Chapter 26
Blair
That night I was laid up in yet another broom closet room with my knees pressed up to my chin.
The paper-thin mattress was just as uncomfortable as the ones on the floors below, and I had no doubt that sleeping on it could make the ever-growing crick in my neck worse than it already was.
Not that it mattered; sleep wasn’t going to come with my mind running a mile a minute.
Instead, I watched steam leak from a pipe along the ceiling and wondered if they’d left it that way to ensure I’d be woken up periodically through the night.
I wouldn’t put it past them. Until Osid and I kissed, I’d be stuck in these shitty rooms. If only they hadn’t interrupted us in the last challenge, I probably would have been in that honeymoon suite now.
Memories surfaced of the king’s gentle plea. The molten hope in his eyes as he held me close. The heat of his body on mine when our lips were merely a breath apart. I sighed, letting my forehead sink into my knees. I wouldn’t probably have been in the honeymoon suite now; I would’ve been.
This whole thing was so stupid. I shouldn’t have feelings for a man who was red flags incarnate. The bastard locked me in a cage, chained me to a dinosaur, and was just generally a fucking asshole!
An asshole I’d shot and punched, among other things.
All right, so maybe I wasn’t the greenest flag either, but two wrongs didn’t make a right.
Only one person in a relationship was allowed to be crazy.
That was why I always went after weaker, more submissive men.
The kind who just rolled with it to avoid a fight.
That was why it worked. I’d get my way, and they got peace of mind.
I didn’t need someone who would fight fire with fire; I wanted a doormat.
I’d never survive a relationship with a man like Osid.
He was no doormat; he was a king. We’d last a week, tops, before one of us wound up dead or maimed.
Even when things started off good, I always found a way to chase my partners off.
Hell, the longest relationship I had ended in slashed tires and a burning pinata filled with tapes of me fucking my ex’s dad in our bed.
Lucas was so traumatized he ended up back in the suburbs, married to a plain Jane who dragged him to church each Sunday and kept his balls in a tasteful urn by the door.
Osid might think he wanted me, but that was because the fool didn’t know any better.
I jumped as the steam pipe let out another angry hiss.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to make these stupid aliens pay for putting me in this position in the first place.
Who were they to try to control my love life?
If they had just listened in the first place and brought in a replacement like Subject B like I’d asked, I wouldn’t be stuck in a broom closet ruminating over the soft eyes of the man I was supposed to hate.
They could have dropped Osid in the female enclosure center and let him pick out some other girl who would jump at the chance to rule over some alien kingdom.
The mere thought of him talking to another woman made my chest burn.
Fuck me in the ass, I like him.
I slid my hand under my pillow and pulled out the feather phone.
Back home, I’d already be one brownie deep with Jackie and Porsha making a pros and cons list about any and all matters of the heart.
I missed them so much. I spoke their names to the feather, hoping against all hope that the aliens’ radio signal could somehow reach back to DC.
Nothing came. I knew it wouldn’t, but knowledge didn’t make the ache any more bearable. The feather lit up, then a screen materialized above it.
“Hey Blair, just checking in, are you doing okay?” said Dory. She was sitting on a gray lounge chair with rows of books behind her. The green-haired girl I saw earlier passed behind her carrying a stack of manga piled high in her arms.
“Hey girl,” I smiled back. “I’ve been better. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course—wait, where are you? Why is it so dark?”
I rolled my eyes. “They keep us in broom closets if we don’t make out at the trials.”
She snort-laughed and covered her face. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, it’s some bullshit. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your aliens.”
Dory set an elbow on her knee and rested her chin against it. “Yeah, I’ve been getting that a lot the past few days. Shoot.”
“Do they treat you well?”
“Exceedingly,” she said instantly. “Way better than any of the men I dated back home.”
“How did you get over the alien scent-marking thing?”
She cocked her head. “What alien scent-marking thing?”
“You know, the nice smelling smoke that comes out of their tail that coats your hair and skin.”
Dory blinked rapidly. “…do I smell like alien?”
“Yeah,” called a voice from the background.
The wildlife biologist whipped her head around to the voice. “Are you serious?!”
The voice’s response was a deep cackle. I stifled a laugh of my own and asked, “How did you not notice the smoke thing?”
She fussed with her wild red curls. “I mean, I knew they smelled nice, I didn’t think it was rubbing off on me. Literally!”
A woman with green box braids came over and wrapped her arms around Dory’s shoulders, resting her cheek on top of her head. “Shh. Don’t fuss. You smell good. It’s just…you know”—she shrugged—“noticeable.”
Dory rested her hand on the woman’s arm. “It’s just one thing after another on this damn planet.”
“Hmm, such is life.” With a shoulder squeeze for Dory and a wave to me, the woman sauntered off.
Poor Dory still looked to be dealing with the new revelation of her alien perfume, but sadly, I had questions. “Another question for you, there’s no…weird alien stuff they expect you to do?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Depends on what you would consider weird alien stuff, I guess. Their tails have suction cups, if you haven’t discovered that already. Just point to your clit, and Osid will take care of the rest.”
