Cautious Surrender

by C. L. Scholey

  The female assassin walked past Adan, their shoulders bumped, but it wasn’t a brutal hit, it was acknowledgment. Adan stood silently when Veikko came up behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “There is no life without Blu,” Adan whispered.

  “The Zargonnii will take care of you. I’m sorry for your loss, but the female assassin was correct. This is no place for you. Alaric escaped from me. He is tending his wounds and will hunt you down until he has you if you stay here. The Braxians want him escorted into banishment. When an assassin stops thinking with his head and only with his cock, he is volatile and will do dangerous things, even start wars. The Zargonnii have made it clear you are theirs. Alaric made it clear you sent his senses into overdrive. Everything an assassin does is with passion, when he kills, eats, or wants.”

  “I was Blu’s; I never belonged to the Zargonnii.”

  “Belonging to Blu makes you the Zargonnii. Especially if you carry Blu’s offspring.”

  “I don’t.”

  Veikko turned her to gaze into her eyes. “That isn’t something the Braxians need to know.”

  Adan nodded.

  Chapter 9

  Blu looked asleep. He was so clean his white fur sparkled; a small sheet covered his extremities. When Adan touched Blu’s hand he was still warm. The windowless room he had been placed in was quiet in the early dawn. Veikko delivered her to the Braxians, and she was surprised when he vehemently told them she was off limits. Adan didn’t know what to make of the creatures. All were of the darkest ebony with huge white eyes. She knew they were brilliant, she heard their language spoken within her mind before her ears heard the sounds. They expressed sympathy for her loss. Adan could tell they knew she wasn’t carrying Blu’s baby. The aliens also knew the Zargonnii wouldn’t leave without her. If nothing more, their honor was at stake. Braxians did understand honor in a warrior. She was permitted to leave. The exchange made her feel odd, but her heart ached too much to care.

  The table Blu was on was high enough to push her rib cage against when Adan leaned to press her lips against Blu’s. Her emotions settled; all she was feeling was overwhelming grief. What could have been lingered in her mind. On this hated planet were some of the happiest moments of her life. For a brief time, she was Blu’s, and in the end he wanted her.

  There were no tears left for Adan to cry, she was numb; she wondered if her heart still beat. The Braxians had cleaned Blu off, his chest smelled sweet, void of blood. Veikko said no trace of the planet would leave on his body. It was the same as Adan as she had walked into the room every inch of her lit up. When the beam died her clothing was spotless and she felt more than saw her body’s cleanliness.

  Her face buried against Blu as she stroked his arm. The sensation of rising made her head spin for a moment as the room disappeared, turning into the Zargonnii vessel’s hangar. Adan was gently pried away from Blu.

  Adan fell into Bethany’s arms, grateful to see her friend, and to see she had survived. The ship was in an uproar. Life bustled even though Blu was gone, it didn’t seem right somehow. Blu was being rushed away with Finn running alongside the huge stretcher taking Blu to his office. Adan and Bethany walked behind.

  “He’s gone. I lost him,” Adan said.

  “Finn was frantic when he heard Blu was killed. It’s a rarity for a Zargonnii to succumb to an opponent, especially one so young,” Bethany said.

  “He was attacked from behind by an assassin. It was so weird, the talons barely touched Blu and yet they suddenly seemed to be solid and through his chest,” Adan said.

  “The assassin mind traveled them in,” Titus said. “He turned a hologram to life. Some species can do that with objects, it makes them lethal.”

  Adan gazed at the Zargonnii leader surprised and happy to see him. She thought he had perished in the explosion.

  “Blu killed the assassin, he broke the claws,” Adan said.

  “If Blu broke the claws he broke into the assassins mind somehow, or maybe you did, Adan. You were exposed to the Gorgano, even if briefly. You speak Zargonnii well.”

  “You mean I could have saved Blu and failed?”

  “You had no idea. This isn’t your fault.” Bethany gripped Adan’s hand tighter.

  “What happened to the others in our igloo?” Adan asked.

  “They are accounted for, except one,” Titus said and he looked uncomfortable.

