Of course, Matrix and K’hor had shown him the flaws in his thinking pretty quickly. They’d reminded him that the Djaromir didn’t buy mates; they found them with the help of the stars. At least, that’s what they’d been taught as children growing up.
Sparx didn’t have time for fairytales, since he knew the sad state of his people’s numbers.
Matrix let out a loud whoop. His voice rang out over the frozen wasteland. “I see the gates,” he bellowed. With his words, the men quickened their pace, driven by the excitement at finally reaching their destination.
Sparx increased his pace to match Matrix and scanned the distance ahead between their troops and the gate for any threats. Byorin, a major reason why the tunnel cities had such severe security protocols, were keen hunters that could often scent their prey for miles. Considering their party’s large number of miners, he was sure they created a tempting source of food for the tusked animals.
Warlord K’hor protected Hamuir with three sets of gates. Once they passed the first set of gates leading, the danger would decrease dramatically. They’d not only get a break from the elements, but also the predators that hunted just outside of them. After the first set of doors, there were a few miles and two more gates before they reached the heart of Hamuir.
And the women K’hor had rescued.
“Open the gate! Quickly!” Matrix ordered, his men moving to work the mechanisms that would move the heavy doors barring them from the safety of the caverns leading to Hamuir.
The moment the doors were cracked enough for two men to enter side-by-side, they filed into the large entry quickly. Matrix and Sparx were the first two to enter. Their eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark cavern. It was a stark contrast, after being surrounded by the whiteout they’d trekked through for the past few miles before their push to the gates.
“Once the gate is closed, take stock of the men and our supplies,” Sparx ordered as he moved towards the supply cabinets just inside the first cavern. Pulling out large jugs of water, he passed them out to miners closest to him. “Drink up.”
Matrix nodded in thanks as he grabbed a jug, panting between large sips. “Djester is still standing, but he doesn’t look good. He needs a healer now.”
“No time for rest then,” Sparx said with a nod. “We move out as soon as the gate is secured.”
“Agreed.” Matrix moved to let the men know they had no time to get comfortable, despite their trekking for days.
Sparx shook off one of the furs he was wearing and hung it up on the wall lining the cavern. Leaving on the thinner hooded cloak he’d trekked in, he knocked icicles off the edge above his eyes with a quick swipe of his hand. Like him, the others were in the process of stomping and shaking off the sleet clinging to them. The small bits of frozen tundra they’d dragged past the first gate would soon melt as they walked closer to the city deep within the planet. Luckily, the temperature within the first gate was frigid but not nearly as cold as the surface. Although not nearly warm enough to be completely comfortable, the men could at least discard the heavier coverings they’d needed to wear to survive the surface.
The water he’d retrieved, much like the fur he’d hung for the next miner that needed it, were supplies that meant life or death on the surface of their planet. Each tunnel city kept their own cache of supplies just inside their entryway, providing for their people both before and after their journeys. A kit with healing supplies was also present, but Djester needed more than a box of bandages and potions.
“Move out!” he commanded, nodding to the men surrounding Djester who carried both their supplies and his.
Two more gates and he’d have the help he needed.
Two more gates and they’d meet the women their planet needed.
Chapter Two
“Look,” Matrix hissed, bumping his fur-covered arm into Sparx’s side. The clicks from the second gate closed behind him loudly broke the silence as everyone stopped to stare at what was in front of them.
“He has one of them now!”
“The warlord has a human.”
“She looks soft,” one sighed.
“And small,” another whispered.
Sparx ignored the mutterings of the men behind him and lifted his head just enough to get a clear look at K’hor, the Warlord of Hamuir, and the figure beside him. The first thing he noticed was the protective stance K’hor took partially in front of his bride. As if he and his men were threats.
Which, all things considered, wasn’t too far from the truth. The men he’d led here, along with Warlord Matrix, did want the women; they just hoped the women wanted them as well.
“Warlord Sparx.” K’hor held out his arm to the other miner.
Sparx did not hesitate to clasp his own hand over K’hor’s forearm, even as he tried to get a better glimpse at the female he’d brought.
Nodding to Matrix, K’hor repeated the action with the other warlord as well. “I’m surprised you arrived so quickly.
“You shouldn’t be surprised, considering the cargo.” Sparx pushed back the fur-lined hood that covered much of his face, irritated with it getting in the way of his perusal of her.
“I figured that was why you made the journey.” K’hor crossed his arms over his broad chest, his eyes on the men.
“Are all the humans awake?” Matrix rumbled.
“Yes.” K’hor reached back to pat the female he had with him on the hip. “My mate was the last to awaken.”
Sparx was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that K’hor was already claiming one of the women as his
