"You came back," she observed.
Yll paused, looking back at Erena.
"I wouldn't leave you," Shang spoke softly, his voice almost yearning. Was he feeling the same thing she was right now? Was this weird pull between them mutual?
"You shouldn't be out of your room," Yll warned, still working on Shang's stitches, "There could be all kinds of germs floating around here and I don't know your immunities yet!"
"I know you wouldn't," Erena ignored Yll, staring holes in Shang, "I'm too valuable, right?"
He looked away, guilty. Yll looked deeply uncomfortable.
"It's fine," Erena continued, "You don't have to explain it to me. I've already made my decision. You're going to take me back to earth like you promised."
He looked up at her in surprise, frowning.
"I'm not the only human out here, remember?" Erena tightened her jaw as she spoke, trying to control the tempest of conflicted emotions raging in her chest, "The rest of my team was taken too. Which means there are other creeps out there like you looking to take advantage.
The earth is in danger no matter what happens to me. At least if I get there first, I can warn them. So, we'll make it a gamble. You bet on being able to find earth before any of the others. I'll bet on being able to kill you before you can sell the information. Deal?"
"Wait a second," Yll looked between then, wide eyed, "It's not like that-is it? Shang?"
"Deal," Shang agreed, still unable to meet her eye. Erena felt the knot in her chest tighten further, wishing he had fought her about it. Wishing, he had at least tried. She turned and hurried back to her room in silence.
Chapter Thirteen
Yll came and found her a few hours later.
"Shang says he can't stay," Yll explained reluctantly, removing the white dots from Erena's arm with a small hand held device like a reverse pricing gun, "If you're going with him you need to leave soon."
Erena hummed in understanding, taking the clothes Yll offered her and changing quickly.
"Have you made a decision about the baby?" Yll asked, concerned, "This is probably your last chance. You know it's alright if you're not ready for a pregnancy, especially with the situation you're in."
"I know," Erena nodded, pulling on the shirt she'd been given, "And thank you, for giving me the option. But I'm keeping it, for now at least. I don't think I could handle that. Choosing to end it. If I miscarry, at least it won't have been my decision."
Yll looked troubled, but she nodded.
"It's your choice," she agreed, "Just be safe."
Erena, on an impulse, turned and hugged the doctor gratefully. Yll hugged her back with all eight arms, which felt strange, but somehow reassuring.
A moment later Erena pulled away and hurried out. Shang was waiting for her in the lobby. He said a few parting words to Yll, murmured too quietly to hear, and they left in silence.
The clinic was in a dense downtown area of the crystal city and Shang led her through the narrow streets quickly to an empty lot where he'd parked his ship.
"How did you manage to get it away from the bug?" Erena asked, unable to help her curiosity.
"Not easily," Shang muttered. He was still very banged up. The cut on his ribs was the worst, but the left side of his face was heavily bruised and he was favoring his right leg. He looked like he'd been hit by a car.
She strapped in and he taxied out of the empty lot into the wide main road before taking off.
"You're sure we won't be followed?" she looked down at the city as they left it behind, worry picking at her nerves.
"I'm sure," he replied, and they left the atmosphere behind them.
Silence reigned for a few hours. Erena stewed in her own tangled feelings. Shang seemed quietly resigned to his guilt.
Erena wondered whether she should tell him about the baby. Would it be better or worse for him to know now? She was still almost certain to lose it. It would probably be less harmful to him if he never knew. It wasn't like he had any emotional attachment to her after all.
Even if the baby survived, she didn't want anything to do with him, and he was planning to sell her planet to the highest bidder. He wouldn't want to know his kid was on the planet he was betraying.
"So when did you decide?" Erena said at last, unable to keep her silence any longer, "To sell my planet, I mean. Was it the plan all along? Or did you only figure it out later?"
"You really do ask too many questions," Shang sighed, looking away.
"Apparently not the right ones," she sat back in her chair, hurt and annoyance making her restless, "I actually thought you were a decent person. I thought you wanted to help me."
"Must not have been very sure," Shang countered, "It only took two sentences from a guy who tried to eat you to change your mind."
Erena flinched like he'd hit her.
"Well then explain it to me," she demanded, "I saw the look on your face when he said that. It wasn't all lies. So make it make sense to me. That's all I want."
He bit the inside of his cheek and for a moment seemed to be searching for the words. Then he shook his head, looking away.
"Maybe it's better if I don't."
Disappointment felt like a weight around Erena's neck as he all but confirmed her fears. She leaned away from him, shaking with anger and unhappiness.
"I really liked you," her voice broke as she spoke, unable to look at him, "I really did. I just don't understand."
He didn't answer, and they flew on in silence.
Later, exhausted and dozing off in her seat, Erena felt him nudge her arm.
"Go lay down in the bunk," he said, "You're still recovering. I can sleep out here."
She was too tired to argue about it, so she did as she was told, opening the hatch and falling down into his bunk. She fell asleep looking up at the strange wind chime again, wondering where he had got it.
Was it something from his people, she wondered as she fell asleep, her hands on her stomach, the life growing within it still too small to be noticeable. If this child lived, she wouldn't be able to tell them anything about where they came from.
