Dragon's Love: A SciFi Alien Baby Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 3)

by Miranda Martin

  "How much farther do you think?" Amara asks after a short while.

  "Not long," I say, shielding my eyes and staring ahead.

  "Good," she says, exhaling.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah," she snaps.

  She's lying. I know she's lying because I can feel it. It's a heaviness between us that wasn't there before but I don't know what is wrong. She shifts her pack on her shoulders then walks.

  "I can carry that," I offer, holding out a hand.

  She glares at me over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing, her mouth becoming a hard line. My hand drops to my side. I guess things haven't changed. She shakes her head and resumes walking. I hurry to catch up.

  "Damn it's hot," she mutters.

  "You should take more epis."

  She nods, letting the pack slide from her shoulders. We kneel together while she digs through and finds the plant. She opens the oiled leather in her hand to reveal one strand of epis. It's no longer blue and has no glow. The strand is a dull brown meaning it's lost most of its value.

  A sick feeling hits me in my stomach. We're days from being able to return to the city. I expected the epis to last longer. Out here in the suns she needs to take epis more than she does under the protective dome. Her body has no built up stores and is still being changed by the plant to handle the heat.

  She stares and shakes her head. "Crap," she exhales.

  I don't speak. I can't. Fear slides in behind the sick feeling. This is dangerous. Too dangerous. She can't stay out here. I have to get her back to the city, back to a fresh supply of epis. I don't know how long she can go without it. She takes the strand and places it in her mouth, chews, then chases it down with some water.

  "We need to go back," I say.

  Her eyes harden. "No," she says. "We can't. Calista and Jolie need this. They're counting on us, there's no option, no choice. We have to succeed."

  Her strength and determinism shine through and my love for her explodes in response. My admiration, my love, my need for her are overwhelming. Words won't come out so I nod. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. She closes the pack up then stands and puts it back on her shoulders.

  "We should hurry," she says.

  "Let me carry the pack," I offer again.

  She looks at me defiantly then something crosses her face and grimacing, she nods. She hands me the pack and we start off.

  "This place is hell," she mutters in her own language.

  "What is hell?" I ask in Common.

  She stops and turns, her eyes wide and anger clear on her face. Her mouth opens then closes, and she shakes her head. "What did you say?"

  I smile, feeling awkward and try to defuse her anger. "What is hell?"

  "Are you kidding me?" she says, shaking her head again. "No, no, no."

  "I do not understand."

  "You…" she trails off staring. "When? How? Do all of you?"

  "Aren't you happy?" I ask in confusion. I thought she would be. I learned her language to honor her. To show her how much I care. She seems angry and I don't understand.

  "Like?" she explodes, her hands fly up into the air and she shakes her head in disbelief. "You've been lying! Why would I like that? How long?"

  "I do not understand, what do you mean?"

  "I mean how long have you been able to understand what we say? Do all of you know our language? Is this some big inside secret you and your Zmaj buddies have been having a big laugh about?"

  "No."

  "No what? No you're not laughing about it or no it's not a secret? No what?"

  She's all but screaming. This is not going the way I expected. I hold up my hands hoping to calm her down but she becomes more furious. Her beautiful face flushes red and her hands ball into fists.

  "Lyutik," I say, reverting to my language.

  "Don't call me that!" she screams, shaking with rage.

  "Amara," I say instead as confusion engulfs me. "Please, I do not understand." This is wrong. How did it go so wrong? I don't understand what is happening. Why is she not happy?

  "How long?" her voice is low, a growling sound.

  "I'm not sure," I answer. "A while now."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "I wanted to… surprise you," I shrug.

  "Surprise me," she mutters, turning her back and staring off across the desert. "I thought we were getting somewhere. I trusted you."

  A knife stabs into my hearts. I take a step back because the pain in my chest is hard and sharp. "Amara…" I trail off, my mouth and throat too dry for more words.

  "Let's go," she says, taking her pack from me, hitching it up and walking away.

  "Amara!" I cry out.

  "What?" she screams, whirling on one foot.

  "Please-"

  "Please what?" she screams, cutting me off. "What could you say? How about this? Who was it? How? How did you learn my language without my knowing it?"

  Swallowing hard, I force moisture back into my mouth and throat. In part I feel I shouldn't betray Jolie but I want to fix this and I do not understand how to.

  "Jolie," I say, deciding honesty is the best.

  "Jolie," she snaps.

  Amara shakes her head, grits her teeth, then turns and marches.

  "Amara, please," I say, but she doesn't stop.

  I run after her and grab her shoulder. She spins on me, slapping my face. It's less the pain than the shock that stops me. My cheek burns with the imprint of her hand. She sputters sounds but no words come out. Tears well in her eyes.

  "I trusted you," she chokes out at last.

  My stomach sinks and a black despair wells inside me. My hearts don't beat, I can't take a breath, her pain is killing me. Shaking my head, I try to knock loose words, any words that will fix this. I thought it would make her happy. My intentions were pure, good, but now it's all wrong.

  "Amara, no, I wanted to show you," I say.

  "Show me? What? That you were spying on me? How long Shidan? How long have you been able to speak Common? How many of my private conversations have you listened in on?"

