by Maia Starr
"Swords!” Giut Thoen shouted. A sword was thrown at me and at Xet Crasis. Cling! Clank! We were crashing swords together as soon as they landed in our hands. We were of equal match, so it seemed. Suddenly all the rumors I had heard about his fierce skills seemed to be lies. I was just as good as he was and that amount of confidence allowed me to charge him. His eyes grew wide at my sudden confidence and skill. I caught him off guard and my sword dug deep into the left side of his body, the side that did not have the protection of our blue scales.
"Xet Crasis is down!" Giut Thoen shouted. The crowd erupted into cheers. But it wasn't enough. I was not going to leave any chance that Xet Crasis would claim Shia as his. He was on the ground underneath me. I grabbed the hilt of the sword and pushed it into him deeper. All life left him.
"Commander Duron Spaunok is the winner! He is the rightful owner of the human female known as Shia Heton!”
I looked at Shia and she had a big smile on her face. She ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. I kissed her deeply.
"Since you are but a commander, it is important that you now become a leader. You will take leader Xet Crasis tribe on Crasis and become the leader of Crasis. We the Supreme Council make it so,” he said.
"I accept," I said.
"Now we must deal with this business of the invasion of the moon base Altid. Commander Duron Spaunok, you were there, you were engaged in battle with the Earth ships before they arrived. You will join us in our meeting. Your forever mate will be taken to quarters to wait for your arrival,” Giut Thoen said.
I gave Shia a big kiss before I obeyed orders to join the supreme Council to discuss the invasion of the Earthlings. It was all happening so fast, and I did not think that it could have such a good and fair outcome. It was too good to be true.
"I will wait for you. I am so happy. We will be together. No one can separate us now,” Shia whispered in my ear.
"I will come for you soon. It is my duty to join the supreme Council and discuss this matter. I am very grateful to them for allowing me to fight Xet Crasis and win your hand. I owe them my attention now,” I said giving her another kiss.
"I see why she has caused so much trouble. She is a beauty. Congratulations, Commander Duron Spaunok,” Giut Thoen said as he joined me at my side.
"She is worth dying over,” I said to him.
"Take her to my forever mate, Rachel,” Giut Thoen said to a warrior at Shia's side.
Shias eyes grew wide with astonishment. I do not think she was expecting to be taken to another human female, nor was I. It would be a pleasant experience for her and she would feel safe. I too would feel safer knowing that she was with another human female, and not a warrior. Word of her beauty and defiance had now spread far and wide, making her a very popular target for all Corillion warriors that came to her side.
"We will speak again,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek and then followed Giut Thoen out of the room into a council chamber.
"Now this business about the battle you were in before the siege on Altid. Spare no detail. We must know everything. It will help. We have a lot of work ahead of us,” the supreme leaders said to me.
Chapter 11
SHIA HETON
I could not believe everything that had happened. I went from being captured by the Corillion warriors, to falling in love with one, to being under siege by Earthlings, then to being the prize in a prizefight. It was all too much to handle. I didn't ever think I would end up in such a strange place. Yet here I was, hoping that I could finally just be at peace with Commander Duron Spaunok and live out our days together. It is all that I wanted. I never dreamt that I would be longing for such a thing.
Watching him battle the fierce warrior known as Xet Crasis was the most terrifying thing that I had to endure. If Xet Crasis defeated him, not only would he have taken the life of the warrior that I loved, but he would also have been taking my life as well. It was too much to handle, and I was on the edge of a breakdown as I watched. But watching Duron in his element was very attractive and sexy. He truly was the strongest and most skilled warrior I had ever seen. When he finally defeated Xet Crasis, I felt such extreme relief and extreme attraction for him. He was the one for me. He was the Corillion warrior that I wanted to mate with forever.
Now I found myself in an even more peculiar situation. I was sitting in a room with another human female known as Rachel. She was the forever mate of the Giut Thoen.
"So you are the redhead human female that everyone has spoken of for so long. Even my own husband does not stop talking about you,” she said in an almost jealous and spiteful way. It was not what I was expecting from her. I thought I would find a human female that was excited to see another human female. But I soon learned that she was not the only one. This Corillion planet, that was known as Pourock, had many leaders on it, and therefore had many human females on it. So she was not as excited to see me as I was to see her.
"I did not know that I was so talked about. I have been locked up. I have been a prisoner, as I'm sure you were at some point in time.”
“You mean to tell me that you don’t know how famous you are? I think you are just trying to be humble. You are talked about every night in court. The defiant redhead that would kill a Corillion leader in his sleep if given the chance,” she said.
“No, I didn’t know that. I was a scientist on a space station and then I was captured. I’ve been locked up ever since, until now.”
