32. Drago

32

DRAGO

D rago felt more alert now that he'd had something to eat and drink. Addison had been right—he'd been nearly starving and hadn't even known it because he felt so weak. But now that he had some nutrition in him, the blood replenishment pills were starting to work. He could feel himself getting stronger by the minute. Soon he would feel good enough to navigate their way home to the Mother Ship through the wormhole.

Too bad he wouldn't be staying once they got there.

After Addison had told him everything his Drake had done, he'd been filled with shame. Not that he regretted the death of the giant, malevolent spider or Ls Prissa and Lx Sambla but Sheelash had been a goddess to the Vargans and Prissa and Sambla had been their ruler and ambassador respectively. The fact that his Drake had fried them all was probably going to cause a lot of trouble for the Mother Ship.

Also, Addison had been wounded all over, through his Drake's carelessness. Drago wished that he could offer to heal all of her cuts the same way he had healed her spider bite the night before, but he didn't feel he deserved to. He had failed in his mission to protect his charge and he had failed to keep his Drake in check. The only thing he deserved now was exile.

And that was his plan. After he dropped Addison off at the Mother Ship and made certain she was all right, he planned to fly the long-range shuttle to Primus Four. It was a planet in a nearby solar system that had a breathable atmosphere but was completely uninhabited because it was covered jookli —a dense, extremely fast-growing vegetation that could swallow a domicile in a single night. Efforts to clear the aggressive weed had been unsuccessful and so the planet had been deemed uninhabitable.

Once he reached Primus Four, Drago intended to let his Drake out…and then never recall it. In essence, he would be committing mental suicide—giving his life over to his Drake and letting him live out the rest of his days in the jungle wilderness. There was plenty of game to be had on the small planet and the jookli wouldn't cover a living organism—only an artificially constructed dwelling or structure. So his Drake should be fine living there.

As for Drago, he would never have to face his shame again or remember how badly he had failed Addison. He would never?—

Suddenly the bridge of the long-range shuttle filled with a presence. It bore down on Drago like a heavy weight and he heard a distinctly feminine voice speaking in his ear.

"I know of your plans, Warrior," the voice said. "You would abandon the woman I set aside for you and go into self-imposed exile. This displeases me greatly!"

"Goddess?" Drago looked around, but there was nothing to see—just the heavy weight of the divine presence pressing down on him from all sides. He felt like he imagined he would if he was transported to the bottom of the sea where the pressure was crushingly intense.

"Yes, it is I, the Mother of All Life," the voice returned. "I am a merciful deity—I created my Kindred with free will, so I will not forbid you to do as you have planned. But I charge you to fulfill my orders before you go."

"What orders?" Drago gasped. "Please, Goddess—tell me and I'll obey!"

"Good. Then I order you to give your Fated Mate everything she needs and everything she asks for before you go. Do you understand me? You must not leave until she is healed and satisfied in EVERY way."

"I understand." Drago nodded—he would have promised anything at that point! The presence of the Goddess was overwhelming . "I swear it will be done."

"Very well, that is all I ask."

And abruptly as she had appeared, the Goddess was gone.

Drago sat there in stunned silence for a minute. He had heard of other Kindred warriors having visitations from the Goddess before, but he had never dreamed that it might happen to him. He wondered what the Mother of All Life had meant when she ordered him to make sure that Addison was "healed and satisfied." Well, the healing part was pretty obvious, but what about his Fated Mate's satisfaction? How could he achieve that?

He didn't know, but he had promised to find out and one did not break a promise to the Goddess.