Jex

by Maia Starr

  "Keep your voice down,” I said quieting him down.

  "That is perfect,” he said in a whisper. “Do you not see he has given us permission to go to the High Council together? We do not have to do it in secret. Once we are there, it will be too late after he discovers the real reason. This is good for us,” Sitione said.

  "Yes, it seems that way. But I do not trust it. There is something wrong here. Have you spoken to Jin? Perhaps this is his doing and Cyro is setting us up. Why just the two of us? It seems too perfect. I must look into this. For now, make sure that you have real blueprints for what you said that you wanted to do to the fortress,” I said to him.

  "But I do. I do have those plans, and they are real. But they are not plans for the fortress under the leadership of Cyro. They are the plans to make the fortress great under the leadership of Truo Seeduon,” he said proudly.

  "Thank you, my warrior brother, for believing in me and my leadership. I will not let you down. But first, let us see to this matter. We must go through the motions as if you are going to see the High Council to speak about the fortress,” I said.

  "I understand. I will get everything ready," he said.

  "For now, say nothing to Jin, and we no longer meet underneath the fortress; it is too risky as we do not know for sure if he has assigned another to follow you besides myself,” I said to him.

  "I understand. I will do nothing but go to my chambers, these workrooms, and the feasting hall. I will do nothing out of the ordinary," he said.

  "That is good. I will do the same,” I said to him. As soon as I said it, I realized that would mean not waiting for Vera in the middle of the night. I didn't know if I could do that, but I did not have a choice.

  "Wait to hear from me. You will see me often trailing you around the fortress to make it look as though I am spying on you as Cyro wishes, just to warn you.”

  "I will be just as boring as ever to follow and spy on. Now go and do what you must do to get ready as well. Soon we will be in front of the High Council; soon you will be leader” he smiled.

  I smiled back and left him to his work. If this truly was the case, that Sitione and I were going to be able to leave to the High Council, then I could not leave Vera with Cyro. If the High Council decided to unseat Cyro after we met with them, then there would be complete chaos at the fortress while the transition of power took place.

  I did not know what Cyro would do to Vera. He would find fault with her for not producing offspring for him. He would blame her viciously, and out of his rage, he would kill her. Out of his shame, he would make an example of her. No, I could not leave Vera behind when Sitione and I went to see the High Council. But I did not know how I could arrange for her to go in secret. It was too complex to plan. If she did not want to go, then I would have to take her by force, and I would be no better than Cyro for doing so.

  She would not understand the danger that she would be in if she would stay. But standing in front of the council, she could show them that she was not pregnant, then that would be proof enough that, although she had been with him for one month, he could not produce offspring.

  Vera was the key! Why did I not think of that before? Not only would it be a reason to take Vera with me, but it would actually help in overthrowing Cyro. It was perfect. Now I just had to figure out how to get Vera on the ship with us without Cyro knowing, until we were too far for him to catch up with us. As soon as he realized she was missing, he would come for us. It would be dangerous, but it would be too late we would be the first to reach the High Council.

  I would have to warn her, but how? It was too dangerous for her to know about overthrowing Cyro. The less that she knew, the better. I did not want to put her in unnecessary danger because she was already in so much to begin with. I would have to come up with a plan to get her out of the fortress and onto our ship without anyone knowing. I did not know how much longer she was playing sick. It would be a good cover because no one would check in on her if they believed that she was still sick, most of all Cyro. But if she had already told him that she was better, then he would be visiting her, and bedding her. That last part made me sick and angry with rage. I had to get her out of there.

  Chapter 9

  VERA RODANTHEE

  I was feeling sick, for real this time. I was throwing up in my private bathroom attached to my bedroom chamber. It must be the food, I thought. It must be the stress. It must be the grief taking its toll on my body and not knowing whether my husband was actually alive or not. It must be the stress of being forced to be with Cyro as his wife and mate. It must be the stress of thinking Truo was a friend only to find out that he was lying to me even after I had given myself to him.

  As soon as I thought about giving myself to Truo, a lightbulb went off in my head. I took a good look at myself hunched over trying not to vomit again.

  "Shit,” I said to myself. “It couldn't be, could it?"

  I was pregnant. It had been almost 2 1/2 weeks since the first time that I was with Truo. For some reason, I assumed because Cyro could not get me pregnant that I could not get pregnant by any Corillion alien. But I was wrong, so wrong. I pulled myself off the floor and went to go sit on my bed. This was not good. I had really screwed up. If Cyro found out, he would think that it was his. If he found out that it was not his, then he would kill Truo, and probably me as well. I had to keep it a secret from Cyro as long as I could. I didn't know how I was going to be able to do that, but I had to try.

