by Tammy Walsh
“They’re like Pegasus… but deer!” Sirena said.
I admired the wonder on her face. I must have had the same expression on my facing looking at her. I felt a little self-conscious of the guards and tore my eyes away from her.
I missed the simple pleasure of taking a walk with someone and enjoying nature. It was even better when it was with someone who looked upon everything with a sense of wonder—because to her, it was all a wonder. The same way it would be for me if I were to visit her planet.
I felt something brush against the back of my hand, stroking it. When I looked down, I found her thumb gently caressing me. She didn’t look at me. She was still gazing up at the gorgeous creatures overhead.
That tiny sensation trickled like soft water over stones and brought pebbles to the surface of my skin.
I missed this.
We got to our feet and pressed on, heading into the woodland. Tiny creatures, invisible to our eyes, scurried beneath the undergrowth and disappeared before we could see them.
We came to a crest that broke, giving a spectacular view of the shimmering lake on the other side. Two rowboats floated on its pristine surface.
A bird sang on a branch and I pointed him out.
“He’s called a Love Bird,” I said. I listened to the translation but it didn’t sound right. “The translator strip calls them Love Birds but that’s not quite right. They’re soulmates. They mate not only for life but for all their lives. When one dies, its partner finds a nearby egg and sings to it, calling its partner’s spirit back so he can return to her.”
“Does it really work?” Sirena said, unsure.
“What’s so hard to believe? We all die and come back again as the trees and grass. So why not guide it?”
“That has to be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she said.
No sooner had she said it than Zes waved a Love Bird away.
“Away with you!” he said. “Damn pests!”
Sirena’s wonder shrank before my eyes. That’s when I realized what the problem was. She didn’t like to be surrounded by guards—to be fair, who did?
“Can’t you go anywhere without them?” Sirena said in a hushed but annoyed tone.
“With the recent conquest, they think they need to watch me more closely,” I said.
“I understand in a busy city,” Sirena said, “but it doesn’t seem very dangerous out here.”
“It might not at the moment but there are plenty of armed brigands, kidnappers, and highwaymen who might do us harm.”
Sirena pursed her lips.
“Well, I can’t see any brigands or kidnappers out here,” she said. “If I can get them to leave us alone for a while, would you go with me? We don’t need to wander far.”
A smile curled my lips.
“Sure,” I said. “But I can’t see how—”
“Leave it to me,” she said.
She took my hand and led me over the crest at a jog. Her skin felt so soft I daren’t squeeze too hard.
She led me to the first rowboat tethered to the shore and, using our bodies to block the guards’ view, kicked both sets of oars from their fastenings on one side, letting them slip into the water. They floated toward the middle of the lake.
“Let’s get in this one!” she said, hopping into the next boat.
It wobbled beneath our feet. She dropped down on a plank board and seized a set of oars.
“Let’s go!” she said.
Sirena began to row before I even got situated and almost pitched over the side. I took the bench behind her. Her rowing style was a little… unorthodox. I tried to make up for her lack of coordination but it proved impossible. One minute she rowed leading with her left arm, the next minute, she rowed with her right.
I reached forward and pulled on the oars and fully extended with my legs, using every inch of power I possessed. Sirena tried to help but only succeeded in knocking us off course. It made me smile and I didn’t say a word.
“My lord!” Zes called out to us. “Wait a moment! The oars have come loose…” He turned to one of his subordinate guards. “Hurry up and grab it, you fool!”
“I can’t, sir!” the guard said. “It’s too far out for me to reach!”
“Then go swim after it!” Zes said.
“We can push off the shore with the other oars,” the second guard said.
“How about we move one of the oars on that side to this side?” the first guard said.
“Whatever you’re going to do, just hurry up!” Zes said. “They’re getting away!”
We powered around the corner as the guards scooped the first oar from the water.
“Quick!” Sirena said. “Let’s get to the nearest shore!”
I did as she asked. She leaped out the moment we came to a stop. Then she shoved the boat off the shore and pushed it so it floated into the middle of the lake.
She took my hand and led me through the trees and undergrowth. She had no idea where she was going, so I took the lead. We came out on the other side of the forest and scaled a steep incline. We were puffing and panting by the time we reached the top.
I pressed my hands to my head and breathed heavily.
“Were you always a naughty girl?” I said.
“You have no idea,” she said with a wink.
We shared a laugh.
I heard the guards’ voices and we dropped to the ground. Sound carried well once you were out of the forest. I crept on my elbows to the edge and lay flat on my stomach to peer over the side.
Zes waved his arms and yelled at the other two guards. They were wet from head to foot. Zes stomped off in one direction and the other two guards headed in another.
“Looks like they’re going to take a while to find us,” I said.
I leaned back and bumped into something.
Her.
She lay beside me, her tight body was so close I could feel her warmth coming off her in waves. Her hair fell about her face and she defeated me with her smile.
