Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Sherae,” Doren announced and Emma leaned forward eagerly as the planet filled the viewport.
After five days of star-streaked darkness, the clarity of a planet looming calmly in space was almost overwhelming. And Sherae was beautiful.
The planet was mostly water, covered with vast oceans of deep turquoise and sapphire blue.
But unlike Earth’s familiar blues, these waters seemed to glow from within, shot through with veins of luminescent green that swirled in massive spiral patterns.
Islands dotted the surface like scattered pink pearls, varying in size from tiny dots to chains of interconnected land large enough to hold cities.
“It looks like something from a dream,” she whispered.
“It’s beautiful,” he agreed as he adjusted their approach vector. “Beautiful and warm and peaceful.”
“You don’t sound as if you approve.”
“I don’t have much experience with that kind of peace.”
She looked at him in surprise. “But you’ve been here before?”
“A few times.” His mouth twisted in something like a wry smile. “Most of my visits involved less time admiring the scenery and more time getting out of trouble.”
“Did you get in trouble on every planet you’ve visited?”
“Only the interesting ones.”
She laughed and shook her head, shooting him a quick, affectionate glance before returning to the view of the approaching planet.
Ari made a cooing sound from her lap, reaching towards the viewport with tiny silver fingers, and she smiled, adjusting her grip on the baby.
“I know, sweetheart. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? ”
The past five days had been unexpectedly peaceful.
The stolen flyer was cramped but comfortable.
Doren had proven surprisingly adept at creating meals from the limited supplies and the temperamental replicator, though his experiments with “human-compatible” food had produced some memorable failures.
She’d established routines that seemed to comfort both the baby and herself—morning feedings and afternoon naps, evening baths in the tiny sanitation unit that left them both damp and giggling and bedtime stories in Doren’s deep voice.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, they’d started to feel like a family.
She hadn’t meant for it to happen. She’d told herself to remember that this was a temporary arrangement born of necessity.
But he had a way of slipping past her defenses—a joke that made her laugh despite herself, a thoughtful gesture when she least expected it, and the warmth of his body curled around hers each night.
Because yes, he’d continued sleeping beside her.
Every night she’d asked, and every night he’d stayed.
He’d held her through nightmares about the Ithyian ship, kissed her awake in the mornings, brought her to shuddering completion with his hands and mouth and tail more times than she could count.
But he’d refused to go further, claiming she needed time, claiming he wanted her to be certain.
She was certain. She was certain that if he said “we should wait” one more time, she was going to strangle him with his own tail.
Noble idiot, she thought with equal parts exasperation and affection.
“Beginning atmospheric entry,” he announced, and the flyer shuddered slightly as they hit the outer edge of Sherae’s atmosphere. “It’ll be bumpy for a few minutes.”
She held Ari more securely, watching the viewport fill with flame as friction heated the hull. The baby watched with wide dark eyes, apparently fascinated rather than frightened by the display.
“Good girl,” she murmured. “Nothing scares you, does it?”
Ari gurgled in response, and her heart clenched. She’d known this child for little more than a week, but she loved her as if she were her own child.
The flames faded as they passed through the upper atmosphere, replaced by wisps of white cloud and then, suddenly, the stunning vista of Sherae’s surface.
They were descending towards one of the larger islands, a stunning combination of lacy pink coral and cascading blooms with buildings that seemed to grow organically from the landscape, and everywhere, the sparkle of water.
“Sheraean architecture,” he explained, noticing her interest. “They don’t like to impose on the natural environment. Most of their structures are grown rather than built.”
“Grown?”
“Bioengineered coral and plant matter. It takes longer, but the results are spectacular.” He banked the flyer, giving her a better view of the peaceful city arranged around a natural harbor.
“And your friend lives here?”
“I’m not sure I would call Athtar a friend exactly, but yes, he lives here. He has a compound on the outskirts. He prefers privacy.” His mouth curved in what might have been a smile. “You’ll understand why when you meet him.”
They descended towards a structure set apart from the main settlement, perched on a cliff overlooking the sea with multiple levels that cascaded down the cliffside towards a private beach. A landing pad jutted out from the upper level, and he landed the flyer with his usual competence.
“Athtar can be... intimidating,” he said as the landing struts touched down.
“More intimidating than Grorn warriors?”