Boy did he.
“I never said I was calling you about Osid.”
Dory shrugged. “Who else would you be asking about?”
“They could have dropped another alien in here.”
“And did they?”
“…No.”
“All right, then.”
“So…you’re probably the best person I could ask about this since you’ve met him and all.”
“The psycho king who kidnapped us, tried to kill my man, and poisoned me? Yes, we’ve met.”
“Right…yeah, never mind, I was just having a weak-bitch moment.”
“No, you weren’t,” Dory said, waving me off. “Look, you wouldn’t be twisted up like this if you didn’t want to see where this goes. What are you waiting for?”
“I can’t believe you’re even asking me that. You said it yourself, the man is a psycho. Is it really a good idea to even consider giving things a try with him?”
She shrugged. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the guy scares me, but so do you.”
“Hey, I’m not—”
Dory tucked her hair behind her ear, showing off the white scar just above her temple.
I shut my mouth.
“Look, Blair, here’s the reality of the situation: you’re on an alien planet with dinosaurs. My best friend is a talking lion. Normal rules and dating practices don’t matter. You can do whatever you want. If it doesn’t work out, just break up.”
I heard a door creak open before angry shouts filled the air. Dory turned toward the source as a woman called to her. “Hey Dory, Misty’s alien broke in again, you better come quick before Marcy hogties him.”
Dory’s head fell to her hand. “He’s like a dog with a bone. Sorry, Blair, I gotta go.” With a quick tap, the screen cut out, and I was left alone with the silence.
“Do whatever I want, huh?”
I wanted him, consequences be damned. Maybe this too would end in more heartbreak and burning pinatas, but dammit, the thrill I got from fighting with him made me want to see just how high that fire could burn.
I wanted to kiss and fight with him until I ended up pressed to a wall with his hands dug into my hips as we moved together in violent makeup sex.
The Tamagotchi’s song rang out, and I reached for it to find that it had gone up another notch. Pixel Osid danced happily next to four bars, while little circle and triangle patterns floated upward in the background.
“Fine,” I said to no one in particular. We’ve punished each other enough, and I was tired of fighting what was in front of my face.
Before I could think better of it, I was off the bed and headed for the door.
The knob turned with a clunk when I threw it open and walked down the endless halls of the tower.
I needed to see him. Needed to tell him I’d wipe the slate clean if he did, and we could start anew.
I’d tell him about the auditor so we could dismantle the Biwban fucks who thought they knew what was best for us and figure out if we would make this work on our own terms.
I turned a corner to head toward the med hold.
Thankfully, each floor in this tower had the same layout, and it was easy to find what I was looking for on the east side.
As I rounded another corner, I stopped short when I heard the high-pitched voice of Dr. Hilt and someone I didn’t recognize.
I hadn’t thought anyone would be monitoring Osid this late.
When I had gotten a slash to my side in one of the earlier challenges, they had just tossed me in the healing pod and left.
I pressed myself to the wall, ears perked up.
“…Affection meter’s finally showing progress,” the doctor said. “Blair is at four bars now.”
“About time,” another said. “Has the director approved the airborne serum yet?”
The doctor clacked her beak. “Yes, but I don’t like it. Two successful pairings is not a large enough sample size to be releasing the serum on the rest of the females. We still have no information on any long-term effects, and neither subject has fallen pregnant yet.”
“Gendula, you worry too much. Subject 4 and her mates have remained affectionate toward each other, and I’m confident she’ll fall pregnant once we finish re-creating chocolate for her.
Besides, with the auditor dipping his tentacles all over our records, it’s only a matter of time before he catches where the funds are actually going.
If we want any chance of proving our methods work, then we need to produce as many pregnant females as we can before he submits his report. ”
“I know that, but I still don’t like it. And if the auditor finds out about—”
“He won’t. Look, you can voice your grievances until you molt from stress, but we need immediate results. But never mind that now, is everything all set for the next two challenges?”
“Yes, the setup for trial five is complete, and challenge six should keep them busy for the entire day. They’ll be separated for most of five as well, so there should be no chance of either being able to come in contact with the auditor when he does his checkup.”
“Good, we may not be able to stop him from inspecting the tower, but if we keep them far enough away, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
I sucked in a breath. This was our chance! If the auditor was inspecting the tower, then all we had to do was get some kind of message to him.
The doctor stopped mid-sentence. “Did you hear that?”
I held my breath as the doctor’s clawed feet clicked against the floor, each one coming closer. The second voice spoke again, but I couldn’t concentrate on what it said. My heart was pounding too hard. I needed to get out of there, and fast.
I crept away as quietly as I could, but I tripped over my own loose boot laces and fell to the floor.
“There!” the doctor called.
I ran, but the doctor was faster. I only made it a few steps before I felt a sharp sting in my neck. The world blurred, and my knees buckled. The last thing I heard before everything went black was the doctor saying, “It’ll be morning soon. Let’s set her up for the next challenge.”