Chapter 6

six

. . .

Thaumas

Pain.

That was the first thing that pierced the thick, suffocating fog shrouding my mind. Searing, bone-deep pain that radiated from my chest like a supernova.

The second thing was noise. A barrage of unfamiliar voices and clanging machinery, underscored by the frenetic beeping of diagnostic equipment.

Where was I?

With monumental effort, I pried open my gummy eyes - only to slam them shut again as blinding white light speared my retinas. I groaned, the sound raspy and weak in my own ears.

Ugh. It was like the aftermath of that three-day bender on Krox Minor, only with more feeling like a herd of rampaging drek-beasts had trampled me.

"...he's coming around. Get the sedative, 80 ccs. Hold him still while I."

A cool numbness spread through my limbs, the pain receding to a dull roar. The warm embrace of oblivion beckoned, and I nearly succumbed. Nearly let myself sink back into the dark quiet, away from the hurt and confusion.

But something nagged at me, a desperate urgency that dragged me back from the brink. Green eyes were wide with fear. Crimson staining blonde hair. Screams that punched through the haze like photon rounds...

Kat.

"K-Katarina..."

I barely recognized my voice, little more than a thready rasp. But it got an immediate response.

"Thaumas? Oh, gods - Doctor, he's awake!"

Suddenly, she was there. My fierce, beautiful warrior woman, leaning over me with tears in her emerald eyes. Her calloused fingers found my cheek, gentle as a summer breeze.

"Shh, don't try to talk. You're safe now. We both are."

I blinked up at her, struggling to make sense of the situation through the drugged haze. Now that my vision was adjusting, I could see we were in some kind of medbay - but not the cramped little hole in our junker.

No, this was a fully equipped medical frigate. State-of-the-art scanners, gleaming robotic surgical arms, the works. The facilities only the richest mercs or military elite could afford.

What the kroxing hell?

"Where..." I coughed, my dry throat clicking. "Where are we? How did..." Memory struck like a lightning bolt, sizzling through the fog. "The mercs! Vex, that xeno quack, he..."

Kat hushed me, her fingers moving to card through my crest in a way that turned my bones to water. "Easy, Big Bird. It's okay - Vex ran off with his tail between his legs."

Her smile was fierce, almost feral. "I Made sure he'll think twice before coming after us again."

I gaped at her, shock momentarily overriding the sedatives dulling my senses. Katarina, my clever, courageous little Earther… had bested a seasoned slaver and his goon squad? Alone?

"That's my girl," I rasped, pride and awe warring in my chest. "Fierce as any warrior. Always...knew you'd make me proud."

Tears welled in her eyes, clumping her lashes. "Idiot," she choked out. "Stupid, brave, self-sacrificing idiot. You nearly died, Thaumas. What were you thinking, taking on all those armed thugs by yourself?"

"Didn't...didn't have a choice," I wheezed, my beak twitching in a faint smirk. "Had to...buy you time. Keep you safe."

She scowled, giving my undamaged shoulder a gentle swat. "Yeah, well, from now on we protect each other, got it? No more of this noble martyr crap. I can't..." Her voice cracked, fresh tears spilling over. "I can't lose you again. I won't."

Guilt and grief twisted in my guts. Spirits, the terror she must have felt watching me fall. The desperation that drove her to fight off a seasoned death squad alone...

Of course, my clever girl succeeded. Proved every scrap of faith I'd ever placed in her strength and tenacity. But at what cost to her own gentle heart?

"‘m sorry," I mumbled, feathers wilting. "Never wanted...to put you through that. Forgive me?"

She sniffled, dashing away her tears with an irritated swipe. "Forgiven. This time. Just...just don't make a habit of getting ventilated by two-cred slime weasels, okay?"

"No promises." I winked, relishing her exasperated huff. My sluggish brain latched on to an earlier question. "So. Not complaining, but...how'd we end up in a floating Ritz like this? Last I checked, our credit chip couldn't buy a tin of Loxian fish paste, let alone a private bacta suite."

Kat grinned, some of the mischievous sparkle returning to her eyes. "Ah. That would be courtesy of your daring rescuer. A dashing space pirate answered my distress call." She put a hand to her brow in a mock swoon. "My hero!"

I sat up straighter, ignoring the twinge of stitches pulling. "Space pirate?" I growled, suddenly wide awake. "You let some bolt head privateer get his grimy hooks in you while I was out? Kat, those assholes are just mercs with delusions of romance! You can't trust… "

"Whoa, slow your ion engines, Lord Suspicious!" She laughed, flicking my beak. "The only one with his hooks in me here is you, bird brain. I just used our pirate benefactor for his shiny med-tech."

