Taken to Lemora by Elizabeth Stephens

Author:Elizabeth Stephens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-28T16:00:00+00:00

9

Essmira

“Are you alright?” I cough, inhaling powdery dust particles that sit in my mouth and clog my throat. I lie on my back between two boulders looking up at the male positioned over me. He cringes as he starts to move his limbs. “Careful.” I cough some more, reaching above me to hold his shoulders. “Stay still. Don’t move.”

He nods, eyes closed tight. It doesn’t take long for hands to find his arms and start to pull the bits of rubble and rock off of him from above. Several Lemoran, including the kind female who had acted as my guide, call his name. “Jaygar!”

“Jaygar, can you hear us?”

“Jaygar…here, move these stones.”

“The kintarr’s dug into his back…”

“Watch for the splinters!”

“Here! For your hands!”

“Essmira!”

“Miriga Essmira is under there?” Miriga. There’s that word again. My stomach flutters every time I hear it because I know it’s a term of endearment, even though it means nothing to me. It’s the way they say it. Always kind. Always reverent. Always sweet.

“I’m here. I’m fine. Jaygar saved my life,” I shout, and then more quietly, just to him, I say, “Thank you, Jaygar. Thank you so, so much.”

His mouth twitches and he grimaces when someone above him shovels some rocks off of his shoulder and tries to grab him and lift him up. He’s wedged awkwardly between two boulders while I’ve fallen deeper into the crevice between them. About two feet separate us. Enough distance for me to be able to reach up and touch his neck, which I do, hoping to offer comfort.

“It looks like I’ll need another one of those massages,” he says stiffly.

I offer a small smile, but it’s not a smile that I feel in my chest, heart or soul. He’s hurt because of me. He threw himself over me to offer protection, even though I’m only a stranger. The selflessness of these Lemoran is overwhelming. Even Raingar…his reaction when he realized I was hurt…I could never have imagined anything like that from Tyto. And I know he’s a foul comparison, but he’s all I have to compare any male to. It’s a wonder that that abominable creature even exists in the same realm as these others. That I had a lifetime of thinking that was normal, before this.

I know it’s not.

And I’m determined to hold onto this beauty surrounding me.

I offer him a gentle squeeze in the part of his neck where he’d been experiencing pain before. I’m good at stretching males and offering massages of medical quality. Igmora made sure I was. She thought this would be an asset for my future master and had me practice on both her and Tyto a hundred times over.

“I think stretching out your tight muscles might need to come after Moreth has a look at you.”

He nods tightly, eyes remaining closed. The pain radiating out of him like heat from a star makes my heart hurt and my eyes tear. “You might be right, miriga.”

“I’m so sorry, Jaygar.”

At this, his eyes do open.

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