The Alien's Challenge: A SciFi Alien Warrior Romance (Drixonian Warriors Book 6)

by Ella Maven

My eyes drifted to that hole I thought I’d die in. “I woke on the ground. They clubbed me until I coughed up blood and then tossed me inside that hole.”

  Tears dripped from her eyes, and she wiped them away on a sniff. “I hate them for that. All of them.”

  I had a few hunches that all of them weren’t so bad. I needed time to figure it out. I might be healing, but I was going to be busy for the next three rotations. “I need you to do me a favor, Tab.”

  “Anything,” she answered immediately.

  “Come here close,” I tugged on her arm, and she placed her face next to mine, our temples touching. “I need you to make friends with the females. Talk to them. Figure out what’s going on here. Something is off.”

  “I thought so too,” she whispered. “The vibe is all kinds of wrong.”

  “Vibe?”

  She pressed on my thigh as she turned her head until her lips were right along the shell of my ear. “The atmosphere. The feelings. It’s so tense.”

  “See what you can find out. You’re charming and they seem to like you already. Can you do that?”

  She pulled back with a wicked smile as she dunked the blood-soaked rag in the qua and rang it out. Her eyes held a determined glint. “Absolutely. I’m great at getting the goss.”

  “I don’t know what goss is.”

  She laughed, a short tinkling sound, which had both Kalumas craning their necks to get a look at her. When I glared, they turned away once again.

  Despite her bravery, I could feel tremors in her hands as she touched me, and she nibbled her lip, blinking rapidly as she came across the full extent of my injuries. She met my eyes with fear. “Xav,” she whispered. “What are we going to do? Three days, and—”

  “One day at a time,” I cut her off, not wanting her to work herself up further. “And we use our time wisely. Everyone has weaknesses. We’ll find Varnex’s, and then we’ll find everyone else’s okay?”

  “What’s yours?”

  “You, Tab,” I said. “It’s you, and they already know that. What they don’t know is that you’re also my greatest strength.”

  Her face crumpled and she planted her face into my chest as her shoulders shook—with tears or laughter I wasn’t sure. When she lifted her head again, it seemed it was a mixture of both, as she swiped at her cheeks with a smile. “You always say the best things.”

  “Of course, I do, why do you think they sent me?”

  She rolled her eyes and continued wiping me down. When she felt I was as clean as possible, my attention turned to her injuries. With my one good hand, I wiped her palms clean and wrapped them with some spare fabric. After I pressed a kiss to each of her wrists, we ate.

  I could barely lift my arms, so she fed me, breaking off small hunks of the moldy bread. I could only eat that plus some flavorless mush in a bowl because all my teeth hurt. I prodded a few, wincing when they felt loose. I hadn’t lied—normally I could heal well after one night’s sleep, but these injuries were serious. Thinking of fighting anyone right now had my entire body breaking out into full-blown tremors.

  Tab noticed and panicked until I got her to lay her head in my lap and cover herself with a fur. I prushed for her, the sound a little crackly and broken, but it was enough for her to fall into a fitful sleep. I followed soon after, begging Fatas to give us a little hope with the next sunrise.

  Tabitha

  When I woke the next morning, Xavy was still asleep. We’d shifted in the night, so now he lay spooning me, his one bound arm bent behind him at an awkward angle. The other lay under my head, offering me his biceps as a pillow. Even in his sleep, he sought to give me comfort.

  A tray of fresh food sat beside us, and I wondered who placed it there. The porridge was still steaming, and I took a few bites along with a gulp of qua. I finished that with a handful of berries and left the rest for Xavy. I didn’t need food like he did. I wasn’t trying to nourish a healing body.

  After pulling on a pair of tattered sandals that Wensla had generously given me, I left him still sleeping, and went in search of the Kaluma women. Xavy had given me a job today, and I was going to get an early start. I needed as much time as I could to charm the females. The two guards—different warriors than from the night before—stopped me before I could get far.

  “Sherif said you’re to stay here,” said one with the sides of his head shaved and the top braided down his back like a Viking.

