Alien Prince: (Bride of Qetesh) An Alien SciFi Romance (36 page)

My lady looked frantic as she opened the small box and placed the tiny device in her ear. I opened my own box and examined the object: it was very small, no larger than the smallest nail on my lady
’
s hand, and shaped to fit snugly in the ear. She had put hers in, and so I did the same.

For a moment, I saw her mouth moving, but did not hear her. And then, in an instant, everything changed.

“…
derstand me now?
”
She leaned forward, just a breath away, her eyes locked on mine.
“
Odrik?
”
I swallowed hard.
“
Does this mean you can understand me?
”

“
Yes,
”
I breathed, shocked, jubilant.
“
Yes, my lady. I can understand you.
”

I gripped his hands, fierce and fervent, peering up into his eyes with a surprising desperation. My expression asked the question over and over again, even after the sound of my voice had died in the thick air between us:
Can you understand me?

“
Yes,
”
he said, his voice tremulous and electrified,
“
yes, my lady. I can understand you.
”

It started like this: I plucked the device up out of its clear plastic container and held it gingerly between two fingers to examine it. Half the size of a dime and shaped rather like a lima bean, it was constructed of an opaque but malleable plasticine, and I slid it comfortably into the conch of my ear. For three heartbeats, everything was silence; then, his voice broke through the static. At first, I could hear him speaking in his own language, a sort of shadow beneath the sound of him translated into English. But the more he spoke, the more that faded and disappeared completely.

“
This is incredible,
”
I breathed, and he smiled down into my face, bobbing his head in agreement. But now that we had all of our known languages at our disposal, neither one of us knew precisely what to say. I let go of his hands and averted my gaze, suddenly self-conscious.

“
Now it will be easier for you to tell me what you want,
”
he all but growled, brushing his fingertips over the slope of my shoulder and around the curve of my breast. His touch sent a chill through me, but I just laughed sort of nervously and didn
’
t look at him. I crossed my arms in front of me and curled myself inwards and let my gaze linger anywhere other than Odrik
’
s face. He drew his hands away, sensing my retreat, and we were silent, wracking our brains for the right words to say to one another.

“
Earth,
”
he said at length, turning the sound of the word over in his mouth like he was chewing something sweet.
“
That
’
s where you
’
re from?
”

“
Yes,
”
I confirmed, scratching absently at the back of my neck, unsure of what to do with my hands.
“
And I have the feeling that I
’
m quite a ways from home.
”

“
What
’
s it like?
”
he asked, shifting his bulk from one foot to the other.
“
This Earth of yours.
”

“
Well
…”
I was utterly unprepared to answer that question. I
’
d been asked what New York City was like
—
like being one blood cell in the center of a pulsing heart
—
or what it was like growing up on a farm in Nebraska
—
like death, but without the advantages
—
but never what just
Earth
was like.
“
It
’
s like here, in a lot of ways,
”
I said,
“
except the plant life is a lot less likely to try to eat you.
”

Odrik smiled and it lit him up; I looked up at him and smiled back.
“
And there is more technology,
”
I said, gesturing absently to the console with all of its blinking lights.
“
And a lot more people.
”

“
That is what our old planet was like,
”
Odrik said,
“
or so I
’
m told.
”

“
Old planet?
”

Odrik nodded, shifting awkwardly against the sides of a pod that was really much too small for him.
“
The Qet are not of this world. Not originally.
”

“
What happened?
”

“
As far as I know, there was an extinction-level event on our home planet, so we
…
relocated.
”
Odrik pursed his lips and arched his broad shoulders in a shrug, before turning to sidle his way out of the back of the pod. I followed close behind, hobbling awkwardly as I nursed my injury.