“Oh, but you weren’t so locked up to fuck your captor, now were you. I have to admit, Commander Duron Spaunok is very sexy. I can see why you threw yourself at him. I would have done the same.”
Clearly she was not going to be friendly. I was not going to argue with her anymore about my fame that I wasn’t even aware of so I turned to chitchat. “Tell me, Rachel, where are you from?” I asked her.
"I am from New York. I was taken many years ago. I was taken during one of the first Corillion visits to Earth. I was on one of the very first rounds of abductions right after the war started. Most of the human females here are from that same round many years ago. I have been here a long time,” she said to me. “This is my life now.”
"Then you must have many offspring. You must be very happy,” I said to her with a smile.
"No. I am not. I also do not have any offspring,” she said spitefully.
I furrowed my eyebrows at her. I was so confused. “Do you mean that you have not mated with your husband?”
"No, I have many times. But you see, not all of us human females are compatible with the Corillion mating. I happened to be one that is not able to give him offspring."
"I don't understand. If you are barren or if he is barren, then why are you kept here? Why are you not allowed to go home? Why not return to Earth?” I asked her.
"Because I do not want to go home. I love him. But that does not mean that I am able to give him offspring. In the meantime, he is simply using me until he finds another. Until another human female is brought to him that can give him the offspring that will keep the Corillion race alive. Mating with me has allowed Giut Thoen to prolong his life. The rule no longer applies to him, but he wants more than that. He wants to procreate.”
"I am sorry for that, Rachel. That must hurt you greatly,” I said to her.
"How dare you speak to me of hurt!” she shouted. I did not understand her. I did not know what she wanted from me. Why did my presence offend her so much? Then the door opened and a warrior waved to her.
"You must excuse me. Make yourself comfortable,” she said to me. Then she left the room. I was glad that she was leaving because it was very uncomfortable being with her.
I could not wait until the time that Duron would return and we could go start our life together. I was very happy that he had been granted a leader. This way no one would ever again challenge us being together. He would also be able to lead a tribe of warriors, and he had the heart and skill for it.
"There you are,” I heard a voice say. Giut Thoen walke
d in.
"Oh, Supreme leader. Your wife just stepped out for a second. She will return shortly,” I said to him.
"No, she won't.”
"What do you mean?” I asked him.
"I made sure that she would not be returning to this room. I made sure that no one would be bothering us. I wanted to have my own time alone with the redheaded human female that has sparked so much trouble. I now see why. I must have a sample,” he said, stepping toward me. I began to panic. Shit. This bastard was going to try to be with me. This was why he called Duron away from me. This was why he made it seem like I was going to meet and hang out with his wife. It was all a cover to trick Duron. It was all a cover to trick me. I had to find my confidence.
"So you have heard that I am a threat to a Corillion that would try to mate with me without my consent. You have heard that I would kill such a Corillion if he tried, and yet here you are, testing me. Do you have a death wish?” I asked, trying to be as confident as I could be. I was trying to make real threats even though I was trembling on the inside.
He laughed. “You are just as feisty as I have heard. I am going to enjoy this immensely,” he said.
"Not if I kill you first,” I said to him, narrowing my eyes at him.
"I assume my wife has told you that I have evolved beyond mating simply for offspring. Once I realized that she could not give me offspring, I started to mate with any human female that I could. Perhaps it is nature wanting me to spread my seed. It does not matter the reason, it is who I am now. Now, I want you.”
"And I do not want you. I only want Duron,” I said to him.
"That does not matter to me. I rank higher than Duron. There will be nothing that he can do once he finds out about this.”
I ran from one side of the room to the other, but Giut Thoen, with his muscular form and long stride, quickly caught up with me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. I pounded my fist against his chest and slapped his face. This only seemed to turn him on more. This is what was expected of me. This was why the rumors had spread about me far and wide. He was expecting a fight from me. This was foreplay for him.
"Get your hands off of her!” I heard a voice shout. Giut Thoen was pulled off of me and thrown across the room. I looked up into the eyes of my warrior Duron.
Giut Thoen quickly stood up. “How dare you?! I am a supreme leader. You cannot tell me what I can and cannot do! You should be glad that I did not have you killed earlier!”
"If I had known that you expected to use my forever mate as your own toy, I would have killed you when I killed Xet Crasis!” Duron shouted.
"I will have you killed now!” Giut Thoen shouted.
I knew this was going to end badly. I knew that Duron would end up killing him. I grabbed a large rock from a shelf and hit Giut Thoen over the head with it. It knocked him out cold.
"Shia! What are you doing?” Duron shouted.
