Then, unconsciousness claimed him.
Chapter 16
She awoke alone in her quarters on the Odyssey, groggy and sore from the jolt of incapacitating electricity that bitch Zalina had shot into her body. Eva lay quietly for a moment, trying to piece together the lost chunk of time since then, but it wouldn’t come. Groaning as every muscle in her body screamed in protest, she forced herself to her feet and shuffled stiffly to the sink. After gulping two full glasses of water to relieve the cotton-like dryness in her mouth and throat, she headed for the door. She needed to find her captain and tell her she wanted to go back.
When she tried the entry panel, it didn’t open. A red light flashed on the key pad when she tried to enter the code manually. Again the light blinked red indicating it was locked. She stared at it for a moment with a strong sense of déjà vu. Although she knew better, she put her hands flat on the panel and tried to slide it open. It wouldn’t budge.
“Let me out!” she yelled, kicking the door in frustration.
This went on for a while until someone, a guard who she barely knew, not well enough to recall her name even, entered with food.
“How long am I to be locked up?” she demanded of the guard who set a covered tray on the table, then silently turned to leave. “Wait. Please! I’ll go nuts if I have to stay in here.”
At the door, the uniformed woman paused, without sparing her as much as a glance. “The captain ordered you confined to quarters. Basically, Magda’s pissed over this whole Primarian capture fiasco. In fact, I’ve never seen her in such a state. I expect she’ll deal with you in due time.” Without elaborating, she left.
Due time turned out to be two excruciatingly long days.
To Eva, forty-eight hours of tedious waiting and wondering, and a whole lot of fruitless, agitated pacing seemed like an eternity. And in that time she was miserable, her heart aching from missing Kerr, her head pounding from the constant swirl of emotions. Angry that he had deceived her, she nonetheless couldn’t help a sense of guilt at leaving without giving him a chance to explain and defend himself. Though she felt nothing but jealousy and hatred toward Zalina, she still tried to decipher what the truth really was.
She suspected all of them shared blame for this cluster of confusion, even the captain and crew of the Odyssey. After all, who had intruded on an unknown planet, prepared to do what they must, including beg, borrow and steal, ready to wage war if necessary, all to save the human race? Wasn’t that what the Primarians had done? Hadn’t they too acted out of necessity, perhaps desperation, to save their people?
A sharp knock on the door preceded the whooshing sound the panels made as they opened. Tara, a shipmate about her own age who she’d become friends with on their long mission, entered with her dinner tray.
“Take it away, I’m not hungry.”
Tara glanced at the other untouched trays on the table. “You have to eat, Eva.”
“Why?”
She set it down with the others, then perched on the side of her bed. “I’m worried about you. You’re depressed.”
“Wouldn’t you be if you were abducted against your will and held prisoner twice in the same month?”
“It’s true, then? You wanted to stay with the barbarians?”
Eva sighed. “They aren’t barbarians, although you couldn’t have convinced me otherwise at first. They’re just different than us. In many ways, much better.”
“We were in a holding area, while there,” Tara said. “It was only for a couple of days, but we were treated well. I didn’t see anything close to what Eryn has been saying.”
“Like what?”
“That they treat their women like sex slaves and punish them with spankings, and they have public whippings in the town square.”
Eva was hard-pressed to deny any of it. “They also commit to one woman for life, and find it their prime responsibility to care for her, in loving ways as well as with punishments, if need be. They have a fairly non-violent society — spankings and floggings, notwithstanding — where family is the top priority. In many ways, it beats Earth’s with our broken homes, fatherless children, violent crime through the roof, and countries constantly at war. Not to mention we’ve destroyed our home to the point of having to search out a new one. Primaria is pristine. I didn’t see a single piece of trash on the street, or a mark of graffiti. There were no tenements, and no homeless living on the street, either. Of course, that was just the capital city; I didn’t have time to venture farther out.”
“It doesn’t sound nearly as bad as Eryn lets on.” Tara tilted her head. “And the men, they were all tall and unbelievably gorgeous. They made my six-foot frame seem dainty and feminine. And, is it true that they want sex two or three times a day?”
“That part is definitely true.”
“Would you go back if you could?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Tara sighed. “After three years on this bucket of bolts with only women, I think I’d go with you.”
Eva looked at her, brows arched in surprise.
Her friend smiled. “I had a boyfriend a few years back who liked to spank me during sex. It was hot.” Tara’s smile widened into a grin. “I think I could adapt.”
A sudden shock wave shook the ship, knocking them both to the floor.
“What was that?” Eva cried as the alarm sounded general quarters.
“The same thing happened when the aliens boarded us the first time.” Tara pushed up to her feet. “I need to get to my post.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Eva…”
“You can’t leave me here locked in my room!”
“All right.” Tara’s voice held a strange note of resignation. “I suppose if we’re being abducted all over again, it won’t matter.”
Eva stayed on the woman’s heels as they ran to the elevator, and rode three levels up to the bridge. As the doors opened, they both froze in their tracks. Hovering on the huge viewing screen was a massive alien space vessel, likely twice as big as their own.
