Shadowed by her Alien Mate

Warriors of the D’tali: Book Three

Ava York

Starr Huntress

Contents

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Vokar

Isabella

Epilogue: Isabella

Are you a STARR HUNTRESS?

Captured by her Alien Mate: Sneak Peek

Rekker

Kazan

Rogue Mate

Isabella

The ship was dark.

Long shadows spilled across the corridors and our only light was from Vokar’s torch. He walked a few paces ahead of me, his footsteps so silent it was almost as if he wasn’t there. That shouldn’t have surprised me—he was an assassin, after all.

“I think we should be close,” I muttered, looking down at the piece of paper in my hands. The crude map gave us a rough idea of where we should go. Camilia and I had drawn it together after many trips to the shipwreck, but now it was my duty to find the ship’s med bay and salvage as much equipment as we could.

I would’ve preferred to have Camilia here with me, since she’d have the best chance of recognizing medical equipment, despite it being alien tech.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t been possible. She was completely swamped.

She’d been working impossible hours for weeks, training the D’Tali healers in Tahkath, the D’Tali capital, about the importance of sterilization and the details about germ theory.

It didn’t help that, without microscopes, she had to try to convince the older, stubborner of the healers to take what she said on faith.

Luckily, her successful results with the wounded in the last skirmish with the Aetamians had backed up her claims, so more and more of the younger healers were coming to her for training.

Even if that hadn’t kept her busy enough, her protective mate, General Troko, didn’t feel comfortable sending her on a dangerous expedition.

“There’s a door here,” Vokar whispered, his deep voice causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Something about him made my body react in a visceral way. All he had to do was glance at me, and my insides clenched up almost immediately. “Hold this.”

Turning, Vokar handed me the torch and focused on the block of metal in front of us. The door didn’t seem damaged, but the locking mechanism could have jammed during our violent crash landing on this planet.

I smiled as I thought of those crazy first days.

A little less than a year had passed since we’d found ourselves stranded on this strange planet, but it felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. Every time I thought about it, I could scarcely believe that I had been a young engineer pursuing a career in San Francisco. I had gone jogging one night after a complicated shift, and a blinding white light had appeared out of nowhere, then…

My life changed forever.

I woke up in the cargo hold of this ship, surrounded by women my age, with alien creatures all around. Eventually, after the ape-like creatures—the Skarg—used their translation tech on us, we figured out they intended to sell us into slavery…but that never came to pass. They were ambushed and shot at by another spaceship, and so they were forced to crash land on this strange and mysterious planet.

We were rescued by the D’Tali, a race of lizard-like warriors, and we had been with them ever since. And thank heaven for that—I didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened to us without the D’Tali.

Despite their primitive tech, they’d done their best to make sure we had a place to call home. In fact, they did more than just help us. They became our friends and, in a couple of cases, they even turned into…lovers.

Sofia ended up marrying Dojak, the D’Tali king, and Camilia fell in love with General Troko. Believe it or not, Sofia had even become pregnant. That, of course, was part of the reason I was back at the ship. As interspecies marriage was a new concept, nobody really knew what to expect when it came to a pregnancy like this.

My thinking was that there had to be some medical devices we could retrieve from the ship’s med bay. Camilia agreed with that assessment and, since she couldn’t leave the city because of her new duties, I had been put in charge of this expedition. Despite having some experience as a lead engineer back on Earth, this task weighed heavily on me.

Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.

Though Vokar didn’t have an official title, everyone knew he had the king’s ear, and so the D’Tali warriors who served as my escort knew to obey him. That ensured that the ship was my sole concern.

Of course, Vokar’s presence was a distraction to me.

Whenever he stood just a little closer to me, it felt as if my body started boiling from the inside out. My insides clenched up, and it became almost impossible to think straight. As a result, I tended to become an awkward, bumbling idiot around him.

“I think I got it,” Vokar grunted, his voice snapping me out of my reverie.

Narrowing my eyes, I watched as he pried the door open, to reveal a mid-sized room with unadorned walls. I squeezed past him and held the torch up, the flames bathing the room with their warm light.

“This is it,” I said with a squeal, smiling as I noticed all the medical equipment that littered the room. At least I thought it was medical equipment. Since I was an engineer, I had become the one in charge of analyzing everything we retrieved from the shipwreck, and I thought I was familiar enough with the Skarg tech to know what their medical equipment would look like.

“Seems like some of it has been bolted down.” Kneeling beside what seemed like a futuristic CT scan device, Vokar tapped the bolts that kept the machine in place. “I think we can cut it down, though.”

He looked up and, as his gaze found mine, that familiar heat returned to assault my body. I forced myself to focus on what he was saying.

“Do you think you’ll be able to power all this up?”

Nervously, I ran my tongue over my lips and nodded. “I think so. Judging by how their tech functions, I’m assuming there’s a power core somewhere deeper in the ship. It’s only a matter of finding it and getting it back to the city.” I looked at the map I still held in my hand. “It’s probably not that far from here. It should be in the engine room or nearby. Judging by what we’ve drawn of the ship’s layout, we’re close to it.”

“Then lead the way.”

Together, we walked out of the med bay and down the dark corridor. Despite the mazelike appearance of the ship’s innards, it was fairly easy not to get lost, and it took us less than twenty minutes to find what I thought was the engine room. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as Vokar pried the door open and we slipped inside the room.

The moment we were inside, I immediately noticed something bright in a corner. Ignoring the machinery that filled the large room, I beelined toward it.

It was some sort of spherical crystal, no bigger than a closed fist.

“Well, that’s interesting,” I muttered. Carefully, I tossed a tiny scrap of wire toward it, to see if it gave off any sort of telltale electrical crackle.

Nothing.

Quickly, I poked it.

Still nothing.

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, and picked it up from the floor.

Despite the glow, it was cold to the touch. Turning on my heels, I headed toward the main engine block and immediately noticed a hook which seemed to have been designed with the crystal’s shape in mind. Turning it slightly, I pushed the crystal into it.

“Oh my.”

The moment the sphere touched the plate behind the hook, the lights mounted on the ceiling flickered and came alive, flooding the room with light. Even the engine started humming, power surging through the entire ship like fresh blood coursing through a newly awakened giant.

“It works,” I shouted, pumping one fist up into the air. “It works!”

I jumped up with joy. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d launched myself into Vokar’s arms and hugged him as tightly as I could.

As if, just for a moment, all my shyness was gone.

Vokar

At first, I didn’t know what to do.

Physical contact remained something I wasn’t terribly accustomed to—especially of the affectionate variety. Camaraderie among soldiers allowed for some liberty, but an embrace by a woman was something else entirely.

I looked down at this usually shy, petite creature and tried to figure out exactly what I should do. No matter how I reacted, I might betray how much I enjoyed Isabella’s touch.

That wouldn’t be a good thing, would it?

Finally, I settled for a few pats on her back.

As quickly as she had flung her arms around me, she stepped away. The instant she released me, I realized how much I was relishing being held. It felt like dangerous territory, so I did my best to avoid it for the time being.

“We should head back to the med bay,” she said without looking at me. “There is some equipment back there I think we’ll need.” As she ducked through the doorway, I thought I could see her cheeks flushed pink. My stomach flooded with an unaccountable feeling.

I hustled after her, unwilling to let her out of my sight. How was it that this slender human female had come to occupy such a large place in my thoughts? It seemed like I was always seeking her out. Every time I was around her, I felt refreshed.

It was terrible.

After giving Troko so much shit over Camilia, I hated to think what was coming my way.

But Camilia was Troko’s mate, so it was completely different—wasn’t it? It couldn’t be possible that Isabella was mine. Even as I thought that, I caught myself watching the gentle sway of her ass as she strode up the corridor ahead of me. Okay, this could actually be trouble.

“How much of this do you think we’ll need?” I asked as we came back into the med bay, a few of the D’Tali soldiers we had brought with us already there, looking around.

“It’s hard to say.” The color had gone from her cheeks, and I found myself wishing it were back. “With Sofia’s baby on the way, a fair amount of this could be really useful.”

“Just point out what you want, and I’ll see to it that our men bring it back with us.”

“Really?” It seemed like such a small offer, but she turned a radiant face to me, her eyes shimmering. My chest tightened.

“Of course.” I sketched a small bow. It felt unbelievably awkward, but I had to do something to keep from staring into her eyes. One or two of the D’Tali close at hand chuckled lightly, and I made a mental note that they would pay for it later.

As I watched, she made her way around the bay, pointing out the things she thought we would need back at Tahkath. I took note of everything, but the men were already setting themselves to work, hauling things out. She had an unusual power over men that way, and my stomach burned at the thought that any of the other D’Tali might be harboring thoughts about her.

“What else?” I asked after she had finished her inventory.

“The weapons, of course. If we can activate them, they would be invaluable.”

“Naturally.”

“Oh.” She stopped in place and flashed those big blue eyes up at me. “We’ll need the sphere, to power everything.”

Without answering, I darted back out into the hallway. A cold feeling threaded up through me at the thought that I might get back to the center of this ship and find the sphere missing. I kicked myself for the oversight in leaving it behind us in the first place.

Reaching the engine room, I released a breath to see the crystal sphere still in place. While I couldn’t fathom how this all worked, the sphere was obviously invaluable. Whatever magic it possessed was the nerve center of everything, and could be profoundly dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.

I had been hearing rumblings through my intelligence contacts that some strange creatures had been spotted out in the forests and in the desert. What little description there was sounded unlike anything known to exist. The notion that those beasts could be the same creatures that had stolen the women from their home planet wasn’t lost on me.

It put me even further on my guard. If my suspicions were correct, then they knew their way around this ship better than anyone. Our mission suddenly felt all the more imperative, and I was determined to get anything useful out of the wreckage on this visit.

“Here you are.” I presented Isabella with the sphere as if it were a precious fruit. She took it in both hands, and wrapped it carefully in a cloth she pulled from her belt.

“Thank you,” she said meekly. “You’re always the first to move if I need anything.”

“Well, I…” My mouth hung open, but no words came forward to fill it. For one terrible moment, my guard was completely down. Fortunately, if the other D’Tali noticed, they were too busy lugging equipment around to show it.

“I’ve just noticed, is all.” Isabella tucked the sphere into the satchel slung across her shoulders. “Finding this is incredibly important. Without it, there’s no way to power the ship or anything on it, other than the battery packs we used recently, but that’s a finite resource that could run down anytime.”

“Then we got it just in time.”

“Why?” She looked up at me, a mixture of fear and suspicion flickering across her face. “What’s going on?”

I had spoken too quickly. After having been caught out, my defenses were down. It felt wrong to tell her of my misgivings over those monsters that had brought her here. I was never one to speak on faulty intelligence, and it was far too soon to say anything for certain.

“Nothing,” I said at last. “If it can activate these things you need to aid in the birth of our king’s child, that’s what’s important.” That seemed plausible enough. It was true, but didn’t touch on the deeper reasons for my relief.

We wound our way back out of the center of the iron beast and into the clearing. The men had been working diligently, and a fair amount of cargo was already being hoisted into our wagons.

“Don’t forget to clear out the arsenal,” I called out. “Pull out everything you can.” A couple of numa were brought around, and I helped Isabella onto hers before mounting my own. With a couple of the other D’Tali, we set out for Tahkath.

With all the equipment we’d removed, it was tempting to go in a straight line back to the capital.

It’d be considerably shorter, but directly between the crash site and the capital were the wild deserts.

The roundabout way was safest. For Isabella, and for the wagon wheels.

I preferred to travel alone, but no way was I letting Isabella out of my sight to make the journey.

After we were well clear of the ship, I rode ahead to scout out the path. If there was danger ahead, I wanted to know about it before anyone else came under fire, especially Isabella.

In this world of violence, currently at war, the human women seemed to need protecting. Everything about our way of life was so removed from their own experience, and I found myself increasingly aware of that. Especially where Isabella was concerned. Let the men snicker if they wanted—my job was to gather intelligence and defend.

“Vokar!” Her voice grabbed my attention, and I slowed my numa to a trot so she could ride up alongside me.

“It’s more than you said back there,” she said knowingly. I was at a loss. So much of my time was spent speaking in riddles that I wondered which half-truth she had caught me in.

“About what?” My nature made me guarded.

“The sphere. You said we had gotten it just in time.”

“With Sofia…” I was in the midst of falling back on the lie, when she waved me off.

“It’s not that. At least, not entirely that.” Given how shy she normally was, I opted to drop the pretense. If she was willing to venture outside of her comfort zone, then I owed it to her to meet her there.

“No, it’s not.”

She nodded. “Can you tell me what the danger is?”

“I don’t know what it is,” I said plainly. “It’s not my way to speak before I’m certain.”

“Me, too,” she said. After a brief silence, she spoke up. “The last thing we need is that kind of power falling into Aetamian hands. I’ve seen firsthand what adversaries they can be, and we can’t afford to give them any advantages.”

I was stunned. This beautiful creature who rode beside me noticed everything. More than that, she weighed it all out and came to her own conclusions. It didn’t take a master strategist to know that the Aetamians would leap at the kind of power the sphere offered, but it seemed that few put their minds to it.

“We can’t,” I said at last, then pointed to her satchel. “What you have there is unlike anything our world has seen. If we can use it to heal, that will be enough.”

“And if we can use it against our enemies?” she asked. I looked over into her serious face and smiled.

“Then, I think that would be more than enough. Don’t you?”

She smiled, and we rode together in silence. The sun was dropping, and the sky lit up over us in an array of deep, rich colors. For a moment, I tried to see it all through her eyes. The wizardry I had seen on that metal beast they arrived in was completely foreign to me. And yet, that was the world she had come from.

A woman who could control that kind of machinery, who could master it, was singular in this world. It made her an incredibly valuable asset. Still, while her value was increasing all the time, I was slowly coming to realize that she was far more than a mere ‘asset’.

Isabella

I walked quickly through the palace, excited to share my news with Sofia. The medical equipment would be very helpful to her, especially since no one was really sure what was going to happen with a half human, half D’Tali baby.

King Dojak was justifiably worried—we all were. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Sofia or her baby. The D'Tali and Aetamians were the rare sort of reptiles that had live births, making them different from the rest of their distant cousins. It was wonderful that they’d even been able to conceive between species.

Now, it was mine and Camilia’s job to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

Camilia would handle the medical stuff a lot easier if I could fix it up for her. It was really a top priority.

There were only twelve women on our ship when it crashed, and we couldn’t lose any of us. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

Sofia was like a mother to all of us. And now she was the queen. The increased pressure of that made my anxiety rise, but I breathed a little bit deeper and walked faster, trying to burn the extra energy off.

Look forward, fix the problem, don’t look back.

That’s what I was good at.

I climbed the stairs of the tower that I shared with the other women. Well, most of the other women. Both Camilia and Sofia now lived with their D’Tali husbands. I reached the door of my quarters, and I could already hear laughter coming from the other side. I smiled as I recognized Sofia’s voice.

I strode inside to see Camilia, Sofia, Riley, Hannah, and Celeste. The other women were probably out somewhere. When I walked in, they all looked at me and smiled. Sofia was lounging on a chair and she looked big.

I was running out of time to get this medical equipment up and running.

“Isabella!” Riley said, standing and coming over to give me a hug. “How did it go?”

“Good!” I said. I pulled a chair into the circle and Camilia rose and got me a glass of water. “I got the medical equipment we needed. Vokar is getting some D’Tali to haul it back here.”

Sofia raised an eyebrow at the D’Tali’s name, but didn’t say anything.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her.

“Oh, it’s almost time,” she said, rubbing her belly. “So, I can definitely feel that…”

“That’s understandable,” I said, taking a sip of water. Sitting looked hard for her, let alone standing or walking and having to be queen. As I looked at her pregnant belly, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. Pregnancy didn’t look like it was all that much fun.

“Camilia has news,” Riley said, shooting the nurse a look.

“Oh?”

“Well…” Camilia took a deep breath, then smiled. “I’m pregnant.”

The shock almost had me dropping my glass of water. I gaped at her, unable to speak. She looked at me nervously.

“Holy shit,” I breathed. Then I broke into a smile. “Congratulations!” I stood up and hugged her. “Now I feel bad for making you get me a glass of water!”

“You didn’t make me,” Camilia said, laughing. “I offered. Plus, I’m not an invalid.”

“Speak for yourself,” Sofia grumbled from her chair. “I’m not getting up to get anyone anything. I’m barely getting up to go to the bathroom.”

“Wow,” I breathed, staring at the two women. “Pregnant. Both of you. Does anyone have any idea about how this is going to work?”

“Well, as I'm on a trial run, we’ll see with me,” Sofia said, stroking her belly. “This kid is active, though. Kicking and squirming all night, I can barely get any sleep.”

“Well, that’s a good sign.”

“Sure is,” Camilia said, smiling warmly. She definitely had the pregnancy glow. Either that or she was running a fever.

I honestly wasn’t sure which one was worse.

“I just really hope he isn’t ugly…” Sofia breathed. “There’s a lot of different ways a half-human, half-D’Tali can come out.”

Riley and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“I promise that, if he is ugly, we will lie to you about it,” Riley said. “On my honor.”

Sofia burst out laughing. “Good,” she said. “At least I won’t know he’s ugly until later.”

“He?” I said playfully. “Do you know something we don’t?”

“Mother’s intuition. And I was tired of Dojak calling him “it” to piss me off,” Sofia grumbled.

It was hard not to laugh at her. It really was. I tried, but Riley burst into giggles and I had to follow.

“Glad you guys enjoyed that,” Sofia said grumpily. “You know I can have you kicked out of here like that?” She snapped her fingers.

Riley and I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Seems like an empty threat,” Riley said. “I think you’d have to catch us first to kick us out, and that seems like it would be a problem.”

It was Sofia’s turn to laugh. “Don’t make me pee myself,” she protested with a giggle.

“She’s really selling pregnancy,” I said to Camilia. “How can you not be excited?”

Camilia shrugged with a wide smile.

“How are you feeling?” I asked. “Any nausea or anything?”

“A little, if I don’t eat early enough,” Camilia answered. “I feel good, though. I’ve heard horror stories of pregnancies and I seem to be feeling really well. I hate the smell of food cooking, but I love eating, so Troko has been busy.”

“How’s that going?”

Riley laughed. “She’s knocked up, so probably pretty well.”

Camilia blushed. “You’re not wrong,” she said. “He’s pretty amazing. I’m lucky to have him.”

“You say that now,” Sofia said. “Then you’ll be nine months along and the sound of him snoring will make you want to smother him in his sleep.” She smiled at us as we laughed again.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Riley said. “I saw you two together yesterday. Madly in love is the term I would use to describe you.”

Sofia smiled, but didn’t say anything.

“What about you?” Camilia asked, sagely changing the subject. “What’s new?”

“Oh, not much,” I said. “I’m pretty excited that I got that med equipment to turn on. I figured out how the ship was being powered, and I brought the crystal the Skarg were using to do it with me, so I’m pretty sure I can tinker with it until it works. I’ll have the equipment up and running soon enough.”

“What about Vokar?” Sofia asked.

I turned and stared at her in confusion.

“That’s what Camilia is getting at,” Riley chimed in. “We really just want to know about Vokar.”

“What about him?”

I felt my cheeks flush bright red, the heat radiating off me. I liked being around Vokar, but he was pretty broody. He followed me everywhere and always made sure I was safe, but I had assumed that he was just bored, with no one to assassinate right now. Anxiety rose as I thought about other people noticing something I hadn’t.

“He’s been going with you lots,” Sofia said. “I was just wondering if there was anything going on there?”

“Not that I know of,” I said a little too quickly.

I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. It was causing me too much anxiety. As if sensing that, Sofia changed the subject, pulling Hannah and Celeste into the conversation, leaving me to think while I ignored them.

What did they see that I didn’t?

Sure, the more I saw Vokar, the more attractive I found him. He was an assassin, after all. I knew he’d protect me, and I felt safe with him...but I’d feel safe with any assassin who was on my side, wouldn’t I?

His green scaly skin should be a turn off, but the tone accentuated his muscular arms. He had the strongest jawline I’d seen in any D’Tali, and I was starting to notice more how he moved and talked.

Maybe I was just into him because I couldn’t have him. He was a bad boy, so he definitely wouldn’t be interested in someone like me. Besides, his job was to sneak up in the shadows and kill people. That didn’t really make for a stable partner.

I caught Sofia rubbing her belly contentedly, and I felt the envy start in my stomach. The envy was soon replaced by nausea and nerves. I didn’t want a baby. I’d told myself that for years. I was an engineer, smart and capable; a baby just slowed you down and stopped you from reaching your goals.

But Sofia looked so happy, and Camilia was damn near glowing. And there was something inside me that wanted the same thing as them. The same thing they had.

A partner in life. A mate to look after them, to care for them.

A picture of me hugging Vokar worked its way into my head. No, he couldn’t be the one for me. He was attractive, sure, but that was just because he was a badass. That was it. It wasn’t like he could actually care for me, nor could he give me the support I needed...or the love and stability that I craved.

He just couldn’t.

No, I could never be with someone like that. Plus, I had too much work to do. I didn’t have time to pursue a relationship with anyone, especially Vokar. With Sofia so close to term and Camilia now pregnant, I needed to get this medical equipment up and running.

Soon, Camilia’s pregnancy would force her to slow down, and she needed to train one of the other healers how to do everything for when she had her baby. Even with the D’Tali healers on hand, that meant that the next month was going to be busy caring for Sofia and learning all I could so I could help care for Camilia, too.

That was a good thing. If we spent some time apart, I knew I would lose the lust I had for Vokar. And that was really what was best. After all, I was far too busy for a relationship right now...and probably ever.

Yeah, it was for the best.

Vokar

I meandered my way through Tahkath, thinking about the morning.

Isabella wandered into my head, and I tried to push her away. She was smart, funny, caring, kind. Everything I wasn’t. Alright, I was smart...but only when it came to killing Aetamians. In that one area, I was a genius.

Now, when it came to women...I could never make someone like Isabella happy. It was better to just push her out of my mind. That would be easiest for everyone.

I found myself walking to the palace. I needed to tell Dojak about what Isabella had found, as he was becoming increasingly concerned about his unborn child. I wondered about having a child of my own, and Isabella’s soft face and soft hair came into my mind again, followed by the soft scent of flowers on a breeze. Her scent.

I shook my head.

I had shit to do. I didn’t have time to think about some human female.

Nodding to the king’s guards as I passed, I pushed open the door of his throne room. Troko and he pored over a map of Tahkath, heads together, whispering. When I walked in, they both looked up and smiled.

“Vokar!” Dojak said, “I’m glad you’re here. I would have sent for you if I didn’t see you this afternoon.”

“Dojak.” I walked forward and grasped his forearm. We held the grip for a second, a traditional D’Tali greeting. “Troko,” I said to the other D’Tali in the room, and my closest friend. “You big bastard. How are you?”

Troko roared with laughter, as did Dojak, and he smacked me on the shoulder so hard it hurt, though I would never admit that to anyone.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Planning defenses and possible offences if the Aetamians decide to show their ugly heads in our kingdom again,” Dojak said, gesturing to the map. “What about you? Do you have any information for me?”

“Isabella found the medical equipment, and she also found out how to make it work. There’s a crystal that functions as some kind of power core and…well, I don’t really know the specifics, but she’s confident that she can get most of the equipment to work.”

Dojak smiled.

“So, we will have more equipment?”

“Yes,” I said. “A group of our people are hauling it back for us. Isabella assured me that the Aetamians could not use anything on the ship without that crystal, so we’re safe there.”

“I’m glad,” Dojak said, smacking my arm. “More medical equipment can’t be a bad thing.”

“No,” I said. “How is Sofia?”

“She’s good,” Dojak said. “But I’m worried about her. It’s going to be the first infant with a human mother and a D’Tali father. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to Sofia during childbirth.”

“She’s strong,” Troko said. “She bears your child well.”

“And Troko has news,” Dojak said, passing the torch.

Troko nodded and smiled.

“No!” I exclaimed, arching one eyebrow. “Camilia, as well?”

He laughed. “I know! I almost didn’t believe it myself. And yet, here we are.”

“My two best friends, fathers?” I said. “I’m going to need to replace you. I’ll never see you.”

“I’m sure you can come babysit sometime,” Troko said.

“I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.” I gestured at his scars. “I’d have thought that you were too damaged to reproduce.”

It was a joke, and Troko took it as one, roaring with laughter again.

“Well, you’re in fine spirits,” Dojak said. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard you joke this much. What happened to the sullen and angsty Vokar?”

“I’m just sullen and angsty when I’m around you,” I fired back. “When I’m with anyone else, I’m actually in a good mood.”

“Whatever you say,” Dojak said with a laugh. “But I think your new assignment is serving you well.”

“What new assignment? You haven’t given me a job in weeks. So all I’ve been doing is shadowing Isabella around until you give me something to do.”

Dojak didn’t say anything and simply turned back to his maps.

“What do you think about putting a scout here?”

“It’s too exposed…”

I knew I could trust Dojak and Troko to plan the defenses and keep the city safe. That’s what they were good at. As for me...I was good at killing people and leaving.

Isabella wandered into my head again. As she did, the feeling of her arms wrapped around me when she’d unexpectedly hugged me made my stomach drop.

It had felt so…good. So warm and inviting. I’d wanted to bury my face into her neck and stay there forever.

I was going soft. Or I was getting sick.

That was the only thing that could explain this.

Even if I did like Isabella, what chance did I have with a woman like her? I was gruff, tended to be a realist, and killed Aetamians. That was my skill set, which really wasn’t much. She was so smart and so beautiful…I was…well, I wasn’t ugly. But I certainly was no Dojak.

Which was fine with me. I was perfectly content with who I was as a D’Tali.

It just meant that I could never belong to a woman like her.

“Vokar,” Dojak said. “What do you think?”

“What?”

“We’re at war, Vokar. I need you to focus a little bit here.”

I shrugged.

“Whatever you think, I’ll do. You’re the planner. I’m the killer. That’s how it works with us, and it works well, so don’t mess with success.”

“It’s settled then,” Dojak said. “You will meet Isabella when the medical equipment gets here and take a detailed inventory of all the supplies. I want to know exactly what we have access to before the baby comes.”

“What?”

That was the only thing I could come up with. I was completely stunned. Me? Take an inventory?

“You heard me,” Dojak said. “Twice now. I don’t want to say it again.” He smiled at me.

“Why me?”

There. Two words. That’s all I could get out.

“Because. That’s why.”

“I don’t think that’s the best use of my skill set.”

“Well, you’re the killer and I’m the planner, remember? You just said that. Plus, I’m the king, so you will do the job that I think you’re best suited for. Which, right now, is helping Isabella inventory all the new equipment.”

“Fine,” I said. My heart leaped when I thought of Isabella, and I cracked my neck, trying to hide the anxiety I felt about spending that much time with her.

Dojak smiled at the map.

“I need it done as soon as possible, Vokar. Make sure Isabella has all the assistance she needs. I don’t want to put my wife or my child at risk.”

“That makes sense,” I said. Troko looked like he was holding in laughter. “Do you have something to say?”

“No,” he said. “I’m just working here.”

“Sure. I believe that.”

I turned to leave.

“You still haven’t answered...why me?” I said.

“I would trust no one else with the job.”

It seemed almost sincere. There was a hint of laughter in Dojak’s eyes that meant I was missing a joke somewhere. But I had been given a direct order from my king. I wouldn’t disobey him.

I strode out of the king’s throne room and rolled my shoulders.

I would rather be greatly outnumbered hunting Aetamians than be in a room alone with Isabella. And not because I hated her, because I truly didn’t. I just knew she was outside of my scope. Just like I knew that a woman like her wasn’t an option.

It didn’t matter that I was having these weird feelings for her. She was in control of all this, and there was no way she could feel anything for a D’Tali like me. Sure, I was well-respected in Tahkath, but that was it. As for Isabella, she was intriguing, smart, funny, kind…she was everything.

Everything I could ever want in a single package.

I nodded to the guards as I passed. Hopefully they hadn’t heard any of that. They gave no indication that they had, which was a small reward. The haul of medical equipment should be arriving soon, and that meant that I was going to be working closely with Isabella for at least a few days.

My heart pounded as I thought of her. Then my stomach dropped as I thought of the hug.

“It was just a stupid hug,” I said out loud. “She was excited because she fixed something. Give it a rest. It didn’t mean anything.”

And yet, here I was obsessing over it.

Even if she had meant to hug me, which I wasn’t sure about, she was going to learn quickly that I was no good for her, that I couldn’t compare, that she could have her choice of any D’Tali and they would love to mate with her.

I was just an assassin, and this feeling I felt for Isabella needed to float away. I couldn’t have her, so it made no sense to want her at all. I wasn’t sure what game my king was playing right now, but I was a little pissed off.

“You need to help him out,” I muttered. “He asked you to. You don’t want anything to happen to his wife.”

That was true. It would be unbearable to see anything happen to the queen or to the baby.

Which meant I had to suck it up and itemize medical equipment with a woman who shouldn’t enjoy my company at all.

Still, I had to admit it…

Deep down, I was looking forward to spending some time with Isabella again.

Isabella

I put my head down, concentrating hard on what I was doing.

“There has to be a way to hook this up,” I said out loud, tapping the table. “Why would you work in the ship and not here?”

It wasn’t making any sense. The ship had the crystal on it. I’d plugged it in and it had been enough to power up the ship. So, the crystal was the power source, there could be no doubt about it.

So why wasn’t it working here?

The crystal was contained in a small metal box I’d engineered to hold it. Then I had ordered the D’Tali artisans to get me some copper wiring. After some trial and error, they eventually managed to get me what I needed, but something was amiss. The medical equipment sat beside it on the table, a small hand-held scanner being the first thing I wanted to test, for both efficiency and use.

According to Camilia, the scanner would tell us if Sofia’s baby was okay, and that was the most important thing. Especially since we really didn’t know how this would all work.

I’d attached it all, expecting it to light up the exact same way it had in the ship. Nothing had happened. It stayed black. No lights flickered on. There was no power to it at all.

I tapped the table again, trying to figure out what was going on.

“What the hell?” I muttered, pausing to massage my cramped fingers. I’d have to baby my hands. If anything happened to them, we were all out of luck. There was something missing here. I knew it. And it seemed like I was at the edge of the answer, like it was more or less on the tip of my tongue. Still, every time I felt like I was about to grasp it, it disappeared.

It didn’t really make much sense. It was the exact same setup here…and I knew that when I actually figured out the answer, it would be simple, and it would probably piss me off.

“Why aren’t you working?”

I was an engineer, and it was my job to solve problems. So why couldn’t I solve this one?

“The connections seem right,” I continued out loud, checking the wiring once more. “And it should work…” I looked at the setup that I had in front of me. It was the exact same. Even the metal hooks that I had used to hold the crystal were from the ship…and it was attached to the medical equipment by D’Tali cables and—

“Cables!” I exclaimed as I mentally kicked myself in my head. How could I have been so stupid to miss a big thing like that?! Talk about oversight.

That was it. That was the only thing that was different. The rest of it was the exact same, except that I had used D’Tali copper wires. The crystal’s energy could probably only be conducted by the specific wiring that existed on the ship, so we would need to retrieve some wiring from there.

I went back to the bin of stuff that the D’Tali had brought back from the ship for me, random things that they’d thought might work. They weren’t sure what I would need, so they’d clearly brought a little bit of everything, which was perfect for me trying to get this stuff to work for Sofia.

And soon, Camilia.

