Page 48 of Tharn’s Hunt (Barbarians of the Dust #2)
YEAH, I'M KEEPING HIM. NO TAKE-BACKS
JACQUI
M ikaela's laughter is the first sign that things are finally looking up.
Three days ago, she was flushed with fever, her body wracked with chills.
Now, she's sitting cross-legged near the central fire, sorting through the meager pile of Earth belongings we've managed to salvage—some tattered clothing and a handful of personal items that somehow survived the crash and our trek across the desert.
"Look what I found!" she exclaims, holding up a cracked but still faintly glowing smartwatch. "Useless now, but..." She taps the screen, making it flicker weakly.
"Keep it," Tina says, pausing from her work sorting through the last of the Xyma supplies they brought with them from the wreckage. "You never know when we might need tech from home."
The firebloom tea seems to be working. Now, we consume it even when not showing symptoms. It’s not a permanent fix, but enough to buy us time. Mikaela's fever broke first, and since then, the others have shown signs of improvement too.
Around us, the clan caves hum with activity.
Near the eastern wall, several Drakav work with the massive hide of the dust serpent Tharn took down.
The pale, glistening underbelly leather is stretched taut across massive stone frames.
The warriors’ sharp stone knives scrape the last of the fat and sinew from the inner surface.
Rok kneels beside a freshly scraped section, his claws testing the texture of the hide. Nearby, Tharn is working with a smaller piece, cutting it into long, thin strips.
Mikaela glances over and wrinkles her nose. "Smells like old saddle leather."
Justine snorts. "Better than smelling like dead leather."
In the mindspace, one Drakav’s focus sharpens as he watches me inspect the hide.
" She touches it like it might bite ," he observes, amused.
" Because the last time she saw these, they were biting ," Tharn deadpans.
Kol, overseeing the work, flicks his claws in a dismissive gesture. " We need more. One serpent is not enough for a clan our size, now ." His gaze sweeps over the human women. " We need more hides. More meat. More of everything ."
A ripple of agreement passes through the warriors, followed immediately by Haroth’s dry projection: " I volunteer to hunt more. Immediately ." His gaze lingers just a beat too long on the women behind me.
Tharn’s lips curl in disapproval. " You just want to impress the small on e."
" You shaped an entire garment for your female ," Haroth counters. " Do not deny me a single scale's worth of praise ."
Rok exhales sharply through his nose. " Careful, brother. Human thoughts don't light up in the mindspace. You'll have to interpret..." He gestures vaguely at Alex’s frown of concentration as she prods the hide. "... that."
Haroth’s answering growl is pure theatrics. " Then I’ll hunt the largest serpent in the wastes. Surely that earns ? — "
" A scolding for recklessness ," Kol interrupts, though even his mental voice carries reluctant amusement.
My gaze shifts back to our little group, just in time to see Mikaela shudder and rub her temples.
“Ugh,” she mutters, shooting a glare toward the Drakav. “Are they doing that... mental chest-thumping again?”
Pam blinks. “Wait, you felt that too? I just got this weird urge to roll my eyes.”
Across the circle, Tina tilts her head. “Huh. I thought I imagined someone thinking about serpents.”
Justine and I exchange glances. Not full mindshare, not yet—just emotional echoes slipping through. They're not just surviving here anymore. They're becoming part of this place. Part of them. Like me and Justine.
The thought sends a shiver through me. The memory of the carvings in the Hall of Knowing flashes in my mind—the Giving Stones, Tharn’s confusion at the word "born," his story of how all life on this dust emerges.
It all collides with the sickness, with the way our human bodies are fighting this world.
Everything here is... grown. Made.
Everything except us. We are the only things on this planet that know how to give birth.
It explains everything. The fevers. The dreams. The way the planet seems to be trying to either reject us or... remake us.
The thought stays with me as my eyes drift across the cavern where two warriors sharpen bone blades against smooth stones, the rhythmic scraping a counterpoint to the low conversations happening throughout the cavern.
Nearby, Erika has somehow convinced a stoic Drakav to show her how they cure meat, and she's watching intently as he demonstrates the precise cuts that allow the flesh to dry evenly in the hot, dry air.
It’s strange how quickly the impossible becomes routine. A month ago, the idea of living in a cave with giant golden aliens would have been a fever dream. Now, the rhythmic scrape of their knives and the low murmur of their thoughts in the mindspace is just... the background noise of my afternoon.
I glance over at Tharn, who's now wrapping the scraped skin around a stone pillar, his sharp golden eyes tracking my every move in that quiet, intense way he has. His presence in the mindspace suddenly gives me a pulse of warmth that wraps around me like sunlight through an open window.
He's proud of me. I can feel it, even without him saying a word.
" Stop staring at me like that ," I project, teasing.
" Why ?" he projects back, his voice tinged with amusement. " You are mine. I will look whenever I wish ."
I roll my eyes, but can't help the way my lips curve into a smile.
Beside me, Mikaela's laughter cuts off abruptly, and I follow her gaze to the group of Drakav males entering the main chamber. Most are returning from a hunt, their golden skin dusted with fine sand that seems to cling to everything outside. But Mikaela's focus has zeroed in on one in particular.
Sarven.
His red eyes are locked on her like she's the only person in the room. He doesn't move, doesn't say anything, but his claws flex at his sides, and I recognize the tension in his stance.
It's the same way Tharn used to look at me before I realized this whole bond thing was happening between us.
Mikaela flushes, her gaze darting away as if trying to escape his intensity. But her hands tremble slightly as she sets down the smartwatch, and I don't miss the way her eyes flicker back to him, like a moth drawn to a flame.
Interesting.
I make a mental note to follow up on that later, but for now, there's something else I want to focus on.
" Tharn ," I project, turning to him. " Come with me ."
He straightens immediately, pushing off the pillar with fluid grace. " Where ?"
I don't answer, just grab his hand and start walking.
He follows without hesitation, his larger frame blocking out the light briefly as we pass through the tunnel that leads to our alcove. The moment we're alone, I stop and turn to face him.
"Thank you," I say softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
His head tilts, confusion rippling through the mindspace. " For what, my light ?"
" For everythin g," I say, stepping closer. " For helping the women. For helping me. For being... you ."
His claws flex at his sides, the only outward sign of tension before he reaches for me, his hands settling on my waist.
" You do not need to thank me ," he projects, his voice rough with emotion. " You already know…I would tear this world apart for you ."
The words steal my breath.
" I know ," I whisper, leaning into him.
His claws dig into my hips as he backs me against the cave wall. The soft dust-serpent scales of my dress scrape against the rough stone.
" Off ," he growls, already tugging at the sinew ties along my shoulder. I help him, fingers fumbling from how he’s biting a path down my throat, how his hands are everywhere at once.
The loincloth is gone before I can blink, tossed aside with a flick of his claws. He doesn’t give me time to think, to breathe. Just lifts me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist as he pins me to the wall.
One thrust and he’s buried to the hilt, his snarl vibrating through my chest as I gasp.
Beyond our alcove, the caves hum with life.
But here?
Here, there's only the punishing grip of his hands, the scrape of stone against my back, and the mindspace roaring with a single, savage truth:
Mine .