Chapter Fourteen
A crash woke her, shaking the entire ship and making her shriek in surprise. She sat up, pushing open the hatch above her.
"What's going on?" she called out, frightened.
"Someone's attacking us!" Shang called back as something hit the ship again, shaking her through to her bones, "They dropped out of FTL right next to us and just started firing!"
"Is it Rin'rokir?" Erena asked, trying to climb out of the hatch as the ship shook again.
"I don't know," Shang, usually calm and collected, was wide eyed with worry, "They caught us completely off guard! I can't break loose!"
"What do we do?" Erena was half way out of the hatch, confused and terrified.
"Stay in the bunk!" Shang ordered, "Lock the hatch! They're trying to board. I won't let them through to you, I promise!"
Shang jumped out of his seat, pushing Erena back into the bunk.
"No, I can help!" she struggled against him, "I can't just wait in there for you!"
"Please!" he begged, grabbing her by the arms, his eyes desperate, "Please, just let me protect you!"
Erena, shocked by his desperation, let herself be pushed down into the bunk. He closed the hatch above her and, reluctantly, she locked it, trembling as another impact shook the ship. Suddenly the ship shuddered and went still.
Erena realized the enemy vessel must have locked on to them. She heard the airlock open, and a snarl as Shang threw himself at someone. There was shouting, a struggle, but no laser fire that she could hear.
"Paolo! Get his legs!"
"Stop worrying about his legs! The claws are the problem!"
"Erena! Erena are you here?"
Erena's heart stopped at the sound of those familiar voices calling her name. She scrambled to unlock the hatch and climb out without a second thought.
"Fin!" she called back, her voice trembl
ing with delight and surprise as she recognized her crew mates, all three of them fighting to subdue a wildly thrashing Shang, "Let him go! Shang, it's okay!"
Shang and her crew fixed her with confused stares, but slowly Shang stopped struggling and the three men withdrew, watching each other cautiously. Erena, with no such caution, threw herself forward to hug them all tightly.
They looked rather worse for their weeks in space. All of them were injured. Sergei seemed to have lost an eye, while Fin and Paolo were both showing more bandage than skin. Their uniforms were gone, replaced with the kind of flexible chitin like plate armor Erena remembered seeing her initial captors in.
They all looked rather ragged and worn, although Paolo had managed to transition from clean cut and suave to rugged and dashing without losing an inch of his charm, as usual.
"I can't believe you're here!" Erena sobbed, tears of joy pouring down her cheeks without shame, "I thought they had killed you!"
"They nearly did," Paolo confirmed, "But they decided to keep us until they could find earth."
"That's when we broke out, stole some guns and escaped," Fin added, "Paolo seduced one of the aliens-"
"Her name is Davina and I didn't seduce her," Paolo interrupted with a huff, "It's love."
Fin rolled his eyes.
"Davina escaped with us," Sergei continued, "Then told us the ship had the power to track DNA through space and that we could use it to find you and Captain Harper. She helped us stage an attack and take control of the ship."
"So you found the Captain too?" Erena's eyes widened with delight, "Where is she?"
The three men hung their heads.
"We've been unable to track her," Sergei looked at her solemnly, "All trace of her vanished shortly after the both of you were taken from the ship. Our last hope was that she was with you."
Erena felt a stab of guilt and despair. Alice must have fought to the end. Erena had never met a stronger or more incredible woman. She couldn't believe Captain Harper could just be gone...
"She would want us to go on without her," Sergei put a hand on Erena's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. Erena nodded.
"I assume you know why we need to get back to earth as soon as possible?" she asked them, "The government in this star system apparently likes using less technologically developed planets as lab rats. If there's even a slim chance that they still have Alice, or her body, they could use it to find Earth. We have to get back first and warn everyone. It's the only way we have a chance."
"Agreed," Sergei nodded firmly, "Let's waste no time then. Our ship is larger and faster. Park yours in the hanger and we'll get going."
"It's not her ship."
Shang had been watching the reunion in sullen silence, frown growing deeper every time Erena touched one of the other men.
"Who is he?" Paolo asked, eyeing Shang critically, "Your hostage?"
"Actually, she's mine," Shang glared daggers at Paolo, looking ready to fight the other man at the slightest provocation, "I bought her fair and square."
"You what?" Paolo turned, ready to attack Shang, and Erena stepped between them.
"Shang!" she snapped, "This is not the time. Paolo, it isn't what it sounds like."
"What is it then?" Paolo asked suspiciously.
Erena paused, unsure how to reply. 'He's bringing me back to earth where I'm planning to kill him before he sells the coordinates' didn't sound like a great idea. 'He's the father of my child' wasn't great either.
She found herself conflicted as to how she felt about him at all. Why should she care if he was hurt? She didn't need him to get back to earth anymore. So why did the thought of it bother her so much?
"It's complicated," she settled on at last, "But I don't need him anymore. I'll just join you on the other ship and he can take this one and leave."
She saw him flinch at her cold words and the hurt in his eyes cut like a knife, but she stubbornly ignored it. If he had no better explanation than what Rin'rokir had provided, then she was better off never seeing him again.