  “Oh!” I said, playing dumb. “I didn’t know that, but I really need to see Wensla. If you can just point me in her direction—”

  “I’ll go get her for you.” The warrior made to leave, and I knew I had to stop him. I wanted to observe the women in the settlement, not talk to Wensla here where these guards would be listening.

  “No, please just let me know where she is. See, I’m having this female problem…” I fluttered my hand near my crotch. “And I could really use her help. But it’s kind of an emergency—”

  His eyes went wide, his face paled, and his hand shot out with his clawed finger pointing to a small path. “Down that way. Not far. Clothing washing time.”

  I grinned. Ah, males, so easy. Mention a female problem and they immediately wanted nothing to do with you. With a small bow, I tinkled my fingers in a wave. “I’m so grateful. Thank you.”

  I took off down the path before he could change his mind. As he’d said, I didn’t have to go far. The sound of rushing qua reached me first, followed by soft female voices. I picked my way over roots and rocks until I reached a small bank. There, knee deep in qua, stood about a dozen Kaluma females washing long swatches of fabric. Their long skirts were gathered between their legs and tucked up into their belts.

  Gurla caught sight of me first and gasped. Wensla’s head went up and she immediately dumped her washing in another female’s hands as she waded toward me on the shore. “Human.” Her eyes darted around, as if searching for my guards. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came alone. No worries. I told them I had a female emergency, which I do not, but they were more than happy to show me where you all were.”

  Wensla’s lips pursed, but I heard her mutter under her breath. “Too clever for your own good.”

  I ignored that. “So, can I help? I’ve learned pretty quick on this planet how to wash by hand.” I made a fist and flexed my biceps. “This is from washing my furs. And only mine. I don’t wash the other girls’ stuff because I’m not touching all those fluids they produce with their Drix hunks.”

  The Kaluma woman stared at me like I’d gone mad. I hadn’t realized Gurla had stepped up beside her until she spoke up. “You said change was coming Wen. A purple storm—”

  “Hush,” Wensla said to Gurla, her gaze on me. Her hand came up and she brushed the front of her necklace before her shoulders hitched with a sharp inhale. Then she reached out a hand for me and gave me a stiff smile. “Come, Tab. If you’d like, you can wash with us.”

  “I would like,” I answered her with a smile and stepped into the swiftly running stream.

  The Kaluma females were taller than me, so the qua swirled around my thighs by the time I reached them. Wensla showed me how they washed, and I paid close attention. Some of the fabric seemed a bit threadbare, and now that I was able to get a closer look at the women’s clothes, many were mended.

  Not that anything was wrong with that, but the women didn’t seem happy. They didn’t gossip or tease or make jokes. There was no laughter here. One of them caught the end of a shirt on a rock while she washed it and tore it. There was much consternation and tension after that as they all huddled around the garment talking of ways to repair it.

  I wanted to get Wensla alone, and I finally found my chance a little while later. She’d retreated to a lone rock on the bank eating a juicy fruit while staring thoughtfully at the water.

  “Mind if I sit you with you?” I asked when I reached her side.

  She jerked and frowned, seemingly surprised that’d I’d caught her off guard. “If you’d like
.”

  I slid onto the rock next to her and wrung out the wet ends of my dress. I’d have to ask for some clothes. This thing had seen better days. “You don’t trust me, do you?” I propped my chin in my hand.

  She gave a short burst of laughter. “I barely trust anyone. Don’t take it personally.”

  “We could get to know each other—”

  “Human, in three rotations you will either be dead or in Varnex’s furs. There’s no point in spending my time making friends only for me to have to watch your body burn later.”

  I sucked in breath and tried to resist my desire to scratch her eyes out. “Or my mate will win.”

  This time when she laughed, the sound was bitter and sent a sharp stab of icy fear into my veins. “He will not win. Varnex will find a way to defeat him.” Her expression turned pensive. “And I’ll tell you now, I’m sorry for that. He seems like a good male. And you together…” Her cheeks darkened and she ducked her head. “I see the bond you have.”

  “But you haven’t seen Xavy fight, you don’t know—”

  “I know,” she leaned closer, so that I could see every line in her face and the faint scar etched into her cheek, “that what Varnex wants, he gets. He wants you, a fertile human. And he will get you.” She yanked her head back, clenching her teeth as if she said more than she wanted. “I’m sorry, Tabitha.”

  She stood up and I reached for her, my hand grabbing on her skirt. “Then help me. Help us. I can see there’s something very wrong here—”

  She yanked her skirt out of my grip and turned on me with a hiss. “You have no idea what’s going on here.”

  “You’re right, I don’t. But you could tell me.” I was full-on pleading now, because this conversation was going all wrong, and I felt like I’d make some irreparable damage to our tentative friendship. “Help us, Wensla, and we’ll help you.”

  For a moment, Wensla’s gave drifted to Gurla, who had let a small winged insect land on her fingers. She smiled at it as it fluttered away. For a long time, Wensla didn’t move or speak, until finally she turned to me with a defeated downward curve to her mouth. She said in a soft voice. “I’ll think about it,” before striking out into the stream in Gurla’s direction.

  I smiled into my lap. That could have gone better, but it could have gone a hell of a lot worse too.

  As I trudged behind the women on the return path to camp shouting reached my ears, and the unmistakable rumble of Xavy’s angry shout.

  “I should have known better than to trust you fleckers, now where is Tabitha?” he roared up from ahead.

  “Oh shit,” I murmured, and squeezed myself between the women ahead of me before taking off at a run. My sandals slapped the dirt as I called out, “I’m here, Xav! Im fine!”

  I had a fleeting thought that these Kaluma were probably tired of us calling for each other when I burst out at the end of the path to see Xavy standing beside the harka tree, his one arm still tied to the trunk, while he stood feet braced apart, machets out. They rose out of his mohawk like thorns hiding in a rosebush.

  Before him stood two guards, including the one I’d tricked. His head whipped toward me, where he glared like I’d betrayed him. I gave him a nervous laugh right before Xavy whirled in the dirt to face me. His eyes went wide, and his machets fell back under his scales just as I flew myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’m fine. I was just spending time with the women.”

  His mouth dropping onto the top of my head, where he placed a kiss as his free hand clutched at my waist. “I was terrified,” he murmured. “I woke up and you were gone…”

  I closed my eyes as guilt twisted my gut. “I’m sorry. I know you need rest, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

  He lifted my head off his chest with a gentle hand on my cheek. His thumb swiped the skin under my eye and gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

  I smiled at him and raised up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. He moaned, and I was about to lose myself in it when a feminine voice behind us made a choked sound. I turned to find all the women staring at us.

  I didn’t let go of Xavy. I never minded public displays of affection, and I was going to take every chance I could get to touch him.

  “Happy now, Drix?” hissed one of the guards.

  “Flecking peachy,” he shot back, and I had to clap a hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. He’d picked up our English Earth slang more so than any of the other Drixonian warriors. I imagined he got peachy from Naomi.

  The guards ignored him and turned back around to take up their posts. Wensla was whispering to the women, encouraging them away from us. I watched them go, wondering when I’d get a chance to talk to Wensla again, when she broke away from the back of the group and hurried toward me. After glancing at the guards, she handed me a bundle of fabric. “Here’s some clean coverings for you.” Her gaze scanned my dress. “We can wash what you’re wearing tomorrow.”

  My dress was gritty and disgusting. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

  She met my eyes squarely, and I swore I saw a modicum of respect there. “I’ll come get you at high sun to help with the evening meal.”

  I nodded dumbly, surprised at her invitation. Xavy’s arm, still wrapped around my waist, went tight.

  She gave me a small smile and then walked away briskly, head down.

  I turned to Xavy and gave him a beaming grin. “I think I made a friend.”

  He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Of course, you did. No one can resist you.”