“They’ve come to take us back,” Eva murmured, the prospect of seeing Kerr once again both thrilling her and filling her with dread.
Magda turned and glared at her. “Your alien boyfriend has come well-armed. They’ve disabled our stealth capability, and we can’t hope to outrun them.”
“Why do we need to run?”
“So they don’t enslave us, you fool!” The captain turned her angry glare on Tara. “Take her back to her quarters and see that she stays there.”
“Wait, please,” Eva implored, broaching the idea Tara had given her only moments ago. “They need us, but we need them too. Time is running out for both of us. Their hunting planet is perfect for our needs. Why not work with them toward a mutually agreeable arrangement?”
“Are you proposing we trade women to slavers for land? Are you insane?”
“You’ve been listening to Eryn too much. Please, hear me out. It’s true they took us against our will, but within two weeks, seven out of eight of our women were happily bonded to their Primarian mates.”
“Seven?” Magda challenged. “You’re including yourself, Lieutenant La Croix?”
“Yes. I wanted to stay, but I wasn’t given the choice. Now, I don’t know where I stand.”
She glanced from a frowning Eryn to the Primarian ship on screen. Was Kerr on board? And if so, could he forgive her momentary jealous lapse?
One of the crew slumped suddenly to the floor. Another, manning a control panel, slid out of her chair, unconscious.
“Not again,” Tara murmured, a moment before one by one every person on the bridge dropped to the floor.
Near panic, Eva struggled to move her limbs, but couldn’t. Nor would her lips form a single word, her eyes only able to stare straight ahead, unblinking. Her heart was the one thing she knew was still functional, for she could hear it thumping wildly in her ears. She took stock, feeling every sensation, the coolness of the circulating air on her sk
in, the hard floor beneath her, Tara’s warm body lying up against her where she had fallen. It calmed her greatly to still feel the rise and fall of her chest. At least she was breathing.
Long moments passed slowly, until at last, with a swoosh of the elevator doors, someone came onto the bridge. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and a shadow crossed over her. Then a man stepped into her line of sight.
Despite the protective respirator that covered his face, the richly tanned skin, dark hair, and teal eyes confirmed who he was.
Trask!
She would have gasped or screamed, if she could have, for he looked angry. No, that weak descriptor didn’t do justice to the fiery emotion boiling within those stunning eyes. He was livid.
“I’ve found her!” he said, seemingly to himself. Other footsteps drew close, and Rothke bent over her next, the big male also seething with rage.
“I’ll carry her aboard ship,” he growled. “Though I’d rather give her the thrashing she deserves.”
“No, you are needed to captain the females’ ship. Besides, I vowed to protect her, so it is my duty. No matter how unpleasant.” Trask leaned low and scooped her up in his arms. “The thrashing will be left for Kerr to decide, or, if we’re too late, the Council.”
The scorn in his words stung, but she was struck by his other comment. What did he mean by too late? And why hadn’t Kerr come for her himself? The Council wouldn’t have a say in her punishment, unless…
Perhaps the smoke and mirrors had been more than Eryn’s ally had promised? Kerr could be injured — or worse. As her mind ran through the grimmest of possibilities, her thudding heart threatened to choke her. She would have demanded answers, instead, her body reacted in the only way it could as tears pooled in her eyes.
As he carried her briskly to the lift, Trask glanced down at her. Her image of him was watery and blurred, but she could see his frown. One lone tear overflowed from Eva’s eye, trickling over her lashes and down her temple.
Chapter 17
Kerr’s general and closest friend gently placed her on a bed in a small room, then left her alone. For the next several hours, she’d lain there, unmoving, a steady stream of tears pouring from her eyes, soaking her hair and pillow. Slowly, she regained conscious function of her body, but rather than move she only closed her eyes, exhausted.
The door whooshed open sometime later.
“Eva.”
Listlessly, she lifted her lashes and gazed up at Trask who stood with a tray of food in his hands. When she didn’t react, he frowned. She hadn’t noticed until today that he did that a lot.
“Get up. You must eat.”
She rolled to her side, turning her back to him. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t, but Kerr does, and I promised him I’d protect you. Once you’re back in his care, my duty is done.”
“He’s alive?” she said, looking over her shoulder at him. “But, you made it sound—”
“Last report, he was holding on. For your sake, I hope he remains that way until our return.” He set the tray on the table beside the bed and left, barking over his shoulder as he went, “Eat.”
She didn’t — she couldn’t — and though she found solace in the fact that Kerr lived, she had no appetite. The nausea that had plagued her since leaving Primaria, wouldn’t allow it. She felt like she had the flu, and that nagging burning had returned at the back of her neck. If she’d had the strength, she would have gone to the mirror to check, but what was the point? She hadn’t transformed when they’d been rutting like rabbits, and never would. Convinced her symptoms were some sort of transitional sickness, like had occurred those first early days aboard he Primarian ship, she ignored it, curling onto her side on the bed and staring at the blank wall.
Waiting.
* * *
When Trask returned, he was even more irritable and impatient, which she didn’t think was possible.
“Let’s go, we don’t have much time.”
“For what?
