He laughed but complied, setting me down in the snow. I looked down. Yep, this jacket was done for, smeared with blood.
“Don’t worry, none of it’s mine,” he said, as though that should be a huge relief to me. I smacked his arm, aiming for the wound Vindar had left there.
“So what’s this then? Or this?”
He winced, mock-glowered, then gave up and laughed. “Yes, very well, khara. It’s mostly not my blood. Satisfied?”
“Not even slightly,” I grinned. “But we’d better get out of these bloody clothes, hey?”
Just the thought of it made me tingle, my body on fire with a need for Karnac. I saw his breath catch too, his eyes widen, the unconscious flexing of his hands as he thought about catching me, stripping me… great, now that’s all I can think of.
It wasn’t an unpleasant thought, just the opposite in fact.
“Help me get Vindar inside, and then we’ll go clean up,” he growled, stooping to lift his fallen foe. I blinked, but grabbed Vindar’s legs, and together we carried him into the break room. Questions followed as the other colonists clustered around him.
“Isn’t he dead?”
“Should we finish him off?”
“How did you do that?”
Karnac ignored them all, laying out Vindar on a pair of tables and looking at the neck wounds. Nodded.
“He will need at least a full day in the healing trance before he can wake,” he said. “Do not disturb him in the meantime.” With that, he shooed the crowd out. All except for Allison, who stood staring fixedly at the older Prytheen.
“Will he be all right?” she asked in a tone I’d never heard from her. Vulnerable, worried.
“Vindar will make a full recovery, do not worry. As long as he’s not woken from the healing trance too soon.”
“I’ll make sure of that,” Allison said, nodding decisively. “Go on, you two need to clean up and get some power running before we all freeze.”
Karnac nodded and bustled me out into the hallway, leading me towards the washroom. Halfway there, he started to shake with suppressed laughter.
“Are you sure Vindar will be safe with her?” I asked, frowning at this very un-Karnac-like behavior. “Allison can be vindictive…”
“He’s safe, beloved,” Karnac answered. “I’ve seen the look on her face before.”
“Oh?” I frowned, unsure what he meant. “I certainly haven’t.”
Karnac didn’t answer right away. He had to force the unpowered washroom door open, reminding me that there was no power. I shivered, hoping that the water tanks were full and heated. Karnac either didn’t think of that or didn’t care. Stripping, he strode into the shower and I couldn’t help staring at his ass as he went.
Okay, yeah, getting in there with him was worth the risk of a cold shower. I ditched my clothes as quick as I could.
“You wouldn’t have seen it,” my khara said as I joined him in the shower. “It’s the same look you have on your face when you look at me.”
I froze in place, trying to process that. All that came to mind was at least she won’t be banging another of the staff for once.
Warm water engulfed us, Karnac’s hands drew me to him, and I stopped thinking about anything else.
Epilogue
The Day of Vindar’s Oath, some were already calling it. Mostly Prytheen, for now, but once Allison found out, it was only a matter of time before everyone was doing it. She’d be here somewhere, filming the celebrations and using the phrase as much as possible.
The Colony needed some good news and bringing Vindar into the fold qualified. Not just as an excuse for a holiday — though we all treated it as one — but a sign we might not always have to watch out for Prytheen raiders. That maybe, one day, there’d be peace.
Karnac and I had been ‘invited’ to take part in the ceremony. I appreciated the attempt at politeness, and the message was very fancy, but when Captain Joyce and Auric invite you to something, saying no doesn’t feel like an option.
“Ready, my love?” Karnac grinned down at me, looking splendidly piratical with his fresh scars. They were all that remained of his injuries after his healing trance, and they only added to his sex appeal.
“Nope,” I replied, trying to smile. “I doubt I’ll ever be ready to be a celebrity.”
He laughed, not unkindly, and held me close. “You should enjoy it as much as you can, Molly. It won’t last long.”
“God, I hope not.” I sighed and leaned into him, his warm, solid presence comforting me. Also doing other things to me. I bit my lip, looked up at my soulmate, and wriggled against him. “Do you think we have time to go back to bed?”
“Temptress,” Karnac said fondly. “No, we do not, and you know it. We’re already running late, and you know you’ll regret it if we don’t attend.”
Taking me by the arm, he pushed open our apartment door and led me outside. My worst fears weren’t realized — no adoring crowd waited to pounce on us. People streamed past in the direction of the Wandering Star, eager to see history made, and we joined them. The mangled superstructure of the crashed colony ship loomed over us, and where the rest of the crowd stopped, we had to push forward.
Karnac was gracious enough not to point out he’d told me so.
Pushing into the crowd drew enough attention that we were, finally, recognized. And cheered. My face burned at the sound of people chanting my name, and I shot a glare at a camera drone flitting overhead, a pink tarantula sat on top of it.
Our fame was all Allison’s fault. Her recording of the battle played over and over, complete with her breathless commentary in which she praised us both. To hear her tell it, we’d defeated an invasion force which would have enslaved every human on the planet.
I think she was trying to do us a favor. Not just for saving her, but for bringing in Vindar alive. Allison literally broadcast from the highest mountain that the two of them were khara-bonded now. Making us famous was a reward because Allison couldn’t comprehend anyone who didn’t want adoring crowds.
Nothing to do about it now, anyway. Until the publicity faded, I was stuck with it. I tried to enjoy the moment, accept the cheers in the spirit they were intended. To my surprise, I managed. It was down to Karnac: with him present, I felt safe from any danger.
“I’m going to kill Allison for this,” I told Karnac, keeping my voice low. “If I wanted to be the center of attention, I wouldn’t have taken a job on the top of a fucking mountain, would I?”
He laughed and squeezed me close. “If you do, I’ll have to fight Vindar all over again, so behave.”
“Not likely,” I told him, grinning mischievously, and he laughed. “But fine, I won’t kill her, just rough her up a bit. She deserves that, right?”
“Khara,” he said in a tone that made me tingle, blush, and bite my lip.
“Okay, you big bully,” I said. “No violence, just as long as we get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Back to our mountain lair?” Karnac laughed, leaned in, and whispered in my ear. “I have already bribed a pilot. As soon as the ceremony is over, we can get airborne, away from the crowd. Just the two of us, all alone at the station…”