by Sadie Carter
And for some reason, everyone else seemed to think that she should keep them company. That because she was female she could somehow relate to these silly women who kept going on about their chipped nails or the lack of services on this ship.
The light blonde-haired one was the worst. She had the loudest voice and was the most demanding. Not that the dark-blonde one was much better. In fact, it was only the one with the reddish-blonde hair who showed any gratitude for the fact that they had risked their lives to save them.
Elika had only spent two days with them, but she didn’t know how much more she could take. From what she could tell, they had been unconscious since the moment they had been taken, only waking once they were safe on Betsy. Yet, they acted as though they had been thoroughly traumatized by the whole experience.
She could understand them being confused and scared, but the way they acted was far beyond anything she had imagined.
“Yes, I would love to get out of here,” she replied desperately.
Willa grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door. There had only been two spare bunkrooms on Betsy, but Deacon had given up his room and was bunking in with Steele so the rescued women could have a bedroom each, not that they’d thanked him. They spent most of their time in the blonde-haired one’s room.
“Where are you going?” the blonde one asked.
Willa turned back. “To the bathroom.” She placed her hand on her stomach. “Bad curry. Could be a while.”
Willa pulled Elika out of the room at a near run, giggling as they turned the corner. She stopped and leaned back against the wall.
“Do you think they’ll follow us?”
“Nah. No way they’ll want to follow after that. I don’t know how you put up with them.”
She didn’t think she had much choice. Darac had asked her to keep them company and she couldn’t say no, could she?
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Elika asked as she followed Willa down to the cargo area of Betsy. Not that she cared, she was just happy to be out of that room.
“We’re going outside.”
Elika widened her eyes. “We are?”
“Uh-huh, Zuma and Deacon said they’d take us for a drink.”
“Really? And Darac and Rye agreed?” She swallowed the pain that saying his name brought. She was trying hard not to think about Rye and the way things had ended between them. He hadn’t even given her a chance to explain; he’d made up his mind about her, and that was fine.
Except it really wasn’t. Because she actually cared about him. A lot.
“They’re busy planning and plotting. We’ll be back before they even realize we left.”
“Come on, let’s go!” Zuma raced up towards them a big grin on his face. “We’ve got two hours before we have to get back and I need to see a man about some fireworks.”
“Fireworks?” she asked.
Willa rolled her eyes. “They’re small rockets you shoot into the sky, and they explode into pretty, colorful patterns. Zuma is obsessed by them, and he’s found someone here who sells them.”
Deacon shook his head. “You realize this isn’t a smart idea.”
“Ah, old man, if you want to stay home with your cup of tea and slippers, you can,” Zuma joked.
Deacon grumbled and raised his middle finger at the other man. She wasn’t sure what that gesture meant and made a note to ask Willa later. They all dressed warmly and headed out. As soon as they reached the tavern, she knew this was a bad idea. The room was dark, smelly, and crowded. As she followed Zuma through the room, she had to resist the urge to grab hold of his coat and cling to him like a child.
There were just too many people here. Too many unknowns. And the smell. Body odor mixed with a musty, damp smell. It was awful. Finally, they reached a booth at the back. She and Willa slipped in while the two men went to get drinks.
“Jeez, has no one on this planet heard of deodorant?” Willa commented, wrinkling her nose. “Or bathing?”
Elika took quick, shallow breaths. She felt better now that they weren’t pressed up against a bunch of strangers, and she’d take body odor over those complaining women any day. Still, she was glad they wouldn’t be here long.
She smiled at Deacon as he handed her a drink. Taking a sip, she curled her lip up at the strong wheat taste.
“Haven’t you had a beer before?” Willa asked, leaning in.
Is that what this is?
“No. It is very nice.”
“Liar.” Willa grinned at her. “It’s an acquired taste. Zerconia doesn’t have any beer, and I’ve missed it.”