“I think we did it,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I think we did.”
She placed a hand on my arm and peered at me through her long eyelashes.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thank me? For what? You were the one that got us away.”
“For trusting me,” she said. “I know it’s risky, you creeping away like that.”
“It’s nothing,” I said.
At that moment, if she wanted me to walk over hot coals for her, I would have.
Her eyes dropped to my lips and she nibbled on her own.
This was becoming unbearable.
Her lips were so close.
Within easy range.
All I had to do was lean forward and she would be mine…
“Beacon,” I said.
She frowned.
“Sorry?” she said.
The memory of my wife flashed before me again. I cleared my throat.
“This is a beacon,” I said.
I turned to the cube of piled wood behind us. I rolled up onto my feet and dusted off my hands and ass.
“My people light this in times of danger,” I said.
“Oh,” Sirena said.
I choked on her obvious disappointment. I choked on my own for that matter.
But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to kiss her when I was still thinking about my wife. Sirena deserved better than that.
It was hard not to taste her, especially with her looking so good.
“Not just anyone can light it,” I said. “Only someone of House Taw can.”
“Why?”
“There’s a mystical bond between Titans and nature. It’s how we became so good at mining. We can sense ore deposits beneath the surface. We never do more harm than necessary when we take from the earth. House Taw built this beacon, and we’re the only ones that can strike the light.”
“Did you light it when the aliens attacked?” Sirena said, trying
to cover her disappointment with idle conversation.
“No,” I said. “I could have. If I did, it would have spread across the whole moon and every Titan in the empire would fight.”
“Why didn’t you?” Sirena said.
“We were outnumbered,” I said. “And outgunned. A lot of innocent Titans would have died.”
“Would you have lost the battle?” she said.
“Titans don’t often lose battles. But this would have been the hardest fight we’d had in a very long time.”
“You surrendered so your people would live. That’s a good thing.”
“Yes,” I said, without conviction.
By avoiding her lips, I had stumbled into the topic that’d been on my mind since the Changelings began this bloody war.
“Keeping your people safe from being murdered is a good thing,” Sirena said. “I…”
She seemed unsure about what she was about to say next. She thought again and continued.
“I was born in a country at war,” she said. “If someone could have stopped the war from happening, it could have saved a lot of lives. Including my parents and my brother. He was about five at the time. No one knows his age for sure. A monastery took me in and found foster parents to raise me. I was very lucky. I could have grown up in those ruins the same way most kids did. So, I know what war is like. It’s best avoided. Always.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. I truly was. I had no idea…
“You should be glad you made that decision,” Sirena said. “So should every Titan everywhere. You are glad you made it, aren’t you?”
It was such a simple question. It demanded a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, but I didn’t have one for her. Did I answer with how I truly felt or how I needed to respond?
I only managed to say, “I—"
“My Lord?” Zes said, bracing his knee with a hand as he joined us on the plateau.
I searched Sirena’s eyes and she searched mine.
He’d unwittingly rescued me in the nick of time. I had no idea how I would have responded otherwise.
“We had a malfunction with the rowboat,” Zes said. “I apologize for leaving you without protection.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s about time we headed back anyway.”
I led the way down the incline.
Zes was still struggling for breath as he threw his head back and gulped another large mouthful of oxygen.
“Just when you get to the top of the mountain, you have to march back down it again,” he said.
“I know just how you feel,” Sirena murmured, and trotted down the mountain in my wake.
Sirena
I was this close!
His lips were within a few inches of mine. I could have leaned forward and kissed him right then and there and, under any other situation, I would have. But that didn’t feel right this time.
Even with the deadline bearing down on me, I couldn’t force him into a kiss. He had to kiss me. Then his defenses would be lowered and he would be more likely to tell me what I needed to know.
It had been hard to restrain myself. The guy was as hot as could be and a lord to boot. What wasn’t to like?
What really got my goat wasn’t that he didn’t feel anything for me—I was certain he did—but that he came this close to kissing me and then pulled out at the last second. A gentleman didn’t dangle irresistible lips in front of a girl like that and yank the carpet out from under her.
Okay, so I was mixing up my expressions but my point was still right. Wasn’t it?
I slumped on the bed and felt like eating my body weight in ice cream. And whipped cream. Maybe some chocolate if I had room. Who was I kidding? I always had room for chocolate.
Had it really been so easy for him to deny me again? What was wrong with me? Did I smell bad on this planet? Were my eyes too close together?
I didn’t think so. After all, I recognized the lustful look in his eye. And his breath had hardened when he noticed I was lying next to him.
And that wasn’t all that’d hardened judging by how tight his pants became…
No. He was into me.
But something was holding him back.
But what?
The guy had made it personal.
I’d have to make myself so gorgeous he couldn’t refuse me next time!
