Chapter 2

Present day

Sage

Cold season sucks. I hurry away from the river carrying my basket full of wet, but clean, furs toward the healer's tent. At least some good has come fromthe Krijese assault on the human settlement nearly a month ago. After the attack, my four new best friends and I, along with several families with children, moved into the Tavikhi village for protection. Not just because it was safer to be here, but also because Zander, Shefir of the Tavikhi, wound up being the fated mate of one of my friends.

Up until a month ago, I wouldn't have believed fated mates existed. But since then, I've witnessed not just Zander and London becoming mates, but also Remi and Zydon and Maeve and Benham. The minute one of the warriors touched their woman, mating marks appeared on their skin, something the Tavikhi say only happens when they meet their fated mate. And all of them are madly in love now. I keep waiting for my turn, but under Kyler's tutelage, I've treated countless males—touched every single one of them in some way—and nothing's ever happened. After six months on Tavikh, I suspect it won't. Maybe it's for the best.

Kyler's inside when I step through the entrance.

"Greetings, Sage. I wondered if you were at the river."

I lift the basket slightly. "Figured I should get these cleaned and drying in front of the fire since all your patients have been discharged."

"They are your patients as well," he reminds me.

I appreciate the fact he's giving me some credit, but I don't deserve it. Kyler's the healer, and regardless of what little assistance I might fumble through, they are all fully and completely his patients. While he goes over the supplies, I set up the drying racks near the fire and hang the furs up to dry. I've just draped the last when harried voices come from outside. Kyler and I share a look and he goes to investigate.

His voice adds to the cacophony and then he bursts inside the tent with Benham and another warrior. In their arms is a fourth injured male who doesn't even look alive. His skin has lost all its color aside from the black blood that covers it. The three of them hoist him up onto the nearest platform and I rush into action. I pour a healthy dose of burim root into a cup and add water to it.

After a quick stir, I hurry over to where Kyler is busy assessing the injuries of the male I recognize—despite never having treated him—as Jodah.As gently as I can, I slip my hand under his head and lift it to try and get the pain reliever down his throat without choking him.

"Jodah, I need you to drink this for me, please?" I place the cup at his lips.

Most of it spills out both sides of his face and down his chin, but I'm certain—or hope, anyway—he swallowed some of it. I'm vaguely aware that the warriors leave and someone else steps inside, but my focus is on our patient.

"By the goddess," Kyler rasps out in a harsh whisper that's followed by a sharp inhalation coming from whoever came inside.

I glance at the healer. Oh, no. Are we too late? Except he's not looking at me. I follow his gaze andstare at the dying warrior in my arms and the tattoos—mating marks—that appear on his skin. They continue to climb and darken the farther up they go. Shock has me paralyzed. I blink and my surroundings come back into focus. Kyler is looking at me with awe, and maybe a bit of envy.

"Another mating," he rasps.

The goddess the Tavikhi worship wouldn't do this. Deeka wouldn't give me a fated mate only to take him away. Would she? Maybe no one from Earth is ever going to come for me, because they don't need to. Maybe thisis my punishment.

No. I won't let her.

"We don't have time to think about mates. What do you need me to do?"

My question snaps Kyler out of his stunned state and he gets to work. "See if you can get him to drink more burim root. Then bring me the healing salve. I need to remove this poultice and sew the wounds closed."

I get to work and lift the head I'm still cradling in my hand. "Jodah, I need you to drink this for me. Please."

Carefully, I pour a small amount of the water laced with the burim root into his mouth. He's going to need it to numb some of the pain he has to be in. When it looks like he might have gotten it down, I give him a bit more and a bit more until I've emptied the cup and he's swallowed as much as he's going to. I dry the wet tracks that spill down both sides of his mouth and rush over to get the plikah salve. It smells almost like manure, but the healing properties of the plant it's derived from make up for the rank scent.

I'm back beside Jodah in a second. Kyler's managed to remove most of what I believe is a gethet leaves poultice. Soaked in his black blood, it's hard to tell. God, with the wound uncovered it looks even worse than I first thought.

"Holy shit," a feminine voice says.

I cast a quick glance up. Zander and Zara stand close by. I can't read his expression. Her mouth has dropped and her gaze darts between Jodah and me. My attention snaps back to my task, and I help remove the rest of the poultice. Blood gets all over my hand. For a second the memory of dark red blood swarms inside my head. I shove it away.

Once his entire wound is bared, Kyler sews the first slash. I do my best to wipe away the blood that still seeps from each jagged wound.

"What did this to him?"

"A luani," he says without looking up.

I've heard some of the warriors talk about the massive animal. From the description they gave, it sounds something like a mutant alien lion but three times bigger.

I continue wiping away the blood and glance up at Jodah's face every so often. He hasn't flinched or moved in any way since Benham and the other warrior carried him in here. His soft, leathered purple skin hardly has any hue left. I have to keep watching his chest to make sure he's even breathing. My stomach aches with worry that the next breath Jodah takes will be his last.

"Cover as much of this as you can," Kyler says, indicating the gash he's just finished sewing.

Take care, I scoop out the salve and as gently as possible, spread it over the now closed line. I pause cleaning his chest of blood and try to coax him to drink more burim root.

"I need you to swallow this for me, Jodah."

His eyelids flutter and my breath catches.

