Rescued

by Presley Hall

  He doesn’t say anything either, looking up at me occasionally before going back to his food, silent except to tell me that the food is good.

  “Thank you,” I say quietly.

  When we’re finished, I get up to clear the table, but he shakes his head and motions for me to stay in my seat. We’ve done this as long as I’ve stayed here—one clearing up after the other cooks—but I can’t quite bring myself to meet his eyes as he takes my plate, just mumbling another “thanks” before gathering up Chloe and taking her to give her a bath.

  Afterward, I put her down for the night, spending a little extra time cuddling with her.

  Sorsir isn’t in bed when I walk into what I’ve started to think of as “our” bedroom. I lie awake for what feels like an hour, but he never appears, and when I finally fall asleep, my dreams are full of the dusty arena and the shouts of the crowd, the sight of Sorsir’s fingers digging into the tattooed alien’s face.

  He’s gone once again when I wake up in the morning, and my chest aches with a deep, throbbing pain.

  Is it possible that it’s over, just like that?

  That when it comes right down to it, we aren’t cut out to overcome any obstacle that comes our way?

  It makes sense, in a way. We’re different in every way that really matters when it comes to a long-term relationship. We’re not even the same species.

  I’m a simple girl from Earth who was kidnapped and has been scraping by ever since, and he’s a warrior who’s traveled the galaxy seeking out his enemies, whose only purpose is war. I have a child, and he’s young and impetuous.

  Bonding over our difficult pasts and shared lust isn’t enough to base a marriage off of, I think sadly to myself as I get ready to meet Lucy and go out to the market. And that’s what this Irisa thing is, after all. A marriage, for all intents and purposes. What did you think, he was going to take you and Chloe back to Kalix and you’d all live happily ever after as a family? Did you really think after all this time, falling for an alien was going to be what saved you?

  For years, I’ve mistrusted and avoided aliens, never allowing myself to get too close to them—except for Taloo, and even then only out of necessity at first. Sex or romance with them had been strictly off the table, and now I’ve gone and broken that rule. I’ve not only willingly given Sorsir my body, happily and enthusiastically at that, but I started to fall in love with him too.

  I started to picture him as my husband, for fuck’s sake.

  And this is the result.

  He’s going to break my heart.

  The thought lodges in my brain, making the ache in my chest intensify as I take Chloe’s hand and lead her out front to where Lucy is waiting. I’m wearing the blue wrap dress again, and it makes me sad to think of my date with Sorsir, of the way he looked at me and the way we shared things together sitting out on the hill. And the night that followed…

  I need to be tough, to be strong. I gave away too much, too quickly, and now I’m paying the price. I trusted him… and it seems like I might very well have been wrong.

  Lucy notices how quiet I am, but she doesn’t point it out, only cheerfully helping to distract Chloe as we make our way through the stalls, cracking small jokes to try to make me laugh.

  “You know, I tried to corner that Kalixian I’ve got my eye on again last night. But he slipped right past me! Like he’s playing hard to get or something…” She trails off, seeing my expression. “Is something going on with you and Sorsir?” she asks anxiously, biting her lip. “You never said anything about the other night, and I know you had plans…”

  “I’m all right,” I say absentmindedly. “I’m just going to take Chloe over there and see about getting some new tunics for her. She destroyed the last two.”

  “Okay.” Lucy nods, although she still looks concerned. “I’ll go get fruit and meet you in the next row of stalls in a few minutes.”

  “Sounds good.” I lift Chloe into my arms, balancing her on my hip. “What do you say, baby? Should we go get you some new outfits?”

  She grins excitedly. “Yes, yes!”

  We wave goodbye to Lucy, losing sight of her as she makes her way through the crowd.

  I’m so caught up in my own thoughts that I don’t notice the alien standing between the stalls nearby at first. When I do notice him, I don’t think anything of it at first. He’s nothing out of the ordinary, dressed in sandy-colored woven pants and a loose shirt, a poncho wrapped around his shoulders and draped over his head against the sun.

