poor cadet could work up the courage. Just had made the rule that no man could be alone with any of the Solonians unless he received Just’s personal approval. It had sounded like a good idea to Katerina until the Realm men actually arrived. It hadn’t taken long to see the men were scared to death of Just. “You could be a little easier on the men.” Some of the women complained the Realm men were too shy. Katerina didn’t think they were shy, only very cautious. The man standing beside her kept them that way. “These boys are intimidated by you.” “That’s one way to put it.” “All right. They’re frightened to even look at you.” “Good.” “Good? How are they supposed to find mates if they can never have the chance to know each other?” “If they’re sincere in their wish to know one of our women better, they’ll overcome that fear. Otherwise ....” He shrugged to finish the thought. Katerina admitted it wasn’t such a bad idea, but the Solonians were so anxious to start families. Sinda walked toward them, carrying Sanlar in her arms. Their son was totally spoiled. In the three months since his birth, he had won every heart in the community. Sinda gave the infant advice on ruling Solonia as they walked. Katerina and Just exchanged a smile before Sinda arrived. She reluctantly gave up her burden to his father when Just reached for Sanlar. The strength of the child continued to amaze everyone. He could push himself up on his elbows and roll over in either direction. “We were inspecting the new horses the men brought with them,” Sinda said. “They’re fine animals.” “They’re the last of what I was able to keep over the years from my father’s herd. They were the best of the bunch.” Katerina tuned out the words as her mother and Just continued their discussion of breeding.

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They would probably be arguing shortly. They both seemed to enjoy their regular disagreements. Sanlar tugged on his father’s dark hair with one hand and had his other one fisted in his mouth. Both of the men in her life looked at Sinda with identical, piercing blue eyes. When Just smiled, so did Sanlar, likewise when he frowned. She laughed at the picture they made. All three turned to frown at her. Each day seemed happier than the one before. “Let’s get out of here, Sanlar. We don’t have to put up with being laughed at,” Just joked. “I’m afraid you do. It’s mealtime and then nap time for this little guy.” They both grinned at her. “I better go with you. I think he’s getting too big for you to carry around,” Just said. “Don’t be silly,” Sinda said. “I’ll go with Katerina and make sure she gets a nap, too. You stay here and make sure these men don’t try to take advantage of our people. I’m still not comfortable with no collars.” Just stepped back as Sinda reached for Sanlar. Katerina saw another argument brewing. “Mother, I think Just will see that I get in bed.” Her mother blushed at Katerina’s blunt statement. Just nodded with a suspiciously serious expression on his face. “I’ll do it for her own good.” “Oh, get out of here. I’ll keep an eye on this game.” She shooed them away. Anya and Councilman Barter joined them before they could make their escape. Anya smiled at the beaming statesman as if he were a juicy desert. An unbelievable thought grew in Katerina's mind. What was going on between those two? Just didn’t tiptoe as he spotted the same thing. “Don’t think because you’re an old man, Barter, I won’t treat you the same as those young fools.” He leaned menacingly toward the couple. “Just!” Anya gasped, her face turning red. “Stay out of this, grandmother.” Just glared at Barter. “This is between Barter and me.” To Katerina’s surprise, the frail looking man held his ground. “I’m not one of those young boys you can intimidate, Steele. Lady Anya and I are old enough to make our own decisions about our lives and how we want to lead them. You know I was chosen to be a liaison between Solonia and the Realm.” Just didn’t answer, so Katerina did. “We’re glad to have you here.” Barter smiled at Katerina before continuing. “I have been a widower for many years. I loved my dear wife and never found another to take her place in my heart. That is, until I met this treasure.” Anya blushed even more as Barter placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. Just made a sound that resembled a mountain cat growl. “I’ve asked this lovely woman to be my wife, and she has consented. We’re not asking your permission, merely informing you of our intentions. We hoped to have your blessings.” Katerina recovered first. How could they not all be happy when Anya looked so ecstatic? Katerina hugged her grandmother. “If you find only a small fraction of the joy with your husband I’ve found with mine, you will know true heaven.” “Thank you, dear.” Sinda added her hugs and best wishes. Only Just held back. He frowned at the couple. “Do you plan to take her back to the Realm?” “No. I have no family there. Her family will be mine, and I’ll make my home here.”

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Just considered the couple some more until reaching a decision. Then he handed Sanlar to Barter. “Then you should get to know your great grandson.” Barter cradled the baby against his chest, a large smile on his face. Sanlar slapped a curious hand at the councilman’s chin. Anya hugged Just. “It means much to me to have you happy with my decision.” “I want you to be happy,” Just told her. “But I want you to stay close by. I wouldn’t be happy if you were leaving Solonia.” Anya patted Just’s cheek. “No one’s leaving you. Your family keeps growing.” Katerina took Sanlar from Barter when the babe started to fuss. Sinda, Anya, and Barter began making plans for a wedding as Just and Katerina turned toward the hall. Just frowned back at the trio before they went inside. “Do you think they’re sleeping together?” Just asked. Katerina giggled. Then she thought of how much she enjoyed the physical part of her marriage. She hoped Anya found that, too. “Perhaps.” “I’m going to have a talk with Barter.” “Just, leave them alone. What does it matter if they are if they love each other the way we do?” Mentioning their love turned Just’s attention back to their original plan. “I believe you’re due for a nap.” His frown turned into a naughty grin. “I better see you to our room.” **** Just lifted the sleeping infant from Katerina’s breast and put him in his cradle. He stared down at his son for a few moments before rejoining his wife. The teasing and laughter of earlier was gone from his face as he stripped off his clothing. She let her stare roam freely. His lean hard beauty never failed to excite her. Knowing he loved her made his physical beauty an added bonus to her desire for him. When he wore nothing but the gold collar he slid into bed beside her. She reached up to touch the smooth metal band around his neck. The two of them had won the battle to not have the collars placed on the Realm warriors now in Solonia. But there was still his own, a blot on her happiness. “I wish ....” He stopped her with a finger across her lips. “Don’t. It’s all right. Without the collar, you and Sanlar might have died. Any suffering it caused me is nothing compared to what would have been if either one of you hadn’t made it.” “I’ll find a way to remove it,” she vowed. “I’m sure you will. In the meantime, let’s make use of it.” He directed her hands to each side of it and released his emotions from their restraints. She let the familiar essence of his love and desire mingle with her own to carry her to a world of their own. His passion beat like a drum in her middle, but it was a distant noise compared to the size of his love. She could no longer tell where he ended and she began. It didn’t matter. They were one.

THE END