Page 49 of Lost in Barbarian Space

There was so much pain in his voice. She knew for a Markarian warrior, control was vital. Protecting people was vital.

“My father was violent, and my mother couldn’t handle it. She provoked him even more, and would add fuel to his rages. But my father did the unthinkable…and used his strength against us.”

“He hit you?”

Colm nodded. “I spent as much time away from my home as possible. With Kavon. My mother escaped into her work. Eventually, they hated each other.” Final words.

She read between the lines. He’d been raised in a battle zone. There’d been no gentle hugs for him, either.

“What happened?”

“My father beat my mother to death and then killed himself.”

God. “I’m sorry.”

His jaw hardened. “I will never mate.”

A boom sound in the sky above them. He stopped and they both looked upward.

Bright flashes of light flickered through the thick clouds.

Honor struggled to see. God, she really hoped it was a rescue from the Drake. “I can’t make it out.” She frowned, straining to catch any details.

Then she got a glimpse of the craft…and the wild splashes of color on the side.

She shook her head, her hands clenching in the fur. “It’s not one of ours.”

“Then we best get out of sight,” he said.

He kept walking, with heavy, deliberate steps. The wind howled past them, tearing at the fur coat. The snow whipped into their faces. Even with Colm’s hot body beneath her and the fur around her, she was feeling the cold again. It was seeping in like an insidious intruder.

“I think we should be near the cave entrance.” She couldn’t see a damn thing. A lump the size of a rock lodged in her throat. What if they didn’t find the cave?

He stopped. “Be quiet.”

She went still. “What?”

“I heard something.”

Her heart tripped. “Wolves?” She fumbled under the fur for her laser pistols.

Colm was frowning. “I don’t think so.” He put her down and slowly scanned the area. Then he marched over to a spot and crouched on one knee.

She hurried after him and stared.

They were footprints. Humanoid footprints.

But they were huge.

When Colm started to follow them, she wasn’t sure it was the best idea. But soon, the prints just…stopped. Like whoever had made them had disappeared into thin air.

He brushed at the snow, and a second later she spotted the opening he’d uncovered. Beyond that was a sloping tunnel entrance into the ice caves.

Honor didn’t know whether to be excited or worried. But she did know they couldn’t stay out here in the storm with pirates after them and wolves prowling around. She clumsily opened her backpack and pulled out a flashlight. She flicked it on.

Colm entered first and she followed, steadying herself as her boots slipped a little on the slick ice.

“God, it’s beautiful.” The walls were a deep, rich blue that looked almost like glass. It was still cold, but without the howling wind and driving snow, the air felt much warmer than above.