Page 34 of Warrior (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #2)

Daicon

The wound was fatal.

I knew it the second I felt the blade slide into my lower back, the trajectory ripping through most of my internal organs.

I felt the drain in my spirit, a knowing that my time was nigh. All my life other warriors spoke of the final battle—hoping that when their spirits flew to reside with the Valana, they were considered righteous enough to have her blessing.

I didn’t give a damn about the Valana.

My only care was the safety of Daisy and the younglings. If I managed to get them to safety, then I would count my life and eternity well lost.

A chill settled in my bones as my life blood dripped away. I pushed past it, making sure the ship was shielded and on autopilot to rendezvous with the Bardaga before cold and darkness became my only existence. The last vision that passed my eyes was Daisy’s beautiful face.

I swirled through the void, flying toward the unknown with a beckoning light so bright and white I knew it was not of the living. Eternity lay just out of my grasp, but my body stilled, unwilling to move forward.

Daisy.

The light of eternity was brilliant pure white. Daisy’s light was softer—warm and golden. It drew me… she drew me, to remain. I let her essence surround me, warm and soft and scented of flowers and sunshine. If this was my eternity, I would be well pleased.

A different light jerked me to wavering consciousness.

Flickers of red and yellow, scorching my body like flame.

Daisy was with me, her sweet whispers of encouragement a balm to my wounds.

The hot, hateful lights didn’t try to pull me away from her but wrapped the silken cords of the bond that existed between us around my spirit.

The light changed to soothing green and once again, my mind dipped into oblivion.

I rose to consciousness again, this time with discomfort, as though my skin stretched too tight over my bones.

There was a weight at my side, small and slight, not painful, just foreign, and yet somehow it felt right.

The weight held a floral scent, reminding me of the flower fields of my home world touched by bright sunshine.

I knew that scent.

My body reacted before my brain, a warmth growing through my veins, nerve endings tingling drawing me toward the weight at my side.

“Daicon?”

The voice held hope. The weight shifted and I felt the softest touch imaginable lay against my cheek.

I’d fought a wyeilet once. The beasts were the size of the ship we’d stole from the Gilese moon, with foot long teeth and claws.

They were slow though, and beatable if you could pierce the heart.

It just took a while to hack through the thick layer of blubber to reach the beast’s internal organs.

The battle took the better part of a sun cycle leaving me sore and exhausted.

Still, I’d rather fight a wyeilet again than try to force my eyelids open. Something in my body held me motionless, despite my desire to the contrary.

“It’s okay, Toovis said it would take a while for the drug to wear off.” The voice soothed, fingertips stroking my cheek. “Sleep now, I’ll be here when you wake.”

I could deny her nothing.

The next time my eyes opened was to a sheath of brown hair. Daisy shifted while I slept, her head laying over my heartbeat. My eyes watered against the light, but in a few blinks the Bardaga med-bay came into focus.

We made it.

Somehow, I survived, and Daisy was in my arms.

The breath I drew was ragged and deep causing Daisy to jerk, lifting her gaze to mine.

The golden flecks in her eyes shimmered and her lower lip trembled.

“Thank you, God,” she whispered before raining gentle kisses over my face.

I tried to wrap my arms around her, but the appendages felt weighty and hard to control. Daisy noticed the struggle, a frown drawing between her brows.

“How do you feel?”

“Sluggish, but okay.” Despite the fact my throat felt like the deserts of Parova, I felt okay. Actually, I felt better than okay. The aches inherent in my body from years of battle were gone. Maybe I hadn’t been stabbed at all, but knocked out and imagined the rest. “I thought I died.”

“You did die.” The flecks of gold in Daisy’s eyes brightened with the wash of tears.

“I held your hand as you took your last breath. It was the worst moment of my life. But you’re here now.

” She stroked my cheek tenderly while one hand lay flat on my chest, just over my heartbeat as though to keep tabs on its progress.

“If I died… How am I here?”

The soft fingers left my cheek, pointing to a large metal box on the opposite side of the room. I recognized the Garoot healer we’d taken from the Trogvyk, although the last time I saw it was in the cargo bay.

“The Aljani you let go got a message to the Bardaga and they intercepted us three days into the journey.” A single tear slid down her cheek.

“We’d already lost you, but George used the healer and managed to bring you back.

