Stolen by the Warlord: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Ash Planet Warriors Book 1) by V. K. Ludwig

Author:V. K. Ludwig [Ludwig, V. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ink Heart Publishing
Published: 2021-06-23T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Ceangal

That jerk dumped and left me.

The thunder of my heart continued even as the one of Canja’s paws faded away. Toagi shrank with each beat until he disappeared into the horizon, abandoning me along with my despair.

In the middle of nowhere.

I waited for about ten minutes. After fifteen, he still hadn’t returned. Twenty minutes in, my ass hurt from sitting on the branch, so I climbed down under curses. What was I supposed to do?

Find me, kunazay.

Each echo of his words chased a shudder across my skin. Not only did I have no clue how to find him, but I also didn’t want to. Didn’t want to admit that my chest had ached when he’d told me about his brother. Didn’t want to accept that something bright had expanded within me when I’d hummed a melody for him.

All strong emotions.

None of them mine.

But most of all, I didn’t want proof that Toagi was in grave danger, and I’d put him there. If there was a bond… Fuck, how was I supposed to return to Katedo? How could I possibly convince the warlords to accept Toagi’s claim?

I put on his chest holster and tied the waterskins and meat to it, making sure the weight was evenly distributed. Then I started marching toward where we’d come from: an endless ocean of drought-cracked soil, woven with smaller inclines, ashy ledges, and rocky plateaus.

Beside me, the sun played around the sparse treetops, while the first colorful glimmers of the red moon painted the horizon. It had taken us about an hour to get here. On Canja. Mainly at a trot. Walking back to the tree would likely take me about four hours, including several detours. Too long, considering I only had about an hour of light left… because Toagi didn’t want me to walk back to the tree.

Of course, he’d thought this through, dumping me at a place and a time that would discourage me from finding the tribe and encourage me to find him instead. Which meant he had to be somewhere out there within an hour’s walk. But where?

Less than fifteen minutes of wandering aimlessly, and grit chafed between my toes. My left heel burned from where I’d likely rubbed up a blister, and the occasional gust needled my skin with debris. Just as I took a swallow from the waterskin, something shifted at the edge of my vision, black, and big and—

Yuleshi!

Right there by a patch of shrubs, three yuleshis rested in the dirt, while two more tore away on a carcass, purple feathers clinging to dark gray flesh that drifted sour on the wind.

I headed toward them with renewed lightness in my steps. If one of them carried a nick on its ear, I could ride to… to where? Back to the tribe? Back to pretending I wanted to leave them? Back to telling myself that there was no bond, and Toagi didn’t feel like where I belonged?

Three of the yuleshis watched me warily when I stepped closer, and another retreated into the shrubs.

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