Alien in the Depths (Thryal Mates #2)

Chapter 2

Zaraq

“Do all humans talk this much?” Zaraq teased.

The girl gasped in outrage. “You’re the one who keeps asking questions!” she replied, shoving his shoulder.

He laughed. “I’m just kidding. I love hearing stories about other planets and people.”

Sofia eyed him. “Me, too. I’m obsessed with collecting stories, the wilder the better.” She smiled at him. Her long ponytail swung as she turned forward. “Oh, look, there’s light up ahead!”

Zaraq followed her into the cave, the smell of sulfur heavy in the air. He instantly started sweating from the heat of the steam floating atop the pools in front of them.

Sofia’s eyes were wide as she cataloged the space. She pulled out a device and started clicking on it. Zaraq leaned closer, seeing the tiny image of the cavern on a screen. An image-capturing device, then, he mused.

“This is incredible,” Sofia murmured as she packed the camera away. “It’s definitely safe to swim in. Right?”

“Well, I haven’t died yet, so I’d say so.” Zaraq smiled at her, placed his bag down, and lifted his shirt over his head in a smooth movement. Sofia quickly averted her eyes but not before he saw a glimmer of interest fill them. Interesting .

Sofia plonked her bag down and dug through her things for a moment. She pulled out a two-piece swimsuit, the bright orange fabric almost making his eyes water.

“I’ll just change back in the tunnel,” she said over her shoulder as she walked back to where they’d entered. Zaraq smirked. He waited until she disappeared before toeing off his boots and dropping his pants.

Left only in his briefs, he walked into the nearest pool. The warmth immediately soaked through his skin, and he lay back against the edge with a contented sigh.

He was glad he’d chosen the “haunted” catacombs for his hideout. In the days he’d been here, he hadn’t seen any ghosts—not that he believed in them—and due to the fear associated with this place, few others ventured in to discover him.

Zaraq’s mind drifted to his current company. Usually, he would have avoided strangers like the plague, but something about Sofia drew him in. He’d watched her hike down to the entrance of the caverns, her face lit up with excitement. He couldn’t help but follow her as she made her way through the caves, and when she found the glowing crystals, he had an undeniable urge to share in her amazement.

“Ugh, I don’t know why they make these so difficult to tie! Could you give me a hand?” Zaraq turned slowly, freezing when he saw Sofia. Her lean body was barely covered in the swimsuit, her arm twisted backward to hold the tie behind her back. He stood, clearing his throat before he could speak.

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Just tie this in a bow for me, please. I can’t reach.” She slipped into the pool and splashed over to him, turning her back.

Zaraq studied the ties and gently took them from her grip. He noticed her shiver when his knuckle brushed against her back, withholding a shiver himself. Her skin was smooth, and he stole small touches as he tied the strings into a bow. Zaraq found himself standing closer to her than strictly necessary, his heart pounding from the sight of her exposed curves.

Sofia dropped the hair she’d been holding up out of his way and turned around. “Oh my god, this water is amazing!” She dropped to a nearby ledge and leaned back against the edge, spreading her arms out. “I could live here,” she said wistfully.

Zaraq laughed, grateful the tension had been broken. “And what if General Kotumbir makes an appearance? Do you really want to meet the legend wearing that?”

She huffed, sitting upright and glaring at him. “General Kotumpa or whatever should be so lucky! I don’t imagine he’s been getting much down here,” she added with a laugh.

Zaraq grinned. “Kotumbir,” he corrected. “And he would be lucky, indeed.” He raised an eyebrow.

Sofia blushed but shook it off quickly. “So that’s his name? Do you know his story? The real one, not the legends and rumors,” she added, pointing a finger at him.

Zaraq settled back into his spot. “It’s not as interesting as the legends make it out to be, just really sad. He was a general in the Orcan War. The catacombs here are where all his enemies were buried. When he died, he wanted to be buried here so he could keep an eye on them in the afterlife.”

“Orcan? Like orcs? I didn’t know space had orcs!” Sofia exclaimed eagerly.

Zaraq shook his head. “Orcs? No, it was a war fought for the lands of Orcania. The locals were barbarians. Cannibals and the like. They were mostly independent until they came across a princess and…” He grimaced. “Well, they ate her. Your brother-in-law’s ancestors took that as a sign and marched on them with the full force of the army.”

Zaraq glanced at Sofia, taking in her wide eyes filled with unmistakable excitement. She bounced slightly with anxious energy, causing a ripple to travel across the pool.

“How did he die? General Kotumbir, I mean. I assume the takeover was successful if most of them are buried here?”

Zaraq nodded. “That’s the funniest part of the story. After the war, he went back home to find his wife had collected multiple lovers in his absence. He reciprocated by creating his own harem, and his wife killed him in a jealous rage.” He grinned at the shock on Sofia’s face.

“That can’t be true. Come on, you’re bullshitting me!” She splashed water toward him, just missing his face. Zaraq laughed out loud, dodging the second wave directed at him.

“I swear it’s true! My father had his son’s personal diaries in his study.”

Sofia laughed, ceasing the water-warfare. “That’s insane. To survive a war and then be murdered by your wife.” She held her side, giggling. “How did she even manage that?”

“Apparently, she stabbed him forty-five times in the groin when they were, you know, getting it on.” He winced at the thought, instinctively covering his junk. Sofia noticed, because of course she did, and started giggling again.

Zaraq watched her, a smile tugging at his own lips at her glee. Sadistic glee, but adorable all the same.

The day passed slowly, with the two explorers sharing stories about their adventures. They migrated from the pools when it got too hot and were now sitting against the tunnel wall just outside the cave with the natural springs.

They sat across from each other, their legs almost touching in the narrow tunnel. To Zaraq’s disappointment, Sofia had thrown on her strange T-shirt over her swimsuit. Probably for the best, because her body had kept him distracted during their swim.

“I told you my story. What’s yours?” Sofia asked, tilting her head curiously. Zaraq tensed. This was part of the reason he avoided people. Well, this, and not knowing who was sent by his previous boss or law enforcement.

“There’s not much to tell. I traveled a lot with my parents until they died. When I was older, I was able to travel some for work.” Technically, he’d been hunting down people who owed his boss money, but that was still traveling. Sort of.

“I’m sorry. My parents are also dead,” Sofia said, a sad look crossing her face. “How old were you?”

“It was a long time ago.” He couldn’t exactly share that they’d been killed when he was seven and how he had to keep himself alive after that. His methods were unsavory, at best. It didn’t help that they’d been living on Rikuus at the time of their murder.

Rikuus was known as crime central for this side of the universe. It was mostly run by crooks and mob bosses, and the law enforcement on the planet was as depraved as many of the criminals. As an orphaned child, he couldn’t do much except get involved in the mob life. He’d started as a simple messenger boy, but as he grew, things changed.

He was brought from his reverie by a nudge on his leg. His eyes snapped up, finding Sofia studying him with a slight frown. He shook his head slightly and smiled sadly at her.

“Anyway, I’ve been alone for a while. It’s nice to have some company,” he said to change the topic.

Sofia bit her lip, eyeing him dubiously before clearly deciding to let it go.

“Adventuring is sometimes a lonely sport,” she replied. They shared a smile, and Zaraq marveled at the familiarity between them.

“Speaking of adventuring,” Sofia said as she jumped up. “Want to explore some more?” She offered a hand to Zaraq, and he relished the softness of her hand as he took it. They returned to the cavern to collect their packs. His heart nearly stopped when Sofia gasped loudly.

“Zaraq! Look!”

He turned cautiously, wondering if his doubts of the paranormal were going to be obliterated. He let out a soft laugh when he saw her at a small basin toward the back corner of the cave. He joined her, their arms brushing as they looked at the pile of jade stones just below the surface of the shallow water.

“Do you think it’s bad luck to take one? I can never decide,” Sofia mused.

Zaraq took a deep breath and dipped his hand into the water, grabbing a smooth stone. They both shared a wide-eyed look and then studied the cave anxiously. When nothing happened, Zaraq dropped the stone into her hand.

“Let’s hope the general’s spirit doesn’t live in these,” he joked.

Sofia swatted him at the comment, but the corners of her mouth tilted upward. She consulted her map, showing him the route she wanted to take. They would be able to spend the night in the largest catacomb, where most of the Orcan barbarians were buried.

As they set off, Sofia spoke softly. “Thank you. I love taking little mementos from my travels, but I had to leave most of them back on Earth.”

“Did you do this a lot back there? Chase spirits and other nonexistent creatures?” he asked cheekily.

