Fall (Cold Mark 1)

I was anything but calm. “What was that back there?”

Both blinked, then glanced at each other. Their eyes gradually came back to me in confusion.

Oh, Mother Joyal, I hated this language. I tried again, speaking slower, “What was that?”

The confusion instantly cleared from their expressions.

Pluma Wazra gestured to the seat behind me, the empty bucket seat that faced them. “Sit down and buckle up. Once you’ve done that, we’ll explain.” Just then, the vehicle bounced hard, and I lost my balance. My chin struck the abrasive metal coating the floor. I grunted in pain, but just as suddenly, I squeaked in alarm when Pluma Wazra grabbed my arms and shoved me onto the empty seat. He grumbled quietly under his breath, his silver, glowing eyes flicking up to me in irritation as he buckled the seatbelt around my waist. “Do as I say next time.” He sat back on his seat next to the other Pluma, both of them glaring.

I moved my jaw at the lingering pain, and then silently waited for them to speak.

Pluma Kreob broke the silence, sighing in aggravation. “That back there is what the Mian call a Reckoning. All women of Harems fear it. It is when a Vaq meet their intended, their Soul.” He tilted his head to me. “You…somehow…are our Soul. The one woman who was meant specifically for us.” His golden brows were deeply furrowed. “A Human bound to two Mian.”

I stared. “Pluma Kreob, that makes no sense.”

“We know,” he growled. The muscles in his jaw bounced before he grumbled, “And given the situation, you calling us Pluma is even more ridiculous. My name is Leo.” A hand flick at Pluma Wazra. “His is Malik. From now on, call of us by our first names.”

Um…I still did not understand. “I don’t get it.”

Malik cracked his neck harshly, but his words were slow. “A Soul senses when their Vaq is near. It comes on just as it did for you. You became ill until I touched you.” One of his black brows lifted. “Or are you going to argue the rightness of our touch?”

My lips pinched, remembering just how right it had been. But just as suddenly, I glanced down at my bare hands, and then to his face. My gloves were gone. “Wait a second. I touched you and nothing happened.”

He shook his head. “After the initial skin contact, regular contact is normal.”

I felt my brows furrow on their own. “Is that why every time a,” I tried not to shudder, “Mian touches my skin it’s cold at first?”

They nodded.

I scratched my shoulder, watching them eye me. “What do you mean by regular contact?” I did not particularly like having my will taken away from me. What had happened in that room was like my body had not been my own.

Leo’s lips gently curved. “During sexual contact it can flare again.”

I huffed quietly, not understanding them.

Both blinked. They stared right back at me, as if they were trying to figure me out.

I hated it, my confusion, but I asked, “What is sexual contact?” I had no clue what that was. My lips pursed as their jaws began to slacken. “I’m sorry, but maybe I pronounced that wrong.” I spoke slower. “What is sexual contact?” The word sounded…weird. I flicked a hand between us, and continued on when they sat silent. “As I’m sure you know, Humans are forbidden from skin contact with each other.” There was no need for it. Our genetic scientists created all new Humans by in vitro fertilization….oh…oh, Mother Joyal. My eyes were as wide as saucers. “You don’t mean…” My cheeks flamed with heat as embarrassment flooded my entire system. “That…oh, that’s barbaric.”

Entirely uncomfortable with this line of conversation, I scratched at my shoulder again and glanced out the window. I changed the subject quickly, and tried really hard not to plaster my face against the window, for the first time noticing the scenery outside. “Where are we going?” This was definitely a different planet. Everything was in shades of blues, purples, greens, and reds. All of it. Even the plant life. The brown dirt appeared to be the only thing normal on our travel.

Malik recovered the fastest, lounging further on their seat. His long legs stretched between the space between us and brushed my right knee. I quickly shot a glare in his direction, and lifted my legs to sit cross-legged on the seat. He chuckled softly, the sound of his laughter like a sweet melody filling my ears. “We’re going to our home. Our fortress. It is in Belvar.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, and stared out the window again. “Will I live there?”

This time, Leo’s laughter tickled my senses. “You are our Soul.” He barely raised his left thumb from his leg where his hand rested. “We now wear your rings.” His golden stare was pointed. “Yes, you are living with us.”

My attention was wholly trained on that ring. “What do they do?”

“The rings do enough,” he answered vaguely. He shrugged a negligent shoulder. “You should also know that the three of us our now bound together since the Reckoning has occurred. If we die, you also die.” A roll of his finger. “So any thought you may have of attempting to kill us to escape, you may want to set aside.”

I blinked slow as hell. “We’re bound?” I tucked that dying information away to ponder later.

Malik grunted, peering out the window. “It is a Mian way. By touch, our lives are now linked.”

“But I’m Human. How do you know the way of Mian works for this situation?”

Malik’s expression turned grim, his simmering gaze finding mine. “Leo and I can feel you.”

“Feel me?” That made no sense.

“When you were passed out – which is normal for the female – Leo and I had to deal with the Human slaves. We left you in the care of our guards. The farther we moved away from you, the deeper the pull to return to you was.” He sighed quietly, returning his regard to peer out the window. “If you hadn’t been unconscious, you would have felt the same. Even with you being Human, the Mian way holds true.” The way he said ‘Human’ informed me he found what I was vaguely revolting.

That was comforting. The feeling was mutual. “Where’s Jax?” I needed him.

They fell silent as both now stared out their windows. Their shoulders relaxed, and they appeared to not have any inclination of answering me. As if I was not even sitting across from them.

That was not going to cut it. My voice rose. “Where is Jax?”