Elika glanced around. Nearby, a large Luskian chewed on a huge leg of meat. Meat juice dripped down his chin as he grinned at her then burped. The smell wafted over.
“Oh God, why don’t Luskians learn to brush their teeth like the rest of us.” Willa waved her hand in front of her face. “Shit, he’s coming over.”
Sure enough, the hairy male—and she knew it was a male because he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing—stomped over.
“You.” He pointed at her.
Even though she knew there was no one sitting behind her, she turned, praying she was mistaken.
No. She wasn’t. Oh, Goddess.
The male threw the bone away over his shoulder. It hit a male on the head, and he yelped, turning. But when the Luskian turned to glare at him, the much smaller male backed away, the anger on his face fading.
Elika didn’t blame the smaller male. Up close the Luskian was even larger, well over eight feet, and nearly as wide across. He had tusks out each side of his nose, which twisted at the end. Matted fur covered his body, only thinning around his genitals.
Rather unfortunate for everyone else in his vicinity.
“Me?” she asked quietly.
“You. Come. Me.”
“Oh, fuck,” Willa said. Then more loudly. “She’s with us, big guy. Go find your own Jane.”
The Luskian turned to Willa with a frown. “She. Mine.”
Zuma and Deacon stood. Uh oh.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know you.” Maybe he had her mistaken for someone else.
“You look at me. Mine.”
“Jesus Christ, is that all it takes? Poor Luskian females.” Willa shook her head. “Haven’t you heard of courting? You need to ask her on a date, bring her some flowers, chocolates. Women like to be wooed, not taken out to the back and mounted.”
The Luskian’s face darkened.
“I think you’re making him angrier.” Elika grabbed Willa’s hand.
“I know. My mouth runs away on me when I’m nervous.”
“She mine,” he roared the last part, and she swore she passed out a for a brief moment from the stench of his breath.
“No. She’s not. She’s mine.” A deep voice spoke from behind the Luskian. He turned, revealing Rye. If he was nervous at having the Luskian looming over him, he didn’t show it.
“No. She. Mine.” The Luskian pushed him back, and Rye went flying.
Elika screamed, standing. She needed to go to him. She barely even noticed the chaos erupting around her.
“Wait.” Willa grabbed her arm. “You can’t go out there.”
Zuma and Deacon jumped on the Luskian, preventing him from going after Rye who was now standing. Thank the Goddess. She let out the breath she had been holding, her lungs burning.
“But—”
“If you get in the middle now, you’ll get hurt,” Willa yelled. “Come on.”
Around her, it seemed like everyone had gone insane. Tables were overturned, glass smashed against the ground. Willa pulled her back, just in time, as two bodies rolled together across the floor.
“This way, ladies.” Suddenly a dark-haired, slim-built man appeared in front of them. “Follow me.”
“Don’t think so, buddy,” Willa yelled, staying still.
Elika agreed. No way was she following some stranger.
“I’m Oscar Pnir, I
’m a friend of Rye’s. Come with me. I’ll get you out of here safely.”
Elika glanced at Willa who looked as doubtful as she felt. There was something about the man that felt off. And he seemed familiar, although she’d swear she had never seen him before.
“Come. Now.” There was a command in his voice, and it tugged at her. A spell? But he wasn’t a wizard, was he? There was no glow to his skin.
Before she could tell Willa that something was off, the other woman started to follow Pnir out of the tavern. He guided them through, amazingly unscathed and out into the dark night.
“I think you should come with me,” Pnir suggested. “Rye will know where to find you when he has finished.”
Oh no. No way was she going with him.
“Thanks, but no,” Willa told him, wiping her hand across her sweaty forehead. “Never leave a man behind. We wait here.”
Elika felt like a mess as well. Her body was trembling, she was overly hot despite the cold outside, and her stomach was a boiling mess of nerves.
“Shouldn’t we go help them?” she asked. Please, please, let Rye be all right. And the others too, of course. “This is my fault.”