Relief and chagrin twisted my insides. Of course Kat wouldn't fall for some wannabe muscled block of dubious charms. She was far too clever for such reckless trust.

After all, it took me ages to worm my way past her formidable emotional defenses. No smooth-talking freebooter could manage such a feat in the scant time I'd been unconscious.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the medbay door whooshed open, admitting a hulking figure more at home on a battlefield than a surgical suite.

He was a Zoloxian - or half of one, anyway. The unmistakable bulk and jutting under-bite spoke of the brutal reptilian mercs, but the sleeker head tentacles reeked of Myraxian genes. A half-breed, then. Rare and usually reviled by their parent races.

But from the arrogant set of his shoulders to the fine cut of his pressure suit, this was no beaten cur. This was an alpha predator, as sure of his strength as he was of his next breath.

Instantly, I was on high alert. My protective instincts surged as I thrust an arm out, blocking Kat from the newcomer. Low growls rumbled up my raw throat as I pierced him with the full force of my raptor glower.

But the merc just smirked, crossing his burly arms. "Well, well. The sleeping bird awakens." He sneered, baring an impressive mouthful of needle fangs. "Suppose I should be grateful you didn't try to tear my head off with that oversized canary beak. Or is your birdie brain still too scrambled for any snappy threats?"

"Captain!" Kat hissed, glaring at him over the barrier of my wing. "Be nice! Thaumas nearly died, if you recall. A little bedside compassion wouldn't kill you."

The merc - Captain, apparently, snorted. "Sweetheart, if I had a credit for every time some meat-shield took a blaster jolt covering my shapely ass, I could buy this whole kroxing sector." But he softened slightly under Kat's quelling look. "Fine. Welcome back to the land of the functioning, Lord Feather Duster. Glad that gaping chest wound didn't punch your ticket to the big nest in the sky."

"Captain..." Kat growled warningly.

"What?" He spread his hands with patently false innocence. "That was me being nice!"

I didn't like his tone. Didn't like the way he looked at my Kat, all insolent appreciation and cocky familiarity. And I sure as shekking abyss didn't like the proprietary gleam in his scaly lizard eyes, like she belonged to him just because he'd play-acted the big damn hero.

I'd bet my tail feathers this rescue was anything but altruistic. Men like him never did something for nothing. There was always an angle, always a catch.

And if he thought he could use my brush with death to sink his claws into Kat...

"Enough," I bit out, my voice still raspy but diamond-hard. "Spare me the poisoned pleasantries, merc. You didn't save my tail out of the goodness of your scaly heart." I fixed him with an icy stare. "Name your price. What do you want in exchange for services rendered?"

The captain rocked back on his heels, barking a laugh. "Krox, you Griffin types are a blunt bunch. I'm almost surprised you didn't whip out the dueling gauntlet and smite me for impugning your lady's honor."

"Not my lady," I said stiffly, even as something twisted painfully in my chest at the disavowal. "But she is under my protection. A fact you'd be wise to remember the next time your eyes wander where your hands will quickly be forfeit."

Anger flashed across the merc's harsh face. He opened his mouth - no doubt to fire back a scathing retort - but Kat beat him to it.

"Enough, both of you!" She snapped, her eyes flashing. "Gods, I'd expect this territorial male bovine-shit from a couple of rutting Luxorian stags, but not a pair of allegedly mature sentient adults."

She rounded on me first, righteous fire in her emerald gaze. "Thaumas, you need to check the jealous he-man routine. I am not your possession to be bartered or fought over. I make my own choices, and right now I choose to trust Raza. He saved your stubborn feathered butt, in case you forgot."

Her glare switched to Raza, softening not a whit. "And you - enough with the crotch-flexing aggression. Thaumas is my partner. He was protecting me from Syndicate goons when he got shot, and he'll go right on protecting me until I kick his overprotective ass to the curb. So stow the suggestive smirks and focus on the task at hand - sticking it to Zarath and his slaver scum once and for all."

Both of us gaped at her, momentarily struck dumb by her tirade. Spirits, she was magnificent in her fury. A warrior goddess, as fierce as she was fair.

How could I have thought, even for a moment, that this rogue could turn her head? Kat's will was pure beskar. Empty flattery and a dashing grin would never seduce her.

Raza recovered first, sketching a sardonic bow. "As my lady commands," he drawled. "Consider my crotch un-flexed. I'll keep my suggestive admiration to myself and leave you lovebirds to your overprotective ass-kicking. Just remember who's vessel you're sailing on, sweetheart. The Crimson Claw answers to no one."

