CHAPTER 14
Lena opened her eyes, panicking when she found herself in bed in a strange room.
She sat up, trembling, afraid she had somehow been transported back to Ngozi’s ship.
He would leave her in the bed, broken and bruised, while he carried on with whatever else he did on the ship.
She would try to lock herself in the relief chamber of his quarters, but he always found a way in.
“Oh good, you’re awake. I was beginning to worry about you.”
Lena jerked around, taking in the dark-skinned female sitting at a desk against the wall. It took her confused mind a moment to put a name to the female. “Liyah?”
Aaliyah stood and walked slowly to the bed. “Are you okay, Lena? Gauge was worried about you. He had business to attend to, but he didn’t want to leave you alone. I guess you passed out on the bridge when we entered folded space. I have to admit, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.”
Lena rubbed her eyes, trying to chase off the confusion. “What . . . what happened? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is . . .” She remembered red eyes looking down at her. She remembered pain, but she wasn’t in pain now. Had it all been a terrible nightmare?
“Gauge brought you back to your room. Like I said, you passed out on the bridge. We’re not sure why. Do you feel okay now?”
“I feel fine.” She felt more than fine. She felt good, strong, more so than she had in years.
Aaliyah sat down on the edge of the bed, her expression still worried. “Can I get anything for you? Are you hungry?”
“I’m thirsty.”
“I’ll get you some water.” Aaliyah kept talking as she walked into the cleansing chamber.
“It was supposed to take two days to reach Earth’s solar system, but I guess we’re already here.
” She walked through the doorway, carrying a glass of water.
“Rafa said it would take an hour or so to reach Earth. We need to go in cloaked so they don’t feel threatened and try to attack us. ”
“Why would they try to attack us?”
“Humans are only just now learning about us. If they react like they always do, there’ll be panic at first, especially when news is released to the general public.
They don’t realize that the Laizahlian have always been watching over them.
” Aaliyah smirked as she sat down on the bed, helping Lena sit up before she passed her the cup.
“I’m not exactly sure how good they were at their job.
Rafa managed to get in to claim me without too much trouble.
And Nicolai nabbed Abby before that. I’ve heard Slavers sometimes get through too.
Maybe they need to assign more Hunters.”
“Abby used to tell me about her world when I was staying at the palace.” Lena cocked her head, half surprised she remembered talking with Abby.
When Gauge first set the block in her mind, he’d blocked out everything that happened after Ngozi claimed her.
She had no memory of Abby or Nicolai, or her time at the palace.
Even now, the memories were vague. She had to struggle to reach for them.
Too bad it wasn’t the same for what Ngozi had done to her.
Lena startled, almost spilling the water when Aaliyah reached out to touch her arm. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, bringing the cup to her mouth.
“It’s okay, Lena. You looked somewhere far away for a minute there. You sure you’re okay?”
“How did we get to Earth so fast? I thought it would take two days.” Unless she had been unconscious for two days.
Aaliyah shook her head. “We don’t know yet. Or I should say, I don’t know. Gauge and Teo went to speak with the captain. Hopefully they’ll have something good to tell us when they get back.”
Why couldn’t she shake off the dream, the red eyes, the pain? The sense that something terrible was about to happen. What if it wasn’t a dream? What if it really happened? But why would she be the only one to remember anything?
“You know, if you feel up to it, we could go down to a recreational area on the ship. It beats sitting in this tiny room with nothing to do. Your Uncle Seraphym and Sam will be there. They’ll be happy to see you. Rafa too.”
“Will Kiernan be there?”
“Um, I don’t know for sure. But even if he is, Seraphym and Rafa won’t let him come near you. I won’t let him come near you. You don’t have to be afraid of the prince, Lena. Just between you and me, I think he’s actually excited about claiming a human.”
“Okay,” she murmured, pushing to her feet. There would always be a little fear when in the presence of a Raiden warrior, especially one who wasn’t yet mated. Rafa treated Aaliyah like a princess. She’s never known the abuse Ngozi put me through.
Aaliyah stopped, her long braids making a soft tinkling sound from the many beads she’d braided into them.
She took hold of Lena’s shoulders and forced her to look up.
“Lena, I do know what you went through. Not from Ngozi,” she said hurriedly when Lena’s eyes widened in horror.
“My abuse started when I was just a little girl by a trusted uncle. And my own father used to beat me. It went on for years. I felt like you do now. Damaged. Useless. Depressed. Suicidal. Rafa helped me realize my own worth despite what I lived through. We all want to help you get past what Ngozi did to you, if you’ll only let us in.
You’re a good person, Lena. You have so much to offer the people around you.
You have your whole life ahead of you. It can be a good life, a happy life, if you want it to be. ”
Lena could feel tears burning her eyes but she refused to let them go free. “You are stronger than me, Liyah. I can’t close my eyes without seeing Ngozi’s ugly face. Every time I wake up, I panic, thinking I’m back on his ship.”
“If that’s how you feel, why would you agree to mate Kiernan if he can’t find a suitable female?”
“Because it doesn’t matter. I know I’ll be forced to take a mate, either Kiernan or another serpent male back at my father’s clan. My father is the alpha. He will use me to help strengthen ties with another clan.”
“Oh my God,” Aaliyah whispered. “I didn’t know that. Then you should stay with us, me and Rafa. We won’t let anyone force you, not ever! I don’t think Gauge will either. He acts really protective of you.”
Gauge, yes. If there was a male she could learn to trust, it would be him. But Gauge was a vampire. He wasn’t Raiden or a serpent. There could be no future between them.
But he carries your abaci pattern, a nagging voice told Lena. Only a mate can carry a female’s abaci. Why do you think you feel so attracted to him?
He may carry a part of me, but I don’t carry a part of him, she reminded herself. She couldn’t. He wasn’t Raiden. Gauge’s people didn’t produce a shaprata.
“Should we go?” Aaliyah said, motioning toward the door. “I suspect the walk will do us both good.”
“Okay,” Lena murmured, allowing the human female to guide her out the door. “Will Gauge know where I am?”
“I’ll have Rafa contact him when we get to the recreational room.”
*
Gauge tried to distract himself from thoughts of Lena with work.
He’d originally planned to go with Seraphym and Samantha to the cougar pack with Kiernan and his guard to make sure everything went smoothly.
Once that was done, he would arrange transportation to the military base where their people were supposedly being held.
Kiernan’s disappearance changed everything.
Outside of Earth, there were no planets near this solar system capable of sustaining life.
Perhaps Kiernan hadn’t trusted them. Perhaps he somehow found a way to transport himself to Earth behind their backs?
It shouldn’t have been possible. But if he did so, he did it without his guards knowing, as they were starting to put up a fuss about their missing prince.
As Falkner had already implied, this could turn into a political mess.
He would deal with Kiernan and his guards later.
They could start scanning the planet for a Raiden warrior once they went into orbit around Earth.
His first priority was to check on Lena.
It might not make sense to him or anyone else, but Gauge knew he would not be able to concentrate on work until he knew she was safe and being taken care of.
He would meet Teo and Jax afterward to study the layout of the military base where they suspected the Umi queen and their people were being held against their will.
When he reached Lena’s room, he touched the scan that would alert her to a visitor. Gauge waited a few seconds, but when he received no reply, he touched it again, beginning to get worried. Surely Aaliyah would know how to open the door from the inside.
When he still received no reply, Gauge overrode the system with his mind and entered the room. “Lena, Aaliyah, are you here?” he asked, sensing her quarters were empty.
Gauge closed his eyes and reached out for Lena through their bond. He found her sitting with Aaliyah, Seraphym and Samantha in the recreational room. Lena actually smiled as she watched a video on a monitor in front of them. A movie, he suspected, from Earth. Probably Aaliyah and Samantha’s idea.
Lena stiffened a bit when she sensed his presence in her mind. “Gauge?”
“Yes, I was worried about you. Are you having fun?”
“I am. Liyah and Sam thought I might enjoy what they call a movie from Earth. A comedy. They said they are made for entertainment. It’s not real.”
“What is it called?”
He sensed Lena turning to one of the others to ask. “‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ It has aliens in it, and a human male. He likes to listen to music and do what they call dancing. It looks fun.”
“Once it is safe, perhaps I will take you somewhere you can experience music and dancing live.”
“I think I would like that.”
“Are you okay staying with Seraphym and Samantha while I work?”
“Of course. I know how to reach you if I have need.”