  “Bertha?”

  “Yes,” Bethany said.

  Adan understood why Titus looked ashamed, he was responsible for her. Bertha was an awful woman no one wanted to be around. They all took great pains to avoid her which wasn’t easy when they lived together in the igloo. When the six women were saved by Finn and Blu no one aboard the space vessel wanted anything to do with Bertha and her big bitchy mouth. It didn’t mean Adan wasn’t sad to hear she was gone.

  “The last escape shuttles on the ship were fire damaged when I reached the hangar. Everything was exploding and I didn’t have much time. I told the female to strap herself in, I punched in the code to our planet but the console was smoldering. I watched the vessel leave,” Titus explained. “I put Bertha in the larger one hoping she would have more success. I explained my reasoning but she looked so sad and said I was abandoning her like everyone else she’s ever known.

  “It couldn’t be helped. I promised her she would be fine and I would find her, I wouldn’t stop looking for her, but she didn’t believe me. I took the smaller vessel which was no more than a pod. The ship exploded as I was on my way out, my vessel was engulfed in fire and I thought I’d burn. I lost sight of Bertha; the explosion must have sent her spinning into a wormhole like many others. Mine continued on home.”

  “She didn’t end up in banishment did she?” Adan asked, though her mind was on Blu.

  “No, we can’t seem to find her anywhere,” Titus said. “The tracking device must have been damaged. No other planet seems to know where she went, or they won’t say. I can’t imagine any alien wanting to keep her,” Titus looked guilty as he muttered his last words.

  They came to Finn’s office where he was bustling around Blu. Adan wanted to yell at him to just go away and let her hold Blu’s hand in peace like the Braxians had. She needed quiet time alone with him to tell him how she felt even though it was too late. Her emotions had to be released.

  “He died protecting me,” Adan said. “He died because of me.”

  Finn looked at her oddly. “He died too soon, but it wasn’t your fault. Normally I’m ready for this, normally a warrior is ready and he makes arrangements to see me.”

  Now it was Adan who gazed at Finn oddly. “Zargonnii know when they will die?”

  “We know when it’s time for our new organ to take over. Blu’s insides must be in an upheaval,” Finn said.

  “What?”

  “His heart, Adan,” Finn said. “He shouldn’t have needed to replace his heart for years. He’s still on his first and the second time is usually the hardest. The third and last will get him to his five hundredth year, but he may have lost out on a few years depending on how strong this new heart is.”

  “Huh?” Adan asked.

  Titus sat her in a chair out of the way. Bethany was able to squeeze beside her. Both women watched as Finn took a blue laser and ran it over Blu’s chest. Blu’s body jumped, then settled, then jumped. Adan covered her mouth when she watched Blu’s chest open slightly and a large blob of flesh oozed out the hole before closing again. Finn took the blob of flesh and tossed it into a garbage of sorts.

  “The new one is in place since it pushed out the old one. It’s beating but barely, the organ needs to find its own rhythm. That’s all I can do.” Finn gazed at Adan. “It might take some time, but Blu’s second heart will mature. When it does, it will beat stronger, once it does he will come out of the stasis he’s in and should be fine.”

  “He’s not dead?” Adan asked.

  “Technically yes, but in theory no,” Finn replied.

  “We’l
l move him to his own quarters and you can stay with me, or another warrior,” Titus said.

  “She can stay with Bethany and me,” Finn replied.

  “Why can’t I stay with Blu?” Adan asked.

  “You haven’t mated with him,” Finn said. “You have been together all this time and Blu has made his intentions clear. Other warriors think he’s being dishonorable. And frankly I’m surprised with him.”

  “Dishonorable?” Adan spluttered and jumped to her feet almost upsetting Bethany to the floor. “Where would be the honor in getting me knocked up on that horrible planet?”

  “You know what I mean,” Finn said. “Blu has had one dream since he came into adulthood. He wants a son.”

  “He wanted a son. He loves me. I love him. We were attacked so fast I don’t know if he considers us mated. I would never deprive him of a dream but it was you, Finn, who convinced him otherwise, not me.”

