Page 30 of Einar (The Brigands of Ruk #2)
Chapter Thirty
ROWAN
Kallen’s flippant response causes absolute chaos to break out. All of the guys start shouting at the same time and I can feel myself starting to freak the fuck out. I just can’t handle this many large men acting with aggression so close to me. Ruby must see that I’m about to lose my shit because she raises her fingers to her lips and lets out a piercing whistle. There are a few winces, but all of their attention is now fixed on where she and I are standing. “ Ok , now that I have your attention, all the snarling in the world isn’t going to answer your questions. So , pick one and go with it; like you guys actually have some sense.”
Kallen smiles over at Ruby in appreciation before saying, “ Thank you, Ruby . I need to learn that trick. I do not believe I have ever witnessed instant obedience from these or any males before.”
“ Kallen , I hate to interrupt your little speech, but I watched that Aynar mage slit my Mam’s throat with my own eyes. There is no way she survived such a wound.”
Slavic’s words are tortured and what he says makes me gasp. Ruby shoots me a quick look and shakes her head, warning me not to say anything right now.
“ You are right, most would have died and if the medics had not been on scene quickly afterwards, she probably would not have made it. You must realize, we also thought you all were dead as well. Slavic , your absence has spanned numerous orbital rotations. I have no idea how you have kept your identities hidden all this time. Your Mam even put feelers out to see if any of you had been seen or heard of, but nothing came of it.”
I can tell that Kallen’s words have not landed on deaf ears. All the males, including Einar , deflate after hearing that. The male hovering around Kallen is the one that speaks next. “ I think you need to start from the time we escaped Kallen . Or this conversation is just going to keep going in circles. Later , you and I are going to discuss why you are just now bringing this up.”
Even I can hear the censure in his words, and it doesn’t go unanswered because Kallen fires right back at him. “ I was not going to retell this story multiple times Ruarc , and it is not like you have spent enough time with me to talk! I am not sure if you all were aware of this, but your Sire was one of the males leading the resistance against the Aynar .
The others who were planning the attack had been trying to recruit him for several orbital rotations, but until they publicly whipped you Slavic , he would not take the chance. After that, he was determined to free you and your brothers, at any cost. The Aynar thought they were in complete control and that was what finally defeated them. They spent rotations building the perfect male, with unlimited strengths and stamina. When the confrontation happened, even with their mental strengths they were unprepared for the mass that attacked them all at once. When the main mages were killed, the rest of them fled in the few remaining space worthy ships still planetside.
According to your Mam , the plan was for her to meet your Sire and all of you at the dock a tic after the second sun rise. She was on her way there when the primary mage who had taken a personal liking to her, spotted her. She told me that she had no clue he was trailing behind her because the accelerating mate sickness had fogged her thoughts, and she was just determined to get to her mate one step at a time.
Your Sire was the one who planned the mine collapse and the landing of the Vespira , now the Zenith , to coincide with each other. His primary plan was to get his family on that shuttle while the workers in the mines were being rescued from an alternate entrance that he and a few others had been working on.
Once he got into orbit, he was supposed to bomb the main headquarters. However , we know this is not what happened, and that is how several of the Aynar were able to escape. Your Mam was found when another ship landed close by. While the males in the mines fought the remaining Aynar , all the females were rounded up and put on that ship. Once loaded, that vessel was programmed to head to the outer quadrants to an unpopulated moon called, Deapra .
It took several lunar rotations for any of the males to join us there, so in the meantime, we had to rebuild on our own. Your Mam , even though weak from the attack, only several rotations away from birth, and suffering the loss of her heartbond mate, is who took charge. Without her guidance, we would not have the trade routes or the society we have now. She will be overjoyed to find out that you all are alive and well, as she never believed any of you were dead.”
After Kallen stops speaking, there is silence in the room. Looking around the room I see that the big guys are having varied reactions to her words. The darkest one of the bunch looks viciously angry, but the others look more sad than mad. Peering up at Einar , I see that he has tears running unchecked down his face as his massive shoulders hitch with sobs.
“ I watched her die, Kallen !”
Slavic’s anguished outburst causes sympathy to well deep within me. These beings… they’re not monsters, far from it actually. From the sound of it, they have not had an easy life either. Compassion fills Kallen’s voice as she offers once last piece of information.
“ Her voice was damaged, and she has a terrible scar on her neck that she shows off proudly. Whether you believe me or not Slavic , she is alive and well, along with your sister Atasha , who is the spitting image of her.”
Slavic turns toward us and his tormented eyes land on my sister. Ruby releases my hand and hurries over to him. He opens his arms, almost hesitantly, and Ruby walks right into them. I watch as she hugs him back before he lowers his head and lays it atop hers. Seconds later, an alarm blares through the ship, making me jump in reaction.
Slavic let’s go of Ruby instantly before he bellows. “ Everyone to your stations now!”
Before I can blink, everyone rushes out the door behind him, including Ruby . Just as she reaches the portal, she pauses and looks back at me. “ Stay with Einar . Do not leave his side, you hear me?”
Nodding at her, I just stand here unsure of what to do as I watch Einar stalk to the other side of the room where a large screen hangs suspended from the ceiling. He reaches out and hits a series of buttons, turning the screen on and it divides into four smaller screens. Stepping closer, I see that it looks like… the outside of the ship, as well as various rooms within the ship? I can see a room with several of the guys in it where Slavic is gesturing aggressively this way and that. Something is definitely going on.