It pretty much blew my mind that both of my best friends were pregnant. With D’Tali babies, no less. I was curious, as I think everyone was, about what childbirth would look like. Including a real curiosity about what the children would look like.

It was going to be a crazy few months, no doubt about it. And all of it would be easier to manage the more medical equipment we had access to. Meaning that I really needed to fix this stuff.

I hoped this worked.

Bending into the bin, I found a couple of cables from the ship that would probably work. They wouldn’t be enough to power all the equipment, but they’d suffice for me to know if I was on the right track.

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

I turned and ran square into a brick wall.

At least it felt like a brick wall. The cables flew out of my hands and I stumbled backwards. A strong arm reached out and caught me around my back and held me up. Wide-eyed, I looked around as my stomach left my body through my feet and my world was turned upside down and right-side up in the same moment.

Vokar was standing in front of me, holding me up by the waist.

Not a wall, then. Just a D’Tali’s strong body. Instant attraction flooded me. That and the butterflies in my stomach caused a weird nausea that I wanted to stay and go away at the same time. Vokar was attractive. Hard, muscular body, strong arms, chiseled jaw…something tugged at my heart to jump his bones right there. I held back. This silly attraction was merely a distraction. And one that I didn’t need right now.

“So…” Vokar said, steadying me on my feet. “Hi.”

“Hey,” I answered him, straightening my hair and blushing awkwardly.

“Hey…” Vokar said.

“Sorry—”

“Sorry—”

We spoke it at the same time, then both stopped and laughed awkwardly. I wished I could hide in a hole. Or be anywhere but here. As the blush rose to my forehead, I decided a hole would be the best.

I looked Vokar up and down and couldn’t help but bite my lip a little. He was hot. Way hotter than anyone else I’d ever seen. I found myself wondering what he would do to me if—

“You first,” I said, still trying to get my bangs out of my face. I needed the stream of thought whipping through my head to be interrupted by something—really anything—that didn’t involve an intense attraction to the D’Tali standing in front of me.

“Sorry,” Vokar said, pulling the hem of his shirt down. I caught a glimpse of strong abs underneath his shirt and the butterflies started all over again. “I should have said something when I walked in.”

“Yeah, but I probably wouldn’t have heard you. I get too deep into my work sometimes.”

“No, I get it,” Vokar said. “You have a pretty important job here. A lot of pressure to get everything up and running before the baby comes.”

“Yeah,” I said. I wanted to get out of this conversation. Or jump his bones. An urge filled me unlike anything I’d felt for anyone before. My body was hot, and there was a tingling between my legs and in my lower stomach that spread throughout my torso. It was either annoying or enjoyable, and I couldn’t decide which.

My heart fluttered in my chest as I thought about Vokar’s arm around my lower back. There was something about this D’Tali that made it hard to find my words.

“I…”

Out of nowhere, I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. My heart thundered in my ears and my breath was coming in short, nervous gasps.

Instead of pulling away, Vokar leaned into me, placing a hand on the side of my face. The butterflies exploded outward, and my heart skipped at least two beats. I softened and simply let go, just for a second.

Then a rush of embarrassment and nerves hit all in one go, and I stepped away from the handsome D’Tali. What the hell was I doing?

“Sorry,” I breathed. “Really. That was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine,” he said, looking anywhere but at my face. “It’s all good.”

I could have died with embarrassment. He’d just come into my shop to tell me something, and I’d jumped him like a horny teenager. I didn’t think I could get more embarrassed than this. I doubted anything to come in my life would ever come close.

“So, work,” he said, clearing his throat. “Dojak asked me to come and help you itemize and inventory all of the medical equipment.”

“Oh,” I said, a little disappointed that this visit hadn’t been his idea. I shook the hurt feelings off. Vokar was probably busy with his own work, too. He couldn’t think of just coming to visit me in my workshop.

“So, that,” Vokar said, awkwardly.

“Okay,” I said. I looked around, getting my bearings again. “Cables.”

“Cables? Okay. Can I get something to write on first?”

I laughed nervously.

“Sorry,” I said, bending down to pick up the cables I’d dropped during this mortifying exchange. I stood up and dropped one again.

I went to pick it up, but Vokar beat me to it, leaving me standing awkwardly in the workshop, rubbing my hands on my pants as I tried to wipe off the nervous sweat that had formed.

“Thanks,” I said as he handed it to me.

“No problem. So, here they are.”

“Yeah,” I said, trying to go around him. He stepped the same direction as me, trying to let me by, then we awkwardly stepped the other way.

“Sorry—”

“Sorry—”

We laughed again, and I pushed by him to the table.

“It’s the cables,” I continued. “I used the crystal and made this contraption here out of metal from the ship to contain it. I attached it to this simple scanner,” I gestured to the medical scanner, “but it wasn’t working.”

Vokar looked over my shoulder. “Cool…but you used the cables made by the artisans for the attachment.”

“Exactly!” I said, surprised that he’d been listening. “I think that the D’Tali cables can’t conduct the energy from the crystal like the cables from the ship can.”

“So, if you attach these cables…” I detached the other cables I had used and went about wrapping the wire around a metal screw I had embedded in the crystal. “Then it should…”

I attached the cable.

The scanner sprang to life, a screen flickered on and a startup sequence ran across the display.

“Yes!” I said, pumping a fist and clapping. I turned and, before I knew what I was doing, threw myself into Vokar’s arms. Again. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me? He squeezed me tightly and I softened a little as he did.

“Good job,” he said, pulling me closer. “I knew you could do it.”

My heart fluttered and I stepped back again, blushing. “So, inventory?”

“Yeah,” he answered awkwardly. “Inventory.”

“Well, I think we should try every piece,” I gestured to the various pieces of equipment that littered my shop, “and see what works and what doesn’t. Then go from there.”

He smiled.

“That sounds like an excellent plan.”

Vokar

I didn’t know what to think as I left the workshop, storming through the halls like I was possessed by something.

The energy coursing through me was both exhilarating and more than a little frightening, if I was being honest. I had never felt this particular combination of things before.

In my years as an elite soldier, all those moments of danger and uncertainty, never had I felt this peculiar set of emotions.

I shook my head, laughing at myself.

Of course, you idiot, I thought. That’s because you trained for all those other scenarios. No amount of training in the world could possibly prepare you for the likes of this.

The kiss I’d shared with Isabella had been electric. It was entirely possible that I’d felt sparks behind my eyes when we made contact. The heat that spread outward from my heart...there was only one possible explanation for that. And for the way I was feeling now.

A reason I couldn’t believe in.

Isabella really was my mate.

I stopped moving along the long corridor and leaned back against the wall. The marble and stone felt good against my skin. Cool and soothing, which I desperately needed to bank the fire raging inside me.

I turned around for a moment and actually pressed my head against the wall to feel its cool smoothness on my face.

Taking a few deep breaths, I started to calm myself down.

Putting my back to the wall once more, I slid along it until I was sitting on the floor.

This was a position I’d never thought I would be in. Yes, I had seen it happen twice. But, honestly, I’d thought I was exempt.

To begin with, this was no life for a woman, no matter how strong she was. Being called to wait while her partner skulked around in the night, out in foreign lands, doing who-knows-what in the name of king and country? Never sure if he was going to come back alive and in one piece?

No, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone a mate.

And besides, I’d never believed that there was much that I could ever truly offer. The ways of love were...unfamiliar...to me. I didn’t know how to court someone and I certainly didn’t know how to behave after the courting had happened.

In war, I was a fine precision tool. In what concerned the other areas of my life, though, I was a blunt instrument, not a fine scalpel.

“Damn it,” I laughed out loud to myself. Even that metaphor probably wasn’t the best way to describe things when dealing in the realm of love.

And Isabella, she was...strange. Wonderful. Unusual. So unlike anyone I had ever met before. No question she was beautiful, but, at same time...so different from me.

How could this pairing possibly work?

I hit my fist hard against the floor, and a dull thud echoed through the hallway. Leaning back, I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes for a moment.

I needed to think.

The feeling I was having...there was no denying it. If nothing else, biology was biology.

Shaking my head, I dismissed that thought.

Our biology helped us find our mates, but it was never just that alone. It couldn’t be. Then we would be nothing but slaves to our own chemical processes. As much as it would be easy to dismiss it if that was the case, it was never that simple.

I could tell that by watching Dojak and Sofia, for example. There was more than just instinct at play there. It must be, however, that the instinct paired up with intuition. Instinct and intuition. Like the two guidelines we all carried inside us, leading the way through life.

I stood up from the floor, shaking my head. I needed to throw some water on my face and maybe lie down for a minute. Just to further collect my thoughts.

It wouldn’t be a great look for me to be seen sitting around moping on the floor of a heavily-used corridor. I gave myself a physical shake, trying to get a handle on myself, and headed off toward my quarters.

Isabella kept running through my mind, over and over. She had a quiet way, almost shy. So different from me. And it’s not that I was loud and boisterous. But I wasn’t afraid.

I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

It had occurred to me that perhaps thinking of Isabella as afraid wasn’t the right word to use at all. Perhaps it wasn’t fair either.

Being quiet didn’t equal fear. In fact, there was a certain kind of bravery that only existed in overcoming one’s own natural tendency to retreat, to slip back into the shadows.

It could be that, in her own way, Isabella was as brave as any D’Tali warrior I had known.

“Fascinating,” I said to myself. The way we could learn at all times, even about ourselves. And in truth, were there any beings anywhere we knew as poorly as ourselves?

I thought about her face, her delicate features and the porcelain quality of her skin. I wanted to touch that skin, to feel its heat rise under my fingertips.

Her eyes, a blue the color of deep water. Crystalline pools whose depths I wanted to dive into and explore. Her soft hands, with long, skilled fingers, perfect for putting delicate things together with grace and sureness.

I couldn’t help but wonder what else she could do with those hands, those fingers.

“Stop it, Vokar,” I muttered to myself. “Let’s take this one step at a time. Who knows if she even likes you? If she even wants to spend that kind of time with you? Get it together.”

I passed a pair of D’Tali soldiers I recognized. They’d heard me talking to myself.

Wonderful, I thought. Now not only am I apparently lovesick, but now word will spread that I’m crazy and talking to myself, as well.

“Men,” I said, nodding to them as they strode past.

They nodded in return, but didn’t speak. I turned to watch them go, whispering to each other like little school girls.

Perfect.

Well done, Vokar.

I sighed loudly.

Turned out love, or lust, or whatever the hell it was, really did make you stupid. Or, at the very least, weird. I didn’t know what I was going to do about any of this. That was the only thing I knew for sure.

I was approaching the far corridor where my quarters were located. I figured I could get some rest, maybe take a bath, anything I could do to collect myself and try to sort out the next steps that I needed to take, for me and for Isabella.

Spaced throughout the area were various guards and soldiers on patrol. We were at war with Aetam, and that meant we had to always be alert here in the city, and particularly around the palace.

Unlike other royal residences, perhaps, our palace was also the seat of our government. War councils, military strategies, defense preparations...all of those things and more were handled here.

As such, the D’Tali always took redoubled efforts to prepare for the possibility of spies or sneak attacks. There was a lot of information and documents here that the Aetamians would love to get their hands on.

So seeing guards and patrols was nothing unusual. In fact, the opposite would be true. If there weren’t any around, that would be a sure sign that something was amiss. One leak in the dam was all it took for the whole thing to come crashing down.

I turned the corner towards my quarters. My rooms were located in a farther end of the palace, some distance from the main hub. I preferred it that way. Given the missions that I often undertook, I wanted to return to a quiet place where I could collect my thoughts and reflect on what I had done and what I needed to do next.

So it wasn’t often that I had visitors or any kind of regular foot traffic in my neck of the woods. I was only a dozen meters away from my door when I heard a low groan and a heavy thud.

Immediately on alert, I started sprinting towards the noise. I found a D’Tali guard collapsed on the floor. Running over to him, I felt for life signs. He was unconscious but alive. There was an ugly-looking bruise across his face.

I couldn’t figure out what had happened there. This was a D’Tali guard—trained, strong, powerful. It looked like two things had happened which were unlikely: one, he must have been taken by surprise. Hard enough to do on its own. Two, whatever struck him must have been impossibly powerful. There wasn’t any Aetamian soldier that could take out a D’Tali with one blow.

That meant that something else had happened here. A new threat maybe. Or perhaps a very old one? Whatever it was, it was in the palace, and that meant...

Isabella could be in danger.

The thought hit me like an avalanche.

There wasn’t an alarm sounding through the palace yet, which meant that the threat had yet to be discovered.

I was the only one who knew.

And that meant that I was the only one who could help her if she was in trouble.

I took off in a sprint, full speed, racing through the corridors. I had to get to Isabella first.

That was the only thing that mattered.

Isabella

I found myself rolling my eyes. At myself.

Why couldn’t I handle these things better?

Vokar had come and gone and it couldn’t have been more awkward. I could stay here in my workshop all day, fixing things, developing new technologies for the D’Tali, repairing weapons, instruments, you name it.

But when it came down to just interacting with other people, I was about as skilled as a thief trying to open a locked door by hitting it with a hammer.

I shook those thoughts away. They weren’t going to help me at all. In fact, all those ideas really did was undercut my confidence and distract me from the work at hand.

I had in front of me some of the communication devices that Camilia had found in the wreckage of the ship. They had proven to be instrumental in our last run-in with the Aetamians and I wanted to get more of them back in working order, if possible.

Having a couple more working comms would give us a distinct advantage in dealing with the Aetamians in the future. As far as I understood, they didn’t have anything remotely like this kind of tech yet. A fast, efficient, and widespread means of communication for the D’Tali forces would keep us a step ahead.

And besides, comm devices didn’t talk back to you when you opened them up. And they certainly didn’t try to flirt with you.

That was all to the good, as far as I was concerned right now.

Camilia had said that, of the two devices that she had brought back with her, the one that looked like it didn’t have any damage was the one that didn’t function.

I was determined to figure out why.

Carefully, I removed the face panel from the device and began examining the various leads and connections inside its works.

Delicately, I poked my way around the innards of the comm and very quickly discovered the problem.

A broken wire led from the battery to the power switch. In theory, if I could repair that lead, or re-attach it, this device should work again.

Simple enough, I thought, and began the work on it.

I had scavenged some spare wire from the ship earlier and I thought that with that and some carefully soldering, I could fix it.

My back was to the door of the workshop as I bent over the table, focusing on the device repair as I ignored the cramps in my fingers. It was detailed work, because everything was small, so I had to be careful.

Soon, I found myself lost in my work. I had always been this way, using work to distract me from the more immediate issues of my own life. It was so much easier to focus on things that I could fix, rather than trying to tackle the wiring of my own feelings.

I wasn’t sure there was a tech person in the whole galaxy that could handle that kind of repair. I was focused on intertwining the scavenged copper wire with the device’s when I heard the door swing open and closed.

Turning around, my heart was suddenly in my throat. Vokar, I thought. He had come back. And maybe I could find a way to talk to him and tell him how I was feeling.

When I faced the door, however, there was no one there.

“Vokar?” I asked, the question echoing in the room.

I could feel something, a shifting of air pressure maybe.

It wasn’t Vokar. But I wasn’t alone.

Something was in the room with me.

My workshop was lined with tables, all with various weapons and tech in various stages of disrepair. Some had more priority than others. But as a result, you could walk in the door, duck down quickly, and not be seen.

I didn’t move a muscle and strained my ears to listen.

That’s when I heard it. A huffing of breath, the quiet snort of a living creature.

“Who—who’s there?” I said softly.

I heard a growl, low and menacing. I backed up from my post, looking back and forth.

Emerging from behind a table, a huge, ugly brute appeared.

It was a Skarg.

That was the last thing I had hoped to see.

The Skarg were a strange race, creatures that sort of resembled gorillas from Earth. But they were larger, with four arms and two legs. They could move with incredible speed and they were impossibly strong.

I knew that they were brutal. They had been the ones who’d kidnapped us from Earth, after all, so they could sell us as slaves.

He was drooling from his mouth when he bared his teeth at me.

Moving with a strange, lumbering grace, the Skarg moved towards me, all of his limbs in action as he pushed tables aside and knocked things out of his way.

Now that I had seen him, there was no more need for quiet, I supposed.

“Where’s the crystal?” he growled at me.

Of course.

The crystal was sitting in a metallic cradle I had assembled for it. It was such a complex object that I had decided to work on the comms for a while instead.

It was behind me to my left, and the Skarg was circling me to my right.

I couldn’t let him take the crystal. Who knew what he would do with it? Use it for his own purposes? Sell it to the Aetamians? Destroy it? Maybe they wanted to get their ship up and running again, and I shuddered to think of what they’d be able to do with it.

None of those were good options as far as I was concerned.

I shook my head at the Skarg.

“No,” I said, hoping my voice sounded as strong as I imagined it to be. “You can’t have it.”

The creature gurgled at me and I realized he was laughing. He didn’t think that I was much of a threat.

To be fair, he may have been right.

I grabbed the first thing I could put my hands on from the set of tools in front of me. It was a small screwdriver the D’Tali blacksmiths had forged for me.

I brandished it threateningly and in response, the Skarg, using two of his four arms, flung one of my tables across the room, where it landed with a terrific crash.

“You’re not being very subtle,” I said. “Noise like that will surely bring the patrols.”

He kept advancing.

“They’re going to be here any second,” I said, and he gurgled again.

“I’m not afraid of those pathetic lizards.”

“Don’t make me hurt you!” I exclaimed.

He stopped, cocking his head at me. A grin spread across his lips. Then, bringing all four arms to the front, the creature roared and charged me. I dove to the side, slashing out with the screwdriver. I caught it on one of his arms, cutting him, but not very deeply.

I had managed to keep myself between the Skarg and the crystal for now, but the chances of me doing that again were very, very slim.

I sighed.

Killed by an alien gorilla. That was something I’d never thought would happen.

The Skarg reached out and grabbed me by the shoulder, holding me in place. His thick fingers dug into my flesh with bruising strength and I was conscious that even if I wasn’t killed, broken bones were not out of the question. I stabbed furiously with the screwdriver into his arm, but it didn’t seem to do much of anything at all. He howled in my face, savage and fierce, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to survive even one of his blows.

Rearing one of his arms back, he was going to take my head off.

Suddenly, the beast let me go and dropped me to the floor.

There was a blur of motion and the Skarg was snarling and tumbling across the room.

Vokar.

A wave of relief swept through me, immediately followed by a new worry.

He had come and tackled the creature off me.

And he was now grappling with the huge beast, trying to stop it.

“Go!” he shouted at me. “Move!”

Vokar didn’t need to tell me twice. I scrambled out of the way, grabbed the crystal out of its cradle, and moved to the far side of the room.

I wasn’t sure I should leave, because how could I know that there weren’t more Skarg waiting just outside to snatch it out of my hands and probably kill me in the process?

As powerful as Vokar was, the Skarg had more limbs. It must be like fighting two enemies at once. All of those arms were pounding at Vokar and it was all he could do to just fend off those strikes.

Vokar caught one of the Skarg’s arms as it came plunging down at him. With a quick motion, he brought his own fist down on the Skarg’s forearm and there was a cracking sound. Vokar had broken that arm of the Skarg.

He roared in pain and rage and began thrashing wildly with his other limbs. One swung around and clipped Vokar across the chest, sending him flying backwards and crashing into tables and chairs.

“Vokar!” I cried and began to step towards him.

He lifted a hand.

“Don’t,” he said, “stay where you are! I’m alright.”

He scrambled to his feet and hurled himself at the Skarg like a bullet, catching him in the midsection.

I heard the Skarg make an “oof” sound as all the air left his body.

Unable to catch his breath for a moment, the Skarg was vulnerable and Vokar took advantage, leaping upon him and straddling his chest, he began raining blow after blow at the Skarg’s head.

Any other creature would have been knocked out, or killed, under such a furious assault, but Skargs weren’t like other creatures. They were strong, with thick skulls, and it took everything Vokar had just to keep him down.

The Skarg was about to pull himself up when Vokar threw his weight down on his chest, knocking the wind out of him again.

With that, Vokar pulled back and punched the Skarg right in the face with absolutely everything he had, and the Skarg groaned and...fell unconscious.

It was over. For now.

Vokar struggled to his feet, breathing heavily, and looked over at me.

“So,” he said, panting, “I feel like I didn’t handle our last conversation very well.”

He grinned at me. And I smiled back.

Vokar

Nothing like a little combat to shake the cobwebs out of your head. That was a lesson I learned a long time ago and it was still as true today as it had ever been.

Right or wrong, a good fight clarified things and gave me a little focus. Because it’s either win or die, it didn’t get much simpler than that.

Then when you added someone in danger that needed help, someone that you...well, someone you felt something for, then it became all the clearer.

After the Skarg was unconscious, I asked Isabella for some more wire. Something strong that she could spare.

She quickly found a couple of spools and I used it to securely tie up the various pairs of limbs of the Skarg. The creatures were tremendously strong, but I suspected that with its arms and legs tied together, it wouldn’t be able to get leverage sufficient enough to break those bonds.

It was temporary at best, but we would soon get him down into the cells and into more secure bonds to hold him for the future.

The noises from the battle had brought a flurry of patrols and guards. I told them about their colleague, knocked unconscious near my quarters, and a few went off swiftly to see that he got medical attention.

“We need to get this Skarg to the dungeon cells immediately,” I said to the others gathered around. “Six D’Tali are needed for that, four to carry it and two to provide security in case there are more. Now.”

The guards snapped to attention instantly and moved to follow those orders, hefting the limp Skarg and taking it away.

“Now, we need to make sure all patrols and guards are active and alert. Double all the rounds. There may be more of those things trying to slip their way into the palace. I want check-ins every thirty minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” one of the D’Tali soldiers said and they moved to make that happen.

Isabella was sitting down on a tabletop, catching her breath.

“Are you all right?” I asked her.

She gave me a weak smile.

“Well, hand to hand combat isn’t usually my thing, but overall, I’m hanging in there,” she said.

I noticed that her arm was bleeding near the shoulder.

“What is that?” I asked with concern that I hoped didn’t sound as alarmed as I felt.

She looked down.

“That’s where the Skarg grabbed me. I didn’t even feel it at the time, to be honest.”

I examined her wound a little more closely. “Let’s get you to Camilia.”

Isabella pulled away. “It’s barely a scratch. She’s got enough on her plate with Sofia. Isn’t there just a first aid kit or something around?”

Scowling, I took another look. “I’d rather we went to Camilia.” But I couldn’t seem to deny Isabella anything. “But I have some medical supplies in my quarters. Do you think you can make it that far?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “I’m not dead yet.”

I nodded back to her and led her towards the door.

“Captain,” I said to the D’Tali standing guard. “I want this room watched at all times. No one in or out other than Isabella. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” he said.

I took Isabella by the arm and led her down the corridors towards my quarters. The guards would inform Troko what had happened. I’d need to make my own report, but a few moments wouldn’t make a difference.

Once inside, I sat her down, gathering all the supplies I would need and some hot water.

I came back to where she waited patiently in a chair by an open window.

“I thought some fresh air would do me a little good,” she said.

“It certainly can’t hurt.”

Looking at her sleeve, there wasn’t a convenient way to get to her wound.

“I’m going to have to tear this off,” I said.

“That’s fine. It’s nothing precious.”

I carefully tore off the sleeve, exposing the wound. It was deep, but it seemed like a clean cut. I rinsed it out with hot water and a towel and that seemed to take care of the immediate concern.

I added a salve and began bandaging it.

“You’re good at this,” she said to me.

I shrugged.

“It’s a skill set I had to learn, doing, well...” I trailed off.

“I know what you do,” she started slowly. “But I’ve never understood one thing. Why?”

I looked at her, reluctant to talk about it at first. But her face was open, warm, her eyes wide and without judgement.

“I have worked for D’Tali kings since I was a child. I was orphaned early, after an Aetamian raid. The royal family took me in. As I began my education, it was clear that I had certain...aptitudes. I was good at strategizing and athleticism.”

“Was that all?” Isabella asked, without a hint of anything behind it.

I didn’t look at her for a moment, focusing on bandaging her wounds.

“No. There was something else,” I said.

“What was it?”

I hesitated one last moment before answering.

“Rage,” I said with a deep breath.

I looked to see if that upset her in any way, but her face didn’t reveal the slightest bit of distress.

“After what had happened to my family, rage was my companion. It kept me warm at night. It loved me and I loved it back. So they trained me to use it. To use it to stop my enemies, and to get revenge for the family I had lost.”

She looked at me with a sympathy I had never seen before.

“I’m sorry. That must have been...it must have been very hard. And very lonely.”

That stopped me.

I had never thought of it that way, but I supposed it was true. I was lonely. And always had been. But my anger and sense of mission kept me company most of the time. But they didn’t comfort me in the dark times.

Looking at her, I nodded.

“Yes. It was lonely. And I didn’t realize it for a long time. It occurs to me now that maybe I had never realized it fully until this moment.”

She reached out and put her hand on mine, and I felt the cool comfort of her touch.

“I’m glad you were able to at least learn it now. Better late than never,” she said.

I nodded.

“How does that feel now?” I asked her.

She moved her arm back and forth around her shoulder.

“It twinges a little, but overall, not too bad. I think it will heal up nicely. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for saving my life,” she said, with deep sincerity.

I looked into her eyes and again I could feel the flush of our connection, the pull of it.

“You’re welcome,” I said. “I...when I thought you were in danger...there was literally nothing else that I could think about. At all.”

She nodded.

“I have to admit that when you left my workshop earlier, I had been hoping that you would be coming back. So we could...I don’t know...” she said, trailing off.

“So we could try again?” I offered.

“Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly it.”

We paused then, looking at each other, not entirely sure what to say or to do next. And both knowing what the other one was thinking, we laughed.

“Quite the pair, aren’t we?” she said smiling.

“Indeed we are,” I replied. “Do you need anything? Some food maybe?”

She shook her head.

“No. But some water would be welcome. I’m dying of thirst.”

I stood up and got her a glass.

“Makes total sense. Fear and adrenaline use up a lot of our resources, actually. This will probably be the best glass of water you’ve had in a long time,” I said.

She laughed at that and the sound was like the tinkling of crystal. I liked it. And wanted to hear it again.

She took the water and drank it greedily, almost all in one swallow.

“Well,” she said, wiping the excess droplets from her chin, “you were right about that. That’s the best-tasting water I think I’ve ever had.”

I grinned. The duty-bound part of my mind knew it was past time for me to make my report, but right now, all I cared about was her.

It was all about Isabella. Nothing else mattered.

“I told you. Here, let me get you some more,” I said, grabbing the glass and moving to refill it.

I could feel myself buzzing around the room, trying to keep some distance from her. What I had shared...well...that wasn’t something I had done before.

“Vokar,” she said. “It’s all right, don’t be afraid. What you’ve told me...it’s safe with me. I know what it’s like to be lonely. I haven’t been...the most accessible person either. I always felt like it was better to fade into the background or to hide a little bit. Less likely to be hurt that way, I suppose. But it’s not easy to live like that.”

I nodded. I understood it all too well.

“But I don’t think that's the best way to do things anymore. I think it leads to a life that’s...empty. And I don’t want to be empty. Do you?” she said, looking at me with those deep blue eyes.

I came over to her and sat down.

“My training, as a spy and as an assassin, it tells you that you should never bring things into your life that you can’t easily get rid of. That it’s dangerous to do so. Not just for you, but also because it’s also dangerous for whomever you’ve brought in. You don’t want to put them at risk.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “But do you think it has to stay that way? Or do you think it’s possible, that if you’re careful...that someone else could come into your life? If you allowed them to know who you really are. And they walked in with eyes wide open.”

I nodded to her and leaned my head towards her.

“I think it’s possible indeed,” I said, and I kissed her.

And then I felt electric sparks shoot through my brain and body.

Isabella

Kissing him made me forget everything. At that moment, I became completely lost.

His lips felt like they were built to be on mine. He tasted like sweet honey in my mouth and I drank him in. His strong hands found the curve of my waist and the back of my head, gripping me slightly on my ribs. A little thrill shot through me.

Meanwhile, his fingers parted my hair and to my delight and surprise, gripped it. Giving my hair the slightest tug, I felt his power, his sense of confidence, of possession.

And, dear me, I loved it.

My hands started on his shoulders, so firm and broad. I could feel his coiled strength underneath his skin. Traveling down from there, I found his biceps, lean and tight, filled with vigor and health. He was so strong and so assured. It nearly made me swoon.

As someone who never thought to be swooning anytime in my life, that was a bit of a shock.

And that’s when the wheels fell off the wagon for me. As they so often did.

I suddenly broke away from the kiss, pulling back from Vokar.

“What is it?” he said softly.

I shook my head.

“Nothing. I just...it’s just that I should go back, to my workshop now. Make sure that nothing else was damaged.”

He looked at me blankly for a moment.

“You’re worried about your workshop. Now.”

He stated it. It wasn’t a question.

I fumbled like a 12-year-old who’d got caught in a lie.

“No! I mean, yes, I should...I mean, there’s work that has to be...I’m working on these communicators, you know? Why is dealing with people so hard? And I really should be giving them my attention. It’s important to...security.”

Vokar had an amused look in his eyes.

“Security,” he repeated.

“Yup, that’s it. Security. And that’s a big deal around these parts. Right? Especially after today. What with the Skarg and all, breaking in and nearly...”

“Killing you?” he offered, slightly raising an eyebrow.

I pointed at him.

“Yes! That’s it exactly. So I’ll tell you what, how about...how about I get out of here for a little while and let you...recover from the fight and I…” Jesus, I was really struggling to speak coherently. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. “I will see you later.”

“Not too much later, I hope,” he said slyly.

“No,” I said, getting up and nearly stumbling. I felt a little drunk, if I was being honest. “It won’t be too much later. It won’t be long. I just need to go...you know...”

“Do some things,” he finished for me.

I clapped my hands, for no reason that I could clearly discern.

“That is correct! So I will go...do...those things now, and then I will see...we will see...each other later on.”

He didn’t say anything, just nodded, cocking his head and giving me a sweet little side smile. It made me want to punch him and grab him and start making out again.

“Okay then! Catch you later!” I said, heading for the door.

I opened it and was about to walk out.

His voice called out after me. “You really weren’t kidding about that awkward thing, were you?”

I turned back and looked at him.

“Nope,” I said and bolted out the door.

In the hallway, I shook my head. “What is wrong with you?” I said out loud to myself.

“I can still hear you, just so you know,” Vokar shouted from inside his quarters.

“RIGHT! THANKS!” I said, certain that my face was turning a heretofore unknown shade of red.

I hustled down the hall and headed back to the lab.

This had been a very strange day.

I raced all the way back to the workshop as if I was running from the devil himself. I couldn’t get there fast enough as far as I was concerned. Nodding to the guard at the door, I let myself back and slammed it shut behind me.

I stood there with my back to the door, head resting against it, with my eyes closed, and tried to slow my breathing.

“Really smooth, Isabella. Nice move,” I said to myself and moved into the room, assessing the damage from the fight with the Skarg.

It didn’t look like anything too serious, but the sooner I started cleaning it up, the sooner it would be done. Besides, if I was working on something, it would distract me from the fact that my heart was racing, my body was pulsing, and I wanted to kick every part of myself.

I moved over to the closest overturned table and started picking up all the equipment that had fallen to the floor. Nothing looked broken, but I made sure to examine everything to be certain. Some of this stuff couldn’t be replaced and I only had so many spare parts, plus whatever I could salvage out of the crashed ship.

