Moon Mark Read Online Free Page B

flush burning my cheeks. “Oh.”
    She patted my arm. “Never fear. My brother is like that with everyone.”
    I snickered softly, and mumbled sarcastically, “It’s very charming, to be sure.”
    A grin lifted her pretty features. “Most women do like it.”
    Then the Kireg are even more peculiar than I’d initially thought.
    Her head tipped back again, and she laughed loud enough everyone glanced our way, including the bastard Kireg, who glared hard in my direction.
    I tipped my head toward her, peering away from the intimidating rebellion leader. “I think I made a friend in him.”
    Her snickering didn’t stop until tears fell down her cheeks. “How many marks of training combat do you wear on your wrists?”
    My shoulders slumped. “Only seven.”
    She chuckled again. “You’ll probably wish you had all ten when he gets back from this battle.”
    I peeked his way. He was still glowering. “You may be right.”
    She pulled close against her side. “I’ll protect you.”
    His scowl only increased at her words.
    My eyes narrowed on his, not to be cowed.
    I won’t infect her with my Human-ness, Kireg. Don’t worry yourself too much.
    The rebellion leader ground his teeth together and turned away.
    “Now, that wasn’t wise,” she whispered. “Initially, Geo was the only one who wanted to save the Humans from the Dynasty. We’re here under his order.” When I glanced at her in shock, she nodded her head. “So don’t make him regret it.”

The brown dirt under my gifted black shoes and the setting sun were the only reminders of home. The wind that blew while we walked miles to our destination rustled blue leaves on silver tree limbs. Tiny red, unfamiliar lizards peeked out from under the yellow boulders. Black birds flew overhead that were as big as my body, their feathers gleaming evergreen as they turned, following us.
    Nothing about this land was a welcome sight.
    Except for the Kireg next to me, chatting constantly. I was positive by this point that Corza was trying to make me feel more comfortable every time a new creature made itself known—none were dangerous, she had insisted time and again. Her three bodyguards had multiplied to six before we left the spaceship, so they hovered constantly, occasionally glancing oddly at me.
    I stretched my legs out in front of me, my stride appearing like I had wooden legs. But the burn in my muscles was threatening to make me limp. “Tell me again why your brother couldn’t spare even one vehicle?” He may not respect Humans, but he did love his sister—a hug given to her before he left for battle.
    She rolled her eyes, sweat not even beading her forehead. The woman was a definite warrior, whereas I hadn’t trained physically in a few years. I generally sat behind a desk, evaluating data for my experiments.
    For the fifth time, Corza muttered, “From our departure location, it was only ten clicks to our destination. It was thirty clicks to theirs. They are going to fight, a surprise attack in the night. They needed to be there early and in combat ready form. We don’t. We have food and beds waiting for us.”
    I growled under my breath.
    “If it makes you feel better, we’ve already walked two clicks.”
    “Two clicks?” I shrieked, and wiped off my forehead. I couldn’t fathom what a ‘click’ meant to her. “That’s all we’ve gone?”
    Corza glared at her bodyguards, who had grabbed for their weapons. Her attention turned back to me, and she stated patiently, “We aren’t running, to be polite to the Humans who are out of shape.” She lifted a brow, watching as a bead of sweat ran down my temple. “We would be halfway there by now if we were moving faster.”
    I tried to control my breathing since we had so much longer to travel. “Appreciated.”
    She nodded her head regally. “Accepted.” Purple eyes glanced at the seven tattooed marks on the underside of my wrists. “I do have a question.”
    “Feel free to ask. As long as you