Page 11 of Guardian’s Heart (Space Guardian’s Mate #1)

ZAAREK

The pain was excruciating, but even worse was watching Nova go through the same torment. I had no idea what was happening to us. My only explanation was that the bush we had landed in was poisonous, but even then, I should have been immune to it.

Sweat ran down the back of my neck from the searing pain. The black lines were starting to form a sort of pattern, while the pain level rose a few notches—as if a laser was searing them in.

"Nova," I whispered her name, carefully brushing some strands of her hair from her face so I could see her better. She had passed out. Probably a blessing for her. I had no idea how her fragile body could take this kind of pain. I was ready to rip my arm off, and that pain would have been a frygging relief.

Parts of my stomach and hips were hurting now as well, the same as my leg. I was tempted to move my cape from her form to see if the same lines were forming on her body there, too, but I remembered that she was naked underneath and unconscious. Even though my intentions were honorable, I would have been staring at her naked flesh.

Since I didn't even know what was affecting us and didn't have any tools with me to try and fix it, there was no sense in exposing her. I could call for help via my comm; a ship would be here in moments to pick us up. I considered it. But Morrakbarr wasn't one of the more civilized planets, and chances were high that slave traders or other criminals would come. I was in no condition to defend her.

I checked her breathing. It was labored but steady.

The lines on her exposed arm too were beginning to form a pattern, and when I stared a little bit longer at them, they were identical to mine. What in the supernova's name did that mean?

I pulled her up so her head lay in my lap and not on the hard ground. My eyes roamed over her delicate features, at the long, black eyelashes that fluttered slightly. Her closed lids fascinated me with their light, rosy, nearly translucent coloring. The skin there was so thin that I made out the movement of her eyeballs underneath them. Red lines, probably blood vessels, looked as fragile as she was.

Dark eyebrows arched elegantly over a nose that was slightly crooked as if it had been broken once. It distracted from her beauty enough to make her even more interesting. The pain she was enduring had paled her cheeks, and even her full lips were a few shades lighter than they had been before.

My eyes drifted toward her long neck, a neck I had wanted to throttle earlier and now called to me to nuzzle it.

Nuzzle it ?

The pain had to be getting to my head.

Unwanted, the image of her naked body appeared in front of my vision. A sight that was hard to forget, even if I had only enjoyed it for a few ticks—seconds.

Rosy nipples on her pale skin had stood out and made me swallow in lust even now as the most excruciating pain of my life ran through me. Why in the netherworld was I thinking about her body while mine was on fire?

I wasn't though, not in that way . I was more focused on the overwhelming need to take her pain away, to bear it for her. An unknown surge of compassion moved through me, followed by an undeniable urge to protect her. Protect her from what . A bitter laugh made it through my next moan. This was nothing I could protect her from.

You should try something , I told myself.

Frygg.

Carefully, I laid her head down on a softer part of the ground, set on making my way to the stream to see if water might help. I would have crawled if I had to, but thankfully, my leg was still working despite the searing pain running up and down it. She moaned, and her hand reached out for me, not wanting me to leave.

Torn, I pushed out, "I'll be right back."

I needed to see if there was something, anything, that could make her feel better after I tested it on myself.

I cupped water over the arm with the still growing black lines, but other than feeling its wetness, there was nothing. It was somewhat cooling, but the pain was still the same. I tried a few leaves and moss, but nothing worked. Another moan from her brought me back to her side, where I pulled her up into my arms while I leaned against a tree. Before I could stop myself, I gently kissed the top of her head and brushed the knuckles of my hand over her cheeks.

Then I gave in to the burning pain, leaned my head back against the tree's trunk, and thought, There are worse ways to die , while I closed my eyes.