by Lisa Lace
It was a million-to-one chance, but it just might work. We had gathered the men and were already bringing them to safety.
Anders beckoned to me in the dark passageway. We had spent a lot of time here as children. “Allex, stay here and count everyone. Make sure all of them come through.�
I nodded, then realized he might not see the movement of my head. “Okay.�
“And make sure you’re part of the first group. When was the last time you flew?�
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I don’t know for sure.� It had been twenty-seven hours.
He saw through my deception immediately. Anders and I were close, and he knew me better than any of my brothers, except for Avren.
“You’re going in there first.� His tone of voice didn’t allow for any argument, and I wasn’t going to fight him. What little flying I had done in the elevator shaft hadn’t been enough. I needed to get up there and stretch my wings. But I felt irritated. We had only been together for an hour, and he was already telling me what to do.
I never wanted to go through an infection in my wing pockets again. I was meticulous about keeping track of my flights and making sure I flew on a regular basis. I didn’t usually use my wings except for the scheduled flights to prevent infection. I suppose pain tempered my love of the air.
“I’m not going to argue with you.� I held up my hands, palms out. “You know I don’t want to get an infection again.�
His gaze went dark. “None of us do. We care about you.�
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll take care of myself, and I’ll stay healthy.� I wanted to make him feel better. “I’m not a child anymore, Anders.�
“I know, you’re right.� He clapped me on the shoulder. “After we make sure these guys are safe, I’ll check with the women.�
I nodded. All my brothers held themselves responsible for the infection because none of them had noticed I hadn’t been flying. At the time, I didn’t want to deal with the pain. I had let six days pass without flying, but there were so many of us that no one had noticed.
When I started complaining, no one had believed me. By the time my family brought me before a healer, I was running a burning fever. I only survived thanks to the skill of the doctor. It had been motivation for my career.
All four of my brothers felt guilty about the infection and its consequences for me. No matter how many times I forgave them, I always saw a shadow cross over their eyes whenever the topic of flying came up.
I had never blamed them. It was my fault and my responsibility, not theirs. I had been reckless, I accepted it, and I still paid the price.
Actions had consequences, and they could be permanent ones. I had learned the lesson at an early age, and it was why I was one of the youngest trained healers on Auxem.
In general, I always thought I made good choices, so having them boss me around all the time was a little annoying. Ayrie and Anders shouldn’t tell me what to do just because they were a couple of years older than me. At times, it was downright maddening.
The men caught up to us. I started counting as they passed into the flying chamber. As the last ones filed through, I approached Anders.
“Allex, my head still hurts.� He unconsciously moved his hand to touch the injury. “Priya either has quite an arm, or her pipe has mystical properties.�
“Tell me about it.� I rubbed my own bump.
“Did she hit you too?�
“It was in self-defense. Everyone’s here now except the one the pirates killed.� I dropped my eyes, ashamed that we had lost even a single man.
“I’m going to check on the women now.�
“Anders, you don’t need to worry. Gwen and Priya can handle it.�
He frowned. “Are you sure?�
“Give them a chance. Fly for an hour before you start checking on them. They’re more capable than you think.�
“I’m not questioning their abilities.� Anders’ face looked grave. “What if something happens to them?�
“Come get me after my turn. If the girls aren’t here already, we’ll go check together.�
Anders glanced at me. “Allex, make sure you get enough time and fly as long as you need to. I’m not going to have your wings on my conscience ever again.�
I sighed. “I wish everyone would stop talking about it.�
“We can’t help it.� He put an arm around me. “You’re our baby brother. If it had been one of us and you could have prevented it, you would feel the same way.�
“I know, but you need to get past it. I don’t hold it against you.�
Anders shrugged helplessly.
I hugged him. “Do you promise you’ll wait before you run off to save the world?�
“I promise. Have a safe flight, brother.�
It was a standard farewell on Auxem, even if neither party was about to fly. The phrase had always meant something more to our family. Whenever one of my brothers said it, I knew he was trying to tell me how much he loved me.
I turned without another word and headed for the changing rooms. My heart was starting to ache. I was sorry my brothers still felt guilty about me, and I was already missing Priya like I’d lost an arm. Was this what it felt like to be apart from your bond mate? I could understand why my father was such an asshole if he felt like this all the time.
I had never experienced sympathy for the king before. I had never liked him much, and I often wished he had been more of a father to me. Arnon had wound up filling that role in my life. If my father had done a better job, he would have made sure my wings didn’t get infected. If I blamed anyone in my family for the incident, it was him.
As a result, I had always tried to control myself and minimize interaction with him whenever possible. The older brothers talked to him often, working out policy and giving their opinions. Avren and I hardly knew him.
