Irresistible: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 9) (17 page)

"What is the refuge like?" I asked. I was curious.

Jidden grinned as bright as the light within him. "You're about to find out."

* * *

"
T
erra
?" Lucina whispered. Her face was pale and expressionless as I entered the central building of the refuge. It was high in the trees of a verdant jungle, where the lush flora grew in defiance of the two suns above.

It broke my heart to see Lucina so fragile. She had been my best friend since childhood. Usually, she was the stronger of us. She healed my emotional wounds with her charm and radiance. I wasn't sure I could do the same for her now.

The death of Gallia weighed on her like an iron collar.

Gallia, our former Commander, had died while confronting a Surtu soldier who had claimed Lucina as his own. She wanted nothing to do with him.

His name was Kalij.

He was a cruel man with dirty ginger hair, but he couldn't hurt her anymore. By killing Gallia, he had sentenced himself to death. The last time I saw him, he was being led away by his fellow soldiers.

Kalij was dead, but Lucina still had not recovered. Her clothes were an army T-shirt and pants. They were likely loaned to her from Godfrey to replace the Surtu uniform she had worn while captive. The clothes hung from her petite frame and made her look like a scarecrow. Her bright blonde hair had dulled.

"I'm here," I told her, trying to keep my pity to myself. She probably wouldn't have noticed, but my sorrow would dishonor her. I knew a happy Lucina was inside somewhere, hidden underneath layers of grief. I made a silent vow that I would help Lucina find herself again.

"Good," she said. She sounded pleased, but her expression did not change. "You're here."

We embraced. As we did, I felt a longing to be a child again. I remembered when Lucina and I ran around the desert full of innocence before we lived the consequences of war.

"It's about time," Bellona muttered behind me, her fire-red hair falling around her body like a robe. It was as close to an emotional display as Bellona was going to give.

She had been a priestess on board the Fortuna, but her wisdom was always practical and discerning. Bellona's advice was free from emotion, just like her skills as the Red Assassin.

"Bellona!" I greeted her happily. I was truly delighted to see her. I was pleased to see everybody. With the fate of my family unknown, my women were the only family I had left. Together with Jidden, they were everything I had of value in the world. "How is it here?" "Terrible," she answered. "We're here hiding when we should be on Earth fighting. One arrogant sidearm thinks we'll draw too much attention on Earth if we return, and we'll ruin the efforts of this network everyone is talking about."

I knew she was referring to Godfrey. "Who is she?"

"She's your replacement. At least, she tries to be. I keep telling her that we rescue people by fighting those who hurt them, not by sitting in our lovely little huts, but she refuses to let us return."

"My replacement?" A knot of disappointment formed in my stomach.

"She piloted the first ship that met us on the planet. After hearing of our escape from the Fortuna while she fought the Surtu with her blasters, she planned an exodus of her own. She stole a Surtu ship and filling it full of refugees. She knew we were out here, somewhere, and she flew blind, hoping to find us. That's when she received the same mysterious signal we did."

One minute I despised Godfrey, but she could win me back over in a heartbeat. "Her efforts should be applauded."

"Her efforts are different than her command. Upon landing here, she immediately took charge because she was a General. Our sister warriors did not protest. We were still mourning you and your sacrifice. None of us thought it would be forever. Godfrey sure the hell thinks it's permanent."

"So you don't like her?"

"I don't like that she assumes everyone will do what she says. She's a woman, but she's no sister. She doesn't treat us with the same respect you did." She hesitated.

Hesitation was not in Bellona's nature. She spat out the truth like it had a bad taste. Whatever she had to say, it wasn't good.

"And," I prompted.

"And I don't like how close she was to Jidden before he left to find you. Nothing happened between them, but they were almost inseparable."

I wasn't worried. I knew how much Jidden loved me. We were light bonded. Whatever he felt, his sadness and his joy, I felt too. Even while I was on the run from the Surtu, I could see Jidden in my dreams and feel his anguish as he searched for me. If he had been unfaithful, I would have known.

"They were probably strategizing," I speculated.

"HE was strategizing," Bellona sneered. "I'm not so sure about her. I could kill her for you if you want. I can make her death agonizing."

I laughed. Was she joking? We did not kill out of jealousy or contrition, no matter how much we wanted to. We only killed those who posed a lethal threat, and we only killed out of necessity. But Bellona's judgment of a deadly threat differed from my own.

The three men I had killed before meeting the rescue ship were threats. The young women they would have taken into captivity nearly became reluctant brides. I prevented a future of being forced into light bonds that they didn't choose, and being compelled to bear children that were not of their will.

I knew this truth in my mind, but my heart betrayed me when I spoke.

"I killed," I revealed to Bellona.

"And you'll kill again."