  “How?”

  “You told him the waiting for a chance for a son would eat him up. When Bethany came along, your dream was staring you in the face. A family. Blu wants a family. I want to be with him. We all know a Zargonnii lives for hundreds of years. A human does not. Blu can have his family now, I am right here waiting. But I won’t last forever. Blu will be here long after I’m gone. He can try for his son then.”

  It saddened Adan to say the words. Blu would live beyond her and maybe any daughter they created. Also in a way it made her happy, Blu would get the son he always wanted as well as a family.

  “Blu committed to you?” Finn asked, he gazed at her strangely.

  “Yes. He promised to take me home with him.”

  “It’s true.”

  Adan cried out in joy when she heard Blu speak. Finn looked shocked and everyone stood around the table.

  “This is a rarity,” Finn said. “Normally only fathers with sons come back faster for their child’s sake.”

  “I need to protect my mate,” Blu said and he was gazing at Adan.

  “But she doesn’t wear your scent,” Titus said.

  “The Braxians have a cleansing ritual. They made certain Blu carried no scent of their warriors, they must have destroyed my scent on him too,” Adan said. She was beginning to understand where the problem lay with the other warriors.

  “We mated, Adan is mine.” Blu growled deep within his throat. Even Adan knew it was a challenge.

  Finn directed the others out of the room. Adan climbed onto the table and lay beside him, her fingers playing with the fur on his chest.

  “I thought I lost you,” she said.

  “Yet you still came with me.”

  “If I couldn’t have you, I wanted to be in your world.”

  “By your standards, my home will be dangerous. I swear you won’t be eaten by a mound of dirt, but we’re going to have to have a long talk about the dangers of cyrons and pond scum.”

  “Sounds fascinating.”

  “I meant what I said, before.”

  “I love you. I have since I met you.”

  “I’ve done a lot of thinking. About you, about our Zargonnii females. A Zargonnii male suffers through the waiting after a Holiday. I thought it was only a male who suffered but realized how wrong I am. A Zargonnii male never goes through the pain of holding his daughter and having to hand her over, we never see them, or know if they exist. A female holds and loves her son for such a short time. She’s then faced with the brutal task of giving him up. All I thought of was my joy at claiming my son, I never thought of the female. It’s no wonder they are so strong. I remember my mother’s cries and my own when my father first held me. He looked so happy when I was so sad. But he loved me. He was so proud.

  “Adan, if you give me a daughter, there won’t be a father out there who could love her more than me. I would be so proud and honored. I should have told you sooner. The first time we made love I knew you were my mate but it was too dangerous to get you pregnant on that planet. Please don’t think I’m dishonorable by my actions. I needed you to know you are too important to lose.”

  “I didn’t for a second think you were dishonorable. I blamed myself because I didn’t understand you changed your mind.”

  Blu pulled her closer and kissed her head. “That creature I fought would have sliced me to pieces looking for all of my hearts. You saved my life. You broke his claws in your mind. I couldn’t have snapped off a hologram. You made the pieces remain whole. As I died I tried so hard to make my other heart beat, but even a warrior needs help on occasion. I was so worried for you.”

  “I did that?”

  “Yes. I wonder how much power you have in your thoughts.”

  Adan wondered too. So many odd things had happened on the planet, making her wonder if she were responsible. While on the Zargonnii vessel in the fiery hangar she had wanted someone to help her, she had wanted Blu to find her. She had wished for them to enter the worm hole when the Zargonnii vessel exploded and the Gorgano had fired on them. She hadn’t wanted Blu hurt when they hit the planet in the shuttle, had she kept Blu safe? She wondered if she had summoned the bird to save her as she fell when she wished she could fly. She wished so hard she had wings. She called in her thoughts to Trooper when Alaric attacked, but she had wanted Blu as well. Had she done those things? The Braxians had been in her thoughts, but she felt them there and was so angry by her loss she wanted them to back off, and they had.

  “Did I make you come inside me?” Adan asked. “Did I make you mate me?”