I had a different perspective. I could see our family would have fallen apart without Arnon. As it was, I had practically grown up without a mother and father too.
For most of my life, I remember wishing my father would love me and take care of me. Even noticing me would have been enough, but he never did, and I stopped expecting things from him that he couldn’t provide. The anger never went away.
I realized it was also my father’s fault I couldn’t openly be with my bond mate. I suppose I had issues. Even though my brothers wanted me to forgive him, it was never going to happen.
I shut the door to the changing room and immediately pulled out my wings. I had learned that putting off the transformation didn’t make it any easier. All it did was add a horrible anticipation to the agony.
After the pain had faded, I made my way to the huge flying area and jumped. I pumped my wings hard and flew toward the high, distant ceiling. I smiled as I soared. When I flew, I forgot all my troubles and felt truly free.
It was a shame the rest of my life couldn’t be like flying.
Chapter Twelve
PRIYA
I was alone in the dark. Gwen and I had come to lead the rest of the women to safety. After a few terrifying hours of being held captive by pirates, we had managed to free ourselves and had almost made it to the correct area of the ship when Gwen had taken off into the outside corridor and disappeared.
I didn’t know where we were or which way we should go. I told everyone to sit down and wait. We were going to have to rely on someone to find us. I hoped Gwen had a good reason to abandon us. I had thought she was smart and responsible. I couldn’t imagine she would risk all our lives without cause.
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sp; A familiar feeling came over me, and I looked around. Something reminded me of Allex. I could see a person moving toward me in the narrow passage. I stood up and prepared to fight. It might be Anders or Allex, but it could also be a pirate. I waited quietly, but I felt like I was going to throw up.
I relaxed when a man came into my view. I could recognize Allex’s form even from a distance. His walk seemed familiar, too. I felt like I had sensed his presence and wondered if our bond had something to do with it. I moved toward him until we met. Tears fell from my eyes when Allex pulled me into his strong arms.
We had only been apart a few hours, but we were acting like we’d been separated by interplanetary war. I felt as though I needed Allex the way I needed food and water. He was essential to my survival.
“Priya, I’m glad you’re safe.�
I didn’t say anything. I hugged Allex back and inhaled his familiar scent.
“What happened to you? Why are you stopped here? Anders came looking for you but never came back.�
“The pirates managed to capture us, but they were dumb enough to put us in regular quarters.�
Allex interrupted me. “The ones with secret passages? I bet you were out of there in minutes.� I nodded. “Hold on. They caught you?�
“It’s a long story, and I can fill you in later. We should leave.�
“But why are you here?�
“When Gwen left, I didn’t know which way to go. I thought someone would be looking for us when we didn’t arrive, so I decided to wait instead of wandering around the ship.� I was saying too much. I wanted his approval. “I didn’t know what to do, Allex. I’m not a leader like Gwen.�
“You did well.� Allex lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him in the dim light. “Waiting might have been the best thing you could have done. After we move the women to safety, we’ll find out what happened to Anders and Gwen.�
“It was Anders.� I finally put two and two together.
“What about him?�
“He’s the only reason Gwen would leave the women. Something must have happened in the corridor.�
Allex nodded. “Maybe. I hope they’re okay.�
“Me too. They’re smart and can take care of themselves for a little while.�
Allex didn’t seem convinced, but started moving resolutely in the direction he came from, toward safety.
Allex and I stood in the secret passageways. I wondered if my eyes would ever get used to being in the light again after all the darkness. We had relocated everyone from the ship into the Fifth Wing. As soon as we located Anders and Gwen, we could beam everyone out of here.
“How can we find them? Can you use the ship’s computer system?�
“Technically, yes, but the pirates have control of it. They would receive an alert and know we’re here.�
“How about a manual search? Let’s gather some of the men and look into all the possible hiding places.�
Allex shook his head. “The ship is the size of a small city. It would take too long and put other lives in jeopardy. If we can’t find them, we might have to do the mass transport without having a lock on them. I don’t want to risk their lives.�
The technology behind mass transportation hadn’t been perfected. Scientists had figured out how to teleport a single person, and these days it was considered as safe as flying or riding a bus. Moving two or more people at once was complicated. Sometimes the computer could only get a partial lock on people and left parts of their bodies behind.
“Allex, aren’t you guys supposed to be royalty? Don’t you have ways of finding each other?�
Allex’s eyebrows drew together. “We have trackers inserted under our skin, but we don’t have access to the readers. Anders is better with computers than I am. On the other hand, there’s an emergency computer system running on a separate network. It’s designed to operate independently. I might be able to use it to find Anders.�
I clapped my hands. “Perfect. We should hurry. It’s going to be morning soon. When the pirates go to move the cargo and realize it’s missing, it won’t take them long to figure out what we did to them.�
Allex located Anders and Gwen within thirty minutes, but he had bad news — they were in one of the ship’s prison cells. I felt like I was getting an accelerated course in Auxem cursing.
