Rescued By The Alien Warrior: A Sci Fi Alien Romance

by Leia Gray

  All evening, I try to ask him questions and make conversation, but he puts up those walls and those terse one-word answers at every juncture. Does he regret saving me? Is that it?

  Or is he merely holding me until someone else can come and snatch me away?

  The thoughts run rampant until my body sags with the weight of them. Finally, I can put it off no longer. I curl into bed, shoving a pillow between my legs, and fall into a fitful sleep full of aliens and haunting yellow eyes.

  14

  Darvok

  I float through the haze of my subconscious, meditating with the Imala as I have so many times before. I don’t have the Agrith leaves to help me in my quest this time, no, but reunited with the stone, I can connect more clearly to my ancestral heritage.

  There’s only one problem.

  The stone used to show me visions of home, visions of Rathia and my brothers and sisters. It used to remind me of who I was, who I came from. But now? Ever since that girl laid her hands on it, it’s like its...tainted somehow. When I go under this time, I don’t see the welcoming red flare of my home planet.

  I see her. And she’s in trouble.

  My heart leaps at the sight of her long black hair, her green eyes filled with naked fear. I see what they did to her, down to the last grimy detail. And my warrior spirit rises within me, ready to fight. She was never supposed to be part of this.

  It takes all my energy not to scream as I see Krevith’s ugly face and the smug look of satisfaction he had after capturing her. It makes me sick and I lash out at the memories, my fists catching nothing but air.

  The past is gone.

  All I have is the now.

  I come out of my trance, shaking and disoriented, a sheen of sweat beading up on my forehead. I lean back in the chair and stare at the ceiling, taking in long steady breaths through my nose.

  A mixture of frustration and fascination washes over me. She’s clearly changed the nature of the ore somehow. It shows her, and only her, over and over. Like I’m supposed to know what to do with that.

  No, I only picked her up in the first place because she had my stone. And even I’m not heartless enough to leave an innocent in Krevith’s clutches. I have to return her to wherever she came from. I have to get her out of my life, before I lose my head completely.

  I know I should unload her at the first chance and get on with my mission, but something within me rises up the moment I even consider such a proposition. The stone clearly seems to favor her, and I might too, if it weren’t such bad timing.

  She was nothing more than collateral damage, the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had nothing to do with my mission to seek revenge.

  And yet...

  It takes almost all my strength to ignore her unusual beauty. The brilliance of her smile, her outlook, her tenacity in the face of such chaos and destruction...it moves me. I’d be a fool to discount the magnetism charging the air, but it’s that very vibration that reminds me I can’t stay around her for long. If I do, I might lose myself completely.

  I run a hand through my hair, letting out a sigh. Clearly, the Tia and I are still not on speaking terms. I feel lost for one of the first times in my life, adrift without an anchor and floating with the winds of fate.

  My eyes are bleary from the lack of sleep, my muscles tired from constant exertion. But I’ve never been so close to my target, and if I stop now...

  No. That’s not an option.

  I slip the stone back onto its chain and around my neck for safekeeping, the slow, pulsing energy of it right next to my heart.

  One thing at a time. And first things first, I’ve got to go see what Krevith’s up to.

  I know before I step out of the bedroom that Liana won’t be happy about this. It’s not like I want to keep her here against her will. She can leave any time she chooses, but why would she? A human on an unfamiliar station that’s swarming with ne’er-do-wells? I don’t blame her for staying put.

  When I step into the kitchen, she’s already there, her hair in a messy snarl around her delicate face. The sight of her disarms me, and I almost forget about my mission when our gazes meet. Her lips hang open only slightly, wet with the water she drinks from a wayward mug.

  It takes everything I have not to grab her and press my lips to hers right then and there. She just escaped from the foulest scum in the galaxy. Pushing myself on her now would just scare her and break her trust. She would feel unsafe all over again, and I would be no different than the men who captured her. I can’t have that.

  I will be better than them.

