Barbarian's Bride (Ice Planet Barbarians)

Some of the girls are badly wounded, so I guess I should count myself lucky that I'm only naked and wearing borrowed clothes instead of sporting a broken leg. As far as I know, I haven't been raped by any aliens, either. So…lucky.

Or hallucinating. It's too weird to be true, and I worry that I'm definitely hallucinating. Someone on the subway smoked a bowl of something weird and I sat too close to them. It rubbed off on my clothes or something. It's a stretch, but then again, so is aliens.

And ice planets.

The big alien gestures impatiently at me. "Time to leave."

I clutch the strange clothing tighter against my chest. None of it fits right. I'm swimming in an oversized tunic and pants, and the boots flop on my feet. But considering that I woke up naked? I'll take it. I hesitate for a moment longer, then give the alien my hand. The moment I put my boot onto his leg, it's like I'm flung into the air, only to be caught at the top by another alien.

The bitterly cold air practically smacks me in the face, sucking my breath away. It howls, too, loud and overwhelming. I whimper, staggering, and big hands straighten me out. "The cold will get better soon," the alien holding my waist murmurs. "I promise this."

I look over at him in surprise, because it's an awfully nice, understanding thing for someone to say. Half the time, these aliens are looking at us with impatience, like they don't understand why we're freaking out. I want to grab the vest of one of them and scream, “Of course we're freaking out! You would be too!”

Instead, I just stare at the nice guy. The alien down below was dismissive and abrupt. This one stares at me. Hard. He sets me down carefully and stares at me for a moment longer, then rips his gaze away. As he does, he rubs his chest. I continue to watch him, even though he's deliberately not looking at me. These aliens are tall and muscular, as if they've never had a lazy day in their lives. Everywhere I look, it's pectorals and delts and biceps and obliques, all so perfect they could be made of marble. These men are all blue skinned, too, though the one up here was slightly paler than the others. Large, curling horns frame their heads, and some arch into the air. To a one, they have thick black hair, and most wear it long and braided, like the one standing nearby. He's covered in furs, but the hand that brushed mine felt warm and friendly, even if it only had three fingers and a thumb.

Oh, and they have tails, too, because of course they do. Every good hallucination should have a tail, I think.

"Over here, Nora," someone calls. I don't know anyone's name yet, but I obediently head over to join the women, because they're standing near a tree that might block out some of the horrible, wailing wind that rips at my hair and clothes.

As I step forward, my boots sink into the deep snow and I shudder. It snows at home, but not like this. At home, this would be a whiteout situation. Here, the aliens are wearing loincloths and the occasional fur tossed over their chests as if it's just another day. They haven't blinked an eye at the snow pouring from the gray skies. It worries me that this is normal weather for this world, and if it is…yikes.

Then again, it's not like I can leave, right? I screw up my face, determined not to scowl as I approach the other women. It won't do any good, after all. I can be as upset as I want, but it won't change anything, so I might as well try and get along.

"Is everyone up here now?" Georgie asks as she approaches with the last of the stragglers. "Is everyone warm enough? Does everyone have shoes?"

"What if we have shoes and fur and we're still freezing our tits off?" I ask.

She gives me a wry look, but I notice her jaw is clenching like she's trying not to let her teeth chatter. "I'm told it'll be better once we get the khuis."

Right. The parasite that everyone says we absolutely have to get or we'll die. I open my mouth to complain about that, but then one of the girls near me breaks off into a racking cough, practically doubled over, and one of the big alien men races over to pick her up. Okay, maybe we do need that thing to live. I hug my furs closer, trying not to show my worry. This is all a lot to take in. A whole lot.

Georgie counts heads, and as she does, the big, scary-looking alien she says is her mate comes to her side. He puts a possessive hand on her shoulder. "We must go. The sa-kohtsk is near."