Barbarian King’s Mate by Ivy Sparks

Chapter Three

Daphne

I stumbled blindlythrough the thick jungle. I didn’t recognize anything around me because there was nothing to see. Trees and vines hung over the path and blocked out everything from view, including the sky.

The giant alien male who saved me from the… What did he call them? Vorlax. He seemed to know about them. He killed them like a skilled hunter. I never would have believed anyone could do that, but he did. He did it easily and without suffering a single scratch.

His enormous figure walked in front of me, but he kept looking back to make sure I was still there. When he did, my cheeks heated every time I saw his face.

He towered more than two feet above me, and he had intricate and meticulously carved tattoos all over his broad shoulders and back. They ran down his arms to the elbow and swirled onto his chest. Black, pointed horns stuck out of his head, and his dark eyes glinted with unnatural fire. His black wavy hair fell around the thick muscles of his tanned shoulders, and only one description came to mind as I looked upon him.

He was one handsome devil.

I tried to ignore that though, considering the life and death situation I currently was in.

When he had insisted we move on, I was still in a complete shock over Philippa. I still didn’t believe it. How could she, the brave, adventurous explorer, be dead while I had somehow survived?

Well, the answer was right in front of me. Without this alien hunk, I’d be as dead as her, or possibly worse. The Vorlax had seemed like they wanted to do more than just kill me.

I grimaced at the thought and tried to put that all behind me for the time being. We weren’t out of dodge yet, anyway. I couldn’t be recounting my miraculous survival when I still could be pounced on by one of those scorpion beasts at any moment.

My alien savior looked back again and caught my eye. I immediately looked away, focusing on the insects and small invertebrates skittering over a vine.

What in God’s name was he planning on doing with me? Sure, he saved my life, but it’d be foolish to assume it was out of the kindness of his heart. I’d heard enough tales of what alien barbarians do to single young women like me. Returning me to my people was a very unlikely outcome.

But I kept having to remind myself that though he looked as dangerous as the Vorlax, he saved my life. At this moment, anyhow, I had to be thankful. But I worried saying anything might change our current quiet peace.

He stopped suddenly, and I nearly gasped. He turned around and pointed to the ground. “Be careful here. The ground drops away.”

The words barely penetrated my fragile mind. He stepped across a gap and landed on the other side. He waited for me to follow, but when I tried, a bug skittered across the leaves. Though it was small, its scorpion-like legs sent a jolt through me as images of the Vorlax flashed through my mind. My foot hit the slippery bank and gave out under me.

I pitched forward, but the alien warrior darted in and grabbed me. He steadied me and effortlessly lifted my body over the gap. He set my feet on the ground and I stared up at him, trying to comprehend what just happened. My brain was still stuck on the trauma from before.

The Vorlax. The cage. Philippa. The disgusting sensation of those creatures’ jointed legs slipping into my panties. I shuddered and jerked out of his arms. The thought of anything touching me made me sick to my stomach right now.

I would have walked away, but since I didn’t know where I was going or even where I was, I had no choice but to stop a few paces away from the alien. I realized I had my back to him. I was being rude to him when I should have been grateful.

He only smiled and sauntered past me, heading in the same direction. “You’re on the right path. It isn’t much farther now.”

Those words stabbed me in the heart. This man saved my life, and I didn’t even have the decency to thank him. I hurried after him, but I had to open my mouth and close it again more than once before I regained use of my voice.

“Thank… Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he breezed over his shoulder without turning around.

I stopped in my tracks. Now what was I supposed to say? I had to run to catch up with him again. “I-I’m sorry I was rude to you. I’m grateful for everything you did. I feel bad because I don’t even know your name.”

This time, he didn’t even turn around to answer. “My name is Garath. Garath vas Turra.”

He didn’t ask for my name. Should I tell him? It wasn’t like it was some secret. I shook my head at myself and said, “My name’s Daphne. Daphne Clarron.”

