by Hope Hart
I tell him about the pranks Vivian and I used to play on each other. “I was bigger, and I was mean,” I admit. “But she was sneaky, and she’d always get her revenge when I least expected it.”
Korzyn flashes his teeth in a grin. “Tell me about what you did on Earth.”
I tense. “Why?”
He’s silent, raising his eyebrow, and I sigh. I’m so used to not talking about my work that even now, on an alien planet, it’s difficult to start.
“After Claire died, I withdrew even more from my parents. They were never around, and I threw myself into school. The last time I saw them was a few months before I went to college. While I was studying, I created an app that helped predict the likelihood of an area being targeted by terrorists.”
Korzyn frowns, and I take a few minutes to explain. He looks amazed, and I realize it must sound fantastical to him.
“I was approached by the CIA when I was twenty. I finished up my degree while working a ‘consulting gig,’ as far as my family and friends were concerned. In reality, I was reading cables from around the world, detailing new plots. I’d sort them based on their level of urgency. It was difficult, exciting work, and it made me feel like I was making a difference.”
Korzyn reaches out his arm and wraps it around my shoulders. “Then what happened?” His voice is low, and I know he doesn’t understand most of what I’m telling him. But he seems to know I need to get it out. Need to tell someone about the reality of my life on Earth.
“After I’d graduated, I was invited to the Clandestine Service. Finally, I’d be the one out in the field, working to get the information we needed to protect innocent lives. I was sent to the Farm. I learned how to recruit assets, how to use those assets, and how to protect them from getting a bullet in the head—or worse. I learned how to find the best places for meetings, how to spot a tail, and how to lose one. I learned how to flip a car by tapping the exact right spot with my own car. I learned how to navigate through woods and how to identify a roadside bomb. By the time I left, I could shoot almost any weapon and prevent someone from dying from a sucking chest wound.”
I lean my head against Korzyn’s chest. “Only one person in my life even knew I worked for the CIA.”
“Vivian,” he guesses, and I nod.
“No one else could ever know, and of course she could never know what I truly did. I was sent to Thailand for six months, China for three years, and then Pakistan. It was an exciting life, but it was tough. I was lonely a lot of the time. When you’re living a false life, you begin to forget who you are.”
He’s silent for a moment. “This is why you were so good at making connections on this planet.”
I nod. “I’m trained to get the information I need. To make people like me.”
He bares his teeth in a fierce grin, and I stare up at him as his arm tightens around me. “You never used your skills on me.”
I nod. “I didn’t see the point. You were already suspicious of us.”
His grin widens, and I tilt my head.
“Why are you so happy about that?”
“Because everything that happened between us is in spite of our initial dislike and mistrust of each other. If you had befriended me, had used your skills to make me trust you…”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “You’d wonder if anything we had was real.”
He nods. “But now I know my prickly, vicious female is with me in spite of herself.”
I laugh at that. “And that’s better?”
“Oh yes.”
When the sun begins to go down, we watch the sunset until Korzyn gets to his feet, offering me his hand.
“Will you come stay with me?”
I nod, smiling up at him, but my lips tremble, and he swoops down, pressing his mouth to mine. I drink him in until a cool breeze makes me shiver, and he pulls away, rubbing my arms with his hands to warm them.
Who knew the commander could be so…tender?
No one disturbs us as we walk back to his kradi. The light is dim, and he immediately takes my mouth, his hands going to the laces on the back of my dress.
His hands freeze. And he lowers his head, burying it in my neck. I clutch at his arms, and he shudders, regaining control.
I attempt to swallow around the lump in my throat. My face is wet.
Korzyn lifts his head, kissing the tears off my cheeks.
Neither of us speak, but he makes love to me for the rest of the night.
Chapter Fifteen
Korzyn
I’m standing in the training arena, barely stifling a yawn. I spent the night losing myself in Sarissa’s body. The exhaustion I feel today is more than worth it.
Never could I have imagined feeling for anyone the way I feel for my hellion.
“How are the evacuation plans going?” I ask Rakiz, and he sighs.
“We are fortunate to have such a large camp, but moving so many children and elderly is difficult. This battle will be our last stand. If they make it to the camp, we are done.”
People suddenly scatter, throwing down their swords and tools as they move toward the edges of the training arena. I glance up. Dragix is approaching, and he lets out a warning roar before landing in the middle of the arena, Charlie on his back. He immediately raises his huge clawed foot, and she hops onto it so he can place her on the ground.
Gold sparks fly around him as he transforms.
“It is done,” he says.
Charlie reaches into her pocket and hands Rakiz and me each a note.
“Arix knew you were poisoned,” Charlie says. “He had sent scouts after you only for them to be attacked by the Dokhalls lying in wait. Three of them were killed, but the fourth managed to get a message sent back to him. He’s been readying his army ever since, and he’ll be marching tomorrow.”
I frown. “And the Dokhalls?”
Dragix throws his arm over his female’s shoulder. “They will make it here before Arix. They’re traveling slowly, unused to moving such large numbers through the forest. Your fire helped with that—they have few places to hide.”
“It was Sarissa’s fire,” I say, and Charlie smiles at me.
I glance behind her to where Sarissa is building something with a group of human females and two of Rakiz’s warriors.
“We need the launch angle to be as close to forty-five degrees as possible,” Sarissa says, and I frown. What exactly are they working on?
Dragix and Charlie wander away, almost colliding with Dexar, who lets out an aggrieved sigh.
“I see our resident dragon still doesn’t believe in pants,” he says.
Charlie glances over her shoulder at the qatai and grins, while Dragix chooses to ignore him as they walk away.
“Our traps on the east side are almost finished,” Dexar says. “One of the human females—Clara—is requesting two warriors to guard the younger females in case they decide to get on the ship.”
Rakiz growls low in his throat. “Request denied. We need every available warrior to fight. Besides, we would be the ones left with young, furious human females.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you heard?” Rakiz flicks me a glance. “The females will likely be leaving on the ship during the battle.”
I must look stunned because he frowns at me. “It was Sarissa’s idea. The Dokhalls don’t know we have the chip, so they won’t be expecting it. And they’ll be under no doubt that the ship is gone.”
She didn’t tell me. My prickly female is leaving within days, and she hasn’t mentioned it.
I mutter something to Rakiz and walk away in a daze, a hollow laugh leaving my throat. I know better than this. I have gone my whole life without making any serious attachments—other than to my king—and it was a vicious, cunning female who brought me to my knees. She weakened me long enough that I almost forgot.
If you let people in, they will abandon you when you need them the most. I learned this lesson young, and somehow
it was Sarissa who made me disregard all my rules.
“Korzyn?”
I turn, barely able to look at her as she frowns up at me. “I’ve been calling you—”
I have to ask. Even though it’s idiotic. Even though I know better.
“Are you getting on that ship?”
She blinks at me. “Korzyn.”
“Yes or no.”
“Y-yes.”
I nod, turn, and walk away.
“Korzyn!”
I can’t seem to look at her, but I hear her trailing after me, almost at a trot as she attempts to keep up.
“Sarissa?”
“I’m busy, Emma.”
“Phoebe just had a panic attack. She’s asking for you.”
Sarissa lets out a low growl, but her footsteps stop.
As I knew they would.
Sarissa
For some unknown reason, my eyes are hot as I watch the commander walk away. He holds his head high, his shoulders back, and he looks as if he could take on the world.
But the desolation I just glimpsed in his eyes told me a completely different story.
I should’ve known better. The moment he told me he was sent away as a child, that he never saw his family again, that he didn’t form close relationships…
I had so many opportunities to back away. To not hurt him.
Because despite everything, I never wanted to hurt him.
To strangle him, sure. Occasionally, to kill him.
But I never wanted to emotionally wreck him.
Which is what I’ve just done.
Indignation wrestles with guilt. Of course I’m getting on that ship. Why would he think otherwise? Not once have I implied I’d stay here. Some things are too important to give up.
Vengeance is one of those things.
Even if it means losing your one chance at happiness?
I push that little voice aside. And what, exactly, would I do on Agron?
“Sarissa?”
I turn, finding Ellie studying me out of concerned eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Not really, to be honest.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not right now, but thanks.” I force a smile. Next to me, Emma is watching me carefully.
“Nevada asked if you wanted to meet us for lunch,” Ellie says, and I nod.
“I’ll see you then.”
I turn back to Emma as Ellie slowly waddles away.
“What’s going on?”
She sighs. “Phoebe is losing it. She’s convinced she’s going to die. I tried my best but I’m really not all that good with kids.”
I snort at the idea that I’m any better, but I Emma to Phoebe’s kradi, which is filling up with women. Phoebe has tears rolling down her cheeks, and I sigh.
She’s only sixteen.
I shove my way through the crowd and sit next to her, taking her hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She throws her arms around me and sobs. I gesture to Emma, and she sends me a look of pure gratitude, hightailing it toward the exit. Now that I know she’s a cop, it seems obvious as she convinces most of the other women to follow her out of the kradi—with nothing more than a jerk of her head. Lace stays put, her long legs clad in leather pants and stretched out in front of her.
It seems Nevada has started a trend.
“I want to get back home, I do.”
“Uh-huh.”
Phoebe sniffs. “Will Clara really stop us from getting on the ship if we want to go?”
I glance at Lace, who narrows her eyes at me, her jaw jutting out stubbornly.
I wipe a tear off Phoebe’s pale face, and she pushes her long black hair away.
“Is that what you want?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I like it here. I don’t have a good relationship with my parents on Earth. They sent me to boarding school, and I hated it.”
“So why the tears?” I smile as I say it, and her lower lip trembles as she attempts to smile back.
