Polly gripped her hand, and the four of them huddled together, laughing and crying. And that was how the males found them when they came rushing in a few minutes later.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Varga wrapped his arms around Joan and found that his hands were shaking. His appalled gaze went to the dead body on the floor, recognizing the signs of George’s fatal bite. He had never been as scared as he had been in the past few minutes.
They had been making their way back across the plain after a successful hunt when Baralt’s gaze suddenly fastened on the house in the distance.
“Something’s wrong,” he muttered, walking faster.
Varga’s heart skipped a beat. “What is it?”
“Rolisar is not at the gate. He would never leave his post.”
They exchanged a horrified look, then took off at a run, Njkall at their side. The siloza was abandoned in their frantic haste. As they got closer, Varga could see that not only had the guard disappeared but the gate had been compromised. The terror he had felt as a child when he was trapped in the cave-in was nothing compared to how he felt now.
She had to be all right—she had to be.
He heard the sound of crying as soon as they burst into the house and raced for the kitchen. His appalled gaze snagged on the body on the floor but then he saw Joan, alive and unhurt. She flung herself at him and he covered her face with kisses until an indignant squeak from George made him realize that he was crushing the two of them against him.
“Isabel!” Baralt roared, his gaze frantically searching for his mate.
“She went into town,” Joan said quickly, “with the male at the gate. To see your sister!” she called after him as he raced out of the room.
Njkall had collapsed in a chair by the heater, and Polly was perched in his lap, excitedly telling him about what had happened. Njkall’s hands were clenched on the arms of the chair, but he nodded calmly as Polly spoke. Nothing she said made sense to Varga.
He sat as well, his knees suddenly weak, and tucked Joan against his chest, unwilling to let her out of his arms. Saka patted his shoulder as she went to the stove to make a pot of tea.
“What happened, sweetheart?”
“I really don’t know. It’s that male who was beating the poor slave girl, remember?”
“Yes, I recognized him.” Despite the terrible bloating from the poison. “How did he get in here?”
“I think he must have been watching the house. Izzie and the guard went to get some vegetables, and he showed up not long after they left.” She shuddered. “He was going to take us away, make us slaves again.”
His skin began to harden as anger and horror swept through him. To think that he might have lost her… “I would never have stopped looking for you.”
“I know.” She put a hand on his cheek. “I told him you wouldn’t.”
He sighed and cuddled her closer. “It looks like I have to thank George once again.”
“Not just George,” she said indignantly. “We all helped. Saka clawed him and Polly went for his eyes, and I… I stuck a knife in him.” She shuddered again. “Which is something I never want to do again.”
“You will never have to,” he vowed, horrified yet again at the idea of the females attacking the much larger male.
“Still, I suppose George was probably the most effective,” Joan added, stroking the lizard’s small head. “Is… is that what happened to Baahy?”
“Yes.”
“I know he deserved it—they both did—but it’s a terrible way to die.”
Varga followed her gaze to the body and reluctantly decided that he needed to deal with it. He was about to put Joan down when Baralt stalked into the kitchen, his arm tight around Izzie, and followed by a very shamefaced Hothian.
“Take care of that,” he ordered, pointing to the body, “while you reflect on what could have happened due to your failure to obey orders.”
“It wasn’t Rolisar’s fault,” Izzie protested. “We thought everyone would be safe behind the locked gate.”
“And you shouldn’t have left either.”
Izzie’s chin went up, and her eyes sparkled dangerously. “You can’t tell me what to—”
Baralt roared and picked her up, stalking out of the room with her in his arms.
“He’s usually so calm,” Joan whispered, her eyes wide.
“Knowing that your mate is in danger is enough to send any male over the edge.” His eyes met Njkall’s as he spoke, and he saw that same knowledge there. Their precious females had been so close to being taken from them. “I think Baralt had the right idea.”
He stood, Joan and George still in his arms, and headed for the stairs.
Somehow, Varga was not surprised when Joan still insisted on cooking dinner. He had inspected every inch of her for damage, kissed those same inches, and buried himself in her until she was limp with pleasure, and it was still difficult to let her leave their bed.
“Don’t be silly,” she huffed. “Everything is fine now. And I’m sure everyone is going to be hungry after all the excitement. It’s a shame about the siloza,” she added wistfully.
But when they entered the kitchen, they found that Baralt had sent the hapless Rolisar after the bird as well. Joan grinned and set to work at once. Varga sat down at the table, not yet ready to let her out of his sight, and soon found himself chopping vegetables for her. Saka quietly assembled pies but a smile kept flickering across her face.
Baralt and Izzie joined them, Baralt considerably more relaxed and Izzie glowing. She bent to whisper something in Joan’s ear, and both women laughed. The whole
