Текст книги "Arrival"

Автор книги: A.G. Wilde

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

ADIRA

Fer’ro walks beside me as we leave his quarters.

It turns out that they’d brought fish on board for us and after getting it roasted, I’d eaten till I was full in his room.

Now, each step reminds me of what else I’ve had inside me.

I’m a little bit sore but a feeling of bliss surrounds me like an invisible cloud.

I don’t think anything can change that right now. Not even the horrible face of a Gryken.

We’re heading toward the med bay, I assume, and when we step through the door, my first thought is Mina.

Fer’ro seems to read my mind.

“Your friend is here.” He walks over to the wall and presses something. It turns into a screen as it did before.

Across the barrier, in the other room, the light is dim, but I can see the form of a woman clear enough.

Mina is on the table, well, over it. Her body floats, and already there is some color to her skin.

The room looks quiet and she appears so peaceful, my heart lurches, thinking she is dead.

“She receives sustenance automatically,” Fer’ro says, gesturing to a tube that is attached to Mina’s body. “And regenerative ions.” He gestures to another tube. “We would have put her in the regeneration tank,” he turns to me, his heated gaze slipping over me, “but it is not yet calibrated to your species.”

I nod as I look up at him before turning back to look at Mina.

She’s going to be all right.

I don’t think she really expected to survive this.

My gaze flicks from her to move over the room, searching for that strange white doctor, but I don’t sense that anyone else is in there.

“She is alone,” I murmur.

Fer’ro makes a sound like a grunt. “He’rox has…” He pauses. “He will check on her momentarily. “Other things have his attention now.”

I grit my teeth and swallow as a sigh makes my shoulders rise and fall.

Other things.

He means the Gryken.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

I nod. “Yes. I think so.”

I’m suddenly not sure I want to face that monster again.

Just thinking about it, I can feel its slimy arm around my neck, feel it pushing me down in the water, hear its voice in my head.

A shiver runs through me.

You, it had said.

It had spoken to me.

I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling.

“This way,” Fer’ro turns and heads across the room and I follow somewhat behind him.

When another door materializes then disappears, I swallow my hesitation and step forward.

This room is brighter than the others, and it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust.

In front of us in a large, bare, room, is He’rox.

His back is turned toward us and I’m not sure he has even heard us enter, for his focus is on what’s in front of him.

In a huge cylindrical tank, the terror I’d witnessed in that Scrit hovers in the water.

Dark eyes are focused on He’rox until they suddenly flick.

A shiver runs through me as the Gryken’s gaze finds me.

Staring into its eyes is like staring into a dark, bottomless void.

Its arms are splayed behind it in an arch and they move slowly, keeping it in place.

To think that what I am looking at is an intelligent being. One set to destroy my planet.

It stares at me, and I stare back.

I don’t realize I’ve moved forward until I’m standing beside the white male.

He’rox’s head turns as he glances down at me and his tentacles twitch a little, but I can’t focus on him.

My sole attention is on the monster before me.

“You,” I say to it.

It hovers, watching me, and its fleshy head lifts a little, giving me a glimpse of those wicked rows of teeth underneath.

“It cannot hear you,” He’rox says. “This tank blocks its brain signals. Nothing gets out.” He’rox moves his shoulders in what I assume is a shrug. “But nothing gets in either.”

There’s warmth at my back and I know Fer’ro is there. I ease back a little and our bodies touch.

“Won’t the others of its kind know something is wrong though? Won’t they suspect anything?”

He’rox’s tentacles move. “We don’t know all the intricacies of Gryken communication, but this Gryken is not dead. They can still sense it is alive and well. That will serve our purpose for now.”

I nod and pull my eyes away from the thing.

Looking at it sends all sorts of unease across my spine.

“We don’t have to stay any longer.” Fer’ro pulls me against him and in the corner of my eyes, He’rox remains rigid, only his head turns to the side as he watches us embrace.

I nod, allowing myself to relax against Fer’ro.

Seeing the Gryken right before me, I know time is not on our side.

There’s a sinister sort of intelligence in its eyes.

The longer we wait to take them down, the more we put ourselves in danger.

I hold its gaze for a few more long minutes.

It probably hates me.

Well, the feeling is mutual.

I risked my life to catch it so that we can have a chance.

I’m not about to let the opportunity go.

