Chapter 6

If I didn't have a sobbing woman huddled close to my chest, a woman who was absolutely not my mate, I would be grinning ear to ear.

My Ali was jealous.

Her mouth might say one thing, her face and actions might back it up, but there was no mistaking how my mate put herself between a potential rival and me.

And still she denies it. Denies the truth so clearly written between us.

The curly haired one, Lyn, sways in the saddle, and I wrap my arm tighter around her to keep her from falling.

Everything about her feels wrong to me. She's pretty, curvy and soft, but she isn't Ali. Holding her is something to be endured. But she is Starbound, as are the pixie-like Cassie and the fierce Gisele. We've found and rescued three Starbound women. There could be no better sign from fate that this journey was the right one to make.

I glance back at the three women behind me. Gisele's eyes narrow, and all I see there is a warrior. Gisele… I think I know what House she belongs to, though only time will truly tell. Her people have been long thought lost, or at least uninterested in the goings on of Vrayan politics, preferring the mountains and their independence.

She certainly behaves like one of House Lupus.

Cassie's eyes are wide, her eyes swiveling all around as she takes in the flower-strewn field that marks the beginning of Dabin's territory. She rides like an expert, and though she, too, is attractive, she doesn't hold a candle to my Ali. My Ali, who's frowning, as she always is around me.

I wish she would use the tone she took with the other women with me, the gentle one that aims to soothe and smooth things over. Not all the time, not always, because I cherish that fire she only seems to show me. But sometimes, I don't want to fight.

I love her fight. But I want that softness, too, the smiles she gives everyone so freely.

Everyone but me.

My eye twitches, and I press my heels into the charger's sides, spurring the horse faster through the wildflower fields. Lyn gives a startled gasp in front of me. I'm ready to be done with her nearness. She's not the woman I thought I'd have pressed against me. The flowers blur beside us, Idiene Fieldhouse rising to greet us in the distance, smoke puffing cheerily from the towering stone chimney.

A force is camped outside Dabin and Danielle's house, the men and women he's chosen to protect the gates and sacred caves from any more harbingers slipping into our world. More campfires spill smoke into the sky, now darkening on the horizon where the sun slips past the world.

Magic simmers under my skin, my Starbound powers calling on me to shift, to make an entrance. Even if I could, even if I weren't bound to the oath with Ali, I wouldn't. Something is wrong with me. I won't risk slipping into my scorpion form again until I make the trip to Donnora and beg for the same enchanted markings so many of my brethren wear. Markings they must have received after I'd already slipped past rational thought, after the battle of Inasgow, after the blood drinkers arrived, the harbingers hot on their heels.

My teeth grind against each other, and I pull the charger up short, almost too late, too close to the encampment. Warriors surge forward, uncertainty written across their hard faces.

"Hold," a man thunders, and forces his way to the front. Horns curl from dark hair, scars tripping across his skin. A woman runs down the path, her hair fluttering behind her. Flames lick across her hands, and I blink in surprise at the sign of Danielle's growing power.

"Well met, Dabin of House Capricorn."

"Dabin!" Ali cries out. Molmith bows his head, and fear tightens my throat. The great warhorse is going to throw her, and I can't move fast enough with Lyn on my horse to help her control him. My stomach churns, the world slowing as Ali slides forward, then sideways…

And Molmith kneels, knocking the breath from me.

As though this is the most natural thing in the world, Ali jumps from the great black warhorse, running to Dabin and throwing her arms around him, then Danielle, who returns the hug.

Jealousy consumes me, the world distilled to the sight of her hands on Danielle, her smile lavished on Dabin. My hands tremble on the reins, and I barely register Kaus of House Sagittarius at my side until Lyn squirms against me.

"Who is this beauty?" he asks.

My jaw tightens. "Lyn, this is Kaus. Kaus, Lyn was taken by the Butcher King's minions, along with the rest of the Starbound women with us. They're tired and in no mood for games." My voice sounds strange and rough, even to my ears.

Every part of me is rough, on edge, with Ali laughing and joking with Danielle and Dabin in a way she never laughs and jokes with me. Acid rises in me. Of course she will not laugh and joke with me, I know that. She's made it quite clear that she hates me. That she will never forgive me, no matter the curse's hold on me.

"It seems you are the one in no mood for games, Lesath," Kaus replies. "Lady Lyn, welcome to Idiene Fieldhouse. You will be safe here." He bows low, and it's only then I see he's in his other form, bare chested and a horse from the waist down.

Lyn's stiff as a board, clearly ill at ease with Kaus' flaunting of his other form.

"You're scaring her," I say.

"Oh," she squeaks, sounding like she might burst into tears again at any moment.

I hold in a sigh. I don't blame her for being upset, not one bit, but it is starting to grate on my nerves. Especially since Ali is already moving from my line of sight, heading down the cobblestone path that leads to Dabin's large manor house. Starlight torches flare to life as she and Danielle pass, triggered by the coming dark and their Starbound magic.