Garath gave a single nod, but he still didn’t turn around. “Daphne Clarron.” He spoke my name in an almost sultry voice, like he was getting to know it. My spine tingled.

“Are you…?” Everything I could think to ask about him sounded so impossibly rude I couldn’t bring myself to utter it. Instead I asked, “The Vorlax… Are they native to this planet?”

Garath halted dead in his tracks and jerked around. “What are you doing on this planet if you know so little about it? Do you not know how foolish it was to be romping through the forest without even knowing of its greatest threats?”

I reared back in surprise at this turn in conversation. “I mean, yeah, I had my apprehensions. But our people surveyed this planet more than once. They would have reported a dangerous species like that if they’d found one. That’s why I was wondering if they were new to this planet.”

Garath snorted and set off walking again. “Your surveyors should do a more thorough job in the future. It would have saved everyone a great deal of trouble.”

“We’re in trouble?”

“The Vorlax aren’t exactly going to be happy that I slayed five of them. So yes, we’re in trouble.”

I stopped to take this information in before I remembered something else. “But you didn’t answer my question. Are the Vorlax native to this planet?” A part of me needed to know if the Academy had really dropped the ball that hard. Philippa had insisted that they would have avoided such negligence at all costs—the same negligence that got my parents killed.

“No, they aren’t native. They’re relatively new to this planet.” Garath snarled through gritted teeth and scowled at the surrounding forest. “They’re invaders.”

“Are you… native?” That was the question I was too scared to ask earlier, but I had a flash of courage.

Garath spun around so fast that my courage immediately dissipated. “Do you know what species I am?”

I hunched my shoulders and tried to look away, but his fierce gaze wouldn’t let me. “No. I’m sorry.”

“I’m Kavian. Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“Well.” Garath turned and started marching forward again. “We’re native to the planet Kavius, but our planet was destroyed five years ago in a war against the Ranxi.”

“Who are the Ranxi?”

“Conquerors. No, worse than that. At least conquerors attack for resources. The Ranxi just kill to suppress future threats. Our species, as primitive as we were, were deemed too dangerous to let evolve and prosper. So they’ve been trying to kill us all. They overran our planet and my people were forced to flee. My race is now scattered across the galaxy, and my tribe has had to settle on this planet.”

I couldn’t believe such a horrible species existed. “Are the Vorlax working with the Ranxi?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. The Ranxi modify captive species and convert them into conscript armies.”

“How many of your people did they…” I broke off. I couldn’t ask.

Garath looked me in the eye for a moment, and I could feel his grief. “They killed a lot of us. My mother was killed in the siege, but my father, sister, and I escaped. We lead the tribe of this planet now.”

“Are you some kind of royalty?”

Garath stopped and stood with his back to me. When he turned around this time, he did it deliberately. He drew himself up to his full height and his shoulders swelled to an even greater size. “My father is the King of my clan. My mother, Queen Vassa, was killed battling the Ranxi.”

“That’s terrible,” I whispered, remembering how hard it was to lose my parents.

“In a way, I lost my father too,” Garath continued. “Her loss drove him to madness. It’s turned him into a paranoid man who’ll never trust outsiders again.” He faced me fully now. “Speaking of which… What even brings you to this planet?”

“I’m a scientist.”

“Like so many. That tells me nothing.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m a botanist. That… that woman back there was my mentor—my teacher. We were exploring this planet and taking samples to see if the planet was suitable for colonization.”

Garath laughed humorlessly and stared off into the distance. “You appear to have your answer. We Kavians have learned too late how difficult this planet is to tame. Perhaps it’s why we were pointed here during our time of need. It seems like even those who claim to want to help us are bent on seeing us fail. But I still intend to make it work. I must.” He turned his focus back on me. “But what brings you here? I thought humans have a more than habitable planet.”

“I… I was just trying to start a new life.”

“Why?”

