by Ashley West
The problem with the inner rooms of the compound was that they hardly had any good views out the windows. Most of the compound was surrounded by thick patches of trees, which made it hard for sunlight to find the windows, casting a dim mixture of weak light and shadows through the windows. Of course, being set up in this way, made it easy for Roxanne to go to the windows and look out and see the battle as it was getting ready to start.
She watched as the Calphesians spread themselves out into their formation, the sight triggering a memory of seeing the same thing on the news ten years ago. Now they stood just as firm and tall and menacing, and Roxanne truly believed they stood a fighting chance.
And then the Platoks arrived.
She watched with her mouth open as their ships came down into the trees and then as the Calphesians waited and then as the first creature stepped out and began to speak.
Roxy couldn't hear anything he was saying, but by god, the thing was ugly. She'd called the Calphesians beasts because they were large and bulky and dangerous, but this Platok was truly a monster. It looked like something that you'd find on the underside of a rock, wriggling in the damp, dark earth, never meant to see the light of day. Just one of them was enough to turn her stomach and have her clenching her hands into fists with fear, and who even knew how many others were on those ships.
She thanked anyone listening that her parents had already gone and were safe.
Nothing seemed to happen for a long time. She could see the Platok talking to the Calphesians and she could tell that the Calphesians weren't happy about whatever was being said. It was easy to see how they tensed as a unit, how they seemed to be leaning in, ready for violence. But still, nothing happened.
Were they trying to negotiate in some way? She could only imagine what demands the Platoks had, and she didn't think it would be anywhere near as easy as it had been when the Calphesians were bargaining with humans.
Her hunch was proven right when the Platok laughed, a high, shrill sound that filled the air and made her cringe.
The Calphesians reacted and soon there were more Platoks streaming out of the trees, arms held aloft and a battle cry on their lips. Aedian and the rest of his kind roared back and the two factions clashed, rushing forward into each other's lines. The battle had begun.
For nearly an hour she stood by the window, afraid that if she left it, something terrible would happen and she’d come back to see Aedian lying broken and bloody in the dirt. Roxy could just make him out from where she was standing, and that was mostly because of his massive sword that she could see flashing as the sun rose.
He was amazing with it, honestly.
She’d seen him perform in the tournament, but this was something entirely different, and she could imagine that having to fight for your life brought out skills otherwise unseen.
Aedian spun and lunged and slashed, arms never seeming to tire. He cut down any Platok that got close to him and left spaces for his companions to rush into. It was almost like a well choreographed routine, the way they functioned as one unit made up of many different parts.
For the first time since she’d found out what was happening, she really thought that they were going to win without there being any kind of real chaos.
It was disgustingly optimistic, and she should have known better, really.
All at once, the battle seemed to stop. The Platoks stopped moving, stopped fighting back, and the Calphesians stopped as well, clearly confused as to what was happening.
Then there was that horrible sound again, all of the disgusting creatures lifting their heads and screeching at the top of their lungs. Roxy shivered, wondering if the sound was meant to illicit fear because that’s what it was doing to her.
Someone barked an order and from the trees came more creatures. It was hard to see from her spot, but it didn’t look like they were all Platoks. As they came running out and got closer, she was able to make out the forms of horned creatures and some with wings, some that resembled humans just with different skin colors and some that looked to be reptiles that walked upright.
The curious thing was that they didn’t seem to be heading for the battle. They didn’t look like they were reinforcements coming to make sure that the Calphesians couldn’t gain any ground. In fact, they streamed around the battle, avoiding it all together to rush out past them and into…
Oh, god.
They were heading for the city.
Aedian had mentioned that it seemed odd that it had taken the Platoks so long to get to Earth, but Roxanne thought she knew why that was. If they had been observing up there before they’d come down, they’d know how the city was laid out for the most part. They’d know that the Calphesians lived on the outskirts of vast human populations.
And if it was the humans they were really after, then their plan was genius. Keep the Calphesians busy with the fighting and then send a second swarm to devastate the humans.
The last thing Roxanne wanted to do was just stand there and watch while this happened, but she didn’t know what else to do. There was no way she could fight any of them off, and running out there now would be tantamount to suicide.
At any rate, the Calphesians seemed to figure out the plan not long after she did, since the force seemed to be splitting. One group dug in and spread out to continue fighting the Platoks and the other dashed off in the direction of the rag tag group.
Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could only hope that it would be enough.
Separating like that meant that they had less of an advantage and the group that remained had to fight harder. Squinting through the flurry of weapons and fighting, Roxanne could just about see Aedian. He was at the front of his little cluster, taking on two Platoks at a time with his massive sword.
She couldn’t make out his face or see if he was hurt, but she could see it when a Platok managed to cut down the man at Aedian’s back and lunge in. She could see it when one of those sharp blades raked across Aedian’s back, and she could see the spray of blood that followed.