He turned to leave, his hand slapping the door panel. But he paused, throwing a wicked grin over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Feathers? You ever forget that I saved your mangy hide again, I'll be happy to jog your memory." He winked at Kat. "Your lady's honor will just be a pleasant bonus."

And with that parting shot, he swaggered out, leaving me sputtering curses in his wake.

"That arrogant, scaly son of a Vraxian whore," I spat, my feathers bristling. "Give me five minutes on my feet and I'll yank those kroxing head tentacles out by the roots."

"Thaumas." Kat's voice was soft but steely. "Leave it. Please. He's not the enemy here."

I deflated, the anger whooshing out of me. "I know," I muttered mulishly. "I just, I don't like the way he looks at you. Like you're some shiny prize he can't wait to brag about bagging."

She arched a golden brow. "Like you just tried to do, bartering your life for my supposed safety? Staking your claim like I'm territory to be fought over?"

I winced, shame staining my crest a dull pink. "I...krox. You're right, I'm an idiot." I scrubbed a hand over my face, every inch of me still aching. "Forgive me, Kat. Nearly dying is no excuse for acting like a tail-thumping caveman."

Her gaze softened. "Forgiven and forgotten, Big Bird." She leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of my beak that sent fire racing through my battered body. "Just don't let it happen again, or this warrior woman might take a few chunks out of your feathered hide herself."

I shuddered at the delicious image, my pain forgotten. "Is that a promise?" I purred, my good wing curling around her waist.

She laughed, but there was a husky edge to it that lit me up like a kroxing solar flare. "Play your cards right and you might just find out."

Spirits, this female would be the death of me. And I'd die with a smile on my beak and a song in my heart.

But all playfulness evaporated as the magnitude of what she'd done - what she'd risked - crashed over me anew. My fierce, brilliant little Earther, who'd saved my tail, faced down a hardened death squad, and somehow sweet-talked a surly pirate into giving us shelter on his ship. All while I lay broken and bleeding, as much use as a Malaxian mud hen.

The guilt was an icy knot in my guts, dousing my momentary flare of desire. I never should have left her alone to face those horrors. Never should have failed her when she needed me most.

"Kat," I said roughly, curling my fingers around her slender wrist. "I know I've said it already, but I'm so sorry. Sorry I wasn't there to protect you, to stand at your side against Zarath's scum. If anything happened to you while I was out, if that xeno filth laid one slimy hand on you."

"Hey, hey." She pressed closer, sliding onto the narrow med berth beside me. "None of that, you hear me? I'm fine, Thaumas. They never touched me." Her eyes glowed with fierce pride and satisfaction. "I touched them, and none too gently. Sent them scurrying like the worm-ridden collection of kizzek balls they are."

I searched her face, wonder and relief a warm glow in my chest. "You really did, didn't you? Took on a whole xeno wolf pack alone and made them regret ever looking at you cross-eyed."

She shrugged, but there was no missing the pleased flush that pinked her cheeks at my awed praise. "I'm a fast learner. Had a good teacher."

I made a choked noise, my arm tightening around her. "A good teacher? Kat, I failed you when it mattered most. Left you to the monsters while I bled out uselessly. Some guardian Griffin I turned out to be."

"Stop that," she said fiercely. She cupped my face in her small, calloused hands, forcing me to meet her emerald gaze. "You took a fucking blaster bolt for me, Thaumas. Threw yourself into a nest of vipers, outnumbered and outgunned, just to give me a chance. That's not failure - that's the bravest, most selfless thing anyone's ever done for me."

Tears glimmered in her eyes, but her voice never wavered. "You protected me the only way you could - with your own body. Your life. How could I ever see that as anything but the actions of a true guardian? MY guardian."

My throat locked up, a strange pressure building behind my eyes. When was the last time anyone looked at me like that? With such unbridled trust and gratitude, such unwavering faith?

Never. Not once in all my long centuries had I been on the receiving end of such pure, unshakeable loyalty.

It rocked me. Shook me to my core in a way not even a point-blank blaster shot could.

"I." My voice cracked, my practiced words deserted me. What could I possibly say in the face of such steadfast devotion? What words could encompass the enormity of what I felt for this small, fierce, utterly extraordinary human?

In the end, I settled for the simplest and most profound truth of all. "I love you, Katarina Mayberry."

Her eyes went wide, shock and wonder warring across her expressive face. For a long, heart-stopping moment, the only sound was the frenetic beeping of the med equipment and the ragged sawing of my breath.