  "Not long, I…" I trail off, thinking of the things I've heard her say.

  She shakes her head. "You must think I'm horrible."

  "No!" I exclaim, surprised at the change in direction.

  "How can you not? I've said so many mean things about you and now you've heard them all! Space and stars why am I such a bitch?"

  Tears flow and she wipes at them. Her body shakes as she sobs and I feel her pain even if I don't understand it. I reach out placing my arms around her. I pull her closer but she stiffens then jerks herself free. She inhales then wipes the tears and turns her back.

  "We need to go, now," she says, her voice resolute.

  "Okay," I say, stepping up beside her but she steps one step to the side and walks.

  A punch to the gut would have hurt less. A hot lochaber inserted into my core couldn't be worse than the way I feel right now. Despondent and lost I walk, afraid to even look at her. I only hope that given enough time she'll forgive me. Then maybe she can explain what I did wrong.

  The silence between us is deafening. It leaves me too much time for my circling thoughts. Fear, pain, and upset chase each other in circles in my mind. When Amara stops walking, I go two steps beyond her before I realize it and stop too. I turn to look at her and she points. Following her finger I realize we've arrived.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amara

  Just get this over with and get back, I think as we look at the wreck of what was once my home.

  Behind my anger and upset a wave of nostalgia rises. Home. Life was both easier and harder on the ship. Easier in that nothing was trying to kill me which is a regular occurrence on this hell-hole of a planet. Harder because every day was another challenge to prove myself worthy. No matter how long I was a member of the fighter squadron they never accepted me. Every day I had to prove myself over again.

  Still, I miss it.

  I miss the other
pilots, the challenge, I miss flying. Damn do I miss flying.

  My head is pounding, my mouth is as dry as the sand we're walking across, and standing here is doing nothing to make any of it better. Shidan moves closer, again, and again I take a step away. I can't believe he speaks Common. How much did he hear? How many mean things have I said he understood?

  The worst part is I didn't mean most of them. I… what? Just what?

  Nothing. There is no excuse for what I've done. He deserves better. Better than I can be.

  "Come on, let's get moving," I snap, marching ahead.

  The wreck is massive. The closer we get, the more of the sky it blots out. Shielding my eyes I look up at it and smile. Memories of flying around the ship on maneuvers fill my thoughts. Then I was free. Nothing could stop me.

  "It is most impressive," Shidan says.

  "Yeah," I agree.

  "Do you miss it?"

  "Yes," I answer without thinking.

  I see him nodding out of the corner of my eye. He walks over and places a hand on the cold steel of the generation ship. My home. Where I should be now, living my life so that my great grandchildren could start theirs on their new home. A home I would never have seen. I'm not supposed to be here.

  Shidan stares, pulling me out of the miasma of my thoughts.

  "What?" I ask.

  He smiles and shakes his head. "We should hurry," he says, turning away.

  "Shidan you're a terrible liar."

  His shoulders slump and his wings make a dry leathery sound as they shift. His tail swings side to side in a tight, back and forth motion.

  "It is nothing," he says over his shoulder.

  I bite my tongue before I call him out. He's right, we should hurry. We need to get back. The pounding in my head makes that clear. The epis effect is fading fast and I need to get more soon. I don't have time to argue.

  "This way," I say, pushing past him and leading the way.

  The suns are behind the ship casting a long shadow. It's a relief to not be in the direct heat. My headache recedes. A hot dry wind shifts the sand and the sound of a flapping tarp tells me we're close to the open side of the wreck. Before Calista and Ladon led us to his city, Rosalind had teams working to make the wreckage livable.

  Sand has piled up in front of the shredded tarp. Shidan puts a hand on my shoulder then steps in front of me, drawing his staff blade and holding it ready.

  "What are-"

  He puts a finger to my mouth, shaking his head. Shrugging I let him take the lead. What am I going to do, push him aside? He's right anyway. Who knows what could have taken up residence inside.

  He slides the tarp to one side with the tip of his blade and stares into the shadows. He waits for several heartbeats before sliding in. I follow and we both stop just inside, letting our eyes adjust to the dimness. The place doesn't look much different from when we left. Shidan pushes me down to a crouch with a hand on my shoulder. He stares at me then explores the immediate area while I wait.

  "It seems clear," he says.

  "Good," I say. "Let's find what we need."

  "What does it look like?"

  "No clue."

  "That's not helpful."

  "Tell me about it," I say. "We need to go this way though. The medical bay will be up there."

  I point up the inclined deck. This section of the ship landed on its tip so what was the floor and ceiling are now the walls. It's sitting at an angle buried into the sand so it's climbable but it won't be easy. My first concern is figuring out if there's power and whether we're being bombarded by lethal doses of radiation while we stand here.

  "How far up?" he asks.

  "It's on the deck above us."

  "Deck?" he asks.

  He doesn't know about ships, how could he?

  "I'll show you," I say. "First things first, we need to figure out if there's power to at least the doors."

  Stacked crates of supplies remain where we left them. Grabbing some I create a stairway up to a door. Shidan observes for a moment then helps. It doesn't take long before we have a serviceable contraption. It may not be elegant but it's functional which is all I care about. I lead the way up and standing on my tiptoes I can just reach the keypad of the door.

