Chapter 32

  They somehow survived the trip back to his dad’s old place, but he swore to never let Kassandra drive again. While he’d been away for many years, Kassandra’s driving hadn’t improved. If anything, it had somehow gotten worse.

  It was like Kassandra purposely sought out every pothole and bump on the road. A few times, his head had nearly hit the truck cab’s ceiling. But at least she’d avoided many of the downed trees littering the road, and they arrived back at the cabin unscathed.

  As Kassandra eased the vehicle into the driveway, the branches of the overgrown trees scraped at the side of the vehicle. As leafy limbs slapped against the windshield, she leaned forward, looking intently for the path. Then, a second later, they were clear of the vegetation and in the front yard.

  A handful of crows flapped away from their position on top of the Slaviigolaris mass grave. But otherwise, nothing stirred at their arrival. The cabin remained precariously standing, looking like a stiff breeze would knock it down. Somehow, the barn had collapsed even further, with only a handful of beams remaining upright.

  The sight of the devastation once again filled him with rage. After he’d defeated the aliens, he swore he’d return here to rebuild his dad’s property. If things ever went back to normal, he might even set up a practice in town. Maybe he could pick up some shifts at the resort's doctor offices as well.

  But after a second, he realized he was in denial—nothing would ever return to normal again. There was no going back to his life as a doctor. The world had changed, and he would have to accept that.

  The truck eased to a stop, and he reached down to grab the handle. Pushing the door open, he stepped out into the warm sunshine. As he did, he placed his hands on his lower back and winced in pain. After hitting some potholes that could have qualified as small canyons, he had a new ache in his spine.

  Kassandra bounced out of her side of the truck and rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that bad. Don’t pretend that you’re all injured from my driving.”

  He raised his brow. “Do you aim for the potholes, or do you just not see them?”

  “They’re like the tree that one time,” she said with a grin. “They just leap out in front of me.”

  “Of course they do.” He shook his head. “I’m going to go make sure Valentina hasn’t killed Zarya. Would you mind starting the unloading?”

  “Sure thing,” she said chipperly. It really was a marvel how she never seemed to get tired.

  Warren walked across the front lawn, the dry grass crunching under his feet. The hills really needed rain soon, or they could face some serious wildfires. Especially with aliens shooting fiery beam weapons around like maniacs.

  Reaching the door to the wood shop, he took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he might find beyond. Hopefully, Valentina and Zarya had found a way to tolerate each other during his brief absence.

  He swung the door open and stepped inside to see Valentina sitting on the cot, reading from his sister's e-reader.

  The blond-haired woman looked up at him and smiled. “Hey doc. How’s it going?”

  Scanning the room, he frowned. “What happened to Zarya?”

  “You mean the purple-skinned bitch?” Valentina pointed at the closed bathroom room. “I locked her in there.”

  “I told you to keep an eye on her,” he said, his voice rising slightly. “Not lock her in a tiny room.”

  Valentina shrugged. “If I didn’t lock her up, the fucker would have probably stabbed me in the back the first chance she got. And I have no plans to be stabbed by an alien a second time. Once is more than enough.”

  Warren fought down the urge to sigh. “Speaking of your back, how are you feeling?” He walked over to her side and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. Her skin didn’t feel overly warm.

  “I’m almost back to normal, doc.” She said, leaning into his touch slightly. “Thanks again for fixing me up.”

  “May I check your wound?”

  “Have at it.” She reached down and pulled up her shirt until it exposed her firm, lower breasts. Then she turned her torso slightly to show him her toned back.

  He tried to ignore her flawless skin and kept his eyes focused on the bandage. With a gentle touch, he peeled up the tape to reveal her wound. The skin around the area looked far less angry, and the infection seemed to have subsided.

  “Everything is improving nicely,” he said. “A few more days of antibiotics and you should be back to normal.” As he continued talking, he walked over to the corner and retrieved the med kit. He then returned to Valentina.