I was in the middle of that when the door opened and Camilia and Sofia came sweeping into the room like a hurricane.

“Isabella!” Sofia cried. “Are you alright? We just heard what happened!”

I turned tiredly to face them. This was the last thing I wanted right now.

“I’m all right, My Queen,” I said.

“Oh, would you shut up with that! There’s no one here but us! Tell us if you’re okay!”

I nodded.

“I’m all right, I promise. The shop is a little worse for wear, but overall, it wasn’t too bad.”

“Tell us about it,” Camilia said, her face a mask of concern and urgency.

I related the story of the Skarg, how he was after the crystal and how he had trashed the room, nearly killing me in the process. Then I told them about Vokar coming to my rescue and how fortunate I had been.

“I can’t believe this,” Sofia said. “I’m making sure that the guard is doubled at your door every day and night from now on.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t have to do that, Sofia. I’m good.”

“No, no, no, this isn’t something we debate. This is something that’s already done, as far as I’m concerned. I can’t have you be alone and vulnerable in here. Maybe we can rig a security camera system, too, something from the ship, so we can monitor—”

I reached out and put my hand on her arm. When she got worried, Sofia had a tendency to ramp up and keep going.

“Sofia, listen to me, I’m all right. We don’t need anything like that. Even if we had it, which I don’t think we do. And anyway, I’d be the one who would have to set them up!”

She looked at me blankly for a moment.

“She’s got you there, Sof,” Camilia said, and we burst into laughter. The sound filled me with warmth.

“Besides, Vokar set up more patrols immediately following the incident. He’s on top of it,” I said.

Camilia and Sofia exchanged a look.

“Well,” Sofia said coyly. “I’m sure he is.”

My mouth opened in shock. “What does that mean?” I said.

She shrugged.

“Isabella, what about your shoulder? I was told you were wounded,” Camilia said, always the nurse.

“Oh yes, I was. Some scratches and cuts from the Skarg. But Vokar took me back to his chamber and he cleaned and dressed my wounds.”

They exchanged another look.

“What?” I said.

“Nothing, nothing,” Sofia said, holding back a giggle.

“Let me check his work,” Camilia said.

I sighed.

“Fine,” I said and held out my arm for her to take a look at it.

She examined the bandages and asked me some questions about how I felt. She seemed pretty satisfied with my answers.

“Not bad,” she said. “You seem like you’re okay, but if you start feeling hot, feverish, sweaty, anything like that, let me know right away. That would be signs of infection. Do you hear me?”

I laughed. “Yes, mother, I hear you,” I joked.

Camilia gave me a faux stern look.

“Well. I will say this. The bandage work is very good. Better than I would have expected, honestly. I guess Vokar must be...ah...very good with his hands,” she said pointedly.

They burst into laughter again.

“Stop it,” I said, but soon I was laughing along with them.

“Fess up now,” Sofia said. “Surely there’s something a little more you want to share. The walls of this palace have eyes and ears, you know. Maybe you should tell us now.”

“Sofia,” I protested, but she held up her hand.

“Isabella, this is the command of your queen!” she said in a ridiculous, imperious-sounding voice.

“You sound absurd when you talk like that,” I said.

She shrugged. “Not my problem. Your problem is that I gave you an order and you’d better follow it.”

“Are you really going to make me do this?” I said, giving her a plain look.

“Damn sure,” she said and they both started chuckling again.

“Okay, fine. We...we made out a little.”

They started screaming, the two of them.

“Keep it down!” I said.

“And?” Camilia said. “Don’t keep us in suspense. What happened next?”

I felt myself turning red again.

“Nothing happened next. Because I...bolted out of the room like a scared rabbit.”

They both laughed and shook their heads at me.

“Please tell me...the next time that happens...” Sofia said.

“Because there will be a next time,” Camilia added.

“...that you won’t run away like a little rabbit. Because if anyone needs a good make out session, it’s you.”

I laughed along with them at that.

But it had me thinking.

Next time, I wouldn’t run at all.

Because I wanted Vokar. I could feel it in every part of me.

Vokar

That little encounter answered a wealth of questions.

I stood just around the corner from her workshop and leaned against the wall. Looking up and down the hallway, I was relieved that none of my confederates were around to see the stupid smile I must have been wearing.

That being the case, I leaned back and let myself revel in it for a moment.

If I had carried any doubts over Isabella being my other half, they had been erased the second our lips touched. We had shared a kiss before, but that was something else again. I’d leaned into her, almost as a kind of test. But the way she kissed me back spoke volumes.

For an instant, I let myself wonder if it had all come from mere gratitude. After all, I had rescued her from that Skarg. That might have warranted a kiss of thanks, but what had passed between us had been pure desire. It felt like a cheat that it had come to an end so soon.

Thinking about that monster down in the dungeon, I set off down the corridor. If Isabella was my mate, then it was my duty to keep her safe. That meant extracting as much information from the Skarg as I could manage.

Torture had never been among my favorite methods. It almost never produced reliable intelligence. However, after seeing that the fucker downstairs had harmed her, my fingers were itching to get a little bit of revenge. It was going to take a lot of self-control to keep from wreaking too much havoc.

Winding down the steps, I got my thoughts in order. This was about information, not revenge.

“Where is it?” I asked one of the guards as soon as I reached the deepest level. He nodded to the furthest cell, and I set off through the dark row of cages. Grabbing a torch from one of the sconces, I pressed on until I came to where the bastard sat bound.

The creatures were sizable, but he looked so much smaller tied to a large, sturdy chair. He tensed when he caught sight of me. If he meant to intimidate me, he was doing a shitty job.

“Open it up.” A guard turned the key for me, and I stepped inside. The sheer proximity to the brute who had roughed up Isabella set my heart racing. I was going to have to keep my wits about me.

“Shall I keep it open for you?” The guard stood, unsure of what to do.

“I don’t think so. Lock us in.”

I let the veiled threat hang in the air, and the Skarg’s eyes widened slightly. The latch clacked behind me, and I slid my torch into a bracket in the stones. Drawing my dagger, I began to heat it lightly in the flame.

“You can go,” I told the guard. “My friend and I are going to have a chat. I’ll call you back when I’ve gotten what I want.”

Then we were alone.

“I’m not going to give you anything,” the Skarg snarled and spat on the floor. It seemed like the translation device also worked when it came to the Skarg. Good.

“Oh, I think you will,” I said. “Let’s start simply. Do you have a name?”

He pressed his mouth shut and glared at me. I drew my blade out of the fire and held it between us so he could see the steam rising from it.

“It would seem a shame to start hurting you over such a simple question. You’re sure you don’t want to give me at least that much?” His eyes were fixed on my knife, and he chewed his lips as he considered.

“Grogin.”

“Well done. Why have you come here, Grogin? What are you looking for?” He fell mute again, and I set to heating up my dagger again for the task ahead. “You were found in a very particular place with a very particular human. I don’t suppose your attack on Isabella was an accident?”

“Nothing the Skarg do is an accident. We plan. We wait. We win.”

“Yes, you’re clearly winning now.” I smiled. “Your plan is going perfectly. I’ll ask again, what are you doing here?”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“I think you came for the crystal,” I said. He flinched. Clearly, he wasn’t ready for me to put it so bluntly. “So, it is that. What were you going to do with it?” He held his silence, and I brought my steel out of the fire yet again. He watched as I brought the point of it closer to his knee. To his credit, he didn’t flex away until I had already pressed it to his skin.

It sizzled slightly, and he bit down to keep from crying out. As much pleasure as it gave me to inflict pain on the creature who had attacked Isabella, I had to remind myself to keep a calm head.

“Now.” I leaned forward and looked down at him. With one small move, I had proven that I was not above inflicting pain to get what I wanted. “What were you going to do with the crystal?”

“Leave,” he sneered. The answer surprised me, but I held my face in check and let him rattle on. “We’ve had enough of your primitive planet. We hate being forced to live like this.”

“I was just on your ship—well, what’s left of it. Even if you had the crystal, I doubt you’d be able to get very far.”

“You are as stupid as they said.” He shook his head, and I immediately took note of the implied collusion. “You see only what is in front of you. We have found resources. Repairs have been underway for weeks.”

“Is that so? Where, in the woods? Are you weaving your patches out of sticks?”

“Metal. Iron. Not as strong as we are used to, but strong enough. More than necessary to conquer pathetic creatures like you.” I let his threat blow past me, doing what I could to draw him into more boasting. If I riled him up enough, this brute’s pride would make him reveal anything I wanted to know.

“You’re lying.” He flared up at my accusation, but I pushed on. “You could never make iron on your own. Not out there in the wilderness. Only Aetam could offer that.” At the mention of our enemy, an ugly smile crept across his face.

“Exactly so,” he said. “Your rivals welcomed us with open arms and gave us shelter. They have worked alongside us as we built the forges to make our repairs.” He leaned back, leering with disdain. “Your technology is rudimentary, but it has been enough.”

“Now I know you’re lying. Aetam would never welcome beasts like you. What could you possibly offer in exchange?”

“War,” he laughed. “We offered them war.”

I’d known that answer was coming, but it still chilled my blood. We truly had recovered the crystal sphere at exactly the right moment. If we had waited even another day, all the weapons and the means to power them might have fallen directly into the hands of the Aetamian army.

“You keep saying ‘we.’ The humans told us that virtually none of you survived the crash.” It was a bluff, but it paid off immediately.

“Is that what they told you?” He let out a long peal of wicked laughter. “Wishful thinking. We are many, and we are strong. With our help, the people of Aetam will rise up to destroy you.”

“They can try,” I shot back in defiance.

“They will succeed.” He looked directly into my eyes and let his guarantee sit. Then he licked his lips and went on. “And once that is done, once you have been annihilated, we will take back what is ours.” In an instant, my blood turned to molten fire. As if moving by themselves, my fingers flicked my knife around until it was ready to sink into his stinking throat.

“There is nothing of yours here.”

“The women are ours,” he said. “They belong to us. When your city is in ruins, we will take them, and we will sell them as we intended.” A glint shone from his eye. “You have seen them, D’Tali. They will fetch a king’s price, don’t you think?”

Dropping the knife, I reared way back and punched him in the face as hard as I could. With one solid swipe, I knocked him out cold. The only reason I had let the knife fall was because I wanted him alive. There was still information to be gained, and I was going to let him sit down here and starve until he was desperate to share it.

“Guard,” I shouted through the bars. One arrived and opened up the gate.

“What happened to him?” he asked.

“He got tired.” Picking up my dagger, I cast a hateful look back at the unconscious bastard in the chair. “You could bind him tighter if you wanted. It would be a shame if he slipped out of the chair and hurt himself.”

With that, I set off through the dungeon and back up to where I could find some fresh air to clear my mind and report to Troko.

There were so many things that set me on edge, but one thing circled over and over in my mind.

The Skarg were working alongside the Aetamian army to prepare an attack. Not only that, but they had joined forces to forge metal and build stronger defenses.

In a few moments of unbridled arrogance, Grogin had surrendered priceless information. But there was only one thing beating against the inside of my skull. He said they planned to take the women, that the women belonged to them.

“Bullshit,” I said out loud. “Isabella belongs to nobody but me.”

Isabella

For days, I hadn’t been able to get Vokar out of my mind. Not that I was trying terribly hard. In every free moment, I lingered over the details of our last encounter.

That had been making it tricky to focus on trying to activate the Skarg technology. I had managed well enough to bring some of the medical equipment to life—a welcome relief since Sofia was due nearly any time. With all that hung in the balance, we were going to need as much help as we could get.

Word around the palace was that poor Dojak was becoming a regal basket case. Frankly, we were all on edge over it. This was the first child born to D’Tali and human parents, so nobody knew quite what to expect. I mean, we were in uncharted territory. Thankfully, we knew that when it came to childbirth in D’Tali females, the process was similar to humans. So at the very least, we knew to expect an actual child and not an egg.

As it stood, a small band of us were heading up to Sofia’s royal chambers to make sure her pregnancy was still going well, and to see what we could discover. Dojak and the men were in council, so it was the perfect opportunity for the women to sit around and coo over our friend.

“Hey.” Riley met Camilia and me at the door. “Come on in. She’s been resting.”

“Sleeping?” I asked.

“Not really,” she smirked. “The little devil has been keeping her pretty busy.”

“You’ve got that right.” Sofia offered up a tired smile. “It seems like every time I try to get some sleep; he starts making a fuss.”

Despite her exhaustion, she looked radiant. Motherhood agreed with her, and she knew it. She sat up in bed, her hands cupping her beautiful, swollen belly. As I watched my glowing friend, I couldn’t help imagining a stirring in my own stomach keeping me up at night.

“Are you alright, Isabella?” Riley whispered.

“Yeah, why?”

“Your cheeks are all red. Are you running a fever?”

“No.” I blushed even deeper, having been caught out fantasizing over carrying Vokar’s baby. What was going on with me? We had circled each other a bit, made out once, and here I was picturing pacifiers and picket fences. The way Vokar had taken over my thoughts, I was in serious danger of getting carried away.

“How does it feel?” Camilia asked, placing a gentle hand on her own belly.

“Like a dream,” Sofia said. “Honestly, I can’t imagine being any happier. And Dojak dotes on me all the time. You should see him.”

“Have you come up with a name for the future prince?” Riley asked. Sofia’s eyes snapped up, and an odd quiet settled over all of us. While it was true, it was the first time any of us had uttered the word aloud.

“Prince?” Sofia blinked, looking down at her belly with a new kind of stillness.

“That’s what he’ll be,” I confirmed. “It’s wonderful.”

“It is.” Silence blanketed us as Sofia let all of her attention bathe over the baby growing inside her.

“Seriously, though,” Celeste broke the moment. “What are you going to name the little rat?” We all shared a laugh, and Sofia doubled up slightly as her giggling stirred her little charge.

“Arturial,” she said. “It keeps in line with the D’Tali way of naming, but I think it gives a nice nod to Arthur.”

“So, you’re thinking of kingship after all,” Riley smirked. Again, Sofia looked surprised at the suggestion.

“Arthur was my father!” Another laugh rippled through us, and I settled back to watch the women banter with each other. Perhaps it was my nature to be shy, but I preferred to think of myself as watchful. It let me pick up on things most people missed. Maybe that’s why I felt such a kinship with Vokar—being a spy and an assassin, watching was his job.

Settling into my quiet mode, I let the women reveal themselves to me in ways they never could have just by talking with them. Sofia looked completely serene. She had always been a kind of leader among us, but sitting beside the ruler of a kingdom had sharpened her into something noble. I couldn’t think of another woman who would have handled it better.

Camilia also possessed a new, subtle ease. Troko had made her the jewel of his life, and she flourished under his attention and protection. Some of the women had marveled that someone like Camilia could have fallen for someone so battle-scarred, but she had the gift of seeing his heart. That made him beautiful to her.

Even Riley was different these days. While she would be the last one to give any hints, I couldn’t help but think that one of the D’Tali men had caught her eye. She had a wild nature, and I’m sure the adventure of being swept up by one of these captivating creatures appealed to the whirlwind in her nature.

Celeste and Hannah were more like me. Happy to be included, but content to sit back and let the more vibrant among us run the show. I wondered if they were also beginning to feel the pull of the D’Tali men. As images of Vokar drifted in around me, I hoped that they were also falling under the spell of some D’Tali.

My own web had grown denser every day. It was impossible to pinpoint the first time I had become aware of his presence. In truth, I think I’d felt him before my eyes ever caught up and sought him out. It seemed as though he had always been there, just at the edges of my world, looking over me.

“How long do you think it’ll be?” Hannah’s question wrenched me out of my quiet contemplation.

“I knew it,” Riley grinned. “She hasn’t heard a word we’ve been saying. Too caught up with your own romantic dreams, huh?”

“Oh.” On impulse, my hands flew up to my face, and I burrowed deeply, knowing that my cheeks were giving me away again. “It wasn’t that. Stop it.”

“It doesn’t matter if it was,” Sofia said. “If it is, then good for you. I wish that everyone could feel as happy as I do.”

“Me, too,” Camilia echoed.

“I was just daydreaming.” I cleared my throat and put my hands back into my lap. “What were you asking me? I was miles away.”

“You’ve been playing with all that Skarg technology,” Riley said, back into her rhythm. “I heard you even got systems on the ship to come back online. Is that true?”

“Who did you hear that from?” I asked, turning the tables on her. “Having your own private conversations with someone?”

“Maybe I have been.” Her eyes gleamed. “But that doesn’t answer the question. Did you?”

“Yes.” I suddenly felt very small for some reason. All eyes were on me. “I managed to engage a number of the ship’s operating systems.”

“How?” Camilia had both hands resting on her stomach and looked almost fearful.

“The same way I’ve been powering the things we brought back with us. The crystal sphere. I’m still learning how it all works. There’s so much I don’t know yet.”

“I get that,” Riley said, “but how long do you think?”

“Until what?” I still felt left behind.

“Until we can get the ship flying again? Until we can go home?”

The questions landed with an almost audible thud. Even with all that I had been learning about the sphere and how to use it, the notion of using it to steer the ship back toward Earth had never occurred to me. The thought of it now sat queasily in my stomach.

“I am home,” Sofia said. All eyes turned to her, and my jaw dropped ever so slightly.

“What?” Hannah gave voice to what we were all thinking.

“Even if the ship was running again,” Sofia said, “even if we could go back to Earth tomorrow, I wouldn’t want to go.”

“Really?” I asked. It was as if she were speaking words I hadn’t been able to call up from myself yet.

“When we first landed here, it was all I wanted. My only wish was to go back, but now?” Sofia shrugged, and ran a hand over her gown, smoothing it over the mound of swelling child. “I can’t imagine it. This is my home now.”

“You can’t be serious?” Riley looked at all of us in turn.

“I am.” There wasn’t the slightest crack in Sofia’s serenity. “My husband is here, my child is here—my life is here.”

“Mine, too,” Camilia said. “It’s crazy, but I wouldn’t go back if you paid me. I could never leave Troko. He’s my heart.”

“Come on,” Riley said, giving over to a laugh as if we had all been putting her on. “Stop fucking around. We all want to go home, right? Right?”

Even Hannah and Celeste were quiet. There was nothing I could say. The life I had before felt so far away from where I was now. Back home, I had been worse than shy—I had been nonexistent. Being here had given me purpose. And, depending on how things unfolded with Vokar, maybe something more.

“You guys are nuts.” Riley got up and shook her head, smiling that wild-child smile of hers. “I can tell you one thing—I’m catching the first bus outta here, even if I have to drive it myself.”

She might just have to, I thought. Because, I was becoming more convinced all the time that I wouldn’t steer the ship back, even if I was the only one who could. The thought of leaving anyone stranded where they didn’t want to be pained me, but nowhere near as much as the thought of leaving Vokar behind.

It was strange, but that was the moment when so many things crystalized for me. It wasn’t until the idea of leaving seemed a real possibility that I realized that I didn’t want to. And nothing could change my mind.

When it finally looked like Sofia might be able to get some rest, we all dispersed. Still daydreaming, I wound my way back down to my workshop. After several days without seeing him, I held more than a little hope that Vokar would be waiting for me there. If he was, I was very certain that I would be his.

Vokar

“You’ve heard nothing then?” As I had made my way through my contacts in the field, I had started out cautiously. Only angling for information about a new species of creatures living among the Aetamians, without describing the Skarg, or calling them by name. But the further I got with no substantial intelligence to show for it, I had become more overt.

“Nothing,” Relig said. “Not a word about hulking men with four arms, polka dots, or wheels.”

“Very funny. Just keep your ears out, would you?”

“My eyes, too.” He let out a chuckle, and I clapped a small pouch of jewels into his hand. Regardless of whether or not an agent came back with anything useful, one always had to pay them for their time. It kept them loyal.

Relig was just one of my assets who kept close eyes on the Aetamian ruling class. It made me wonder how many among the servants in our own kingdom were on the enemy’s payroll. I liked to flatter myself that I was too diligent to let something like that happen, but it paid not to get too cocky.

That’s how your guard came down. And I would never let that be said about me.

Relig was more deeply entrenched than any of my other spies. If he hadn’t caught a whiff of the Skarg among the Aetamians, then they were keeping this secret closer than any before.

In full truth, that was far more worrisome than if they had been operating in the open. Covert actions are always the deadliest. You didn’t try to hide things that weren’t dangerous, so the fact of the complete silence about the alliance struck deep. Suddenly, getting back to Tahkath felt like an imperative.

Sprinting a few dozen yards on foot, I wove through the forest until I came to where I had tethered my numa. Never take a mount into a secret meeting spot. They were impossible to hide and could compromise a valuable asset by drawing attention to your location.

I vaulted into her saddle without breaking my stride and set off for home. In my desire for speed, I found myself leaning so far forward that I was barely seated, as if I was willing her to go faster.

It was one thing to tell myself how imperative it was to relay my suspicions to Dojak, but it would be a hard task to drag myself to his chambers before seeing Isabella. My allegiance to my king was being sorely tested. Something inside me fought to tell me that she was my first priority.

I missed her. The feeling was almost entirely foreign to me. There had never been anyone in my life close enough that I pined in their absence. I enjoyed the company of my friends, and had grieved the loss of fellows in arms, but this was something else, something purer and more primal. It sat at my very core in a distinctly visceral way.

Son of a bitch, I had it bad. All I could think about was how miserable I had made Troko when I saw that he was eating himself up over Camilia. He would take vicious delight in exacting revenge for it, and I would deserve every barb he threw my way.

At last, the walls of our city came into view, and I found myself hunting out Isabella’s window. It would be far too early for her to have retired with the rest, and my eyes scanned to find the light of her window. A pale yellow flicker answered me, and the warmth in my chest let me settle back into my saddle and give my poor numa a break. She had been galloping hard for ages.

Trotting back into the courtyard, I handed the reins off to one of the royal stable hands and stepped into the main hall. Once there, I stood for a second. One path led to Dojak and his council chambers, the other, to the workshop where a small human woman was toiling.

Her call was intensely powerful. I could have made my way to her door blindfolded. Not that that would be any great feat, I had trained myself to navigate most of these passageways in the dark. Even so, I managed to pry myself from my preferred course and charged up the stairs to Dojak.

As I turned the corner, I saw a guard posted outside his door. Clearly, I had missed the beginning of something significant.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the guard said as I stepped up to knock. “I can’t let you in.”

“They will be waiting for me,” I said. “I’m Vokar.”

“I know who you are,” he said, “but I’m under strict instructions. You’ll be sent for.” My heart leaped at the sudden reprieve.

“Fair enough. I’ll be…”

“Oh,” the guard snorted, “we know where to find you.” A little smirk lit up his face, and I felt an unfamiliar burn in my chest. Even this cheeky fucker seemed to know where my interests lay.

As much as I would have loved to have been offended about it, that would eat up precious time. Even so, I made sure to saunter lazily around the corner and out of his sight before breaking into a run. Charging through a warren of corridors, I raced to the door of Isabella’s workshop and burst in without even knocking.

It was a clumsy move on my part, and completely out of keeping with my usual stealth and caution. Suppose I had made her drop that precious crystal we were guarding so tenaciously? All of her diligent work would have gone right out the window.

As it was, she dropped one of the Skarg weapons as she startled and spun around to see me. As soon as she did, everything about her softened.

“Vokar.” Before she could even take a step, I strode across the room and caught her up in my arms. “I missed you,” she whispered. At her words, I sighed away tension I hadn’t known I was carrying.

“I missed you, too.” They were words I had never uttered before. They would have tasted strange on my lips if they hadn’t rung so true.

“Where were you?” she asked as I settled her feet back to the floor. “You just disappeared.”

“After my talk with your visitor, I had to make my circuit to see if he was lying.”

“What did you find out?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Nothing conclusive, but my gut tells me there’s trouble.”

She furrowed her brow, and I reached up to smooth it with my thumb, shushing her lightly. The contact rarified the air between us. She reached up with delicate hands and brought the center of my palm to her lips.

My heart thudded against my ribs, and she turned a pair of inviting eyes up to me. Sliding my hand around to lace my fingers into her hair, I leaned in and dusted my lips against hers. Gently at first, so that the sparks of our desire could crackle between us.

Only when the tension was too fantastic did she arch up on her toes and press her mouth to mine. Our previous kisses had begun in moments of pure impulse, but this was deliberate. We had chosen each other. Nothing about the moment could be an accident.

She wound her arms over my shoulders, and I slid my hand down her back and pulled her to me. The subtle weight of her body leaning into mine was maddening. As much as I burned to consume every bit of her, I lingered in the slow, gentle magic of the moment.

Isabella flooded every one of my senses. The smell of her hair settled inside my lungs as we searched each other with tentative lips. Her tongue dabbed lightly at the tip of mine, furtively asking permission to explore. Didn’t she know that I was already hers in every way? I had been for what seemed like ages.

“Uh-um.” We practically flew apart at the sound of a throat being cleared. There in the doorway stood the guard I had just spoken to. I glared at the floor and kicked myself for leaving the door open. This would be all over the palace before the moons were high.

“Yes,” I grunted. “What is it?”

“Dojak is ready to see you now,” he said. “You might have waited.”

I chose not to see the smirk on his face. Instead, I turned my attention to Isabella.

“I need to deliver my suspicions to the king.” I lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles—no point in going back on things now. I’d already been caught. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on that,” the guard said. A cold presentiment settled in my chest.

“Why is that?”

“I think he has a mission for you.”

“And what exactly is that mission?” Isabella asked.

“Dunno.” He shrugged. “That kind of information is above the likes of me. Shall we go?” He stepped back from the doorway to make way for me to pass. The last thing I wanted to do was let go of her hands, but this was beyond my choice. This was duty.

Taking a moment to square myself, I stepped out of the workshop and looked back to see her one more time. Her eyes were wide, and she looked so small. The best I could do was offer her a wink and walk away.

We walked in silence, and with every step, I willed the guard to hold his tongue. If he chose to make some kind of crack, I wouldn’t have been able to answer for my actions.

Whatever Dojak had planned for me, it needed to be pretty fucking important.

Isabella

The week had been interminable. Each day, I had been sure that Vokar would come, but each night I tucked myself in, disappointed. It was as if he had vanished, and nobody had any idea when he would come back. Or, if they did, they certainly weren’t telling me.

“What, keep a week away? Seven days and nights?” It was something out of Shakespeare, but I couldn’t for the life of me place from where. I had always been a bit of a lazy student when it came to literature. It was so much more fun to get my hands dirty seeing how things worked.

But now, the words floated up to me as if dragged up from the bottom of a well. “…something, something… Oh, weary reckoning.” Ain’t that the fucking truth? Turns out the old guy had some idea about how it felt.

I was weary alright. Some people could sleep when they were heartsick, but I had spent more waking hours than I cared to think of staring at the planked ceiling. Actually, come to think of it, maybe having a little bit of Shakespeare on hand wouldn’t have been too bad. There were precious few books around, and I was certain he would have done the trick to put me to sleep.

The fact was, I was ready to crawl out of my skin from missing Vokar. Which seemed completely crazy. To call him rough around the edges might not be exactly right, but he wasn’t really what I would ever have considered my type. Not that I had a ‘type’ per se, now that I really thought about it.

None of the men I had ever spent my modest romantic time with could even remotely be considered dangerous. And dangerous is exactly what Vokar was. In all the best ways.

Was I one of those girls who fell for bad boys? Perish the thought.

Still, things had become clearer with every passing day—every passing minute, really. I had fallen for him. Hard. Before he left, I hadn’t been ready to admit it to myself, but now there was no denying it.

I was in love with Vokar.

Which coughed up a whole legion of problems, really. But the most pressing of them was the fact that I had no idea where he was. Or when he was coming back. I wouldn’t even torture myself with ‘if’ he was coming back. As instrumental as he seemed to be around the palace, I was certain I would have heard if the worst had happened.

The only place I found any refuge was in my workshop, and even there, I found Vokar hanging in the air. We’d shared some intimacies there, and they always seemed to be just beyond my fingers. Which was well enough—I needed my fingers busy with the work!

We had amassed a pretty substantial arsenal of Skarg weaponry, if only I could crack the code on how to bring it all to life. With the help of the sphere, I had been able to activate one or two heavy looking blasters. I even had some notion of how to use them, though I was reluctant to do so in my cramped little room.

The whisper on everyone’s lips was that war was coming. Since we had been brought in among the D’Tali, it seemed like we had weathered any number of battles and sieges. War was always in the air, so I had a hard time sorting out why everyone was so particular about it this time.

Maybe it was because those fuckers who had kidnapped us were turning up again. With all that I had needed to adjust to, it had been strangely easy to forget about the apelike Skarg who had started everything. At least for me.

I thought back to a time before it had even occurred to me that alien races and inhabited planets were anything other than fodder for late-night movies. I thought of Tabitha, my roommate, and the guy in my department who’d seemed intent on getting me to go out with him. Here it had been just over a year, and I couldn’t even remember his name.

I wondered where they were now. Whether they ever wondered what had happened to me. In a strange way, there was precious little about my life on Earth that I was nostalgic about. Besides, there was no Vokar back there, so I lost more interest with every passing day.

“Shit.”

In letting my mind wander, I had lost track of what I was doing, and the crystal had slipped out of my grip. It clacked onto the table, and kicked up a low roar as it rolled for the edge. In a flash, I dove after it. Images of it dropping to the stone floor and shattering raced through my mind. If that happened, all the artillery around me would be worse than useless.

Stretching out at full length, I managed to scoop the rolling treasure up before it sailed over the edge. Rolling onto my back, I let out a deep breath and held the sphere up in front of me, watching it make prisms on the ceiling overhead.

Back home, there were all kinds of legends about crystal balls. It seemed like any number of old movies had young women getting their fortunes told by some old woman with a scarf tied over her head. They all seemed unfathomably silly, but here I was, lying on a table and looking into a crystal ball, thinking about my future.

For all the power it undeniably held, I half wondered if it kept the answer to any of the questions I had burning inside me. That almost seemed too convenient. I let its weight rest on my chest, closed my eyes, and indulged in a light fantasy about Vokar.

The door would creak open, and he would step over to me on noiseless feet. His fingers would pluck open the buttons on my blouse and spread me open to his touch. That low heat pooled up in my core, and I imagined his breath hot on my neck, the firm grip of his hands as they wandered over my body.

I could practically taste his skin as I lay there, fantasizing about that stealthy, secretive man taking me on my workshop table.

“Grabbing a nap?”

“Jesus Christ!” I sat up with a jolt, to find Camilia standing in the doorway. “Something like that,” I said as my breath came back down to normal.

“Not sleeping much, huh?” There was a sly smile on her face, which I chose to ignore.

“Hey, can you help me with something? It’s been driving me nuts.”

“Sure, if I can.” Camilia stepped into the room as if she expected to give me a hand lugging one of the bigger blasters over to the table I was scrambling off of.

“What’s this from—‘What, keep a week away? Seven days and nights?’ And there’s something else, but it all wraps up with something about a ‘weary reckoning’. What have you got for me?”

“That’s Othello, right?”

“Othello!” I snapped my fingers and shook my head. “I knew somebody would have that. I’ve been dying over it.”

“I bet.” That sneaky look crept back over her face. “Trying to remember a Shakespeare quote has been keeping you up nights, huh?”

“Not exactly.” I put the sphere down and did my best to look busy with whatever came to hand on the table.