“No, it’s not. It’s that idiot Luskian’s fault. For some reason, he fixated on you. It was like he was drawn to you or something.”
“You ladies shouldn’t be waiting out in the cold like this. Rye will be most annoyed with me if I don’t bring you out of the cold. Please, come with me.” The words were polite, but she could almost sense a hint of impatience.
Willa snorted. “If you knew me you’d know I wasn’t some delicate flower. A bit of cold doesn’t worry me.”
It might not worry Willa, but Elika was shivering, her teeth chattering. The adrenaline rush had faded, leaving her shaky and freezing, especially since she’d left her coat inside.
Suddenly the door opened, and Zuma spilled out, rolling head over heels. He came to a stop and just lay there. The three of them froze for a moment, watching him. He jumped to his feet and turned.
“Watch out,” he yelled.
Willa pulled her back, just as the Luskian stormed out the doorway with a yell. Tears streamed down his face as he ran off into the night. Elika gaped after him. What had just happened?
“Fun’s over,” Rye said from behind her. She turned to find him standing at the entrance. There was a cut over his eye, and his top was ripped at the shoulder, but otherwise he looked well. Deacon was another story. He was leaning heavily on Rye, blood pouring down his face.
“Deacon!” she exclaimed, moving forward.
“Got bashed over the head with a bottle. He’ll have a headache tomorrow, but he’ll live.” Rye gave her a hard look. “Where’s your coat?”
“Um, back inside.”
“I will gladly get the lady’s coat.”
Rye’s heated glare turned to the dark-haired male. “Pnir, what are you doing here?”
“I saw you come in and was coming over to talk to you when the fight erupted. I thought I would offer my protection to these two lovely ladies.” He turned to Elika. “I will retrieve your coat, my dear. Here, have mine while I get it.” He shoved off his own coat and placed it around her shoulders. She wanted to shove it off, it just felt wrong. But she figured that would seem rude when he was just trying to be helpful.
“Hey, grab all of them while you’re in there, okay?” Zuma called after him.
Pnir stilled, his shoulders stiffening but he didn’t say anything as he moved inside.
“Be careful how far you push him,” Rye warned.
Zuma shrugged. “He’s too smug. I don’t trust him.”
She didn’t either.
“He’s the one who owed you a favor? You sure he’ll fulfill his end of the bargain?” Willa asked worriedly.
“He made the call while I was there,” Rye told them. “He won’t betray me. Not if he knows what’s good for him.”
Somehow she didn’t have the same faith Rye did.
When Pnir returned with most of their coats, Zuma’s had mysteriously disappeared, they parted ways with the dark-haired man and returned slowly to the ship.
“What the hell were you two thinking, bringing them out with you?” Rye growled, glaring at Zuma and Deacon.
“They were thinking we were going insane cooped up with those three silly twits,” Willa countered. “It was just a drink.”
“You ended up in the middle of a bar fight!” Rye half-yelled. “You could have been seriously hurt.”
“Oh, pfft, I’ve been in worse bar fights than that.”
“Elika hasn’t.”
He was worried about her? She’s mine. Had he actually meant that? It hadn’t just been a lie to get the Luskian to back off? But didn’t he hate her? She was so confused.
Willa turned to look at her brother then at Elika. “Oh, so it’s Elika you were worried about. Not me.”
“Or me.” Zuma placed his hand on his chest as they climbed the ramp up to Betsy. “I’m crushed.”
“Don’t leave the ship again without me,” Rye ordered.
He didn’t need to tell her twice.
“I second that,” Darac growled, stepping forward out of the shadows. “You didn’t tell me you were leaving the ship, Willa.”
Willa sighed. “Bad Willa. Stay, Willa. Sit, Willa. Woof-woof.”
Elika frowned, not understanding a word she was saying.
“I don’t know why you’re all looking so serious, I had a great time.” Zuma placed his arm around her shoulders. “Darling, you can come drinking with me anytime.”
The man was crazy.