  Removing the stained bandage, he placed it aside on the bed. He then cut a new piece of gauze and gently held it over the wound as he taped it into place. Once he was done, he closed up the kit and pulled down her shirt.

  Recalling the wine and beer they had brought back, he said, “Remember, no alcoholic drinks while on antibiotics.”

  “It’s not like we have any,” Valentina snorted. But when he didn’t respond, her mouth fell open. “Don’t tell me you found some! Shit balls. Are you telling me everyone gets to drink except for me?”

  “Maybe I could allow one drink,” he said slowly. “But it can worsen the drug’s side effects.”

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  “I don’t care about side effects.”

  “You should,” he replied. “As it is, you’ve been pushing yourself far too much while recovering from an injury and infection.”

  “I’m fine, doc,” she said, looking earnest. “I swear.”

  Shaking his head at Valentina, he headed over to the bathroom. When he arrived, he noted that the green beret had screwed in a new latch and placed a lock on it. Thankfully, she’d left the key on the bench next to the door.

  He knocked gently on the door. “Are you alright in there?”

  “My liege?” the familiar voice of Zarya asked in a strained tone. “Your servant forced me in here at weapon point. I demand that she be stripped naked and publicly flogged.”

  Warren unlocked and opened the latch. Swinging the door open, he was greeted by the sight of a clearly furious Zarya standing inside with her arms crossed. Her brows were pinched, and she was tapping her foot against the tiled floor.

  But even angry, she still had an exotic beauty to her appearance. Her dark hair now hung down loosely, framing her elegant features. She had a slightly upturned nose and full pouty lips. Her golden eyes regarded him from beneath long lashes.

  However, it wasn’t just her face that caught his attention. She had taken off her armor and was wearing little more than a strip of cloth covering her heavy breasts, and a loin cloth that dipped well below her belly button. She had a body that sculptors dreamt about capturing for their artwork.

  Shaking his head, he kept his gaze level with her eyes. “It may take a while for my companions to trust you. Until then, you’re going to have to accept some of this treatment.”

  “I am your vassal,” she said sharply. “What is there not to trust about a binding contract with the Holy System?”

  “In case you didn’t notice,” he said, his own voice rising. “We were just introduced to this Holy System of yours not too long ago. In fact, I don’t know a damn thing about how it works. And the only reason I accepted you as my vassal instead of sending you back to your fate is that you can provide vital information.” He paused as he tried to calm himself. “That and you spared my life when you didn’t have to.”

  Zarya gave him a strange look before making a gesture with her hands. “My apologies, my liege. My planet has lived with the Holy System for over a millennium. It is hard to comprehend a place unfamiliar with it.”

  Warren nodded his head. “Now, if I let you out of here, will there be no more talk about flogging my companions?”

  From behind him, he heard Valentina call out, “I still heard what she said!”

  Warren grimaced and ignored the soldier. “As I was saying, will do you best to keep the peace?”

  Zarya straightened up, thrusting out her chest until it looked like her round breasts would spring free from her tiny garment. “As you wish, my liege. I will keep the peace, as you say.”

  “Good,” he replied. “Because we’re going to celebrate tonight.”

  “Celebrate?” Zarya looked at him askance. “May I enquire as to what you have to celebrate?”

  “We just found a big cache of supplies,” he said. “Plus, we’re still alive. Isn’t that enough?”

  She nodded solemnly. “If it is important to you, then it is a momentous occasion. I will celebrate this accomplishment of staying alive. Are all Terran celebrations so trivial?”

  Warren grinned at her seriousness. He was guessing that it would take a while until Zarya became used to Earth customs and relaxed a bit. And while she may not think that replenishing their food and surviving another day was worth celebrating, he thought it was an accomplishment with everything they were facing.

  Plus, we all really need to blow off some steam.