I hope it can see the determination in my eyes. I hope it can see that humanity is not giving up.

I will do everything in my power to give my world a second chance.

“Let’s go,” I whisper.

Chapter Thirty-Six

ADIRA

We’re walking down the corridor, the med bay behind us when I grip on to Fer’ro and stop.

His ba’clan bristle and he pulls me to his side.

“You are safe, Adee’ra.” His low voice seems heightened with the walls on either side of us. “It cannot hurt you.”

I put a smile on my face as I wrap my arms around his waist. “I know.”

I don’t know why I stopped walking. I just need to feel grounded, I guess.

Even with the Gryken in the tank, hardly moving, just standing before it took all the strength I had.

A few Vullan approach on the other end of the corridor and pause when they see us.

I’m about to pull away when Fer’ro’s arms tighten around me.

I just know he’s glaring at the them when their ears hit the sides of their head and they avert their gazes.

They salute us, their foreheads hitting their palms, as they continue on their way, but I don’t miss the glances as they pass us or the low clicks that echo down the corridor once they are out of sight.

That’s another thing.

They’re all going to know about Fer’ro and me.

My eyes widen a little.

Sam and Mina…

How will I explain that I’ve fallen in love with—

Fallen in love?

I gulp as the words settle within my mind.

But they don’t feel wrong.

They feel…right.

And I realize something.

Missing is the anxiety and second-guessing I’m usually doing when I fall too quickly for someone.

I’m not scared about moving too fast with Fer’ro.

I’m not scared of him getting bored of me, or of him leaving me for someone else.

What I feel is calm security that I’ve never felt before.

I blink up at him as I realize this, my gaze searching his.

I’m still holding on to him when a door materializes to our right and a huge Vullan steps out, blocking our path.

Ga’Var.

I recognize him only because of his burgundy eyes.

“Oh, hi Ga—” I’m easing off Fer’ro to greet the other male when the words cut off in my throat.

A chill fills the air as Ga’Var’s blades appear across his entire body, his ba’clan on edge.

He isn’t looking at me, he is completely focused on Fer’ro.

In one movement, Fer’ro places me behind him and out of the way as his blades extend too.

My eyes go wide.

“What’s—”

There’s a low rumbling that fills the corridor and it takes me a moment to realize it is the two of them snarling at each other.

It’s a suddenly vicious scene.

Both look like they’re ready to fight.

Before I can say anything, Fer’ro launches himself through the air.

He’s so quick, he’s but a streak of flying black.

He’s airborne, pure rage on his face as Ga’Var charges forward as well.

But Fer’ro is faster.

He lands on Ga’Var and they both skid across the corridor.

My heart slams against my chest.

I don’t know what the hell is happening.

“Fer’ro!” I scream his name as Ga’Var uses one of his bladed arms to swipe at Fer’ro, almost slitting Fer’ro’s throat.

“You’ve mated with her!” Ga’Var roars. “Do not lie to me or I will rekking kill you right here, right now!”

Fer’ro snarls. His fangs look even longer than usual. His eyes blood red as he flips Ga’Var and throws him across the hall.

Ga’Var smashes into the wall but he doesn’t get to recover before Fer’ro is on him again.

A dangerously long blade appears on Fer’ro’s arm and with one hand, Fer’ro pins Ga’Var against the wall while the arm with the blade is brought to Ga’Var’s skull.

If either of them so much as move the wrong way, the blade will pierce Ga’Var right through the brain.

I’m running toward them without even thinking about it.

“You mated her!” Ga’Var roars again, his fangs also looking longer than usual, and his rage-filled gaze on Fer’ro.

“Yes,” Fer’ro answers. “I mated her. More than once I mated with her and I intend to do so many, many more times.”

Fer’ro’s words stop me in my tracks.

They are talking about me.

Ga’Var roars again.

“How could you? She does not want you!”

This fight…is because of me?

“She is my mate!” Fer’ro roars.

“You forced yourself on her!”

Fer’ro roars again and throws his brother to the side.

Ga’Var collides with the hard wall and I see dark fluid swell inside his mouth.

He coughs, but he staggers to his feet.

I…I can’t let this happen.

He’s heading for Fer’ro again when I step in between them.

“Stop!”

Ga’Var pauses. “Get out of the way, little female.” More blades seem to appear around him. “You do not have to fear my womb mate any longer.”

I blink at him.

“I don’t fear him. He’s done nothing but take care of me and…” My cheeks warm as I glance behind me at Fer’ro. His blades have still not retracted either. “And…he’s right. He didn’t force me.”

Fuck.

I don’t think I will ever get used to their sense of smell.

Ga’Var finally looks at me. Studies me.

And slowly, his blades begin to flatten.

“You gave yourself to him?”

There’s a note of regret there. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I nod.

“He didn’t force me.” I try to keep my voice level and calm. Despite that they aren’t pointing blades at each other, there’s so much tension between the two I could cut it with a knife. “You, of all people, should know he is not like that.”

Ga’Var’s gaze flicks down me slowly and Fer’ro growls at my back.

“But you are so small. Surely, you would not want to mate with my kind?”

The end of his words lilt in a question even though it sounds as if he is making a statement, and I wonder what is going on in his mind.

He’s looking at me strangely now.

“Your size doesn’t matter.”

My cheeks blaze.

It really, fucking, does.

Ga’Var studies me some more and as the seconds tick by, I feel Fer’ro relaxing behind me.

“Your kind is…compatible with mine?” Ga’Var’s gaze flicks to Fer’ro and then back to me.

I’m trying to understand where he is getting at but I answer his question in the affirmative anyway.

“Yes…?”

I glance up at Fer’ro for some help but I only catch him glaring at Ga’Var so intently, it is a miracle Ga’Var doesn’t combust.

“And your kind…wants to mate with my kind?” Ga’Var’s gaze sweeps down me again.

Fer’ro growls louder this time.

“I wouldn’t put it that way…” I answer cautiously.

“But…it is a possibility.”

My eyes narrow a little as I nod. “Yes…?”

Ga’Var straightens then, his gaze flicking from Fer’ro to me and back, and I wonder more than ever what he is thinking about.

“I see I may have been mistaken about what has transpired between you two,” he says.

Bending, he places one palm on top of the other before resting his forehead on them.

“Accept my apologies. I was merely concerned my womb mate had lost his mind.” He pauses. “But now I know.”

As he lifts his head, there’s still that strange look in his eyes, and he wipes a line of blood away from his mouth.

He gives Fer’ro one final look before he turns and does the strange bow again.

Then he is walking away down the corridor.

I watch him go, my eyes never leaving his back till he disappears around a corner.

My shoulders sag with pent up tension I didn’t know I’d been holding.

“What the hell was that all about?”

I turn toward Fer’ro but I’m suddenly being pushed backward till my back hits the wall.

Fer’ro dips his head to my neck and inhales deeply.

His hand finds my center and he cups me there.

Heat floods my soul.

“Fer—what are you doing? Anyone could see us right now!”

“Ga’Var wanted to mate with you.”

His words disintegrate everything I was about to say.

“Before, when we first found you, he wanted you for himself.”

I blink as Fer’ro rubs his nose into me.

“Would you have chosen him and not me?”

I shake my head, even though the revelation has me surprised.

“No.”

And it’s the truth.

The only Vullan I’ve been drawn to is the one before me.

I wrap my arms around his wide back as he pulls me into him.

“Good,” he whispers.

For a few moments, we stay like this and I find it curious that no one else passes through the corridor even though I constantly hear clicks of conversation of approaching Vullan.

“So no more fighting between you two?” I brace back so I can look into Fer’ro’s not-so-alien eyes. He blinks at me with that secondary eyelid and I smile. He looks a little different now, with his hair no longer caught together behind his head, and the locs fall to the side of his face. “Now that he knows I’m willing, there’ll be no more fighting, right?”

Fer’ro clicks at me and I assume it is a yes.

“And the others? Will they fight you too? Do I have to announce to everyone that it’s consensual between us?”

“No. They wouldn’t dare. Only my obstinate womb mate would dare attack me like this.”

I nod as I smooth one of his locs back.

“We should go,” I whisper. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows we’re pressed against each other in the corridor…and I’m beginning to feel guilty. We have work to do.”

Fer’ro breathes in deep as he eases off me and there’s a click somewhere down the corridor.

“See,” I whisper.

Fer’ro makes a slight trilling sound as we begin to walk again. “They are excited.”