You had to stay in the machine for close to a week.

Toovis kept you sedated so you would fight the healing. ”

At least there was an explanation as to why I felt so sluggish.

The sigh Daisy heaved echoed both worry and relief.

My heart stuttered, picking up the beat in response to her emotions.

My eyes flickered about the room—we were alone.

I slid a hand up her spine, the sluggishness slowly replaced by a pins and needles feeling, but not enough of a discomfort to keep me from touching her.

She was perfect and whole, but her mention of the young Garoot made me wonder.

“George… the younglings. They’re, okay?”

“Everyone is fine.” Daisy’s full lips curved upward before she laid her head against my shoulder, the hand monitoring my heartbeat making small circles over my sternum.

“Orzon is the best babysitter, but they miss you and visit every day. Of course, I can’t get George to leave med-bay, he idolizes Toovis. ”

A chuckle rolled through my chest. As one of the Framaddi species, Orzon was uniquely qualified to take care of the children. His species served as artists, chefs, and nannies all over the universe.

“Khaion comes by to check on you every day too.”

Her words jolted me, not because of shock to find my chieftain checked on me—I’d be more shocked if he hadn’t.

The jolt came from deeper, a question wrapped like a restrictive band around my heart.

I could know the truth now, the answer to whether I could finally claim the precious treasure in my arms as mine and mine alone.

“I need to see the Chieftain.” My voice held conviction even though my body hesitated to pull away from her.

“Why? You just woke up?” Daisy raised her head, gazing at me with question.

“I need to debrief him about what happened on the moon.” It wasn’t a complete lie, I did need to inform my colleagues of the Aljani operations on Giezo, but finding whether I could claim Daisy as mate was tantamount in importance.

I needed to know if this soft, warm body pressed close was mine to keep forever.

“Ewok already did that.” She grinned at me. “He gave Khaion chapter and verse on the mining operation. Remember, Ewok was on that moon a lot longer than both of us.”

The idea of Ewok preening under the rapt attention of the Chieftain brought a smile to my lips as well. I shifted on the bed, stretching to check the response of my muscles. The last thing I wanted was to rise and end up flat on my face.

“Good. But there is another reason I need to meet with him.”

“Whatever it is, can’t it wait?” Daisy pouted and playfully swatted my chest. “You just woke up from being dead for heaven’s sake.”

She threw a leg over my thighs, as though her tiny frame stood the chance of stopping my departure.

The movement did serve to let me know my cock suffered no residual effect from being dead.

Truthfully, just the feel of her in my arms was the most enjoyable of bindings.

Her face was teasingly dejected, but there was strength in her gaze…

and love. Valakana be damned. She was mine.

“It’s about you Daisy,” I swallowed hard. “About us.”

“Us?” Her features moved into an adorable scrunch.

“There is something I must know. Something only my Chieftain and possibly your friend can answer.”

The scrunch morphed into a smile. “Is this about the whole, if you claim me as mate I’ll die , thing?”

I blinked at her. Perhaps Emmy convinced her not to attempt the mating. It might be an ordeal she did not wish her friend to bear.

I gave a curt nod. “It is said that Khaion claimed Emmy as mate, but I will not risk you—even if it means I have to go the rest of my life without calling you mine.”

“Give me your hands.”

Daisy shifted into a sitting position, pulling my hand from around her waist and placing it in the center of her chest. Gone were the borrowed clothes she’d escaped in, replaced by a long silky caftan in pale yellow.

Tiny fingers half the length of my grip, wrapped my other wrist to bring my palm to rest over my own heart.

She was smiling and the softness of her breasts under my fingertips made my skin prickle for an altogether different reason. I was so caught up in the feel of her, lust awakening from its drugged slumber, and I felt my heart quicken in pace.

Daisy smiled. Her gaze glued to mine. Expectancy danced across her features so strongly I opened my mouth to ask why.

I felt it.

The studder of her heartbeat under my fingertips, pace quickening until it matched the beat thudding in my own chest.

I felt the shock flicker over my face, which made her smile deepen.

“How did this happen?” I blurted, marveling at our hearts beating in perfect unison.

Daisy shrugged, giggling.

“When I got stabbed?” I didn’t remember speaking, but perhaps my last words had been to mutter the longing of my heart.