  But on the other hand, I could not tell Truo either. I no longer trusted him. I still did not know if my husband was alive or not, and if he was, that meant that Truo had lied to me and had used me. Because of this, I could not tell him that I was carrying his offspring; he could be dangerous, even more dangerous than Cyro. Cyro put everything out in the open, but Truo was deceitful about it. So this meant that I was pregnant and I had to keep this baby a secret from everyone. I was the only one that could know, and it would be a burden: my burden.

  I was completely astonished by this realization. I was going to give birth to an alien-human hybrid. I had never thought about it in that way until that very moment. I suddenly felt excited! A child, a special child, was inside of me. I wasn't expecting to be joyful about it, but that was exactly what I was feeling; this was my baby. This was my baby! A surge of hope filled me. I suddenly had a purpose greater than myself. It was surreal; it was moving.

  Knock, knock.

  "Vera, it is I, Cyro,” I heard him shout through the door.

  "Yes, I am here," I said trying to rub my eyes to make them look bloodshot and pinch my nose to make it look red and stuffy.

  "Can you come to the door? Don't open it. I just want you to listen through the door,” he said to me. I looked at the door in confusion.

  "Yes, I'm coming to the door,” I said, wondering what he was up to. He sounded strange, almost kind. “I am here,” I said a little softer. I could hear the door creak as he leaned against it.

  "Vera, I've come to apologize. I have not been myself lately. It is the pressure. I am the leader of this tribe, and there is great pressure with that. Not only do I have to rule, but I also must produce the offspring that will become the leader. It is part of my responsibilities, and sometimes it gives me rage and I take it out on you. I apologize for this. I have realized that I am madly in love with you. These past two weeks and days of being apart from you have been very hard. It has made me angry, all because I have not been able to talk to you again. I miss being with you…” he said.

  I stood on the other side of the door completely stunned. It was like speaking to a completely different Corillion, and if I had not already memorized the sound of his voice, I would think it was someone else, but I knew that it was him. I didn't know what to say to this. I had no sympathy for him. He had possibly murdered my husband and lied to me about it in order to take advantage of me, and if my husband was still alive, then Cyro was still the one that was holding him for leverage to take advantage of me. So I simp
ly responded, “I understand, Cyro.”

  "I thought you might if I was honest with you about why I act this way. You are the first human female, or any female, that I have been a companion to and I do not know how it's done. I realize that I have been doing it wrong, very wrong. I hope in a few days, when you are no longer ill, you will let me prove it to you.”

  "I would like that. I am feeling better and better every day. Soon I will be myself again,” I said in return.

  "I am glad to hear it. I will have hot liquids and food brought to your door now. Thank you for listening, Vera. Goodbye,” he said as I heard him walk away.

  My mouth fell open at the confusion of what had just happened. Why did he come to my door and say those things? What had changed for him? Was he being truthful, or was this some sort of trick? Did he discover that I was pregnant before I knew? My mind swarmed with questions, confusion, and fear. Cyro suddenly changing face only made me more suspicious about what he had planned. It was another burden. I needed to know what was going on. I needed to see Truo to find out what he knew, even though I knew his answers could be lies. I needed to know more.

  I waited two days. It was hard to wait that long to find answers from Truo, but I was scared that Cyro would be coming to my room again to confess his feelings for me and explain his emotions. But on the second night, I could no longer wait. I needed to know if my husband was truly alive. I needed to know what Truo knew about why Cyro has suddenly changed.

  But worst of all, I just wanted to see him. I hated feeling that way. Was it possible to have feelings for two males at the same time? I still loved my husband and wanted nothing more than to be with him if he was still alive. But at the same time, I had developed emotions for Truo, and I really hoped that he was not using me and lying to me.

  I moved quietly down the stairs, but it was not midnight. It was an hour until midnight, and I hoped that perhaps Truo would be in the underground passage. So I went early, but I was not expecting to find what I found.

  "We will have to leave for the High Council soon, very soon. I am ready to go to Cyro and tell him that your plans for the fortress are true and that you and I should leave to the High Council the very next day for permissions,” I heard a familiar voice say as I walked quietly down the hall to the secret room. I slowed down listening.

  "Yes, I agree with that plan. He does not know yet of your plans to overthrow him. I believe the High Council will make you the leader, Truo,” another voice said.

  I gasped. I was in shock that Truo was planning to overthrow Cyro.

  "What was that?” Truo said.

  My eyes grew wide. Had they heard me? I begin to backtrack my steps, but it was too late. Truo and another alien warrior came out of the room.

  "What is she doing down here? She will tell Cyro,” the other alien warrior said as he came towards me in anger.

  "No. No, she won't. Do not touch her. She is down here to see me,” Truo said as he stood between me and the other alien warrior.

  "Why? Why bring her into this secret? She cannot be trusted. She will tell Cyro your plan to overtake him,” the other alien warrior said.

  "What? You plan to do what?” I asked, looking at Truo in confusion.

  "Vera, this does not concern you. You should go back to your chambers and remain there. Say nothing of what you saw down here,” he said to me.