“You know how the full thing goes? ‘What, keep a week away? Seven days and seven nights? Eight score eight hours? And lovers’ absent hours, more tedious than the dial eight times? Oh, weary reckoning.’ Not bad, right?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that time drags on when the one you love ain’t around.” She leaned a hip against my table and folded her arms. “So, how long has Vokar been gone, exactly?”

“I dunno.” I shrugged, but my cheeks were already giving me a way.

“Seems like right about a week to me. Is somebody feeling the pinch of a lover's absent hours?”

“Stop it.” I smacked away the hand she had tickling at my ribs. “I’m trying to work.”

“That’s not what it looked like when I came in. You were lying there trying to remember a quote you didn’t even understand.”

“Yeah, well—break time’s over. I shouldn’t have been lying down anyway.” By now, my cheeks were scalding, and I was trying to look anywhere but at Camilia’s face. She was already reading me like a book, so why give her the satisfaction of giving myself away further?

“Hey, would you cool it a second? Isabella.” The seriousness in her tone stilled my busy hands and I finally met her eyes. “It’s okay.”

“Is it?” I slumped against the table next to her, and she laughed. “It doesn’t feel okay.”

“I know,” she said. “But, how about I give you a nickel’s worth of free advice?”

“What?”

“Don’t fight it.” As was her habit these days, her hands rested on her stomach, as if ready to cradle the baby growing inside her. “The whole fated mate thing sounds completely crazy, but take it from me—you know it when you feel it. More than that, trying to ignore it only makes things worse.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. Trust me. So, I’m just saying, if you think you might be feeling the pull, embrace it. Otherwise, you’ll just wear yourself out over something that can make you so, so happy.”

Looking at her, I could tell she was right. Camilia looked more than happy. She looked at peace, which was something I had grown nearly desperate for.

I nodded, and she fell into the quiet that she and Sofia seemed to live in these days. She didn’t pull up stakes to leave, but just looked down at her hands, lightly rubbing her baby bump. You know what? I could live with that. Whatever calm she was feeling, I was more than ready for.

And if Vokar was the one to bring it, then I was more than ready for him, too.

Vokar

I tucked up against the stone wall, stealing glances in either direction. Nobody had seen me yet, and I had every intention of keeping it that way. Making my way around the edge of the city, I searched along until I found the loose set of stones. Without even looking, I could tell that nobody had touched them since I had last been through the passage.

Sneaking back into my own kingdom always felt like a bit of bravado. But I’d always felt the clandestine ways were the most fun. Besides, it was a good chance for me to make sure no one else had been through.

Sure, I could have just strolled right past the guards, but where’d be the fun in that? Once I had slipped into my tunnel, I set about resetting the stones as tightly as I could. I took it as a point of pride that not even Dojak knew how I got in and out.

Hugging the walls and squeezing through the crevice, there was only one place I wanted to be.

Unfortunately, there was one small errand to complete first.

Report slid underneath Troko and Camilia’s chamber door, I was free to pursue my own whims.

But it wasn’t a whim. More like a hot lash, driving me only in one possible direction.

When I had sought out Isabella’s window as I had approached Tahkath, it had been dark. There was a perverse joy in the notion of stealing in upon her on a mission that for once was about pleasure, about what my heart desired, rather than duty.

The wall leading up to it didn’t really offer any handholds, so I was going to have to get creative. My favorite.

Climbing a post on the front of a market stall, I kicked myself up onto the thatched roof. From there, I was able to jump to a neighboring house and pull myself to the top of the second story. The only trouble was, I was still about seven feet below the line of her window. And across the street.

After a quick scan, I saw a hoisting line hung from a loading bay at the second story of the palace. It must have been where they loaded in the wine barrels, and I made a note to say something about it. As grateful as I was for the help in breaking in at this moment, it probably wasn’t a good idea to leave that for others to take advantage of.

Clambering down from my roost, I jogged over to the rope and walked myself up the wall. After all my furtive sneaking, my ascent felt stunningly overt. But the closer I had gotten to Isabella, the less caution I used. That was something to watch out for.

Once I reached the roofline, it was an easy matter to slip over to her window. A short leap offered me the sill, and I pulled myself into the darkened room with ease.

“Who’s there?” Her voice trembled in the dark, and I felt bad for a moment, remembering how a Skarg had come upon her when she was alone. By way of answer, I struck a match and lit the candle on her writing table.

“Vokar.” She must have recognized my silhouette against the window, because by the time the flame had flickered to life, she was already out of bed and scurrying around to meet me. She caught me in eager arms and held on as if I might slip away again at any moment. I held her every bit as tightly.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered into my shoulder. “You left without saying where you were going.”

“I’m a spy.” I stroked her hair. “There can’t really be a lot of chatter about where I’m going, you know?”

She pushed back a bit, and gazed up at me with shining, luminous eyes. In them, I could read her fear about my absence, and I kissed the lids to reassure her.

“Regardless, I’m back now,” I said. “I’m yours.”

The words startled us. I said them almost without thinking, as if they had been living in my throat until I saw her again.

“Where did you go?” she asked when the moment passed. “Can you at least tell me that?”

“The same place I always go. Aetam.” Breaking our embrace, she led me over to sit on the edge of her bed. In the dim light of the candle, I was very aware of where she had invited me to perch beside her. The sheets were still warm from where she had been sleeping, and I ached to topple her backwards into them and press the bed beneath us.

“Was it dangerous?” The glow behind me flickered across her lips, and they begged to be kissed. But the anxiety in her question helped me to resist their call, for the moment.

“It always is. But this time…” Given her history with the Skarg, I was almost reluctant to tell her. But then, I thought that there should be no secrets between us. “There are things happening among the Aetamians that we need to be preparing for. Now.”

“What?”

“The Skarg are there.” She shuddered. “When I trusted those bringing me intelligence, they were still deep in hiding, but things have progressed so far that King Moffat is no longer concerned with concealing them. Everything is out in the open now.”

“You saw all this from outside?”

I smiled at her notion that I did all my work hanging from the trees.

“I walked among them. Long ago we fashioned disguises that allow me to pass through their scrutiny, into the workshops, and right into the heart of their forges.” Her eyes grew wider, and she reached to take my hands, fearful in hindsight. “The Aetamians have nearly always been ahead of us in weaponry, but we have managed to best them through cunning and better strategy.

“Unfortunately,” I continued

, “we’re going to need more than strategy to win. Nothing could have prepared me for the advances the Skarg were offering up to our enemies. We may have been able to pull the weapons out of the ship, but they have been building something that will be difficult to beat, even with a full artillery.”

“Vokar, what are they doing? Tell me.”

“They’ve built a massive cannon.” The memory fretted a chill over my skin. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Immense in scale, and assisted by lights and wires like the ship is made of.”

“How are they powering it?” She shook her head. “I thought we had the only power source.”

“From the diagrams, it looks like they have something else,” I said. “Like your crystal but much smaller. Enough to power the cannon.”

“That’s not good. And worse, they’ve used it to help our enemies,” she said quietly.

“Just so.” The weight of the pending danger settled over us, and Isabella shook. Moving closer, I hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me, willing my courage into her through my skin.

“It’s hopeless,” she said, staring at the guttering shadows at our feet.

“Not entirely. I saw the plans.” Her face flooded with hope, driving me on. “I broke into the workshop after dark and went over everything. It was tempting to steal them away, but I was sure that would only bring them on sooner.”

“What could you make out?”

“It’s hard to say.” I shook my head. “So much of what your kind takes for granted is beyond me. But, after reading as much as I could, I have a feeling I can deactivate it. I’m not certain, but if I could manage to get close enough, I think I could do it.”

At that, she snaked her arms around me and clung as if she were drowning. I knew the feeling. The terror of it all hadn’t fully settled into me until I had come to say it out loud. It would be one thing to stride in to Dojak and lay all this out. The solemnity of council didn’t leave room for emotions. But, in the dark with the woman I cared for more than anything? There was no choice but to slip into fear with her.

“How will you get close enough to do it?”

“They’ll have to come to us.” It sounded like a death knell.

“Vokar, it sounds so dangerous.”

“It is,” I said quietly. Then, I cupped her face in my palms and looked into her eyes. “But I promise that no harm will come to you. Not while I’m alive.”

She blinked for a moment, and tears brought a new sheen to her eyes. She reached up and covered my hands with hers. It was clear that she wanted to speak, but there was nothing left to say. Well, there might have been, but I had already used all of my courage. It would take far more to say the things I carried in my heart.

Instead, I leaned forward and kissed her. She sucked in breath as if she’d been waiting for my lips. As if nothing in the world mattered besides the place where our souls connected.

Her hand slipped from mine and clasped the back of my head, pulling me deeper into the kiss. With her other hand, she tugged at my shirt, shivering with need.

Tucking her legs up over my lap, I pressed her body as tightly to mine as I could manage. Even through her nightdress, I could feel every fullness and dip of her perfect figure, the places where the firm gave way to the soft, the heat of her rising passion.

A new urgency seemed to surge through Isabella, and her breathing deepened to a rapid rasp as she devoured my mouth. Each gasp for air carried a moan ripe with invitation. Daring further, I helped myself to the slender line of her neck, treating myself to the sweet nectar of her skin.

A deeper groan threaded out of her as I made my way lower, grazing my teeth lightly across the fine dip of her collarbone. With hurrying fingers, she tugged my shirt free and pulled it up over my head. We had flirted with intimacy before, but this time it was clear that we were going to plunge headlong into each other.

And nothing could stop us.

Isabella

I could barely keep track of what we were doing.

The longing for Vokar, and how much I had missed him, had me tearing off his clothes. His fingers got busy and he worked to open the buttons of my nightdress. My heart pounded and my head swam. I pulled his shirt over his head and went back to kissing him.

Any gap in touching felt like an eon. I was desperate for him, my body yearning and my heart skipping. I rubbed my hands up and down his ripped, scaly chest and the fire down below exploded through my body. My fingers found the lines of his abs and I lightly caressed him down to his pants, where I felt how big he was.

I couldn’t think about it for long. Vokar pressed his palms onto my breasts and I moaned softly under his kiss. I was only in my panties, and he was already naked from the waist up. He pulled me close with a hand around my lower back, all the while keeping pressure on my chest. I arched a little, wanting to give everything to him. Our breath was almost in sync, each of us with small hitches as the other touched a different place.

I’d been waiting for this. It was more of a connection than anything I’d ever felt. A yearning in my chest grew outwards and I needed him to take everything he desired. I wanted all of him and wanted to give him everything in return.

He pushed me backwards a little until my back hit the wall. With a smooth gesture, he slid the sheet from my chest, spilling my breasts into the cool night air in my chamber. My nipples grew hard as the air caressed them and Vokar pressed against me. My skin felt his rippling pecs and his rock-hard abs. He pushed both palms into my breasts and I arched against the wall.

Fireworks exploded behind my eyes as he found my hard nipples with his thumbs and forefingers, squeezing them gently and rocking them between his fingers. Pleasure erupted inside me, and I closed my eyes, breathing hard.

Our tongues caressed and our kiss heated. I lost track of where I was or what I was doing. All I knew was him and the nervous energy I felt throughout my body. My fingers tingled with a fire I had never felt before. I opened my eyes and looked at him. His eyes glowed green.

Oh.

My.

I knew that it was a sign that the D’Tali felt a real connection to someone. Glowing eyes were the giveaway, something talked about in stories from the older D’Tali, sought after but rarely achieved.

And here was a D’Tali, sitting on my bed with me, his eyes glowing a soft green just for me.

My mate.

The fire spread through me, hot and fast. Seeming to know what I needed before I did, Vokar lowered himself to his knees in front of me. I leaned back against the wall and my heart fluttered as he, ever so gently, pulled my underwear off and tossed it somewhere. My back arched, and my chest heaved.

Gently, he guided one of my legs over his shoulder. He kissed my inner thigh, and my heartbeat rattled against my chest so hard I thought it could burst out at any moment. He kissed me again, and his arm wrapped around the small of my back and steadied me against him.

Then he put his mouth on my clit.

I exploded. That was the only way to describe it. My heart erupted out of my chest as the sensation of his tongue pushing against me fired through all my nerves at once. A moan escaped me before I could stop it. Keeping his tongue flat and wide, he gently licked me from my gushing slit all the way up to the clit.

I couldn’t stop myself from screaming. It was too much, all this sensation, the gentle licking, the cupping of his hand on my ass. I started moving my hips back and forth while he licked me, over and over. It didn’t take long for the energy building up to expand outwards. I cried out and came, contracting over and over, until I leaned my head back with a sigh.

He didn’t let me finish. Keeping my quivering leg over his shoulder, he found my outer lips with his free hand and shoved two fingers inside me. I grabbed onto a horn for dear life. He drove into me with his fingers and I clamped down around him, barely finishing the one orgasm before I started another one.

My legs vibrated and a shriek escaped me. He curved a finger inside, hitting my front wall. I rocked my hips as he moved his fingers in and out. Then he placed his tongue on my clit again, and I moaned, unable to contain myself.

Clutching his horn, I moved his head in time with my hips. I moaned again as he pushed a third finger into me, filling me up. He moved his fingers in time with his mouth, and he growled something hungrily at me. I couldn’t take it much longer. I thought I was going to burst.

The fire had moved throughout my entire body. My fingers tingled with it and my head swam as I closed my eyes and thought of nothing else but his fingers inside hitting my front wall at the perfect angle while his tongue licked me dry.

“YES!” I shrieked as another orgasm rushed through me, this time harder and stronger than the last two. I shouldn’t have been screaming like that, but it was useless. Hopefully, the tower’s thick stone walls would contain the noise. Dazed, I clamped my legs around his head, pulling him into my wetness as I shook against the wall. I felt his fingers stretching inside of me as my walls contracted and loosened over and over again.

Gradually, I reclaimed my limp legs and slumped, leaning stiff-armed against the wall. Vokar smiled and rose. Then he grabbed me underneath the knees and around my shoulders, and picked me up with no effort at all.

Which was good, because I didn’t think that I could stand any more even if I’d wanted to. He gently placed me on the bed, then started kissing my face.

“So good,” I sighed. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His eyes glowed even more brightly as he looked at me.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

“And you’re ten out of ten,” I answered with a thumbs up. He laughed at me. It took me a few seconds to get my bearings, then I hooked a leg around his hip and pulled, flipping us on the bed so I was on top.

I was sure he had let me win. But fine by me.

He laughed and his eyes shone as he looked at me.

I kissed his lips and worked my way down to his chest. I kneeled between his legs and undid his pants, pulling them and his underpants off.

He was huge, and at full attention, his girth as impressive as his length.

I straddled him, hands on his chest. Then I slowly lowered myself onto him.

He sighed and my eyes rolled as he filled me. Every inch of him touched my walls. I didn’t know how I could fit all of him. Then I couldn’t think of anything at all.

I breathed out as the pleasure rolled through me. Vokar grabbed my wrists as he stared intently at my face.

As slowly as I had lowered myself, I raised myself up, my eyes nearly squeezing shut, as I sank down again. Vokar groaned, and I moaned in pleasure. I couldn’t believe how much he filled me, how our hearts beat together and our breaths matched. Leaning forward, I rocked my hips back and forth, moans coming from my throat. He hit every inch of me, every nerve.

Faster and faster, I rocked my hips. Vokar raised his hips in time with me, giving me all of him. Our hands gripped each other’s, and I looked at him.

Vokar watched my face. His eyes didn’t leave mine, so concerned about me and my pleasure. My heart thundered harder and I arched my back as he drove me over the edge. I collapsed onto his chest and shook as I clamped around him again.

He studied my face and tucked my hair behind my ears.

Then he flipped us so I was under him. He was so long that he never left me as we rolled. His arms drifted above my shoulders and he lowered himself, drawing me into a deep and passionate kiss. I opened my hips up for him and he drove back into me.

I screamed. I wouldn’t have thought I had any voice left, but taking all of him inside was everything I’d ever wanted. My hands found his and he put some pressure on my wrists as he pulled out slowly. Then he thrust back into me, right to the base. I screamed again, and this time it came out in a rasping moan.

“Yes,” I breathed as he pulled out slowly again. “Please. Please.”

He offered that cocky smile that he seemed to reserve for me, and pushed himself into me.

“Isabella,” he breathed.

I rocked a little around his base and his eyes rolled. “Please,” I moaned. “Vokar. Please. Fuck me. Please.”

He started to thrust into me, slowly, sensually, his eyes never leaving mine. We clasped hands and I brought my hips up to meet his every push. Our hearts joined, our souls were one.

My mate.

For one tiny moment, all was well in the world.

And I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

Vokar

I watched her intently as she writhed underneath me. Her hips bucked and her eyelids fluttered with every thrust. Her lithe body, tight under my hands, moved so gracefully it was hard for me to think when I stared at her beauty.

Our hearts beat as one, and her breasts bounced as I filled her with every inch of me with long, hard strokes. She breathed faster and faster, her nails raking down my back. The pain mixed with the pleasure of feeling her tighten against me as I thrusted.

This human woman was unbelievable. I pushed us harder and faster, and she lifted her hips in tempo with me. She opened herself, her hips keeping time with me, inviting my body in with every push.

Deeper and deeper I went, always with a small stop at the top of the stroke. I wanted to watch her finish. I craved her. And I wanted her eyes to roll as she finished around me.

Another deep thrust and she moaned again, her back arching towards me, accentuating her breasts and her neck. I pushed into her, all the way, until she took my entire length. I touched her cervix and she gasped. Her walls pressed against me, as if I barely fit and her body was forming around me.

I was so big, and yet she could take me. And she loved it.

“You’re so fucking tight,” I said to her, watching her as she arched for me, desperate for all of me.

“Fuck me,” she said. “Please, Vokar. Fuck me.”

I listened, increasing the pace of my hips, driving deeper and deeper as she writhed and tried to take more of me inside her.

Her walls stretched outward as I buried myself into her.

I looked her in the eyes and studied her face. She was going to finish soon, and I would join her. I was reaching the edge and with every stroke, I drove us both closer to the end.

She sighed and tightened around me. Her jaw locked and she stared at me.

“I’m going to come,” she said, voice higher than usual, with a little hiccup at the end. The sound made my heart sing and I nodded, keeping my pace the exact same. Out and in. Her hips rising to meet me. Every silent hit we took together was ecstasy.

She moaned softly and her eyes became glazed as she stared into the distance. Her walls clamped down around me hard, and the change in sensation caught me off guard. Roaring, I collapsed on top of her as my eyes went blind. My head swam and I filled her with my seed as I pulsated inside her, in time with her contractions.

This was something new entirely. I didn’t know what this was, but it was so much more than sex. A joining of hearts, an entangling of souls. I watched her face as she relaxed.

Isabella was glorious.

I pulled out and lay on my back. She snuggled into my chest and I wrapped an arm protectively around her. Closing my eyes, I simply listened to her breaths going in and out of her lungs, to her heart as it beat in time with mine.

Everything about this human woman was extraordinary. I couldn’t believe that I had been able to make love to her.

“Wow,” she said. She rubbed my chest with a hand. “That was…wow.”

I laughed.

“I couldn’t agree more,” I answered, holding her hand in mine. “That was definitely wow. You’re so magnificent, did you know that?”

She chuckled. “Well, you’re amazing.”

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

“So, I’m magnificent and you’re amazing,” she said. “That’s a decent record.”

“Not going to trade me in?”

She sighed. “Not today, anyway. I can’t be sure about any other day, though.”

I laughed and kissed the top of her head, closing my eyes and smelling her. She was everything I loved, flowers, the open air, a sunny day after the rain. She smelled like all of it mixed together.

My heart thundered as I thought about her, about her taste and the moments we had just shared.

This was more than lust or a sexual attraction. I had feelings for her. Feelings I couldn’t ignore.

But did she feel the same?

I thought so, but I couldn’t be sure. These human women were hard to read, and I didn’t know if she actually cared for me or if it was just lust on her side. She had told me she missed me, sure enough, and she seemed to have meant it...but who really knew what lay beneath the surface?

Normally I wouldn’t have cared, but I couldn’t have my heart broken by this woman. I didn’t know if I could handle sharing my feelings and having them rejected.

But if this was only a fling to her, I didn’t want to scare her away. I could maybe win her over in the long term. One thing was certain, I didn’t think I could live without her. If all I was going to get was a fling, then I didn’t want to ruin it.

The “what if” bothered me. What if she actually cared for me in return? What if she didn’t like me at all and was using me for sexual release? Normally I wouldn’t have cared, and I would have loved the excuse for casual sex.

This was different.

How different I couldn’t say, but as I stroked her hair while she lay soundlessly beside me, I knew that I felt something more.

“I was worried about you,” she whispered.

“I had to go,” I said. I kissed the top of her head and sighed.

“It’s fine. Is it always going to be this way? You just run off whenever you’d like because the king has a job for you?”

That stopped me a little.

I could be mad at her. My work was important, and we were talking about the war with the Aetamians, after all. I was a D’Tali. We acted.

We also listened. I knew that wasn’t the question she wanted to ask.

She’d been worried. I’d left her and she hadn’t known where I was or what I was doing. In that sense, it was easier to be the one gone. At least I knew I was safe. She had no information, every day waiting for the terrible news.

“While we are at war, yes,” I said. I didn’t want to lie to her. “But during times of peace, I don’t think the king will have much use for me.”

She sighed and stroked my chest.

“I missed you,” she said. “And I was worried.”

“I missed you,” I answered, surprised by my own honesty. I hadn’t even admitted those feelings to myself, let alone to her. The ache in my heart for her had been very real while I was away.

I needed courage. There was something here, between Isabella and me. I’d known it from the first taste of her. I couldn’t take the rejection if she didn’t feel the same, if she only thought that this was lust, or she just want to check “Fuck D’Tali” off her bucket list.

The woman in my arms wouldn’t do that to me. I had to believe that.

Yet, why was I scared? D’Tali weren’t scared of anything. I could enter a chamber and be completely outnumbered without a trace of fear in my heart. So how could a human woman have me falling to pieces?

This wasn’t me. This wasn’t right. I should know better than this.

“I just wish you could tell me when you were leaving,” she said. “So I don’t think that you’re dead in an alley somewhere.”

“Nothing could kill me in an alley,” I said confidently. “So you don’t have to worry about that.”

“So you say,” she answered.

She was worried about me. If she didn’t want me for who I was, then would she be worried? I doubted it. She probably wouldn’t have even noticed I was gone if she didn’t care, even a little bit.

I needed to tell her how I felt. She needed to know that I had feelings for her and that she was everything to me. I cared for her, more than I’d ever cared for anyone in my life. And she needed to know that.

I couldn’t live not knowing if she felt the same way. War was upon us, and I didn’t know if I would survive battle. There was a very real possibility that all would be lost. I needed to know how she felt before anything else happened. If the city was attacked, I would die to save Isabella.

Did she feel the same way about me?

“Isabella,” I said.

“Yes?”

“I… I wanted to ask you something. I need to know. I... I… I have—”

I was cut off by the ringing of bells throughout the city.

“No!” I breathed. I shot out of bed and grabbed my clothes off the floor.

“What is it?” she asked, looking thoroughly confused. “What is going on?”

“It’s the war bells,” I said, pulling on my pants. “We’re under attack.”

Isabella jumped up to join me as an echoing clatter drifted over the city.

I stopped and held out a hand, stopping her from moving for a second so I could listen.

“What?”

“They are at the gates,” I muttered to myself. “The Aetamians are attacking the gates. I have to go.”

We looked at each other, the gravity of the situation fell on us at the same time, striking us frozen for the moment.

Then the alarm sounded again.

Isabella

“The enemy is upon us,” Vokar growled. “I must be at my station.”

So much for enjoying that afterglow, I thought, then shook myself. It was time to face the urgency of the situation.

“Dammit. I’d hoped from what you said there was more time,” I said.

Vokar struggled to put his pants on as he nodded.

“So did I.”

There was the sound of another impact of some kind and I thought I could feel the building shake.

“Did you feel that?” I said with alarm, but instead of answering, Vokar ran out to the balcony.

He shook his head. “The Aetamians...they’re climbing the walls. They’re trying to breach the city and the palace. This is the boldest attack they’ve ever staged,” he said in frustration. “I need to get out there…but there’s something wrong, something different.”

I ran back into the room and quickly put some clothes on. I couldn’t just stand there holding a sheet to my breasts. Having dressed, I headed back out to the balcony, to see Vokar in almost the same spot he was in before.

“I thought you needed to go!” I exclaimed.

“I don’t understand why they’d make a move this soon,” he said, turning to dash back inside, digging around in the sheets for the rest of his clothing. “After the last battle, they don’t have the numbers to make a full out assault on Tahkath. What did I miss?”

“Does it matter right now?” I wondered.

“You’re right. Stopping this incursion, that’s what matters now,” he said. “We need to go and—” he was cut off by a powerful blast that rocked the city walls.

“What the hell was that?” Vokar muttered, and we both rushed over to the other side of the balcony to take a look.

There was a gaping, smoking hole in the wall on the west side of the city.

“Oh,” I said, gasping at the ruin.

Vokar shook his head.

“A few more hits like that and the city won’t be standing at all, let alone the wall,” he said. “They’ve brought that damn cannon with them.”

Another loud, powerful blow shook the walls, and I swore.

From what I’d been able to make out since we’d arrived in Tahkath, it seemed like the Aetamians were slightly ahead of the D’Tali technologically.

I’d hoped that with my background and whatever I’d been able to scavenge from the wrecked ship, I’d be able to help our hosts edge ahead.

Those hopes were crushed now. With the Skarg working with the Aetamians, they’d be able to surpass my efforts easily.

But what were they using for a power source?

I’d taken the only crystal I’d seen in what had looked like the engine room.

Was there something else I’d missed?

And if I hadn’t, if that cannon was nothing more than gunpowder and rocks, what damage could the Aetamians do if they got their hands on the crystal?

There was another explosion from the cannon. The whole city seemed to groan from the attack.

D’Tali forces were assembling and beginning their counter-attacks.

“I’ve got to get down there,” Vokar said.

“Agreed.” I ran back into the room and put on my shoes.

“What are you doing?” Vokar called after me.

I put my hair up and strapped on my belt. “I have to get to the workshop.”

“What? No!” he shouted. “You’re staying here, where you’re safe.”

I looked at him like he had three heads.

“Safe hasn’t exactly been an option since the Skarg took me.” I threw my hands up. “And I’m not going to sit here and wait for news. You go help your way. I’ve got some of the weapons we pulled from the Skarg ship recharged and ready to go. I’ll grab a guard, get to the workshop, and send them out as soon as I can.” Poking a finger on his chest, I tried to make my voice sound braver than I felt. “Don’t tell me how I can or can’t help. This is my home now, too.”

He looked at me a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. Just be careful.”

I nodded at him and smiled. “I will.”

He grabbed me suddenly by the arms and I could feel his care and his passion.

“Listen to me, Isabella,” he said intensely. “I’m serious about this. You have to watch every step you take. This may all be a distraction, to keep the D’Tali turned towards the walls of the city, while the Aetamians send in agents quietly, to infiltrate the palace. Who knows who may be creeping around through our halls, and who knows what they’ll be willing to do to get what they want? If the Skarg are involved...”

I looked at him and I felt my heart swell for him, for his worry.

“I hear you, Vokar. And I thank you for that. But you’re not telling me anything I don’t know. I’m well aware of what could be skulking through the corridors here,” I said, putting a hand on his cheek.

His eyes closed briefly at my touch and he put his hand over mine.

“But listen to me now, Vokar. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. And the D’Tali need you. They need you to get down there and help defend the city. You’re one of their strongest and best fighters. So don’t worry about me. Worry about your people. Our people.”

He looked at me deeply and I thought for a moment I could be lost in those eyes forever.

Vokar squeezed my hand then let go. “I will,” he said.

He strapped on his belt, grabbed his blade, and sheathed it on his hip.

Just then another explosion sounded, closer this time. Again, it seemed like the whole city shuddered under the blow.

I thought I could hear the far-off cries of the soldiers engaging each other in one-on-one combat. The D’Tali were fully engaged in the defense of their city. I would have expected nothing less.

I turned to Vokar and saw a look of stern determination on his face.

“What are you going to do?” I asked him.

“I’m going to get down there and help. First things first: I need to get rid of that damn cannon. That’s the kind of damage we can’t keep taking,” he said grimly. “Get those weapons out as soon as you can.”

“I will,” I said.

We both moved to the door with purpose and speed. Vokar cracked it open carefully, to make sure there weren’t Aetamian agents running through the halls.

Instead, we found chaos. There was shouting, D’Tali soldiers sprinting to and fro, a lot of buzzing, intent energy pulsing through everything.

We stepped out into the hallway and prepared to head off in separate directions.

I looked up at Vokar and a silent communication passed between us. There was a tether that ran from one to the other, and that tether would let us know that the other was all right.

That was what I hoped, anyway.

The moment was there, then it was gone. He nodded to me.

“I have to go,” Vokar said, just as another explosion rocked the city. There was more shouting and more panic. We had to get moving but I didn’t want to leave him.

But I knew I had to.

“Now,” I said, “before we go, let me say to you...be careful. Don’t be a hero when you don’t have to be. Be smart, keep your wits about you. And save our city.”

He smiled at me.

“You’re magnificent,” he said.

I winked at him.

“Don’t you ever forget it either,” I said.

He nodded at me.

“You can be sure of that. See you soon.”

“You will.”

With that, he turned and headed off at a sprint towards the city walls.

I watched him go for a moment, watching his form move as he headed away. Then I took a deep breath, shook the cobwebs out of my head, and headed towards the workshop.

After all, I had my own mission to look after.

And I meant to do it.

Vokar

I went hurtling down the corridors of the palace, moving as quickly as I could to get to the gate of the city. There was smoke and fire as I made my way down the parapets. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear Troko shouting commands and D’Tali soldiers responding.

Making my way to the walls, I could see that Aetamian soldiers were worming their way into the city, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the D’Tali. There was blood and screams, shouting and swearing, coming from every corner of the city.

I didn’t have long to reflect on those circumstances. No sooner had I turned the final corner to reach the wall than I was face to face with two Aetamian soldiers.

There was an odd moment where we all looked at each other, as if unsure of what to do next. That was coupled with the realization that, inevitably, someone wasn’t going to make it back to their command post.

They both quickly drew their crossbows, which were not ideal for close quarters combat. Before they could fire their bolts, I dove into them, tackling them both to the ground.

One dropped his crossbow and it went clattering away on the stone floor. The other managed to hold onto his, but hit his head hard against the ground and was dazed for a moment.

It was a brief advantage, but I had to take it while I could.

I drew my blade and went for the one that was unarmed. The other’s bell was still ringing, so there would be another moment before I had to be concerned with him. Leaping upon the unarmed Aetamian, he met me with a closed fist, catching me across the jaw.

It was a good strike, but not good enough. He was slow and I saw it coming, allowing me to roll with the blow.

I pushed my left forearm against his neck, right under his chin, pushing down.

He sputtered and coughed with the pressure I was putting on him and brought both hands up to wrap them around my wrist, trying to pry me off.

But I had leverage on my side and I was heavier, so I was able to keep him down.

Raising my right hand, I plunged my knife down right into his heart.

He groaned and kicked, then he was dead.

The one who had been dazed had recovered some of his senses and had clambered to his feet, still clutching his crossbow.

Shakily, he managed to fire off a bolt. I dodged to my left, but it grazed my shoulder.

“Motherfucker,” I said between gritted teeth.

It wasn’t serious by any means, but it stung like a bastard.

He was trying to reload the bow when I flipped the knife in my hand and hurled it at him.