“Kerr needs his mate.”
A glimmer of hope sparked with her… until she remembered her circumstance. She was a prisoner, considered a traitor by both her shipmates and Kerr’s people. “I’m sure Zalina can see to his needs.”
“Don’t be foolish.” He stood at her bedside once more, glowering down at her. “Will you walk, or must I carry you?”
Scowling, she rose to her feet. The sudden change of position, plus the lack of food caused a wave of dizziness to encompass her, making her sway and fall into him. His big hands curled around her arms, steadying her.
“Stubborn Earthling. You didn’t eat. Now, there is no time.” With his hand coiled around her arm, he started walking, drawing her along behind him.
“Where are you taking me, anyway? To the public square for a whipping?”
“I’m taking you home to Kerr.”
“Is he furious?”
He didn’t answer.
“What about the others? And Eryn?”
“They will return as well, under guard until they are matched to one of our males.”
“Eryn is not the only unwilling one. She, and others like her, will continue to fight.”
“Her new mate will deal with it.”
“New mate?”
“Yes, Ram plans to go to Jarlan to be retested. It is obvious that they haven’t bonded, and if the healer and the Council agree, she will go into the databank and be re-matched.”
“I suspected the same with me and Kerr.” She thought of their pending test results. “What if I don’t pan out? Does Kerr plan on re-matching me? So much for maes eternium,” she grumbled.
“Would you blame him?” he snapped. Halting in the middle of the corridor, he glowered at her. “Not only is he a warrior, he is our Princep. Can you fathom the blow to his pride? Do you hate him so much that you’d risk both your lives to flee his arms and his bed?”
“I don’t hate him!” she shouted. “I’m confused. Imagine being captured and held against your will. Wouldn’t you try to escape? And what do you mean risk his life? I didn’t put him in danger. I wasn’t part of this plan. They came to me when it was already in action.” She went up on her toes, daring, beyond good reason, to upbraid the huge, fuming general right to his face. “If he is so angry that he wants rid of me, why take me back? I refuse to be unmatched only to be given to another, like Eryn. We are not whores, Trask, nor pawns in your games. We are free women. We have pride. What’s more, we have brains in our heads.”
He stared down at her, his brows arched halfway to his hairline. “What are you going on about? Didn’t Kerr explain anything to you about fated mates?”
“Other than the identical markings, no. He was too busy fucking me.”
“Eva,” he said, some of the anger gone from his voice. “He can’t ‘un-match’ with you as you call it. The bond is for life, in particular with fated mates.”
“Why can Ram then discard Eryn so easily?”
“That is an entirely different case. She fought him at every turn and they did not bond, at all. You and Kerr did. As a result, if you are away from each other for any length of time, your bodies will react. Unpleasantly so. Don’t you feel it?”
She hesitated, stepping back, trying to think. “I’ve been feeling ill, I guess. I thought it was the flu, or an adjustment to the change in atmosphere.”
“It is the separation sickness, although for some reason your symptoms are not as severe. Kerr has not been so fortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Usually, the sickness has a slow onset. After a few days, a feeling of restlessness is accompanied by a craving for the absent mate. After a week, the need to be together intensifies, the body burns with fever, the skin feeling almost hot to the touch. He said you experienced a similar reaction after your joining.”
Abruptly, she curved a hand around the back of her neck. It occurred to her that he’d described her symptoms exactly, and the once transient heat had become ever
-present since boarding the Odyssey.
“After a few days, maybe less, a delirium will follow. In the case of fated mates, if a reunion does not occur… both will perish.”
“Oh, my god! He’ll die without me?”
“You both will, Eva.”
She shook her head, refusing to accept it. “What about you and Lana? Why
aren’t you sick?”
“We are a strong match and have bonded, but we aren’t fated mates. A few days
apart we can handle. Beyond that, we also fall ill, though the separation sickness does not affect us as severely. Eventually, we recover.”
“But it’s only been a few days,” she replied, the pitch of her voice rising sharply along with her concern. “Why is Kerr so sick, so soon?”
“We’re not sure.”
“What do you mean you’re not sure? This is bizarre.”
“Fated mates are rare. Meus eternium. Kerr must have told you that. They are not mere words, Eva. His mark upon you tells everyone that the transformation is complete, and that you’re are his one true mate. We rejoice that our Princep is one of the rare few who has found his perfect match. At the same time, we grieve that it’s with a treacherous woman who would rather die than be with him.”
Locking eyes with him, her brows drew sharply together and she focused on the one thing he had said that didn’t completely shred her already anguished heart. “What marking?”
He glared at her. “Don’t take me for a fool.”
She shook her head, staring at him blankly.
Growling, he dragged her along the hallway and into a room, ignoring the startled occupants. Before a mirror on the wall, he twisted her hair around his fist and angled her head to expose her neck. “That marking.”
Recreated in intricate, identical detail, she gasped in disbelief as she stared at Kerr’s mark on the back of her neck. Tentatively, she touched it, feeling the heat it emitted. “How… it wasn’t… I swear to you, I didn’t know it was there. I stopped checking days ago.”
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