“
What do you mean?
”

“
The Qet are told a tale, a myth, about the old world. Our population was once in the millions, hundreds of millions. And then there
’
s some story about how the Qulari received a
— ”

“
Qulari?
”

“
Our priests.
”

“
Ah.
”

“
They received a calling to bring a chosen few to the new world.
”
Odrik reached up to help me down from the pod, setting me gently in the tall grass before he headed toward a tree some distance off; I limped alongside him, leaning most of my weight against his strong and steady arm.
“
But it
’
s just a story. The Qeteshi leadership was always told the truth of it: that a selection of our people were relocated here once we
’
d gotten word of an asteroid that obliterated our home planet.
”

“
The Echelon,
”
I whispered.
“
They must have been the ones to relocate you. The same way they plucked me up off of my planet
—
they must have come in to pluck you up off of yours.
”

Odrik ran his tongue over his lips, brows arched high over eyes like bottomless wells.
“
I suppose. It was some two hundred years ago
—
I know only what I was told.
”
We reached the tree and he fell into an easy lean against its trunk. Me, I sat on some of the gnarled roots. I peered up at him, the branches breaking the sun into graceful shafts of light.

“
You know the truth of it,
”
I mused,
“
so you must be one of the leaders of your people?
”

He crossed his arms over the broad expanse of his chest and narrowed his eyes as he gazed out over the plains. I followed his line of sight and marveled at the natural beauty of this strange world, a world that I was coming to learn was no kinder to these creatures, the Qet, than it had been to me.

“
I was, yes,
”
he confirmed, his voice low and even.
“
But no longer.
”

“
Why not?
”
Everything I knew of Odrik spoke to his natural leadership qualities: his steady temper, his inherent goodness, his strength, his good humor. I smiled faintly, a reflection of the well of fondness that warmed me from the inside out.

“
I was usurped,
”
he said, an edge to his usually even tone,
“
and when I challenged my usurper, I lost.
”

“
Who did
— ”

“
I don
’
t wish to discuss it,
”
he snapped, and the sound gave me a start. I
’
d never heard him be short with me before, and the severity of his tone reignited the first spark of fear I
’
d experienced when I had landed here, the first time I
’
d laid eyes on him. Something on my face must have given me away, because he looked at me and immediately softened, his entire form relaxing as he came to sit beside me on the gnarled root of a giant tree.
“
Forgive me,
”
he murmured, taking my small hand in his large one, gently stroking the skin on the back of my hand with his thumb,
“
it
’
s rather a sensitive subject.
”

“
It
’
s how you lost your horn,
”
I remarked quietly, careful to temper my voice. He looked up at me, slack-jawed at my having guessed it, and nodded his confirmation.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
I whispered, lifting my free hand to his face and sweeping my fingertips along the slope of his jaw. He turned his face toward my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm; I felt a pulse deep in my chest, like my heart had skipped a beat; I felt a pulse between my thighs because he
’
d awakened something in me that I could not now put to bed.

“
No matter,
”
he said at length.
“
You
’
re here now. Everything has changed.
”

I scoffed and shook my head, not knowing what I could possibly say to him. Finally, I settled on,
“
I can
’
t stay.
”

He blinked at me, as though he were trying to process what I
’
d said.
“
But you came here to help us,
”
he said. His eyes, like a horse
’
s, were wide and round and full of questions.

“
Not exactly,
”
I muttered, dropping my hand into my lap even as I wrestled the other one free of his grip.

“
To mate with us,
”
he went on, watching my every move.
“
To ensure the continuation of our species.
”

“
I mean, that
’
s why they
sent
me here
…”

“
It
’
s very noble of you.
”
He tried to catch my gaze, inclining his head toward mine so that he could look me in the eye.
“
You are very good and generous. Through you, the Qet will continue. You will bear our progeny, and
— ”

“
I
won
’
t
,
”
I insisted.
“
I didn
’
t come of my own free will. I was
…
taken
. Abducted, right out of my own bed. I fell asleep at home, and the next thing I knew, I was on a spaceship orbiting this lethal planet. And now? Now I
’
m told that I
’
m some walking incubator for alien babies, and I just
…
I
can
’
t
.
”
He was staring at me, but I couldn
’
t look back.
“
Let
’
s go back to the pod,
”
I said and slid from the root to stand on my good foot.

“
For what purpose?
”
he asked, uncoiling to his full height.

“
I don
’
t know. To
look
.
”

“
Look for what?
”

“
I don
’
t
know
,
”
I said.
“
Just
…
look
.
”