by Lisa Lace
Chapter Fifteen
ELLE
“Ayrie!� I had to scream if I wanted him to hear me over the roar of the storm, which was getting worse.
His blond head slipped under the waves. I wasn’t close enough to pull him back up. I raced toward him, kicking as hard as I could while trying to stay close to the surface. I reached the point where Ayrie’s head dove beneath the surface and groped for him, hauling him back up by his hair. He seemed to be breathing but was unconscious. He had flown today already, and we had followed that exercise with a swim. He must be worn out.
I wasn’t going to let him die. I was a good swimmer. At university, I was on the swim team and worked as a lifeguard at the campus pool. I could save him as long as I kept my wits about me. I wouldn’t let him go under again.
I kicked out at the ominous shadows under the water, ignoring how fast my heart was beating and how scared I felt. I wouldn’t let those bastards eat us. I wrapped my arms around Ayrie again and began moving my legs.
I didn’t have a place in mind, but I wasn’t going to stay here with the shadows. Once in a while, my foot brushed against something solid, giving me a burst of energy and letting me swim furiously for a few more minutes until I started to feel tired again. I had to remind myself that Ayrie had done his part taking care of us. It was my turn.
I didn’t know why the creatures below us weren’t attacking, but I was grateful for the small respite from our streak of bad luck. I still wasn’t sure we were going to survive. How much longer could I keep going? We were in the middle of the ocean without a place to rest. Even if the storm stopped, I didn’t think Ayrie could take off from the water, so flying was out of the question.
My hope was fading, but I kept moving. Ayrie had said that he saw me as strong and resilient. Maybe I was. Could I become the person he saw me as instead of who I saw myself as?
I didn’t know how we would survive. There wasn’t any reason to have hope.
But that wasn’t a good reason to give up, either.
I don’t know how long I splashed around, going up one wave and down the next. I thought I caught a glimpse of a ship in the distance. I knew I was hallucinating like Ayrie had said earlier. But it gave me hope and something to work for if I swam toward it.
The bulk of the storm had moved past us. It was still raining hard enough that I could hardly see most of the time. But sometimes when the rain let up, I could see the ghost ship, and I felt like it could be our salvation.
Soon the clouds completely disappeared. There was no more thunder, lightning, or waterspouts. The ghost ship loomed closer than before. I wondered about it for a minute before realizing that if I were imagining everything, I would want the ship to approach me. I started to panic. Maybe I should give up and let the sea take us.
By this point, my body was on autopilot, kicking rhythmically without conscious effort. The soreness and exhaustion in my muscles floated somewhere in the background of my mind while my survival mode kicked in, pushing me to work harder than I ever thought possible.
I would keep swimming for Ayrie. I couldn’t let him die. He might have to live his life without me, but I wouldn’t leave him.
As the hallucination approached me, I started hearing sounds in addition to seeing things. There were people on the ghost ship. Before I knew it, a wooden hull was in front of me, and I caught the scent of soup.
“I told you I saw something fall, Nat. Take a look at this.� A woman’s voice floated down from above. Were they angels, like Ayrie? Maybe we were already dead, and I hadn’t noticed.
“Yes, Ash, you’re a genius. This was as close as I could get to them. I wasn’t going to risk a ship and its entire crew for what might have been nothing at all. Does anyone want to volunteer to go in?�
There was silence after that. I trod water, wondering if I should do anything. The voices kept talking above me. I tentatively reached out my hand to the wooden hull and was surprised when I felt resistance.
It felt remarkably like a wooden ship. Was this thing for real?
“No takers for going down into freezing water? Okay, I’ll do it myself.� There was a splash beside me as Nathaniel jumped into the water.
“Nat, wait a second. Vess, throw them a life preserver. The girl looks like she can’t last much longer, and the guy is unconscious.�
There was another splash, and a floater landed beside me. I grabbed it like a starving person might desperately reach for a crust of bread. I hung on with one arm and used the other to keep a death grip on Ayrie. Nothing could have made me let him go of him.
Something bumped my foot again. I instinctively kicked out. The shadows were back.
“Hey!� Ash was yelling from above me. “Calm down. We’re trying to help you. Don’t kick Nat. After he puts a harness on you, we can pull you up.�
I wondered if I looked as befuddled as I felt. I tipped my head back and stared up at a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. When I felt another touch on my foot, I didn’t kick it this time. I felt something slide up over my legs. The harness closed tightly around my waist, and I saw Nathaniel swim away from me to put a harness on Ayrie too.
How was he holding his breath for so long? He had been underwater for at least five minutes.
“He’s not coming up!� I tried to get the attention of the woman on the ship. She appeared to be watching something in the water.
“Don’t worry.� She didn’t sound concerned at all. “He’s a native and has gills. He’s almost finished.�
I had forgotten in the heat of the moment. Every alien race seemed to do something incredible that humans could not.