  Blu played with a strand of her hair. “No, in fact, I felt your panic. It was my own selfish action. I had to have you. We were so close to coming home, in my stupidity I thought we would be fine. As I died, it gave me comfort to know if I did leave my seed inside you, there was no way the Zargonnii would allow you to be left behind. Yes, they would wage war for a female half-Zargonnii baby.”

  “Please don’t die on me again.”

  “Then I better resist the urge to make love to you until my heart is stronger. Then again, the wait may just kill me.”

  Adan sweetly kissed him. Her Blu was back. Her dream was beside her.

  Chapter 10

  Blu watched as Adan gazed at their surroundings. He couldn’t begin to describe her look; it was a cross between bewilderment, excitement and maybe bad constipation. It was better than terror, she wasn’t afraid. From her perspective, he knew it was a lot to digest. To Blu, it was home, it was his planet. To Adan, it was creepyville as she so quaintly put it. At least she didn’t find it as scary as Brax. Blu’s home was situated under a mass mound of white cyron bones. Adan said they resembled her igloo, but his house was much stronger, larger and warmer. She touched a huge tree and jumped back when a vine tried to circle her wrist.

  “Blu, this tree is alive, I mean really, really, freaking alive.”

  “The tree won’t hurt you, but it will capture you if you get close. I might let it.”

  She stared at him in a panic. Blu pushed her back against the tree which immediately seized her wrists within its vines. It was time for her thoughts to be on something else, him. Blu pushed up her shirt and caressed her breasts. Her eyes were wide when the tree grabbed her ankles and spread her legs apart. Blu tugged her shorts down, lowered his pants and thrust deeply within her.

  “My heart is feeling much better,” he whispered in her ear.

  “We’re in the open.”

  Blu chuckled. “We’re in my backyard, surrounded by a fence. You can’t see the fence, the vines are overgrown. I’ll have to get rid of the tree now that you’re here, but not yet.”

  Adan gasped as he thrust harder. The vines of the tree were no match for a Zargonnii warrior. Adan was completely helpless as he ground his hips against her. The tree would have to go but maybe not until he had his first child. A Zargonnii male would have loved playing with the vines; it was apparent as Adan struggled, the tree loved playing with her.

  “Are these everywhere?” Adan gasped.

  “In many places. These trees are relatively
harmless. It keeps its victims safe from other creatures it feels possesses a threat. It can sense I have no intention of harming you. It merely holds you, studies you, then releases you.”

  Blu thrust harder until Adan cried out. A vine began to wrap its way up Blu’s arm. If the tree thought he was harming her it would attempt to stop him and pull Adan higher into the air against its branches. Blu snapped the vine, thrust harder for a few moments more and roared as he released his seed into her. The tree set Adan loose after he snapped the vine, realizing he wasn’t a predator to screw with. The behemoth had been a clipping from his father’s tree Blu had salvaged before moving from his father’s home. The tree had been here a long time. He would be sad to see it go.

  “Shit, Blu, that’s freaky.”

  “Fun, too.”

  He took her hand and led her into his home. Adan wandered from room to room, familiarizing herself with her surroundings. She asked him a thousand and one questions until he declared it was time for bed. He wasn’t really tired; he was in need to take in what had transpired. Their lives had been a crazy shuttle ride. It was nice to lay back with Adan in his arms, knowing she was his and they were safe. She lay quietly in his arms as she slumbered. So grateful she was to be here, she hadn’t complained of the food he gave her, it was the same as on the Zargonnii vessel. She declared she had missed the fare and dove into the mush with meat bits.

  Her beautiful face was bathed in strands of light filtering in through a window. Blu’s skies were multi-colored but the days were considerably longer than on Brax and much brighter. The window was impenetrable to intruders but allowed a harmless sweet breeze in to ruffle their hair together. Adan claimed to love the air here. So did Blu.

  Blu kissed Adan’s lips and she smiled in her sleep and whispered his name. Never in all his life did Blu think he would be in his bed in his home holding his mate in his arms. It was unheard of, but true. Blu closed his eyes and pulled Adan tighter; she sighed with contentment.