Orc’s Forbidden Claim (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss #33)

34. Khiara

34

KHIARA

T he lizards tried to keep me from leaving but didn’t put much effort into it. The ones who were on duty when I brought Sek’su back were on duty again. I told them that he wasn’t doing well and, when I took the time to explain to them that I knew a fungus that would counteract the poison, they were willing to let me go despite their orders.

That was three hands back. What I didn’t tell them, and most especially did not tell Saylor, is where I would have to go to get that fungus. It only grows in one place, because my people made sure of that. We didn’t want the lizards having access to it, the poison of the elder cudov being one of our primary weapons against the physically larger and stronger Zmaj.

Apparently, it didn’t matter. They have no clue.

Infiltrating the city is going to be all but impossible. The Shaman and his Maulavi have declared me a traitor. Every guard will be on alert. I have no doubt they have orders to kill on sight and here I am, striding right to them.

Stupid. Dumb. Ignorant.

Doubts try to fill my head. I continue to think about how bad of an idea this is. There is no way I can pull this off, yet here I go, trying. I never would have done this. This is the kind of stupid idea my brother would come up with.

Dilacs. Take care of Saylor for me.

He will, though he will be angry that I didn’t tell him what I was planning. Didn’t even go to see him or give him a chance because I knew what would happen. Once he finished trying to talk me out of this, he would go with me.

I could not allow that. He has every reason to stay behind. He is needed. More than he knows, yet. I don’t think even his mate knows, but right before I left, I noticed it. Her scent was different. His mate is pregnant.

A child. A hybrid child between our two species.

It is not surprising that his seed has caught. The two of them are always mating. It seems the instant I leave the room they are at it again. I’ve even caught them in odd places around the Zmaj compound, but it’s not as if I can pass judgment. My actions would color that to the pale.

Saylor and I have mated every possible chance we could find. Though for us it has been harder since I’m still sharing a room with my brother and his mate, while also more a prisoner to the Zmaj than a guest or an ally.

And she has wanted to avoid us being seen by anyone. I never asked her about her odd behavior, but I am aware of it. All of our meetings have been clandestine. Arriving separately, coming from different directions, and leaving in the same way. My obsession with her allowed me to ignore the idiosyncrasies but ignoring is not the same as being unaware.

My greatest skill in life, I’ve always felt, was being quiet. I have always preferred to listen. Keep my thoughts to myself and stand by my own judgment. And listen I have, since my brother and I came to the compound. Saylor, Wrenlee, and the others in her group have a level of repute among their kind that influences the rest of the humans.

Why, I’m not sure. From what I can gather, it seems almost like the Maulavi or the Guards of my own people. Growing up, Dilacs and I both trained and worked hard to join the Queen’s Guard. That was a path open to two outer-rimmers like ourselves that would better our lives. Steady pay meant steady food, a thing that we never knew as younglings.

Guards held a higher standing in society too. They were respected. When they showed up, people listened. No one bullied the guards, at least not before the Shaman took power. Then there were the Maulavi to deal with, but such was life.

I think that Saylor’s situation is similar though. As a guard we had to maintain our appearance and how we handled everything was always being watched. Citizens could report us to our superiors, and it would, if found to be true, lead to disciplinary actions.

That part I’m not sure about. What do the humans do if Saylor and her friends do the wrong thing? I want to understand this if I make it back. I am sure she will help. The if is the thing, though.

I think the problem is that she and I have not done any mating rituals. But again, I do not know what the human mating rituals are. How do they declare their intentions and make them known?

I’m too close to the city to let my thoughts continue to wander. I am surprised I haven’t already run into a patrol, even though I’m taking a little used tunnel that is barely wide enough for me to pass through. It will come out above the city floor. I plan to assess the situation in the city. Hopefully, my best and probably dimmest hope is to see someone I know is in the resistance and get help.