"Funny, Jidden said the same thing."

"It's why we shouldn't be here," Bellona asserted. "I do not like being passive. And we don't know who summoned us here."

I agreed with her. "We are free women. Once I am rested, we should be able to go, no matter what Godfrey says."

"Unless you're hiding a pair of wings, that's easier said than done. Godfrey has control over the ships. She's even convinced Jidden to relinquish his vessel to the cause."

Not having access to a ship created a barrier, but it did not make the feat impossible. If we could escape a Surtu invasion, we could work our way pass the directives of a General who was on our side. I wouldn't let our paradise become our prison again.

"We'll find a way," I assured her. I was determined as I thought of my family on Earth. I had not gone to them when I had escaped from Captain Fore, fearful I would lead his cruelty straight to them. Now that Earth would fall, their safety was no longer an issue. In time, they would be found, no matter how far the desert was from society.

We could not remain on the refuge for long. Our families were being turned into slaves. We had to return, and soon. The women of the Fortuna had different training than ordinary soldiers. We had highly developed skill sets more attuned to those of an assassin than those of a soldier. In Bellona's case, she was identical to an assassin.

"And if we don't find a way," I added, "then I'll let you have your way with Godfrey."

Bellona smiled. "It's good to have you back, Nightshade."

Beside us, Lucina spoke again, finding her voice. "I want to go with you," she insisted weakly. "Don't leave me here."

I looked at her critically. I wanted to promise we wouldn't leave her, but it wasn't a promise I could make.

* * *

P
RESENT DAY

Waking from sleep, Jidden joined me at the window of our hut. I thought about everything that had changed over the last month since we arrived at the refuge. I tried not to think about the distance that had grown between us.

Our relationship was strained. We barely spoke and rarely made love. Jidden was struggling with something. He was pushing me away, but I didn't know why.

"It can't last," he said, standing inches from me. The distance between us felt like a deep, lonely ravine.

I hoped he was talking about living here, not about our relationship. "The refuge?" I asked.

"Yes. The refuge. The network of deserters has grown bold. They've doubled their rescue missions. The Surtu military will soon catch on."

"The Surtu military are the network," I reminded him. "Some of them. This war is no longer human versus Surtu. It's not even right versus wrong. The outcome is the same no matter what we do. Human and Surtu must unite. It's evolution. Humanity will change forever. Humanity has changed forever," I corrected myself.

"Then what is this war about?" he asked. He remained unconvinced.

"It's about the legacy we leave our children. Do we set them up to be barbarians like Captain Fore, or do we instill within them the virtues your people used to revere – the virtues your father possessed."

Jidden stiffened at the mention of his father. He was a soldier who had died many years before, not long after Jidden's mother had perished from the disease that threatened the existence of the Surtu. The deaths of his parents left the military to raise Jidden.

"My father was a good man," Jidden acknowledged, "but he was no saint. The Surtu are not saints, not even at their best."

"Neither are humans. That's what evolution is for."

Jidden edged closer to me and took my hand. "How can you speak so calmly after we invaded your world? How can you so freely accept the Surtu fate as your own?"

I hadn't seen this much affection from Jidden in weeks. Caught up in the moment, I didn't answer him. Instead, I kissed him with all the joy I felt from his touch and all the sadness I carried from the distance between us.

He kissed me back just as intently, but then he let me go, taking a step back that broke my heart.

"Jidden, talk to me," I pleaded. "I don't understand what's happening to us."

"I need a shower," he said, and he headed towards the bathroom.

"Jidden!" I yelled. My frustration was emerging.

"Nothing is happening to us," he insisted before turning the corner to take his shower.

"That's the problem," I mumbled to myself.

* * *

I
was
a slender woman with a toned body. Even so, the bridge acting as a roadway between the huts quivered beneath my weight. The rope holding the bridge together was durable, as were the wooden planks that guided my steps. Since it was high up, it moved at the whim of the forces around it. A slight breeze sent the bridge swaying.

Godfrey had called a meeting. She didn't officially invite me, but I was going.

It was time to return to Earth.

I had given myself time to heal from my wounds. I was rested and prepared. I had no idea what remained of the resistance on Earth, but I was certain I was in better shape than they were.

When I arrived at the central building of our treetop village, I sat on a bench next to Bellona. "Are you crashing the party too?"

"I crash every party. It's important to keep your enemies close."

"They're not our enemies," I argued. "They're trying to help."

"This isn't about the war. This is personal. I don't like playing nice for my jailers."

I sighed. "Well, with hope, that will be resolved after this meeting."

An informal representation of Surtu soldiers and humans sat around us. Some humans were military, but most were everyday women and men rescued from captivity and flown to the refuge. Godfrey rose to start the meeting.