Page 35 of Master (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #3)

Tarook

Despite the darkening sky, the golden glow of lights peeking through pulled curtains brightened the village. Merry voices and laughter, faint despite my advanced hearing, told of people moving forward, putting the mumje incident behind them.

Humans were an exceptionally resilient species.

My footsteps slowed, reveling in the evidence that the cure worked. I felt my mouth curl into a smile of pride and affection. Clara had no clue the magnitude of what she'd accomplished.

With Bartholomeus' communication equipment, I'd contacted the Bardaga with the news.

While the ship remained a few days away from Tau Ceti, my Chieftain planned to notify the Alliance promptly of this discovery and cautiously issue a warning.

We still didn't know who committed the attack.

Peacekeeper Munroe was of a like mind to my Chieftain and found me at the general store, asking for a detailed recap of everything I recalled up until the time the mumje deployed.

Everything that might point to a guilty party seemed purely circumstantial.

We knew the Aljani ran the mumje mining on the Gilese moon.

There wasn't an Aljani on Tau Ceti, except Sarbin, who'd lived here for the last ten years after escaping indenture by Duke Ako's armies.

I raised my eyes to the heavens, greeted by faint twinkling stars.

If the enemy orbited, the Bardaga would take care of them upon arrival.

My only worry lay in thoughts that the danger may already be planet-side.

Tau Ceti was half the size of Earth but still big enough for an enemy to hide.

Once the Bardaga arrived, they could deep scan the planet. Until then, I would remain vigilant.

What would Clara think of the Bardaga?

Of course, she'd be happy to see her friends, but would she be amenable to calling the warship her home?

My heart hammered in response, almost fearful at the thought.

She'd settled in my bones. Settled so deeply, I didn't consider any folly of leaving her side.

.. ever. I didn't know what a weapons master might do on a peaceable planet.

After the mumje attack, shoring up the planet's defenses would definitely be one thing.

My life and career centered around being aboard the Bardaga, but I'd walk away without a second thought if she asked.

Although I claimed her as my mate in pretense, they were the truest words I'd ever uttered.

The scent of succulent braised meat hit my nostrils when I stepped through the garden gate.

I'd tried to get Bartholomeus to come with me to Mei's, but he'd hesitated without an invitation.

I suspected the male needed to understand what happened to him and Mei during the mumje attack.

It was apparent the Romvesian had formed a mate bond with the small human.

Still, no male wanted a woman to come to him out of fear or gratitude, and even I worried Mei's recent change might be owing to that.

I stepped into the cottage, the fragrance making my mouth water.

"That smells delicious," I said, following my nose to the kitchen at the back of the house. Mei stood alone, stirring a large steaming pot. I suspected Clara to be in the lab, but a fissure of worry traveled up my spine at noticing her absence.

Mei glanced past me, the upward curve of her lips turning down. "Why didn't Bartholomeus come back with you?"

“Bartholomeus is proud. He did not want to come without a proper invitation." Perhaps Mei's recent behavior towards Bartholomeus suggested deeper feelings after all.

"I issued an invitation. Clara was supposed to invite him for dinner when she came to meet you." Mei gave an aggravated huff, forlornly staring the steaming pot.

The fissure turned into a flame.

Clara? I haven't seen Clara since Bartholomeus and I returned to the gymnasium." A tingle raced over my skin, akin to the feeling I got amid battle, signifying something had gone amiss. My heart began beating so fast I wondered if Mei heard it hammering, even with her delicate human ears.

The small female turned from the stove, her dark eyes wide and worried.

"She left here over an hour ago to find you."

"Was something wrong?" My voice sounded breathless and hard to hear over the thudding of my heart.

As a Vaktaire warrior, I trained to take the physical response from fear and channel it to strengthen in battle.

Fear was useful to make us more aware. The Vaktaire called it battle sense, and right now, my battle sense reared with such force, my knees wobbled.

"Not really. Clara mentioned she heard the mayor coughing when we were in the gym and wanted to check on him." The roll of her eyes signified Mei thought the errand bothersome, but not dangerous.

Why, then, did battle sense scream through my body?

I didn't like Parlow, but he hadn’t appeared dangerous. Now, the hairs on my neck rose, foreboding so strong I could scent it over the braising meat. That Clara could be with that male—no matter the reason made me want to murder him... slowly and painfully.

"I'm going to look for her." I turned, but Mei's tiny hand landed on my forearm. Her skin held the faint chill of worry.

"I'll comm Bartholomeus to meet you at the mayor's house." A sly smile touched her mouth. "If Atkins gave her a hard time, kick his ass. I never liked that putz."

I started to tell Mei not to bother Bartholomeus, but decided his presence might be the only thing that kept me from killing the mayor.

"Don't worry," I promised, my smile showing more teeth than usual. "I will."

I stepped into the garden, stilling, and centered my senses as I raised my face skyward.

Mei said it had been over an hour. Still, Clara's fragrance hovered faintly, her floral, spicy scent like a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs.

I follow it out of the garden, then west. Her scent concentrated at the intersection.

She'd paused here alone for at least a few minutes.

The mayor lived at the end of a side street in the most ostentatious home in the village. Made of white stone, his house glowed in the rising moonlight. Clara's scent saturated the air but grew bitter as I approached the house. Something here made her afraid, and my heart thudded in response.

The low growl breaking from my lips menaced the air. I leaped onto the mayor's porch, my fist pounding on the door so ferociously that I heard the wood crack and groan under my touch.

Nothing but stillness answered.

I paused, sucking in deep breaths to calm my erratic heartbeat. Why did I feel so afraid?

I attuned my hearing, catching nothing inside the abode save the scurry of rodents. Lifting my head to catch the breeze, Clara's scent grew stronger. I inhaled deeply, discovering her fragrance led not into the house but behind it.

Leaping from the porch, I followed my nose to the side gate. Her scent concentrated here, the bitterness growing as she moved through and into the backyard.

The back of Parlow's house was as garish as the front. A large pool carved from the same white stone sat in the center, surrounded by meticulously trimmed lawns and shrubbery.

I stepped toward the pool when another odor caught my attention, drawing me toward where the perfectly manicured grass gave way to the woodlands.

Clara's scent dwelled here, doused in bitterness accompanied by another that explained her fear.

Animalistic, musky with a metallic undercurrent as though the battle and death their kind reveled in permeated their very pores.

Kerzak.

The sightings reported to the peacekeeper hadn't been mistaken.

My blood chilled, and if someone caught my odor at that moment, it would be very bitter indeed. My heart surged with fear for her.

I'd stumbled onto the answer to the mystery of who orchestrated the mumje attack.

Trouble was, Clara had stumbled here first.