I huff a laugh through my nose. “Excited for what?”

When I look up at him, his eyes are like fire again. “For the new era,” he says.

Epilogue

ADIRA

As we near the bridge, we pass several Vullan.

They do the same bow, their eyes flicking to me before they avert their gazes.

I get the sense that Fer’ro is glaring at them, but whenever I glance up at him, all I can see is that steady, expressionless, gaze of his.

I never thought looking into such devilish eyes would be comforting, but a warmth spreads over me whenever our gazes meet.

The door to the bridge opens and several Vullan turn to look our way.

I see the moment Sam turns and sees me.

Her mouth opens to call my name but then she is frozen in shock as she takes me in.

“Adira?” She’s suddenly rushing toward me.

She grips my arms as she looks me up and down.

“You got one of their suits?!”

I open my mouth to tell her that wasn’t the case when I hear a low click.

Fer’ro.

He’s right.

It’s too much to explain right now, especially when the Vullan don’t fully understand the details of it all.

I smile at Sam instead. “Yea, I did.”

“How?!”

“Just lucky, I guess.” My gaze meets Fer’ro’s and his ears twitch as he watches us.

“I was worried about you. I heard you went to the surface to help them and you got taken by the machine again. Oh my god, how did you manage to get out?”

My smile brightens. “Long story. I’ll tell you sometime.” My gaze averts to the front of the bridge where there’s a wide viewscreen. “Right now, we have to make plans for what’s to come.”

I take a few steps toward the viewscreen and look out.

I sense when Fer’ro moves to stand beside me. His warmth is like a comforting energy that flows around my ba’clan.

“There,” he says, gesturing with his chin ahead.

It looks like a rocky mountain.

“What am I looking at?”

“Scans indicate a series of large tunnels underneath.”

“A cave system?”

“Correct.” Fer’ro glances at me for a second before turning his gaze back to the view. “We will open it and hide our ship there. And then…operations will begin.”

I feel a slight ball of anxiety begin to grow in my chest.

“Operations?” Sam asks.

“There is only one way we know to kill the Gryken. A weapon we managed to create in the last days of the war, but by then it was too late for Edooria.”

I glance up at him, but Fer’ro doesn’t skip a beat.

“When we reached this planet, it is how we took the first Gryken down—the one that had you imprisoned inside it.”

Sam shuffles a little on her feet and I know the same images, the same terror of having been in the belly of the machine, is coming right back to her.

“But we need materials to fuel it. Unfortunately, that material isn’t easily accessible and we only have limited stores on this ship.”

Sam glances at me and I release a breath.

“We can do it,” I say. “Whatever you need, we can do it.”

“We will do it,” Fer’ro corrects. “Together.”

A smile spreads my lips as I cross my arms and look up at him.

I don’t realize we’ve locked gazes for more than a few moments till Sam clears her throat beside me.

I pull my gaze away from Fer’ro’s and focus outside the ship once more. It is the only thing I can do other than meet Sam’s questioning gaze.

There is so much I need to tell her.

“So this will be the base then, huh.” I stare at the mountain before us. I have no idea where we are right now, but the landmass I’m looking at is about to be my home for the foreseeable future.

“Well,” I say, “if it’s going to be home, we have to give it a name.”

Fer’ro thrums a little. It is so low, I know Sam doesn’t hear it even though she is right next to us.

“It has a name,” he says. “We call it…Base Zero.”

“Base Zero,” I whisper.

My ba’clan thrum as I look at the mountain and I reach out and grasp Fer’ro’s hand.

He stiffens a little before he relaxes against me and his hand squeezes mine.

We’ve done so much already…

But this is only the beginning.

Next in the Series

Base Zero

Find it in Amazon

Other books by A.G.

Captured by Aliens

Xul

Crex

Yce

Kyris

Kyro

Riv’s Sanctuary

Riv’s Sanctuary

Sohut’s Protection

Ka’Cit’s Haven

The Restitution

Ajos

Acknowledgments

This goes out to all the readers of my books and to everyone who has loved them.

Thank you!

I would not be able to do this without you and I am truly grateful I get to share the worlds in my head with you all.

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About the Author

A. G. Wilde is an avid reader, a gamer, a lover of all things space, alien, and sci-fi.

She is addicted to intense romance, irresistible heroes, and deliciously naughty things.