To come so close not once but twice! Well, I wouldn’t let him get away with it a third time. No sir-ree.
I knew I was meant to be learning the depths of his loyalty to the Changelings but there was a line no man should cross, and he jumped clear across it!
Well, I’ll show him.
I slid imaginary sleeves up my arms and got to work.
I checked myself in the mirror. I had to say, I did look pretty damn awesome.
The dress was open at the front and exposed my legs—by far my best feature—all the way up to the thigh. The dress had a short train behind it but I pinned it up so no one could step on it, tear it, and show off my underwear to his friends and family.
Still, something was missing, I thought. Something to be the focal point and really pop.
Onboard their ship, the Changelings—a shudder ran through me the same way it always did when I thought about them—had given me access to something called a ‘replicator.’ It was a magic machine. You told it what you wanted and it could create it right there on the spot. The only problem was, the machine didn’t have any premade settings installed. So, I had to create the dresses, makeup, and jewelry from scratch.
I selected a plain gold necklace and held it against my skin. Its simplicity worked well against the elaborate dress.
I swore, if by the end of the night he didn’t kiss me, I would have to seriously question my self-esteem.
Once he kissed me, his defenses would drop. He had to admit his loyalty directly. A strong hint wasn’t enough. It had to be something the Changelings couldn’t deny and throw back in my face, obliterating our deal.
Failing that, I would slip that electronic device they gave me into the computer in his study. The device was small and fit neatly inside my clutch purse. That would be my Plan B. After getting to know him a little bit, I wasn’t convinced he was going to do something stupid like declare his allegiance in an email. Titans were old-fashioned. They could work around electronic communication.
The annoying part? All this could have been over already.
Earlier, when we first arrived and their head of the household, Aunzika, escorted me to my room, he left me by myself. With everyone so busy getting ready for the birthday party downstairs, I figured I could use the commotion to slip into Kal’s study and pop the device in the computer.
I’d set a new record for completing a mission.
I crept down the hallways with the excuse I would use if someone ran into me cocked, ready, and fully loaded: “Sorry. I’m new here and this place is so big!”
If the castle had any logic to it—and as I was on an alien planet there was no guarantee of that—I felt the study would be on the first floor. It just felt right.
If I was wrong and the study was on any of the other multitudes of floors, I wouldn’t need the prepared excuse as I would be well and truly lost. They might need to send Sherpas to come rescue me.
Thankfully, I’d been right. His study was on the first floor, tucked away beside the kitchen and dining room.
I was about to enter when I heard a growl.
That damn Niik stood right there in the doorway! It stood facing me, half-growling, half wagging its tail. I wasn’t worried it would bite me. It didn’t have the appearance of a particularly vicious beast, but the noise concerned me. It could draw others to our location.
And that was exactly what had happened.
Kal appeared through the doorway and called Niik to heel. Suddenly, getting inside the office wouldn’t help me—not with Kal standing inside it. It needed to be thoroughly empty when I performed my Mission: Impossible routine.
And I needed to
figure out a way to slip past Niik to plant the device in the computer and slip back out again.
I added a few sprays of perfume to my neck and across the front of my chest. I tugged the neckline of my dress over my shoulders so it showed off my bare collarbone.
The clutch purse not only completed the look but it gave my hands something to do when I became nervous, and being surrounded by a gang of oversized aliens was bound to make any girl feel uncomfortable.
“Well, my girl,” I said into the mirror. “This is it. Can you do it?” I wagged a warning finger. “You’d better.”
Buzz buzz. Buzz buzz.
“Gah!” I said, spinning on the spot so fast the clutch purse launched out of my hand and halfway across the room.
It didn’t sound like the Changeling’s chitter noise it made with its mandibles—I shuddered again—but it was close enough to give me pause for thought.
I surveyed the room and checked each of the corners. There was enough light in the room to dispel any shadowy recesses.
Another buzz and it brought my attention to the bed.
The communicator.
I gathered up the dress and struggled down to my knees. I get dolled up nice and then I had to get down on my knees like an old chambermaid…
C’est la vie.
I didn’t have the strength to lift the whole mattress but luckily my arms were bare. I reached under it until I found what I was looking for.
The communicator buzzed a third time as I grabbed it and yanked it out. I’d hidden it there in the first place so no one would find it. If it kept buzzing like this, the whole castle would hear it.
I’d received a message:
3 HOURS
That was all it said.
3 HOURS
Well, thanks a lot. That was really worth ruining my look.
But it wasn’t just a countdown update.
It was a threat.
I had to put that device in his computer system within the next three hours or me and my friends would be toast.
When time ran out, the creatures would turn up.
I shivered again.
They would be here.
Which meant they were probably somewhere close by already.
I clenched my hands but I was no longer in possession of my clutch purse. The floor was. I grabbed it and squeezed it tight.
