Chapter 15
SUSANNA
“That was disgusting!” Mara sobbed, crying at the kitchen table when the rest of us finally made it home. “What was that thing?”
“Hogas worm,” Xavran said, washing his face, neck, and arms in the stone sink. “A small one. Must be still a baby.”
He put a new pair of rubber-like bracers on, concealing the lethal horns on his forearms.
“A baby?” she yelled, nearly choking on the word. “Why did no one tell me those ugly things existed? I would’ve never come here. Never. Ever!”
Xavran looked tired.
“The shields are up. We’re safe now,” he told her. He placed his hands on the shoulders of Ene and Ivex. Illal and Xilvo kept close too. “I’ll take the children to bed.”
He led them out of the kitchen.
With everyone gone, Mara directed the full force of her distress at me.
“I’ve had it with this place. Why would anyone want to live here? It’s a nightmare! Why did you make me come here? How is being eaten alive any better than decapitation?”
“No one ate you. You’re still alive,” I pointed out.
“Thanks to Ambassador Zeigan. He saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Xavran killed the worm.”
“Oh, please!” She rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t make him a hero.”
In my eyes, it totally did. But I felt too exhausted to argue.
“Come, Mara. Have a bath, get some sleep. I’ll do the same.” I just couldn’t deal with her tonight.
I put my arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the kitchen.
“I swear I’m getting off this planet as soon as I can.” She kept complaining on the way to her room. “No one deserves to live like this. It’s barbaric. They don’t even have one decent shop around here. And those things, popping out from the ground, like fucking daisies!” She shuddered.
“Calm down, Mara.” I helped her out of her clothes and into the tub. “We’re safe, now.”
“Safe? We were supposed to be safe all along! That was a freaking country dance or something like it. A family event. It should’ve been as safe as could be.”
“A shield failed, apparently.” I repeated what we’d been told by the authorities when an enraged Xavran demanded an explanation back at the town hall. “It was scheduled for maintenance next month. Someone on the town council had tried to save money by spreading out its maintenance a bit too thin. They will have to re-adjust the schedule after this.”
“Great!” She threw her hands up into the air, then dropped them back in the tub water with a splash. “They’re not only painfully primitive around here but also grossly corrupt.”
“It doesn’t happen often. There hadn’t been a hogas worm attack in Diria for over twenty years before tonight.”
“Ha! Once in a lifetime event! Lucky me.”
I stayed for another minute or two, making sure she’d calmed down enough to go straight to bed after her bath. As irritated as she was, I worried Mara might do something stupid, like make arrangements to go back to Earth or possibly request refuge on Tragul through her new friend, the ambassador. Knowing Mara, even the most outlandish scenario wasn’t off the table for her.
But after lying in the tub for a few minutes, she seemed to have relaxed a little. I bid her good night, then shuffled to my bedroom. Afraid I’d fall asleep in the tub, as tired as I was, I took a quick shower instead.
Before going to bed, however, I threw on a bathrobe over my pajamas and headed out, intending to check on the children quickly. They had been through a lot tonight.
To be completely honest, I wished I could check on Xavran too. The medics had been called to the town hall. They had assessed his injuries and treated his cuts, but I was sure he’d been shaken by the whole ordeal more than anyone. I hoped it wouldn’t keep him awake tonight, as he was going to work first thing tomorrow morning.
After I took the first turn, however, I ran straight into him.
“Oh...” I managed to stop just in time, without crashing into him. But he grabbed my shoulders and drew me close.
“Are you alright?”
“Me?” I asked, pressed to his bare chest. “How are you feeling?”
He’d bathed and changed into a pair of loose sleep pants.
“I’m glad.” He sounded calm. But as he heaved a long breath, a shudder ran through his large body. “Glad that it ended the way it did.”
He was right. It could’ve been much worse. He could’ve lost his entire family tonight. And I... I could’ve lost him. The image of the worm nearly swallowing Xavran would stay burned into my memory forever.
“I’m glad it all ended the way it did too.” I wound my arms around his middle, leaning into the warmth and safety radiating from him.
Best hug ever.
“How are the kids?” I asked, not letting go of him.
“They’re well. I’m so proud of them. Ivex is disappointed that he didn’t get to throw anything at the worm like Ene did.” His wide chest vibrated with a chuckle. “They decided to sleep in one room tonight.”
“I understand them way too well,” I blurted out. “I wouldn’t want to be alone tonight, either.”
Tonight would be great to spend with a family. Except that I only had Mara. And she would kick me out in a flash if I tried to climb into bed with her.
Xavran’s breathing hitched.
“Susanna,” he said softly. “You don’t need to be alone. I’ll stay with you. If you want.”
“Stay,” I breathed out, without taking any time to think. I just wished for him to keep holding me.
That one word was all he needed. His one arm around my shoulders, he walked me back into my room. After closing the gate, he turned me to face him.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he easily lifted me off the ground.
“Susanna,” he breathed out my name like a prayer.
I circled his waist with my legs, and he kissed me, carrying me to bed. Wrapping my hands around his horns, I kept him where I wanted him. His kisses proved to be even more addictive than his hugs.
He placed me on the mattress and climbed over me, covering my face with hot, urgent kisses.
Heat spread through me from his touch. Desire raged, stronger than ever. Suddenly, I wanted him more than the air I breathed.
Such a loss of control was...unnerving.
He yanked at the belt of my robe, untying the knot, and I grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“Xavran, please,” I begged. “Slow down.”