Ulfar (Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency #4)

21. Awakening

AWAKENING

SARAH

I don’t know where I am. I don’t know how long it’s been. Everything blurs together, a muddled, sluggish dreamscape. Even when I’m awake, I’m not sure what’s real anymore. The drugs in my system make everything too fuzzy to move or even think. I remember choking down lukewarm broth, and I remember voices. Then there’s another sting at my neck, and I’m going under again.

One thing doesn’t change throughout my ordeal, however—and it’s the one sliver of hope I’m clinging to for dear life.

I don’t know if I’m hallucinating from the drugs or if it’s just a coping mechanism my brain dreamt up to shelter me from the trauma, but when I close my eyes, I see him. Hear him.

Ulfar.

He speaks to me. Holds my hand. Smiles down at me with that warm, forgiving glow that soothes my heart and stills my nerves.

But that can’t be real, right? I left him. Betrayed him, and Vi, and the ISA and everyone. My stomach growls, a fluttering down below reminding me of the life I carry inside me.

A life that is now forfeit to these monsters.

I try to cry out, to lift my arms and pull myself out of this hell, but a wave of dizziness crests and soon I’m falling, falling back into the void of nothingness.

I don’t know how long I stay like that. After a while, I almost welcome the oblivion. It means I get to see his face one last time.

* * *

I awake at last to the sounds of a medical device beeping. The steady, high-pitched chirp grates on my fractured nerves, but I have reason enough to realize that means I’m probably in some sort of hospital.

I can’t hear the engines anymore, and I can’t hear the hushed voices of the Syndicate cronies gathered around me, discussing my fate like I was a choice cut of meat.

Am I...saved?

I try to get up and fail, my arms still too weak to support myself. Squinting against the glare of harsh fluorescent lights, I try to take stock of my location. It’s a small, sparse room, furnished with a bed, a side table, and a chair, but not much else. The door is closed and I don’t see any knob, but there’s a tablet mounted on the wall next to it.

I look around, trying to find the source of the beeping. The medical equipment I expected to see is nowhere to be found.

Still unable to right myself, I press a hand to my stomach, thinking about the child once more. Is the baby okay?

The baby is fine, a cynical voice in the back of my head says. They don’t care about you, only the child.

That’s the real cargo here.

I wince, a spike of pain cramping low in my gut. Before I have time to focus on it, the door slides open, and all my hopes of safety disappear.

Atraxia, leader of the Syndicate and all-around asshole, steps into the room with a tablet in hand and a self-satisfied smile on her face.

“Ah, good to see you’re finally with us,” she chirps. “We couldn’t have you awake in transit, lest you decided to fight harder for your little friends on Aesirheim. You understand, right?” She flashes me a smile with all her teeth, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

When I don’t answer, she continues. “We’ve run all the necessary diagnostics and I have to say, I’m impressed. The baby is practically perfect. Had I known that you’d be paired with an Aesir warlord, I would have put in a bid myself.”

I clench my jaw, trying to avoid saying something I might regret. For now, I want her to keep talking. It will help me get my bearings, and perhaps reveal some useful intel that will help me get out of here.

“What?” Atraxia teases, leaning over the bed to show me her tablet. On the screen is a photo of me, and next to it a chat log scrolling by faster than I can keep track of. Numbers higher than I’ve ever seen in my life keep flooding in. Were those...bids?

For me?

“You’re carrying something quite valuable,” she says with a smirk. “It’s not often I say this, but good job. You’ve done well, but don’t think you’re off the hook just yet. We still have to deliver the child and complete the transaction.”

“I’m not a transaction!” I cry. I can’t hold it in anymore. “I’m a person, with thoughts and feelings and dreams and desires!”

Atraxia taps her chin for a moment, then slips the tablet back into the bag slung around her waist. “You’re right, actually. You’re not the transaction.” A pause, and her bug-like eyes fixate on mine. “The little one in your belly is.”

“Bastard!” I push myself up with all my might, trying to lunge toward her, but she easily dodges my clumsy blow.

“Ah ah ah,” she chides, shaking her head. “Behave, or I’ll have to put you under again.”

“Do it,” I growl. “See if I care.”