A few minutes later, they hauled us up and dumped us onto the deck of the ship. Ayrie looked as white as snow. I wondered if he had succumbed to hypothermia.
The woman took his pulse and said he was still alive. Vess, their first mate, had basic medical training. If we needed to go to a hospital, we would sail there right away.
“Where is Nathaniel?� The blonde woman sounded concerned now. People appeared all around us. We were on a ship — of course there would be a crew.
“He said he wanted to check something while he was down there.�
“Is he performing maintenance on the ship when these people might die from exposure and exhaustion? Grab a few of the guys to carry them into the empty cabin.�
“You know how he is.� I imagined I could hear the body attached to the male voice shrug. “Of course, Ashlyn. We’ll bring them down. That won’t be a problem.�
“Thanks, Vess. I’ll get some of my clothes for her. And if Nat’s don’t fit the guy, we’re going to borrow some of yours.�
Ashlyn was a lovely name.
I didn’t feel like moving. I enjoyed lying perfectly still. I’m not sure I could have moved if I wanted to. Strong hands lifted me and brought me down into the bowels of the ship.
Ashlyn peeled off my wet clothes and put a dry nightgown on me. After she had finished changing me, the men came back and moved me into the bed. She and Vess put new clothes on Ayrie and put him next to me.
Ashlyn’s angelic face appeared above me. “All you have to do is rest. Tell us everything when you feel better.�
That was all I needed. For the moment, we were safe. I was dry. With luck, I wouldn’t have to swim anywhere for the rest of my life. As long as Ayrie and I weren’t dead, I was content. With that thought, I let myself fall asleep.
“We’ve caught ourselves an Auxem,� Nat said from beside the bed.
“I thought this was the friend we were searching for.� Ashlyn’s voice was as pretty as her face and her long, blonde hair. Both of the
m spoke in whispers. “How many castaways could there be in this region?�
“It’s them. But you’re showing your ignorance again, Earthling. Auxem is a planet in the furthest arm of the galaxy. They have wings, but apparently, Ayrie didn’t use his.�
“I don’t see any wings, Nat.�
“The wings aren’t visible when they’re not flying.�
“Do you think she has wings, too?� I finally opened my eyes. “Oh, she’s awake now.�
I looked back and forth at the handsome couple before me, wondering who they were. Ashlyn and Nathaniel were definitely a couple. Even though they weren’t touching, there was something in every movement and every exchanged look that suggested they knew each other intimately.
Nathaniel looked like a pirate. And a dashing one, at that. Ashlyn was a saintly-looking woman and seemed to be both beautiful and kind.
A little girl popped her head between the two of them. “Did you find them, Daddy?� The child’s face was the spitting image of her father. Both her parents shushed her, and she repeated herself in a whisper.
“They are, Kitty Kat. The man’s name is Ayrie. The woman is—�
He paused and looked at me.
“My name is Elle. How do you know Ayrie?�
Nat gave me a smile that would have made my knees wobble if I were standing up. He had lady killer written all over him, and I felt weak as he turned his attention to me. Ashlyn noticed and smiled tolerantly in my direction, shaking her head.
“I went to school with him. We did our field studies here in the dead zone.�
“Hold on a second.� I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “Does this mean you’re the nerd?�
Chapter Sixteen
ELLE
I clapped a hand over my mouth the minute the words were out, though it was far too late to take them back.
Ashlyn was giggling in the corner, trying not to laugh too loudly. Nathaniel looked less cocky than before but not exactly angry, either.
“Maybe we should go talk on the deck?� He reached out a hand to me. “That way, we won’t wake Ayrie.�
I nodded and crawled out of bed, following them up to the deck. My muscles were so stiff and sore that I could hardly walk. I felt like a shambling mummy following the Vandwan family. I guessed it didn’t matter. I was alive, and I wasn’t going to complain about a few sore muscles.
The world looked washed clean in the morning. There was no sign of the terrible storm that had almost killed us. It was hard to believe so much had changed in a day.
As soon as we were on deck, Ashlyn surrendered to her laughter, bending over and holding her stomach. When she finally regained control over herself, she gave me a conspiratorial glance.
“That’s what I expected too, right? He had too much education and was a research scientist. He’s got to be a nerd.�
“What’s a nerd, Daddy?� Nathaniel’s face turned red at the little girl’s question.
“Kathryn, I’ll tell you later. It’s a grown-up thing.� Kathryn quickly lost interest in all the adults. She skipped over to watch a crewman raise a sail and began talking a mile a minute to him while he worked. Ashlyn looked at her fondly.
I turned to Nathaniel. “That was incredibly rude of me. You rescued us, and I had the nerve to call you a terrible name. Please forgive me.�
He cut me off with a laugh of his own. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a common first impression.�
“You love the attention, Nathaniel Lachlan.� Ashlyn turned to me. “Appearances can be deceiving. When you meet him, he turns out to have enough charm and charisma to make grown women swoon.�
“I thought Daddy didn’t do those things anymore?� Kathryn had started listening to us again.
