Retribution (Kall Alien Warriors #3) - Sue Lyndon Page 0,66
“I think this is my favorite room too.”
“Do you enjoy reading?” Fallonn asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.
“Oh, reading is most definitely my favorite pastime,” Layla replied. “And if you add drinking and a warm fireplace to it, I like it even better.” She stood in the center of the room and spun in a slow circle. “Zamek might have to drag me away from here every night.”
Fallonn laughed. “Well, I’m glad you like it. I actually decorated this room myself and selected most of the books. Most are written in Common Kall, though there are a few written in Flourishian. Please do feel free to add any books of your own to this collection.”
“Thanks,” Layla said, not wishing to admit that she didn’t own many physical books, as all her belongings had been left behind on Earth. Another reason why Zamek’s gift of the electronic library had been so thoughtful, as well as the few hardback books he’d given her, most of them compilations of ancient Kall war songs.
“Perhaps now isn’t the best time to say this,” Fallonn said, “but I hope you and Zamek find happiness together, despite the unusual beginning you had. You must have been terrified of him when he carried you out of that courtroom.”
“I was frightened of him,” Layla admitted, finding Fallonn easy to talk to. “But I’m not afraid of him anymore.”
“I know he hurt you and came close to killing you at some point,” Fallonn said, her expression drawing with compassion. “I sense the residual bloodlust inside him when he looks at you, but also his deep regret. I also sense his affection for you. But it goes beyond affection. He’s possessive of you, and very protective. He would kill anyone who tried to harm you, and he wouldn’t just kill them, he would make them suffer.”
Well now. This was a whole lot of information. Layla sucked in a quick breath as she tried to process all that Fallonn had just said. But the talkative empath continued.
“He’ll never let you go, and if you try to escape, he’ll hunt you down.” Her eyes glinted with worry. “Please don’t try running away. It wouldn’t take him long to find you, and he would definitely punish you if you ran away.”
“I don’t wish to run away,” Layla assured the young female. She tapped her right upper arm. “Besides, I’ve been injected with one of those slave trackers.”
“Yes, I know you have a tracker, but masters can’t access the locations of their missing slaves on their own. They must go to a slave office and allow the authorities to track the slave. In such cases, which are quite rare, the captured slaves are then punished publicly in town. It’s an awful practice. I’m glad Xazzok and Zamek don’t own slaves. Well, except for Zamek owning you, of course, but that is different, since he’s done it to keep you safe.”
Layla shuddered at the idea of being punished publicly in Sumlin. She hadn’t known that Zamek wouldn’t be able to track her himself, nor that slaves were sometimes punished in public. During her studies of Kall culture, she’d tended to gloss over the information about their practice of enslaving criminals, as it made her uncomfortable.
Voices could be heard in the corridor and a worried look crossed Fallonn’s face. “Oh, you must promise not to repeat any of what I just said to you to anyone, but most especially my husband,” she said in a rapid whisper, “for he would not approve of how freely I spoke to you about Zamek’s emotions. I just wished to reassure you of his devotion to you, that is all, to help you better come to terms with your new position here. I sense you are still struggling at times. But please, let’s keep it a secret between us?”
It was impossible not to like Fallonn. She was sweet but a bit mischievous, and she very much wore her heart on her sleeve. Layla suspected they would become close friends. She also suspected that Xazzok might discipline her if he discovered how freely she’d spoken.
With no wish to get Fallonn into trouble with her husband, Layla nodded in agreement and whispered, “Secret? What secret? I don’t even recall a thing we talked about in this room,” in a conspiratorial tone.
“Oh, I knew I would like you,” Fallonn said with a giggle, but quickly fell silent as the library door zipped open and Zamek and Xazzok strode inside.