I wasn’t about to tell this alien about my ex issues, especially when his problems were leagues above mine. “My reasoning is stupid. I didn’t really think about it. Just closed my eyes and jumped in, really.”

Garath didn’t seem to buy my deflection, but still gave me the benefit of a comment, “An odd motivation for such a drastic life decision.” He then turned on his heel and walked off. He didn’t turn around again. He put me right out of his mind. And why wouldn’t he? He had told me his origins, and I just gave a bumbling non-answer about mine in return.

And apparently he had risked a lot to save me, and was going to continue to be at risk as these Vorlax sought revenge.

I trailed after him, but I still had so many questions. Namely, I was very concerned about his people’s attitudes about foreign women like myself. Were they like so many barbaric alien societies who treated captured women like livestock to be bred? Was I captured, or just a refugee? He had mentioned his father hated outsiders. That couldn’t be good news for me…

I studied the back of his neck and shoulders. Those were some seriously nice shoulders—magnificent, even. They tapered to a narrow waist chiseled with muscle. The tattoos set off every groove and crevice. They left nothing hidden. In fact, they seemed to reveal unspoken mysteries about him that no amount of talking could unearth.

He kept on until the forest grew dark. The noises of creatures and insects grew louder as dusk settled over the thicket. Garath. His name was Garath. Garath vas Turra. It was a strange sort of name, but it suited him somehow.

After an eternity of walking, he stopped again. He looked up at the canopy and scanned the trees. “It’s too dark to continue. We’ll stop here.”

“Where?” I searched the area, but I saw nothing but trees, trees, and more trees. “There’s nowhere to hide here. We’d be as vulnerable to the Vorlax here as we were back in the glade.”

He stepped off the path and lifted a curtain of foliage. He exposed what looked like a compartment walled in with greenery. “We can hide here. These flowers mask scent. The Vorlax won’t find us beneath them.”

I blinked at the opening and imagined the both of us in there at the same time. “But it’s barely big enough for you, much less both of us.”

“Suit yourself. You can share it with me or risk sleeping in the open. I’ve helped you as much as I can, but at some point, you’re going to have to help yourself.”

He ducked under the vines and crawled inside. He let them fall, and I lost sight of him. I gaped at the curtain in horror. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t seriously intend to leave me out here alone.

But then again, there was no way I could go in there with him. I tried to imagine exactly what I’d have to do to wedge myself in there with him. It would be more than a tight squeeze. He’d have to lie right up against me.

I wandered a few steps away when I heard a twig snapping nearby, making me jump. Were the Vorlax coming back? How soon after we left the glade would they find their slain comrades? How quickly would they be able to track us?

Garath didn’t act in any particular hurry to put the miles between himself and his enemies. I shuddered again when I remembered the spikes that shot out of his knuckles and arms when he fought the Vorlax. He used them as weapons, as well as that dagger he kept at his belt.

I stumbled a few feet farther into the forest. A little way off, I found a fallen log with a space underneath. Was this safe enough? It would have to be, but it didn’t have any curtain of flowers to mask my scent.

I sank onto the ground and hugged my knees to my chest. The tropical climate never got cool enough to chill me, but I couldn’t settle down. I rocked back and forth to stop myself from shaking.

I couldn’t let the Vorlax take me again. I’d rather die. I glanced toward Garath’s hiding spot. But did I dare go in there with my body pressed up against his? Would he take it the wrong way?

Not that I’d normally kick a guy like him out of bed. But these circumstances were less than ideal.

I turned away and tried to occupy my mind. Bioluminescent bugs shone on the trees, and some luminescent substance flowed in the underside of certain leaves. I was supposed to be categorizing the plants on this planet, but when I concentrated on the foliage nearest me, I couldn’t think straight. I kept struggling to come up with a plan to deal with the Vorlax when they finally showed up.

They would show up eventually if I sat out here. I never doubted that. But part of me was more afraid of Garath.

And whether I’d be able to resist those eyes any longer.