Page 20 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

“There it is!” Kiera whispered excitedly from the center telescope. “The Seven Sisters. Pleaides.” She took a step back, excitement pouring from her, even though nothing had happened when she’d aligned the telescope to the star cluster in the sky.

I could see why ancient humans had created so many stories about these stars. They shone brighter than the other stars in the sky, the bright blue of them reminding me of the plasma edge of my swords. Why had I not noticed these stars before?

I wasn’t good with space navigation; few hunters were.

Once on the mothership, we usually just let it decide our next mission and destination.

I wondered if I’d ever traveled close to these stars, and what the Xarc’n name for them was.

Were they even visible on Xarc? I’d bet they looked very different.

Did the extinct Xarc’n people have similar stories?

What if they had been the ones to find Earth instead of us, their last, remaining representatives?

There would’ve been war. I was sure of that.

Humans had not accepted us readily as it was, and the old Xarc’n race had been too similar, too proud, too stubborn. There could only have been one outcome.

Perhaps it had been a good thing that we’d discovered Earth now rather than earlier. The scourge were a nuisance, but they were beatable. Or at least I had to believe so, because it had been the sole purpose I’d been created.

We’d gone back to the library after the flyers started to disperse, and she’d gone through the shelves, skimming the books for content, but had come up with nothing new. The problem was that if she had to pick through each and every word, it would take her forever. We did not have forever.

Kiera went to the next telescope. The look on her face when she found not one but six of these contraptions in this glass-domed room had been priceless.

She explained that these were powerful lenses meant to see far-off objects like stars, and that they were incredibly expensive, especially the make and models here.

“These aren’t just for the common enthusiast,” she’d explained, “but someone who takes the hobby very seriously. That or someone with way too much money to spend. In this case, I suspect it’s a little bit of both.”

I looked through one but didn’t see anything but black.

She was adorable when she was concentrating.

Her tongue stuck out the side of her lips, and she scrunched her nose every so often.

I wanted to sweep her in my arms and worship her body again, this time under the stars.

But she was working, and this was important to her, so I ordered my heart and my cock to still.

But I did mentally put it in my list of places to fuck Kiera.

The first place that had gone on that list was the sleeping nook in my shuttle, but that would also have to wait until this problem with my shuttle was fixed. Then there was the peaceful cabin in the Rocky Mountains I’d made my hideout back when I fought the scourge there.

Luckily for me, we were heading that direction if we were successful here.

I’d recognized the second location on that treasure map.

Well, maybe not the exact coordinates, but the general area.

It was in my old territory, and I’d already sent a message to the two hunters who’d stayed behind.

They were already heading to the coordinates to scout out the area.

Kiera was at the final telescope now, fiddling around with the angle and making minute adjustments. Her body was a lot tenser than it had been before.

“This better do something,” she mumbled, taking a step back.

She held her breath as the seconds ticked by and was greeted by nothing but silence.

Hands shaking, she picked up the lantern, which was set on the dimmest setting to not attract any unwanted attention, and started to pace the room. “I knew that was too easy. What did I miss? There must be something more.” She paced back and forth several times until I gathered her into my arms.

“We’ll keep searching,” I said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “We’ll try again. I believe in you, Keeper.”

We had until our food and water ran out.

Luckily, the medical device Kiera had insisted we take with us had determined that the food we’d found was safe to eat.

We’d shared a meal after our second bout of hot, sexy wild stuff—I grinned, remembering the way Kiera had said it—before napping through most of the afternoon.

It had been bliss. I’d once thought nothing could be better than destroying the scourge, but I’d been wrong. Doing absolutely nothing with Kiera was infinitely better. I wished to do nothing with her for the rest of my existence.

I guided her back down the stairway and into the home, trying to ignore the disappointment that clung to her like webs of deadly mycelium, dragging her down and threatening to snuff out her light. I knew how to deal with the scourge’s fungus, but I did not know how to fix this.

When we passed the ornate door to the library, I caught her wrist before she could reach for the handle.

“Tomorrow,” I said. “When there’s light.”

“But what if I find something new? What if it’s right there and I just—”

“You’re exhausted,” I said, tucking her under my arm. “The books do not have legs. They will be there in the morning. But you? You need sleep. Even the brightest fire needs fuel.”

She hesitated, stubborn as ever, so I did the only logical thing. I scooped her up into my arms and started down the stairs toward the room we’d claimed as our temporary den.

“I can walk, you know.”

“I know,” I said. “But this way I get to carry you and win the argument.”

“But—”

“No buts,” I growled, pressing a kiss to her temple. “The only butt I care about is yours, and it’s going to bed. With me. Now.”

She huffed, but her arms curled around my neck anyway. “Bossy.”

“So I am. And highly motivated by the idea of you horizontal and moaning my name.”

“Ugh! I’ve created a monster.” She settled against my body, the cloud that had been hanging over her head dissipating. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“I think I like it.”