by C. Baely
She turned abruptly and left the dining room, heading toward the bedroom, without sparing him another glance. Archail felt as if someone had thrown a cold glass of alador on him as he watched the bedroom door close. He stood up slowly, trying to remind himself that he had to stay calm in order to talk with her, and this conversation really had to happen now.
He followed her into the bedroom, and as the door closed again behind him, he folded his long arms over his broad chest. He leaned back against the door, thinking it would keep her in the room.
“Get out!” she yelled when she saw him standing there, blocking her only exit.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours.” He emphasized the last words.
* * *
Sara detected the threat behind his words, but chose to ignore it. This man, this Pradorian male, had awakened emotions within her that she hadn’t felt this strongly during her entire former life. He was fearsome, stubborn, and persistent. At the same time, he could be thoughtful and powerful, yet gentle. What was wrong with her? Why was she thinking like this about him? He was her captor and her enemy. He wasn’t human, she reminded herself.
Her confused thoughts and feelings only made her anger flare more. In the absence of a clear plan of action, she rushed toward him with her fists raised and threw blows at him. He unfolded his arms with such speed that she didn’t see his move until it was too late. He caught her hands in a tight hold behind her back and pinned her against his firm body.
“Are you finished yet?” Archail asked in a low warning tone, his face only inches away from hers.
His warm breath poured over her upturned face. The muscles of his body tensed against her, and fear rose within her once more. He was toying with her again. He was telling her, in no uncertain terms, which of them was stronger. She tried to wriggle herself free from his arms, but her efforts only resulted in her being drawn even closer to him. Her breasts now rubbed against his naked chest as he reacted to her struggle by holding her tighter in place.
“Let go of me.” She practically pleaded as she saw the threatening gleam in his eyes.
“Not yet. I am a monster, remember?” he said in a low, promising growl as he closed the remaining distance between them and claimed her lips with his own.
Sara resisted him in every way she could. She tightened her lips closed, arched her back, and tried to pull away from his persistent mouth. She even tried to kick his shin, but he was stronger and extremely determined. He pressed on his advance, kissing her until her mouth softened under his. A small gasp of air escaped her mouth, giving him the opportunity to claim her mouth with his tongue. He was tasting her, probing her, and biting her gently, sucking away her ability to resist with every thrust of his tongue.
Sara continued to resist him, but as Archail persisted in claiming her mouth and demanding a response, her will weakened. She reluctantly gave in. Her sense of desire for him became as strong as his was for her, urging her to respond to him. He held her close to him, but somehow her hands, now free of his grip, came to rest on his shoulders. She returned his kiss, thrust by thrust, tasting him, licking him. She lost herself in his arms and the pleasure he offered.
His hand came forward, following a familiar path, until it found her breast. Cupping it in his palm, his thumb circled around her rising, hardening its tip. He pinched it softly, pulling at her rose bud nipple to draw a moan from her.
He left her lips, and ignoring Sara’s soft protest, he lowered his head to her other breast and took it in his mouth, sucking it hard, licking it, and biting it gently until she trembled in his hands, he groaned showing his satisfaction to her response.
He lowered his hand down the line of her flat belly. His strong yet smooth fingers slid under the filmy material of her skirt with ease, making their way between the warmth of her legs. A small sigh slipped from his mouth as he found her warm core wet and ready for his exploration.
Sara tensed for a moment in his embrace, but he gave her no chance to think as he opened her soft folds with his fingers. He rubbed her, gently at first, slowly yet steadily growing bolder and building up the pressure, raising her higher and faster. She was almost humming now her pleasure, calling out something incoherent while lost in the sensations he’d evoked in her. She held on to him, trembling and panting, her knees shaking uncontrollably, causing her to almost collapse under him. His hold on her tightened, as he kept on leading her body, towards a throbbing promising release.
She should be fighting him. She should hate him. She should be scared of what might happen to her, but now, as he touched her, all of that melted away. When he looked at her, she could feel something pulling at her. It wasn’t just the way he looked or the way he moved—it was something more, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She couldn’t recall ever feeling like this before. Her next thought was cut off as another rush of impulses traveled through her nerves.
Archail, still holding her tight, turned both of their bodies around, placing her back against the door to support her better. His hand relentlessly explored her burning secrets, bringing her to the crescendo of an intense climax.
“Ooohhh!” Sara called out as she lost herself under the growing pressure of his probing hand. He continued leading her until she shook from the building tension under his body. Spasms of release left her weak and satisfied in his arms.
Archail carefully released her and backed slightly away.
Sara was still leaning on the door, trying to clear the haze from her mind. Her heart still pounded in her ears as she tried to adapt to the sensations tearing through her body. It was a euphoric feeling, like she had touched the sun without getting burned and softly fallen back down again.