Catching him right between the eyes, the blade buried up to the hilt. For a strange half second, he stood, uncomprehending of what had happened to him, even reaching up to touch the hilt of my knife.

Then he fell forward, dispatched.

I rolled him over, plucked my blade from his skull, and wiped it on his tunic. I didn’t have time to waste, so I quickly moved ahead.

Another blast of cannon fire let me know that the situation was still dire. The cannon needed some time to recharge, it seemed. But each hit was still devastating.

There was enough chaos and confusion near the breach in the wall that I was able to slip through without more trouble.

Aetamian soldiers were fighting D’Tali at every side. Keeping to the shadows, I passed by unnoticed and headed straight for the cannon’s position.

The cannon was mounted on some sort of wagon, reinforced to support its weight. I could see as it swiveled slowly on a pivot and took aim for another section of the city wall.

With a tremendous boom, it launched another projectile at the wall, hitting with a heavy impact.

From my position, I could see, below and to the left of the cannon, a Skarg was operating it from some sort of table.

Not a table, a computer station. I recognized it from being on the ship with Isabella during her scavenging. His four arms worked furiously, programming the positioning of the cannon’s fire.

It was only going to take him moments to fire another blast at the city. I had to do something now.

I crept low, circling the front of the cannon wagon, hoping that the Skarg would be too busy to notice me.

The computer station was on the left side of the wagon, so I moved to approach from the right. Using every technique I’d learned in my extensive experience, I moved silently around the wagon.

Creeping up along the right side, I peeked my head out to make sure I hadn’t been spotted yet.

Sure enough, the Skarg was wrapped up in whatever he was doing with the computer.

I moved quickly, leaping up onto the wagon. Before the Skarg knew I was there, I slipped behind him and drew my blade across his neck.

He gasped in surprise and flailed his four arms, one of them catching me on the side of my head, knocking me backwards.

With two of his other hands, he tried to stop the bleeding from his neck, but it was too late.

Turning to look at me, his eyes blazed with fury and hatred. He took one, two, three steps toward me.

Then collapsed, dead.

I shook my head to clear the cobwebs and, getting to my feet, moved over to the operation center of the cannon.

A computer monitor was flashing lights, with all kinds of buttons and controls.

I looked at it blankly. I couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

However this worked, I’d better figure it out fast. There was a countdown clock on the monitor.

I’d been counting, tracking the time between cannon blasts.

There were only moments before it blasted another hole in the wall, another crack in the safety that Tahkath relied on.

I looked over the monitor again, trying to find some way to make sense of it. The plans I had originally seen in Aetam spoke of some kind of authentication system but, now that I was staring at the device’s bells and whistles, I was no longer sure I could deactivate it as easily as I had thought.

“Serves me right for always relying on a knife,” I said out loud to myself. “Should’ve paid more attention when Isabella was talking about these things.”

But then, right below the monitor, I saw an electronic pad that looked like it was in the shape of a hand.

Not just any hand.

I didn’t need to think twice. I ran over to the Skarg and, without ceremony, I cut off one of his hands.

Bringing it over to the pad, I placed it on top. To my relief, the sound of the cannon changed, and a message appeared across the monitor, pointing to a flashing button I couldn’t recognize the language it was written in, but I had to make a decision.

I pushed the button.

It was better than doing nothing.

Maybe.

I held my breath and hoped we’d be in good shape.

The cannon stopped whirring and shut down.

I sat behind the computer and took a hard look at the monitor. I had control, now it was only a matter of figuring out the specifics.

And then things took another turn.

I could hear explosions somewhere in the distance.

Isabella.

She really had managed to get those weapons working. She must have distributed them to the D’Tali forces already.

Damn, she really was amazing.

But behind me, I could hear the sound of more Aetamian troops gathering. I looked and there were what looked like several battalions of soldiers.

That would be more than the D’Tali could withstand, even with Isabella’s weapons. I turned back to the cannon controls and slapped the Skarg hand on the monitor again.

The cannon whirred back to life.

A message read out. It was simply a flashing set of arrows, pointing left and right. I hoped it was asking for directions.

I hit right, and the cannon started turning. I waited until it had made a 180-degree turn, the barrel now facing the Aetamian troops.

Pausing the cannon’s action, another message read out.

Again, there was a bar that looked to be refilling.

I could not read the text, but it didn’t seem like a far jump to assume it was indicating that the weapon was powering up again.

As the bar filled, I pushed the button that was flashing again. A tiny crystal on the computer console flared brilliantly for a moment, then the next moment, the cannon roared to life, sending its fire into the Aetamian forces.

There was a terrific explosion and I heard cries and shouts, bodies flying everywhere.

The bar filled up again. I hit the button again. The crystal flashed again.

And again, the cannon roared to life, firing another round.

A third spray of fire through their forces was all it took. The Aetamian leader called for retreat and the forces started to withdraw immediately.

From my vantage point, I could see the other Aetamians pulling back from within the city, too. The cannon turning on their own, along with Isabella’s brilliant addition of weapons the like they’d never faced before, was enough to break them.

They ran like mad, like ants scattered from their mound.

I launched one more round into the retreating Aetamians, to make sure the point was made. It worked.

I shut the machine down and sat for a second, catching my breath.

The damage to the city was severe, but it could have been so much worse.

With the cannon on our side, perhaps we’d bought enough time to rebuild the walls before the next attack.

Maybe Isabella could study it and make more of them.

I tucked the Skarg hand into the belly of the wagon in case we needed it again, and headed back into the city.

Pausing outside the wall, I examined the damage. It was extensive, with at least two major breaches, along with several positions that had been badly weakened.

I sighed.

It would take around-the-clock work to repair them, but at least it could be done. Anything could be done if you put your back and mind to it. That was something I knew for sure.

I reached the breach in the wall from where I had exited, nodding to several D’Tali I knew. The wounded were being helped back to the medical facilities and the dead were being loaded onto stretchers and taken to where they could be identified and cleaned off for burial.

It was a heavy day but then again, battles were always costly. Even in victory.

This wasn’t any different.

I headed in to help carry the wounded when I heard a voice shouting my name.

Turning, I saw Camilia frantically rushing toward me.

That didn’t make sense. She should’ve been tending the wounded.

“Camilia, what is it?” I asked, fear creeping up my spine.

“Vokar,” she panted. “Isabella.”

“What?” I said, grabbing her shoulders. “What about Isabella?”

She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

“They took her. The Aetamians. They must have taken her during the battle.”

And I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my soul.

Isabella

The sun blazed down on me. The heat was unbelievable.

After the cool stone and marble of the palace, the change of temperature was something of a shock, adding to the whirling state of my thoughts.

I’d barely had time to react when the Skarg nabbed me from my workshop. I still had no idea what was going on even now.

I’d promised Vokar that I’d keep a guard with me, but even as I’d said the words, we’d both known it would be impossible.

Every D’Tali was fighting to protect the city. I was gone before anyone even noticed.

The Skarg carried me silently and swiftly out of the city amidst all the confusion. Soon they had taken me through the forests surrounding the palace into the desert that lay to the far west of the city.

I had never been there before, but I had heard stories from D’Tali patrols that occasionally had to venture out that far for various reasons.

And the stories they had told…

Of barren, desolate deserts. Little signs of life. The occasional bit of scrub brush, but not much else. Insects and lizards skittered under rocks and burrowed in the sand and dust, waiting until dusk to fully emerge and hunt for prey.

It was ugly and hard. And could be the death of anyone, no matter how strong they were.

And that...was where I found myself now.

The Skarg seemed impervious to the heat. I never heard them utter a word of complaint.

They also seemed to never drink water.

Or at least, I never saw them drinking water. Maybe that was because they weren’t offering me any water.

I was baffled by that and found myself oddly impressed by their endurance. I tucked away that information, to see if it could be helpful later on somehow.

Finally, after a long day of trekking through the desert, we crested a high sand dune and there it was.

The ship.

Unlike previously, some of the hull breaches seemed to have been mended with sheets of metal. There were more Skarg buzzing around the ship, all doing work of various kinds to it.

Considering that it had only been a couple weeks since I had been there, I was surprised how quickly they had done so much.

I hesitated at the top of the dune, looking down at the scene and not sure what to make of it. But that didn’t last long.

“You’re going to help us,” one of the Skarg growled, his grin widening until I could almost see all of his teeth.

“Yeah, right,” I said.

“Think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” he asked. “Probably didn’t figure on us having miniature power sources, did you? Or the fact that the crystal you had is trackable, which made it so easy to find it, and you.”

“What the…” I said, shocked.

He pointed to the one that had attacked me weeks ago. “He told us all about your little workshop, and it seems like you're familiar with our tech…” He laughed loudly, then shoved my back. I tumbled down the side of the dune, falling end over end.

I wasn’t hurt because it was just sand, but I would be spitting dust and grit out of my mouth for a while to come.

A pair of hands grabbed me roughly and pulled me to my feet.

I turned to look at the one who aided me and say thank you, when the words died in my throat, becoming a lump instead.

The Skarg that had helped me up...he was the same one who had attacked me in the workshop. He had a wicked grin on his face, almost a sneer.

“Hello, engineer,” he said mockingly. “We meet again.”

I stepped back from him slowly, not really sure where I was going to go, but wanting to get away from him.

Backing up, I ran into something unmoving. Turning, the largest Skarg I had yet seen towered over me, bigger than the one that had attacked me earlier.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled.

I froze, fear pulsing through different parts of my brain.

The Skarg that had brought me here threw down the various hunks and sheets of metal they had been carrying and the large one, clearly the leader, beckoned for the Skarg carrying a protected bundle over to him.

The leader took the bundle and carefully unwrapped it. When it was uncovered, my heart sank.

The crystal.

Of course it was.

It hit home then that the raid on the city was probably a distraction just to retrieve the crystal. Liberating the prisoner we’d had and kidnapping me...those had been afterthoughts.

“Welcome, engineer,” the leader said. “I trust your journey across the sands was...comfortable.’

That prompted a snicker from the other Skarg.

I tried to look defiant and stood up a little straighter. “Fine. I could use some water, though.”

The leader studied me, cocking his head slightly. Then he turned to one of his aides and nodded slightly.

The aide produced a canteen from somewhere and handed it to him. I reached out for it and he pulled it away.

“I’m happy to give some water, engineer. I’m sure you must be very thirsty indeed. But we’re going to need something from you.”

Here it comes, I thought. “And what’s that?”

He gestured to the half-repaired vessel.

“You’re going to help us finish repairing this ship. And you’re going to install this power source back where it belongs,” he said, holding up the crystal.

“Get one of your own people to do it,” I said with disgust.

“We’re warriors, not engineers,” the Skarg spat back. “And our entire engineering team is dead.”

The crystal shone brilliantly in the unrelenting sunlight.

The leader grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the ship. Skarg scurried around it like beetles, trying to get repairs completed.

“We have been scavenging the metal for the repairs where we could, wiring as well. But our knowledge is limited. Our chief engineer died in the crash, and none of us left have the sufficient training or experience to make the full repairs. If it’s done incorrectly, the entire ship will blow up when we take off.”

“Well,” I said, “wouldn’t that be a shame.”

Anger flashed in the Skarg leader’s eyes.

He snarled. “Do not mock the loss of our crewmates, human. Every Skarg that was lost was worth ten of you.”

“I’m sure they were, to you.”

“This trooper,” the leader said, pointing to the Skarg that had attacked me in the workshop, “told us about the various pieces of our tech you were working on in your lab. So it seemed likely that you would be uniquely positioned to help us.”

“Why would I do that? Why would I help you now? You attacked me in my lab. You attacked the D’Tali city, killing my friends and compatriots, destroying walls and homes. Why would I help you?” I said plainly, simply. Just stating matters of fact, not anything else.

The leader leaned over me, his size blotting out the sun, leaving me in shadow. I was strangely grateful for it. I could feel my skin cooling off, however briefly.

His grip on my wrist tightened and I struggled to suppress a wince, chilled with the fear that if he squeezed just a little too hard, he could shatter my bones.

“You’re going to help us, engineer, because if you don’t, we will bury you up to your neck in the sand,” he said, leering at me, his lips wet with saliva. “And leave you for the scorpions and carrion birds.”

I looked at him, then looked around.

My chances here were slim. I could run, but they would catch me. And even if they didn’t, where would I go? Without water, without food, without a clear sense of where I was going...I wouldn’t last very long.

I could fight. Charge the leader, somehow catch him by surprise.

But with no weapons? No allies?

That wouldn’t work either.

I needed Vokar.

More than that, I missed Vokar.

I could refuse flatly.

And then be buried up to my chin in the sand, to be baked in the sun, my skull bleached and polished by the sand and wind.

That wouldn’t leave me any options at all.

“Well,” I said, pushing my hair back from my face, and trying to give myself a little dignity, “it seems that your offer is the best I have at the moment.”

The leader straightened up, allowing the sunlight to flood into my eyes again. I squinted against the glare.

“Clearly, you are as intelligent as we have been led to believe. How wonderful,” he said, with a wet gurgle at the end of the sentence.

He handed me the canteen and I grabbed it greedily, unscrewing the cap and gulping the water down.

I wasn’t even sure I tasted it, I swallowed it so quickly. It felt cool and beautiful going down my throat and before I knew it, the canteen was empty.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I held out the canteen to the leader.

“Thank you,” I said.

He took it from me and nodded.

“You’re welcome. After all, if you’re going to be doing this work for us, delicate, complex, we need to keep your faculties up and ready. So I give you my word, you will be given fresh water and food while you work on the repairs of the ship.”

“And I will be given access to tools and materials?”

He nodded.

“Anything that we have, we will provide you. If you betray us,” he lowered his voice menacingly, “there will be serious consequences.”

I stepped toward the ship and looked it over. It was in rough shape, although they clearly had done a lot of work on it already. More than I would have thought them capable of, frankly.

“You’re going to need to be patient,” I said. “I’m only one person, and I’m not overly familiar with your technology. So some of this will be slow going. You understand that?”

He nodded slowly.

“Oh, yes. We understand. We also understand that you know this better than anyone else,” he said, holding up the crystal.

I sighed.

“Yes.”

“Good,” he said, grinning and licking his lips.

I shuddered involuntarily.

None of this was good.

Vokar

I was lucky that punch I had thrown at the wall didn’t break my hand.

Fury was coursing through my body. I couldn’t believe I had been so stupid as to have been distracted that way.

Of course the Aetamian attack had been a diversion!

Those bastards were working together and it made perfect sense. One fed the ambitions and needs of the other.

If only I hadn’t been so far away, I thought, cursing myself.

But that wasn’t going to solve anything now. I needed to take action. I needed to get out there. I needed to save Isabella.

Running to my quarters, I grabbed fresh tactical gear, some other weapons, and good, strong boots. I had my knife, some rope, a flask of water, jerky and a small first aid kit.

I wanted to be ready for anything that would come my way.

After checking I had everything that I needed, I turned to head out the door. I swung it open and found Dojak standing there.

“Vokar,” he said plainly.

I nodded in acknowledgment. “I don’t have time to talk right now, Dojak, my apologies. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Skarg have Isabella and I’m getting her back. Right now.”

“I know,” Dojak said. “The word travelled to me. And I knew you’d be racing to go after her. I don’t blame you for wanting to get out there as soon as you can. I know time is of the essence. So I want to help.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Let me send a squad of my elite guard with you. They can help you handle anything that comes along.”

I shook my head. “I thank you, Dojak, but I don’t have time for that. It will take too long to assemble those troops. Every moment is a moment I can’t spare.”

I moved to go past him and he put a hand on my shoulder.

“Wait, Vokar, hold on,” he said. “You don’t know what you’ll be running into. Surely having some backup is better in the long run, don’t you think?”

“I appreciate that, but I need to move quickly and silently. A squad of D’Tali soldiers, even your elite guard, will make more noise and slow me down. Besides, I can handle anything that comes along. The way I’m feeling right now, I could take out the whole of the Skarg by myself.”

“I’m sure you could,” he said. “Of that, I have no doubt. I’ve seen that fire in your eyes before. And now it has a deeper color to it. The color of love. That flame burns brighter than any other.”

I nodded to him, unsure of what to say next.

“You have what you need? Weapons? Supplies?” Dojak asked.

“I do,” I replied.

“Good. At the very least, I offer you my fastest ride. It will get you there with speed, and safely to boot.”

I bowed slightly to him, in gratitude.

“I humbly accept that offer, thank you, Dojak” I said.

He waved it off.

“It’s the least I can do,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m still going to assemble the squad and send them after you as soon as they are able to go.”

I nodded. “By the time they get there, I may need their backup. At the very least, to pick up all the bodies I leave in my wake.”

Dojak smiled, tight and grim.

“Go. Get her and bring her back. That’s my engineer, after all.”

I smiled back. “Yes, My King,” I said, and headed out.

I ran down to the lowest floor of the palace, where Dojak’s numa was ready and waiting, his assistant having prepared everything for me.

With a quick salute, I hopped astride and took off, flying swiftly out of the palace and the city.

The Skarg were many things, cunning, brutal, ugly. But subtle wasn’t one of them. Their trail was easy to pick up and follow.

They were moving in an unerring line, straight from the city, heading into the forests just behind to the west, and from there into the harshest of deserts.

It wasn’t our usual route, but their goal was clear: they were going to their ship.

The Skarg trampled down grass and brush, and knocked over small trees. Apparently, they thought it was easier to bludgeon things out of their way than move around them.

It wasn’t pretty, but it worked for them. So I guessed that was something in their favor.

Dojak wasn’t kidding about his ride. It moved with incredible speed and an easy grace that belied its strength.

At this rate, I’d be upon them in no time.

What I knew about the deserts was mostly from stories, tales whispered around a campfire. The desert wastes were supposedly filled with scorpions the size of half-grown numas, winged carrion eaters that blacked out the sky, and quicksand pits that would suck you down faster than you could blink.

Those stories were likely false. They were fun to spook new recruits when you were sleeping out under the stars at night.

But what I did know to be true was that the desert wastes were inhospitable, with little chance for water, even less for food, and shelter was basically nonexistent.

I didn’t know what the Skarg were planning out here or why they wanted Isabella, but it wasn’t anything good.

Isabella’s footprints weren’t visible, but I had to assume she was with them. They must be carrying her, relying on their size and strength for a fast retreat.

And if they were carrying her, she must be still alive. They wouldn’t bother with carrying a corpse.

I spurred us forward and we moved even more quickly, practically a blur through the trees.

Racing through the forest, we nearly passed a stream, but I pulled us to a quick stop and leaped off the numa.

I wasn’t sure how long I would be in the desert, so I filled extra skins with water, then moved onward through the forest.

Terrible images of what they might be doing to Isabella raced through my mind. I did everything I could to keep such thoughts at bay, but it was a challenge.

The curse of people in love, I thought bitterly. You’re so consumed with it that you can only picture the worst-case scenario.

I laughed to myself.

Easier when you’re a lonely assassin, I thought. You only have yourself to worry about.

The forest began to thin out around me, with more rocks and dead tree stumps, and fewer and fewer trees.

Soon we were clomping across dried-out earth through broken stones.

The vastness of the desert stretched out ahead of me. The Skarg’s trail might prove to be a little more difficult to track under these conditions. Wind could shift the sand and boots didn’t leave as much of an imprint on stone.

But I had hopes that the size of the Skarg group would be enough to leave a trail fairly easy to find.

We moved on, into the desert proper, the green life of the forest drifting further and farther behind. The city was even farther away.

Here, I had to admit, I felt some life. This is what I had been trained for. These missions. When there was no one to rely on but myself. And there was no one I trusted more.

Except for Isabella.

The trail continued due west, skirting around the edges of the most inhospitable part of the desert, then it traced back into a route I recognized as leading to the shipwreck. In the distance, I thought I heard a noise.

Clanging? Something like metal on metal?

The terrain around me started to shift again, from sand dunes to flattened limestone and granite, dry and hard.

The sound was louder, too regular to be any kind of natural phenomenon.

I was approaching the rise of a sand and rock dune, right where I knew the shipwreck to be, and that’s when I slowed down and hopped off the numa.

Belly crawling to the top of the rise, I peeked my head over to see what was happening down there.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered to myself.

The Skarg were repairing the ship.

That’s why they wanted Isabella. They needed her help.

I saw them scurrying about and kept my eyes open for her, but I didn’t see her anywhere. She must have been inside the ship somewhere.

The Skarg were moving quickly. One crew was doing what looked like last-minute additions and fixes to the hull. It looked like a patchwork quilt, but I was guessing it would hold together, at the very least.

I saw one Skarg, absolutely huge, towering over the rest of them, gesticulating with his various limbs, directing traffic, as it were.

Must be the leader, I thought. I made a note of him. That was someone that I would have to take care of later on, most likely.

Even more of a reason for Isabella. She knew more about their tech than anyone else in this world.

Suddenly, there was a dull roar that kept growing louder. The few remaining Skarg were hustling along, into the ship, the leader being the last. He looked around to make sure there weren’t any stragglers or any last problems. Then he entered the ship himself.

I looked to the rear of the ship. I could see the engine exhaust ports glowing.

Could they be trying to leave already, streaking across the sky as when they’d arrived?

No. That wasn’t going to happen. They weren’t leaving with her.

Not while I was here.

I threw myself down the slope of the dune and raced for the ship, saying a prayer to anyone that was listening.

Isabella

“Get to work!”

A rough shove sent me staggering forward, and I just managed to catch myself on one of the pieces of equipment.

“Be careful,” I snapped. If they needed me as much as they seemed to, then I was ready to wield whatever power I had. “If you break this,” I said, holding the bag with the crystal in it out for them to see, “then we’re all fucked. And you know it.”

With a low laugh, the Skarg who had thrown me took a few menacing steps forward. With a sudden lunge, he grabbed me by the jaw and shoved his flat snout directly in my face.

“You wouldn’t let that happen, would you?” He squeezed harder, forcing a whimper out of my throat. “I promise, you wouldn’t like what would happen if you stopped being useful…” he looked me up and down, “…in that way.”

He released his grip, and I stumbled backward, cradling the sphere against my stomach. Malevolent chuckles sounded from the seven or so Skarg behind him. How were there so many? I hadn’t remembered them all. Under their collective gaze, I shrank inside myself.

“I’ll do my best.” All the defiance had drained out of my voice, and I kicked myself for sounding so pathetic.

“Do better than your best,” he said. “You’ll need to.”

Racked with an involuntary shudder, I spun and found the main engine block I remembered from the last time I was in this room. I had enjoyed far better company then. As I slipped the crystal globe out of the bag, I could feel the air in the room change. Each one of those monsters leaned forward, as if I were some kind of oracle.

I felt a desperate impulse to raise the thing over my head and smash it to the floor. To hell with them, and to hell with what would happen to me. If it meant stopping these filthy bastards in their tracks, it might almost be worth it.

But I was a coward. And, in the end, it wouldn’t have done any good. Without the ability to escape, the Skarg would double down on their alliance with the Aetamians. If they did that, then it would only be a matter of time before they had the capacity to raze Tahkath and murder so many innocent souls in the process.

So I was faced with bringing this sleeping leviathan to roaring life. It might almost be worth it, if it meant these terrible creatures would leave the D’Tali alone forever, even if the cost was my going with them and leaving the life I had come to love behind.

The reality of that thought pulled me up short, and I lost my breath. I put a hand against the console to keep myself from sinking to the floor as my knees buckled. Would it be possible for me to leave Vokar and all that he’d promised behind? Did I even have a choice?

“Stop wasting time,” the Skarg snarled at my back. “Or are you waiting to be saved?” I looked over my shoulder to see the contemptuous sneer on his face. There were so many of them, I actually dreaded any rescue attempt. It would have been suicide for them.

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” He took a step forward from the rest, his head cocked slightly to the side.

“I’ve used this on so many other devices—what if the power has been sapped? What if it isn’t strong enough?”

He curled his lips into a hateful smile. “Try.”

“Why don’t you try it yourself?” I snapped. “Why go through all the trouble to get me to do it?”

“Our engineering crew is—”

“Yes, I know, they’re dead,” I interrupted. “So if the surviving Skarg have enough technology to make a cannon and computer with some sort of mini crystal out of Aetemian tech, why can’t you re-couple this?”

“The engineers had methods that we do not know. The recoupling process is toxic to Skarg.”

“But the mini power source you used for the cannon isn’t?” I asked.

“It is a different base of power than something that powers the ship,” he explained, then his face contorted into a sneer. “You ask too many questions. Do as I say.”

Swallowing hard, I lifted the crystal onto the hook at the center of the engine. Stillness. None of the flickering lights or humming engine like had happened last time. I immediately broke out into a sweat. Looking back, I saw a horde of livid faces ready to press in upon me.

“Just a second.” My mouth was completely dry. I dug into my satchel and pulled out one of the clean dry rags from my workshop. Lifting the crystal gingerly from its place, I scrubbed it vigorously, trying to wipe away anything that might have dulled the surface from frequent handling. That done, I slid it back into position.

There was a beat, then the lights snapped dimly on overhead. The energy had diminished, but it was there. There were a few choking sputters as the engines struggled to turn over.

“Head to the bridge,” the leader called. “Kill any unnecessary systems. We operate at the barest minimums.” The throng moved as one, and in an instant, I was alone with the looming brute. If anything, he seemed more dangerous now that it was just the two of us. With no witnesses, I was completely at his mercy.

He just stood facing me, his face an unreadable mask. And then the lights went out. I gave a gasping cry as we plunged into darkness, but then the faint red glow of the emergency lights filtered in. With another throaty rumble, the engine sparked to life and let out a steady growl.

“You are fortunate,” the shadow whispered to me. “Come!” Lurching forward, I felt his iron grip lock around my wrist. Before I could protest, he dragged me stumbling through the darkened corridors.

We wound our way through the gloom, only occasionally getting a dim, red reprieve from the emergency system. I clawed at his knuckles, but he barely registered my attack. I was his prisoner, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

There was a deep metallic creak, and the floor shifted beneath me. Even my captor slowed his step and braced a hand against the wall.

“Do you feel that?” He smiled over his shoulder. “That’s your handiwork.”

My stomach froze and dropped below my feet. Each breath came in high and short as the floor listed again. We were moving.

This terrible ship was lifting off the ground, taking me with it. Again.

“How far are we?” the Skarg dragging me shouted as we stepped onto the bridge.

“Still trying to lift off, Thrago.”

“Not good enough. Move.” With that, he hurled me toward the corner, and I lost my footing, crashing into the wall. The room was brighter, but only from the light of screens and blinking gauges. There were too many Skarg—far too many for me to try to take on at once, even if I’d known how to fight.

As I held on, I felt the queasy lurch of the ship pulling away from the ground. We were up. My whole body went tingling numb, and I felt the scorching need to run. It didn’t matter where, so long as there was a chance of breaking free. Even if I had to leap for it, I was getting back to the ground.

If they took me, I’d never get back. Back to my friends. Back to Vokar.

Scrambling to my feet and fighting for balance, I tucked into a low run, careening for the door.

“Thrago,” a voice called out. He spun to see me.

“Grab her! Don’t let her escape!”

A nest of hands sprang up around me. Commands were being lobbed over me, but I couldn’t hear them over my own screaming. Grappled across the bridge, I was slammed into a hard metal chair and held in place. Eager hands fastened straps around my waist and arms, locking me in place.

As the tangle of bodies parted, I found myself facing the leering leader again. I kicked with my legs, but couldn’t manage to wrestle free.

“You think we would lose you?” Thrago smiled, stepping forward to brush my cheek with a calloused finger. “Such precious cargo?”

“Precious…?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “We may have lost the rest of our shipment, but there is still money to be made from you. A slave with engineering skills? You were more valuable than we realized.”

“You’re going to sell me?” My head was spinning.

“Of course. As soon as we can get to a market worth stopping at.” He spread his arms wide. “With the money we gain from you, we should be able to make it back to headquarters and get a fresh ship. We’ve been losing profits while we’ve been stuck here.”

He turned away from me and strode back to oversee our departure. I couldn’t catch my breath. After everything I had been through, the entire year of work and adjustment, even after falling in love, I was no better off than I had been before. Bound, imprisoned, and headed to be sold. All the hopes that had flowered inside me turned to ashes.

“Where are we?” Thrago barked again.

“Still trying to gain altitude.”

“What’s the problem?”

The Skarg hunched over the pilot station shook his bulky head and exhaled sharply through his nose. “No lift, not enough power. We can’t break free of the gravity.”

“Pull back everything but the thrust,” Thrago bellowed.

“It’s no good. Everything is at bottom. There’s nothing else to kill.”

“Oh, but there is. You!” Thrago spun on me. “You depleted the power with your tinkering. What did I tell you would happen if you betrayed us?” I knew a moment of true fear, seeing an ugly intent in his eyes. "Since you sabotaged us, you don't need your hands anymore, do you?”

What was he saying? “No!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t—I didn’t sabotage the crystal, I swear.” I could hear the high pitch of my voice and struggled for calm. “If you hurt me, I won't be worth anything.”

“True. But I can hurt you a little.”

He reached beside me and seized my bound left hand in his, and before I could process what was happening, his fingers pressed on my littlest finger, bending it in an impossible direction.

I heard a sickening snap and shrieked, my vision going black as pain swirled through me. The Skarg squeezed my hand.

I breathed shallowly through my mouth, fighting back nausea and fear.

“Thrago,” a Skarg across the bridge called. “There’s someone on the ship.”

“On the ship?” He was on me like a shot, those thick, stubby fingers digging into my cheeks. “If we can’t get out of here, I’m going to give you to the men to play with. We’ll see how long you last.” His face was barely an inch from mine, and his stinking breath gagged me.

He shoved against my face to launch himself toward the glowing monitors. I shook away the pain and strained my eyes to see the screens. Even at that distance, even with the hazy, blurred image, I recognized the shape.

It was Vokar. He had managed to gain purchase on the side of this wavering behemoth and was struggling to find a way in. In spite of everything, my heart swelled. He had come for me. In the face of everything, Vokar had come to rescue me.

Vokar

Maybe trying to climb onto the ship wasn’t my best idea.

Before it began to incline, I had all but forgotten watching its blazing descent from the skies. But, as it started to lift unsteadily from the ground, all those memories came rushing back to me, and I wondered if it always traveled in a ball of fire. By then, it was too late to worry too much about it.

All I could do at that moment was hang on. As the whole thing shuddered underneath me, I thought of Isabella. She was in there somewhere, completely at the mercy of those horrible, violent fiends. I was going to have to do more than just cling to this metal fucker—I was going to have to get inside. For her sake.

Craning my head to look along the bolts and ridges, I could see a hatch just a few yards above me. If I could just manage to get to it, maybe I could get inside. The notion of prying open a steel door while trying not to get thrown off this bucking metal monstrosity wasn’t appealing, but I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

As I climbed hand over hand, I could feel the ship straining at every seam. It wasn’t sailing up above the trees yet, so that was something. Just as I reached the ridge of the hatch, the whole thing dipped so fast that my stomach shrank to an icy knot.

“Shit.”

I had been in dangerous situations before, but this was completely uncharted territory.

Put me where I could stick a knife in someone’s ribs, or swing on a rope to get clear of a burning building, all that would have been fine.

But fuck every inch of this.

Righting myself, I stretched out to get a grip on the hatch, and it burst open.

I jerked back, and one of those hateful blue faces appeared.

Seeming almost surprised to find me, a nasty grimace melted over his features, and one of his arms snaked out with a blaster leveled point blank at my face.

