Page 321 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Eoin

The flight up to the ship was almost uneventful after that crazy, milk-brained stunt by the weapon master.

Seriously, who thought it was better to die than drop their gun?

That male had to be at least a touch suicidal to make that kind of choice.

He’d made me drop Tori just when I’d been sweating with intrusive images of her hurtling out the back of the ship.

I could barely believe I’d left her clinging to a handhold like that while I went to rescue the idiot.

There were no jumpseats available for my Tally or me for the journey, but I could handle the short stint in zero-G without one.

I wasn’t letting go of my mate now, not for anything in the world.

She was quiet and a little pale in the face, not in the celebratory mood I’d expected after we’d pulled off that mission so successfully.

Aramon had the shuttle sailing smoothly into the ship’s cargo bay, and then we got busy unloading the exhausted and injured former slaves.

Tori tried to stick close to the one human male among the group, and I made sure I always had one arm around her slender shoulders.

At least it seemed that the mercs had a procedure in place for situations like this.

We followed them into the med bay, where their doctor was being assisted by a handful of the others.

There weren’t enough cots for all of them, but half were admitted to a bed in short order.

Those healthy enough to forgo a cot in the med bay were given a check-up, and then brought to a shared bunk room so they could rest up.

Then Tori stiffened beneath my arm, a soft sigh escaping her.

“Oh, he’s here. He made it!” she said, pointing with a trembling hand toward the glass-walled quarantine room on one side of the med bay.

Through it, we could see a human male lying in a bed while a surgical arm moved carefully over his chest, working on an injury we couldn’t clearly see.

Machines were beeping, and various tubes were hooked up all over his body.

It was obvious he was receiving very serious medical aid.

The mercenary doctor was rushing in and out of that room, checking his progress every step of the way while trying to care for his massive influx of new patients at the same time.

It was quickly obvious that we were just in the way, so I steered my Tally out of there.

She didn’t need to see the human’s full extent of injuries, we could still end up losing him.

I’d known that fact the moment I’d laid my eyes on him: the scent and sight of wounds that had gone necrotic, unmistakable.

“Come on, let’s go find Novalee. I’m sure she’s missed you,” I said, and it immediately distracted her from the med bay and the chaos in it. Her eyes sparked with joy at the mention of her baby. I didn’t have to guide her after that, she was practically running by the time we reached the galley.

“Brace! Where’s my baby? Is she all right?

” she was yelling through the closed hatch between the mess hall and the galley.

The place looked completely deserted, but there was a frantic kind of energy in the atmosphere; the high after combat permeated the entire ship.

It made the quietness of the mess hall even more obvious; my system was still braced for action.

The hatch slid open with a loud rattle, for the first time, all the way to the top.

I fully expected us to finally get our first glance at the elusive chef, but I was immediately, sorely disappointed.

“Quiet, sssshe’s sssleeping,” the Captain drawled from the other side.

The galley beyond the hatch was spotlessly clean and empty of any other person.

There was just the big, black-scaled Naga, who had Novalee cradled in a curl of his tail, swaying her gently back and forth.

The baby wore a content little smile on her face, her pink and purple strands of hair standing up wildly, and her little romper bore a single obvious smear of something that looked suspiciously like purple jam.

She looked properly tuckered out, too, as if she’d spent the two hours we’d been away engaged entirely in play.

A glance at Tori made me grin. She was holding both her hands folded over her chest, a besotted smile on her face at the sight of her baby. No wonder, next to Tori, Novalee was my favorite person in the world. I was probably grinning a little foolishly myself.

So, my curiosity was unsatisfied, but I was relieved to have the kid back in one piece and clearly well cared for.

I accepted the little, warm bundle from the Naga’s tail as he simply lifted her over the counter with it.

“Thank you for trusting Brace with her,” he said quietly, his golden eyes holding Tori’s captive with a strange intensity.

“He needed to be reminded about the good things in the universe.” He gently brushed the tip of his tail over one of Novalee’s softly rounded cheeks in a caress.