  But he’s watching us.

  I ignore him, hefting Chloe higher on my hip and walking toward the stall that sells children’s clothing. But then when I hear footsteps and turn around, my stomach starting to flutter with that familiar anxiety, I see that he’s still watching us… from two stalls closer.

  Another few steps, and I glance over as I approach the stall—

  Fuck.

  He’s still there, and closer still.

  There’s no question about it, we’re being followed. And when he turns, trying to make his way around the next stall, I see the hood shift, and the long green tentacles on top of his head, along with the flash of gold and green ringed eyes.

  My heart starts to pound, leaping into my throat as I recognize him. I’ve seen him before—he’s one of O’Hozo’s men, I know it. And he’s found us.

  I start to back up slowly, clutching Chloe to me as I try to slip into the crowd, lose myself in the clutch of people gathering around the textile sellers. A thought of Lucy briefly flashes into my head.

  She’ll wonder where we’ve gone, she’ll worry…

  And then my thoughts turn to Sorsir. His handsome face fills my mind, making my chest squeeze. The last memory we’ll have of each other is the tense two days that have just passed, the two us barely speaking after what happened in the arena.

  But I have no choice. I can’t risk it—I have to get Chloe away.

  She’s all that matters right now, and I know what I have to do.

  The Stellar Princess docked three days ago. The ship will be taking off soon, once the cruise passengers arrive and finish boarding.

  The date of the ship’s arrival came and went, and I hardly even noticed it.

  I’ve been so wrapped up in Sorsir, in the fantasy of him taking us away to Kalix and the dream of the little family that we were making together. I foolishly thought that I wouldn’t have to run away, that it wouldn’t have to be just Chloe and me stowing away until we could sneak off and start over again on some other planet.

  But now I see that I don’t have a choice… I never really had a choice.

  I was just putting off the inevitable, selfishly thinking of what I wanted, and now I have to do what I should have done all along—get Chloe out of here.

  So I run.

  I hold her against me, trying to soothe her as she starts to cry, frightened and jostled by my heavy footsteps and the crowds around us. I hear angry shouts from people I bump into, but I ignore them and just keep going, sprinting toward the spaceport.

  Toward safety, for us both.

  All I can think about in this moment, as I race toward the landing docks, is getting off of this planet and keeping Chloe out of O’Hozo’s hands. When I ran away from him, he had no idea I was pregnant. If he captures us, it will provide him with a whole new means of persuading me, because I would do anything to protect my daughter. And if he sends me back to the Orkun…

  I don’t know what my former “husband” would think of Chloe, if he would accept her or have her killed. More than likely, he would keep her as a means of forcing me to do his bidding, and just the thought makes me want to vomit, my stomach twisting with nausea as I slow down, panting.

  We don’t want to look conspicuous, so I try to catch my breath, pushing my hair back and straightening my clothes. My heart still hammers in my chest, but I try to keep the panic out of my expression.

  “Shh,” I whisper to Chloe. “Now you’ve got to be very quiet, okay? Mama i
s going to get us out of here, but you can’t make a sound, all right?”

  “We leavin’?” My daughter looks up at me with wide blue eyes, her brow even more wrinkled than normal.

  “Yes, baby, we’re leaving.”

  “Noooo,” she wails, and I gently put my finger over her lips.

  “Chloe, you’ve got to be quiet. Please.”

  I keep the desperation out of my voice, but only barely. In my former plans to sneak onto the cruise ship and away from Wauru, I had medicine to sedate Chloe with, to keep her quiet for the trip. I felt guilty about it, but I could think of no other way to keep a toddler quiet and still for the length of time needed to stow away. But that medicine is back in the pod.

  My head swivels as I glance around, trying to remain inconspicuous. There’s no sign of the alien who was tracking us, and I let out a soft sigh of relief as I blend into the crowd of passengers heading toward the ships, soothing Chloe all the while. As we approach the Stellar Princess, I see a cargo bay to the right of the passenger terminal. My mind races, thinking of how to sneak past the dock workers and slip into the bay.