"Damn. Dude's hung like a horse." Gisele pulls her horse to a stop next to mine, her dark eyes laughing as she glances between Kaus and I. "This place is a trip."

Kaus' eyebrows raise, and he wordlessly helps Lyn to the ground, where she fairly takes off sprinting behind Ali. As though sensing her despair, Ali stops, turning around, her braid swinging with her.

My breath catches. She's beautiful, so beautiful, this woman of mine. I'll do anything to make it right. If only I could convince her of that.

Ali's gaze trips past Lyn, finding mine on her. Desire rises in me, my whole body clenching under her attention. She doesn't look away, and I can hardly draw breath. Then Lyn is there, and Ali reaches out a hand to steady the woman, Danielle taking her other side and helping her walk as she yet again dissolves into tears.

I watch her walk for a moment, the sway of her hips and the way her body language shifts to protective, something she probably doesn't even know she's doing. My heart swells in my chest with affection.

She may act hateful with me, but Ali has a good heart.

Kaus is still staring at Gisele, who, all things considered, is quite a fearsome sight. Dried blood flakes from her face as she dismounts, grinning up at Kaus.

"Hey there, big fella."

Kaus' mouth drops a little. "Why is she bloody? Is she hurt?"

Gisele stops, cocking her hip out before she puts a hand on it. "Why are you asking him? I'm standing right here." Her gaze turns scornful. "Is this why your girl doesn't like you? You didn't treat her like she didn't exist." She purses her lips, tapping her chin. More blood flakes off, and my eyebrows raise. "No, you acted like she'd hung the sun. So what's wrong with him?"

Kaus' chest puffs up, and his hooves clop as he walks over to Gisele, his tail flicking back and forth in frustration. "Nothing's wrong with me. Why are you covered in blood?" He leans low, and Gisele stiffens as he inhales deeply.

"Blood drinkers?" He asks, and it's unclear who he's asking. Gisele nods fervently.

I slide off the horse, wanting to go to Ali, wanting to make things right, the compulsion to find her solidifying into something tangible. This situation between Kaus and Gisele could devolve at any moment, though. Kaus has always been a loose cannon, more so now that Starbound women are turning up and his hopes for a mate rise, and rise, and fall.

Strangely, though, it's Gisele I'm worried about. I pause, considering the trajectory of the severed heads she kicked about the forest clearing. Maybe not so strange.

"Gisele attacked her captors," I explain.

She holds up her filthy, bloody hands. "Caught me red-handed." Her hair falls back as she tips her chin up and laughs, an unhinged sound that makes Molmith shy away.

Cassie saunters over, having handed off her horses to the warriors, who practically fell over to do as she asked. Kaus spares her a glance, but his attention quickly returns to the bloodied Gisele.

"Are you a warrior, then?" His gaze is avid, and I rub the back of my neck, where I can more easily reach my weapon if he thinks to carry her off. If she's his mate and he carries her off, he'll regret it forever.

I regret it. I won't let him make the same mistake. He's entranced though, and he doesn't even seem to notice me.

"I'm a bartender." She lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Same difference." My lips twist to the side. I'm not sure that's truthful. In Vraya, at least, the men and women who keep the pubs serve drinks, they don't kick severed heads. Maybe Earth bars are different. She takes a few steps around him, surveying his Sagittarius form, the bow and quiver strung over one shoulder. "You're always part horse?"

Magic washes over me, tugging at the beast within, and then my ears pop as Kaus shifts forms, into his two-legged version.

He's naked, as we all are when we shift, and her gaze immediately drops. She shrugs one shoulder before turning away.

"Wait, what?" Kaus tracks her as she walks towards the manor house.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," she calls out, not bothering to turn around.

Kaus pauses for a minute. "What is she?"

"Best I can tell, House Lupus."

He finally turns his attention to me. "That makes sense."

I nod my head. "Yes, yes it does."

Cassie delicately clears her throat, and I inwardly groan.

"Hi, uh, yeah, should we just go inside?"

"Yes," I say, not hiding my sigh. "Danielle will help you find clean clothes. You're safe here."

Her lower lip wobbles, and for a second, I'm worried she'll burst into tears. Or hug me. I don't want to touch any of them.

She seems to realize this, though, sniffing once before following the rest of the women down the path.

"What's her name again?" Kaus finally asks, watching her carefully.

"Cassie." I twist my mouth to the side.

"You don't think…" His unfinished question hangs heavy in the air between us.

"I have no idea." It's the truth. Her name is common, at least, it once was common, among a certain house.

"Come on, old man. Let's eat and find out more about these new arrivals."

Shaking my head, I thank the guardian warriors who are attempting to lead Molmith and the gray horse away. "Careful with the black horse. He bites."

Molmith whickers softly, then swings his head, as if to chide me for warning them.