The ship rocked again, and I took advantage of the Skarg’s imbalance to grab his wrist and pull hard.

Catching him unaware, his whole body lurched through the hatch and tumbled down the hull of the ship, all four hands flailing wildly, desperate to grab hold of anything to save him.

No such luck.

He plummeted the thirty or so feet to the ground and landed with an ugly thump. No sooner was he gone than another bastard popped up to replace him.

The ship dropped again, and bumped the ground hard enough to do a thorough job of smashing the fallen Skarg into a red smear.

Everything shook, and the fucker hanging out of the hatch slammed against its rim. He grunted in pain, and the blaster in his hand clattered away from him. Thinking fast, I hooked out a foot and managed to kick it back up toward my waist.

Turning a hand loose was a tricky prospect given how wildly the ship was slewing, but it was a risk that I was gonna have to take.

Darting my hand down, I snatched up the blaster and swung it around.

I’d never fired one, but it seemed close to a crossbow and I’d seen something like that in Isabella’s workshop, so I knew I could figure it out.

Pointing it in the Skarg’s startled face, I cracked off a sizzling shot right between his yellow eyes. His head snapped back, and he dropped back through the hatch.

“Well,” I told myself, “this is your moment.”

Gripping the rim of the hatch, I kicked my legs hard and flipped inside. Almost immediately, my foot planted on the nose of a rising Skarg. A crack and a spatter of blood sent him crashing back down the ladder into the knot of his fellows behind him. I reached around to try and catch a hold of the ladder, but my momentum was too great, and I went spinning into the darkness.

Landing hard against some metal pipes, I did what I could to get my bearings. Everything hurt, but I wasn’t going to have any time for pain until later. And, judging from the number of those beasts I could see in the shifting light pouring through the hatch, there was more pain on the way.

“Behold,” I shouted. “Vokar is here to kill you.”

They moved in a block, swelling toward me as one massive force. Bracing myself with my back to the wall, I pointed into the middle of the herd and squeezed the trigger, targeting those with blasters first.

The weapon in my hand was fucking amazing. After a lifetime of wielding a sword, or even less, it was unbelievably powerful to be able to hew a path through so many enemies so quickly. Most of them dropped before they even got to me.

The stink of burnt hair and viscera permeated the air, but I just kept firing rounds until all the movement stopped. My eyes still hadn’t quite adjusted to the dark. Why was everything so dim?

Stepping over the mound of dead Skarg, I slunk into the corridor. Surely somebody must have heard the commotion? In any event, I needed to be at the ready in case there was an ambush ahead. I’d only been inside this ship a few times, so I hadn’t yet memorized all the best dark corners. Though at the moment, everything was dark.

Keeping a hand on the wall to steady myself against the constant jerking of the floor, I picked my way along as quickly as possible. The vessel hadn’t yet managed to gain much altitude, but I couldn’t imagine it would be like that for long. I only had so long to find Isabella and get out of there.

“This way.”

My breathing tightened as a voice rumbled from the far end of the corridor. I tucked back into a doorway just in time to dodge a half dozen Skarg thundering down the hallway. They were going to be in for a nasty surprise when they reached all their dead buddies. Still smarting from my drop, I opted to hang back rather than follow them into a fight.

Pushing the door behind me open, I stepped backward into the room, and wheeled around with the stolen blaster at the ready. It was empty. After a moment, I recognized it as the engine room where Isabella and I had been before this whole mess started.

There, in the center of a churning black engine, was the crystal. It glowed faintly, guttering like a candle in the breeze. My gut told me that it should have been blazing with life. No wonder all the lights were out. The damn thing was struggling to keep us aloft.

If I had known for sure we were close to the ground, I would have snatched the damn thing up and smashed it on the floor. Let the assholes sweep up the pieces if they wanted to get out of here. But I couldn’t risk the drop. Not until I’d found Isabella.

“You rotten karpov!”

Whirling around, I caught sight of the Skarg in the doorway just in time to duck out of his blaster shot.

“Not in here,” one of the hulks behind him bellowed. “You’ll fuck up the engines.”

I wasn’t so worried. The bastard in the door hesitated for a split second, but that was all I needed. Drawing a bead on him, I took a shot that sent him crashing into a heap. Squeezing the trigger again, my heart froze in my chest.

The blaster went dead in my hand. However that piece of shit worked, it had given up. I could go back to looting the bodies for more weapons as I left, but for now, it looked like I was back to the old ways.

Snatching my dagger from my belt, I leaped at the doorway and started sinking my steel into anything I could find. Eyes, throats, stomachs, it didn’t matter. These creatures were an obstacle between me and the woman I had come to save.

“Get to the bridge,” one of them mumbled through bloody teeth. “Warn Thrago and defend the girl.”

She was alive. And I knew where she was. That sent a charge through me, and I redoubled the fight. With a solid stomp, the fellow shouting orders took his last breath. Squinting, I could see the retreating back of a figure loping away from me.

He was heading toward the bridge. To warn them.

With a nasty flick, I sent my knife spinning into the void. That familiar snapping sound carried back to me, and I knew it had landed true. The Skarg dropped to his knees with a choking scream and pitched forward. By the time I stepped up to him, he was doing what he could to drag himself along the floor.

The handle of my blade stuck out of the small of his back, right where it had severed his spinal column. I put my foot on his back and yanked it free before sinking it into his throat. He shuddered to stillness, and I continued to thread my way down the hall.

“Fuck that,” a terrible voice echoed ahead of me. “Kill everything but the thrusters and get us out of here.”

It was the leader. He was just on the other side of the door, and he was furious. All my instincts told me to kick the door in and start laying waste to as many of those assholes as I could.

But Isabella was in there. Could I risk them hurting her to stop me? And just how many were there? If it had been me alone, I would have laughed in the face of death and plunged right into a suicide mission. For the first time in my life, I had someone else whose life truly mattered—more than my own.

Risking my own life was one thing, but I would be damned if I was going to be careless with hers.

Isabella

The asshole Skarg named Thrago released the restraints around my waist and wrists. He grabbed me by the shoulder and set me on my feet. The pressure around my shoulder hurt, and I wrenched my body away from him. The pain from my broken finger had settled into a low, burning throb, but I continued to breathe through it. It wasn’t any worse than the sprains I’d suffered growing up—girls often broke their fingers playing volleyball in gym class, right?

That’s what I told myself. I was more afraid of what it meant if I didn’t get off this ship—of what the Skarg were willing to do to me.

“We’re short on bridge crew. Get the defenses up,” Thrago said gruffly, pushing me towards the console.

“I don’t know what I’m looking at,” I said, rubbing my wrists.

“Get the fucking defenses up. The automatic ones. Now.”

“No.”

He slapped me, hard. My cheek exploded in pain and I stumbled backwards into the arms of two other Skarg. They caught me and pushed me back upright.

“Get the defenses up,” he said, “or that slap will be the easiest part of your day.”

“Fine.”

I stood in front of the console and cracked my neck. The anxiety in my chest grew as I stared at the screens and the flashing lights.

I couldn’t set up the defenses. If I did, that would be the end of Vokar. With the automated defense system in place, these Skarg assholes would be able to wipe out anyone who attacked.

I wasn’t going to give that to them. Not these assholes.

Besides, it was one thing to mess around with the components, trying to power up already built systems. It was something else entirely to learn to operate an entire spaceship designed by aliens, with the prompts written in a language I couldn’t read.

Except…

I started tapping buttons on the console, trying to stall, anger pushing out some of the pain.

The Skarg didn’t know what I could or couldn’t do, so it was easy to pretend. And with cold clarity, I knew that whether I sabotaged the ship or not, they were probably going to hurt me.

“What is taking so long?” Thrago muttered. “I should kill you where you stand.”

“I’m trying,” I said.

In truth, I was scanning through a couple lines of code, frowning at something that almost, almost made sense.

I typed in a command hesitantly, and the console changed color.

The words seem to flicker back and forth in my vision, from English to squiggles and back again. Was it possible that the translation device had rewired my brain for more than just spoken language?

Cautiously, I typed a few more commands, and the ship shuddered.

“What was that?” Thrago said, pushing me out of the way.

I stumbled backwards, and Thrago’s goons caught me again.

Thrago pounded on the buttons of the console.

Break it, I thought. Fucking break it. Bring this whole ship crashing to the ground.

I repeated the mantra over and over in my head.

Take one of your big arms and fucking smash it.

Thrago was growing angry. Something banged outside, and everyone on the bridge looked up and thumbed their weapons, glaring.

“It’s not working,” he grunted. “Fix it.”

“I told you I don’t know this tech,” I said again. “Why don’t any of you know how this ship works?”

“We are warriors, this ship was only transporting us to our next assignment,” Thrago snarled. “Why would we know something as pitiful as this?”

“Apparently some of you should have bothered to learn something,” I blurted, then covered my mouth.

My cheek throbbed and I glared at Thrago. He raised his hand like he was going to hit me again, and I flinched away.

All of the Skarg on the bridge laughed.

Fuck.

Why the hell did I flinch? I wanted to show this asshole that I was strong. Instead, he faked one hit and I flinched away. Anxiety rose as the laughter continued around me and my chest got tight.

Now was not the time to have a fucking panic attack.

Slow your breathing. Focus on the world around you.

Great advice, except that the world around me fucking sucked. I didn’t want to be more grounded, I wanted to be away from here. The band around my chest tightened a little bit more, and I felt my breaths coming in gasps.

No. Not now! Get your shit together.

That self-talk didn’t help, but it was all I had. I didn’t want to be here anymore. The fear of all of it was getting to be too much.

“Puny girl,” Thrago said. “You’re already scared of me after one little broken finger? Imagine what I will do to you if you fail.”

The goons shoved me forward to the console. I looked at it and my vision blurred a little.

The tightness in my chest worsened.

“Focus,” I said out loud.

“What?” Thrago growled in my ear. He put one large hand around the back of my neck and pushed it forward.

I wanted to scream or to cry. Or just to shut down. His hand on my neck made me feel so dirty that I needed to bathe. The pressure, the loss of control of my own body, the fear… it all was proving to be too much.

The tightness was growing in my chest, and it was getting so bad I could barely breathe. I needed air. I needed help and I needed not to be here anymore.

“You will mount the defenses. Or I will kill you.”

“Okay,” I said, my good hand shaking so bad it rattled on the console.

“I’m not giving you any more chances,” Thrago said, pinning me against the console. “If you don’t get the automated defenses up and running, then I will beat you to the edge of your life. Then I will make sure you’re okay, allow you to heal, then beat you again. Over and over. Do you understand?”

Tears flowed down my cheeks and dripped onto the console. I nodded, and Thrago took the pressure off the back of my neck, allowing me to stand up straight.

Breathe. In and out. Focus.

I wiped my tears with my hand and got to work. I took it slow, making a lot of mistakes. Then I went back and fixed them.

At least, in my own way.

There was a rhythm to the work, and I felt the stress ease in my chest. Just a little bit, but it was enough to breathe freely.

“You’re taking too long,” Thrago said.

“Do you want this done or not?” I snapped.

“You need to hurry up, girl,” he growled. “Or I will kill you.”

“If you keep threatening me, I won’t be able to work,” I said, turning back to the console. “Then we’ll all die.”

Another bang sounded outside the closed door, this time closer. All the Skarg turned again and stared at the door, shoulders tense, worried looks on their faces.

“You better hurry,” Thrago said. “Or I will have no problem taking you down with me. If I die, you die.”

“Hmm,” I answered him, turning back to my work.

I’d found the automated defenses a few minutes ago. Now I had to keep working on making sure the Skarg could never start them up again.

Thrago might insist that none of his warriors were engineers, but they must have some mechanical knowledge. Otherwise they’d never have been able to build that cannon.

Or had that been the Aetamians’ work, and the Skarg had just supplied the power source?

Either way, I needed to take my time, make sure the automated systems were as messed up as possible.

And I needed whoever was out there to get in here. I loved my sisters, the other humans that I’d landed with. Sofia, Camilia, Riley, and all the rest. I loved all of them, and I knew that helping the Skarg would put them all in danger.

Who knew if they’d really leave? No, there was only one way out of this, and it had now become clear to me.

I had to take these bastards down. I had to.

I kept plugging away, focused on my work, doing everything possible to ignore the looming Thrago.

Vokar wound his way into my head. That night that we had spent together had been amazing. And kissing him was something else entirely. I realized that I would do anything to keep Vokar safe and happy. All I wanted was him.

I loved him.

The realization floored me. How could I love a D’Tali? But his green skin, his scales, his horns, drove me wild. He was so muscular, he put human men to shame. And he was so good in the sack, it drove me crazy. But he was also resourceful, sweet, and caring. He made me feel safe, cherished.

How could I lose everything now? When it was just coming together and my life seemed actually complete. Then these assholes had swooped in and fucking destroyed it all.

I pressed the last few buttons, trying to disable the defenses before it was too late.

Another bang sounded from beyond the door, then what sounded like a scream cut short.

I stopped hitting buttons and looked up.

“ENOUGH!” Thrago yelled. He walked up to me and pulled my shoulder back, pulling me away from the console and throwing me back toward the goons again.

“I have had enough!” Thrago said, rounding on me.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I decided just to count to a hundred. Count to a hundred and think about Vokar.

About his lips on mine. How he pressed into me as he kissed me. His rock-hard body and yet his soft and gentle hands and how his touch made my back arch and fired all of my nerve endings all at once.

I pictured him on top of me.

His weight, pressing me into the bed.

His kiss as we made out. How our breaths hitched in time with every silent touch. How our hearts beat in time through every step of the way.

I could hear Thrago approaching me, but I kept my mind busy.

Pain and fear would go away eventually. Everything faded, eventually. Except how I felt for Vokar. That simply grew every day, more and more. I wanted to spend every day of my life with him.

Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.

Count to a hundred. Then count there again. Everything around me froze as I heard Thrago scream something incomprehensible, and I kept my eyes shut.

My breathing stopped. My heart stopped.

Squeezing my eyes shut even tighter, I thought of Vokar. I thought of Sofia’s baby. I didn’t know him or her, but I wanted to.

Maybe they would tell him that I’d tried?

I hoped that Sofia would know that I’d tried my best to save them. To save everyone. That all I wanted was to live my life with her and the women in Tahkath. All I wanted to do was live happily with Vokar and with my family.

And, fuck, did I try. All I wanted was to save them.

I hoped they knew that. And they believed that.

And I hoped that Vokar knew that I loved him.

Vokar

The last Skarg in front of the door to the bridge lay dying at my feet.

Now, to get to Isabella. The panic I felt at the thought of her with those assholes, all alone and scared, returned tenfold.

You’re not too late.

I told myself that as I stared at the door, trying to figure out how to get in. A small keypad glowed to the right of the door. Cracking my neck, I walked over and punched it. My fist shattered the glass and the door slid open.

Too easy.

The Skarg on the bridge attacked. I didn’t have much time to think about what was happening, which was good for me. A Skarg swung his fist at me and I sidestepped quickly. My knives were fast, and I got him in the stomach, pulling upwards and spinning as another one attacked.

The Skarg on my knife was hit by his friend’s blaster shot as I ducked behind him. Then I pulled the knife out and threw it, embedding it deep in the asshole’s throat.

I kept to the doorway. That limited their access, making it irrelevant how outnumbered I was. I took a dead Skarg’s blade and slashed with the heavy weapon, then ducked as more attacked me.

Trying to get a look onto the bridge, I popped my head out of my crouch.

There was Isabella. She stood between two Skarg, guarded by the leader. I needed to save her. The ache in my heart worsened as I saw how scared she looked as she opened her eyes. How utterly terrified she was, being held by those thugs, watching me fight.

Distracted, I didn’t see the sword coming until the last instant. I ducked and it barely missed the top of my head. Diving forward, I brought my sword up and caught the Skarg underneath the chin.

“Fuck you,” I said venomously as I watched him die.

There were only two left near me, and I quickly dispatched them. This was almost too easy. If it wasn’t for the fear I felt for Isabella, it might have been no less enjoyable than a morning workout. But she was there, and she was terrified. I needed to get this over with quickly.

“SKARG!” I yelled at the leader. I bent over to rip my knife out of the dead Skarg’s throat. I preferred my weapons over theirs any day.

He smiled.

“If I don’t kill her,” he said, “they will.”

I didn’t give him the chance. I threw my knife, which he deflected to the side easily with a swipe of his sword.

What he didn’t deflect easily was me running as hard as I could behind the knife. He didn’t get a chance to be surprised. I slid on my knees underneath the desperate swipe of his sword and I stabbed upwards with my remaining knife, catching him in the stomach. He fell to his knees, looking shocked, all four arms going to the knife sticking out of his gut.

I looked at the remaining two Skarg, standing on either side of Isabella. They looked nervous, which meant that I’d already won the fight.

They let go of her and grabbed their weapons. But they were already too late. It didn’t matter if I was weaponless.

They had touched my woman, and they were going to pay.

One shot at me with his blaster, but I sidestepped quickly and spun, elbowing him in the face. His nose exploded in blood as his head snapped back, giving me enough time to grab his sword and cut off his head.

Then, continuing the swing, I simply embedded the sword into the other Skarg’s chest.

Isabella stood, blinking, watching the display of violence. I stepped forward and gathered her in my arms. She softened against me and let out a weak sob.

“I know,” I said, clutching her to my chest. I kissed the top of her head and simply felt her warmth as the fear of the day drifted away. Isabella was safe. I could relax a little bit. I closed my eyes and felt her heartbeat. Her warmth, real and tangible, grounded me.

I couldn’t imagine life without this woman. And I hoped I never had to again.

Her tears were soaking into my shirt, but I didn’t care. She was allowed to cry, allowed to sob. I couldn’t imagine what she’d been through, the terror she must have felt over the last few hours.

“Are you hurt?” I asked her, tilting her head up towards me. A bruise was forming on the side of her face, and anger started burning inside me, hot and fast. “What did those bastards do to you?”

“I’m fine,” she said with a sob. “Really. He hit me once ’cause I wouldn’t do what he wanted, and my left little finger is broken. I’ll be fine.”

The anger boiled over.

“Who?”

“Thrago… the big one.” She gestured behind me. Her eyes went wide as she looked over my shoulder.

I whirled.

Thrago was at the main console. He looked over and smiled, blood pouring from his stomach.

I lunged forward and cut off his head.

The ship pitched to the side and a warning light started to buzz overhead.

“Oh no!” Isabella said, rushing over to me. I kicked the body of the fucker out of the way to give her clear access to the control panel. “No, no, no.”

The ship tilted lazily to one side and the red light started flashing on the ceiling.

“What is it?”

“He shut off the auxiliary engines,” Isabella said. She was desperately working on the console, pressing buttons and reading the script that flashed over the screens. “I’m trying to get them back online.”

I stood beside her, staring as she tried to restart the engines. I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I did nothing. Isabella was trying everything, hitting buttons and watching the scrolling of the screens.

“No, no, no…”

“What can I do?”

“I can’t figure it out,” she said, looking at the screen. “He did something and it won’t turn back on.” Her eyes met mine. “I don’t think I can do it. I’m so sorry, Vokar. I don’t think I can do it.”

Tears flooded her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. I gathered her in my arms again and simply held her.

“Shh,” I said, kissing her head and holding her while sobs wracked her body. “I’ve got you, Isabella. I’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I can’t do it, Vokar. I can’t.”

“It’s okay,” I said, heart sad. I had to be strong for her. I had to be strong for both of us. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“We just found each other,” she sobbed. “This isn’t fair. None of this is fair.”

“I know,” I said, stroking her hair. “I know, baby. But it will be me and you. And I couldn’t imagine spending the last moments of my life with anyone else.”

She looked up at me. I swooped in for a kiss. Our lips touched and stars exploded behind my eyes. My heartbeat quickened and I felt her breath hitch as we kissed.

This was going to be the end of us.

I wasn’t sad to be dying. I was sad that it was after I’d just met the best thing that had ever happened to me. But I would spend the rest of my life with the woman I loved. If there was any ideal way to leave this planet, this was it.

She broke off the kiss and lay her head back on my chest. She’d stopped crying, and I could feel her warm breath. I wrapped her in my arms and simply held her. I spent the rest of the time memorizing her. Her smell. The softness of her hair against my face. How she breathed. The sound of her heartbeat pounding in her chest.

Her body shape in my arms. The way she cocked her head slightly to the side when she talked. I closed my eyes and breathed her in. Her scent was flowery with a touch of dew, and I wanted to smell it forever.

I needed her burned into my thoughts so that I never forgot her. No matter what happened after we died, I knew that she was going to be with me.

“I will find you,” I said. “Whatever happens, I will always find you.”

She nodded and clutched me. There was no more to say. My heart thundered as the ship pitched again, more sharply toward the ground this time. We were crashing, and there wasn’t anything to do about it.

I held her close and breathed her in.

“I will always find you,” I said to her again. “I found you once. I promise it will never take me as long again.”

The ship lurched, throwing us off balance a little, causing us to clutch each other harder. Warning lights flashed. Alarms sounded. The ship was nose down to the ground, we could see it start to rush up toward us.

“Don’t look,” I said to her, pulling her head into my chest, forcing her to look away. “Just breathe with me, baby. Just breathe.”

She breathed with me. We matched our slow breaths and clutched each other.

And I watched out the window as the end approached.

Isabella

I clung to Vokar, doing my best to match his breath. After all the fight we had put up, it seemed so incredibly unfair for everything to end like this. That said, at least we were together. If we were fated to die, then the only place for me was by his side. Because there was no way I could imagine living without him.

Alarms flickered on every side as the ship listed and swung. The forward monitors showed nothing but the ground beneath us. As hard as the Skarg had been pushing, we had actually made it pretty far up. A couple of boosters were still going, but all they were doing was delaying the inevitable.

“How long do we have?” Vokar asked, his voice level.

“Not long.” With that, he took me by the shoulders and pressed me back. It felt terrible to push away from him—until I saw his eyes. He fixed them on mine, and my heart surrendered to him.

“Isabella, I love you.” The words were simple, but they thrilled me. “I think I have from the first moment I saw you. I’ve never known anyone as kind, as watchful, or as brave.”

“Brave?” The word caught at the bottom of my throat.

“Absolutely. You may not think it, but I see it. I have seen it. My life would have been lost without you. My only hope is that we scatter ourselves among the Ancestors together.”

“Oh, Vokar.” I reached up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. The whole ship began to shake around us. Our world was coming apart.

“I didn’t know what love was until you,” I said. “You’ve exploded what the word means for me. If living, if erasing everything before this moment meant not having you, I wouldn’t do it. I’d rather die in your arms than live without you.”

We slammed sideways as the ship went into a spin. One of the remaining thrusters had gone out. The walls shook even harder. This was it. Our fight with gravity was ending, and we had lost. All I could do now was hold onto the man I loved and wait for impact.

My face was buried in his chest, but I opened my eyes to let a tear break free. One of the icons on a control panel caught my eye. It looked like a missile. Could it mean artillery?

“Vokar,” I pushed away from him and dove for the console.

“What?” He looked bereft at my sudden abandonment of him.

“Strap in.” I had already climbed into the seat and secured the belt around my waist. If only there had been more belts. Even the rideshare I used to take to get to work had better safety features than this. If one of those had slammed into the ground, you wouldn’t have even spilled your drink.

The Skarg had the same security technology as a 1986 Dodge.

But it would have to do.

“This isn’t going to save us. At least let me hold you.” He had fastened himself in, but reluctance was pouring off him. I could understand why. If we were going out, I’d rather do it with my arms around him, but there was a chance we might walk away from this. Well, maybe not walk away, but at least we stood a chance of surviving.

“You’re going to want to hold on,” I said, clicking away at the screen in front of me.

“What are you doing?”

“The cannons. This ship has an external weapons system. I’m going to fire them at the ground.”

“Is there enough power?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “When we reach the last fifty feet or so, I’m going to shut off the remaining thrusters and fire all the cannons at once. The reverse thrust ought to soften our crash.”

“But we’re still going to crash.”

“No way out of that, love.” I looked over at him. “But this way we might just have a chance.”

“I trust you,” he said. “If anyone can save us, it’s you.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Knuckling down, I watched as the screen flickered lower and lower. Suddenly, I was coming to regret all the times I had used the crystal to mess around with all that equipment. I had no idea how to go about recharging the sphere’s power, but if we got out of this, I was damn sure going to find out.

Accessing the system, I started to power up the cannons. They were all pointed in the right direction, now they just needed to rev up. I watched the status bar climb higher and higher as the screen grew so dark I could barely make anything out.

The entire world went dark. My screen didn’t get any brighter, but the cannon status surged to full. At the same time, the last of the thrusters cut out. I wasn’t going to have to do it manually, the cannons had robbed their power. We plummeted in earnest.

The ground screamed up to meet us, and I held tight. If I fired too soon, it would all be for nothing.

“Now!” I clicked the switch over and my screen went dark. There was an impossible roar, as if the entire world were splitting apart around us. Maybe it hadn’t worked. Maybe this was impact.

With a sudden and unmistakable lurch of the ship, my stomach fluttered queasily. We snapped backward, and everything spun. It all seemed to move in slow motion and at top speed at the same time. We crunched into the dirt and fell into a roll. The ship tumbled end over end, and I couldn’t tell if the sound in my ears was me screaming or the metal howling with the impact.

And then I passed out.

Vokar

There was a sudden sharp pain at the back of my head, as if I'd been hit with a brick. My vision darkened and I fought to remain conscious, feeling a warm trickle down my scalp. Another fiery thud at my shoulder, then my thigh—I was getting pulverized by the debris on the bridge, and if I was, so was Isabella.

“Cover your head!” I shouted, knowing that that would do little, especially with an already injured hand.

Gritting my teeth, there was nothing I could do but brace and wait. The world came to an abrupt halt in a way that I had never known. I’d taken some pretty serious falls in my time, but they weren’t even in the same category as this. It was catastrophic.

A terrible crash like a world full of thunder, and everything leaped at once, slamming against the wall across from us. I was tossed like a doll, and only the belt cinched around my waist kept me from battering myself amongst the rubble. My limbs sprawled with the force of it, and my head whipped so hard, I wondered if my neck would ever be right again.

It’s entirely possible I lost consciousness.

Isabella sure did. When I opened my eyes, she was doubled forward, hanging from her belt, a trickle of blood down her temple and another from her nose. For one horrifying instant, I thought she might have been killed. Then I saw the swell and release of her ribs and knew that she was breathing, at least.

“Isabella?” I stretched to reach her console and gave her a gentle nudge.

“Huh? What?” She jerked awake and held her head as if we had spent the entire previous night drinking. Which I made a note to do as soon as we got back to Tahkath. Something told me we were both going to need it.

“Are you hurt?”

She blinked at my question, then did a quick inventory, still hanging like a rag. “I don’t—I don’t know.” She sounded dazed, and grimly, I took that as a yes. But we were alive. We had to get out of this ship and back to the city, though. She could be bleeding internally, or concussed. “Are you?”

“Of course not.” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t allow such a thing.”

So much had passed between us in the moments leading up to the crash, I felt like I needed to make some kind of joke—to restore our baseline, if nothing else. But I was worried, not for myself, but for her.

Thankfully, she laughed, and her voice sounded clear and stronger.

“Let’s get out of here.” Working the buckle on my belt, it clicked loose and I swung free. Doing a quick mental check of my limbs and muscles, I decided nothing was broken, though I’d have some impressive bruises and probably lacerations as well. But I could move. Hanging onto the side of my seat, I braced myself and dropped into the rubbish scattered below us. It was quite a few feet, but I managed to land without too much damage.

“You can’t be serious.”

Looking up, I saw Isabella gaping at me. It was one thing for me to make a leap like that—I’d made a career out of it, after all—but for her? She looked like she’d hardly ever jumped over a puddle.

“Here,” I said, using my feet to kick a clearing for her. She still wasn’t convinced. Stretching out my arms, I positioned myself to catch her and nodded up.

Gingerly, she fiddled with her buckle until, all at once, she swung free. With a little yelp, she clamped down on the arm of her console and cast a fearful look over her shoulder. For a moment, she just hung in space, looking for all the world as if she was trying to decide whether or not she could just stay there.

“It’s alright,” I said. “I’ll always be here to catch you.”

With that, she let go and dropped directly into my waiting arms. It was so natural, I think it startled both of us. She threw her arms around my neck, and for a moment we just stayed there, clinging to each other in the ruins.

It was a welcome feeling after believing that I had held her for the last time.

At length, I settled her on her feet, stopping long enough to pat her down for injuries. Like me, there seemed to be no broken bones except her finger, though she winced when my hands passed over her torso—I’d bet the belt had dug into her skin hard enough to cause significant bruising. But she could breathe without pain and when she looked me in the eye, I determined she hadn’t suffered a head injury.

Her hand was still her only real damage, and I suppressed the surge of rage I felt at that.

I tore a strip off my shirt and used it to stabilize her broken finger. Her pale face and thin lips spoke loudly enough about the pain she was in, but pride surged when she didn’t make a sound. Isabella was strong. She would be fine.

“All good?” I asked.

She took a deep breath and gave me a determined smile. “We’re alive. I think that’s plenty good. I can deal with a finger sprain.”

We started hunting for a way out of that horrible box. At the far end of the hull, shafts of daylight poked long fingers through a large crack. We got closer, and saw that it was one of the iron patches that the Skarg had haphazardly bolted over a gouge in the side.

“Who the hell did they think they were kidding?” Isabella chuckled, kicking at the metal. “No way we were making it anywhere with that kind of work.” While I clearly had no idea the magnitude of the journey that had been proposed, even I could tell that it would have taken more than some panels you could kick free.

Which is exactly what Isabella did. In three or four solid knocks of her heel, she managed to force most of the patch free. Tucking low, she peered back at me with a dazzling grin as sunlight washed over her. She was a vision. Just the sight of her made my breath come hard and tight.

In that moment, everything I had said to her when death was looming over us felt insufficient. There weren’t words to fully communicate the feelings I held for this human woman. Maybe the words existed, but I would never have been able to collect them all or put them in the right order. It would have been the work of a lifetime.

“Come on.” She held out her uninjured hand, and I took it, kneeling behind her. Together, we crawled through the jagged hole in the ship and stood up, squinting against the sun.

“Don’t fucking move.”

Directly in front of us, holding a haft of broken metal as a cudgel, was one of the Skarg. Not only had he survived the crash, but he had managed to scramble out of the wreckage ahead of us.

The sunlight stung my eyes, but I was scanning for anything I could use as a weapon. Even prying the rest of the patch loose to serve as a shield might have helped. But there was no way I was turning my back on him with Isabella beside me.

“Get back inside, bitch. We’re not done with you yet.”

“Please don’t hurt me!” Isabella cried out, and the Skarg laughed.

His insult and her fear enraged me. The desire to kill swelled to the point of almost splitting my skin. Stepping in front of her, I squared off. Weapon or not, this asshole was going down.

“Nobody talks to her that way,” I snarled.

Behind me, Isabella cowered in fear, crouching down on the ground and covering her head with her arms. She clutched at my ankle. As she slowly rose, my dismay faded.

I almost grinned. While using her fake terror as a cover, she’d pressed a jagged piece of metal on the small of my back. A weapon.

“Is that right?” He took a menacing step forward. “After I kill you, let me tell you exactly what I'm going to—”

I didn’t let him finish.

From the last fight, I’d learned the Skarg were big, slow, and arrogant. They let their tempers get the better of them. The trick was not to let them get a grip on you.