We parted ways to the sound of Aramon making an announcement over the ship’s intercom system.

“Listen up, folks,” he started cheerfully.

“Ships are leaving the planet, ready to chase us. Prepare for some heavy flying. You’re in luck, you’re in excellent hands.

Don’t forget to have fun while you find the nearest jumpseat or handhold! ”

It was possibly the most unconventional warning I’d ever received, and I was fairly certain it was an understatement, too.

We were in a hallway on our way to our assigned quarters, and spotting a little alcove with a row of jumpseats just a little way down, I made sure to hustle us over to them.

“Strap in, my Tally,” I said. “I’ll hold Nova until you’re done. ”

She was reaching for her kid as soon as she had the last belt buckled, and then the entire ship seemed to lurch and twist. A series of muffled noises were the only indication that something had hit us, but no alarms blared in response, so I had to assume that the shields had held.

The baby was still safely in my hands, and while I had to absorb the rocking motion of the ship with my body, she never felt a thing and didn’t wake up.

“Eoin! Are you okay?” Tori asked, and I grinned, pleased by her concern for me.

She looked beautiful in her adapted set of armor, her slender body and lovely curves evident even beneath the heavy plates of metal.

Her hair had come undone from the jaunty ponytail, leaving her blonde and brown strands draped around her shoulders in a sexy, flirty manner.

“Of course,” I said, and I leaned in to tuck Novalee into her arms. “Here, take her before the next jolt.” My words proved to be prophetic: I’d only just handed her over when G-forces pressed us into the wall.

Aramon had to be skimming the ship half into the atmosphere for that to happen. What was that crazy Asrai up to?

Novalee woke up from it, making a discontented, mewling little sound before settling when she discovered she was with her mother.

Tori had been pressed into her seat but remained steadily in place, thanks to the harness.

I had to brace myself with my hands against the wall, my feet apart to keep from sliding or buckling to my knees.

As soon as the pressure let up, I turned and dropped into the seat next to hers, yanking the harness over my head.

“Are all those freed slaves okay in the med bay? This can’t be good for that first man we rescued…

” Tori asked me with a worried frown. She was right; these maneuvers weren’t pleasant for a healthy person, let alone one in critical care.

I had to assume the med bay was equipped with better dampeners than the rest of the ship for just that kind of thing.

I was certain it would hurt my Tally’s soft heart if that human didn’t make it, but that was the reality: he was so gravely injured that the chances were slim he’d survive.

“They will be fine. They weren’t alone. I’m sure they are in jumpseats just like us, my Tally,” I tried to reassure her.

Placing my arm around her shoulders, I gave her a hug as best as I could under the circumstances.

Then I brushed a finger over Novalee’s cheek.

“Hey there, beautiful. Did Aramon interrupt your beauty sleep? Don’t worry, you don’t need one anyway. ”

At the sound of my voice, both ladies relaxed, and when no more jolts or forces seemed forthcoming, Novalee’s eyes started to close again. Tired baby, she was ready for some sleep, and I was willing to bet that Tori could use a nap, too.

“What does it mean, Tally?” Tori whispered.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but it just never seemed like the right moment.

” Not only that, but I probably wouldn’t have wanted to explain it either, had she asked me that two days ago.

Now that we finally seemed to have formed a real understanding of each other…

I was hopeful that she’d take it the right way.

Back on Yengar, I was fairly certain she would have freaked out if I had told her I was calling her my beloved mate or wife, since humans didn’t use the word “mate.” This time, maybe she would be more open to it. She hadn’t flinched when I told her I loved her; she’d kissed me instead.

“It means ‘beloved,’” I said, carefully watching her face for any sign, good or bad.

My mouth got away from me now that I’d started, and I rambled, “It’s an old Terafin tradition to call one’s mate Tally.

A female can call her mate A’Tal in return.

I know humans don’t have mates, but they have husbands and wives, so it’s kind of like that, for married or mated couples only. ”