His cold distant voice dispelled the remnants of her afterglow. “Are you ready to listen now?”
Sara’s logic returned, as the blood suddenly drained from her face, and her thoughts cleared under the watchful eyes of her captor. A realization dawned that he had used her, and a chill rushed through her body. He wanted to show her how much stronger he was, and now that he had succeeded, he had become distant again. It had just been a lesson in power and dominance. He didn’t seem affected by what had just happened between them. She now looked back at him in fear of what he was capable of making her do and how much he affected her. I should remember that, she warned herself. Sara shivered lightly as she pushed away from the door, trying to put some distance between them.
Archail walked over to the chair covered with animal skin and sat down to give her some space.
“Now that I have your attention, you need to learn some things which are of great importance.”
* * *
“What things?” Sara turned to look at him, her eyes now filled with caution.
“Let’s start from the beginning.” He leaned forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees.
Sara still gazed at him, but she increased the distance between them farther by backing off and sitting on the bed.
Archail continued in a calm voice, “You know how the Restorians revived you and made you younger again, correct?”
“Yes, I remember that.” She studied him curiously.
“Do you remember what they told you?” He probed to see how much she had been told.
“They told me I was to become a Pradorian bride, something like breeding stock for your kind.” She threw the words at him. Her eyebrows creased creating soft wrinkles above her small nose. Her blue eyes grew intensely darker as she stared back at him.
“Did they tell you anything else?”
“No,” she answered quickly, but then her expression froze. “Yes, they said if I didn’t cooperate, I would be punished.” She looked cautiously toward him as she finished her sentence.
“I see.” Archail sighed, concluding that this was going to be even harder than he had anticipated.
“Sara.” She perked up at the mention of her name, because it wasn’t often, if at all, that he used it. “There
isn’t an easy way for me to tell you what you need to know.” He paused for a moment, but seeing he still had her attention, he carried on. “But I will try to explain things as thoroughly as I can.”
“What things?”
“Please listen, and don’t interrupt.” He watched her thoughtfully. When she didn’t say anything more, he continued. “When you went through the de-aging process, it was a one-time procedure—it can never be repeated.”
He waited a moment for his words to sink in before resuming. “This process is effective for only a short time, usually around one cycle of the moons. This is nearly a month in your measure of time.” He then paused to see if she realized what he was saying.
Sara looked up thoughtfully at him at first, but then her eyebrows rose, showing she understood the meaning behind his words. “You mean to tell me that I have less than a month to live?”
Archail felt his guts wrench as he watched the expression on her face change from confusion to realization. A deathly paleness then threatened her beautiful features.
“Yes.” He spoke softly, but loud enough for her to hear. “But…” A determination now sounded in his voice.
“But what?” She looked up at him emptily.
“There is a solution, if you agree to cooperate.”
“What solution?” Suspicion hardened her expression.
“You must agree to come willingly before the council at the blood exchange ceremony.” He paused to judge her reaction before deciding to add more. “There, you will agree to carry my child, and in return you will be rewarded with immortality.” He waited, searching for any reaction.
Sara seemed to ponder the new information for a moment. “What happens if I refuse?”
He was unsurprised by her question. He had anticipated as much when he talked with Dar earlier. He couldn’t allow her to make that choice, not with all that vitality in her. He couldn’t allow a spirit such as hers to vanish from this world. With that thought in mind, his upcoming lie weighed less on his soul.
“If you choose to refuse my offer, you will also condemn the other women to the same fate.” He knew full well the misinformation was a low blow.
Sara’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. “You mean to tell me that if I choose to die, the other women will be left to die as well?”
Archail stared straight into her deep-blue eyes, and knowing he was lying through his teeth, he said as steadily as he could in a cold, steely voice, “Yes.”
She shot up from the bed and paced around the room. Obviously, carrying the responsibility for all those lives weighed heavily on her shoulders.
Archail regarded her carefully from his seat. He knew he had placed a heavy burden on her, and he didn’t like to see her so troubled, but he had to press on. Her decision was important to him, so he continued in a cold voice, stopping her in her tracks. “Will you be responsible for those women’s deaths when they have already decided to live?”
Seeing her stillness, he rose from the chair and walked decisively toward the bedroom door. He paused for a minute, but didn’t turn to face her. “Make sure you choose well, Sara, because your decision will also affect the others. You have three risings of the moons to give me your answer.” He was ready to leave the room without saying another word, but Sara stopped him dead with her next question.
“Is that what you did to the other women before us? You gave them the same ultimatum, and they refused, so you let them die?” she asked accusingly, in a deathly-cold voice, and waited for his answer.
Archail’s resolve became as hard as steel when he turned to face her. “What else would you expect from a monster?”