  “Now, remember,” I whisper to Chloe as I duck out of the line, slipping behind a stack of crates, “be very quiet, okay? It’s a game, to see which one of us can be totally silent for the longest, all right?”

  “Are we playing now, Mama?”

  “Yes,” I tell her sternly. “We’re playing now.”

  She nods, and I slip behind the next stack of crates, looking for something I can throw, some way to distract the workers.

  And then, as I turn around, my heart sinks all the way down to my toes.

  I gasp, clutching Chloe so tightly that she whimpers.

  The alien is standing there, only a foot or so away, and he’s not alone any longer. He has reinforcements—five other aliens spread out behind him in similar clothing, all with weapons. And he’s holding a blaster… aimed directly at Chloe.

  Fear turns my entire body ice-cold. I’ve never been so terrified. Not even when I was kidnapped, not when I was handed over to the Orkun, not in the moment when the ceremony began and I realized what was about to happen to me. I have never, ever been this petrified.

  I swallow hard. “What do you want?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

  “O’Hozo wants a word with you,” the alien says, his tongue clicking between words. Thanks to the translator embedded in my brain, I understand him perfectly—but I wish like hell I didn’t. “You owe him money, little one. But maybe he’ll take another form of payment, eh?”

  His gaze rakes over me, the tentacles on his skull moving back and forth, and one of the aliens behind him laughs, moving his hips in a lewd gesture.

  “So, what, he sends you to pick me up? Like you’re his errand boy?” I spit, glaring at him defiantly despite my fear.

  “Why, we’re just your escort. To keep you safe, you know. The streets of Monri are dangerous for women with little girls.” He leers at me again, and I swallow hard, trying to stop the fine trembling that I can feel starting to spread through me.

  “Well, tell me where he is, and I’ll come see him.” I lift my chin, clenching my jaw. “After I take Chloe safely home.”

  I know it’s foolish to bluff or try to bluster my way out of this, but I have no other options. I can’t run, and I can’t get away from them. My only hope is that they might be stupid enough to take me at my word.

  But no one who lives to work for O’Hozo at this level is that stupid.

  The alien laughs. “You must think I’m an idiot, you stupid little slut.” He licks his lips. “That’s right, I know what you did here on this planet, after you ran away from the Orkun. You must’ve made a pretty penny, girl like you. And O’Hozo just wants his cut, that’s all.” He gestures toward Chloe with the gun. “Now, you come along with me or… well, my men have ways of being very convincing. I’m sure they’d love the chance to talk you into it. Wouldn’t you, boys?”

  The expressions on their faces as they eagerly nod make me want to vomit all over again.

  “Or,” he continues, as casually as if we were discussing the weather, “if that isn’t enough, then I’ll shoot the girl. And then you’ll come along, I’m sure of it.”

  I stifle a small cry. My heart is thundering in my chest.

  Fuck. Fuck. I can’t think of a way out. We’re cornered at last, and even if I were willing to risk myself in putting up a fight, I’m not willing to risk Chloe. And this alien knows that.

  And then, just as I’m about to give in, to tell him that I’ll follow him back to O’Hozo and pray that the mob boss will take pity on us, I hear a snarl.

  The animalistic sound is followed by the sudden loud thump of a huge body leaping down from the hanging walkway above us.

  For a moment, I don’t register what’s happening. A flurry of movement explodes in front of me, and one of the aliens who’s cornered me screams as he’s speared by a long blade. He falls to the dock in a puddle of blood, and a second body slumps on top of his as another one of his friends goes down too.

  Shrieks rise up from the crowd, and I hold Chloe against me, keeping her from seeing the bloodshed.

  And then I realize who it is—who’s saved me and my daughter.

  As if there was ever any question.

  I dart between the crates, gently putting Chloe down and sliding her into the space between two of them, the steel on either side keeping her insulated from any danger.

  “Stay here,” I whisper. “No matter what happens to me, stay here, okay?”