“I’m not a pirate anymore, Kitty.� Nathaniel turned to Ashlyn, who still had a mischievous look on her face. “I don’t make women swoon anymore, either. I can’t help it if I’m devilishly handsome.� He gave Ashlyn a smoldering look.
Ashlyn’s cheeks turned pink, and she changed the subject. “How did you end up in the ocean? Elle, you must be tired still. Have a seat.�
She pointed to an area on the deck with folding chairs. The three of us sat down. Nat leaned forward, eagerly listening to me.
“Ayrie is my husband.�
I saw Nathaniel try to look at my back. “I thought there weren’t any women from Auxem left. Did they find a cure?�
Ashlyn’s horrified expression suggested she hadn’t heard about the problem. I explained quickly about the virus taking its toll on the Auxem women. The men had come to Earth looking for women to save their people, but they had recently discovered the men were also susceptible and the virus would take their fertility. We were heading back to Auxem with the initial shipment of women. If everything went well, Earth would send more to help the Auxem repopulate their world.
“You’re saying you’re not from Auxem.� Nathaniel had his arms crossed over his chest.
“No, Earth is my home planet.�
Ashlyn smiled. “I’m human, too.�
“How did you two meet each other? How could someone from Earth end up all the way on Vandwa?�
Ashlyn blushed. “Nat ordered me through a company called TerraMates.�
“It was the best decision of my life.� Nathaniel took his wife’s hand and squeezed it. They clearly loved each other. Even though I knew Sophie’s company was good, seeing an arranged marriage with fantastic results gave me hope for my relationship with Ayrie.
“Really? My sister-in-law’s the daughter of the TerraMates owner. They’re the ones in charge of sending women to Auxem.�
“You’ve got to be kidding me.� Ashlyn looked scared. “I can’t believe Mrs. Lynch has a daughter. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person to get married herself.�
I tilted my head from side to side, considering what she was saying. “She might come across as tough if she’s interviewing you. But she has a sweet and kind side to her. Mrs. Lynch helped me get into the trial when they shouldn’t have accepted me.�
“I suppose.� I could tell by the look on Ashlyn’s face that she would never believe me.
“Sophie says that if the girls can’t handle a grumpy old lady during the interview, they’re never going to manage to live on an alien world while being married to a stranger.�
Ashlyn mulled it over. “She makes sense, I guess. I’m interrupting you. Go on, Elle.�
A sailor brought us a couple of trays filled with food. One had things I’d never seen before, and the other held food from Earth. My eyes lit up with surprise. “Are those crackers?�
“Even though I’ve been here for years, I don’t like eating Vandwan food all the time.� Ashlyn helped herself to some bread and cheese. “Thanks, Vess.� She nodded at the huge, muscled sailor who had brought us the trays.
“We don’t want to talk about us. We want to talk about you.� Nat gave Ashlyn a mildly irritated look. She stuck out her tongue at him.
“Ayrie’s my husband now, and we’re one of the first couples. Vandwa is a fuel and supply station for us. We came down to make sure everything ran smoothly.� I looked at Ashlyn and Nathaniel as I took a quick bite of bread and cheese. “We weren’t expecting one of the last-minute details to be our paralytic converter failing. Our shuttle crashed.�
“Holy shit!� Ashlyn sho
uted.
“Watch your language!� Ashlyn blushed and gave her husband a black look before glancing at her daughter. The little girl was blissfully unaware of our conversation as she played with the ropes.
“You seem to have survived.� Nathaniel put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.
“I thought it was going to be a struggle to live, but parts of it felt like a vacation.� I explained how we had reached the island and had spent a few days there.
“But why didn’t Ayrie fly you guys off the island immediately?� Ashlyn drew her fair eyebrows together. “Wouldn’t that have made more sense than wasting your time out there?�
“I didn’t know Ayrie could fly at the time. After he told me, we flew out of there, but we went directly into a storm.�
“Nat, I said I saw smoke on the horizon.�
“I know.� Nathaniel rubbed his hand over his face like this was a familiar conversation. “You were right. But the weather was so bad I didn’t know what to do.�
“I thought the smoke might be you guys. We’ve been searching for you since you went missing, but we couldn’t find you.� Ashlyn looked slightly ashamed. “Ayrie’s brother asked us for help. I did see some humans falling out of the clouds,� she added.
“Ashlyn, there are people in the universe who are not human.�
She corrected herself. “Humanoid shapes, then. Nat didn’t want to take his ship into the storm.�
“I wouldn’t if it were my ship.�
“You were lucky we reached you in time. You wouldn’t have lasted long if the servarrs decided to attack you.�
Nat interrupted her. “Once we found them, they were safe. We were blasting the servarrs with sonic waves underwater and stunning them.�
“Are those the things that were swimming around us in the water?�
Ashlyn shuddered. “Imagine a shark that’s almost all teeth. They’re one of the nastiest predators on this side of The Barrier.�
