by Lee Savino
“The High Empire came to Earth and asked for your women,” he says, the amusement gone from his voice. “Two ships left Earth at approximately the same time. Fehrat 1, the flagship vessel, and Sevril V, the ship that transported you. Fehrat 1 crashed on the prison planet. Nine human women survived the crash. They have reached positions of influence in the Rebellion. One of them asked for my help.”
Whoa. That’s a lot to unpack. What is the prison planet? What is the Rebellion, and how did humans reach positions of influence in it? “Are you part of this Rebellion?”
He snorts. “No.”
I reach for one of the bottles and pour an experimental dollop of the liquid into my palm. Mmm. Smells like flowers, but it’s not a light, floral scent. It’s deeper, richer, more layered, like jasmine with an undertone of sandalwood. I rub a little bit of it into my hair, and it lathers. Ooh, nice. Alien shampoo. Thank you, innkeeper.
“And you’re not a scientist. So, who are you?”
“I’m just a warrior,” he replies flatly.
He’s a lot more than that. The fact that I’m submerged in hot water is proof. “And you were looking for a new battle?” I persist, eager to understand him. “A fresh set of scars? Is that why you volunteered to find us?”
“No.” His tone is curt, and I don’t think he’s going to talk to me again, but after a long pause, he elaborates. “I told you. I’ve spent time in the scientists’ laboratories. Nobody deserves that.”
The air fills with the aroma of my shampoo. I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with the scent. No chemicals injected into me. No cattle prod to force my cooperation. This feels like a dream, and I don’t want to wake up.
Something nags in the back of my mind. “There were ten of us on the Zorahn ship before we were separated at the auction. Have you found the others?” My nerves prickle with anxiety. “Or are they dead?”
He is quick to reassure me. “There are five of us involved in the search. The humans are not dead, as far as I know.” His voice turns serious. “However, matters are urgent. The highest authorities were involved in your disappearance. If the humans give testimony, Brunox, Head of the Council of Scientists, will be implicated. He will be executed.”
Goosebumps form on my skin. “The scientists cannot allow us to live. That’s why Fal’vi, was chasing us earlier.”
“Yes, exactly.” He sounds pleased with me. “I will warn my squadron to hasten their search.”
I force myself to take a deep breath. Kadir is doing everything he can in the situation. The other women could be on the other side of the galaxy. I need to concentrate on the immediate future.
“We need to find Tanya before the scientists do.”
Kadir’s voice is calm. “We will.”
The water’s cold now. I soap myself quickly—another lotion—and lift myself out of the tub, using a robe as a towel before draping myself in the other. It’s ridiculously sheer. Ah well. If it’s a choice between wearing my smelly, sweaty, NASA-issued jumpsuit and this nearly transparent robe, then I’m picking the latter, thankyouverymuch. “If the Cotari don’t bathe, how come they have these lotions?” I ask, stepping around the screen and into the room.
“They bathe on the night of their bonding…” Kadir’s voice trails away. He looks at me, and his eyes heat. His gaze holds mine, and then, slowly and seductively, it slides downward.
My throat goes dry. My entire body flares to life. A restless ache that I cannot contain fills my core. There is a tingling in the pit of my stomach. A desire that will not listen to common sense.
I want Kadir. I want to be crushed in his strong embrace. I want to feel his arms around me. I want the weight of his body to press down on mine.
His words penetrate. They bathe on the night of their bonding.
The walls of the room seem to shrink. The air between us is charged with electric anticipation. If he takes one step toward me… just one small step… If he gives me a sign that he wants me…
“I will sleep on the floor,” Kadir says. “You can have the bed.”
Rejection slaps me. For a second, it hurts to breathe. He wanted me, I’m sure of it. But, for some reason, he won’t let himself cross the line.
And neither should you, Alice. You aren’t capable of making logical decisions at the moment. The only guy you've seen for any length of time in the last seven months tortured you on a daily basis. Literally anyone else would seem attractive by comparison.