  A shriek comes from one of the aliens, the crates on the other side of me shifting as the body strikes them, and I look up, my heart in my throat.

  The fight is brutal.

  Vicious.

  Quick.

  Sorsir cuts through the aliens like a hot knife through butter, his every movement as effortless as if they were mere insects to him. Even when the leader turns and aims his blaster at him, Sorsir strikes out, severing the alien’s hand at the wrist a moment before he strikes him in the face with his fist, knocking him to the ground and spearing him through.

  They’re all dead in the space of minutes, all six of them, and Sorsir stands in the middle, covered in blood and sweat as he pants. His hair has come loose from the tie at the nape of his neck, and it hangs around his face as he looks down at the bodies.

  And then, slowly… he looks back up at me.

  As our gazes meet, it’s as if I’m seeing two versions of him.

  One is the man I was falling in love with. The man who’s been so gentle and tender, who’s brought me pleasure like I’ve never known, who’s been patient with me and adores my daughter like she’s his own.

  The other is a beast. A creature of violence and instinct and raw, brute strength.

  I freeze, staring at him, trying to reconcile the two halves in my mind.

  And then I hear a small cry, and before I can move or stop her or do anything at all, Chloe bursts from out of the crates and goes running to Sorsir, calling out his name in the jumble of letters that she’s made of it. I may be conflicted, but she’s not afraid of him at all.

  “Chloe! Thank the gods.”

  Sorsir steps forward and sweeps my daughter up before she can get too close to the bodies, carefully holding her away from him so that she doesn’t get dirty or bloody.

  My heart clutches in my chest as I watch him hold her, his touch as gentle and protective as it’s ever been. And I realize suddenly that I was wrong.

  There aren’t two versions of Sorsir.

  There’s only one.

  He’s both a gentleman and a warrior, a caring man and a beast. He’s all of those things at once, and I’ve been trying to divide him into two parts because my brain couldn’t reconcile the entirety of him. My logical mind insisted that Chloe and I couldn’t be safe with a man capable of the kind of violence Sorsir can unleash.

  But I was wrong.

  He is a beast.

  But he’s
my beast.

  And I know now that he will always, always protect us.

  22

  Sorsir

  The thing that cuts through the fog of bloodlust and rage is seeing the little girl running toward me.

  She isn’t frightened at all by the blood on my skin or my disheveled state. Her eyes are wide with trust, with certainty that I’ve come to save her and her mother.

  That I’m safe.

  It’s all I’ve wanted—to keep them safe. I lost Autumn’s trust two nights ago, when she saw me lose control in the arena, and I didn’t know what to say or do to get it back. Because in truth, I wasn’t sure I was worthy of it.

  I followed her here after Lucy alerted me that she saw Autumn running from a strange alien. When I saw O’Hozo’s men threatening her and Chloe, I knew that killing them all might only solidify her sudden fear of me, of what I can do and become.

  But in that moment, nothing was more important than protecting them.

  Even if I lost Autumn, even if she couldn’t bear to be with someone who could do such savage things, better that than her dead, or worse, given back to the Orkun. And Chloe…

  Krax, the thought of the sweet little girl suffering at the hands of ruthless aliens was something I couldn’t even bear to contemplate.

  So I did what I do best. I killed them all.

  And when I looked up from the bodies and saw the fear in Autumn’s eyes, for a moment, I thought I’d lost her for good. That I would always be a monster in her eyes, a barbaric beast. That the bliss we found together so briefly was gone forever.

  And then Chloe came running to me.

  I pluck the little girl up, carefully moving her away from the bodies and keeping her from getting any of the blood on her.

  Then, before I can say or do anything, Autumn throws herself into my arms.

  For a second, I’m stunned. Chloe squirms in my grasp, crushed between the two of us, and it’s clear that any effort at keeping her clean is lost now. But I can’t bring myself to care, because Autumn is in my arms, her face pressed against my chest heedless of the blood drying on it or the sweat sliding down it, and the only response that I have as she tilts her head up to look at me is to bend down and kiss her, hard.