It dawns on me that he won, he was right, that I submitted. Three days. It only took three days. And I wanted it.
This isn’t like me.
But his scent is so delicious...
There’s nothing in this universe that could’ve prepared me for this, for Vruksha. Or an alien at all—since no alien we have met can join with humans.
Lifting my head out from under his chin, I look at him. The moonlight shines brightly over his features.
Not an alien. A naga.
His eyes are closed, his sharp lips slightly parted. His breath is warm and fans my cheek. His chest moves with each shallow inhale. He doesn’t look nearly as frightening when asleep. I reach my hand up from where it lingered between my legs and caress his cheek, touching the smooth scales there. His head slumps forward.
My heart warms…
I jerk my hand away.
I’m not staying. Not for a moment longer than is necessary. Once I have access to the tech he has, I’ll need to make a run for it back to base. I have to. I need to find Daisy.
I can’t grow attached to him. If I do, it’ll be hard to leave.
He wanted me so badly…
He nearly killed for me.
The warmth in my chest expands.
I’m an idiot for letting him have my body. I groan, pulling back a little more. His hold on me tightens, and I press my hand to my chest, hating the warmth growing within.
I’ve never given into the protection of another, not since I left my parents to finish my training on The Dreadnaut at age thirteen, as dutiful humans to the war effort commonly do. That was almost twenty years…
I wanted to dislike him, but I don’t. He makes me feel things I would rather keep buried. In the short time we’ve been together, he’s seen me at my worst, and not once at my best.
Yet he looks at me like I hang the triple suns of Elyria.
No one’s ever looked at me the way Vruksha does. It bothers me. I’ve never needed protection before, and I do now, and it scares me horribly. I want his protection. I think I like his adamance.
Shuddering, I inhale quietly. I force Vruksha from my thoughts, ignoring the warmth in my chest that’s growing ever more when I think of him.
I don’t need anyone’s protection.
I’ve been gone for three days. Someone from command has to be asking about me, someone has to be wondering what happened to Daisy and me. Peters could tell The Dreadnaut we died, but then they’ll demand an investigation—hopefully—and insist our bodies be brought aboard the main ship for burial rites.
My gut churns. I don’t have family aboard the main ship but Daisy might…
And if The Dreadnaut investigates our disappearance, what would they do to Vruksha and the other nagas if they come down? If the military lands? Will they hurt them? Want to study them?
I shake my head. That’ll never happen.
They might send a few fighters but the military deploys for one thing and one thing only: Ketts.
But I can’t stop the thought from taking root. Earth isn’t some random planet in the universe. It’s our homeworld. Sentient creatures here wouldn’t have the protection they do elsewhere. They’d be seen as invaders to be analyzed and, if need be, disposed of.
I stare hard at Vruksha’s peaceful face.
He knows much—far more than makes sense—but he doesn’t know humans. As someone entrenched in the constantly shifting ethics of a desperate government, and a bloodthirsty military made up of men and women seeking revenge. He doesn’t deserve to be thrust into that world and all it demands.
Will he follow me into the stars if I leave?
I chew on my lip.
A twig snaps and my eyes shoot to the forest. Thick shadows and wild branches meet my gaze. They twist and dance in every direction, thickening the shadows. I peer into them, searching for the source of the noise.
Vruksha’s soft breaths breeze across my neck. I listen for a while, letting them comfort me.
When I start to look away, certain there’s nothing in the shadows, something behind the branches shifts. A massive coiled shadow rises into the heavier foliage above.
A face appears in the darkness and my throat constricts with terror.
It’s a face that only has one eye because the other has been gouged out.
The Death Adder.
“Vruksha, get up!” I jerk out of his arms. His cock tears out of me, and I flinch from the pain.
Vruksha thrusts me behind him, and I fall into the chilly water. Recovering quickly, I scurry to the opposite shore. I force the water from my eyes and find him facing the Death Adder.
“Zhallaix,” he hisses.
Vruksha’s tail strikes out, snatching his spear from the creek’s edge and bringing it to his hand.
“Vruksha,” the other naga says, his voice a sharp whisper of warning. My skin rises from the sound. It’s rough, guttural. Broken. “What do you have there?” The naga tries to get a look at me.
I reach for my clothes when his head snaps to the side. I jerk my hands back to cover me, bringing my clothes to my chest. It’s not fast enough.
His eyes widen and dance across my body, purple in the moonlight.
The next thing I know, Vruksha tackles him to the water, thrashing his tail. I shriek and fall back, taking my clothes with me. A tail rises into the air to bash at the other pinning it below the water. Water sprays everywhere, making it difficult to see, but I spot Vruksha’s spear come down again and again.
But he doesn’t see the tail that’s about to strike him from behind.
I scream his name, but it’s too late.
“Run!” he shouts in pain. The word dies in his mouth as his body drops to the side with a splash.
The Death Adder shoots upright and turns to me.
I spin and run.
Pain shoots through me as my feet catch on everything, stabbing my soles. Sticks, twigs, and leaves whip my skin and tangle in my hair.