  Twelve

  Xavy

  The guards let me off my chain only so I could take a piss and do my other business. I was tempted to aim my stream at them, but I resisted. I didn’t need another beat down. Most of the swelling in my face had gone down overnight, but my ribs creaked with each breath, and my wrist wouldn’t be fully healed in three rotations.

  While Tabitha ate, I exercised as much as I could with my one arm tied to the tree. They let out some length in the chain so that I could do some pushups and run in place. I even did some pull-ups on a low-hanging branch with my one good arm.

  I would use the trunk as a sparring post later, when I could test my wrist in privacy. I didn’t want anyone knowing where my weak points were. I didn’t trust a single flecker in this place not to run and tell Varnex every report of my condition.

  I sat down on a fur and drew Tabitha into my lap. She came with a happy sigh and I combed her hair with my fingers, fascinated with the way the curls sprang back. When I’d woken up and she’d been gone, I panicked. I had been convinced they’d taken her from me and was a moment away from tearing the tree apart to get myself loose. Then I’d seen her running toward me, hair flying. I should have known she had started early working on getting to know the females.

  “How do you feel about this afternoon?” I asked her.

  “I’m nervous but excited.” She picked at the fabric of the new dress she wore. “I think I made progress with Wensla. She’s not happy, Xav. She looks beaten down, but there’s a fire in her too, a bit of resistance left. Whatever Varnex and this place has done to her, it hasn’t broken her, not yet.”

  “If anyone can get her to stick her neck out to help, it’s you.”

  “I hope.” She nibbled her lip.

  At mid-day, a nervous Gurla arrived with lunch. She also came to retrieve Tab. I let her go with a kiss. She followed the Kaluma female to a large wooden structure at the far end of the settlement. Steam rose from a hole in the roof, and I assumed that was where the kitchens were. My stomach rumbled. All this healing made me hungry. I drank some qua and ate the lunch Gurla had provided—strips of cured meat and some mushy vegetables.

  My head no longer throbbed, and even though I could have taken a nice long rest, I forced myself to sit at attention at the base of the harka tree and studied the settlement. Working the crops in the garden were a few females I’d never seen before. From this distance, it was hard to tell, but th
ey looked older—stooped backs and a few walked with canes. They were the first females I’d seen that wore necklaces with different patterns—none matched Varnex. A few older males worked with them too, and I could make out a few matching tattoos. So that was where the elder couples were. So where were the younger ones? The chits?

  A hunting party returned, marching through the settlement with a large shaggy animal tied to a stake by its hooved feet. Some younger warriors brought up the rear of the group—not chits but not full-grown males either. Thin and dirty, they wore not much else but loin-clothes.

  A deep voice boomed from the training arena. A group of warriors trained with spears and clubs, hitting stuffed fabric bags propped up on sticks. The thwacking sound made me shiver, because I remembered vividly what those clubs felt like as they hit my flesh and bone. They were all nude, and I realized why when they one-by-one camouflaged themselves as a trainer called out instructions. I realized they were practicing their ability on command, which led me to believe that it took a massive amount of control.

  A vine shimmied near the colony, and a moment later Varnex hit the ground, his boots kicking up dust. He wore a skirt-like covering of a thick, shiny material that fell to his knees. Other than that, he was bare, and his long hair was pulled back into a braid.

  He glanced over at me and met my eyes. His gaze held mine as he made his way toward a smaller arena, closer to me, flanked by a few of his warriors. I didn’t look away, wondering what his game was. When he began to fight one of the warriors, his body shifting from visible to invisible with ease, I snorted to myself.

  I knew what kind of leader and warrior Varnex was—he ruled on intimidation and fear. No Drix would ever let an enemy see them train. It gave away too much. Even now, I could see that he favored his left hip, and he left himself vulnerable at the back of his neck when he lowered a shoulder to ram his training partner with his shoulder spikes.

  Varnex wanted to scare me. Intimidate me. Make me afraid and nervous. But I was a Drixonian, and I was one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the Night Kings. I wasn’t intimidated. In fact, confidence pounded with every beat of my cora. I studied his every move. I watched as his camouflage flickered when he was struck.