Einar wipes the tears from his face with the back of one of his hands before studying me, an almost contemplative expression on his face.
“ You have questions, yes?”
“ I , erhm, yes. I have questions, but considering what all Kallen just said… I don’t want to pry when you’re already obviously upset.”
A small, rueful smile pulls at his mouth before he replies.
“ You are my mate, anything you wish or need to know about me is yours to have. Some of it may be uncomfortable for me to relay, yes, but knowledge is power. I do you no favors by keeping you in the dark so to speak. You must learn much about your new world so you can make informed decisions moving forward. What is it you would like to know first?”
Wow , that is certainly different than I’m accustomed to.
Flicking a glance up at the screens, I see that nothing has changed so I refocus on the male in front me, grabbing the rolling stool as I walk over to where he is standing. Sitting down, I take a deep breath.
“ Well , I guess the first thing I want to know is what the heck is going on right now?”
Einar lets out a low chuckle before he reaches out and presses a button on the side of the screen. The sudden cacophony of voices emanating from the speakers overhead makes me jump.
“ Bikar , what’s going on?”
Slavic barks out the questions and Bikar answers just as fast.
“ The hyperdrive Falon just installed is not getting enough fuel. There must be a vacuum leak somewhere due to the fuel hatch being open. Every time I try to engage, it shuts itself off. Falon is on his way toward the engine compartment now.”
“ Have the swarm ships spotted us yet?”
“ No , the asteroid belt has us hidden at the moment. But if they get a lock on us, we will not escape them without that hyperdrive. Their ships are too big, and the Void does not have enough space for them to operate that feature safely within its borders. Whereas we can duck in behind places they cannot.”
My eyes bounce back and forth between the two of them as I watch their exchange on the screen before me when Ruby’s voice catches me off guard. Slavic moves, and I realize she’s in one of the massive chairs in that room but was blocked from sight by the bulk of Slavic’s body.
“ Slavic , are we being pursued by the bugs?”
I freeze. For the love of all that is good and holy, I pray that we are not. If I never see another one of those things, it will be too soon.
“ Not necessarily, but they are in radar range so the Zenith alerted us once they were detected, giving us plenty of time to get away from them. You have nothing to worry about, little mate.”
Sighing in relief, I relax. At least we don’t have to worry about that.
The door to the room where everyone is opens and I think it’s the one named Falon that enters, talking as he goes. “ The hyperdrive is starving for fuel. The batteries can provide long-term power; however, it requires both fuels for startup. Each time Bikar tries to activate it, the fuel line collapses.”
“ Frack ! Falon , do you have any suggestions?”
“ One of us is going to have to go out and seal that hatch.”
Slavic runs his hand over his hairless head in obvious frustration. “ Find a place to set us down, I’ll go suit up.”
“ Slavic , it would make more sense for me to go. I am the engineer on this ship and if something else needs to be fixed while I am out there, I would have a better grasp on how to do it.”
“ No Falon , I need your eyes up here. I will wear a viewer so if you see something while I am out there, you can advise me on how to proceed further.”
“ Frack Slavic , you have a mate now. She is your first priority, let one of us go instead.”
“ She is the reason I am going, little brother. I will do anything in my power to make sure she is never in danger again. If something should happen to me, I know the five of you would protect her with your lives. Now , quit stalling and let us get this done quickly.”
Warmth fills me at his words. I may be completely fucked up… but my sister deserves whatever gods gave her to a guy like that, and it makes me so happy that she finally has someone in her corner. If Ruby is to be believed, I have that in Einar too… if I can ever be brave enough to risk my body and heart again.
Slavic spins on his heels and is almost out the door before Bikar’s next words stop him in his tracks.
“ We have a problem, Slavic .”
I see that Einar is frowning heavily as he leans toward the screen, watching the exchange just as closely, if not more so than me.
“ What the frack now?”
“ The asteroid’s surface is uneven and after I touched down and anchored us, I noticed the open hatch of the fuel cells is extremely close to the asteroid’s surface. I am not sure you can fit under the ship to do repairs.”
“ Can you readjust the ship?”
“ Not without the unattached material giving our location away.”
“ Murgul is the only one slightly slimmer and you know there is no getting him in a suit.”
Without warning I hear Ruby chime in, “ I’ll do it.”
My shouted NO is simultaneous with Slavic’s emphatic NO !
“ Why ? I fit the size requirement and I’m pretty handy to have around when it comes to tools. Just show me what I need to do and help me do it.”
Of course, my sister would volunteer for this. Once she’s made a decision, Ruby is all in. Whether you like it or not sometimes.
“ No , we will fight them if need be.”
“ Slavic , you’re just being dumb right now. Can you give me a good reason as to why I can’t be the one to do this?”
“ I said no.”
Oof . That is not the response you should have gone with…
“ Ok buddy, you’re going to learn really fast that shit like that doesn’t work with me, so we’re going to nip that in the bud right now. Do you guys have any other options or objections?”
Slavic roars in fury at Ruby’s sassy response. Before I can stop him, Einar reaches up and switches the sound off.
“ Hey ! Turn that back on, I need to know what’s going on!”
Instead of frowning at me for my sharp tone, Einar smiles instead. “ Listening any further will just upset you. We both know that your sister has made her mind up and will not be swayed. I will make sure you can see her the entire time she is helping Slavic , but I am sure you have more questions for me?”