“Elika, come with me.” Rye gently grasped hold of her upper arm, pulling her along towards her room. He paused outside. “We need to talk.”
She drew her arm free. “It’s okay, I won’t leave the ship again.” She hadn’t really wanted to leave in the first place. “You don’t need to lecture me anymore.”
“No, it’s not that. Although I am glad to hear it. Can you invite me in?”
She stared at him suspiciously, but he didn’t look angry.
“Alright.”
She opened her door and stepped in. He followed her in, dwarfing the small room with his presence. “I need to apologize.”
Okay, that was unexpected.
“I jumped to conclusions, the other day in the cave when I accused you of placing a spell on me. I had no right to accuse you of that and I apologize.”
She moved to the bed and sat, looking up at him.
“There’s no spell that I know of that can link people’s dreams,” she told him. “And even if there were, I wouldn’t do that. What reason would I have?”
“I know. I just…” He sighed. “You know I told you about Milissa, the witch who betrayed me?”
“Yes, she is the reason you don’t trust me.”
“I let my hatred for her color my view of all other witches. I know you’re not like her. She placed a spell on me without my permission. She locked my limbs up. I couldn’t move, couldn’t talk or blink. It was like I was trapped in my own body. At times I wondered if I would just stop breathing. She escaped while I lay there, trapped and terrified. Eventually, it wore off. But I had no idea it was only temporary.”
She could imagine how terrifying that would have been.
Standing, she moved towards him and took his hand. He stared down at her. “I promise I would never use a spell on you without your permission.”
He nodded and she could sense the vulnerability he was trying to hide, how hard it was for him to tell her all of this. Rye was a strong, proud man. To be made to feel so helpless must have affected him deeply.
“You’ll forgive my earlier behavior?”
“Of course.” How could she not? “I do not know why we shared similar dreams.”
He cupped her face between his. “I think I might.” Leaning in, he kissed her deeply. “Because we’re attracted to each other.” He kissed her again. “You are so beautiful. And strong. And smart.”
<
br /> “I’m not that strong,” she confessed. “I still hear him sometimes.”
“Husan?”
She nodded. “He tells me I’m useless. That no one loved me enough to come for me.”
“You listen to me,” he told her fiercely. “Every time you hear his voice, I want you to remember this. No matter what happens, you have people who care about you. Who will come for you.”
She desperately wanted to believe that. Just like she wanted to tell him exactly how much she cared about him. But she was all too aware that as soon as this was all over, he’d be leaving to find his brother.
And she wasn’t going with him.
***
“Why aren’t we leaving this God forsaken planet?” the blonde female screeched as she paced back and forth. She threw her arms into the air. “I thought my uncle hired you to rescue us and take us home. So why don’t you do what you were ordered to?”
Had it only been four days since she and Rye had been rescued from the tunnel? It felt like a lifetime had passed. Being with these women was torture. Why did the Universe continue to punish her?
She rubbed her temples. “I told you that we were not hired by your uncle. He requested our services. He will send someone to collect you from Zerconia.”
“What if those aliens try to force us to mate with them?” the reddish-blonde one asked.
Elika got their names confused. Who was Madison? And who was Madilyn? Why did their names have to be so similar?
The others squealed, and Elika winced, sending the red-blonde one a glare. She shrugged, but there was a glimpse of fear on her face. Elika sighed.
“Moggy—”
“It’s Molly,” the redhead told her with a frown.
“Right, that is what I said. Molly, the Zerconians will not force you. They are very protective of women. They will look after you until the ship from Earth arrives.”
“Not good enough.” Blonde one again. “Madilyn and I have to get back to Earth. Our boyfriends will be missing us.”
“Oh, Goddess. I’m certain they can wait a few more weeks.” They would probably be happy for the peace and quiet. She knew she would be.
“A few more weeks,” Madilyn screeched. “I can’t stay here a few more weeks.” She rushed to the door, banging her fists against it.