Oh krox, had I just ruined everything? Revealed too much, pushed too hard? I braced myself for the inevitable letdown, the gentle but firm rebuff. The "I care for you too, but not that way" speech I'd heard from so many starry-eyed females over the long, lonely centuries.

But Kat, my clever, impossible Kat, she just smiled. A soft, luminous thing that transformed her already lovely face into something downright ethereal.

"Thaumas Leion'ct," she said, her musical voice trembling only slightly. "You great, foolish, romantic griffin...what took you so long?"

And then, before I planned a response, she leaned in and pressed her lips to my beak in a kiss that seared me to my very soul.

I made a strangled sound, my good wing snapping out to crush her against me. Ignoring the flare of pain from my battered body, I turned my head to slant my beak across her lush mouth, drinking in her sweetness like a man dying of thirst.

She met me with equal fervor, her hands sliding into my crest to tug me impossibly closer. Our tongues tangled, stroking and twining in a deep, drugging dance that set every nerve ending I possessed ablaze.

It was glorious. Transcendent. Like flying and falling all at once, my blood singing with the rightness of it. This fierce, brilliant, beautiful female was mine, and I was hers.

A discreet cough from the doorway jolted us apart. We blinked dazedly at the interloper - a petite Lumenian in medical blues, her opalescent skin shimmering with barely suppressed amusement.

"Forgive the interruption," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "But I need to check Lord Leion'ct's vitals and change his dressings." Her faceted eyes twinkled knowingly. "Assuming you two can untangle yourselves long enough for me to work."

Like an electrified shock, Kat leapt off the berth, her face burning. "O-of course, Doctor. I'll just, um." She flapped a hand vaguely, not meeting my eye. "I'll be outside. Comm me if you need anything?"

I made a bereft sound as she backed away, already mourning the loss of her warmth. But I managed a nod and a reassuring wink. "I'll be fine, love. Go get some rest. Stars know you've earned it."

She flashed me a grateful smile, then fled the medbay like her tail was on fire. I slumped back against the pillows with a groan, suddenly feeling every throb and ache in my abused body.

The doctor clucked her tongue as she bent over me, scanner whirring. "Quite the enthusiastic reunion," she remarked dryly. "I'd scold you for overexerting yourself, but I suspect it would fall on deaf ears."

"Prob'ly," I rasped, grinning dopily. I was flying high on stims and painkillers and the headiest drug of all - requited love. The doc could chop off my other wing and I'd say thank you.

She huffed, but there was a glimmer of fondness for the professional exasperation. "You Griffins. All swagger and impetuous passion, the lot of you. It's a wonder your species has survived this long, with how readily you throw yourselves into danger for your mates."

"Kat's not my mate," I said automatically. Then, quieter, "Not yet, anyway."

"Mmm. A technicality, I'm sure." She fixed me with a stern look as she adjusted my IV. "She may not be your mate in name, but she certainly is in deed. That girl stood vigil over your bloody carcass for three straight cycles, you know. Wouldn't leave your side for anything short of a hull breach."

My heart stuttered in my chest. "She, she did?"

"Oh yes. Drove the medical staff half mad with her pacing and fretting. Practically poured herself into the research, devouring every holo-text on Griffin physiology and trauma care she could get her hands on." The doc shook her head. "Stubborn as a Gundark, that one. But Spirits if she didn't keep you stable until we could get you into surgery."

I swallowed hard, a lump the size of a small moon lodging in my throat. My brave, brilliant Kat. Of course, she wouldn't sit idly by while I lingered at death's door. Of course, she would seek out any scrap of knowledge that could aid my recovery.

She was a fighter, a survivor. And she'd chosen ME, piss-poor protector that I was, to fight and survive alongside.

It was humbling. Terrifying. The most kroxing wondrous thing that had ever happened to me.

And as the doctor fussed and clucked over my healing body, I made a silent vow. To the stars, the Spirits, and any deity that might be listening.

I would spend every moment of my remaining existence living up to the staggering gift of Katarina Mayberry's love. I would be her shield, her sword, her stalwart partner in all things. I would challenge her, support her, adore her until the galaxies burned to ash around us.

And I would start by healing. By getting back on my kroxing feet and showing her - and that scaly himbo Raza - that this Griffin still had plenty of fight left in him.

Zarath's time was running out. The Obsidian Syndicate's reign of terror was ending.

And when the dust settled, when the screams faded and the blood dried...Kat and I would still be standing. Bat-shit crazy in love and ready to take on whatever the universe saw fit to throw at us next.