“A different kind of intimidating. But his bark is worse than his bite.” He powered down the engines and turned to look at her, his blue eyes suddenly serious. “Emma. Whatever happens here, whatever we learn—I want you to know that I’m glad you’re with me.”
Her breath caught. “I’m glad too.”
His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing across her lower lip. “And when we find someplace safe... we’re going to finish what we started. I promise.”
The heat in his eyes made her stomach flutter, and she nodded, unable to trust her voice.
“Good,” he whispered, and then he kissed her.
It was a different kiss than usual. Not the teasing foreplay they’d fallen into the habit of sharing, nor the passionate embrace that had started all this.
This kiss held something deeper, a promise that made her heart ache.
His lips moved against hers tenderly, and she melted into it, savoring the sweetness that seemed so at odds with the dangerous male she’d come to know.
Then Ari squirmed in Emma’s arms, breaking the spell, and Doren’s expression shifted back to his usual sardonic mask.
“Come on, then. Let’s go meet my friends.”
The hatch opened, and Emma’s first breath of Sherae’s air was a revelation.
It was warm and humid, carrying the salt-sweet scent of the ocean mixed with something floral and utterly alien.
She stood at the top of the ramp, Ari in her arms, and let herself absorb the kiss of the tropical breeze on her skin, the cry of unfamiliar birds, and the distant crash of waves against the cliff below.
I’m on an alien planet, she thought with sudden, dizzying wonder. An actual alien planet.
It wasn’t that she’d forgotten her circumstances, but there was a vast difference between knowing intellectually that she was no longer on Earth and actually standing on alien soil with alien air in her lungs and an alien ocean stretching to the horizon.
“Doren.”
The voice was deep enough to vibrate in her chest, and she looked up to see a massive male emerging from the building.
He was at least seven feet tall, with shoulders that could have blocked a doorway, and deep blue skin.
A wild tangle of white hair was interwoven with dozens of tiny braids decorated with small metal beads, and his face had a fierce, angular quality that reminded her of a Viking warrior.
“Athtar.” Doren stepped forward to clasp the larger male’s forearm. “You look well.”
“You look like shit,” Athtar growled, frowning. “What the fuck happened to you? I heard the fucking Grorn attacked the Ithyian ship you were fucking foolish enough to investigate.”
“I know. I was there.”
“Of course you were.” Athtar’s pale blue eyes swept over Doren, then shifted to her and Ari. His expression didn’t change, but something in his posture sharpened. “You’ve picked up passengers.”
“It’s a long story.”
“It’s always a fucking long story.” Athtar studied her with an intensity that made her want to step back, but she held her ground. After everything she’d been through, she refused to be intimidated by a large blue male with an attitude problem.
“I’m Emma,” she said, lifting her chin. “And this is Ari.”
To her surprise he just laughed and shook his head.
“A human female. I should have fucking known.”
She frowned at him, but before she could say anything a woman appeared in the doorway behind Athtar—an obviously human woman. She was tall and thin, with short dark hair and intelligent eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, and her face was alight with curiosity.
“Oh!” She spotted Emma and hurried forward, half-stumbling as she slipped past Athtar. “Another human! Athtar didn’t mention you were coming, but then he never tells me anything until I pry it out of him. I’m Faith, by the way, it’s so good to meet you—”
The rush of words came to halt as Faith spotted Ari. “Is that... is that a baby?”
“This is Ari,” she said, shifting so Faith could see the infant’s face. “She’s... well, it’s complicated.”
“Is she Aurelian?” Faith asked, adjusting her glasses as she leaned in for a closer look. “They’re incredibly rare. Where did you find her?”
“Ithyian slave ship,” Doren said flatly. “The Grorn were after her. How did you know she was Aurelian?”
“I’ve been tracing genetic markers trying to identify possible Key species.” Faith’s expression shifted from sharpened. “Is that why the Grorn were after her? Is she one of them?”
“We think so.”
“Holy shit.”
The curse sounded incongruous coming from such an academic-looking woman, and she suddenly found herself smiling. There was something immediately likeable about Faith—a warmth beneath the scientific curiosity that made Emma feel oddly at home.
“Maybe we should take this inside,” Athtar rumbled. “Before Doren fucking falls over. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.”
“I’ve slept plenty.”