31. Chapter 31

Everything fell silent at Dzur-Khan's words. Even nature seemed impressed and ceased. There was no wind, no buzzing of an insect, no rustling in the bushes. The silence was thick and heavy.

"I lost my mate in the cave-in." The man I had been tending to pushed himself up with effort on his elbows. Sweat dripped down his forehead in rivulets and had to be burning like acid in the open wounds on his face, but he didn't flinch. "I will never have another Vandruk gallis as a mate by my side. I cannot afford it. But by the gods, I want one. I want to have what Illidad and I shared again." He took a breath that rattled deep in his lungs, making me worry that they, too, might have been injured. "I don't care if that gallis is human, but I want that again! I swore an oath to you, Khadahr Dzur-Khan, and I will stand by it. The gods won't curse a male for fulfilling his oath to his Khadahr. "

With a loud moan, he fell back on the furs, mumbling, "Khadahrshi," and meeting my eyes before his closed.

"Madness, that male is crazy with pain," the priest sputtered.

"But I'm not," Bran-Vhal voiced loudly. "I'm fully intending to court this gallis and to make her my mate." He pointed at Lexi. "If she will have me."

"You'll first have to fight me for her," Dhor-Van asserted himself.

Lexi's eyebrows rose and sent a comical look my way. I shrugged. I supposed they would have to ask her first.

But now wasn't the time to be distracted by this. I had witnessed religious mania before when I was in the Navy, and this man, this priest, didn't seem any different from any of the other fanatics I had encountered. He was just as dangerous as they had been. Ready to rile up men and women and to have them sacrifice themselves for their so-called gods .

I knew how he should be dealt with, but this wasn't my battle just yet, and I wasn't certain enough about how killing the holy man would be perceived by the Vandruks. Not well, I assumed. That thought was strengthened by Dzur-Khan's fingers squeezing my upper arm to hold me back. Yeah, killing him now, even though it might have been the easiest, fastest way, didn't seem like the right way. Pity.

"We need gallies," another man spoke up.

"The gods will provide gallies. You have my sworn oath," Bzun-Lhan promised.

Next to me, Dzur-Khan stiffened but kept quiet .

"However, the gods will not forgive a broken oath!" Bzun-Lhan continued, "Whoever follows Dzur-Khan or Tzar-Than will be doomed to spend eternity outside Koranae."

A communal hiss escaped the group of Vandruks. I gathered that spending eternity outside the nebula they believed housed the souls of their dead loved ones was like going to hell for them.

"Forgive me, Khadahr." A warrior limped to stand at a gloating Bzun-Lhan's side.

"There is nothing to forgive, Han-Tor. Every male has to follow his conscience," Dzur-Khan replied, but I sensed the males siding with the priest hurt him.

"The gods will reward you a thousandfold, Han-Tor. The gates to Koranae will open and—"

"Hold it right there," another deep voice called out. Dzur-Khan stiffened, his hand reached for his bone sword, and I stared awed at the massive form of a male who was undoubtedly another Khadahr.

Had Dzur-Khan and Tzar-Than seemed massive to me, this man was nearly a giant. He was probably close to seven feet tall, with muscles that should have looked obscene but were well-proportioned on him. Following him were nearly a hundred warriors, if not more, and I prepared myself for a fight from hell.

"Your promises and oaths are worth less than the breath you spent on them," the newcomer continued, oblivious to the stares he received and the slight hisses of appreciation for him from the group of Queen Bees .

He truly was a sight to behold. Aside from his truly stunning physique, he had also been gifted with the most handsome face a male could have. Chiseled came to mind. Had he not worn a perpetual frown, I think all of us women would have swooned. Well, except me, because I was already in deep with Dzur-Khan, but that didn't mean a girl couldn't appreciate the sight of one of the most drop-dead gorgeous men she had ever laid eyes on.

"You promised to bury our dead. Ten years later, they're still entombed in the very cave that caused their deaths," the man thundered.

"It's an impossible task. The gods have not willed it so," Bzun-Lhan uttered.

"That's an easy way out for you, isn't it?" The man inclined his head, disgust for the priest pouring from every cell out of his body. "And a very profitable one."

"Tell me, human, do you have ways to get our dead out of the cave and give them the honorable burial they deserve?" He turned to me.

I was about to answer, still reeling from the realization that all these women were still in the cave they had died in, and my heart was going out to Dzur-Khan, who hadn't mentioned this. Then again, I chastised myself. I hadn't asked.

Dzur-Khan stopped me from answering by stepping in between the man and me. "You will address my khadahrshi with respect, Dzar-Ghan or not at all. "

"Forgive me, Khadahrshi. I didn't know." Dzar-Ghan inclined his head, and something akin to a smile played around his lips. Cynical as it was, it was still knee-rattling, even to me.

"I don't know much about cave-ins and such, but I'm sure that we would find a way to get the remains of your loved ones out," I said carefully because I really didn't have any idea. Not until I had at least seen the place. Caves weren't exactly my forte, but I imagined that someone with experience with explosives would be able to blast it open, ideally without destroying the gruesome contents. I was pretty sure we had people on Earth who could handle this.

"You will not ask the humans who caused this disaster for help," Bzun-Lhan sputtered.

"Who is going to stop me? You?" Dzar-Ghan's laughter was loud and derisive.

"Is that why you came here?" Dzur-Khan asked.

"It's my turn to guard the red fog, but sa, it's one of the reasons. The other is that I heard Tzar-Than made a human gallis his khadahrshi, and I see, so did you." His dark eyes were cold as they landed on me, eliciting a shiver, and I realized that as handsome as the man was, he didn't show any friendliness toward us humans. No matter his earlier words. Which, now, in hindsight, weren't just cynical, like Bzun-Lhan, he seemed to despise us. Why, then, was he not on Bzun-Lhan's side?

"What is it that you want?" Dzur-Khan asked.

"I wanted to see for myself." There was so much pain in the man's voice that I reassessed him yet again. Tragedy screamed from inside him. But there was also determination emanating from him. Determination to do something he loathed.

"Just like all of you, it's time for me to consider heirs and a mate again," Dzar-Ghan continued, "and it seems there is only one choice left." His eyes met mine yet again. Assessing and cold, I felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the poor woman he would eventually choose to be his mate. I didn't think this man was capable of empathy, let alone love. Whoever he chose would be in for deep misery.

"I will give you a gallis. A Vandruk gallis," Bzun-Lhan repeated what he had offered before Dzar-Ghan arrived.

"And how much will that cost him?" Dzur-Khan mocked. "Your priests just pried half a year's worth of taxes from me. For a ten-year-old youngling."

"If you would just be a little bit more patient. The gods have shown me—"

"Like they showed you how to bury our dead?" Dzar-Ghan sneered.

"Do not mock the gods." Bzun-Lhan rose to his full height, straightening his shoulders, posing an impressive figure. He was more impressive than I had noticed before, making me realize that he wasn't just a fanatic. He was as dangerous as the zealous religious leaders I had encountered on Earth. Just like them, he had another side to him, one he showed now. One of dignity and charisma, something I had overlooked before.

Despite the two khadahrs currently present not liking him one ounce, there were most likely others who did. Who believed like him and would mount—so to speak, since I hadn't seen horses here—armies to defend him and his stance.

"I would never mock the gods," Dzar-Ghan replied coolly, "but as Khadahr Dzur-Khan so eloquently put it earlier, who is to know if the gods hadn't willed for the humans and us to mix?"

How long had he been here before he had made himself known?