  Turning around, he noted that Kassandra had begun piling the supplies by the doorway. A few more trips and the truck should be empty. With the food they’d gathered from the resort and now from her house, they should have enough to last for a few weeks. Not that the meals would be anything close to gourmet, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  Warren headed over to the door to help with unloading the truck. After about fifteen minutes, they’d managed to find a place for everything on the shelves and cupboards lining the walls.

  Once he was finished, he plopped down on the recliner. A second later, Kassandra entered the room and shut the door behind her. She glanced over at Valentina and then purposely walked over to him. Settling down on his lap, she crossed her long legs.

  Valentina’s brow shot up for a second before she burst out laughing. “I leave you two alone for a few hours and look what happens.”

  Kassandra smiled, bouncing her leg. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The blond-haired woman shrugged. “It’s not like I don’t mind sharing.”

  Warren nearly choked at her words, while Kassandra’s cheeks flushed red. After a second, he managed to croak, “Share?”

  “You’re a cute guy, doc,” Valentina said. “Feel free to keep my bunk warm anytime.”

  “I don’t think he needs anyone to keep his bunk warm,” Kassandra sniffed. “That position is taken.”

  Valentina only shrugged before standing up to walk over to examine the new food. She made an excited noise after finding a box of chocolate chip cookies. She immediately ripped open the top and took one out. Closing her eyes, she sighed as she bit down on one of the cookies.

  Zarya, who had watched the entire exchange silently, frowned. “Is it not normal for a squire to have many mates on your planet?”

  “No, not really,” Warren said in a strained voice. “Most people only have one… mate on Earth.”

  “How strange,” Zarya mused. “Is it not risky trusting your bloodline to a single woman?”

  “It… doesn’t come up that often,” Warren replied. He glanced up at Kassandra, whose face was beat red like a tomato.

  Zarya walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I would be willing to find a fertile Daskian woman to carry your offspring, my liege. Only say the word, and I shall ensure that your mana is passed down to the next generation.”

  This time, it was his face that flushed. He hadn’t dated much back in Miami, thanks to school taking up most of his time, followed by his job taking over his life. But while he’d never been unpopular with the ladies, he’d also never had two women offer themselves to him in a single day, followed by another who wanted to find him a mate.

  “Can we talk about that later?” he asked. “I’m not really concerned about my offspring at the moment.”

  “I believe you should be,” Zarya said, deadly serious. “There is nothing more damaging to a planet than a succession crisis.”

  “Right now, I barely control this plot of land,” he said. “Seriously, let’s talk about this another time.”

  “As you wish, my liege.”

  “Right now,” he said, “we need to focus on our next step.

  As he spoke, he pulled up the map in his vision. A new indicator had appeared, showing the Steampunk Goblins to the west of his position. He needed a plan to take on the goblins, since he expected this to be his hardest challenge yet.

  “When do you plan to challenge Alatu to a duel to the death?” Zarya asked. “I assume you wish to vanquish the cur as soon as possible.”

  Kassandra rose to her feet, her fists clenched at her side. “Would you stop saying stupid stuff? He doesn’t need some cheap alien woman to knock up. And he doesn’t want to fight a duel against someone ten levels higher than him. His only goal is to free the town, and that’s it.”

  “Actually,” Warren said, “I have another goal in mind. Before returning, I received a quest to take out a horde of goblins.”

  Zarya nodded. “That is very exciting, my liege. My men and I will help in any way we can to increase your power. Then you can vanquish Alatu.”

  “Tomorrow morning, I want to scout out the location on my map,” he continued. “If I think we can defeat the goblins, then we’ll plan an attack.”

  Warren stood up and walked over to a six-pack of beer cans sitting on a work bench. “But until then, why don’t we have a little fun?”

  He grabbed a bottle of wine and handed it to Kassandra. Then he passed a can of beer to Valentina. Tonight might be the last time they got any downtime for the foreseeable future. He wanted to make it a night to remember.