The ache doesn’t go away, but I push it to the background, and the doctor in me takes charge. “Absolutely not. You have been hurt. You have stitches on your back. You are going to sleep on your stomach, and you are going to let your wound heal. If my presence makes you uncomfortable, then I will sleep on the floor.” I don’t look at him. “Otherwise, there is enough room on the bed.”
“You will share the bed with me? But you are Highborn.”
“Huh?” I’m missing something important here.
“You are a healer.”
Does Kadir know that I’m having very carnal thoughts about him, thoughts that are completely inappropriate between a doctor and a patient? Of course he does. I’ve been pawing him every chance I get.
My professional reputation hangs in tatters. I wince and climb on the mattress. “Let’s go to bed. Which side do you want?”
“The one closer to the window.” He lies on his stomach, putting his big body between me and any possible danger. “Sleep well, Alice. You are safe tonight. Nothing will disturb your rest.”
I don’t expect to fall asleep. I expect to lie awake for a very long time. But Kadir’s hulking body next to me makes me feel safe.
I shut my eyes. Exhaustion claims me, and sleep tugs me under.
9
Kadir
Her body in that robe… It had taken every bit of will-power I’d possessed to resist her obvious invitation. It’s taking every bit of will-power I possess now to lie in bed, so close to her, and not touch her soft skin.
Human physiology is similar to Zorahn; I already knew that. Back at the Rebellion headquarters, there had been much speculation about this. People had expressed astonishment that the two species were sexually compatible. There had been endless gossip about what the scientists might have done to human and Zorahn genes throughout history.
It had been an academic discussion to me. Then I’d seen the outline of Alice’s dark, pert, nipples under the thin Cotari robe. I’d seen the shadow of her cunt, and I’d sensed her desire. Her need. Her curiosity.
Her curiosity had stopped me in my tracks.
I lie awake in bed, staying as still as I can to avoid grazing Alice’s soft body. My cock is stiff. I swear it has been hard for hours, practically from the moment the small human punched my jaw. That can’t be good for me.
Moonlight filters through the drapes covering the window. Outside, the night air is cool. I feel a yearning to shift, to spread my wings, to fly over the desert under the light of the three moons. I haven’t flown in such a long time. Not since the rebellion woke me up from stasis.
My dragon is restless. It has been chained, and it demands freedom. It wants to soar with the human on its back. It wants to feel her delight as we fly. It wants to hear her laugh as we ride the air currents, swooping and diving, letting the wind take us where it will.
My comm vibrates, reminding me that it’s time to check in with the others. I get out of bed, and Alice moves restlessly, her body searching for mine. I freeze until she’s fully asleep again, and then tap my comm, connecting with my squadron.
Four Draekons materialize in front of me, their images flickering until the connection locks into place. “Second,” the nearest Draekon greets me. “How goes the search?”
Fifth looks better. More alert, less resigned to death. Maybe the search for the humans was exactly what he needed. “It goes well, brother. I have found one of the humans.”
“You did?” Fourth turns in place, fixing me with an astonished look. “That is excellent news. When
I heard your trail led you to the Coter star system, I feared the worst.”
“As had I.” I think about how Alice had been discarded at the Akan market, as if she were worthless, and fresh anger bubbles to the surface.
“Where is the human now?”
Reluctantly, I shift my position, and Alice’s sleeping body comes into view. Her almost-naked body is thankfully covered by a blanket, and the only part of her that’s visible is her thick, shining brown hair.
“Cotari traders bought her from the scientists.” I fill my brothers in on the events of the day. “You must hurry,” I finish urgently. “If the scientists are being recalled to the Crimson Citadel, the humans you seek are in active danger. I cannot aid you. I must help Alice find her friend.”
“Alice.” Third gives me a sharp look. “That is what the human is called?”
“Yes.” She told you her name was Alice, and she asked you who you were, and you responded with your true, chosen, name. The name you’ve never told anyone. Not even your brother Draekons.
Sixth’s eyes narrow. “Tell me about your progress,” I ask them hurriedly. “What have you found?”