Roxy watched him falter just a bit, and she watched the other two Platoks break his guard and slash at his chest, twin arcs of blood showing that they’d landed their blows.
Another Calphesian came in to hack at Aedian’s attackers with an axe, and another shot one of them in the head. She heard yelling, and saw Aedian fall back, stumbling and bleeding heavily.
He went down to one knee, and a Platok that had been on the fringes stepped in. A blade flashed and Aedian fell with a cry that she felt in her bones.
And that was as much as she could watch without doing something. Obviously, she couldn’t fight, but she had to do something.
Without pausing to think, Roxy ran for the door. She didn't know what she could do, but she had to do something. Of course, it would have been a lot easier to do that something if she could get through the door, but when she pressed her hands against it like she usually did to get it to slide open, nothing happened.
Scowling, she tried again, slamming her hands against the door in frustration. This had never happened before, and she didn't know if the door was broken or if she was just locked in.
But how...
Aedian he wanted her safe and out of the way, and locking her in the rooms was a good way to make sure that happened.
With a wordless growl of frustration, Roxanne punched the door, banging on it like someone was going to be able to hear her. "Let me out!" she cried, and was alarmed to discover that she was on the edge of bursting into tears.
She had never been the sort of person who was content to just let things happen to her. Granted, some things she didn’t have any control over, like being chosen to marry a Calphesian, but she couldn’t just watch Aedian die. There was no way she could go back to that window and watch him be killed like he didn’t...like he didn’t mean anything to her. And she would have to examine those feelings later, when they were both safe and she could give him an earful about locking her in rooms like she was some ki
nd of wayward child.
But first she had to get out of here. Roxy knew that the few women they had in their number and all the young children were still in the compound, forbidden from fighting because they were too precious to risk. Maybe one of them would hear her if she kept banging on the door. Maybe-
Before she could do more than slam her palms against the door, it slid open, and Roxanne nearly fell forward, but clawed hands came up to brace her, and Roxy blinked.
She recognized the Calphesian standing before her as Llya, the female who had helped her get ready to be presented all those weeks ago when this whole thing was just starting.
“Are you alright?” Llya asked, releasing her and taking a step back.
“No,” Roxy replied, shaking her head. “I have to go out there.”
Llya’s eyes widened. “You cannot. You shouldn’t even still be here.”
“I wasn’t just going to leave!” How many times was she going to have to explain that? “I know it’s dangerous, and I know something could happen to me, but Aedian’s hurt, and if I don’t go to him, he might be killed.”
The Calphesian woman seemed to hesitate, still blocking the door, and Roxanne drew herself up. “I’m going to him,” she said firmly. “I don’t care if I have to jump out of that window. I’m going to him. I know how your people are. You don’t care about the ones who get injured because they can’t fight anymore. But I still care. And every minute I stand here trying to justify this to you, is another minute that he doesn’t have. So please, Llya. Let me do this.”
“...So be it,” Llya said softly, inclining her head and stepping out of the way. Roxanne didn’t stop to thank her, instead rushing past her and into the corridor.
As she ran, she became aware that she wasn’t alone, and turned her head to see Llya easily keeping pace with her. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“You will not do this alone,” was the reply, and honestly, it was good enough for her.
They made it to the doors in record time, and Llya made her hang back while she checked to see that the coast was clear. There didn’t seem to be any stragglers, everyone was occupied with the fighting, and so they made their way outside and started inching along the curved outside of the building.
Roxanne had never really been one to pray, but she found that she had a litany of pleas in her head as they moved forward: please let him still be alive, please let us make it in time, please don’t let anything come out of those woods, please please please. It was unsettling to be so exposed, especially when she could hear yelling and fighting getting louder the closer they got.
But they kept moving, steady and quiet, and soon enough they’d found their way to where Aedian was laying, face down in the dirt.
Roxy swallowed hard, heart pounding. If it weren’t for the sluggish rise and fall of his back, showing he was breathing still, she would have thought he was dead. As it was, he was bleeding freely and that couldn’t be good.
Without waiting, she darted out, glancing around to make sure that there was no one close, and knelt down beside Aedian, fingers going to his hair.
A raspy inhale startled her, and he coughed and then spoke without lifting his head. “Kill me and have done.”
“I should kill you, you big moron,” she snapped under her breath, trying not to draw attention to them. “How could you do that? I thought you were going to be alright.”
Now he did lift his head, eyes wide even as he winced with obvious pain. “What are you doing out here?” he demanded. “It is not safe.”
“Obviously,” Roxanne snapped. “I came to get you. Or do you just not care that you could die here?”
He averted his eyes, and Roxy just shook her head. Llya approached cautiously, her eyes darting around. “We cannot stay here,” she said. “This is death for certain.”
“Then help me,” Roxanne hissed.
Together they managed to get Aedian in a seated position. The gashes running down his chest were deep and still bleeding, and Roxanne bit her lip in worry. Llya touched her hand and then each of them took a side, hauling Aedian up and to his feet.