Chapter 9
The morning sun hid behind the grey clouds that covered the land. Soft raindrops fell to the ground, moistening the soil and revitalizing the thick trees which seemed to raise their branches thirstily toward the water. The change in weather matched Sara’s heavy mood as clouded thoughts had haunted her for the past three days.
She had gone out for a walk, taking shelter under the long tree branches. As she trudged slowly through the forest, her burdened eyes surveyed the rich, leaf-covered ground. She had come to a decision, but she still doubted whether it was the right one.
Her past seemed to haunt her in this lifetime as well, in more ways than she could imagine. She recalled her early adulthood back on Earth, when she was just eighteen years old. She had also been forced to make a decision back then. Another decision that had affected others. Her mother had been critically ill, and without money to continue her treatment, they would almost certainly lose her. Sara’s only other option was to marry a widower with two children who had agreed to pay for her mother’s treatment. Sara had to help her family survive, so she accepted the offer. Choosing otherwise would have made her and her father homeless. Her mother would not have gained the extra two years she did from the treatment. Sara had made her decision then, and she made a similar conscious decision now.
It wasn’t her decision that bothered her conscience though. It was the agreement that followed it. His thick voice came to mind as she remembered him saying, “…agree to carry my child.” She couldn’t help but wonder what her Pradorian captor would do to her when he discovered she was as barren as the desert that apparently lay beyond the edge of this thick forest.
Archail had kept a watchful distance since that night. He spent his nights in another cave nearby, and every morning, he would bring her food and drink. He had even done something with the cave door, so she could come and go freely when he wasn’t there. The way he thought of doing so much for her confused Sara more. What sort of person was he? His actions, when considering his cruelty, simply made no sense.
Archail now stood just a few feet ahead of Sara, watching her approach and observing her silently as he had so often done these past three days. The time had come for her to give him an answer, and she knew that was why he was there.
Sara’s stomach tightened in response to his powerful presence. She had mixed feelings. Fear, insecurity, and doubt followed strength and courage, but she still couldn’t comprehend her illogical attraction to this imposing male. Sara came near enough to hear him speak, but she kept a little distance so the feelings she had for him wouldn’t get in the way, or at least that’s what she hoped.
“Have you reached a decision, little one?” He sounded distant and indifferent.
“Yes.”
Archail stepped closer while watching her every move. Keeping his voice low and cold, he asked, “Good, does this mean you agree to my proposal?”
“Yes.” Her throat dried up.
“Very well, then. We will leave at first light tomorrow.” He turned his back to her and left her standing there alone. A cool breeze blew through her hair, matching the icy feeling that gripped her stomach as she thought of what was to come.
* * *
The vast forest spread before them as they followed the clear path through the tall trees. They had already stopped twice to eat and drink before continuing their journey. Archail spoke to her only when he needed her to hurry up or to offer her a drink. Ever since they had set out that morning, he had been mostly silent and introspective, as had Sara. She had plenty to keep her mind occupied.
As they progressed deeper into the forest, the plant life seemed to glow and change color under the sunlight. The plants moved as if dancing under the soft breeze. Rich colors—red, yellow, blue, orange, and even white—stretched out harmoniously before her. She was particularly intrigued by an orange, umbrella-shaped plant. She stretched forth her hand to touch one and was surprised when the plant slowly folded away from her until it closed tightly into a tiny white bud.
Sara felt a sense of excitement building within her, like a small child discovering the world for the first time, as she moved through this new land and carefully observed everything. She had fallen behind many times in the last few hours as things fascinated her, such as a strange bug flying nearby that, unless she had counted wrong, had twelve leg
s.
A loud “buwa!” sounded overhead, making her duck for cover as a rather large creature flew past them in a blur. All she could make out before it disappeared was a glint of silver and some featherless wings that looked more like fins than the wings of a bird or bat.
Farther away, among the tall trees, a majestic creature that reminded her of a deer stood stock-still. It seemed to watch Sara with just as much curiosity as Sara watched it. It had long, golden horns on its small, elongated head. Its body was tall and colored an amazing combination of yellow and red, and its long legs looked like they ended with metallic-looking clawed feet.
Sara’s quiet observation was interrupted when the ground beneath her began to sink. It took her a few seconds before realizing that a large root beneath her was slowly working its way underground. Tiptoeing off it, she moved to more stable ground. Seconds later, some sort of humming insect landed on the side of her face. Alarmed, Sara shouted and tried to brush it off before a long, sticky appendage from one of the plants shot out and caught the insect, drawing the offending creature into its depths.
It was hard to shake off the experience, and Sara soon found herself staying much closer to Archail. Although this planet had its share of dangers, she was astounded by the flora and fauna of the forest. She almost forgot why she was making this journey, but Archail’s voice brought her back to reality again.
“We are here.” A hint of excitement tinged his voice. It became distant again, though, when he turned to her. “Do keep up, Sara.”