“Something potentially troubling,” Fourth responds. “My search for the humans took me close to Mennon, so I took a detour to the archaeological dig site where our stasis units were found.”
“And?”
“I talked to the woman in charge. She said that someone had already disturbed the site when they’d started digging. When she found the wreckage of the Supreme Mother’s ship, one of the stasis units had already been opened.”
“Yes. First’s stasis unit must not have survived the crash.”
Fourth shakes his head. “No. The unit was intact. It’s still functional. It had been opened, brother. Someone let First out of stasis.”
My blood runs cold. If what Fourth is saying is right, then First deliberately chose to let us remain in stasis, left us half-buried in the wreckage, and walked out without a backward glance.
No. There is not a single person in the galaxy who cares about us. We were engineered to be weapons. We are no more than tools to the Zorahn. All we have is each other.
“He would never do that.”
“Wouldn’t he?” Sixth asks, his voice cynical. “This is First we’re talking about. Search your memories, brother. Who did the Supreme Mother choose to confide in? It wasn’t us. Who was repeatedly taken to the Homeworld, paraded in front of the Highborn in the Saaric, held up as the perfect soldier? Who was exposed to the seedy, sordid politics of the Zorahn Empire? Who exulted in the carnage of war?” He shakes his head. “First is arrogant. He is idealistic. He believes implicitly in his superiority. All of that leads to hubris.”
You know that Sixth is right, a voice inside me whispers. You’ve seen proof. More than once, First has shown you his darker side.
“I don’t want to hear this,” I say flatly, smothering that voice. “Not of one of us. Besides, it doesn’t matter. We were in stasis for a thousand years. First is dead. What is important now is the search for the humans. We are running out of time.”
Sixth peers over my shoulder, as if he’s trying to see Alice. “What is the human like?” he asks curiously. “Does she weep? Do you remember the Firlan hostages we freed on Anaris? They cried constantly. A thousand years later, and I can still remember the wailing. Does your human yowl until you can’t stand it?”
“Have some empathy, Sixth,” I snap. “The Firlan were terrified.” We have all been created for battle, but each of us has a secondary talent. I can sense emotions. Third is a genius with machines. Fourth is the best star navigator. Unlike me, he doesn’t need to stick with the known, cleared space routes. He can sense hidden wormholes, the mysterious folds in space that make travel between the stars possible.
Sixth can make anyone believe anything, do anything. He wears charm like a cloak, one he discards at will. It’s a measure of the bond we share that he’s never tried to manipulate us with his gift.
Alice was terrified, but she hasn’t yowled. In fact, given the situation, she’s been remarkably brave. “She punched me in the jaw.” A smile curves my lips at the memory.
“She punched you. Has her mind been damaged?”
“No. She was trapped, and she reacted. When some animals are locked in a cage, they lie down and prepare to die. Some other animals fight back, no matter how foolish the action, no matter how bad the odds. But Alice…” I think about the calculation that had entered Alice’s eyes when she’d evaluated her options and realized she was safer with me. “She’s strategic. She attacked me because I had a knife in my hand. She doesn’t trust me, but she’s still formed an alliance with me because she wants to find her fellow human. She’s smart.”
I’m the one with the ability to read emotions, but the others must hear something in my voice that makes them uneasy. “Be careful, brother,” Fifth warns.
“Be careful of what?”
His eyes are serious. “Just be careful. We accepted this mission because we are not animals. We do not tolerate the suffering of innocents. We are more than the Rebellion believes. But the scientists are right in one thing. We are warriors. We are killers.”
A thousand years in stasis, and what happened in that last battle still haunts him.
Is Fifth right? I am a warrior, true. But is that all I am? Is that all I could ever be?
I named myself Kadir ab Usora. Warrior, born from the Light. But there’s nothing light about war. War is blood, pain, and anguish. It is the screams of dying soldiers. It is the stomach-turning smell of shit, piss, and blood in your nostrils. It is smoke and ashes. It is death. It is darkness.