He was ridiculously heavy and large and bulky, and there was no way they were going to be able to get back inside without someone seeing them.
All at once they heard a sound from behind, and Roxy turned her head to see a Platok running at full speed to reach them, and god, those things were so much uglier from this close than they were from the window.
She swore under her breath and Aedian turned his head to look, growling when he saw their pursuer. In one smooth motion he grabbed his fallen sword up off the ground and threw it, sending it sailing through the air to slice neatly into the Platok’s chest, buried in him as he fell to the ground.
“I am going to need a new sword,” he mumbled, sagging once again as his wounds started bleeding more freely.
“You need a new brain,” Roxy retorted and they made their slow, plodding way back inside with Llya watching their backs.
By some miracle they made it in, and the doors slid shut. Platoks weren’t going to be getting through that reinforced steel, so they relaxed.
Together, Roxanne and Llya got Aedian to the infirmary. The medic was a female, and she was there with bandages, though she looked surprised to see them. When Roxanne asked why, Llya shrugged. “You were right about our kind. Most of them die on the battlefield rather than retreat to get help.”
She considered that. “Is this going to come back to bite him? The fact that I made him leave?”
Llya shook her head. “I do not know. There is no dishonor in survival, but most would rather fight and die than run and live.”
Well, if any of them had a problem with it, they could come to her.
The next hour was an up close view of how amazing Calphesian tech was. The medic cleaned the wounds and then sealed them closed with a laser that she said cauterized them and kept them from getting infected or reopening very much. As Aedian had passed out, Roxy couldn’t tell whether or not it was painful.
When it was done, the medic told them that there was nothing more they could do. Aedian had lost a lot of blood and needed his rest, and she made to usher them out, but Roxanne stood firm. She wasn’t leaving him.
Llya placed a hand on the medic’s shoulder and the two of them left instead, leaving Roxy alone with the unconscious Calphesian.
For a long time she just stood there, watching him sleep. It was as if the battle outside didn’t matter anymore. She couldn’t hear the fighting, so it was like they were removed from it.
She lost track of time as she stood there, but eventually she shook herself and sighed.
“Are all humans so disobedient?”
Aedian’s voice made her jump, and she looked down at him. His eyes were still closed, but as she looked, he opened them slowly, blinking at her. He looked a bit dazed, but otherwise alright where he lay on the large cot, and Roxy let out a sigh of relief.
“Are all Calphesians so pig headed and stubborn?” she fired back.
“Yes,” he replied, smiling at her tentatively. “There will be talk, you know. Of me exiting the battle on the arm of a human.”
“If anyone has anything to say about it, they can come take it up with me. I’ll tell them that I prefer you alive.”
A slow smile spread onto Aedian’s face, and he struggled to sit up, holding a hand out to her. “There was a time when you wouldn’t have felt that way. If I were dead, you would be free to go back to your life.”
“You shouldn’t be moving around,” Roxy said, ducking her head to hide the look on her face.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Just light headed.”
“Are you going to try and go back out there and fight more?” she wanted to know.
Aedian looked like he was considering it, and then he shook his head. “I wouldn’t be able to do much. I’m weak from blood loss, and I would not be an asset to my people. I will remain here.”
“That’s the first sensible thing
you’ve ever said.”
He shook his head at her and held his hand out more insistently. “Come here.”
She could have told him off for trying to give her orders, and she could have refused him, but after the way she’d felt when she’d thought that he was dying or already dead, she wasn’t going to do that. Instead she took his hand and let him draw her close to the bed.
“Closer,” he urged, and before he was satisfied, she was straddling his lap.
“This isn’t what infirmaries are for, you know,” she muttered under her breath.
“Hush,” he replied, and tipped her face up to kiss her firmly. And just like that, she melted against him. After everything that they’d been through in the last few hours, it was like relief to just have him there and have his mouth pressed against hers. She threaded her fingers into his hair, uncaring about the fact that it was matted with sweat and blood. He was warm, and best of all, he was alive, and she kissed him back with all the relief and dawning feelings that she felt for him.
His hands came down to hold her hips, and he urged her to move with him, her hips grinding down on him over and over again.
When they broke the kiss, they were both breathless, and Roxanne looked up into darkened silver eyes. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be trying to do this right after you were nearly gored by something that looked like a maggot on two legs.”
He laughed softly at that, touching her face. “I thought you were going to get hurt.”
“I watched you get hurt,” Roxanne replied, and then all at once, she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the battle outside or the fact that he was still recovering. Someone had once made a joke about Calphesians getting off on battles, and from the hardness she could feel against her where she was straddling his lap, she wondered if there wasn’t some truth to that. Either way, she thought they both needed this.
She was just going to suggest that they do something about all the layers between them, when the door burst open and Llya came rushing in. “They’re leaving!” she said. “The Platoks are retreating.”