"Quick, help me hide him. Under the desk. It will be some time before anyone finds him and it will give us time before anyone comes looking for us. We have to get out of here. The Corillion world is no longer safe for us. Do you not see that every Corillion will be after me? They will force you to kill them, and then you will be killed. We must escape,” I said to him.
"You are right. Here, let me,” he said as he picked up Giut Thoen and hid him.
Soon we were quietly going through the Supreme Council headquarters toward the launch pad. We smiled and conversed with Corillion warriors that we passed. It made it seem like we weren't running from anything at all.
"We must get on a larger ship,” Duron whispered to me.
"But won't that be easier to track?” I asked him.
"A smaller ship does not have hyperdrive. We must use hyperdrive to get away quickly; it is the only way,” he said.
"Where will we go?” I asked him.
"I do not know; we just need to get as far away from the Corillion galaxy as possible. The universe is very large and we must get lost in it.”
"I think I know where we can go,” I said to him.
"This one, quickly,” he said as he moved me toward the door of a large ship. I climbed inside quickly and fastened myself into a seat. He followed me.
"Where should we go? Where is it that you speak of?” he asked me as he flipped on switches and began the preflight preparation.
"Earth,” I said to him.
"What?! Absolutely not,” he said to me.
"It is the perfect place to go. I have a small cabin in a place that we call the mountains. It is very far removed from all humans. Many foods grow and there is fresh water. We could hide there for many years until we figure out what we're doing. Think about it. It is the one place that the Corillion cannot search for you. They would not even think to look there,” I said to him.
"It will be very dangerous entering Earth’s atmosphere,” he said to me.
"I know a way. Just set the hyperdrive for Earth’s moon. Can you do that?” I asked him.
"I can. Are you sure about this?” he asked.
"I am very sure. I would not have us going there if I were not,” I said to him.
"Very well. Here we go,” he said as he fastened his belt and then pressed the button. We shot straight out of the launch pad and within half a second were in hyper drive. We had done it. We had got away. We were in hyper drive for several hours. It was a relief to be far away from the Corillion worlds.
"I feel better now that we are away from other Corillion warriors. It was not safe for me there. It was not safe for you. When would the madness stop? There would always be someone like Giut Thoen trying to make me his mate. You would always be trying to stop it. It would not end well.”
"You are right. It is better this way. I cannot believe that I am agreeing that the best plan for us is to go to Earth. I never thought it would end this way," he said to me.
"It is not the end; it is only the beginning. The beginning of us,” I said to him with a smile.
"I like the sound of that,” he said to me.
The mountains were just as I remembered them. It was springtime and it was the perfect time to be living off of the land. We had missed the harsh winter and had landed the Corillion spacecraft in a deep valley. We covered it with tree limbs and leaves. We pulled the entire ship off-line so that it would not be tracked. This was my cabin home. It was a small research station that I had built with a grant that I had been given out of college. I came here to listen to deep space sounds with a small but powerful satellite. It was very remote. It was hours away from the nearest very small town, one with only two stores. It was the perfect place for us to hide.
"So this is Earth,” Duron said as he walked around the outside of the cabin.
"It is. What do you think?" I asked him as I searched for the hidden key under a fake rock.
"It is almost as lovely as you. I can live here,” he said, taking a deep breath.
I unlocked the door and we stepped into our new home. I opened the shutters and let in the bright sunlight. I was so happy to be back on Earth. After the dullness of the moon of Altid’s barren landscape and of being stuck inside for so long, I truly appreciated the fresh air and sunlight of the Earth. I was home.
"It is almost like the living quarters on Altid that we shared,” he said playfully.
"Yes, almost, but it is very rustic not as technologically advanced with sliding glass windows and doors,” I joked. “It is perfect because I am here with you,” he said to me. “Do you really feel safe here?” he asked.
"I do. I have spent many summers here doing research all by myself. Not one human has ever knocked on my door or bothered me. I'm not even sure they know this cabin exists. It is the perfect place for hiding. We got the ship in under the radar and no one knows that we are here. It will do for now. Let us worry about the future later. There is so much more to worry about now,” I said putting my hand on my belly.
"What do you mean?” he asked me.
"I think I am wit
h offspring,” I said to him.
He smiled a giant smile and said, “Is this true? How do you know?” he said as he put his hand on my belly.
"It is something that Alexis said to me before. She said that she could feel it. She could feel the difference. I am having that same feeling the last day or two. I understand what she meant now. It is very obvious,” I said to him.
"Then I am very, very, happy, Shia!” he said giving me a big hug.
"So we must make this cabin our comfortable home for now. This is all that matters now,” I said rubbing my belly.
"Yes, you are very right. Everything else can wait. Well, everything except this,” he said, placing his kiss on my lips. He scooped me up into his arms and said, “Am I doing it right? Carry you to your bed first right?” he said playfully.
