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"Here."
The tall Vandall emerged from one of the trees, followed by the rest of our group. If possible, the forest seemed even darker now as the longest night of my life progressed.
"Your hair," Kendryx lifted a finger to my tresses, and with a small clink, broke a strand off.
"Don't touch it," I cried, staring in disbelief at the broken-off piece of my hair in his hand. He laughed and reached up with his other, but I swatted his hands away.
More laughter rang out as the Vandalls were doing the same to each other, reminding me more of a group of children than the fearsome warriors they were and making me laugh too.
The only person whose hair wasn't frozen was Kendryx. "A warlord's hair is beyond those simple nuisances," he declared pompously.
"Do you think it's safe to return to our camp?" Thorodoth asked me, and I felt honored that he did. I knew women didn't know much about battle strategies in his culture.
"The choppers and fighters might still have some juice left, but I doubt the Confederation will use any of it to chase us down, no matter how much they want to capture us," I explained. "We should be safe."
"Good," he nodded and took the lead to take us back to his camp. Kendryx placed an arm around me and playfully tugged on my hair here and there, but thankfully no more broke off, and I kept swatting at his fingers whenever I sensed him trying to pull again.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I had never been this cold in my life, despite the uniform, and couldn't even imagine how the others were faring, no matter if they were used to it or not. But I nodded. "I'm alright." Because I was. No matter how physically uncomfortable I was, being here with him and even the Vandalls, felt right. More so than any other moment in my life.
Alowfireburnedinside the cozy warm hut Thorodoth generously allowed us to use again. Chrissy and I lay naked, exhausted after a long round of lovemaking, snuggled under the covers, and I didn't think I had ever been this happy in my life.
A few weeks ago, I thought defeating Fionbyr and Grobhan was the highlight of my life after the threat they posed to the Thyre territory, but they had been nothing but a nuisance compared to the threat the Terran Confederation had posed. Our leveling of the battlefield would give us the advantage we needed to rid ourselves of that threat once and for all.
But even that wasn't what made me this happy.
Nyck, it was the kallini snuggled against my body, sleeping peacefully. Nothing made me happier than her and the knowledge that she reciprocated my feelings for her.
I love you too, Kendryx. Her words echoed inside my head. Who would have thought such a simple statement from a kallini could mean the world to me?
Maybe because it isn't that simple, my mind suggested, and I agreed. It might be simple to love someone, but to have that feeling reciprocated was the greatest honor a male could possibly achieve. No win on the battlefield, no amount of power, was worth more than a kallini's love. I would love and cherish her for the rest of my life, just as she had requested.
Never would I take the wonder of her loving me for granted. It was a gift I would value with each new morning and each new night.
It was only a few hours until daybreak, but I didn't think I had slept at all that night, afraid of losing just one second of the precious gift that was her.
I listened to the noise outside as the camp slowly awakened but decided to let Chrissy rest; she needed it. It had been a long night, and the dip in the river had been harder on her than us. Humans were so much more fragile.
At some point, Thorodoth poked his head into the hut and asked quietly, "Do you have everything you need? A storm is coming."
A quick glimpse over to the eating area of the hut told me that we did have everything we needed: two full pitchers of water as well as a pile of vegetables. Underneath a small hatch, I knew I would find dried meat and dough to make bread.
"We're good, thank you."
He gave me a nod and retreated. In my arms, Chrissy stirred slightly.
I didn't know how bad storms would get on this side of Thyre, but the cold season storms I had been through could be ferocious and claim lives if one was caught out in the open. The gruesome picture of the remnants of Grobhan's army entered my mind, but I pushed them aside. Grobhan's end had been fitting, but his soldiers hadn't deserved it.
Soon after Thorodoth's announcement, the wind picked up outside, and I regretfully disentangled myself from Chrissy to secure the door. A quick glimpse outside told me that the storms on the Vandalls' lands were just as bad as the ones on ours. Snow was falling and blowing like little vortices, and I pitied anybody who hadn't found shelter.
"What's going on?" Chrissy asked sleepily from the bed of furs.
"A storm is coming."
She stretched, exposing a rounded tit, and my mouth watered at the sight. I could imagine a thousand things worse than being caught inside a warm hut with food and a delicious kallini, and I walked over to the bed, but the loud grumbling of her stomach halted me.
My mate was hungry, and I cursed myself for not having fed her before we went to bed last night. But we had been too busy making love, and then she had fallen asleep and…