The painful, burning bite of the rathr receded when she touched me.
Alice whimpers in her sleep. “It burns,” she cries out, her voice thin and pitiful. “Oh God, what did you do to me? It burns so much.” She’s clawing at her stomach, her nails scouring her skin. “Please, make it stop.” She curls herself into a ball, as if she’s bracing herself for a kick. “Please make it stop.”
Red rage rolls over my vision. When I find the scientists that did this to her, I will make them suffer. I will hurt their loved ones. Everyone who harmed Alice will die in agony, begging for mercy, and there will be none.
“I must go.”
I end the connection, not waiting for their farewells, and cross the room in two quick steps. I can sense emotions, but I don’t have an instinctive need to comfort those that are suffering. I wasn’t engineered for that.
But Alice is so small. So wounded, yet so brave. I cradle her in my arms, as if my body can shield her from her nightmares, and I take her wrists in mine to stop her from hurting herself. “Alice,” I whisper, rocking her back and forth. “It’s just a bad dream, little human. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her eyes flutter open. I watch the fear recede from her expression as awareness floods in. “Kadir?”
10
Alice
Holy fuck.
The lighting in the room is dim, but even so, I can see the outline of Kadir’s cock straining against the fabric of his trousers, and, at the risk of repeating myself, holy fuck.
He’s massive. Really, really large.
It’s somewhat terrifying, to be honest.
My hip is touching him. Touching it. Should I say something? Make a joke? Run away, screaming? Take off all my clothes and beg him to fuck the living daylight out of me?
Definitely not the last option, Alice.
There’s a small smile playing about his lips, but otherwise, Kadir is ignoring his erection, as if it’s no big deal that he’s hung like a horse. Very well then, I’ll take my cue from him. “What happened?”
“You had a nightmare.” I’m sitting on his lap, snuggled into his chest. His arms are around me, his touch deceptively light. If I wrapped both my hands around his bicep, my fingers wouldn’t touch. He’s a powerful warrior, masculine, predatory, and aggressive. I’ve already seen what he’s capable
of. “You cried out in your sleep.”
“Right.” The dream is fading. I grope through the fragments of images, trying to remember. “The lab,” I say haltingly. “I dreamed I was back there. At the start.” The images are clearer now, though I don’t know how many of them are from my nightmare, and how many of them are memories. “We didn’t know what the scientists wanted with us. We didn’t know why they’d bought us. We feared the worst.”
The words take me back to the early days. Before Tanya had broken, when she’d been angry and alive. “They can’t do this,” she’d snapped. “The Zorahn are civilized. They offered us cures for cancer. They made assurances. They can’t just abduct us this way.”
Tanya had been convinced we’d be rescued. I wanted to hope too, but life had taught me some hard lessons, and I didn’t think there’d be a knight in shining armor riding in to save us. If we wanted out, we’d have to rescue ourselves.
“The first week or two,” I whisper, “The scientists just took samples. Blood samples, urine samples, stool samples. Then they graduated to more invasive procedures. Lumbar punctures, pleural taps, bone marrow punctures. They scraped cells off my cervix.” I shudder. “It was painful. The scientists didn’t seem to believe in anesthesia.”
Kadir’s body goes tense, but his grip on me stays light.
“One day, a month in, they stuck needles into our stomachs. They injected a green fluid into me. Whatever it was, it felt like it was eating me up alive, corroding me, burning my body from the inside out. That’s what I was dreaming about. I was back at the lab, and they were going to do that to me again.”
My voice trails off. More of the dream comes back to me. A dam has broken, and I can’t stop talking. “Then, the setting changed. You know how that happens sometimes? I dreamed that I was back home on Earth.” I don’t know why I’m telling Kadir this. “I grew up in Baltimore. My mother was a single parent, and we didn’t have much money growing up, but when I was fifteen, I got a scholarship to go to a fancy private school. There was a guy there, Brett Kenney. He was obsessed with me. He kept asking me out, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then he asked me to junior prom in front of all his friends. It was awful.”
