Chapter 11
11
GWEN
S omeone is snoring loudly next to me.
When my eyes flutter open, I see the unmistakable shape of a sexy copper alien, snoozing in the dimly lit medical bay.
My husband.
He’s beautiful, even if he snores. I reach over to touch him and my shoulder twinges painfully.
Suddenly, it all comes rushing back.
The Ocrevv. Vex. The laser I jumped in front of.
I’m alive, right? I must be, since I’m lying next to Ryz.
With my good arm, I reach my hand up to touch my shoulder. It’s covered with some gauze-like bandage.
“You’re awake,” comes a rough, croaky voice beside me. “You’re awake!” He sits up and hovers over me, his eyes glistening with tears. He strokes my cheek with his thumb.
I lean into his touch as he kisses my lips softly, like he’s afraid I’ll break.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Tired. Sore. Confused. Trying to make sense of everything that happened.”
He sighs. “Jekril, the Ocrevv from your cell room, tried to kill me. You threw yourself in front of me and took the shot.” He glances away for a moment, as I notice his eyes filling with fresh tears. When did he become so emotional?
“That’s strange,” I say. “I could’ve sworn Jekril was a good guy.”
“He did look horrified that he’d shot you.”
“Maybe it was a mistake,” I say thoughtfully.
“In any case, Zadren shot him dead right afterward.”
Oh, wow. I’m sorry, Jekril. “And Vex?”
He scoffs. “Coward took off in all the commotion.” He holds my gaze. “How did he convince you to go with him?”
I inhale deeply. “He told me he could help me find Iris and Lacey. That we’d all been purchased, but there were others that wanted us more, and the Belran had been in the process of delivering us to these new buyers.”
“What would he get out of it?” Ryz asks.
I look away. “He said he wanted to beat you at something.”
Ryz scoffs again.
“I’m so sorry. I thought it was my only option. I was mad at you…and desperate.”
He squeezes my hand. “You never have to worry about me not keeping my word again.”
I smile, my heart soaring. “He also said you had secrets…”
He huffs. “He’s not completely wrong. I haven’t told you everything about my family’s past, but honestly, you and I haven’t had much time to talk.”
I blink.
“Nothing planet-shattering, I swear,” he continues hastily. “But at the moment, I have something more pressing to tell you.” He takes my hand. “The dewlight after we…bonded.” He bites his lip.
“You mean after I had the best sex of my life? You’ve ruined me for any other man, human or otherwise, Ryz.”
“Good,” he replies, his chest puffing out more. “Anyway, that dewlight, I sent Takizet, my best tracker, to search for your friends with a small team.”
“Really?!” I squeeze his hands back. “Oh, Ryz. I wish I’d known??—”
“That’s all in the past, my wife. We’re only moving forward now.”
I beam. “Any news yet?”
His expression turns troubled. “We’ve lost contact. And I’m worried. The only way his comm wouldn’t be working is if it had been removed—or shorted, like the Ocrevv did to yours.”
Oh god…
My heart pounds. “What do we do?”
“ You aren’t doing anything until you're healed.” He gives me a stern look. “ I will continue to monitor the situation and have Zadren investigate.”
“Thank you, my husband,” I say. I want to smother him with kisses for everything he’s done for me. But for now… “I need to get out of this bed. I feel like I’ve been asleep for days.”
“You have,” he replies.
Oh, gross. I must stink.
“Why don’t we get you into the bath,” he says, reading my mind.
“How will I wash myself?”
“You won’t,” he says, his eyes roving over me. “ I’ll be tending to your hygiene, my Queen. And I’m determined to clean every last dirty inch of you.”
“Let’s go.”
Many orgasms later—for both of us—I rest my head on Ryz’s shoulder in our bed. He’s stroking my hair, and I’m purring like a cat in his arms.
We can afford to relax for a while.
The Outside Forces never advanced on us: right after we returned, Ryz sent out a bulletin to the people of Ydrin and all our allies, telling them what happened. He’s sure they won’t be bothering us for a long time.
We still need to figure out what we’re going to do about the Ocrevv, though.
Suddenly, Ryz’s comm beeps and he grumbles. “I said we weren’t to be disturbed.”
“Must be important,” I say, pulling a sheet over me.
“What is it, Zadren?” Ryz barks.
“My apologies for the intrusion, but we got a location hit on Tak.”
Ryz sits up and my heart begins to race. “Where?”
“Lyrica.”
Ryz’s brow furrows. “The prison planet?”
“Yes.”
“Prepare a craft. We’re going to get him.”
“He’s not there any longer, though,” Zadren continues. “He left with an escaped prisoner. Gwen’s friend Iris.”
“Iris!” I jump up. She’s alive! Of course she’s alive. It’s Iris . The no-nonsense, kick-’em-where-it-hurts, best friend a girl could have.
“Where are they now?” Ryz asks, much calmer than me.
“That, we don’t know. They went offline.”
I groan.
“Send a group to scour the nearby planets. I’ll talk to the warden of the prison myself.”
The comm dims and I lean into Ryz with tears in my eyes. He wraps his arms around me.
“You know I’m coming with you,” I whisper into his neck.
He sighs loudly. “That I do,” he mutters, kissing my temple. “I know by now I can’t control my brazen bride.”
* * *