She spotted me and lifted the item of crockery. “Sorry, I was hungry. No one was up, so I thought I’d help myself to breakfast.”
“Of course.” I offered Zoe a smile. “How did you sleep?”
She rubbed her face. “Like shit. You’d think considering I wasn’t tied up or locked in anywhere for the first time in forever that I’d have slept like a baby, but I was having nightmare after nightmare. Every time I woke myself up from one, I went back into another.”
I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. “Hopefully, they’ll fade in time.”
Her gaze darted to the two Trads and the Athion beside me. “But this isn’t over yet, is it? It’s far from over. It’s not as though we can just hop on a bus and go home. We’re still on an alien planet and surrounded by people like Borys.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I crossed the room, put my arms around her, and squeezed her in a hug. I was lucky enough to have the support of the others, had been held by them all night and made to feel like there was the possibility of a future. Zoe didn’t have that, and my heart went out to her. I was going to need to be her support, for the moment, anyway.
“We’re surrounded by good people, too, Zoe. Nad and Miko and Diarus are just a handful of them. There are lots more rebels, and they want to help us. You’ll get to meet them soon, I’m sure. We might still be a long way from home, but that doesn’t mean we should give up.”
She sniffed and wiped the ball of her hand across her eyes. “Even if we get home, it’s still been destroyed. The Trads did that.” Her gaze flicked to the others again, and I recognized accusation in her eyes. It was harder for her—I had to remember that. She’d only experienced the negatives of the Trads, had been abducted and impregnated and sold and held prisoner, and before that she’d gone through the trauma of our cities being devastated by asteroids. I wasn’t going to convince her in a day.
“Come on,” I said softly. “Let’s see what there is to eat.”
We set about opening cupboard doors. Containers of what I assumed to be foods were stacked inside, but I had no idea what any of them were, or how to cook them. I glanced helplessly over my shoulder at Miko, who’d been watching with amusement.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I admitted.
He chuckled, deep-throated. “Step aside. Let me work my magic.”
I was more than happy to let him take over. Would I even be able to survive on this planet if I was on my own? I’d been an independent woman back on Earth, but now I could barely feed myself.
He opened one of the cans and removed what appeared to be a brown dough, which he then rolled out and flash-cooked in a pan. The result was a dense kind of bread, like a rye bread, which he served to us warm with several kinds of spreads which he also located in the cupboard. Nad was in charge of producing a black hot liquid that was almost too sweet, and which I assumed to be a Trad version of coffee. I missed all the usual foods we had back on Earth and wondered if I’d ever get to have a tall vanilla latte ever again, or a gooey chocolate brownie. But though it wasn’t what we were used to, the food was tasty and filling and would give us sustenance for whatever lay ahead.
Chapter Two
“What are we going to do now?” I asked the others once we’d finished eating.
Miko stood and collected our plates. “I sent a signal to Aleksy last night via a data pad and told him what we’ve got. He would have wanted to know, so we can put the next stage of our plan into action.”
My stomach flipped with nerves. “Destroy the unused facilities, you mean?”
He gave a curt nod. “Exactly.”
I remembered what they’d told me about the raid on the base. “Do we know where Aleksy is now? If the rebel base came under attack, it’s not as though he’d still be there.”
Nad joined Miko at the sink. “We don’t know for sure, so it might take him a little time to get here, depending on his location. But he will come.”
I sighed in relief. I wanted to hand this over to Aleksy. I didn’t like us being solely responsible for taking out the unused facilities. The mission felt too big for only us—hell, it was too big for it to only be us.
“As far as I can tell from the map,” Diarus said, “it looks as though there are three other facilities—not including the one you were kept at—in this region of Tradrych. Right now, we have the element of surprise, but the moment we attack one of the facilities, they’re going to clamp down on security on all the others.”
Zoe lifted both her hands. “Hang on a moment. I appreciate you have some big plan to save us, but are we ever going to be able to get home? I mean, you have ships that brought us here, so surely we can get one back to Earth again.”
Nad pressed his lips together, his brow furrowing. “I understand you want to go home, and, one day, we hope that’ll be possible for you and all the other human women who are here and decide they don’t want to stay—”
“Who don’t want to stay?” she interrupted. “None of us want to stay! We were brought here against our will and we have been forced to carry alien babies and give birth to them. How could you possibly think any of us would want to stay here? We want to go home and see our friends and our families.” The pitch of her voice had risen with emotion as she’d spoken.
Nad clasped his fingers on the top of the table. “We hope, over time, that some women will decide to stay on Tradrych.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re fucking kidding me, aren’t you?”
He shook his head. “No. That’s our long-term goal. While we don’t agree with the steps that have been taken to repopulate our planet, we still don’t want our kind to die out.”
Zoe stared at him. “But you still want to impregnate human women?”
I could see this was getting heated and I needed to step in. “Willingly, Zoe,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “The women would choose to be here willingly. That’s a completely different thing.”
“And are you one of those women?” she asked, her tone accusatory. “Don’t tell me you’d stay here, even if you got the chance to go home?”
