I stare at them.
I really don’t know what to say.
I don’t deserve this—any of this—for doing something stupid.
Yes, it might have worked, but I’m no hero.
I open my mouth to say this when I pause.
My ba’clan pulse against me and I remember what I was thinking just moments before while cocooned with Fer’ro.
This is no longer just my fight. It’s no longer Earth’s fight.
It’s their fight too.
They’re not only thanking me for what I did, they’re thanking me for trusting them.
I swallow my pride, my preconceived notions, my doubt…
These big aliens need to know that they are accepted here.
“It is an honor to be seen in such a light by such brave warriors. I couldn’t have done anything without your help.” My gaze moves over each and every one of them. “Thank you.”
I don’t know if what I said is enough.
It certainly doesn’t encompass the weight of the feelings in my chest.
But as the Vullan rise, I do not feel so on edge by their stares anymore.
They see me as one of them.
And as I look from them to myself, to the ba’clan coating me…I realize that, maybe, I’ve become more like them than I first realized.
Maybe, I’m not entirely human anymore.
ADIRA
The three women we rescued huddle on the floor of the lift as it rises through the sky toward the still-cloaked ship.
Their gaze is on the tall aliens around them.
All of the Vullan have their chins tilted to the air, as if something reeks in here.
The females smell. They haven’t washed in a long time. But the scent isn’t that bad.
As their frightened gazes lock on to the aliens around us though, even I can sense their fear, and when they look at me, there is a definite distrust in their gazes.
I’m smaller, skinnier, obviously not alien, but with my symbiotes, I look like the Vullan.
And to them, the Vullan are the enemy.
They do not yet know they are rescued.
It was a good idea that they’d transported the Gryken to the ship directly after capturing it. Even I didn’t see the monster.
And that’s a good thing.
I can’t imagine how much more traumatized seeing the alien would have been to these women.
“You are safe now,” I turn and say to the one that had spoken to me first after I’d been dropped into the Scrit. “These men…these Vullan…they are on our side.” My gaze moves over the three of them before landing back on the one I focused on first. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”
Her eyes darts to Ga’Var then to Fer’ro at my side before she hastily lowers gaze. “How are you so sure?”
I find myself straightening my back a little. “Because I trust these males with my life.”
My ba’clan pulse against me and for the first time, I can make out the others’ symbiotes pulsing against them too—as if my words moved them.
It’s a comforting pulse as usual, a strange sort of communication among us that I never noticed the Vullan did before.
“We near the ship,” Fer’ro whispers in my ear and his hot breath sends a tingle down my spine.
I nod as I glance at him over my shoulder.
“We’re going to board their ship now. Do not be afraid. They will not harm you.”
The women jerk their chins at me as they nod but fear still shines in their eyes.
They are dirty.
Skinny.
Tired.
Frail.
I wonder if I still look like that?
I certainly don’t feel like that anymore.
As the lift docks and we enter the dim interior of the ship, Fer’ro clicks orders as the other Vullan file out.
“Ga’Var will take them to He’rox for healing and then show them to private quarters.”
“Oh.” I turn as Ga’var towers over the women.
He does nothing to make himself look smaller. Standing at his full height, he looks like the sentinel of death.
The women’s fear is palpable and I can see Ga’Var’s symbiotes ripple.
“Maybe I should stay with them. This has been a…nerve-wracking experience. I’m sure they’d be happier with another human there.”
“No.”
Fer’ro speaks so firmly I have to turn in his direction again.
“What? Why not?”
“You have done enough for today. You’re coming with me.”
When I turn to glance behind me, Ga’Var is already directing the women toward a door in the wall. It opens to another corridor and as they step in, the wall reforms behind them.
A lump grows in my throat and my heart picks up its pace.
It’s not that I don’t want to rest…it’s just that…I’m not sure what will happen if I’m around Fer’ro again…alone.
“Come, Adee’ra.”
This tall, dark alien is walking in front of me down the corridor, and as we walk, every other Vullan we pass makes eye contact with me before placing one palm on top of the other and bending their forehead to it. I quickly realize it’s a shortened, more informal version of what they did outside.
We’re at the entrance to Fer’ro’s quarters far too quickly and as he steps through the door, I pause on the outside for a little.
If I go in there…
My ba’clan pulse against me as if telling me to enter.
But if I go in there… If we’re alone together again…
My ba’clan pulse once more and my legs move almost of their own volition, pulling me inside the room.
Fer’ro is standing at the cleansing station and when I step in, his symbiotes retract, showing him bare.
I swallow hard, my tongue flicking out of my mouth to wet my lips as I stare.
He’s truly magnificent looking.
Those corded muscles under that dark skin look like they’re sculpted from metal and my hands itch to touch him.
I can feel my lungs starting to work harder as I stand there, unable to move, only able to stare like some creep.
Get a grip, Adira!
But the only thing I want to grip is standing right there in front of me, no shame in his nakedness…
Fuck.
It feels wrong to be having these thoughts. So carnal.
Outside of this room, this ship, the world is ending.
But…inside…inside me, something is being birthed. A seed I never knew was sown.
For I want this man…this alien. This Vullan.
In the Scrit, when I thought I was drowning, when his arms wrapped around me, I suddenly knew everything was going to be all right.
My gaze falls down his form, moving down his chest to the juncture of his thighs and my throat goes dry.
There’s a thick line there…like a fold…an opening… and beneath it, something moves…pulses.
My tongue feels heavy in my throat.
“Adee’ra…”
My name on his tongue makes me jump and I pull my gaze away from his…area, my heart beating harder than ever.
Fer’ro’s ears twitch but he doesn’t move, even though the light has already cleansed him.
Instead, he stands there looking at me, as if he is waiting on me to do or say something.
And the stupidest thing comes from my mouth. “You’re clean.”
His ears twitch again. “Yes, I am.”
There is a moment of silence where the air grows thick and I slowly want to begin sinking into the floor beneath me.
“It is your turn.”
His gaze flicks down my body so slowly, I become aware of every inch of me.