Await by Viola Grace Page B

the slices and gouges left by her battles. She wove her black locks into a braid and tucked it into a coronet.
    With a glance in the mirror, she lifted her head and stepped out to join the party to celebrate a man she never met but risked her life for.
    A ballroom was filled with Teio, the room grew quiet as she entered.
    Ambassador Catheth looked at her in shock. “I never expected you to be so…pink.”
    She laughed. “This is the way I was born and the way I will live my life.”
    She circulated with the guests, and a few thanked her for carrying out Arcathan’s wishes with such dignity and enthusiasm. Orphia took the thanks with polite grace and continued her path around the room.
    Some of the Teio were not as charmed by her battle skills. They moved aside as she passed, refusing introduction, when she had completed her circuit of the room she once again stood next to the ambassador.
    “How many folk have you represented, Walker Kardin?” The ambassador was tipsy. He swayed slightly as he spoke.
    “Over a dozen different clients. A dozen different races. I walk for any I am called to.”
    “Duty or destiny?” He swayed again.
    “Can’t it be both?” She grinned and stepped out of his way.
    Orphia heard a battle growl behind her and shocked cries from the crowd. She didn’t feel the blade that entered her back, but she supposed that that is what happened when your spinal cord was severed.
    A howl of rage that was not natural to any Teio echoed through the ballroom. Screams of panic filled the room, Orphia heard them absently as her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the ground. Green, black and brown flashed in front of her eyes as darkness swam up to get her, or perhaps she fell into it, she didn’t know.

Chapter Two
    Waking was unexpected. Her vision showed her flickers of blinding light with beings inside. They spoke quietly, but she could hear tension in their tones.
    Hands gripped hers and held them tight. She was lying on her belly and there was a horrible noise in the air. Fire ran through her, the hands held her immobile.
    After careful analysis, she had to admit that she was the origin of the horrible sound. With effort, she gritted her teeth and tried to shift.
    “Hold still, Orphia. You are undergoing surgery. We can’t give you anaesthetic, so simply breathe slowly, and I will do what I can to mitigate your pain.”
    She blinked rapidly, but with the position her head was in, she could not see the speaker. Heat ran up her arms, and the searing agony that pierced her torso receded.
    Once the pain was no longer her primary concern, she was able to take in her surroundings.
    It felt peculiar to be held on what amounted to a chiropractic table. Her face was braced in a padded ring, her arms were free of her sides held down and out, her hands gripped by the man with a dark, honey voice. She could feel light touches on her back, but aside from the occasional whisper behind her, she was completely suspended in the heat generated by the large hands holding her own.
    She heard his low voice murmuring quietly to her, and his thumbs slowly stroked along her pulse points. Heat was replaced by tiny waves of pleasure. The ache in her back combined with the tendrils of pleasure confused the hell out of her.
    The hands on her back grew slightly rougher for a moment, and then, they disappeared.
    Orphia blinked, “What?” She tried to sit up, but he held her down.
    “Give yourself a moment. Move slowly. Your spine was severed and the healing needed was extensive. You are lucky that our healer was available. I would have had to take you to an Alliance facility if he hadn’t been.”
    She raised her head and blinked rapidly to verify her vision. The male sitting with her hands in his was a member of a species known to Terrans far back in history and known go be extinct in the rest of the Alliance. She was staring into the black stellar eyes of a Hirn.
    His skin was a mix of forest greens and browns, his hair