I put my hand on his arm. “The Markan ships will be here soon to support us. How can we get them out of there?�
“That part’s easy. I have the master codes to the cells. The patrols are the problem.� He motioned to the screen in front of him. “There are eight guards in the area.�
“I think there’s a way around any security, Allex. These guys are always thinking about sex. They were feeling us up as soon as they saw us.�
Allex’s head appeared in front of my face with a black expression. “What do you mean by that?�
I stepped back, surprised by his vehemence. “I misspoke. They almost grabbed me, but I got lucky. One asshole had his hands on Gwen, but he ended up getting beaten. Gwen said she was okay. She’s pretty tough.�
Allex started muttering in an alien tongue.
“My point is that these guys have a one-track mind.�
Allex stopped swearing and stepped toward me, pulling me tightly against him and kissing me. He cut off the rest of my words. When he pushed me away, I was panting.
“You’re my mate, Priya. Mine. No one else can touch you.� He looked like he might lose control at any moment. I had never seen him this way, and it was intimidating, to say the least.
“Okay. I didn’t know it was like that.�
He narrowed his eyes at me before tilting his head. “Do you think I’m overreacting?�
I shrugged nervously. “Maybe?�
“I’m not.� He eyed me speculatively. “What would you think if one of those sexy women wandering around in slave outfits grabbed me, kissed me and put her hands down my pants?�
“I’d kick her ass.� I couldn’t believe the intensity of my feelings. I became angry immediately.
He smiled in satisfaction. “Exactly. Having a bond mate isn’t like any relationship you’ve ever had before, human. Everything is different now.�
“I guess it is.� I shook my head.
“What was your idea, anyway?�
“All we have to do is get some of the women half naked. Once those guys start leering at them, I think they’ll leave their posts. I bet they’ll do anything for a fuck as long as they believe they won’t get caught.�
It was surprisingly easy to break Gwen and Anders out of jail. My biggest problem had been waking up Anders.
I kept my voice quiet as we entered the secret passages. “It would be terrible if the pirates grabbed one of the princes.� I stepped into the darkness and looked around for Allex. “I’m just a stowaway. It won’t matter if they catch a nobody.�
“It will matter to me.� Allex spoke from the shadows, and I felt my heart begin to pound. He took me in his arms and kissed me so intensely that when he stopped, I could hardly remember where I was.
“It has already begun.� Allex looked at Anders and Gwen. “The Markans have already engaged the pirates. Aren’t you guys supposed to be hacking the tractor beam?�
Anders shook his head. “We can’t do it from here. They’ve increased their security since I poked around in there. I won’t be able to break th
rough in time.�
“Well, if we can’t hack into their tractor beam from here, I guess we’ll have to blow something up.�
Anders and Gwen exchanged a smile of pure mischief, but Anders was the one who spoke. “I suppose we can launch a missile at the generator.�
“Good. The Markans can only keep them busy for so long.�
Anders and Gwen nearly crashed their ship trying to destroy the tractor beam, but once they did their job, everything else was easy. Allex and I used weapons from the armory to overpower the pirates in the control room. As soon as the tractor beam was down, we started a mass transport for each wing of the ship and beamed the pirates directly to a prison ship.
And just like that, our pirate problem was solved.
As soon as the chaos began to die down, Allex took me back downstairs to our quarters. I had to sit on the pallet by myself while he went back to his family. He said everyone needed to apologize to Anders.
The pirate threat had disappeared, but my problems remained. I wondered how much longer I could play this game. A little while ago I hadn’t known what to do, and I had no good reason to get off the ship.
But now Allex was part of my life. I wanted to be with him, but there were many problems between us. I was a criminal and tested positive for H4T7. He hadn’t said much about his father, but I had the feeling the king wasn’t going to welcome me with open arms.
I thought about my options. I loved Allex and wanted to be with him, but realistically, how could we be together? We would have to leave the ship eventually. I hadn’t known him very long, but it seemed that he was close to his brothers. I’m not sure he would leave them for someone he just met, regardless of our bond.
How would we get off the ship? The idea of a stowaway and a prince remaining together in the long-term was as ridiculous now as it ever was.
I didn’t want to take him away from his family, but I didn’t see a way for us to be together here. If I stayed, someone would find out I didn’t belong. I wasn’t only worried about myself anymore — I didn’t want to bring shame to Allex or his family.