  If she’s going to come to me, she will come of her own volition. Because she wants to, not because I’ve forced her hand.

  “You’re up,” she says, without taking her eyes off her mug.

  “I’ve got some business in town, and I need to know that you’ll stay here.”

  Her face darkens and she takes another sip. “You’re leaving me again?” The words cut through my heart like glass. She finally raises her eyes, and when I catch her gaze, I realize I never want to leave her again.

  “I’ve got to,” I explain, wiping my suddenly sweating hands on my pants. “The man that took you—Krevith—he’s still out there. I came to bring him to justice. He’ll be looking for you. For both of us. He can’t find us here, but if you leave...”

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” She huffs and turns away again, her face cold. The energy spilling off of her changes, becomes more ragged. It’s like someone’s cut a taut string, and the connection between us wavers. Even the stone pulses angrily against my chest.

  She’s upset at me. Could have expected that much. I take a step forward, wanting to take her in my arms and assure her it’s all right. But then I hear footsteps outside, far too close for my liking. I have a job to do.

  “Stay here,” I mouth, giving her a severe look. “I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

  She doesn’t respond. When the footsteps come again, closer this time, I put the hurt feelings aside and shift back into the cold warrior persona I’ve worn all my life. It kept me alive for this long.

  Maybe, just maybe, it can keep her alive too.

  As much as I try to focus on the task at hand, as soon as I leave the hideout, back into the airy expanse of the space station, I can think of nothing else. She seeps through all the cracks in my mind, into my resolve, my heart, and my soul. The stone has noticed her too, and even from beneath my shirt, I can see the warm glow getting fainter the further I stray.

  Mine, the stone seems to say. Ours.

  I follow the sound of footsteps across the planks of Ecto, careful to keep out of sight. Even with my large frame, it’s something I’ve become accustomed to; skulking in the shadows is something of a specialty.

  That’s when I see them.

  Krevith’s men are out in force, scanning the docks with flashlights and searching eyes. Looking for Liana, no doubt.

  I strain my ears to pick up any sound as I press myself against a cold metal wall.

  “She’s got to be around here somewhere,” a gravelly voice complains.

  The sound of flesh striking flesh.

  “What was that for?” the same man moans.

  “You’re the one that left your post in the first place. If you’d been on your guard, we wouldn’t be out here in the first place.”

  “S-sorry, I—”

  “Sorry won’t cut it, Viken. Now come on; we’ve got five more sectors to sweep. You know the boss isn’t gonna let us back in without his prize.”

  Grumbles, from what sounds like two more men.

  Then the footsteps recede, and their conversation along with it.

  Good riddance, I think. Krevith deserves to suffer.

  It warms my heart to see them struggling. I’ve fooled them again, but I don’t expect that luck to last forever.

  They’ll be back before we know it, and next time I might not be so lucky. I watch them go and then slink back to the hidden grate, lettin
g myself back in.

  Liana jumps at the sound of the door opening and brandishes a broken bottle in her hand, ready to fight. The fire in her eyes unnerves me and sets another fire ablaze in my gut. Despite all she’s been through, she’s still ready to fight. She doesn’t give up and break down like other girls I’ve seen. She’s strong.

  And that makes me want her even more.

  She lowers her weapon and puts a hand to her heart as I fill the doorway. Tension pours off her in waves, interacting with the crystal at my chest. I want to wrap her in my arms right there, remind her I’m here, that she’s okay.

  The Tia are definitely messing with me now.

  “They’ve managed to miss us. For now,” I tell her, my hands clasped behind my back, spine straight. Try as I might to envision her as nothing more than a soldier I’m reporting to, my heart betrays me. “You’re safe.” The words crackle on my tongue before I have a chance to stop them.

  The tension washes out of her body almost instantly and she sinks into a nearby chair, letting out a breath. Liana studies her drink for a good minute, then blinks up at me, finally composed. “Thank you, again.”

