The Breeding Prize - Aya Morningstar Page 0,42
hand, because I’m afraid it will somehow hurt him. Instead I just lie down next to him.
“I’d move him,” Kula says, “to somewhere more comfortable. But he’s Valittu, a rock is probably one of the more comfortable places he’s ever slept.”
“Was his life really so horrible?”
Kula shakes his head. “I can’t know for sure. He was raised by Ulkar though. When I so much as hear an Ulkar’s voice, I want to run. I can’t imagine being raised by them. Come now, you can’t sleep on that rock, human.”
“I will.”
He looks like he’s about to argue with me, but when he sees the determination etched on my face, he shakes his head and gives up.
“I would hunt some food for us. Maybe forage something, but I won’t leave you and Raiska undefended. It won’t be comfortable, but we can last quite some time without food.”
“How long will Raiska need to heal? I know your kind heals really fast.”
“He probably just needs the night,” Kula says. “Those scars on his leg from my axe will never heal, but all the injuries and shock to his body should be good by morning. He’ll be hungry as fuck when he wakes up though.”
“Why will they never heal?” I ask.
Kula points to the scar on his chest and face. “Six-dimensional wounds.”
“Who gave those to you?”
“My masters,” Kula says. “They were a lot different from the Ulkar, but in some ways, the Valittu and the Aparans had similar upbringings. I will ask you one last time if you truly will sleep on that rock.”
“I will.”
He nods. “Then rest well, human.”
Sixteen
Raiska
I wake up with my Muru’s body pressed against me. She’s warm, but I’m covered in sweat.
It feels like I had a fever, but it broke, yet the fever sweat is still clinging to me.
I look down at my leg, which feels strange, and see two scars like Kula’s on either side of my leg. They are shimmering higher-dimensional colors.
My memory starts coming back to me. The pain of those wounds is the first thing I remember. Slowly I begin remembering the car chase. The explosions. The pursuers.
I jolt up. There’s a dull pain as I put weight on my leg, but it’s nothing I can’t bear.
“Brother!” I shout.
Kula is sleeping on the grass. He jerks awake.
“You’re up,” he says.
Annabelle wakes up and yawns, then looks suddenly shocked when she sees me. “You’re awake!”
She runs to me and wraps her arms around me. She presses her soft little body against my hard muscles. I wrap my arms around her, never wanting to let go.
Kula summons his axe. “Now that you’re up, I will hunt.”
My stomach growls as Kula mentions hunting. Valittu can heal fast, but it uses up a lot of energy. Normally we have plenty to eat, and it’s a trivial cost. Right now though, with nothing to eat at all, I’m feeling the true price of my healing ability.
I speak to Annabelle as I hold her against me. “Are you okay? Are you injured at all in any way? Did Kula take good care of you?”
“Hey!” Kula says. “What are you accusing me of?”
“I’m fine,” she says. “Kula made sure I drank water. He tried to get me to sleep on the grass—”
“You let her sleep on the stone!” I growl at Kula.
I try to take a step toward Kula, but Annabelle pulls on my arm. “Really! He tried, but I wouldn’t leave your side, Raiska.”
Kula gives me a sheepish grin, but I point a finger at him. “You have been warned, brother!”
“You must be starving, Muru,” I say, “let me hunt something for you. You stayed by my side while I was injured, but now that I am strong again, I will provide for you.”
"Raiska," Kula says, resting his axe onto his shoulder. "Let me hunt. You stay with your Muru. I'll bring us food."
"She's my Muru, brother. I should provide for her." I summon my scythe to make my point.
"Please," Annabelle says. "Don't kill each other over this."
Kula sighs and lets his axe fade away. "I'm tired. I don't have the energy to argue over this. Go hunt, Raiska. Provide for your Muru. And don't forget to get something for me too."
He grins at me, and I nod my head, scythe still in hand. "I will be back with a plentiful bounty."
"You're bringing home the bacon, Raiska," she says, grinning at me.
"I'm nearly certain there will be no pig meat available at this altitude or on this planet, Muru, but I will