“If I stay here, I’ll never see anyone from home again. But what if the Dokhalls get into this camp and kill us?”
“Phoebe, listen to me. Don’t make the decision based on this war. Make it based on where you think you could live for the rest of your life.”
Lace shifts, some of the stubbornness draining from her face and giving me a glimpse of vulnerability.
Phoebe sighs. “What about the Dokhalls? I’m scared.”
I nod. “It’s normal to be scared. But I can tell you these guys have so many plans in place to protect you. Even if the Dokhalls somehow managed to take down all those giant barbarians out there and get into this camp, they wouldn’t find you.”
Phoebe tilts her head. “Really?”
“Yes. Dragix will fly you out, or some of the other Braxians will lead you to safety. We have alliances with other tribes far from here.”
Phoebe thinks that over for a moment. Next to me, Lace fidgets.
I glance at her. One thing I’ve learned about Lace is she doesn’t do well with emotions.
“Okay,” Phoebe says finally. “I feel a bit better now. I think I want to stay.”
“I think that’s a great idea. But you can still change your mind right up until the day we leave.”
She manages a shaky smile. “I’m sorry, I know you’re busy.”
“It’s okay. Do you want to come and help the others build some traps?”
Phoebe nods, wiping off her face as she gets to her feet before wandering out the door.
I look at Lace, and she looks at me.
“Theoretically, if someone wanted to get on that ship without Clara knowing about it…”
I raise my eyebrow. “Theoretically?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I live on the streets. I haven’t been a kid since the first time my foster dad tried to get into the bathroom while I was taking a shower. I know what I want.”
I open my mouth, unsure what to say to that. And then I sigh.
“You’re going to need to board the ship before we do. Let me figure it out and get back to you.”
She nods, and I make my way to Nevada’s tashiv. Rakiz and the warriors are nowhere to be found, but Ellie, Charlie, Alexis, and Ivy are seated, while Nevada stands next to the window, swaying with Danica in her arms.
“Someone’s fussy,” she murmurs. “There was no sleep to be had around here last night.”
“Aaaw,” Ivy says, getting to her feet and reaching for the baby. “Let me have a cuddle.”
Nevada hands her over and then takes a seat herself. I slump down next to her.
“Charlie has something she’d like to share with the class,” Nevada says, taking a plate and loading it with food from the platter on the table in front of us.
Charlie rolls her eyes, but she looks…haunted.
“What’s up?” Alexis asks.
“Dragix and I have been thinking about what you and Kate said. About the planet with the dragons.”
I gape at her. “What planet with what dragons?”
“The ship’s AI system is rather…helpful,” Alexis says. “It has tons of information about this galaxy, including different planets, what those planets are used for, how dangerous they are, and the kinds of aliens that inhabit those planets.”
Charlie sighs. “There’s a planet called Huldra. It’s run by the Lahmu queen—who’s allied with the Arcav. Apparently, she’s a badass bitch. Her father broke an alliance with the dragons on that planet, so she kicked him off the throne and took it for herself.”
I see where this is going. “Dragons.”
“Yeah. Dragons.”
Ellie winces, stroking her huge bump, but her eyes are on Charlie. “Will you go?”
Charlie sighs. “I don’t know. It’s hard for Dragix to be the only dragon on this planet. He may be the largest predator on Agron, but he’s continually hunted. One day, one of these groups may get lucky and kill him. There’s also a good chance our baby will be a
dragon. Dragix certainly seems to think so anyway.” She smiles. “He’d never say it, but I know he’d love for our kid to be raised with others of their kind. He often talks about learning to fly with the other kids, running through their huge home, and being doted on by friends and family members.”
“You have that here,” Nevada points out, and Charlie nods.
“That’s what makes it so hard. We do have that here. But what happens when our baby begins to shift? How do we explain that to the other kids? To reassure their parents our child won’t hurt their kids even though he or she may not understand how much stronger they are than their peers?”
We’re all silent for a long moment.
Ivy hands Danica back to Nevada and sits down next to Alexis. “So you’d get on that ship with Sarissa and then what?”
Charlie sighs. “That’s the problem. I’m obviously pregnant, which complicates things, and then we have my gloriously overprotective male who would be forced to be in a confined space for however long it takes us to get to the hub planet. From there, we’d need to find our own way to Huldra. It’s just a thought right now. But this could be our only chance to give our kid a life with others of his or her kind. And I want that for Dragix too.”
“And what does Dragix want for you?” Ellie asks gently.
Charlie sniffs, wiping away a tear that trails down her cheek. “He says he’s happy wherever I am, and he doesn’t need anyone but me and our baby. Oh, and that if anyone ever makes our child feel excluded, they’ll learn the error of their ways. I know he’d love to go, but he doesn’t want to take me away from you guys. He says that after everything I went through on Earth, I deserve a huge, loving family.”
“Well, we’re certainly that,” Nevada says.
“Yeah.” Ivy nods. “And we put the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional.”