Firelight comes through the opening ahead, so I slow my approach, taking care to move as silently as possible. Even though this opening is two stories above the floor, any noise would carry below and could raise an alarm or, at the very least, create suspicion.

Crouching, I work my way to the edge where I can peer through without being seen, I hope. The city spreads out below and an ache forms in my chest. Home. For all its flaws and the corruption that I know too well lies in its heart, this is my home. My people.

How do I save them? I trust my Queen, but this alliance with the Zmaj… the very idea is antithesis to everything we’ve ever known. If there was any other choice….

Sek’su has honor. He is a warrior. I am here for him.

How do I reconcile him with the way the rest of his people are? Is he what the Zmaj are really like if we get past our prejudice? And how do we get past them? These questions are too big for me. I am no philosopher or great thinker. I was a Queen’s Guard, no, I am . Now more than ever, since she is in my direct care. Yet, nothing in my life has prepared me to answer these big questions.

What I do know, though, is that I need that antidote. For Sek’su and my dragoste, Saylor. She did not want me to go, but if I didn’t do all I could to save her best friend’s mate, then what kind of male would I be? I could never look her in her eyes knowing that I had done less than all I could for her and those she calls family.

Below, my people go about their lives as if nothing has changed. An intense weight settles onto my chest making it hard to breathe. For those below, nothing has changed. They have no hope. They do not realize what the coming of the humans means, or that our Queen is not sick and dying as the Shaman led us all to believe. That she is free and planning for their rescue.

Children race between the hovels of the outer rim, tumbling and laughing, but their laughter is subdued. Colored by the miasma that has defined the Urr’ki for too long. No longer are we the proud First Born of Tajss. We have become the remnants. The leftovers. Those left behind, whose only hope lies in this world ending and the next coming.

Before I realize it, I stand and inhale deeply. I want to shout, scream that this is not the end. That the Shaman has lied and misled us. None of this is the way it should be. There is hope. We can, all of us, love again. In this life. I want to tell them that I have found my love, my dragoste, and I know they can too. Now is not the time to give up, which they have. I know because I had. I stop before I shout.

Stupid. Get caught and they’ll kill me. Probably won’t even wait to hook me up to that infernal machine.

I resume my crouch and continue to study the edge of the city. I’m looking for anyone I know for certain who is in the resistance. I need an ally. Someone I can trust, which is a rare thing for sure under the rule of the Shaman.

Patience is often the key to finding what I need, so I wait. Crouching in the shadows and studying the people who pass by until I see one I can trust. A smile forms on my face. He walks boldly down the street between the hovels with his head held high and his shoulders thrown back. I am glad he’s free as I wasn’t sure if he’d been captured when Dilacs and I escaped with the Queen but there he is. As bold and as carefree as the last time I saw him.

I pick up a small stone and take careful aim. He turns and walks by right below me. I drop the stone, and it hits him on the shoulder.

“Heh,” he says, looking around.

The moment is perfect as there is no one else close by. He turns a circle, looking for the source. I stick my head out of the tunnel and make a hissing sound. His head jerks up, eyes wide with surprise even while his brow is furrowed.

When he sees me, his eyes widen then a broad smile forms. He doesn’t keep looking up but instead looks around carefully now, ascertaining if anyone has seen his odd behavior. I also look around from my vantage point, but I don’t see anyone.

When I look back down, he is gone. I am certain he’s coming to find me, so I sit with my back against the wall, waiting for him to arrive. Muda helped Dilacs and I infiltrate the dark keep of Kala Tavara to save Gweneth, which led to us finding the Queen. He is young, barely out of his youngling years, but smart as a whip and reliable. He will know the lay of the land below and will be able to help me get what I need.

Deciding I’m too close to the opening, I get up and walk down the tunnel. There is an intersection a short distance within, which should be the way he comes up here. I’ll wait for him?—

The ground rumbles, the only warning before everything is shaking violently and I’m thrown from my feet as rock and dirt fall.