"Jodah, can you hear me? You're back in the village and we're going to take care of you. I promise." I don't know what makes me say that. How can I promise him anything?

As though my words have somehow made it through, his eyes open. They're glassy with pain, but he stares straight at me. A weird flicker of something bright like a light sparks inside my chest, but it's gone so fast I can't even try to figure out what it is. It's not anything I've ever felt before. I shake it off and brush the stray strands of hair off his forehead. The long yellow-blond hair is soft and silky beneath my fingertips. Jodah's lips part and an indistinguishable sound comes out.

"Don't try to talk. Save your strength for getting better, okay?"Again, I coax him to drink.

I get more liquid down him and when I lay his head back again, his eyes are closed. Kyler's got the next wound stitched so I cover it in the salve. We work in silence so we can concentrate. Zander and Zara are quiet as well. When all four slashes have been sewn shut and covered in the salve, we soak long strips of cloth in burim diluted water and place them over his chest. I make sure they're sealed tightly over the entirety of it and that not a single inch of wound is exposed.

Our biggest hurdle to come is going to be infection. If we can keep it away, maybe Jodah will have a chance. I study the mating marks still visible on his arms. That freaky little starburst of light pulses once inside me again. I rub at the center of my chest.

"Sage, is all well?" Zander's head is cocked.

"Yeah." I drop my arm. "Yeah, it's fine."

"Why don't you go take a rest before the evening meal?" Kyler suggests. "You have been in here all day."

Zara steps over and lays her hand on my arm. "You really do need a break."

My gaze shifts to Jodah, and I shake my head. "I don't want to leave yet."

"There is nothing more we can do at the moment. It is up to Deeka, now," Kyler tells me.

I turn and make eye contact with each of them. "I'm notleaving."

Zara's shoulders sag and both Tavikhi pause a moment before they nod. I can tell they're all trying to come up with some way to convince me to go, but I turn my back and focus my gaze on Jodah.

"Continue getting him to drink the burim root and keep the wound covered until the cloths begin to dry," Kyler finally says. "I will be back to check on him in a short while."

I pour more powder and water into the cup and return to the male Deeka has chosen as my mate while Kyler gathers the unused sinew and suture supplies. Zander and Zara exit the tent, with a final glance over her shoulder from her. Again, I slide my hand beneath Jodah's head and gently raise it.

"Drink a little more for me." I place the cup at his mouth and slowly tip it for the water to drain out. His throat bobs, and he swallows most of it.

With a damp cloth, I work to try and wash the dried blood that's still on the parts of his body I can see and reach. I glance up at his face while I gently wipe his skin. I once heard that even unconscious patients can hear people's voices. It should feel silly talking to him, but it doesn't.

"You're going to be okay." He has to be. "It's funny. Just the other day Maeve and I were talking about Deeka blessing more of the warriors with a mate. She said since I've been here for so long without finding a mate, maybe the goddess had a younger warrior in mind for me. I joked that she was going to make me a cradle robber."

I chuckle as I swipe the cloth across his forehead. "You probably don't know what a cradle robber even is. It means the male is still a little young—late teens or early twenties—while the female is significantly older. Not that I think you're that young. But I'm thirty after all, so my options for unmated males were a bit limited."

Jodah still hasn't moved or given any sign he's conscious. Not since the single time he opened his eyes. But I keep talking. Kyler stepped out a minute ago and I don't want the male lying here to think he's been left alone. I don't want him giving up.

"I heard you went hunting a luani. No one has been back to say if you guys took it down or not, but I'll bet you did. When you get better, you're going to brag about how even a vicious creature as big as that couldn't defeat you. You've certainly earned your bragging rights."

My throat is a bit dry—and I've cleaned Jodah as well as I can—so I grab a small sip of water.

"I don't know how you guys aren't freezing walking around shirtless all the time." I give an exaggerated shudder. "Where I lived on Earth we rarely had to step outside if we didn't want to. Buildings were connected to each other by these things called sky bridges. They're enclosed tunnels you could walk through to get from one place to another.

"Most of the time, I was either at work or at home, so I only needed to go outside to catch the train. We also have this thing called electricity. It's this amazing invention that takes one kind of energy and transforms it into another kind. Although it's probably a lot more complicated than that." I chuckle. "Anyway, the new energy is used to power lights and provide us with artificial heat in our houses and all the buildings when it's cold outside and cold air when it's hot outside. We didn't have to use torches or fires. We also had plumbing and running water."

God, I missed running water. I check the medicine-soaked cloths covering him. They are slowly drying on his chest.

"I'm going to be an icicle before the cold season is over, I think. Talek says the cold dust can get up to a couple feet high. I've never seen that much in my life." If I didn't know it before, I realize now how many more privileges I had than London and Maeve who were from the bottom tier. They really got screwed over by the world.

Unable to help myself, I touch the mating marks along Jodah's bicep. The dark purple lines swirl and hook and I could almost swear they turn a darker shade as my finger runs along the design. "I've always thought about having a husband someday. Maybe not kids—not that I have anything against them—but definitely a husband. Although after I came to Tavikh, I'd kind of given up on it, like I hear a lot of the warriors have. But these marks right here. They mean something to me. I don't know if you'll want me as a mate if you ever find out what I did, but I plan on doing everything I possibly can to make sure you heal and stay alive."

Maybe this is the reason I've been brought here.