Sofia shoved him and laughed. “They do exist! Well, not that I’ve found any documented proof. It’s part of why I was so keen to explore space.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, you know, just a spectacularly failed career in ghost hunting. I bought all this tech, traveled the world, and just got ridiculed by the so-called professionals.” She made a strange movement with two fingers on each hand and rolled her eyes. “It’s a seriously competitive and cruel industry.”

Zaraq’s mouth tightened. He couldn’t imagine anyone disregarding this charming, funny, and gorgeous female. The thought weirdly filled him with anger on her behalf.

“Anyway, I got to see a lot of cool places. I met some amazing people—all living, unfortunately,” she added with a smirk. “And I have a bank of weird and wonderful stories. It’s my party trick.” She tapped her forehead with a finger and grinned at him.

“Well, I could probably give you a run for your money on that one. I’ve collected my own share of stories on my travels.”

Sofia raised an eyebrow and motioned with her hand for him to continue. He shrugged.

“You can’t make a statement like that and not deliver! Come on, tell me the craziest one,” she implored.

“Fine, fine. When I was four, my parents and I visited a planet called Triensi. It was my first off-world trip, and I was so excited. I might have thrown up on the trip there,” he said, laughing at himself. “My father wanted to visit the old libraries there, so we stayed in the librarian’s house. What we didn’t know was that it had been deserted because of ‘rogue spirits’ that were causing havoc.”

“Ooh, a poltergeist! Fun!”

“That’s what you call vengeful spirits?” Zaraq frowned. It sounded like something you could eat. “Anyway, so one night, I couldn’t sleep, and I wandered around the halls. The clock struck midnight, and the next second I was back in my room.”

Sofia frowned. “That’s it? That’s your best story?”

Zaraq shrugged, mildly offended. He’d thought she’d like a “ghost” story.

“Bah, you were probably just sleepwalking! Come on, tell me another. What’s the best place you’ve visited?”

Zaraq stared at her for a few seconds, taking in the glint in her eyes and the tilt of her head. He felt lucky to be the sole owner of her attention, despite his apparently shit story.

“Best place… It would have to be Yordii. The whole planet is just wild nature, and the inhabitants are so interesting. They have skin that changes color according to their moods. It’s fascinating.”

“Mood ring skin? That seems invasive. It’s bad enough that I can never control my face.” Sofia laughed.

Zaraq joined her. He’d noticed that whatever she was thinking was broadcast on her face, and he found that refreshing. For most of his life, he’d been surrounded by people who hid every thought and emotion behind a steel door.

“I think it’s good. Hiding your thoughts and emotions just leads to it being bottled up, and that’s not good for anyone,” he mused.

“If you say so, Mr. Poker Face,” Sofia replied with a cheeky grin. Zaraq assumed it was a teasing insult, though he didn’t know what a poker face was. He playfully scowled at her.

“Ooh, watch out, you’re showing emotion!” Sofia smirked, extremely amused at her own joke. Zaraq couldn’t help but grin back. She was unlike anyone he’d ever met… and he really liked it.

As they walked, Zaraq and Sofia shared stories of their adventures. Zaraq had to work hard to keep his story vague enough to hide his sordid history, but he found himself wanting to share everything with her.

After exploring the cave and reading the inscriptions on the graves, they set up their bedrolls in a warm corner. Zaraq shared some of the liquor he’d taken from Rikuus before his escape, and they spoke until late in the night. When they woke, Sofia seemed thoughtful.

“Are you staying here much longer? What do you have planned?”

Zaraq frowned, not sure where she was going with this. In all honesty, he didn’t have any plans beyond staying out of reach of anyone who may be looking for him. “I’m not sure, really. Why do you ask?”

Sofia seemed shy. In the short time he’d known her, even though it felt like they’d known each other for years, it was very uncharacteristic.

She bit her lip. “Well, you mentioned last night that you haven’t been to the capital before. I was wondering if you wanted to join me when I go back to the annex?” She said the last part in a rush.

Zaraq stayed silent as he considered. He couldn’t explain it, but he wanted to spend more time with her. And, though he was born to Thryal parents, he had never been to the capital. And the annex was protected by royal guards. If he could keep his history secret, what could it hurt?

Sofia spoke before he could reply. “I’m hoping to go on more explorations around the planet, and like I said yesterday… Adventuring can get lonely. Maybe you could come back with me, meet my family, and then we go on some adventures?” She smiled hopefully at him.

He couldn’t say no to that beautiful face.

“I’d like that.”