I sensed all eyes on me now, not only Zoe’s. They wanted to know my answer, too, but what could I say? “I... I’m not sure what I want. It’s all too soon.”
She was acting as though I was betraying humankind. “I can’t believe you’d even consider it.”
“You might change your mind, too, after you get to know some Trads for yourself.”
She looked between them and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I am never going to let that happen.”
“That’s fine,” I said with a sigh. “That’s your choice. That’s what this is all about—for women to have a choice.”
Zoe rose to her feet. “Excuse me. I need the bathroom.”
I knew she was just using it as an excuse to end the conversation.
I gave her a tentative smile. “Sure.”
She spun from the table and stalked from the room.
Miko pulled a face. “She didn’t think much of that idea then?”
“No,” I said, “and you’d better get used to that reaction. There won’t be many human women who will think it’s a good idea to stay.”
“You’re considering it,” he pointed out.
“I’m different. I’ve gotten to know you all.”
Miko shrugged. “Women will get to know more Trads once they’re freed. They will change their minds.”
He was being too cocky. I knew that was just how Miko was, but I feared he wasn’t really understanding how serious this was. “Not all of them. Plenty have families back home that they will be desperate to get back to. The ones who don’t...well, your kind is going to have their work cut out for them convincing the women they’ll have a more promising future here than on Earth.”
Miko smirked. “We have certain skills that human men don’t have.”
As though to illustrate his point, he slid his tail over the top of my thigh.
I batted him away. “It needs to be
more than just sex.”
He grew serious, and his lower lip jutted in a pout. “We’re about more than just sex, Tee. You know that.”
I did. “I’m just saying that women will need time. Don’t expect them to be released after going through what they have and want to get involved with other Trads, even if those Trads are the good guys. It’ll take them some time to see things like that.”
Heavy bangs came at the door, and collectively, we froze. I felt the air sucked from the room as we all straightened and inhaled. I exchanged a glance with Nadeusz.
Aleksy? I mouthed at him.
Instinctively, we all knew to be silent. Even Zoe crept out of the bathroom and back into the main living area with us, questions in her eyes.
Nad lifted his hand as though to tell us to remain this way and crossed the room to the door. Though we had signaled Aleksy, there was still a good chance this wasn’t him. Borys would have increased his hunt for rebels now that his property had been attacked, and this could easily be a door-to-door search.
A male voice hissed from the other side. “Open up, Nad. It’s us.”
I wilted with relief and released a shuddery breath. My galloping heart didn’t slow, however. I was about to come face to face with Aleksy again, and the idea alone made me nervous.
Nad opened the door.
Several bodies pushed past him—each of them Trads I vaguely recognized from the rebel base. They bent heads to Nadeusz in a silent greeting as they entered the property, but I didn’t see the rebel leader with them. Was Aleksy not coming? Perhaps he’d chosen to send others instead of coming himself, maybe thinking it was too dangerous? I was surprised at the level of disappointment I experienced at the possibility of not seeing him. Not only disappointment, but also a little let down. I’d sacrificed a piece of myself in the worst possible way to obtain the locations of the other facilities, yet he wasn’t willing to come and see the plans—or me—in person.
But just as Nadeusz was about to close the door again, movement came from the street beyond.
The leader of the rebels stepped through the door, and I rose to my feet, my heart fluttering. I hadn’t seen him since before I’d been sold to Borys at the auction, and those days between had dimmed my memory of him.
Both Nadeusz and Miko were large in stature and intimidating to look at, but there was something about Aleksy that gave the impression he filled more space than anyone else. Where the others had scales tinted with reds and oranges, his were pale silver and white. His hair was silver, too, and long, trailing down over his shoulders, and the height of his horns added to his overall demeanor.
He didn’t even glance at the rebels but took several strides across the room to bring himself directly in front of me. I sucked in a breath, craning my neck to gaze into his face, suddenly frightened about what he was going to say. The rebel base had been compromised, and I’d been, in part at least, to blame for that. Did he hold me responsible? He’d warned the others about them bringing me to the base, but they’d convinced him it would be okay. Except it hadn’t been. Aleksy had been right, and now I was sure he was going to blame me.
He took hold of my hands, pressing them warmly between his palms. “Tara, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
“Oh.”
I hadn’t been expecting that.
I almost said, it’s fine, and shrugged it off, but I held myself back. What I’d done wasn’t fine. It sickened me to my core. I’d literally given myself over to the worst possible kind of creature. But I hadn’t done it for Aleksy or any of the rebels. I’d done it for all the women back at the facility who I’d been held prisoner with, and all the women who were still being brought to Tradrych and would wake up to the same fate I had.
“It—” Sudden tightness constricted my throat. “It wasn’t easy.”
His pale eyes darkened a shade. “No, I can’t imagine it was. But you’re safe now.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure how safe. Borys would have connected me with the missing plans and be looking for me. I didn’t even want to think about what he might do if he ever found me.
Aleksy didn’t release my hands, and I was frozen in his grip, my breath caught in anticipation. My skin burned at the feel of his skin touching mine. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire. I barely felt like I could breathe around him. I knew I wasn’t the only one who had this reaction. Everyone was staring at him, gazing up at him and hanging on his every word. Even Nad and Miko acted differently in his presence.
