19. Kerry

Chapter 19

Kerry

I 'd just had a powerful orgasm, and the heady feeling still buzzed through me. I wanted to lay on the squishy everlipe and stroke Nevarn's shoulders, chest, and take my hands lower. Giggle.

But a Zuldruxian woman had just jumped in front of Nevarn and hit him across the face.

Nobody hurt my man.

I snarled and grabbed my bow, seamlessly notching an arrow on the shaft. One leap, and I stood in front of him, glaring up at a Zuldruxian female nearly as tall and broad as Nevarn. "What the hell do you think you're doing, wench? Nobody messes with my man," I snarled, pointing the arrow at her face. At this close range, I would not miss.

Molly scrambled over to stand beside me, rising onto her hind legs and baring her tiny fangs.

The woman's teal eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She took a step backward, her hands lifting. "I . . ."

Dropping my bow, I barreled toward her, determined to head butt her off the ginormous stingray, but Nevarn swept his arm around my waist, holding me back. He lifted me, and my feet scrambled through the air, me still trying to seek vengeance on the woman who'd just hit my man.

Hold on. My man?

Well, we were mated, right? An alien god had decided we belonged together, and while I still wasn't convinced this was heavenly intervention, it was as clear as the sky overhead that I liked him more than I had any of the guys I'd let into my life in the past.

Nevarn neatly placed me on the everlipe's back beside him. "Heldwep," he barked out.

"How dare you touch this . . ." Heldwep sneered at me. "This . . . thing."

This was one of those times that I wished I was almost six-feet-tall like my mother instead of only five-four. I still wouldn't meet her eye at that level, but I'd be close.

"Were you following us?" I snarled at her. "Why did you attack Nevarn?"

She frowned. Okay, maybe she wasn't the one who'd attacked him, but she was still a threat. Another threat to add to the first.

"This is my mate, Kerry," Nevarn said smoothly. How he found the will to speak politely to a woman who'd just smacked him was beyond me. Would he tug me back again if I tried to kick her? "Kerry? This is Heldwep, my first mate's mother."

"Mate?" she barked, latching onto his hand and flipping his arm over.

Nice tattoo.

Oh . . . wait. My bones went melty. He and I were marked mates? Why hadn't he told me?

Although, I didn't sport the same tattoo. What was up with that?

"She's your true mate?" Heldwep snarled, glaring at me.

I lifted my bow to show her I wouldn't hesitate to defend myself or Nevarn. "You're damn right I am." Maybe. What did it mean if I didn't have the same mark?

"Did he tell you he murdered his first mate?" she asked with a sly twist to her mouth. "Murdered! You'll be next. Wait and see." She huffed at me. "Watch out or he'll stab you in the back."

"I didn't kill Weela," he said, his hands splaying wide. "You know I didn't do it."

"I know nothing of the sort," she growled. "How dare you come back here and how dare you bring this thing to our clan, as if you somehow believe either of you are welcome?"

He drew himself up stiffly, and only the twitch in his hard jawline betrayed his anger. "My banishment is over and—"

"It should've been for a lifetime," she snapped.

"I've returned for one reason only. My home is now with the Celedar Clan. My clan. I'm the traedor."

Heldwep shook her head, her long silver braid twitching across her spine. "You should've died. You murdered my daughter, and you should've been made to pay with your life."

"The gods know I didn't do it," he said stiffly. "And I'm going to expose the person who did." His arm went around my back, and his posture only loosened a touch. "We're taking a root to the top. Don't try to stop us."

Spinning, she dove into the sea.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, not looking my way.

After lowering my bow to the top of the everlipe, I moved to stand in front of him, my heart aching for his loss. For her loss, too, but she was directing her anger at the wrong person.

I'd come with him because he offered me a new start in a turbulent world. A way to survive. I'd agreed to stay with him while we were here, and while I'd said I would do it to avoid being forced on someone else, I wanted to stay with him. I'd even offered to help him discover who'd killed Wella.

But now, a fierce need to stand by his side from now until forever shot through me.

"We're going to show them that you didn't do this," I said fiercely. "And then we're going to make sure the new traedor banishes the one who did."

He cupped my face and kissed me much too quickly.

I was falling for him. I couldn't seem to hold myself back. Was this the will of his gods working on my emotions? They felt real, as real as he did.

"I'm sorry I didn't show you the mating mark," he said, turning his arm over. It almost glowed in the sunlight. "I didn't want you to feel forced into this."

"I don't mind. I . . . don't have one."

He stroked my face. "You don't need one to prove to me that we belong together."

"Nevarn," I breathed. Why did I doubt him when it was clear he felt the same way?

"I'll take you up to the island," he said, backing away from me.

"We're in this together," I said almost desperately. "Don't forget that."

His smile flashed much too briefly. "Thank you."

"For being here with you?"

"For believing in me."

How could I do anything else?

He eased around me and looked up, studying the roots dangling in the water. I didn't see any posts or support system holding the island about three hundred feet above us. Huge, it blocked out the sun and created a dark shadow on the ocean that had to be miles across.

Gravity appeared the same here as it did on Earth. I jumped to prove it and landed back on the everlipe quickly. So how in the world did the islands remain in the sky? There had to be some sort of propulsion system. There was no such thing as magic. Yet, there it was, floating in the sky above us.

He tugged on a vine. "This one will do."

"Are we going to climb? I flunked that part of gym class."

"No climbing necessary."

I walked carefully over to the edge of the everlipe and studied the tips of the roots swaying in the water. "The ocean's salty." I'd tasted that in the spray as we traveled. "Yet the roots dip into the water. Are they drinking?"

"The island gods thrive on the salt. They're part of the sea."

I scooped Molly up and plunked her on my shoulder. About the size of a Yorkie, she was heavy, but I loved carrying her like this. Her tiny hind claws sunk into my shirt, and she leaned against my head to maintain her balance. Turning to face Nevarn, I frowned. "Are the islands this clan's gods?"

"That's what I was always told. They live within the structure, supporting it while taking sustenance from the sea."

With each step I took further into this alien world, I was reminded of how other it was. This wasn't Earth, and whatever we had there had evolved to what we lived with today. The same had happened on Zuldrux. Since I was no scientist, it might be easier if I just accepted how things were. Went with the flow.

"If we're not going to climb, how will we reach the top?" I asked.

With a vine in his hand, he strode over to stand in front of me. "Hold on to me, both you and Molly."

My pet peeped, though I doubted she understood his words.

He scooped me up in his arms and tugged on the vine.

It shot us up toward the island.