  She sets down the mug of water and walks around the kitchen island to face me. Our bodies are only inches apart now, and I can feel the heat coming off her body in waves. The crystal pulses next to my heart, warming with her glow. When she flashes me that brilliant smile, it lights up the whole room and I forget myself.

  She’s so brilliant. So strong.

  So mine.

  My instincts overtake me and I lean in, grabbing her by the shoulders and grazing my lips against hers. She lets out a muffled gasp, tensing in my arms, then turning pliant as she wraps her arms around my frame as well. Liana melts into my touch and her lips open in a breathy sigh before I extricate myself, breathing hard.

  I should not have done that.

  I should not have done that.

  Liana looks at me with wide, confused eyes, her lips swollen and pink. I want her so badly I can barely breathe, but the time isn’t right, nor the place. “I’m sorry.” The words tumble from my lips as my face flames with guilt. “I’ll just...”

  I turn for the door to my bedroom, and she doesn’t say a word.

  15

  Liana

  Damn that alien. Damn him and this whole station. And especially damn the way his firm, commanding lips slid over mine for a delicious second before he pulled away and locked himself in his room.

  Just what did he want from me?

  Even in my time at the Academy, where boys-who-were-not-yet-men pined over me, I’d never encountered such an extreme case of mixed signals before. Darvok was clearly a man of values, of duty, of honor. But he couldn’t deny the way the air crackled between us, or the way his magical stone reacted in my presence.

  Could he?

  I toss and turn in my bed that night, the covers much too hot and too cold at the same time. Finally, with a frustrated huff, I tear them away and step out of bed, sneaking as quietly as I can into the main room. The door to his bedroom is still closed; I assume he’s sleeping as well.

  The perfect time to get a little fresh air without Mr. Demanding Alien all up in my business.

  Despite the definite danger outside these walls, my skin crawls the longer I’m cooped up here. I feel stagnant, trapped, at rest. If I don’t get out of here, at least for some fresh air, I’m going to go crazy.

  My hand is on the airlock when Darvok’s voice echoes behind me.

  “Don’t.”

  His calm, steely tone freezes my blood for an instant too long. I turn, and he’s there in a flash, blocking my passageway. Blocking my one way out to freedom.

  Shame and anger and disgust rise within me. I grab and claw and yell at him, beating against his chest. “You can’t keep me here, you monster! Let me go!” He simply stands there, unscathed. Damn him and his wall of muscle. Damn him to the deepest layer of hell.

  “Liana,” he says, way too casually, grabbing my flailing arms. “You cannot leave here alone.”

  Tears spring to my eyes as I realize how powerless I really am. Who was I to think I could escape a powerful alien warrior like him? Who was I to think there was any hope for me on this dark foreign world? My chest heaves with silent sobs as he leads me away from the door. My shoulders slump, my heart sinks.

  He’s no better than the rest of them.

  Should have known.

  “Liana,” he says again, when I don’t answer him. Serves him right.

  He takes my chin gently in his hand and tilts it up toward him. When my eyes catch on to his, I can’t look away. “You know it’s not safe out there,” he says slowly. The hand holding my chin reaches up to brush away the tears drying on my cheek and my stomach clenches.

  What good was being ‘safe’ if I still wasn’t free?

  “Please,” I whisper. “I just want to get some air, stretch my legs. I can’t stand being cooped up like this.” And I can’t stand being so close to a man that feels the fire between us, yet denies it every step of the way.

  Darvok’s gaze softens, and I can feel something caving within him. He lets me go, but doesn’t step out of the doorway.

  “I will walk with you,” Darvok says finally. “I know a place.”

  I chew my lip for a moment. Not exactly what I had in mind. I had really wanted some time away from him, away from the heat between us and the swirling thoughts that come along with it. But it looks like this is my only choice, so I take it.

  “Fine. Lead the way.”

  He presses on the latch to the airlock and we step out into the tunnels, the only sounds our footsteps pattering on metal.