  "So this is why you were kind to me? This is why you were using me! You are using me so that you can become the leader!” I shouted at him in anger.

  I was so pissed off that I could not control my rage. I was right about him. He had lied to me. He had been deceiving me in order to get something from me. He had planned to impregnate me so that the leadership seat could be his on this godforsaken asteroid.

  "You lied to me! Cyro told me that my husband is still alive! You lied to me simply so that you could console me in my grief. You knew that I would go into your arms if you treated me with kindness, if you treated me as though I was your friend and I could trust you. You knew that eventually you would mate with me!"

  "No! That is not what happened. You're not part of this plan at all; I have not lied to you!” Truo shouted.

  "Truo! You mated with her?!” the other alien warrior shouted.

  "I should never have trusted you! You are horrible!” I shouted as I turned to run back toward my chambers. I had all the answers that I needed. Truo had been using this underground room for his secret meetings for a revolution. It wasn't a special place just for he and me. I had been a complete fool and he had taken advantage of me in my state of grief and stress. I felt his hand wrap around my arm and stop me.

  "Vera, don't go like this. This is not what you think,” he said to me.

  "Let me go! Let me go!” I shouted.

  "Who is down there?!” a voice shouted from on top of the stairs.

  Truo, his companion, and I grew silent. We all looked at each other with wide eyes.

  "There's someone down there!” More alien warriors shouted from the top of the stairs.

  "We will be caught,” his companion whispered.

  "Follow me. There's only one way out of here. There's no turning back now,” Truo said as he grabbed my arm and ran. I moved my legs as fast as I could to try to keep up with the large stride of the 8-foot tall aliens. I was out of breath, and I was terrified. If I were caught below the fortress with Truo and his companion who were plotting a revolution, I would be put to death.

  "This way," Truo whispered as the sound of boots filled the underground passage, echoing off the walls as alien warriors shouted directions to each other. It was frightening. It sounded like there were many that suddenly flooded the underground passages hunting us.

  "We are almost there," Truo whispered.

  I was scared. I was confused. But I was not prepared for what Truo had in mind, where he was leading us.

  Chapter 10

  TRUO SEEDUON, SECOND COMMAND

  It was now or never. We had been caught. All was at stake now. We had to make a run for it. I led Sitione and Vera through the maze of underground passages as the warriors from the fortress chased us. I could hear their boots getting louder and louder. Finally, we came to the end of the passage that led out onto the surface, to my escape pod.

  "You can't be serious? I'm not getting in that!” Vera shouted at me as she saw what I intended to do: get us off the asteroid.

  "Here is your chance! This is your chance for escape!" I shouted at her, confused by her reluctance to leave. This is what she had been wanting since she arrived;it's what anyone that was being held against their will would want. “Sitione, get in the ship and start the engines!"

  "I'm on it!” he responded. He climbed into the ship and Vera was pulling away from me. I held her arm.

  "But Marcus! My husband! He is still here!" she shouted. “We must get him too!”

  "Vera I have told you before! Marcus is not here, he has never been here. He has passed away,” I told her, confused as to why she was suddenly thinking that he was alive.

  "You lie! You lied to me about everything! Cyro is going to let me see him. He is alive, and he is here!” she shouted as tears came to her eyes.

  "He lied to you! I do not lie to you! Your husband is dead! Now get in the ship before it is too late. We must get away from here,” I said to her, trying to pull her towards the ship. Out of my haste, I was rougher with her than I should have been.

  “Be careful! My baby!” she shouted.

  I turned to her stunned. Was she saying what I thought she was saying?

  “Vera, you are with offspring?!” I shouted at her.

  Her eyes were full of fear as she said, “Yes, I am pregnant. Do not touch me.”

  "Get away from her,” Cyro said as he came out of the end of the passage. There was one other warrior with him.

  "Traitor! You are trying to steal my wife from me! She is with offspring! My offspring, and now you try to steal her?!” he shouted in anger. “Seize him!”

  The w
arrior came toward me.

  "Vera, get on the ship!” I shouted as I got in front of her, guarding her from Cyro, and braced myself for the warrior to charge me. He hit me hard in the gut. I punched him on the side, the left side without scales, very hard. It was just the right spot to make him double over. I grabbed his head and smashed it down into my knee. Bam! He fell onto the ground, unconscious.

  "She is mine!” Cyro shouted as he charged me with a knife drawn. Bam! He knocked me off my feet. We rolled across the ground as his knife came down, stabbing at me, nearly missing me. I grabbed his hand that held the knife, pushing it away from me. He was very strong, and it took all of my strength to keep the knife from stabbing me. I could hear more warriors shouting down the passageway; they were close. I would not be able to fend off all of them.

  The engines roared to life on the pod. I had to make a move. We had to leave right that second. I kneed Cyro in the ribs. Bam! He tumbled over onto his side, but as he did so, the knife slipped and gouged deep into my left arm.