Lunging, I slashed at his neck with the metal shard, simultaneously blocking the arm with the weapon and kicking at his knee.

The crunch of bone accompanied his scream as his leg buckled. He might be physically stronger, but a fight was often more about leverage. And Skarg knee joints were just as vulnerable as human or D'Tali.

But one of his fists caught me on the side of the head. I flew backwards, landing against the ship with a thud. Shaking off the momentary daze, I snapped my feet backward and used the momentum to push off the hull, hurtling toward the Skarg.

He barreled toward me, limping, arms wide as if in preparation to crush the life from me. I skirted him, slashing again and again with my makeshift dagger, using my speed and anger to dart in and out of his guard.

His knee put him at enough of a disadvantage to make up for his greater size and arm reach.

“Stop playing with him, Vokar!” Isabella yelled, and I felt a pang of disappointment.

“Do I have to?” I yelled back. It was a beginner's mistake—arrogance would always cause you to lose a fight. But my bloodlust, combined with the exhilaration of having escaped the unsurvivable, fueled my vigor.

“Sofia is having a baby soon!”

She was right. It was time to stop playing games and get back to the city. As I dodged another blow, circling the Skarg, I decided the best angle and strike to end the fight—

—and his head disappeared in a gory mist. After wavering for a second, his trunk crumpled in place.

“Well, that was fun,” a voice pealed out from across the crater. “But Isabella is right. Play time’s over.” It was Loxan. He was just coming into the clearing, with four other trackers close behind him. The elite team Dojak had sent after me was arriving just in time.

I scowled at him, then turned to smile at Isabella. From her face, I could imagine what I looked like. It was a good thing I had stepped between her and the Skarg. That way, I had managed to get most of his blood and brains on me, saving her from the worst of it.

I heard the familiar thwack of a crossbow and the whistle of the bolt searing through the air. A grunt sounded from above us, and I looked up to see a Skarg tumble from the highest point on the craft. As we watched, any number of the injured brutes began to filter out from nearly every torn crevice in the ship.

They all scattered for the trees, but not a single one made it. Some might have quailed at the notion of mowing down unarmed adversaries, but not these battle-hardened soldiers. That’s why Dojak had sent them. As the last one skidded into the dirt, I turned to Isabella.

“I… um…” No words would come. There were so many crowding up inside me that they stuck in my throat. She stood there, waiting for me. Willing me to reiterate all the vows I had made. Instead, “I think we should get back. There’s nothing left for us here.”

Her eyelids fluttered, but only slightly. She gave my hand a squeeze and looked away with an odd smile. Loxan gave a whistle, and two riderless numa cantered up beside him. May the Ancestors bless Dojak and these murderous friends of mine. They had thought of everything.

“Oh!” Isabella pulled up short, then looked up at me. “The sphere!” Spinning on her heels, she darted back to the ship and clambered inside.

“Wait!” Considering how many of those bastards we had just seen trying to escape, I shuddered at the thought of her scampering around the upended ship in the dark. Who knew what she might encounter there?

Wedging myself back through the crevice we’d exited by, I managed to climb my way up to the corridor and catch sight of Isabella making her way to the engine room. Scrambling to catch up with her, I got there just in time to give her the boost she needed to get through the door. It may have been in service of her climb, but I took no small amount of pleasure in putting my hand on her ass for extra support.

Being in the very heart of the vessel, the room was very dark. But, way back in the corner amid some debris, was the dim glow of the crystal. For all the care we had taken to ensure that it didn’t shatter, that piece of shit had turned out to be pretty damn tough.

Even so, Isabella scooped it up as if it were a baby wuvad and cradled it against her chest. In the pale blue light, she radiated celestial beauty. As she returned to me, it felt as though I was face to face with whatever divine shaper created our world. This woman dazzled me at every turn.

Helping her down again, we tracked through the bowels of the downed beast until we finally got back to the fresh air. Sauntering up to our waiting mounts, I cast a single, rueful look back at the twisted hulk settling in the crater. If I had my way, I would never lay eyes on it again.

A faint tickle of hope fretted between my ribs. Now that the ship was rendered completely inoperable, any chance of the human women departing for their prior home was dead. While I could understand the loss they might feel over that, my own secret joy triumphed over that.

“You look like shit,” Loxan chuckled as we climbed into our saddles.

I was beginning to feel like shit. The fire of battle in my blood was cooling, leaving behind the requisite aches and pains as my body came down from its high. If I was in pain, Isabella had to be, too.

“Are all your confederates so charming?” Isabella gave me a sideways smile, and Loxan looked down with a frowning smile at having been called out.

“Pardon, Lady,” he said. “Are you ready to head home?”

“Home?” The word fell from her with a wistful air. “Yes. Let’s go home.”

Isabella

Dismounting the numa at the city gate, my heart pounded. I was still shocked to be alive. Vokar clutched my good hand as we walked, and I suspected that despite his joking, he was just as shaken.

I didn’t know how that had worked. A desperate action from a desperate human. But it fucking worked, so I guess it hadn’t been that stupid.

As soon as we entered the gate, a D’Tali soldier rushed up to us.

“Lady Isabella,” he said. “Thank goodness. The queen is in labor, and everyone was worried about you.”

“With good reason,” Vokar said. “Isabella has been—”

“Vokar, that’s not important right now.” With news of Sofia’s labor, the low throb of pain throughout my body receded, along with the sharp thrumming fire in my broken finger. I’d probably pay for ignoring my physical hurts later—but I was alive, and Sofia was about to bring a new life into the world. Standing on tiptoes, I kissed his cheek. “Stop fussing.”

He blinked. “I do not fuss.”

“We’ll talk about it later. You should go check in with Troko.”

Then I rushed through the city, the guard at my side. “How long has it been?” I asked him.

“A few hours now,” the guard said. He looked like a D’Tali that had seen too much, and I wondered if he had been summoned into the delivery room to get the message to pass on to me.

“How’s it going?”

“Queen Sofia seems to be in a lot of pain,” the D’Tali said, blanching.

Yup… he’d definitely been in the delivery room. “She screams a lot,” he continued. “I’m not sure about… anything else.”

“Okay,” I said. This would be the first baby that I was involved in delivering, and my concern for Sofia and the baby was nearly overwhelming.

This was the first half D’Tali, half human child. I was staggered by the number of things that could go wrong, and deeply worried about Sofia.

Nothing bad could happen to her.

I pressed at my chest, willing the anxiety to fade.

Apparently, now that the threat of the Aetamians and the Skarg had passed, there was more room for me to be panicked about the birth.

Great.

We rushed into the birthing room that we’d set up near Sofia’s chambers. The screams echoed throughout the hall leading to her room. The soldier stopped dead in his tracks, looking terrified.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I can find my way from here. Thank you.”

He nodded towards me appreciatively and stepped backwards out of the hallway. Poor guy. I wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.

I strode into the room, hoping that I looked more confident than I felt.

“Isabella!” Camilia cried. “We were so worried!”

“GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!” Sofia screamed.

Sofia hunched, legs spread wide over the birthing stool. King Dojak was there, clutching her hand and stroking her head. Thankfully, Camilia had found the scanners that I’d managed to hook into the batteries before the attack, and several of the D’Tali healers she’d been training were running around, getting things ready.

Dojak looked like he was about to puke.

“What do you need?” I asked Camilia.

“Towels,” she said. “Lots of them. Then see if you can distract her at all. Dojak needs a little help.”

“You’re doing so well,” Dojak said, trying to comfort his screaming wife. “You are. I’m so proud of you.”

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him so that they were eye to eye.

“I’m fucking dying here,” she breathed. “You can take your pride and shove it.”

I had never heard Sofia say anything like that to anyone, let alone Dojak.

It definitely put the amount of pain she was in into perspective.

I rifled through the cupboards of the medical bay and found some towels.

“Wet one and put it across her face,” Camilia said. She crouched in front of Sofia. “There’s the head! Isabella, the towels!”

I passed her the dry towels and wet one of them, thrusting it at Dojak. He took it eagerly, glad to be doing something helpful that wasn’t getting him yelled at.

“Okay, Sofia,” Camilia said. “The next big contraction, you’re going to push.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, breathing hard.

I rushed beside her and grabbed her other hand.

“You can do this,” I said to her. “I know you can.”

She met my eyes and nodded. Dojak looked at me appreciatively.

The contraction came and Sofia screamed.

“Push, hon,” I said. “Now’s the time to push.”

Dojak looked like he was going to say something, and I shook my head in warning. Now was not the time for that.

Sofia screamed again and bore down as hard as she could.

“Okay, that was great,” Camilia said. “Next contraction, do it again!”

The next contraction came and Sofia screamed again. She pushed as hard as she could, and I thought that she would break my hand. That was fine. She could break anything she wanted.

I gritted my teeth. Sofia pushed hard again, as instructed.

“That’s the head!” Camilia said excitedly. “Once more for the shoulders!”

Sofia pushed, groaning loudly.

Camilia caught a little bundle in the towels. I looked, desperate to hear a cry.

A small, fierce wail echoed throughout the room. Sofia sat back and laughed a little, then brought Dojak in for a kiss.

“You did so good,” he said, stroking her face. “You did so good.”

“It’s a boy!” Camilia said. “And he’s beautiful!”

Camilia walked around Dojak’s side and placed the screaming little bundle onto Sofia’s chest. Dojak burst into tears when he saw his son.

I looked at the little face. He was blue like his father, and had scales over his shoulders but nowhere else. He had no horns and a shock of black hair over his head.

“He’s beautiful,” I said to Sofia. “He’s so perfect.”

“Hey there, little one,” Sofia said. “Hey, my son.”

She rubbed his chest with a finger, and a little blue hand wrapped around her finger. The wailing stopped as he opened his eyes with a hiccup.

He looked at his mother for the first time, and his eyes glowed blue.

“Hello, my boy,” Dojak said, bending over to see him. “Hello, dearest one.”

The little bundle hiccupped and looked around.

“Welcome to the world,” Sofia said.

I cried. I couldn’t help myself. He was so beautiful. This moment, this tender moment was something that I could never have imagined a year ago. Now, this family seemed complete. As if they had never known they weren’t until right now.

Sofia let out a sob.

“He’s perfect,” she said. “Dojak, he’s perfect. I’m so sorry for what I said—”

“A warrior never apologizes for what is said in battle,” Dojak said, kissing her forehead. “In the heat of the moment, all is forgiven.”

“I love you,” Sofia said. “So much.”

“I love you,” Dojak said. He leaned in and kissed Sofia on the lips.

The baby started crying again. I laughed, I had to. His little face scrunched up and he wailed.

“Jealous boy,” Sofia said, rocking him against her chest. “I see you. I do.”

“Just like his father,” she added, giving Dojak a sidelong look. Dojak laughed.

“We’re going to deliver the placenta soon,” Camilia said. “Sofia, can you feel the contractions starting?”

“I think so,” Sofia said.

“I can take him,” I blurted out. I blushed as Dojak looked up at me. “Sorry. You should take him.”

“Of course you can hold him,” Dojak said. “I will stay with my wife.”

Gently, I wrapped my arms around the little bundle, taking care not to jostle my broken finger, and my heart melted when he cooed. I was so in love. It was overwhelming, the love I felt for this tiny bundle. Tears dripped as he snuggled into my chest, content, and immediately went to sleep.

“Auntie Isabella has the magic touch,” Sofia said. “Okay, that hurts.”

“That’s normal,” Camilia said. “Just a couple more pushes and you’re home free, okay?”

“Okay,” Sofia said. She gripped Dojak’s hand. “Have I told you I hate you?”

Dojak laughed and kissed her forehead.

“Let’s just finish up with the delivery of this one, okay? Then we can talk about it.”

“Okay, okay.”

Sofia pushed again, and I grew distracted by the beautiful blue bundle in my arms.

He was absolutely perfect. He had his mother’s eyes, other than the soft blue glow that had disappeared. His father’s chin and blue color stood out, as well as the small scales over his shoulders. Other than that, he looked almost like a human.

My heart thundered as I looked at him, and for the first time in my life, I found myself wondering what it would be like to have a baby. What if Vokar and I had a baby together? Would he take his father’s green coloring? Would he have a different scale pattern?

That was the first time that I knew I wanted to have kids. In fact, at that moment, I couldn’t imagine life without a child with Vokar. The baby snored softly in my arms, completely content.

“And we’re done!” Camilia said. “No tears, so you’re good to go.”

I turned around, to see Vokar standing in the doorway, leaning easily on the frame. My heart leaped when I saw him, and I knew we needed to talk.

Turning, I walked around the bed and gave the baby to Dojak.

“He’s beautiful,” I said again, grabbing Dojak into a big hug. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Isabella,” Dojak said. “My wife is the warrior.”

I walked over to Sofia and hugged her.

“I’m so proud of you,” I said to her. “He’s just gorgeous.”

“Thank you, Isabella. I will need to hear your story after you have a chat with Vokar. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“You bet,” I said. “Rest now, darling. Dojak will take care of you and your son. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

I turned and gave the waiting Camilia a hug. She gripped me tightly. I winced, feeling every bruise from the crash landing.

“I thought we’d lost you,” she said into my neck. “I was so worried we’d lost you.”

“I’m good, now,” I said, tears rushing out again. “I swear, Camilia. I’m good.”

“I don’t know what we would do without you,” Camilia said with a sob. “I don’t.”

“Hey.” I pushed her to arm’s length so that I could see her. “Don’t cry. I’m here. I’m okay.”

“It’s the stupid hormones,” Camilia said, wiping her eyes. “This is all too much for me. Can someone find Troko? He was just here. I think he’s celebrating with his men.”

I laughed.

“I’m okay, Camilia. I am. I promise.”

“Okay,” she breathed heavily and wiped her eyes. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” She rubbed her belly. “He’s fucking amazing.”

“He really is. And yours will be just as beautiful.”

Camilia started sobbing again.

“Sorry,” she said. “Stupid hormones. Go talk with Vokar. But we will be waiting for you when you come back.”

“I promise I’ll come back. I will always come back.”

“You better.”

Vokar

“I’ve never felt at ease in a birthing room.”

“Really?” Isabella stepped into the hallway behind me. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Kalethe lingering a few paces away, then pulled the door gently closed behind her. “That may have to change.” Her voice was almost inaudible. I surveyed her carefully, but she seemed to be moving without stiffness, and her voice was still free of pain. Sometime after the birth someone must have rewrapped her injured hand properly, for the finger was stabilized with a small splint and new bandage.

She turned those unfathomably blue eyes on me, and I felt found out. Of course, she knew who Kalethe was.

Casting my own eyes down, I could have kicked myself for not at least thinking to ask the wise one to wait around the corner or something.

Though that might have been disrespectful.

“Vokar?” Isabella was very still. When I met her eyes, they were filled with such tenderness and invitation that I drummed up a new kind of courage.

“Isabella, when that ship was going down, we both said some things…”

“I meant them,” she interrupted me. My chest tightened, and she took a small step toward me. “Every word, every promise, all of it. You know that.”

I breathed in deeply, nodding as her words filtered under my skin. Isabella had always been so meek, so gentle. How was it possible she was besting me? She had galloped ahead to take the lead in this.

“Listen,” I said at last, clearing my throat. “Isabella, I’ve never felt the way you make me feel. And, I’ve heard men swear things when they thought they were on the point of dying, that they walked back on later when they lived.” She trembled, and I realized the way those words could be taken. “I could never walk away from you,” I said quickly.

“No?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I would say it all again. I’d say it every day if you let me. Will you let me?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a tiny sort of croak that made us both laugh in our nervousness. In the end, she nodded and took my hands.

“Isabella, join your life to mine, and let’s take this journey together.”

“It’s more than a journey with you, Vokar, and you know it.” She had found her voice. “It’s an adventure.”

“A damn dangerous one,” I smiled.

“Don’t I know it!”

With that, I stepped just past her and gave a light knock on the door. Camilia’s face appeared in the crack, looking giddy and flushed.

“Could we see Dojak?”

“Now?” She looked over her shoulder and cringed slightly.

“Please?” It’s a word I didn’t use very often. Whether or not she knew that, she disappeared for a moment. After a beat, the door swung wider, and my king stood there, radiating joy.

“Yes?”

In answer, I just gave a slight nod of my head down the hallway. He leaned across the threshold and caught sight of Kalethe hovering under a torch. Looking back at me, he shook his head with a wry smile.

“You just had to go and upstage the whole thing, didn’t you?”

“It’ll only take a second.” I shrugged. “I don’t suspect we’re the types who want the fuss of everyone looking on, do we?” Glancing back over my shoulder, Isabella nearly leaped forward.

“No!” Amused by her own vehemence, she laughed lightly and settled back. “Smaller is better.”

“Maybe in some things,” I whispered to Dojak with a sly wink.

“Oh, stop it,” he hissed back. “Alright.”

Pulling the door closed, he joined us in the corridor. We looked to Kalethe, who beckoned us to her with a light hand. As our trio approached, she opened the shutters and held out a hand.

“We need the eyes of the Ancestors upon us. It’s only right.”

“Even so,” Dojak said. He then tucked his head and offered up a low hum. If he was keeping it hushed to avoid drawing prying eyes, I silently thanked him for it.

Pulling a wineskin from her belt, Kalethe dampened the tips of her fingers with the sacred water and wiped them across my face. As she spoke the words of cleansing, I felt it happen. When Troko had spoken about it before, I had laughed at him—but he was right. When Kalethe proclaimed me new, a shift in my chest spoke back to her.

She spilled some water into the dry, papery concave of her palm, and lifted it for me to sip. If my chest had moved before, it nearly spun in answer to the cool trickle. I was half tempted to go for more, but she gently shook the drops to our feet and studied them.

As the sage offered Isabella the same rite, I studied her intently, wondering if I would see the same moments on her that had rocked me. As she was anointed, the faintest flicker of her eyelids told me that she and I were bonded. She drank the waters, and I knew that her soul called out to mine from deep within her.

Our separate waters mingled at our feet, Kalethe guided us to join at the three points. Having seen some of her friends stand in our shoes, Isabella seemed to know the steps by pure instinct. It was tempting to wonder if she had rehearsed this in her mind, hoping I would come to my senses and ask her.

As we completed our little circle, the stirring within me grew and shifted until it formed a cascade of words tumbling over my lips. It was as if they had been lying dormant inside me, waiting to be awakened.

“By those who came before, by all who are, and by those who have yet to be, I ask that you bind your life to mine. That our journey will be a shared one. That your joy shall be my joy, your pain shall be my pain, and the wealth of your heart shall be the riches of mine.”

“I will.” Her voice was choked and small, but the power coursing from her body into mine was unbelievably strong. This tiny woman possessed a power that was, as yet, untapped. And I couldn’t wait to bask in its revelation.

When she repeated the words back to me, I felt rather than heard them. My heart thrummed with each syllable, drinking them into my blood and making me more whole than I could ever have expected.

Never before had I felt like any parts of me were missing, until they blossomed into newness. Isabella squeezed my hands, and I knew that she could feel it too. Kalethe’s ancient hands tucked under our chins, and my lips found Isabella’s.

Now, we had kissed before. We had actually done a lot more than that. All of it had been amazing in ways that I couldn’t have expected, but this? It was a single kiss, but it felt like something so much more.

When I opened my eyes, I found Isabella staring into me. There were things about her that I had never noticed before, no matter how many times I had peered into her face. A tiny freckle just above the peak of one eyebrow. The hint of a scar just at the corner of her lip. Everything about her unfolded itself to me.

Looking back over the span of my life, I cursed every moment that I had ever been careless with myself. Each time I had elected to dive into harm’s way, almost for the sport of it. Being a spy was risky business, but I had relished that, invited it even.

Each incident flashed before me, and I wanted to grab my past self and shake him. What kind of fool had I been to have ever put myself in a position to possibly miss out on this moment?

“It is well.” Kalethe’s hands on our shoulders broke our gaze, and we turned to find her smiling gently at us. I had attended these ceremonies off and on over the course of my life, but it dawned on me that this was the closest I had ever been to our most revered sacred one.

“It is well,” I said back to her.

“It is,” Isabella echoed.

“I’ll say!” Dojak clapped us hard on our backs and grinned broadly. “Anything else you need from me?”

“No.” Kalethe shook her head, then declined lightly in deference to our king. He tightened into a warm smile, and something passed between them that was hard to quantify.

“Well then. I wish you all the joy I can. I’ll have a cask sent up and we can all toast your union, and the new prince.”

“I’ll drink to that,” came a bellowing cry from the courtyard. We all looked down, to find Troko standing on the paving stones, beaming up at us. “You forgot to invite me, Vokar! I’ll never forgive you.”

“It looks like you found your way in.”

With a shrug, he swiped a hand at us. “Between almost missing your bonding and not being invited to meet the prince, I’m starting to feel as if I’m unwelcome.”

“If you can turn up with a cask of the strong stuff, you’ll be more than welcome,” Dojak called.

“Can do! Tell Camilia I’m coming for her.” He disappeared into the palace below us, and Dojak strode away to be with his wife and son. With another mystic smile, Kalethe eased down the corridor and vanished around the corner.

We were alone. Isabella and I had been alone before. But those had nearly always been stolen moments, with an air of secrecy about them. It seemed as if my life had been cobbled together from stolen moments and secret meetings. Even our bonding had been tucked away from our friends.

I was embarking on something completely new—honesty. It was a gift Isabella had given me, and I knew better than to be thoughtless about it.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Why?”

“I’m not sure.” She regarded me with a sideways smile. “You look different.”

“Oh, my love.” I cupped her face between my palms. “I am.”

Isabella

We barely made it into his chambers before we were ripping each other’s clothes off.

“You’re mine,” I said, my heart fluttering as the words left my mouth. He pulled my shirt off over my head, his movements gentle despite his urgency.

“Now and forever,” he said, burying his face into my neck. “I can’t believe I’m yours.”

“I can’t believe that you’re my mate,” I said, my heart thundering. I pulled his shirt off and started kissing him as I got to work on his belt. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see.

Him.

We were totally connected. Our hearts beat in time, our breathing was the same. Our souls were joined.

I was his and he was mine. For eternity.

He was rock hard as I pulled off his pants. Kneeling, I took him in my mouth before he knew what was going on.

His taste filled my mouth as I worked him in and out. I moaned and looked up at him. He was staring down at me, smiling.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

I took him deeper and deeper and he moaned with pleasure. Pleasing him filled me with absolute joy, and I moaned my satisfaction along with him. Gently, he wrapped his hand through my hair and helped guide the tempo.

As he looked at me, his eyes began to glow green.

That was it. We were connected: body, mind, and soul. I knew I could stay on my knees in front of him forever. Nothing brought me more joy than where I was right now. My hands left the back of his thighs and I cupped his balls. He moaned loudly as I left his shaft and took one in my mouth, gently sucking it as my hand worked his length.

His legs vibrated with pleasure, and I kept the pace the exact same. He was enjoying himself and, hell, so was I.

I still couldn’t believe how I had gotten this lucky. A D’Tali assassin, so rough and yet so tender, as my husband. I knew I would be safe for the rest of my life. Vokar would protect me, always.

After a while, he pulled me up and kissed me on the lips. Stars exploded behind my eyelids as our lips touched. I opened my mouth and he started with his tongue. My heart thundered and I arched my back as he pulled me in close.

His palm found my breast and I pushed myself into his touch. There was nothing between us, and skin touched skin. I breathed harder and faster, and my nipples hardened in the open air. My fingertips gently glided over every curve, every rock hard ab. Shivers went down my spine as I did. How could he be this muscular? I didn’t even think that was possible.

My heart thundered. My breath came in gasps. The pressure on my breast drove me wild. With a quick motion, Vokar picked me up and placed me on the bed.

Then he lowered himself and took me in his mouth. Stars exploded as his tongue first caressed my soaking outer lips, then moved up to my clit. He circled my clit slowly, and I moaned my pleasure.

He pushed my legs up, exposing all of me to him. I held my ankles, freeing his hands.

And they got busy.

He licked my clit, then gently caressed me. Shivers ran up and down my spine and I breathed harder. I arched and moaned, almost begging him to enter me.

I needed him inside me, needed to be filled.

He sank a finger inside, and I gasped. His tongue never stopped its slow, circular movement. Up and around, sending fire every single loop. He bent a finger and went in and out slowly, catching the spot on my front wall.

Sensation exploded again and I screamed. The orgasm rushed through me and my legs shook as I held them.

I let go of my legs, but Vokar wouldn’t let up. He pulled his fingers out and held my legs up with his hands, continuing the slow motion of his tongue. My contractions stopped, and my hips started rocking in time with his tongue.

My moans turned into screams. Slowly and surely, he drove me over the edge again, into an ocean of darkness. It rushed up, making me go blind for half a second that felt like an eternity of bliss.

Without missing a beat, he popped up onto his knees and sank himself into me. My walls expanded, pushed outwards by his girth. I couldn’t breathe with the pleasure of being filled up the way only Vokar could fill me. He pushed me outwards, and I clasped around him as I accepted all of him into me.

I finished my orgasm around him.

“I love feeling that,” he said. “I love feeling you finish.”

He pulled out, so just the tip of him was inside me. Then he pushed in hard and fast. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would leave my chest. I looked at him, and he was staring at me, glowing green eyes soft and delicate.

He pushed all the way in, so his thighs were touching my legs.

I didn’t know how I could fit all of him. But I did.

And I knew I would never go back to anything else. This was everything. Everything I’d ever dreamed of and more.

Vokar was my reason for existing. My whole life had led me to this moment. His hands laced through mine and he drove into me again.

Nonsense sounds escaped as I gasped and moaned. This shouldn’t be possible. The connection we felt was impossible, I knew it. But this was magic between us. A wavelength that didn’t exist anywhere else. I was his and he was mine. I knew that was true. In my heart and soul, I knew that we belonged together.

He pulled all the way out and drove into me again, our eyes watching each other. Then, he pulled out and, with a quick flip, he turned me onto my hands and knees. Without hesitation, he drove himself back into me.

That time, I screamed again. The pleasure, the angle, all of it was perfect. Grabbing my hips, he set the pace and drove into me over and over. I moaned as I took all of him, time after time.

“You’re so fucking tight,” he said to me.

Then he gave me a light spank.

“Oh, fuck yes!”

I could tell he was enjoying himself as much as I was. He drove into me, and I rocked my hips, matching his pace. Then he pushed himself all the way in and his hand worked its way around my leg, finding my clit.

He rubbed it, hard. My moans turned to shrieks as he filled me up, stretching my walls and hitting my cervix. My hips rocked in time with his hand and the pressure his body put on my ass sent me wild.

I came hard, with another scream. The feeling rushed from my stomach to behind my eyes. Fireworks exploded and the world went black as I contracted around him, over and over.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s it.”

He flipped me again. He was so long that he never left me as he did. Then he rested his hands on either side of my head. I cupped his face. He started the rhythm again, slowly this time.

My hips matched in time with his and we met at the base. Over and over he drove into me. Pushing and pulling in perfect time with my pace. I pulled his head down and we kissed as he drove into me.

My heart exploded as we matched our pace and our tongues. We were one. We were the same. He was mine and I was his. This was what it was like to be married to someone. To find a mate, a match for my soul, and to share everything with them.

For once in my life, I was complete. I hadn’t even known that I was incomplete until now. Until this very second.

I was with Vokar. He was my D’Tali. My heart couldn’t take much more love and adoration. There was no way I could love anyone more.

We drove each other faster and faster.

“Together,” he growled, breaking the kiss.

“Together.”

With one final push, he emptied himself into me as I clamped down around him. I felt him pulsate as he emptied himself into me. I sank back into the bed and shuddered. Closing my eyes, I felt his seed emptying into me. My heart pounded as I contracted around him, over and over. My vision was dim, and I was breathing so hard.

Vokar collapsed to one side of me. I rubbed his back lightly with my fingertips. I didn’t want him to pull out, and he didn’t. Instead, I still felt him inside of me.

I finally felt complete.

We lay like that for a while, I wasn’t sure how long, with me lightly stroking his back as he buried his face against my neck.

“Wow,” he said finally, breaking the silence. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at me, tucking my hair behind my ears.

“Yup,” I said, still not able to see quite the same, even when my eyes were open.

“You’re so fucking hot.”

I laughed, but felt warm with the compliment.

“So are you,” I said.

“This is by far the best,” he said, kissing my forehead. “I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

“Me neither.” I was finally able to open my eyes and look at him without getting a head rush.

“What’s the word you women use?” he said, burying his head against my neck. “You’re now my...wife?”

“Yes, I am,” I breathed out.

“Wife,” he repeated, and the sound of that word, and the way it rolled off his tongue...it was perfection. I rubbed his back lightly with my fingers, feeling his heartbeat through his chest as he lay on me.

“Husband.”

Epilogue: Isabella

“Take that straight back to the engine room,” I called to the group of D’Tali loading equipment back onto the ship. “Please.”

That was an afterthought. Who had I become? The notion of speaking at anything above a whisper among these men would have sent a shiver through me even a few weeks ago.

But there I was, overseeing the salvage job on the Skarg vessel. We had managed to right it with a team of numa, and having everything upright again made it so much easier to navigate. If working in my shop had been a pleasure, this was proving to be heaven.

The ship was like a giant jigsaw puzzle. I had learned so much about Skarg technology from the bits we had pulled back to Tahkath, and it nearly all correlated here. My brain was starting to forge the pathways to make sense of it all.

“Isabella, my love!”

I turned, to find Vokar sliding down from his mount and trotting over to me. He held a basket of food I had laid out and forgotten in our rooms that morning. It almost felt like I had secretly done it on purpose so that he would come and picnic with me. Though he ended up on site with me almost every day, anyway.

“Thank you.” When he reached me, I stretched up to kiss him, and he wrapped me up in one of his deeply satisfying embraces. When he put me down again, we found a grassy spot to lay out our meal.

“How’s it going? More progress today?”

“Plenty,” I smiled. “I’ve used the crystal to test out most of the systems, and it looks like we’re going to get everything online soon. The nightly water baths have been an amazing help.” Only a few days after we had celebrated our union, I had discovered, completely by accident, how to revive the sphere from its depleted status.

Tinkering away in my shop, I had reached for my cup while keeping my eyes on whatever seemed like it was more important. And, clumsy thing that I was, I only succeeded in knocking everything over.

The crystal had taken up residence on a bunched-up rag at the back of my table, taunting me with the seeming impossibility of recharging it. Mopping up my spill with the scrap of fabric, I had just plunked everything back down to keep working. A little water wouldn’t kill it, right?

Far from it, as things turned out. At the end of the day, I leaned over to blow out my candle, only to discover that I had never lit one. My entire shop was lit by the glowing crystal. I practically flew home to Vokar and dragged him back to see it.

“What’s the goal with all this?” Vokar asked now, chewing thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the ship. You’re learning the systems and overseeing the rebuilding, but what’s the objective?” He caught my eyes. “What happens in the end?”

“To get it running.” I smiled. “Given enough time, we’ll have everything functioning just as it was when we…when we were stolen.” The memory passed over me like a cloud, but my life had become so happy that it was easy to let it drift away.

“And then?” He was pensive. “When it’s fully operational, I mean?”

“Test runs. Short flights to make sure it’s strong enough for a long voyage. If everything holds, then it might eventually be able to make the trip to Earth.” I looked at the hulk lying in the dirt. “It’ll be a while yet, and that’s a long trip, but I actually think it’s possible.”

“That’s wonderful,” Vokar said, but there was something strange riding just at the bottom of his voice. “I’m so proud of you.” His face was flat, and the depth in his eyes had gone oddly shallow.

