by Kiersten Fay
Who knew all this life existed out there in the big wide universe? Too bad she’d never have the chance to tell anyone.
Growing tired, she snuggled up on the hard floor, using her backpack and flannel shirt as a makeshift pillow and blanket, and dozed off…only to be jolted awake by a loud siren and a stern voice over the intercom asking her to respond—
Asking her to respond!
Was she hallucinating or had the geniuses on earth actually somehow managed to track her down?
With an instant jolt of adrenaline, she jumped up and rushed to the front window, eyes darting wildly over the black expanse, but nothing was there beyond the billions of stars. She waited….waited…
Nothing.
She turned in place. “Hello? I’m here! I’m here! Hello?” But the voice had gone quiet. Had the voice been a dream? No. She couldn’t believe she’d gone insane yet.
Lunging for the closest computer console, she frantically pressed anything that looked as though it might let her be heard. “Hello? Can you hear me? My name is June—”
An explosion rocked the ship, knocking her off her feet. She crashed down, landing on her side as a scream ripped from her lungs. What the hell was that? If nothing else, it was proof someone was out there. Someone had come for her. She didn’t think past that as she sprang to her feet and resumed pressing every button in sight, hoping to let whoever it was that she was here.
Something outside caught her eyes. Icy dread shimmied up her spine. She got the sickly impression that the ship closing in was not of Earth.
This wasn’t a rescue; this was an abduction. “Oh god! They’re going to probe and dissect me!” She’d have preferred evisceration.
A volley of explosions knocked her to the ground once more and the soft hum of the ship that she’d grown so used to snapped into dead silence, the rushing of her blood now the only thing she could hear. She crawled along the floor toward her backpack where she retrieved a small Swiss army knife that had belonged to Jordan.
Suddenly darkness righted. She screeched. Then a bright floodlight erupted from somewhere—the foreign ship—and illuminated every inch of space around her in a green hue.
Like a carnivorous beast slowly pulling its prey to its doom. Closer…closer…
Closer…
Her body shook with the most potent terror that had ever taken hold of her. As if she could wish herself out of existence, she huddled on the ground, clutching the only weapon she had, a two-inch blade with a pathetically dull edge.
Like a great hungry mouth cutting into the face of that ship, a large panel slowly opened and her craft was enveloped—a mere insect by comparison. Moments later, a jostling in the floor beneath her feet indicated the ship had settled. Noises sounded, echoing from somewhere. Tools? Was someone drilling through the hull? Was that a hatch opening? Then came the sound of marching feet, dozens, hundreds maybe. Who could tell? All she knew was an army of aliens were coming for her. But wait. Hadn’t they spoken English? Yet she couldn’t deny her body perceived a threat.
Her heart pounded. What should I do?
Too late. They were in front of her, dressed in dark gear, their faces covered, their bodies surprisingly shaped like humans with two arms and two legs. They resembled soldiers, each carrying a weapon the way one would carry a rifle, but these were not rifles. They were something else. Something more advanced.
Until now, the idea of a rescue must have lived in her somewhere, because when the soldiers surrounded her, weapons drawn, the last little bit of hope drained from her body, and she closed her eyes…waiting.
“Make way.” A deep voice resonated from behind the soldiers. She glanced up, still surprised to find she could understand him. Was he…could they be from Earth after all? Then she saw him—a massive male with a perfectly toned physique that many athletes would kill for, shoving his way through the throng of soldiers, his expression full of viscous wrath.
He didn’t wear a uniform like the others. Instead he wore a cap-sleeve tunic that was laced down the front with thick cord and held tight to his waist by a wide belt with an ornate metal buckle. His hair was a bit ruffled and framed his face. And, oh, boy, was he brutally beautiful. The devil himself would be envious; chiseled jaw, sculpted cheekbones, and stern eyes that could slay with a look.
Perhaps he was the devil. His stormy gray eyes burned with menace and promised no mercy.
3
A bit of cold vengeance was chased away as Tristan glowered down at the tiny female crouched on the floor, terrified and confused. She looked like a wild thing with her tangled mane of dark wavy hair and dirt-smudged skin. Wild and gorgeous. She wore a pair of dark-green shorts that exposed her shapely legs and a white strappy shirt that displayed an impossibly luscious figure that could only have been yanked from his most lascivious dreams.
He shook his head, surprised by his thoughts.
Was this hapless creature the life form they’d detected? He caught sight of a small blade clutched in her fist and narrowed his gaze at the paltry threat. “Where is the Kayadon?”
He noticed that she wore no shoes. Her socks were sullied as though she’d been wearing them for weeks. And was that the face of a whiskered animal embroidered on the sides?
“Th-the what?” Her stark eyes widened up at him as if he were Death in the flesh, her irises the color of a shallow lagoon.
It was recently rumored that the Kayadon could shift forms, much like his own people, but that notion was shrouded in mystery. Was this a guise? A beguilingly beautiful guise meant to soften him and force him to lower his guard?
He couldn’t take the chance. He raised his blaster.
She squeaked and curled into herself, bringing her legs to her chest and covering her head with her arms.
“Doona lie to me, female. Your ship is headed to Evlon. I demand to know why.”