  My breath trembles as I touch the pad. Something so simple, which was a part of my daily life, a door pad. Its cool, hard plastic is a touch of the familiar. Please, please light up. I stroke my fingers across the screen and the familiar blue glow appears.

  "Yes!" I exclaim.

  "Good?" Shidan asks from right below me.

  "Yes, there's power."

  "Good."

  I punch in my access code and the door shudders then slides part way open before it jams.

  "Damn it," I growl. "It's stuck. Push me up."

  "What?"

  "Push me up, I can't reach the opening."

  Shidan's strong grip grabs my thighs and lifts me like I weigh nothing. No matter how many times he displays it I'm always taken back by his strength. Impressive doesn't cover it.

  I grab onto the bottom section of the door. Straining, I pull myself up and over to the other side where I fall through the door and slam against the wall that is now the floor thanks to the angle of the ship.

  "Ouch!" I exclaim as I slam down.

  "Amara, are you okay?" Shidan calls. His head pops through the door and looks around till he spots me.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," I say, climbing to my feet and rubbing my bruised backside.

  Shidan shimmies through the opening having a much harder time than I did getting through because of his much greater bulk and his wings and tail which hang up as he tries to squeeze his body past. He works his way into the room and then drops with more grace than I did, landing on his feet.

  "What is this place?" he asks, looking around.

  "Waiting room."

  We're in a small room with chairs bolted to the floor because it's a space ship and my ancestors designed things with that in mind. When we lived here though, I never thought about it. The other girls have talked about how they could go through their entire lives without thinking about the fact they lived on a spaceship. I saw it all the time as a fighter pilot but I loved it.

  "Where do we need to go?"

  "There," I tell him, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room about halfway up the wall opposite the door we fell through.

  Shidan nods then looks around. This room doesn't have the debris that the other side had leaving nothing to stack into a ladder. Reaching up Shidan tests one chair and finds it's bolted well enough he doesn't spend a lot of energy trying to get it free.

  "I'll lift you up," he says.

  "Can you get me high enough?"

  He shrugs instead of answering as he moves to stand below the doorway. Closing my eyes I take a deep breath then let it out. I don't know if I'm hoping for a bright idea or finding my resolve. I'm not sure I find either of them but when I open my eyes, I push forward.

  Shidan bends at his knees, grips me by my waist and lifts me over his head. I still have to stretch my arm out to touch the keypad. It lights up and I punch in my code holding my breath while I do. My code is military clearance but I'm not sure it will let me into this area. When I hear gears engage and the doors slide, I breathe a sigh of relief. This set doesn't stick, opening all the way. I grip the edge and as I pull myself up Shidan shifts his grip down my legs helping me up.

  Swinging through the opening I sit and look in before I drop. This room was an actual medical area. Attached to the floor-slash-wall are beds with heavy machines at the ends. Along what is now the floor below me are piles of carts, supplies, and miscellaneous machines. What I'm looking for should be down there.

  I've seen the portable scanners the medics carried with them. They'd bring them to our barracks for fast checkups or if there was an emergency. One of those should be perfect for finding out what's happening inside Calista. It will scan her then put out a three dimensional projection along with a medical
analysis of what it found to be abnormal. Including the fact she has an alien baby growing inside her.

  "Are you okay?" Shidan asks.

  "Yeah," I say. "Just musing."

  "Oh."

  His hands grip the open door beside me and then he hauls himself up. I scoot over, making room for him as he struggles to shift himself around to sit as I am. He looks the room over in a long moment of silence.

  "Why are there so many beds here? Is this a sleeping quarter?"

  "No, this is medical."

  "Oh. Is all this… necessary?"

  I never thought about it. There are dozens of beds ready for patients. As the military clinic this area was prepared for disaster or an attack from, well, nasty space pirates. This is where wounded were treated.

  "I don't know," I sigh, then, not wanting to think about it any longer, I drop off the lip of the door and land on the floor with more grace this time.

  Shidan drops beside me making my grace look like I stumbled my way up a flight of stairs. His wings give him an unfair advantage. The dim light catches his scales making a breathtaking display as he drifts to the ground. Seeing me staring he smiles. I shake my head, turning to dig through the piles on the floor.

  "What is it we need?" he asks.

  "A big bag, orange, about like this." I hold my hands about three feet apart and then two feet wide.

  We look for a long time. There's so much stuff piled up that it takes forever to search. There's not enough room to organize, so it's a matter of piling crap from one place to another. I don't know how long we've been at it but my stomach grumbles and my headache is growing worse. Shidan lifts a box and there behind it is the bag I'm looking for, at last!

  "There!" I point, and Shidan tosses the box in his hands aside.

  I check out the bag he found. Unzipping it reveals the machine. Two switches, one marked on, so I flip that one and it hums to life.

  "It works?" Shidan asks.

  "Yes!" I exclaim. "This is what I wa-"

  I'm cut off by a loud bang outside the room. Shidan and I look at each other then move back over to the still open door. Sounds of booted footsteps ringing on metal come through followed by guttural sounds.