“Já, you are. You saved his life.”
“So, I’m trying to understand. We’re married because I saved his life, yet until the ceremony is preformed, it’s kinda like a marriage in name only, meaning he can still live like a single man and also gets to have sex with the woman?”
“Já.”
“We have a saying for that on Earth. ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.’”
Ulf seemed confused then gave an uncaring shrug. “You chose him to be your husband when you saved his life.”
“I saved his life because I thought he was human.”
“He is human.”
“And Martian.”
“It doesn’t matter. It is our way.”
“It isn’t mine, so it doesn’t count.” Raine found herself scooting closer to Tayla when Ulf severed an Olggan into two parts and one half of his body hit the car door.
“Quit arguing with him,” Tayla managed to get out between dry heaves. “Who gives a damn if he gets the whole cake? It works for your benefit. Hell, what are you worried about? Afraid you don’t have the willpower to resist him?”
“No …” But she kinda did, not that she was going to confide that tidbit to Tayla.
“I’m going to vomit.” A wrenching sound came from Tayla’s throat as the half body seemed to hop before sinking to the ground.
Raine found herself turning on her knees to put as much space as possible between Tayla and herself.
Gritting her teeth, determined not to follow her example, she stared up at Ulf balefully. “Do you think you could kill them more humanely?”
His disgusted snort had her nails clenching on the material of her pants. “Viking women’s stomachs aren’t so weak.”
“Really? Then it’s a shame there wasn’t one around to save your buddy instead of me when he needed help.”
“I’m thinking the same.”
Hurt despite herself, Raine almost didn’t warn him that more Olggans were running down the street behind him. If she hadn’t been concerned for Piper, Tayla, and herself, she would have let them have him.
“There are more of them coming!” Raine warned Ulf, who was already staring in the direction they were coming from.
“I see,” he said grimly. “King Jurzed is leading his men. One of them must have sent him a message that they are battling Skars.”
Raine stared at the immense amount of Olggans surrounding the Vikings. Her fingers tightened on the burnt car door where she was looking out, feeling a prick of shattered glass prick her skin.
“King Jurzed doesn’t normally fight?”
It was easy to see which alien Ulf was referring to as King Jurzed. While all the other Olggans were black and grey, the one standing out from all the others, not only by his arrogant stance, was a deep blue. The two silver bands around his head weren’t what caught her eye; it was the thick, blond-white hair falling to his shoulders. Two silver cuffs on each of his arms glinted in the sun as he strode into the fight, carrying a short sword.
“King Jurzed is like Thorsen—both are fierce warriors—but usually, King Jurzed grants General Dartar permission to lead.”
“Who is Thorsen?”
“The leader of our clan,” Ulf answered without pausing as he hacked an Olggan that had come too close to their car.
Raine didn’t let her revolting stomach prevent her from satisfying her curiosity. “Does Thorsen usually lead his men?”
Ulf, unaware she planned to tell every morsel of information to Lucas and the others in the vault, willingly answered her questions. That is if I ever see them again, she thought, swallowing the huge lump of fear at seeing the streets filling with Olggans. Raine was seriously beginning to doubt she would. There would be no worry about being bedded by Skars, or any other Viking. There would be none left. For every Olggan the Vikings chopped down, three would replace them.
“No,” Ulf answered, still unperturbed about the fierce fighting going on just inches away from him.
“Who leads your clan to battle?” Watching one particular Viking obliterate the Olggans one at time, she was pretty sure of the answer before she asked.
“Skars.”
Raine frowned. “Why is King Jurzed leading them, then?”
“He is fighting because Skars killed one of the Olggans’ younglings and humiliated one from his household to keep them from capturing you.”
Raine bit her lip, remembering the day when she had left Skars to return to the vault. She had heard sounds behind her, but had been too frightened to look back, afraid she would be captured if she stopped to investigate.
“They want to kill him because of me?”
“Já. As his wife, it was Skars’ duty to protect you.”
“That’s what Skars and you are all doing now?”
“Já, and the woman and the boy with you,” he confirmed.
Tayla and she shared a glance at Piper being called a boy again. Because of the disguise Tayla had put together for Piper, they had hoped she would come across as male. That the Vikings were mistaking her for a young boy made it even better.