Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,42

The leaf would hold for the night, but as soon as the pirates were asleep, he was going to bring her to the medical bay. He needed the contact with her, for however little time they had. In the morning, she could change the leaf out for clean bandages.

Leaning against the wall, he watched and waited.

14

Terri frowned down at Garswal’s wound as she wrapped it with the clean fibrous leaf that Azan had provided her. The bite was shallow and hadn’t shown any sign of envenomation, but there was still a chance if left open it could get infected.

“How did this happen again?” she asked, tucking the leaf tightly closed.

The boy sighed. “I was cutting away a vine and this creature with a long body, a flat head, and many legs fell from the tree onto my hand. I tried to shake it off, but it bit me.”

She grimaced at the description. It sounded a lot like an insect. She hated most of the ones that crawled through the desert. Scorpions, centipedes… They all could have suffered a fiery death as far as she was concerned. She had dealt with enough scorpion stings that she was fairly certain of what to look for, but she would check the bandage first thing in the morning, just in case, and clean it. It would mean more of their water supply since the pirates weren’t keen on sharing, but she didn’t want to risk his hand.

Sighing, she patted his hand gently before releasing it. “I think you’ll be all right. Go get some rations before there’s nothing left.”

Garswal brightened and with a nod of his head shot to his feet and disappeared among the stampede of males vying for what there was. Azan pushed away from the wall.

“I think I will go make sure that he doesn’t get trampled by that lot. I will bring you back something if you will be all right sitting here by yourself for a few minutes.”

Terri waved the female off. “I’m fine here. I doubt anyone will try anything.”

Azan gave her a doubtful look but disappeared after Garswal, giving Terri a precious moment of solitude while everyone was distracted. Her hand slipped to her shoulder and attempted to knead out the tension. She nearly yelped with a hand closed around the base of her neck and began to gently rub.

Tension drained out of her almost immediately when she recognized Veral’s touch as he hummed to her, his mandibles vibrating with the occasional soft click. The sound was as soothing as his touch. Terri leaned against him, smiling.

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

“I know, as I have you. It will not be much longer, anastha.”

Her eyebrows arched as she cast a glance at the male crouching at her side.

“Not much longer until what?”

His lips parted as if to speak, but he hesitated until his mouth clamped back down into a determined line. He shook his head. “It is better if you do not know. Not yet. There will be less risk to you.”

“In case you’ve missed it, this isn’t exactly a party here,” she hissed.

“I have noticed. Be strong, anastha. I will come for you tonight.”

His lips brushed over the top of her head, followed by the drag of his mandibles before he retreated so quickly from her side that she almost wondered if she imagined him there. Her eyes scanned the crowd, catching only glimpses of his dark form until he completely disappeared.

“You look pensive,” Azan said conversationally as she sat at Terri’s side, catching her off guard.

Terri dredged up a smile as the female narrowed her eyes on her suspiciously. As much as she wanted to confide her worries to the Blaithari, she couldn’t forget that the female couldn’t truly be her friend. The circumstances made them odd companions for the time being. She wouldn’t risk saying anything that could potentially put any sort of suspicion on Veral, so she shook her head and accepted the pair of ration bars that were handed to her.

“It’s nothing. Daydreaming, I guess. I miss my mate.” That much at least she felt safe to confess. It was a normal reaction.

Azan’s expression closed, but her lips pressed together as if thinking of something unpleasant. She sighed and took a large bite of ration bar. “A good reason to never take a mate. It makes you dependent on them. Even for those who are not weak, it still makes one vulnerable. Out here, being vulnerable to any kind of personal attachments is