Shield [New World Book 1] by C.L. Scholey Page B

sport.”
    “So they killed your females?” Stacie said. “What a bunch of creeps.”
    “Yes,” Tosk agreed. “They have survived so long because we can’t find an area of vulnerability.”
    “Nothing can stop them?” Grace asked.
    “Nothing. My father had tried for centuries to find something, so the warring continues. Aanon seems to think Castians and Tonans can work together. It’s been thousands of years. He is very foolish,” Rask said grimly.
    “Will you show me your planet?” Grace asked. She was tired of politics. She felt connected to Rask and wanted to explore just how connected they were. All this talk of war and death was depressing. Grace knew death; she had seen it every day on Earth. Today she felt alive and wanted to live.
    Rask offered her a smile in understanding. Grace liked the way he knew how she was feeling. It saved her from a lot of humdrum pretending to be interested in something without hurting his feelings. Grace was interested, she was just interested in something else now. She wasn’t tired of being with him or hearing him talk, she just wanted to hear more about him and them together. Politics could wait. Technically, they were on their honeymoon. Discreetly Tosk and Stacie moved off in a different direction but stayed within sight.
    The planet was beautiful. Trees taller than Grace had ever seen went heavenwards. The massive birds with orange and black rested in them at night. By day they floated in the blue lake below. Rask claimed them to be harmless. They ate giant bugs. Rask put up his armor and tossed Grace over his shoulder and scaled to the top of one of the trees. Grace clung to him. Her eyes widened as the ground slipped farther away. It was like scaling a high-rise. He settled in a huge branch with his arms wrapped protectively around her and his shield down. Grace’s mouth hung open at the sheer wonder around her. Soaring birds flew low and scooped mouthfuls of water to carry back to plants.
    “Why?” Grace asked.
    “They water the fruit so the bugs will come and they can feed,” Rask explained.
    “Are all these bugs and things four hundred years old, too?”
    “No. There had been no animals on the planet before we were sent here. All of these creatures are male as well.”
    “How can they reproduce with no females?” Grace asked.
    Rask pulled her closer. “They’re holograms. Small devices from around this planet send images from our homeland here. It’s a small comfort. Everything on our planet died out a long time ago, except for us. But we have kept the holograms so as not to feel our loss so deeply. When we were young we had no idea they were even holograms. As the male animals died off slowly they were replaced, until finally there were no more.”
    “The Tonans didn’t just kill women, they killed everything. How horrible,” Grace murmured. “But if it’s not real, how can a Slock eat at your toes?”
    “It’s complicated,” he said with amusement.
    Grace was baffled. Everything was so real and yet not. “Nothing is really real then?” she asked, feeling sad.
    “I’m real.”
    Rask tipped her head up and kissed her. Grace knew he was real. She turned in his arms and hugged him tightly. Gently, she trailed her fingers down his bare chest, exploring. He felt like an armored knight encased in silk. Like the trees and the ground, if she pressed into him the softness stopped and was replaced by a substance harder than steel. He was so heavy when he turned her beneath him. He was careful not to press his weight onto her. Without a doubt, Grace figured him to weigh hundreds of pounds. Perhaps even a thousand. Yet he moved over her with delicacy. It was like being covered by a blanket of silk steel.
    Rask trailed his finger down her face and neck. He breathed in her scent. “You smell better than anything I’ve ever smelt.”
    “What does it feel like when you do that? When you inhale my scent?” she asked. “What is it that makes your face