Nuworld: Claiming Tara by Laurie Fitzgerald

confusion to a
soul. The Lord of Gothman offered no weaknesses. But hell
be doomed! He would understand Tara.
His papa, Lord Jovis, had never enlightened Darius on
any of
the
thinking behind
his decision making.
The
reasons for not doing that weren’t a secret. Darius had not
been the intended heir. That didn’t bother him. He didn’t
need his papa’s knowledge to rule Gothman. Darius knew
he possessed a strength his papa never had, nor his older
brother. Dwelling on either of the two was wasted thought.
The only thing Darius wanted to know right now was why
were Runners such a deadly enemy?
“Maybe those Runners are wondering the same thing.”
Darius
immediately
dismissed
that
possibility.
They
wouldn’t send one young lady into Gothman, where he
most definitely had the most deadly warriors in all of
Nuworld, if they wanted answers about his people.
Darius knew next to nothing about their race. And he
didn’t like not having all the facts. He pushed away from
the table and maps. It was now his top priority to learn
about these people.
He would learn how to operate that strange bike he had
housed in his shed as well. He would learn what Runners
had
done
to
Gothman
to
earn
such
harsh
laws
implemented
against
them.
And
above
all his other
questions, he would learn why one incredibly beautiful
Runner had entered Gothman without an escort…
…and what that Runner was doing in his house.

CHAPTER FOUR
TARA WAS thoroughly exhausted when she left the
    house where the quilting session had been held. Reena had
arranged for her to care for at least fifteen children. Tara
had never obtained an accurate count of the kids running
around the backyard, for she had spent the entire morning
changing diapers, nursing scratches and pulling children
out of trees when they cried for help. Although fun at first,
after several hours she had been ready for Reena to rescue
her.
    It was hard to conceal her relief when Reena finally came
out the back door of the house with several other women
and announced they were through with yet another quilt.
“Help me load everything, my girl,” Reena said, as she
dumped the contents from her arms into Tara’s.
    “What is all of this?” Tara adjusted the folded piles of
material, trying not to drop anything as she followed Reena
to the groundmobile.
    Reena laughed and glanced over her shoulder as several
of the women gathered children in the yard. She leaned in
to Tara when she spoke again.
    “It’s the makings for the next quilt. I’m thinking anyone
could see that.” Reena didn’t speak loud enough for anyone
else to hear, and Tara got her point.
    A
typical Gothman woman
would
grow
up
in
this
domestic life.
Tara
fought
not to
feel sorry for
their
suppressed existence. Oddly enough, these women didn’t
look unhappy. Maybe it was because they didn’t know what
they were missing. It dawned on Tara that most likely was
why the leaders of Gothman had made a point to not allow
outsiders in, or why their people never travelled beyond
Gothman borders. If
these women knew how much
different their lives might be, certainly they’d never be
happy living like this any longer.
    Tara managed to put all the materials in the back of the
groundmobile in a somewhat orderly fashion. She watched
Reena mingle
with the
other
women,
who
now were
chattering
outside
the
white
stone
house.
It
was so
permanent the walls of the house actually disappeared into
the rocky ground it was built on. From what Tara heard,
their conversation wasn’t about anything important. They
discussed what someone had worn the other day, and a
pregnancy that didn’t appear to be normal. Tara knew she
should listen and learn the ways of these women. After all,
that is what a Runner did when entering a new community.
But her thoughts continually strayed.
    The
image
of
a
tall,
powerful-looking
lord
kept
distracting her thoughts. Although she knew the Gothman
lord maintained a society where all women were docile and