I sensed Zoe’s reaction as well, a combination of awe and horror. She’d been around plenty of Trads and, like me, had gotten used to their appearance, but there was something different about Aleksy.
He must have noted Zoe as well, because he glanced over my shoulder and then released me. “This must be the young woman you helped free.”
I nodded. “Yes, this is Zoe.”
I realized I didn’t know her surname, but I didn’t ask. Surnames weren’t something Trads seemed to use often.
He stepped past me to approach her, and I experienced a twang of jealousy, like someone plucked a string inside my heart. Had I enjoyed being the only human female around them? It wasn’t as though Zoe was vying for their attention either. In fact, she would be more than happy if she never laid eyes on another Trad again.
“I guess we need to get used to seeing women in our homes,” Aleksy said, his voice smooth.
Zoe shrank under his gaze. “Not if I can help it.”
His pale-blue eyes narrowed. “You’re not happy about being free?”
“I’m not free. Not really. I’m still trapped on this planet. I won’t be free until I’m back home.”
“Ah, of course. I understand.” He pressed his fingers to his lips, thinking for a moment. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure that happens.”
Hope flickered across her pretty features. “So...you think it might happen? I might actually get to go home?”
He nodded. “One day.”
I watched the hope vanish again as she realized what that meant. It was a future plan, but not one set in stone, and certainly not one that would be happening any time soon.
Zoe bit her lower lip, and her eyelids fluttered as she held back tears. “I guess I’d just better hope I live long enough to see that happen.”
Aleksy turned to Nad. “Show me the plans.”
Nad unrolled the scroll and stretched it out across the table.
The rebel leader took several steps, bringing him to the table. He leaned over it, scanned the map, and shook his head. “No wonder we were unable to locate them ourselves. This one is located in the Lone Rift Dunes, which will take at least a day and a half to reach. This one is in the Unmade Peaks, and will take even longer. And this one is situated in the Edge Forest. We have to cross long stretches of desert to get there and, with the electrical storms and sandstorms, the hovercars will be useless.”
“Is that why they positioned them there, do you think?” Miko asked. “To make sure they were hard to access and so keeping them secure?”
“Yes.” Aleksy nodded. “I’m sure of it.” He lifted his head to look around at the rest of us. “The devices we need to destroy the facilities are with rebel sympathizers in different parts of the city. We couldn’t risk them all being located in one place or with one person in case the place or person was infiltrated by Borys’s guards. None of the individuals know where the other is located, so they would be unable to rat on the other person. It’s our way of protecting both the individuals and the devices. I want you to split up and each go to recover a device.”
Nad and Miko exchanged a glance.
“You want us to split up?” Nad double-checked.
He nodded. “It makes sense. The wider area we can cover, the better.”
“We’d prefer to stay with Tara,” Miko said. “We’ve only just got her back.”
“Tara will be staying here, with me.” Aleksy’s expression was firm, and I didn’t th
ink the others would argue with him. “She’ll be the most recognizable out of all of you. Borys is going to have his guards crawling over the city searching for her.”
“And Diarus, too,” Nad pointed out, nodding toward the Athion.
Diarus had also been held at Borys’s property.
“Perhaps, though you know what most Trad opinions are of Athions, plus Trads tend to struggle to tell one Athion apart from another. Tara, however, with her long blonde hair, will be easily picked out of a crowd.”
The very last thing I wanted was to end up back in Borys’s clutches, especially knowing he would be furious with me. I wouldn’t be able to make him believe I wanted to be with him this time. He would know the truth, and his treatment of me would be vicious.
“Someone needs to stay here to protect Tara,” Miko said. He seemed to remember I wasn’t the only woman taken from Borys’s clutches. “Zoe, too.”
Aleksy nodded. “I’ll be staying. After the raid on the rebel base, like Zara, I’m also recognizable right now. I’ll send Geharz, Trovik, and Zuriq with you as well. You should only need a few hours to get across the city, collect the devices, and get back again. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her in that time.”
My breath caught. So, I was to stay here with Aleksy. How would the others feel about that? None of them argued with him, and I wasn’t sure how I felt myself. I knew they only wanted to keep me safe, but surely they could see the sparks flying every time I looked at the rebel leader? Or maybe I was imagining things, and there were no sparks at all.
How long had it been since Aleksy had been with a female?
Chapter Three
Nadeusz
THE BEST WAY TO MOVE around the city was simply by acting like any other Trad. The more we tried to appear as though we were trying to go unnoticed, the more likely it was that we’d catch the attention of the wrong Trads. Instead, I walked alongside Geharz, both of us with our chins up and our shoulders back.
I hadn’t liked leaving Tara behind, or separating from Miko, but Aleksy was right when he’d said we were too easily recognizable as a group right now. I didn’t know how good a look Borys’s guards had got of us all—those who lived, anyway—but it wasn’t worth taking the risk. The most important thing in all of this, even more important than completing our mission, was keeping Tara safe.
The Tradrych Strain- The Complete Series Page 27