over his chest and stared at them.
Slowly Craig moved forward, keeping an eye on Parlan as he picked up the coverings, then stepped back to hand them out. What they discovered was the 'covering' was actually a cape with a large hood. It would be perfect for disguising Jen.
"Hurry up!" Parlan ordered angrily. "Everyone is waiting!"
Jen pulled the heavy cape on as quickly as she could. It was obviously made for a Kaliszian, as its sleeves hung a good distance past her fingertips and there was, at least, an extra foot of it pooling on the floor. But it had a hood and she quickly raised it, letting it fall forward covering her face. Lifting as much of the excess length as she could, she nodded to Craig that she was ready.
Craig and Paul flanked Jen as they followed Parlan through the tunnels, each gripping one of her elbows helping her keep up even though she knew the fast pace was hard on them too. They finally slowed as they passed through the mine's entrance and into a rapidly darkening landscape.
"Parlan!"
"Yes, Commander." Parlan turned to Gryf who was standing a few feet away.
"Get them on the transport! There's a ground storm coming in!" he ordered then turned to speak with another warrior.
"Yes, Commander!" Parlan turned back and began shoving them along. "Move!"
Jen sat as far back in her seat on the transport as she could, with Paul and Craig's thin shoulders doing their best to block others from seeing her. Looking across the room, she saw several Jerboaians huddled together against the opposite wall. She wasn't sure if they were the same ones that had arrived with them because large patches of their fur were missing. When Kaliszian warriors began to file in, she pulled her hood down even lower, hoping to go unnoticed.
"Is everyone accounted for, Commander?" Treyvon demanded.
"Yes, General," the Commander answered.
"Then get us out of here."
"Yes, General."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"How is she, Luol?" Nikhil asked, still on his knees beside his True Mate.
"Better than I expected. The good news is that the repair unit was able to scan her and diagnose what she needs to recover."
"So what is not good?"
"What's not good is that she is severely underweight. While her overall health seems good, her body has been severely stressed and depleted of some very vital nutrients. It will take time for the unit to replace what she has lost."
"What about her other injuries?"
"Don't worry, Nikhil. The deep repair unit will easily fix those. How long did the Zaludians have her?"
"I do not know."
"Are there more like her?"
"I do not know that either. I left as soon as I discovered her."
"It probably saved her life. She wouldn't have survived much more abuse."
"Abuse? She was abused? By who? The Zaludians can't..."
"No, Nikhil! Not that kind of abuse! I'm sorry that my words caused you to believe your True Mate had been sexually abused. The deep repair unit found no evidence of that."
"Then what did you mean?" Nikhil sucked in a harsh breath trying to calm his pounding heart.
"I meant she would not have survived another beating. Her small body had reached its limit in being able to repair itself."
"She is small, isn't she?"
"Yes."
"She's... She is full grown, isn't she, Luol?" Nikhil’s stomach sank at the thought that he might have found his True Mate while she was still young. He had heard tales of Suja beads doing this, and while he would willingly wait for her to come of age for claiming, he knew it would be torture.
"All my findings show that for her species, she is fully grown," Luol reassured him.
"Thank the Goddess."
"That doesn't mean you can immediately claim her, Nikhil. You will need to handle her with great care. For not only is she a great deal smaller than our females, but her body has been stressed beyond any I have ever seen. If she survives..."
"If? What do you mean if?!!" Nikhil rose to his full height, his anger easily heard.
"Warrior Kozar..." Both men froze when the female between them
Slowly Craig moved forward, keeping an eye on Parlan as he picked up the coverings, then stepped back to hand them out. What they discovered was the 'covering' was actually a cape with a large hood. It would be perfect for disguising Jen.
"Hurry up!" Parlan ordered angrily. "Everyone is waiting!"
Jen pulled the heavy cape on as quickly as she could. It was obviously made for a Kaliszian, as its sleeves hung a good distance past her fingertips and there was, at least, an extra foot of it pooling on the floor. But it had a hood and she quickly raised it, letting it fall forward covering her face. Lifting as much of the excess length as she could, she nodded to Craig that she was ready.
Craig and Paul flanked Jen as they followed Parlan through the tunnels, each gripping one of her elbows helping her keep up even though she knew the fast pace was hard on them too. They finally slowed as they passed through the mine's entrance and into a rapidly darkening landscape.
"Parlan!"
"Yes, Commander." Parlan turned to Gryf who was standing a few feet away.
"Get them on the transport! There's a ground storm coming in!" he ordered then turned to speak with another warrior.
"Yes, Commander!" Parlan turned back and began shoving them along. "Move!"
Jen sat as far back in her seat on the transport as she could, with Paul and Craig's thin shoulders doing their best to block others from seeing her. Looking across the room, she saw several Jerboaians huddled together against the opposite wall. She wasn't sure if they were the same ones that had arrived with them because large patches of their fur were missing. When Kaliszian warriors began to file in, she pulled her hood down even lower, hoping to go unnoticed.
"Is everyone accounted for, Commander?" Treyvon demanded.
"Yes, General," the Commander answered.
"Then get us out of here."
"Yes, General."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"How is she, Luol?" Nikhil asked, still on his knees beside his True Mate.
"Better than I expected. The good news is that the repair unit was able to scan her and diagnose what she needs to recover."
"So what is not good?"
"What's not good is that she is severely underweight. While her overall health seems good, her body has been severely stressed and depleted of some very vital nutrients. It will take time for the unit to replace what she has lost."
"What about her other injuries?"
"Don't worry, Nikhil. The deep repair unit will easily fix those. How long did the Zaludians have her?"
"I do not know."
"Are there more like her?"
"I do not know that either. I left as soon as I discovered her."
"It probably saved her life. She wouldn't have survived much more abuse."
"Abuse? She was abused? By who? The Zaludians can't..."
"No, Nikhil! Not that kind of abuse! I'm sorry that my words caused you to believe your True Mate had been sexually abused. The deep repair unit found no evidence of that."
"Then what did you mean?" Nikhil sucked in a harsh breath trying to calm his pounding heart.
"I meant she would not have survived another beating. Her small body had reached its limit in being able to repair itself."
"She is small, isn't she?"
"Yes."
"She's... She is full grown, isn't she, Luol?" Nikhil’s stomach sank at the thought that he might have found his True Mate while she was still young. He had heard tales of Suja beads doing this, and while he would willingly wait for her to come of age for claiming, he knew it would be torture.
"All my findings show that for her species, she is fully grown," Luol reassured him.
"Thank the Goddess."
"That doesn't mean you can immediately claim her, Nikhil. You will need to handle her with great care. For not only is she a great deal smaller than our females, but her body has been stressed beyond any I have ever seen. If she survives..."
"If? What do you mean if?!!" Nikhil rose to his full height, his anger easily heard.
"Warrior Kozar..." Both men froze when the female between them
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