Barbarian's Bride: Ice Planet Barbarians Book 22 by Dixon Ruby

Author:Dixon, Ruby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: www.rubydixon.com
Published: 2021-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

If I seem a bit mopey, Stacy doesn't comment on it. We pick berries and chat while staying somewhat close to the cave, and the weather never turns, much to my surprise. By the time we head back to the cave, we've got full baskets of soap-berries, enough for both of us for several months and enough to share with others. As we head into the cave, Pashov is at the entrance. Instead of greeting his mate, he immediately dashes inside.

"That was weird," I comment.

Stacy gives me a sly look. "It was, wasn't it?"

I frown at her, but don't comment on it. Everyone's been a little weird all day long, if I'm being honest. Maybe I'm just being sensitive. Maybe it's pregnancy hormones. Is it too early for that sort of thing? I have no idea. No one knows how long a human-sa-khui pregnancy is going to be, and it's all guesswork from here on out.

Dagesh appears at the entrance, meeting us and taking the basket from my hands.

"Oh, hi," I breathe, pleased to see my mate. "You didn't have to come out here to get me."

"I did," he says, and I expect him to heft the basket and bring it back to our cave. Instead, he sets it down near the entrance and takes my hands in his. "Come."

"Uh, I'm coming. What's going on?" He's got such a bright-eyed look on his face that it makes me wonder, just a little, what he's up to.

Dagesh just grins wider and leads me in. My eyes adjust to the darkness—I didn't realize how bright it was out in the snow—and when I can see, it looks as if the entire tribe is gathered in the main section of the cave. I look over at Stacy, but she's grinning. Dagesh tugs me forward, leading me to the center of the group, and as he does, I smell food and the sour scent of the ice planet version of alcohol, a fermented drink called sah-sah.

As we move forward, Kemli puts a string of colorful seeds around my neck. Georgie moves forward and puts a headband on my head, and attached to it is a decorated piece of leather. "It's not exactly a veil," she says, "but I hope it'll do."

Dagesh pulls me past them, gazing up at the ceiling. As he does, I realize he's tugging me under a canopy that someone's set up. Well, I guess it's kind of a canopy. It's two big, shaggy furs mounted on spears, and he ducks under it and pulls me with him.

"What's going on?" I ask, bewildered. "Is there a party? Is it someone's birthday? Mine's not until the summer, and you guys don't even have summer."

My mate just tugs on my hands until I'm positioned under the canopy, and he beams at me. His braid swings as he looks around, as if making sure everyone is gathered, and then he sets my hands down. He takes a small leather package that someone hands him and then looks me in the eye.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.