Her voice came out high and thin. “I-I don’t know what Evlon is. The ship just took off. I got stuck inside. I didn’t mean to. Please don’t kill me!”
Tristan’s mother stepped forward and placed her palm on the barrel of his blaster, encouraging him to lower it. “Enough, Tristan. Can’t you see she’s frightened out of her wits?”
“This could be a trick.” When his mother moved to approach the female, Tristan gripped her by the elbow. “Doona be fooled.”
“And you doona be a fool, son. There is no danger here. This is but a frightened girl.” Then she pulled free of his grip and strode forward to kneel by the shaking female.
He put her in his blaster’s sights once more and, following his example, his brigade did the same, some even charging their weapons in preparation to fire if the female made a move against their former queen.
The whirring sound brought his mother’s fierce gaze around. “I said enough! Lower your weapons or I will lower them for you.”
After years of taking orders from her, the soldiers did as commanded. Tristan was not yet sole commander. And he was not yet ready to obey. Neither was Belinda. His mother’s piercing gaze landed on each of them in turn. He implored her with a look, but she was resolved. Finally, the two lowered their weapons. Yet Tristan remained tense, his finger kissing the trigger.
“Now then…” His mother turned back to the girl. “You’re okay. No one will harm you. See?”
The girl looked up, eyes glossy, cheeks damp. She regarded the former queen, that blade still clutched in her trembling fist. Tristan resisted the urge to raise his blaster once more. He didn’t like his mother so close to a potential threat, especially one that might be Kayadon in disguise.
Then something enigmatic seemed to pass between the two females, and the strange girl dropped her little blade to throw her arms around his mother and began sobbing uncontrollably.
His mother petted the girl’s hair. “It’s okay, dearling. You’re safe now.”
It sounded as if the girl was trying to say something, but the words were garbled around her hysteria.
“Calm yourself,” his
mother cooed. “Let’s get you off this ship and into a warm bath. Then you can tell me all about it.” Pulling the girl to stand, his mother guided her past Tristan and the row of befuddled soldiers. Belinda followed, giving him a look of assurance that she would not let anything happen to her mistress.
Baffled and aggravated, and weirdly frustrated, Tristan regained control of his troops. “Get me the ship’s logs and let no corner of this ship go unsearched. I want to know what the hell is going on.”
4
The knot in Tristan’s stomach constricted as he stepped onto Evlon soil. The planet was as beautiful and majestic as ever, not that he expected a lot to have changed in the few weeks he’d been away, burying his father and getting his clan in order. He just hadn’t recalled it being so irritatingly lively.
Stone lichen reached up for nourishment of Evlon’s two setting suns that warmed the air to a comfortable degree. The sizzling hum of dancing sparkbugs filled his ears. Forest critters chirped and trilled and warbled happily while colorful birds tweeted and sang above. Even the Serakian’s protective, dome-like bubble of mystical energy shimmered with electric life. A creature unseen leapt from one high branch to another.
A dark pall had settled over his heart after the war. This was where his father had died. This was where Tristan had failed. The least this planet could do was try not to be so fucking peppy for one godforsaken minute—
All at once, the forest fell silent.
Alarmed, Tristan tensed and glanced around in search of the source of the disturbance. A moment later he found it and his shoulders eased. The so-called human—according to the reports—emerged from the ship alongside his mother. They were accompanied by both Orik and Belinda, dressed in their finest uniforms.
The human had been washed and dressed in one of his mother’s less ostentatious gowns, a teal flowy thing with barely there straps and a deep neckline that instantly drew his eye. He’d convinced himself her figure had been embellished by his vengeance-drugged mind having shifted so drastically from expecting a Kayadon soldier to finding a lonesome female in distress. But now there was no denying her attraction, however inconsequential as it was.
As they approached, the human’s skirt swished with the graceful movement of her hips, her toned legs peeking out of the high center slit with every advancing step. He was in the midst of postulating why his mother had opted to dress the stray so richly instead of borrowing one of her servants’ gowns when they reached him. Tristan tore his gaze away from the human’s legs to find his mother smirking slightly.
“Doesn’t she look lovely?”
Knowing his mother would not let him go without a genial reply, he muttered, “Indeed.”
Then he gave her another scan. Her dark hair had been slightly curled and pulled back, with a few tendrils designed to frame her face and emphasize her exposed neck and deep, lagoon-colored eyes. The earrings were clearly from his mother’s collection of priceless trinkets and somehow made the sapphire in her irises stand out all the more. Her lips were stained and glossed and plump, with a little natural line that cut down the center of the bottom one. If he wasn’t still harboring some suspicions about her, he’d say she was stunning to behold.
The girl smiled shyly and crossed her arms, clearly unused to being scrutinized, but the action only plumped her breasts higher, drawing his gaze once more.
His mother simpered, looking pleased with herself. “It’s amazing what a fine dress and a team of stylists can do.”
He cleared the sudden gravel from his throat. “Indeed.” Wait, I already said that. The wild girl was gone, a lady in her place. If not for the slight blush in her cheeks and the insecurity in her stance, he could almost believe she belonged among them. He should take care that his mother did not get too attached to this strange girl, lest she start carting her around like a pet everywhere they went.
