4. Seraiah

The king cursed at the sight of her blood. Lifting her in his arms for the second time today, he settled her on a wide sandstone boulder, put the kit on the rock beside her, and ripped open a packet containing a medi-patch. He tipped her head to the side, snapping the band half-assedly securing her ponytail, and parted her hair to see her injury. “That’s quite a bump you’ve got there, little tree nymph,” he said, carefully prodding the area around it.

“Why do you keep calling me that?” she muttered, hissing as he pressed the patch to her wound.

His chest rumbled against her arm. He’s purring, she thought, leaning more of her weight against him and accepting the comfort he offered.

The ability to purr was one of the cat-like traits the Felida people had, along with sharp, sensitive ears and the propensity to play with their prey. Or so she’d heard. His people tended to be standoffish with those they didn’t know or who didn’t have something they wanted. Whatever. It feels good. She let the calming resonance of his purr wash over her as he patched her up.

Her scalp tingled and the sharp pain faded to a dull throb, sure signs the medi-patch was doing its job. Zarin ran a scanner over her head before nodding to himself and gently rearranging her hair, fixing it so it covered the patch. “Minor concussion.” He held up an aerosol syringe. “This should fix you right up and help with any pain.”

She consented to the shot with a small nod, caught off-guard when he didn’t just jab her with it without asking.

He stroked his hand over her upper arm before pressing the syringe to it, the liquid dispersing with a long hiss. With a finger below her chin, he tipped her head back. A slow lick of heat curled in her belly as their eyes met. His thumb grazed her bottom lip before he dropped his hand.

What the fuck, Seraiah? she thought, watching as he pulled more supplies from the kit. Blowing out a quiet breath, she shifted on the hard rock as he crouched at her feet. Abductor, remember? Also, a king and someone so far above your level, it’s not even funny. Gods, she needed to get control of herself before she did something really stupid, like try to kiss him. What was going on with her libido? It had to be the concussion. Had to be.

“You don’t need to do all this. I’ll be fine.” She winced as he pulled off her shoe and assessed her ankle. At a sharp zing of pain, she tried to jerk free of his grip, but he held steady.

“Hold still and let me look,” he said in a surprisingly patient tone of voice.

“Just let me go. I can make my way home from here.”

Here appeared to be somewhere along the Willana Passage, though she didn’t know it well enough to pinpoint their location. A droplet of rain landed on her nose. She seriously regretted forgetting her comm booster at home today. Without its added oomph, there was no chance she could bounce a signal back home from here.

He snorted.

“Look, I won’t tell anyone what you did,” she added, glancing over at the bodyguards pretending not to listen to their conversation. “I’m sure this was all a mistake anyway. You’ve got the wrong woman.”

“Oh, my precious darling.” Zarin huffed out a laugh, his eyes sparkling as he gazed up at her, his big hand warm against the bare skin of her calf. “First off, I do have the woman I’m looking for. You are exactly what I need and who I want.”

Her face flushing, she squeaked out a protest. “Well, that can’t be true.” The man obviously didn’t know what he was talking about.

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Second, even if you weren’t, there is no way I would allow you to leave my protection and send you on your way, alone and defenseless.” His hand skated down her leg to grasp her heel, the calluses on his fingertips rough against her soft skin. With practiced efficiency, he wound bright green vet tape around her foot, securing medi-patches over her injury. “Don’t you know there are bandits and other ruffians about?”

“Tanl’n said our people took care of them.” The most recent batch, anyway. Riddled with caves and outcroppings, the Passage was a prime location for ambushes. Unfortunately, it was also the quickest way across the Willana Mountain Range. Smart travelers went heavily armed, their heads on a swivel and with as much extra protection as they could afford. “I can do it. It would be no more than a pleasant hike,” she said, trying to channel the confidence of her brash younger sister. But her head ached, her ankle throbbed, and the angry black clouds overhead were about to unleash their fury upon their corner of the world. A walk in this would suck, and that’s if she didn’t drown in a flash flood or get eaten by a manticore.

“No, it wouldn’t.” He finished wrapping her ankle and stood, a frown on his face. “You’re injured.” He looked up as another boom of thunder rolled through the canyon and the first fat drops of rain fell, filling the air with the scent of petrichor. “And the storm has arrived.”

A bodyguard lifted a hand to his ear. “Majesty,” he said. “They’re ready for you.”

Zarin nodded and held out a hand to Seraiah. “Come with me.”

She hesitated.

“Seraiah, come with me. Until the storm passes and the medi-patches do their job, it’s not a good idea to try any more escape attempts.”

She dug her fingers into the rough surface of the stone. He was right. She knew he was. She just didn’t want to admit it. Autumn storms could be deadly, especially in a deep canyon like this one. She lifted her chin, sparing a glare at the bodyguard who opened the rover’s door and stood ready.

A muscle ticked in Zarin’s jaw, and she wondered if he was going to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off like some barbarian. A flash of heat nipped along her spine at the idea.

But instead of forcing her into the waiting vehicle, he took a slow step closer with his hand outstretched, as if coaxing a wild creature into trusting him. “You will be safe in my company, Seraiah. I promise.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

“We have cake.”

She perked up, her stomach growling as it remembered it hadn’t eaten yet today.

But the bodyguard shook his head. Zarin sighed. “Okay, so no cake.” His eyes brightened. “What can I offer?”

“How about you answer my questions? Starting with why you decided to snatch me and ending with why you claim that I’m yours.” She didn’t budge from her spot. Cake might have gotten her moving, but too bad for him. Answers, however. Now, that was a tempting offer. That, plus a dry environment, out of the now-steady drizzle of chilly rain that plastered her hair to her head would be a decent enough offering.

The vertical pupils bisecting his eyes dilated as he locked in on her. “I would be pleased to accommodate any queries you might have for me.”

“Fine.” With a nod, she slid her hand into his and hopped off the rock, balancing against his steady arm to keep the weight off her ankle. “Then let’s go.”

He raised her hand to his lips, their warmth against her wet knuckles, raising goosebumps on her arm. “Your carriage awaits, my lady,” he said, his words whispering over her skin as the skies opened up, and heavy rain crashed down around them.

Oh, boy. Was she in trouble.