As if she were just now realizing that they’d jumped out of the pot and into the fire.
Chapter Nine
Sparx turned the wheel sharply to the left, swerving to avoid the one last mound of snow that blocked his path into Fyeir.
Personally, he had no problem plowing right through the quickly building barriers at full speed. The vehicle he was driving was built for precisely that function. However, the Phaeton who’d come up to talk to him moments ago had diplomatically reminded him of the fragile cargo he was now transporting.
Which was the only reason he’d slowed down the speed at which he was approaching the safety of their gates.
“The volunteer files finished uploading just in time for us to welcome them into Fyeir.” Colby’s voice came from the speaker mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle Sparx was driving. “The radar does not show a threat, so I have started opening the gates. Confirm before entry. Visibility is still low.”
Sparx swiped at the screen until it switched to the camera mounted at the head of the bus showing the terrain in front of him and the approaching gates.
“I see the appeal of having a vehicle like this. Sat uplink to the command center, the power to break through the ice drifts without stopping, and I’ve heard they even have heated seats. Do you think the Phaetons would object to giving us a few more for us to use on our hunting treks?”
Sparx rolled his eyes at Colby’s proposal. “You’ve just listed all the reasons why this will be the one and only vehicle we acquire from the Phaetons. And before you think that we will be taking it out during our treks, I can assure you that will not be happening.”
“Was it the heated seats?” Colby asked, his voice disappointed.
“Partly,” he answered with a shrug as he maneuvered the vehicle they were talking about through the gates and into the first cavern. “The conditioning we put the men through is dangerous yet, but it is also a vital part of living on Djaromir. Every time you step outside of these gates unprotected, you not only remember how to survive the elements but also respect them. One of the reasons we are so strong is because Djaromir has shaped us into the men we have become. Taking advantage of these comforts is convenient but unnecessary, and harmful to our ways if we want to preserve the core of life here.”
“I guess you have a point,” Colby said mulishly, his voice crackling through the speaker.
“There is always a reason behind my actions,” Sparx muttered mostly to himself, as he slid out of the vehicle and began to move towards the still-open gates where Colby was waiting.
Triggering the levers, the pair began the long process of closing the gate that protected the city. Only when they began to lock did he turn back to the frost-covered silver shell he’d driven to the Phaeton shuttle and back.
Knocking sleet off his boots, he slapped Colby on the back.
“Are you ready to possibly meet your mate?”
“Are you ready for yours?” Colby shot back, before dodging out of the way of Sparx’s swinging fist.
“Not funny,” he grumbled.
“Sorry, sir,” Colby said with a smile, showing he wasn’t actually that apologetic at all. “Did the escorts say anything about the two volunteers who’d matched in their system?”
“No, and I’m not going to mention it to them either,” Sparx said, keeping his voice low as they walked back to the vehicle. Mentioning it to the men would only start an argument they wouldn’t allow the Phaetons to win, and he’d prefer to avoid the fallout of that if possible. “The only thing they’ve relayed to me was a request to slow down and that one bride was injured leaving the shuttle.”
“What happened? Is she okay?” Colby asked immediately, his face full of worry. “Do I need to alert the command center that we need medical assistance?”
“Calm down,” he instructed the younger Djaromir. “I’m unsure how she injured herself, considering they’d already left the shuttle before I even arrived.”
“Which went against their instructions,” Colby tsked, his face a little more than angered at the Phaetons for not following the orders they’d been given. “I’m surprised there was only one injury, considering the current storm pattern out there.”
“I know,” Sparx agreed, angry himself at the lack of care the Phaetons had shown by not following safety protocol with their volunteers.
When he’d brought it up to Trex in the cockpit, the Phaeton had shrugged it off. That, of course, put Sparx on even more of an edge. The safety of the women wasn’t something to be shrugged off. He knew firsthand how destructive inattentiveness could be. It was imperative that the humans, and the Phaetons shuttling them here, knew precisely how dangerous their surroundings were. Instructions that may have seemed unimportant to the Phaetons were put in place by the miners who knew how deadly the planet was. They were literally there to keep everyone alive.
As he reached for the handle to the door, a tingle crept up the back of Sparx’s neck.
A physical awareness that made him stall; his senses attuned to a change in the air.
“Are you all right?” Colby asked when Sparx paused, his hand frozen on the lever.
“Yes,” he grunted, clearing his dry throat as he tried to shake off the foreboding. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason,” Colby replied, his brow furrowed in confusion as he watched him closely. “Are you going to open the door?”
Sparx shot him a glare before pulling the handle and sliding the door open. Leaning inside, he quickly scanned the row of women still buckled into their seats before nodding at the two Phaetons with them. All of them were wearing identical bulky Phaeton suits that would keep them warm until they had a chance to change into the fur coats they’d wear on Djaromir.
“Well,” Sparx said gruffly into the silence that accompanied his entrance, his breath showing on the
