Chapter 14

14

A good night's rest and another soak in Vengeance's secret swimming hole made the last leg of their trek much easier.

Vengeance really did heal quickly. By the next morning the only injury she found was his broken horn.

"Are you sure it won't grow back?" she asked. Not that she cared about it. As far as she was concerned, it made him look even more wicked.

"I'm sure. But it's not a big deal. Honestly, none of us have been able to figure out why the scrawnies gave us horns at all. It's not like they're good for anything."

The opening was too good for her to resist. "Except as handles."

Her lover laughed. "True. I'll have to tell the others."

"No, you don't. Let them figure it out on their own."

They'd reached the well-maintained network of paths that linked the fa'rels' homes to each other and to the crash site where Bysshe resided.

Neither of them suggested going to Vengeance's home first. If there was any news about the survivors, Bysshe was the one they should talk to.

Loris had come across a few androids, but they had all been basic models with little or no personality programs and only the most rudimentary functions. From what Vengeance had told her, Bysshe was quite different. As far as her lover was concerned, the android was family, and he'd played an important part in their lives.

The crash site looked like exactly what it was. The hulk of a large ship was partially buried by a landslide that must have happened when the ship had crashed into the side of a hill. A human-like figure with pale-blue skin was wandering around inside a fenced area, staring up at trees like the secrets to the universe were hidden somewhere in the branches.

"Is that Bysshe?" she asked.

Vengeance nodded. "It is. He's probably trying to estimate how much fruit is ready for picking and how many new trees we'll have to plant so all the humans will have enough to eat."

She'd been wondering about that. She had no idea what she could eat on this world. Since she'd been inoculated against most known pathogens, and parasites, she and Maddi weren't as vulnerable as some of the other women, but a poisonous berry would still kill them if they ate too many.

"You think some of this will be edible? Because I have to say, I'm getting a little sick of meal packs and ration bars."

"I'm sure of it. Though I'm not sure those fruit things are an improvement over one of your meal packs. At least those have meat."

Huh. She hadn't considered Vengeance's diet. "You don't eat fruit?"

"No plants at all. Not unless it's been fermented into alcohol. The fa'rel are straight-up carnivores."

"You do realize that stuff in the meal packs is just cloned proteins in a sauce. Right?"

He shrugged. "Meat is meat."

Well, at least she wouldn't have to eat anymore salads. She was good with that. She wasn't fond of what one of her contracted guardians had called "rabbit food."

Vengeance called out to the blue-skinned android. He turned and actually smiled as he recognized him.

"You made it! If you were not back by this afternoon, I was going to send someone to look for you. Risk made it back with his mate late yesterday."

Vengeance looked confused. "They beat us back here? How?"

"They flew the shuttle. Risk nearly flattened part of my orchard when he landed, but he did quite well considering it was his first time. Please, do not tell him I said that."

"You said Risk returned with his mate. Do you mean Joy?" Loris asked.

Bysshe turned to look at her. "Joy Bashir. Yes. Ah. You also bear the mating marks. Congratulations to you both. You are Loris?"

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Bysshe."

The android smiled again. "The same to you. I am pleased you have arrived safely. You will be happy to hear that some of the passengers and crew of the Harvest survived the crash. We have only had one update, given the risk of anything we transmit being intercepted, but I thought you'd like to know what little news there was."

"That is great news! But where are Havoc and Maddison? You haven't mentioned them.

Bysshe lowered his head. She swore the android actually looked worried. "No one has heard from them."

No one said anything. "But you plan to send someone to look for them if they don't come back soon?"

"Yes. Mayhem and Strife have already volunteered. They are trying to convince their mates to stay behind."

"Who are their mates?" she asked, wanting confirmation of what she'd already heard.

"Mayhem is bonded to Bella, and Strife is with Rissa. They were both guests on the Bountiful Harvest but managed to make it to the escape pods before the ship crashed."

Loris recognized both names, but she hadn't spent much time with either woman. Still, she was happy to hear they were alive.

"Was your return home difficult?" Bysshe directed the question to Vengeance.

"We found a new creature we'll need to add to the threat list. Loris named them boomers. They appear to hunt in pairs and very nearly killed both of us. I'll give you a full report later." He paused and then added, "I assume Havoc and Joy had to fight off at least one ship's worth of mercenaries?"

Loris tensed. Vengeance had eventually told her about the ship he'd spotted at dawn the first day. While she understood why he hadn't told her, she was still grumpy about it.

"They did. What do you know?" Bysshe asked.

"Not much. I saw a ship flying low over the forest at dawn the first day after we parted ways with the others."

"Where were you when you saw it?"

Vengeance couldn't give anything like coordinates, but he managed to explain well enough that Bysshe nodded. "That's not good news. The mercenaries who went after Risk and Joy were already on the ground by the time the sun rose. That had to be a second ship."

Loris's heart sank. "Do you think they might have found Havoc and Maddison?"

"It's possible. But it's just as likely they will arrive here any minute, alive and well." Bysshe flashed a small smile at her. "Give them time."

"And until then, we should get some sleep." Vengeance gave her a meaningful look.

"Sleep. Right. I've been promised a comfortable bed in a tree house." She leaned in and whispered to Bysshe. "Is he telling the truth?"

"He is. You will be very comfortable here, Loris. If you wait a moment, I will gather up some fruits and vegetables for you to enjoy."

Vengeance sighed. "You keep your human food away from my nice, simple meat. Okay?"

"That's fine." She smiled at him, already eager see this tree house of his. "I just have one more request."

"Anything you want, little warrior."

She slipped her hand into his and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Tell me who I belong to."

He flashed his fangs as he growled his answer. "You are mine ."

Her heart swelled as she bumped him with her shoulder. "I love you too."

The End

***

Thank You for Reading Marked For Vengeance

Want to read Venge and Loris's special bonus epilogue? Sign up for my newsletter here:

subscribepage.io/Bonuscontent