“Tristan.” His mother turned a bit more formal. “Meet Lady Juniper of Earth. She prefers to be called June, though Juniper suits her better, don’t you agree? Lady June, this is my son, Tristan, whom I was telling you about.”
He was weirdly curious what his mother might have told this girl about him—
June fumbled a curtsey. “Your Majesty.”
—aside from the obvious.
His mother must have filled the human in on the rest. Her initial trepidation had vanished and there was only a hint of reserve in her gaze as it darted around her surroundings with all the awe and wonder of a newborn.
He’d received only a vague report about her from Orik, who had gone in to check on her and his mother. Aside from what his mother had reiterated, the woman had apparently gotten trapped in the Earth-stranded Kayadon ship before it had engaged autopilot and taken off with her inside. Tristan had learned from Cale, the now-king of the Faieara, that the Kayadon had ventured to Earth in search of his now-wife, whom he had been there to protect. Together they had killed several Kayadon, whose ships were now ownerless. Who knew how many more ships might have been abandoned on Earth?
“Once we finish here,” his mother said, “I’ve promised June we will return her to her home.”
Of course she did, Tristan thought, supposing they’d been obliged to do that the moment they’d discovered her. “Fine, but is there a reason she’s here now?” Why not leave her on the ship where she could rest and be guarded? Surely she’d have been more comfortable staying behind.
June’s shoulders tensed only slightly, and he wondered if his question made her uneasy.
“She’ll be my guest for the ceremony,” his mother replied.
June hiked her thumb back at the ship. “If it’s a problem, I can just wait back on—”
The screeching wail of a nearby beast rumbled from the forest. June jumped, fear flashing in her eyes, and she clutched Orik’s beefy arm as though seeing him as her protector.
Orik smiled down at her. “There’s nothing to fear here, June. No’ while we’re with you.”
“Because you can transform into dragons?” June’s reply was laced with heavy doubt. “I can believe there are aliens and I’m on some planet called Evlon, because, hello”—she fanned her arm out as if to say I have eyes—“but that one’s a little far-fetched.”
Tristan eyed the spot where her hands still gripped Orik’s bicep. Orik's a-challenge-has-been-issued smile only grew wider. “I can prove it to you now, if you like.”
June gifted Orik with an eager smile. Tristan found his previous irritation redoubling. “We haven’t the time to validate our existence to lesser beings. Let’s go.”
An echo of his words rang though his head and he wished he had rephrased that. Still, best she realized her place sooner rather than later. Just as he turned to take the path that led to the palace, June shot back, “Excuse me. I am not a lesser being.”
He glanced back, intrigued by the fire in her eyes. She was no longer touching Orik. Instead her hands were balled at her sides. “In that case, you can figure out how to build a ship and fly yourself back home.”
Her gaze narrowed, but she made no reply. What could she say to that? He started walking, leading the way. The group was following behind.
“And I suppose you know how to build a ship, then?” she challenged from behind him.
The odd urge to smile crept over his lips, but he suppressed it. “I command a fleet of them.”
“But you couldn’t build one,” she pointed out. “Not on your own. Even I could command a fleet of ships, given the opportunity. That’s the easy part.”
“Oh? And what would you have this fleet do?” She was silent for a moment, and Tristan found himself growing eager for her answer. He resisted the urge to turn and watch the thoughts play out on her face. “Well?”
“Give me a second to think. I’ve only just discovered there’s life on other planets. Some of it might even be intelligent.”
That made him actually smile.
Finally, she said, “I suppose I’d go around exploring the universe, like Star T
rek.”
Gravel crunched under his boots. “I’ve heard Earthers have not yet mastered space.”
“So? We’re getting to it. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
The defense of her home was admirable, though he’d not heard of this Rome. Or Star Trek, for that matter.
“So then who is this Star Trek you speak of? These explorers?”
Her soft giggle sounded from beside him and he gazed down to find she had moved up to walk at his side. “It’s a show. Like a play. You know, where people pretend to be someone else for entertainment.”
“Ah, so these humans pretend to be space explorers.”
“Precisely.”
“And you would emulate them?”
“Sure. Because they live in an enlightened future where their main goal is to go where no human has gone before in order to gain knowledge and garner peace in the universe.”
“This play sounds boring.”
“It is not. There’s plenty of trouble for the crew to get into. Harrowing escapes and space battles and such. You might actually enjoy it.”
Behind them, the sound of the other’s boots crunching on the ground suddenly stopped. “Oh, no,” his mother sounded vexed. “I forgot the gift I brought for the Faieara queen. I must return to the ship to retrieve it.” When Tristan indicated he would return with her, she insisted, “No, no. Orik and Belinda will escort me. You two go on ahead. Show June around a little.”
With that she turned to leave, Belinda in tow. Orik waited for his directive, however. Tristan nodded and Orik followed behind the two women.
Chewing on her lower lip, June glanced between Tristan and the disappearing party. “I, uh, I think I’ll go with them.”
An eddy of disappointment swirled in Tristan’s mind. Surprisingly, he’d been enjoying the human’s conversation.