“Oh? That is not sufficient motivation?” She steps over to the tablet next to the door and presses a few keys. Even from this distance, I can see a photo of my father appear on screen. “Perhaps I should arrange for him to be terminated instead?”

“No!” Tears spring to my eyes. I flail uselessly on the bed. My body won’t listen to my brain, and all I can do is lie here and watch her threaten everything I hold dear. “Leave him alone! I did what you said, I came here and brought you the child, didn’t I?”

“Didn’t you? Well, that remains to be seen. I think we’ll keep watch over Areo a little longer. He’s come to enjoy our company, after all.”

“Liar,” I spit. “What have you done to him?”

A vile, hideous chuckle echoes off the walls, which suddenly feel too small, too cramped to hold the weight of my emotions. “What have we done with him? You mean, give him the life he always wanted but could never have because of you?”

“...what?” A chill runs down my spine. She’s messing with me. Has to be. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, would you like to see? I can take you to him right now, if you want. But I warn you, you might not like what you see.”

My heart’s flying faster than a land speeder, but I have to know if she’s telling the truth.

Would my father really abandon me like that? Would he really sell me out just to get me out of his hair?

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t!

But the fear still gnaws at me in the back of my mind. Gathering what little strength I have left, I pull myself upright in bed and steady my feet on the floor.

“I want to see him,” I say, determined. “Now.”

“Very well,” she says with a wicked grin. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

* * *

After a few moments, I’m stabilized enough to find my footing. Atraxia gives me a bottle of water, a rare kindness for someone of her ilk.

After being drugged for so long, I almost don’t drink it.

Then she rolls her eyes and takes a sip of it herself, and I decide to take my chances. The water is cool, crisp, and refreshing, a pleasing balm against my parched throat.

We walk down an impossibly long corridor, every step echoing with eerie finality. I still have no idea where we are or even what time of day it is—this place has been completely windowless so far, giving it a prison-like atmosphere.

We finally reach the end of the hall and take a left. The narrow passageway opens up into a much larger circular area, with similar narrow offshoots spreading out in different directions.

I’m able to see a glimpse of the outside world for the first time, though it doesn’t afford me much information. The vaulted ceilings of the central hub give way to a vast skylight, opened up to show the glittering blackness of space beyond. With this I can tell it is nighttime, but where I am is still anyone’s guess.

They’re messing with me.

I don’t have much time to take in the sights, though, because a familiar voice calls out my name:

“Sarah, darling, is that you?”

My heart celebrates and sinks at the same time as I take in the sight before me.

My father sits at a brightly lit bar area with a cocktail in hand. Flanking him on both sides are two beautiful (and barely dressed) alien women with bright pink skin and head tails that trail down their backs. They giggle and press themselves against him, clearly enjoying themselves.

“Father...” The sound comes out as a choked gargle. “What are you...”

“Glad you could make it, sweetheart!” He extends his hands wide, giving me a satisfied grin. “Isn’t this place great? You’ve simply got to try the drinks—when they say they’re out of this world, they really mean it!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Fury and confusion rise within me in equal measure. Here I was, being drugged, held captive, and who knew what else, while he was drinking and consorting with these...women?!

It’s all too much to take in. I feel sick, doubling over to retch up the water I just drank. Atraxia is at my side, her smugness never fading for a second. She puts a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I bat her away.

“You see?” she says sweetly. “Your father has moved on. He’s come to understand that it’s useless to fight against the might of the Syndicate. We have eyes and ears across the galaxy, and even if you escape us for now, we will hunt you down to the ends of the universe. You’ll never know peace as long as there’s a price on your head. But see how nice it could be if you would just give in? Cooperate? Everyone has a price, my dear.”

I round on her next, fists clenched and ready for a fight. “What have you done to him?!”

Atraxia presses a shocked hand to her chest. “I haven’t done a thing. He simply decided to make the smart choice, is all.” Her gaze levels with mine. “Perhaps you should consider doing the same.”

“Never!” I cry, shaking with pain and rage. My own father…how could he do this to me? To us?

After all I sacrificed for him...

My stomach cramps again, and I double over as a coughing fit seizes me. The world spins on its axis, and at some point I hit the ground, but I don’t remember much after that.

All I do remember is the pain. And silently praying to all the heavens that Ulfar will forgive me.