"You still need me," Shang's voice was harsh but firm with resolve, "Even if you've figured out how to use the DNA tracker, you won't be able to follow it across star systems without an experienced pilot, at least not with any kind of speed.
And what will you do if you run into someone? Like a stellar police cruiser for example. If they see a band of unregistered aliens flying a stolen vehicle which I can guarantee you is already marked for piracy and smuggling, they won't care about your sob story. They will blow you to pieces."
"And how would have you around fix that?" Paolo asked, unconvinced.
"He used to be part of the military police," Erena answered for him, frowning, "He might have some pull with them, or at least know how to evade them."
"Then I guess he's coming with us," Sergei sounded unsure, looking to Erena for confirmation, "If you're comfortable with that? I don't care what he can do for us. If you say you don't want him here, we'll figure something else out."
Erena considered it for a moment, but the thought of leaving him behind still ate at her and she realized she was grateful for the excuse to keep him.
"It's fine," she turned towards the open airlock, putting her back to Shang, "He can come if he wants. I don't care."
She was glad she didn't have to see his face as she said that. She was certain it would have hurt.
Chapter Fifteen
While Shang was storing his ship in the larger vessel's hanger, her crew members brought her inside to show her the massive vessel, as well as introduce her to Davina, who had rather more tentacles than Erena expected.
The shapely cnidarian woman had convinced a good portion of the ship's crew to join in the revolt when the humans took over. She'd been planning to overthrow the captain for a while and the humans had provided an excellent opportunity. In return, she had agreed to return them to their planet and protect its location.
Erena would have been suspicious, but she and Paolo were clearly passionately in love with each other. Her tentacles seemed permanently wrapped around him whenever they were in the same room. Paolo was usually pretty flighty, but she'd never seen him as enamored as he clearly was with the pretty alien.
She was glad she wasn't the only one who'd... The thought embarrassed her and she rejected it quickly, focusing on Fin who was enthusiastically explaining how the ship's engines worked.
"It's using microwaves in a vacuum to create thrust!" Fin explained, nearly vibrating with excitement as he showed her the cathedral sized seemingly empty copper cavity that was the ship's engine, "See, what's happening is called the Unrah effect, which is to say, that acceleration causes in the universe to heat up, causing waves and-"
"Oh, I've heard of this!" Erena's eyes widened, "Weren't they working on a design like this back on Earth?"
"Yes, but it was still theoretical, and it was being mostly dismissed as breaking the laws of physics. This proves it works! This is going to revolutionize our understanding of the universe-"
"Hey."
Erena and Fin turned as a voice interrupted them, seeing Shang standing behind them. He still had the look of sullen annoyance he'd had on the other ship, but he seemed to be trying to control it.
"My ship’s taken care of," he reported.
"Good," Fin was still looking at Shang mistrustfully, "Then you should head up to the bridge and help with navigation. So as I was saying Erena, this completely upends our understanding of the laws of physics-"
"Erena," Shang broke in again and Fin's face reddened with annoyance, "I want to talk to you."
"She's actually talking with me right now," Fin pointed out, gritting his teeth, "So if you could buzz off maybe?"
Erena sighed wearily and put a hand on Fin's shoulder.
"Relax Fin," she said, "We can talk about it more later. Let me see what he wants."
Fin made an irritated noise but let her go, and Erena moved away to join Shang, who led her towards the opposite end of the vast engine
room.
"These men," Shang asked as they walked, not looking at her, "What are they to you?"
"They're my team mates," Erena answered, confused that he would be asking about such a thing, "I thought that was obvious. I was exploring with them before we were attacked and separated."
Shang clenched his fists, his mood seeming to sink even lower.
"You already had that many mates, and you didn't tell me before we were together?"
"What?" Erena scrunched her nose in confusion, "I said team mates, not mates! I work with them. It isn't sexual."
"So you've never slept with them?"
"Well, with Paolo once, but that was-"
"So you have slept with them!"
"Why do you care?"
"Because you're mine!" he snapped, turning back to her with a tortured expression, "Only mine!"
Erena's skin prickled as outrage flooded her. She stepped closer to him, stabbing a finger into his chest.
"Excuse you?" she snarled, "I don't belong to anyone but myself! You may have bought me, but you will never own me! Do you think just because I slept with you once you get to decide who I can associate with for the rest of my life? Well you've got another thing coming buddy."
"No, it isn't about that!" he shouted back, and his hair seemed to raise like dog's hackles, "It isn't about whether I bought you or slept with you, it's-"
He stopped, hunting for the words, and Erena was struck with a sudden suspicion. She covered her stomach with her hands instinctively.
"Yll told you!" she trembled with anger at the betrayal, "She promised she wouldn't!"
"Told me what?" Shang stepped back, confused, and glanced down at her hands. Erena realized her mistake at the same time she saw understanding dawning on his. He looked up into her eyes, his expression a clash of shock and worry.
"You aren't," he declared at first, then doubted himself, "Are you?"
Erena, flustered and red in the face, turned away from him quickly
The Warrior's Proposal (Celestial Mates Book 7) Page 36