“Vokar…”

“Sorry to interrupt your lunch, Lady.” It was Quitak, the chief among my D’Tali engineers. “We’ve got something you ought to see.” He had a faint smile, and a prickle of excitement raced over my skin.

“Oh, show me.” I clambered to my feet, dusted myself off, then leaned over to give Vokar a quick kiss. Trotting down the side of the crater behind Quitak, I basked in the sun on my neck and looked at the lush world on every side. My life couldn’t be any more perfect. I had a sense of purpose, the man I loved, and a sense of security like I had never known.

“I have to hand it to you,” I said as we came around the far end of the ship to the loading bay. “You’ve all done an incredible job of securing those patches the Skarg forged.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t actually take off,” Quitak smirked back at me. “A strong wind would have taken those things off. It’s a small compliment being better metalworkers than those ignorant trolls.”

“Fair enough,” I chuckled. We strode into the ship, and I reveled in the fact that I was coming to know it intimately. The maze of corridors made sense to me now, and if I had known where this treat was, I could have made it there myself.

We came into a low room just off the bridge. It housed some of the more refined operating systems, and I hadn’t been able to untangle it all yet. The complexity of it danced just beyond my grasp. Surrounding one of the consoles was a trio of beaming D’Tali, all squared off proudly with their hands on their hips.

“Alright, guys,” Quitak said. “Commence.”

Moving as one, they nested two or three pieces of equipment I had refurbished into each other. They fit together, slotting in places that weren’t immediately intuitive, until the whole thing emerged as a perfect cube. As soon as the last piece clicked into place, it sparkled to life.

No sphere, no contacts, just the individual pieces joined.

A low rumble resonated up around me, and the whole room seemed to glow with the active circuitry. It was beautiful.

“Oh, my,” I whispered.

“What does it all mean?” Quitak asked.

“I don’t have a fucking clue,” I laughed. “But I can tell you this—I’m damn sure going to find out.” Vokar had to see this. The thrill of it was just too much. “Keep it running. I’ll be right back.”

They were happy to comply, and I darted back out into the daylight, dodging past diligent D’Tali workers along the way. Tearing around the side of the vessel, I called Vokar’s name before I even caught sight of where I had left him. Seeing our spot, I stopped cold.

He wasn’t there.

Our lunch basket was, even the bottle of wine he had brought along, but no Vokar. Spinning around, I saw that his numa was still tied up, so he couldn’t have gotten far. Walking up to our little spot, I spotted him just a little further off among the trees. He may have been a master at concealing himself, but I had gotten to where I could pick him out anywhere.

“Vokar?” He leaned with his back against a tree, looking intently at the ground in front of him. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He shrugged, and I came up to stand next to him. Even as I did, he didn’t move his gaze.

“What’s so interesting in the grass, love?” The joke drifted off with the wind. I moved directly in front of him, putting a hand on his chest. When he finally looked up to meet my gaze, I could read in his eyes exactly where I had gone wrong.

“Hey,” I said reaching up to cup his face. “You can let that go.”

“I don’t think I can,” he whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere, so you can forget that right now.”

“Can I?” Vokar’s eyes started to look like his own again, and his shoulders dropped, the tension bleeding out, his body relaxing.

This man, this D’Tali... He’d faced enemies for his kingdom.

Faced aliens and war and whatever else was normal in the life of an assassin.

And what scared him?

The thought of me leaving.

“Of course. Even if the ship was running again—hell, even if it was making regular trips shuttling back and forth—I’m staying. There’s nothing on Earth that I want.”

“You scared me,” he said.

It was the first time I had ever heard him confess to fear. Even when we were looking death in the face, he had taken it all with such strength. The admission in this moment filtered straight into my heart.

“You have nothing to be afraid of,” I said. “Not from me, anyway. I have everything I need right here.” I moved my hand over his heart. “When I said the words to bind my life to yours, when I vowed to share your journey, that was something I meant. And I would never take it back.”

He leaned down and kissed me, folding his arms around me and lifting me up until my feet barely dusted the ground. It was among my favorite sensations in the world. How could I possibly leave that behind?

“What was it you wanted to show me?” he asked when he put me down again.

“Forget it. It’s nothing. Why don’t you take me home?”

I sent a message back to Quitak with a passing guard. I wouldn’t be back at work, not for a while.

Vokar took me by the hand, and we collected the rest of our lunch. We’d probably need it after we worked up an appetite. Helping me up onto his numa, he eased up behind me and set to a leisurely ride.

In the early days, we would have charged away at a full gallop. But now, we had settled into something far more lasting.

We got to share the easy silence of the journey, and I leaned back into his chest as Tahkath came into view. He kicked us up to an even trot and planted a kiss at the parting of my hair. There were still times when he vanished on missions, or went out with Troko to crack off a bit of his wildness, but I never doubted that he was coming home. That, no matter how dangerous the mission, he was protecting himself to make sure he always came back.

And that was good enough for me.

* * *

I hope you had fun with Isabella and Vokar! Next up, things are only getting hotter…

I've been captured by the enemy.

My captor swears he's on my side.

Even though his touch sparks feelings I've never known, he has too many secrets of his own.

How can I trust him?

When I melt at his glance, how can I refuse his heated caresses?

Captured by her Alien Mate is the fourth book of the Warriors of the D'Tali science fiction romance series. Each book contains a complete HEA for our couple, and lots of steamy SFR fun!

Read on for a sneak peek, or click here to get Captured by her Alien Mate on Amazon now!

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Captured by her Alien Mate: Sneak Peek

Riley

“Riley!” I heard someone call for me, the sound echoing from the metal walls.

“Could you come back here? I could use a hand.”

I clambered my way through the wrecked ship. I hadn’t been there since the crash. I felt the stirring of old ghosts who’d just as soon not be disturbed. It reminded me somehow of the occasional car accidents I had to deal with when I was a police officer.

It gave me pause to think. Twisted metal, broken mechanisms. Things used to run and now were so much junk. Things that used to carry us safely from one point to another. An illusion. That’s the one thing you learn as a cop --safety isn’t something that lasts for as long as you hope it will.

“Riley!” the voice called again. It was Isabella. Our resident tech guru. She loved being here in the wreckage.

She didn’t see ghosts. She saw possibilities. I gave her credit for that.

Me? I could barely tell a hammer from a wrench. But I was glad to help her.

It had been a strange journey so far, being here, on another word, caught in the midst of an ongoing war between the D’Tali, our hosts and the Aetam, their sworn enemies.

Who were two species on this planet that were so similar they might as well have been kissing cousins.

I couldn’t figure out exactly what the beef was between the two tribes. It didn’t make much sense to me. But another thing you learn as a cop is that it doesn’t take much for folks to not get along. And it doesn’t take much for folks to end up hating each other.

So, you put yourself in the middle and try to keep the peace as best you can. There’s not much more you can do beyond that when it came down to it.

I finally stumbled my way to the back of the ship. Isabella was trying to pry something off a control panel.

“Hey there,” she said with a smile. She loved being back here in the ship, taking it apart and putting it back together.

“What’s up?”

“I need those big muscles you have to help me get this off. It’s a little rusted tight. I’m not able to get it off on my own.”

I gave her a little salute.

“Your wish is my command,” I said and I assumed a position next to her. We put our collective four hands on the panel on each corner.

“On the count of three?” I asked.

Isabella nodded.

“One. Two. THREE!”

The pair of us tugged hard and yanked the damn thing right off and sent ourselves flying backwards onto the deck of the ship.

We both landed hard, cracking our heads.

“Ow,” I said, rubbing the back of my skull. “That hurt.”

“Sure, but hey, we got the panel off!” Isabella said brightly, holding the panel up like a fisherman with his prize catch.

Vokar came bolting around the corner with alarm in his eyes.

“You ladies all right? What happened?”

“We’re fine, honey,” Isabella said, climbing to her feet.

“Yeah, Vokar, we’re good. Just didn’t know our own strength for a moment. We’re super powerful you know,” I said with a wink.

He looked over to Isabella with a truly love-sick look.

“Don’t I know it,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.

Ever since Isabella had been taken by the Aetam, Vokar was incredibly protective of her. Which I get. We all were. In many ways, Isabella was the most important among us. While Camille was the nurse and Sofia was our Queen, Isabella was the one who knew the tech. That’s what gave us a slight advantage (very slight) over the Aetamians. They’d love to get their hands on her, to improve their weaponry and tracking systems.

Isabella was working on teaching us all a little bit more about the tech we had and had been making some progress in that regard. We had all figured that it would make more sense if that knowledge was spread out a touch.

But even with that, Isabella was still the boss when it came to mechanics. Which was fine by me.

My attitude towards tech was slightly above “cavewoman.” I understood its value and how much it benefited us. But beyond that, I was more likely to rely on my eyes and ears to get me through situations.

Being the only sister with three brothers will do that to you. You gotta stay sharp or you’d be likely to find a frog slipped down your dress.

I had found a natural role among the D’Tali in the security detail, helping with defensive planning and strategies. I liked helping in that regard. It was what I was good at. And I liked being the lone human female in amongst the “proud” D’Tali warriors. It felt like I was back among my brothers again.

Don’t get me wrong, my brothers could be a pain in the ass, but I missed them, nonetheless. I supposed that would be true for anyone.

Vokar and Isabella broke off their kiss and I laughed.

“Decided to come up for air?” I said with a smirk.

Isabella blushed.

“Honestly, Riley, sometimes I think she’s just going to swallow me whole,” Vokar said playfully.

“Oh, stop it,” she said, whacking his arm.

“Let’s get some air,” I said. “I think we could all use some.”

The couple agreed and we climbed our way out of the downed ship. There was a cool breeze and it felt good on my face.

Sometimes the best part about my old job was you were outside so much. And whenever things got rough (and believe me, they did), some fresh air in your lungs always worked wonders. Still did, it turned out.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in and held it for a moment, before letting it out slowly.

“You ok?” Isabella asked with some small concern.

“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “Just enjoying the moment.”

But as soon as I said that the moment ended.

Over Isabella’s shoulder, out in the tree line, I spotted movement. It was subtle, but it was there for sure.

“Vokar,” I said cautiously, “what do you make of—”

Before I could finish my thought, there was a terrific bang and shouting from all around us.

It was the Aetam. They were attacking, hurling heavy stones with some kind of crude catapult. They’d crept up on us around the perimeter of the ship’s crash zone.

Seriously, it was like these guys were never going to give up.

“Fuck,” I said. “They caught us napping!”

“Damnit, I was hoping for more time before they showed up again,” Vokar said, annoyance clear in his tone. He turned to me. “Riley, take Isabella and try to get out of here.”

“Vokar, wait a second,” Isabella began but he cut her off.

“No, Isabella. This isn’t time for a debate.”

The small attachment of D’Tali which had come with us to the ship were already responding to the assault, firing crossbow bolts and setting up smoke screens to give a little cover.

Vokar gripped me by the arm.

“I’m counting on you, Riley. I have to go help fight them off.”

“I got this, Vokar. Go. Don’t wait on us,” I said.

He pulled Isabella into him by the waist, kissing her deeply.

“I’ll find you. Stay with Riley,” he said and then he was gone, drawing his weapons and running headlong into the battle.

“C’mon, Izzy,” I said. “We gotta boogie outta here.”

“But—” she said, looking after Vokar.

I shook my head.

“He can take care of himself. Right now, we gotta take care of you, ok? Don’t be stubborn and make me knock you out and carry you.”

She nodded and I took her hand. We took off running, sticking close to the ship, while I scanned the tree line for Aetam soldiers.

The assault seemed to be mostly concentrated at the bow of the ship, the Aetam moving in a half-circle as they advanced. Vokar and the D’Tali were fighting them off, however. In my experience, D’Tali were superior fighters to the Aetam, but with smaller numbers. When you threw in an endangered loved one... yeah, I wouldn’t want to get in Vokar’s way right now. Let’s put it that way.

Straight ahead from the back of the ship, things looked pretty clear. I looked to Izzy and gripped her hand.

“Stay low and move fast. Don’t let go of my hand, ok? No matter what.”

She nodded, her face grave. I gave her hand a squeeze and off we went, darting into the trees.

We made it safely, without trouble and dove into the underbrush.

“Stay down,” I whispered to her and she gave me a thumbs-up. I peeked my head out and I could see that the D’Tali were giving the Aetam all they could handle.

Looking down to Izzy, I smiled saying, “I think we’re gonna win this.”

That’s when a crossbow bolt shot right across my field of vision, nearly taking my nose off.

“Goddamn!” I exclaimed and turned to my right. A small contingent of Aetam warriors were running towards us.

Without looking down, I said out loud to Izzy, “Flatten out! Keep still. I’m going to lead them away!”

I felt her hand tug on my ankle.

“Riley!” She whispered with force. “Don’t!”

I shook my head.

“Gave Vokar my word. I’ll be fine. When you hear them come for me, run low and fast back to the ship and the D’Tali. Don’t argue with me. Just do it. I got this,” I said.

She squeezed my ankle again and let go. I know she was making herself as small as possible.

The Aetam were only about 50 yards away, all shouting at me.

“JESUS, YOU GUYS ARE UGLY!” I shouted and took off running to my right. Not that they’d be able understand a single word.

But I’d lay money they would get my tone of voice just fine.

Another crossbow blew past me. I darted into the trees. I wouldn’t be able to outrun them for long. They were bigger and stronger than me. But I’d make them fucking work for it.

The Aetam were in hot pursuit of me and I kept shouting and yelling nonsense to antagonize them.

“Man, you fucking losers are slooooow!” I said laughing and turning my head to glance at them. “And your baseball team is never going to win, even if you invent baseball!”

And that was the moment I ran full speed into a tree. I smacked into it hard and bounced back onto the forest floor.

I groggily sat up, only to feel a knife point against my throat. I looked up and a very angry Aetam soldier was crouching there, ready to thrust his blade into me at a moment’s notice.

“Silly creature, thinking you could get away,” he said with a hiss. “You might make your strange noises now, but soon we will have your knowledge.”

Shit.

Kator

Few things drag as much as staff meetings. Fewer still are the meetings which involve the king and his high command. Even fewer are those involving discussion of taxes, of all things.

And here was I. Caught right in the damn middle of it.

“My lord,” said Aefir, the tax collector of the Aetam kingdom, “we must press even harder on this issue. Without new taxes, we will no longer able to give the Aetam forces the support they need in our struggle with the D’Tali.”

“Struggle?” snorted Jalon, commander of the palace guard. “I’d say calling it a ‘struggle’ is underselling it slightly.”

“What mean you by this, Jalon?” King Mofat said.

“My king, to put it bluntly, we had our asses handed to us by the D’Tali in the last conflict. The word amongst the guard is that the citizenry is getting tired of this endless war.”

“Nonsense,” Aefir countered. “The normal complaints of the guard. Complaining is the soldier’s lot in life. Not to be taken seriously.”

Jalon glowered, holding his chin high in annoyance. He stepped right up to Aefir, towering over him. Aefir looked concerned, but, to his credit, he didn’t back down.

“Do not...ever...speak of the Aetam under my command that way again. These soldiers have all volunteered their lives in service of the king. Their loyalty is without question. And if they say the people are tired, they would know. When they finish a shift, they go home. To their families. Their friends. Their neighbors. They hear what the people are saying,” he said.

Aefir buckled but did not break.

“My lord Mofat,” he said, looking around Jalon’s shoulders, “trust me on this. A decisive victory is exactly what’s called for to lift the populace’s spirits. And more taxes are the cost of that victory. It’s mathematics. Nothing more. Complaints will fade in the face of winning.”

Mofat looked as bored as I felt. I chuckled quietly then began to yawn, my late night in the library getting to me.

“Bored are you, Kator?” Aefir said to me with some snark in his voice.

“With you? Absolutely, Aefir. I find your prattling tiresome.”

“Hear, hear!” Jalon added.

Aefir feigned outrage and turned to the king.

“My lord! How can you—”

“Enough!” Mofat shouted, with slamming his fist on the arm of his chair. “I grow tired of you all. Jalon, while I hear you and what your sources inform you of, I must concur with Aefir.”

I wanted to slap the smug look from Aefir’s face at that moment. But the king handled it for me.

“We need a victory over the D’Tali. And we need it soon. However, Aefir, I will not permit you to dismiss the voices of my soldiers again. While you serve a valuable role for the king, you are not putting your life on the line. Is that clear to you?”

Finally, Aefir looked humbled.

“Yes, my lord,” he mumbled quietly.

“I don’t give a whit for the peasantry. They will do what they’re told. But, if I have learned anything in my years of rule, I have learned that if you disguise the poison in honey, they’re more likely to swallow it.”

“My king—” Jalon began but Mofat cut him off by raising his hand.

“No, Jalon. I will hear no more of this. I have registered your concerns and honor them to a point, but not beyond. We must defeat the D’Tali. Once and for all. Only then will we have peace. And greater power than before.”

There was a wicked gleam in Mofat’s eyes as he said that. I didn’t like the look of it. Not one bit.

He turned to his son, Hulat, who, after the death of General Mohad, he had named commander of all Aetam forces. If there was someone I liked less the Aefir (or Moffat, for that matter) it was Hulat.

He hadn’t earned his position. It was given to him. He had no respect for rank or service and the only thing he brought to the table that appealed to Mofat was brutality. Hulat was infamous for butchering children if they got in his way. Killing his own troops in the midst of combat if it somehow could give an advantage.

When Mofat made Hulat the high commander, I heard the rumor was he went home and beat his mate because he was so excited.

The fact Aetam females are as rare as D’Tali only makes such a horrendous act worse.

The gods above help us if he ever became king. However bad Moffat was, Hulat would be a nightmare. From which the Aetam may never awaken.

“Hulat, I want plans organizing a new assault on the D’Tali as quickly as possible. And just blundering it like a battering ram will not get it done. So, think a little this time,” Moffat said.

“Yes, father,” Hulat replied, nostrils flaring. I chuckled. Hulat spotted it and give me a sneer.

“What troubles you, Kator? Does the head of the Assassin’s Guild find all of this tiresome?”

I stared Hulat down.

“Not at all, Hulat,” I said. “But to think of the Aetam army being anything other than a battering ram give me pause. Seems a bit out of your purview, that.”

“And what you would advise us to do, Kator?” Moffat asked me before Hulat, whose face had turned bright red, could try tear me apart.

I shrugged.

“My lord, I’m not a military expert by any means, but if you want to win a decisive victory, it should be small. Quiet. Strike when they least expect and strike silently.”

Hulat laughed, eyes wide with pleasure. Mofat joined him.

I stared at them both and turned to Jalon, who was more often than not an ally for me in this council meetings. He shook his head. He didn’t know either.

At that moment, a messenger came running into the chamber, bowed quickly and got to one knee.

“What news?” Mofat asked. The messenger nodded his head and stood up.

“My king, the word is the operation was a success.”

“What operation?” I asked.

Now it was Hulat’s turn to chuckle at me.

“You’re not as clever as you think, Kator. Nor do you give enough credit where it is due,” he said.

“What are you talking about, Hulat? I have no time for your riddles,” I countered.

“What he means, Master Assassin,” Mofat said, “is that we had taken your advice before you had even given it.”

I looked to Jalon again, who was as confused as I was.

“What does that mean, my lord?” I asked.

“It means that we sent a small party of Aetam soldiers out to the wrecked ship crash site, to sit and wait. Knowing full well the D’Tali and their humans would be coming back there soon enough.”

I felt alarm prickle up my spine.

“Meaning what?”

“What would you say, Jalon, is the biggest discrepancy right now, between the forces of the D’Tali and our own?” Mofat asked, this tips of his fingers dancing on the edge of the table.

“Ah...” Jalon said, looking to me and then back to the King, “I would say it was a technological advantage, my King.”

Mofat nodded. “And that technology arrived with the humans.” A menacing grin spread across his face, and there was nothing pleasant about it. “So we set out to capture one.”

What was going on here? And why didn’t I know about it?

Mofat turned to the messenger.

“The human is in custody?”

“Yes, my lord. A yellow-headed female. She had tried to flee from the crash site, but we were able to capture her as she ran through the forest. The assault team is bringing her back here now.”

Yellow-headed! They had her. They had Isabella!  The Aetam had her. Of all the damn luck.

Aefir spotted something on my face and cocked his head at me.

“What troubles you, assassin? Surely you’re not sorry that we were able to capture this human. This is precisely the advantage we have been looking for. We can now force her to share her knowledge of this technology with us. With their weapons the tides of this war will change.”

“I’d advise you not to presume to know my mind or where my sympathies lie, tax collector,” I said. “I have little time for your nonsense.”

“He raises a good point nonetheless, Kator,” Hulat said. “You look...crestfallen. As much as you can with that golden orange coloring of your scales that is.” His eyes narrowed in grim amusement.

I swallowed my anger at his crack and responded calmly.

“My concert, General, is that there were Aetam lives put at risk. If the Assassins’ Guild had been included in the planning, we could have taken this human without the loss of one Aetam warrior. When each one is worth ten of theirs. So, I think this operation foolish, regardless of the outcome. With all respect, my king,” I said, bowing low.

Mofat nodded and gestured for me to stand up.

“You show honor in that, Kator. And it is understandable, your position. But this information came to us quickly and we had to move just as fast. No time for debate,” Mofat said.

“Or overly extensive planning,” Hulat chimed in. I wanted to punch his face and knock the smirk right off it.

“Of course, my lord. I completely understand,” I said.

Mofat stood then and walked over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. Even at his age, I could feel the strength in his grip. He wasn’t King for nothing.

“In future plans, we will include you. Your counsel is always welcome and now, more than ever. We will be moving swiftly with the next stage of our plans. But now, let us celebrate this victory!”

He headed off towards the dining chamber, where food and drink had been prepared. Everyone followed him out. Jalon hesitated a moment, looking at me, head tilted slightly.

I nodded.

“I’ll be with you all in a moment.”

He left and I was alone with my thoughts.

I walked to the window and looked out, frustrated.

How was I going to fix this problem now?

I sighed and shook my head.

Being a double-agent for the D’Tali was trickier than it looked.

Riley

There are a lot of things they teach when you enroll in the academy.

How to fire a gun, for instance. That’s a big one.  How to give comfort to victims (we could’ve been a little better at that, truth be told). How to drive a car in a high-speed chase. (No kidding, we really did that.)

But there was maybe no skill that was more useful than the one I was using now: how to assess a situation.

After the Aetam soldiers nabbed me in the forest and started dragging me through, I made sure to make a big ruckus, screaming and yelling that they would pay for kidnapping me, not that they would understand a thing I said.

All that really mattered was keeping Isabella safe.

And the real Isabella was safe.

The downside of making a big ruckus, however, was that it deeply annoyed my captors. After several attempts to get me to shut up, and my staunch refusal every time, the leader of the Aetam patrol had had enough and, with a heavy sigh as I shouted in his face that “Isabella was the pride of the D’Tali and I would be rescued and avenged for this indignity!” (I admit, I was laying it on a bit thick, but hey, you gotta throw yourself into the role) cracked me hard across the face.

I dropped like a rock, unconscious. I had a vague sense of someone picking me up and carrying me but then I was gone. Out like the proverbial light.

So it was that my situational assessment training was coming into play now. I was coming to. Slowly. I knew enough to know that I didn’t need to rush the process.

I scanned my body with my mind and, other than my head, I didn’t detect any pain or injuries. That said to me that I was relatively safe, or at the least, not in immediate danger.

Keeping my eyes closed, I could also feel there wasn’t much light (if any) in the room with me. And I was inside somewhere for sure. There was no breeze and the floor I was laying on felt like slabs of hewed stone. It was cool and damp.

I was in a cell somewhere. The Aetam had taken me from the forest all the way to their city. I’m not sure how long that journey was, but it wasn’t close. That much I knew.

I strained my ears to listen for voices or the shuffle of guards’ feet. But I heard nothing. Just the soft echo that hangs in the air of prisons. It’s there whether there is audible sound or not.

Deciding it was safe and I had learned all that I could playing dead, I moved to sit up. And immediately regretted it.

A throbbing pain shot through my head as I sat up, nearly putting me down to the floor again. I took a few deep and slow breaths, trying to calm it down. It was working, thank God. The pain was easing, if not entirely going away.

Well, I thought, let’s take what we can get.

I straightened myself up and pushed up to my feet. I was a little unsteady and the room spun but just for a moment.

I pressed my hands against the wall on my left and rested my forehead against the stone. Its cool temperature was soothing and I sucked in some more slow breaths.

The throbbing subsided slightly, and I finally opened my eyes gently.

I may as well have kept them closed.

There was practically no light. I could just make out the outline of a cell door and a faint, very faint glow through what I presumed to be a grate in the cell door.

Continuing to assess the situation, I felt my way along the walls, determining the size of the space. It wasn’t big, that’s for sure. But that made sense. You don’t make prison cells to be comfortable.

My foot kicked something, and I heard a small little splash.

Water.

Reaching down carefully, I felt a cup that had been left for me. Bringing it up to my face, I swirled it around, trying to feel the weight of the water. There wasn’t much in there, but I was grateful for whatever there was.

I brought it to my lips and carefully drank. I didn’t want to risk swallowing it all down in case it had something in it that could prove toxic. Taking a small sip, the water was cool and fresh, and I couldn’t detect anything in it dangerous.

That told me they were invested in keeping me alive.

So, I drank it all down, slowly but every drop. Getting that water in my system helped my head immeasurably.

It occurred to me that I was taking a chance drinking all that water now. They may not bring me anymore. But I suspected that wouldn’t be the case. If they still think I’m Isabella, they are going to do everything they can to keep me alive. If they had figured out that I’m not here already, they would have killed me already.

So. What to do now?

Another thing that they teach out in the police academy is maybe the single most valuable lesson of them all: to be patient.

There’s an enormous amount of time spent as a cop doing absolutely nothing at all. Sitting on stake outs. Driving around for hours on patrol. Filling out paperwork.

Crime is never as rampant as you’re led to believe. So, action is in short supply. More often than not, you’re twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to go down. So, patience is key.

And it was going to serve me now.

I felt for the back wall of the cell and turned to put my back to it. I slid down carefully against the wall, until I was sitting down, knees up, head back, facing the door.

I took another deep breath and began the watch.

What was it that Tom Petty said?

“The Waiting...is the hardest part.”

Amen, Tom. Amen.

Turns out, however, that I didn’t have to wait too long after all.

Beyond the door grate, I saw a flash of light that grew, brightening the hallway outside. Then I heard the heavy steps of Aetam soldiers.

The door suddenly swung open and three Aetam stalked inside. One marched right up to me, towering over my seated position.

“Hey fellas. How’s tricks? I have to say, the service isn’t the best in this hotel but there’s still a chance for you to salvage a five-star rating from me. Maybe if you get some food, more water and, oh yeah, LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”

The Aetam before me snarled “Why’d we have to get saddled with this animal?”

These assholes didn’t know I understood them, and I had no plan to clue them in any time soon, either. Maybe I can use that to my advantage at some point but for now, at least I can annoy them.

“Don’t follow, ugly,” I said and the Aetam reached down and grabbed me by the throat, pulling me up and off my feet.

“This...isn’t...gonna improve ...your rating....” I managed to gasp out.

The solider pulled me close to his face, his mouth curling into a sneer. His breath was truly reprehensible. That, combined with the fact that his hand was wrapped around my throat, made air a precious commodity.

I kicked out with my feet but I may as well had been kicking a tree for all the good that it did me. The Aetam soldier started laughing at me and the other two joined in.

Maybe they weren’t so invested in keeping me alive after all.

Then another voice boomed out.

“Let her go! Now!”

I was dropped instantly, grasping at my throat and trying to suck in as much air as I could. And then it occurred to me:

As I lay trying to catch my breath, another Aetam walked in. He was tall, golden and clearly in command. The others deferred to him without question, even bowing slightly.

The golden orange one looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

“Leave us,” he said, and the soldier hesitated. The newcomer looked at them and a fire blazed in his eyes.

“Do not make me repeat myself,” he said, “or the Assassin’s Guild will have new training targets.”

That’s all it took. The soldiers left in a hurry.

The golden one walked over to me and I was able to really look at him. There was something almost... familiar about him. Something in his bearing reminded me of... the D’Tali. I didn’t know how that was possible.

He reached down and pulled me up by my wrist.

“All right, you bastard, if you’re going to kill me, then let’s get it the fuck over with,” I said.

“Silence!” he whispered fiercely.

He understood me.

This fire-scaled guy understood what I just said… How was that possible?

“I don’t know why you understand me, but if you think I’m going to tell you a goddamned thing about the D’Tali, you’re out of your mind. So, do us both a favor and don’t waste my time. Kill me and have it be done!”

To my surprise, he moved in a flash and put his hand over my mouth.

“Be quiet for a fucking second, you fool! If you’re not careful, they are going to kill you. And worse! If you want to get out of here, you’re going to have to trust me, Isabella!”

My eyes grew wide. Was this Aetam trying to...help me?

“Do you hear me?” He said. “Stay quiet and I will get you out of here, but we have to move fast!”

He removed his hand from my mouth, slowly.

“You understand?” he asked.

Still stunned, I shook my head.

“I’m not Isabella,” I said softly.

He looked at me, shocked, then looked towards the door. There were sounds from out in the hallway.

“Well,” he said turning back to me, “you are for now.”

Click here to get Captured by her Alien Mate on Amazon now!

Rekker

Rekker wasn't expecting to be matched.

On the eve of being sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact, he's sent something just as enigmatic.

A human woman, lush and curved.

His mate.

Even worse, she wants nothing to do with him.

His blood burns for her, but the need to make her happy overrides everything.

He'll find a way to set her free, even if it means he'll be alone. Forever.

But when danger comes from an unexpected source, they're thrown together. And when his mate turns to him, he'll protect her.

Keep her.

Claim her.

Lila Kanes never wanted any thing but a quiet life on her family farm. She certainly didn't want to be claimed by a massive alien mate.

Thrown into the stars, she'll do whatever it takes to find a way home.

Back to Earth.

Back to her family.

She couldn't possibly want to stay with the hot, horned alien with the amazing body, who made her feel like the most precious thing in the universe, could she?

Right?

Rekker is the first book of the Warriors of Vaznik, a stand alone series in the Warlord Brides universe. There's no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA for each couple!

Click here to keep reading Rekker, book one of the Vaznik Warrior Mates!

Kazan

An alien warrior resolved to return to battle. A woman determined to get back to her life.

They'll fight the match, but can they fight fate?

A mate is the last thing on my mind.

Especially one as sassy as the human female they say is my match.

Even if her lush curves call for my touch, and her fiery spirit is equal to my own.

I will endure the thirty days demanded by the Protocol.

But with every look, every word, I can feel us bound closer together.

Will I be able to leave her, even for her own safety?

Kazan is the first book of the Jorkan Protocol Mates. Spend the night with this perfect steamy, funny science fiction romance escape. There's no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA for each alien warrior and his mate! Hot, steamy alien yumminess!

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Rogue Mate

Science fiction romance is the destination of the Rogue Star…. Hop on board!

Our rescuers are a group of pirates. Or smugglers. They're not exactly answering questions, either.

More importantly, they're giant, golden skinned aliens...

And their rogue of a captain seems very interested in the little human commander.

Me.

Rogue Mate is the first in the Rogue Star science fiction alien romance series. Click now to start the adventure!

Copyright © 2020 by Ava York

All rights reserved. These books or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.