  Well, it’s not exactly ‘out’ like I’d envisioned, but it’s something. The air is cooler here, ventilated from the outside through shafts in the ceiling. If I crane my neck just right, I can see the world above us. I can see the shimmering night sky, alight with stars and a dancing moon.

  We walk along in silence for what feels like forever, Darvok not daring to meet my gaze again. I breathe in as much of the cool, fresh air as I can and run my hands over the textured metal walls, feeling each ridge, each crease. I had made a short foray into the tunnels when gathering flowers for the hideout, but I had no idea they were so complex and reached so far. It was like an entire other city lived and breathed beneath the surface, unbeknownst to all but few.

  Finally, I cannot stand the silence any longer. I stop in my tracks and turn to him. There’s something on my mind, something that’s been on my mind since our first fateful meeting. I hadn’t been brave enough to ask before, but I have to know.

  I’m not foolish enough to think he simply rescued me out of chivalry. No, he’d made it clear I was not part of his plans. He had some sort of vendetta against the man who took me, and I’d simply gotten caught up in his quest for revenge.

  “Did Krevith hurt someone close to you?” I put my hands on my hips, waiting for a response. He’d unwound all my layers, made me speak my most vulnerable truths. It was time he did the same.

  The purple alien warrior’s face shows fear for the first time. He pauses for a long moment, considering his answer. Then his face goes hard again as he lets out a long, shaky breath.

  “He hurt many close to me.”

  The tension in the air hangs thick and heavy, like a smothering blanket. It is so palpable I can nearly taste it. Clearly, I’ve breached the wrong subject. But I have to know what drives him, if we are ever to work together. Darvok meets my eyes once more, his face now lined beyond his years with untold grief and fury.

  Whatever happened to him...it must have been horrible. Carrying that pain around with him, every second of every day, had changed him. And not for the better.

  “He violated my home planet, Rathia. And for that, he will pay.” Darvok’s voice is hard, no longer tinged with remorse, but the steely determination of a man who’s decided he will spend his life carrying out this act, even if it kills him.

  I look away, the int
ensity of his gaze unnerving. I train my gaze on the intricate patterns on the metal floor instead, measuring my words before continuing.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “That must have been horrible.”

  I think about the pain and agony I felt when the mining accident destroyed my life as I knew it. Losing my parents was like losing a piece of myself. I could only imagine what it must have felt like to see one’s people slaughtered, one’s planet defiled...

  “Don’t be,” Darvok interrupts me, shaking his head. “You did not do it.”

  It’s so easy to forget he’s from a different world, with different customs. “I know,” I say with a smile. “I didn’t mean that I did. It’s a saying we use on my world.”

  He considers this for a second, then nods his head as recognition dawns.

  “Of course.”

  We continue walking after that, but the tension is gone. In its place is a new understanding, an intimacy I haven’t felt before. My skin tingles with his presence, and I swear I can almost feel his breath, that’s how aware I am. It’s unnerving and exciting all at the same time, and I’m not sure what to do, but I don’t want it to end.

  “Tell me more about Rathia,” I say after we’ve walked a little further. “What’s it like there?”

  This time, he doesn’t resist.

  “It’s beautiful.” He stops and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. It’s hard to deny the shiver of electricity that passes between us. Somehow, the look in his eyes tells me the planet isn’t the only thing that’s beautiful right now. “It’s illuminated by muted twin suns that shine all day and part of the night. It’s warm, tropical like. Not at all like this cold, desolate station.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Terribly.” He squeezes my hand again. “But I left the planet with a job to do, and I can’t return ’til I’ve seen it through. To return empty-handed would be the ultimate dishonor. I was a chieftain once, of the Vetha-Rek faction. We play hard and fight harder, but I failed them that fateful day. I failed all of them. Instead of living out my life in shame, I made a vow to bring back Krevith’s head. It’s the only way I can live out my days in peace. It’s the only way I’ll ever be free.”