by Zara Zenia
Bella jumped in front of him, her eyes wide. "He didn't! He's done everything you've asked! And did that look like he was helping his dad! If that's helping, I'd hate to see what you think not helping is!"
"Throw them both in the brig!" Melody screamed, completely irate and ready to shred the both of them.
"But we didn't—"
Jorwon grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the stairs. Bella stumbled along, but he didn't let up. Behind her, Devron had Terrex, his arm twisted behind his back and he shoved him along behind Bella and Jorwon. A minute later, they were both shoved into the brig and the door slammed closed behind them.
"But we didn't do anything!" Bella yelled at them, her hands gripping the bars on the small window.
32
Terrex wrapped an arm around Bella and drew her over to the cot. "They aren't coming back down here anytime soon."
"But we weren't working with your father." Bella frowned. "You weren't, were you? This wasn't all some elaborate scheme, was it?"
"What? No, of course not! Bella, I hate my father, I'd never work with him! I swear to you, I didn't tip him off."
An alarm sounded and Bella recognized it as the ISF alarm. "Shit! Now we have them after us too?"
"My father probably tipped them off." Terrex sighed and ran a hand over his face.
The ship shook and another alarm sounded.
"Shields at ninety percent," a mechanical voice said over the comm system.
Bella looked around the little room they were locked in and bit her lip in worry. Had she somehow chosen wrong? Was all of this her fault? Had she played right into Terrex's hands all along? Had he been in collusion with the Yebrax, used her to gain her trust and through her the crew's?
She scooted a little bit away from him, confusion messing with her mind.
"Bella, it will be okay." He attempted to put his arm around her, but she pulled away, scooting over on the cot. He sighed. "Maybe you should try to get some sleep."
She glanced over at him, her mind a maze of what ifs. Doubt filled her. Instead of speaking, mostly because she didn't trust her voice, she nodded. She laid down on the cot and curled into herself. A moment later, Terrex covered her with the only blanket in the small square room. She closed her eyes, but it was hours before she could fall asleep.
When she woke, the ship was quiet. She sat up on the cot, which creaked as she moved. Her eyes traveled the room and landed on Terrex, asleep on the floor, his arm under his head as a pillow. She pulled her knees up to her chin and stared at him. Her heart told her to listen to him, to trust him, but her mind… well it had a lot of questions.
From a certain point of view, say Melody's for example, everything could point to Terrex working with his father to take out the space pirates and get his newly arrived Omega back. But her heart argued that those Yebraxians had been chasing and shooting at Terrex and he'd led them away from the ship so the others could get back onboard.
It was like a tennis match inside of her head, back and forth it went, which would win, her mind or her heart, she didn't know. "Argh!" she huffed, slamming her hands down on the cot and her head back against the wall.
Terrex woke, blinking up at her. "What's wrong, beautiful? Well, other than the fact we're both locked in the brig now, I mean."
Bella glared at him. "Everything is wrong!"
He sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. "You don't believe I was helping my father, do you?" he asked.
Bella stared at him. Her eyes going over his handsome face, his muscular arms and — wait, was that blood? She stared at his arm. "Did you get hit?"
Terrex glanced down at his arm. "It's fine. Just a graze. Yebraxians are great at up close battles, distance, not so much."
Bella moved from the cot to the floor next to him as she realized his calf had dried blood on it as well. She ran her hand over his bicep, and he flinched. She took off her tee shirt and moved to the small sink in the corner and ran some water over it then returned to his side. She dabbed at it, clearing the dried blood. He was right, it was just a graze, but it looked as though it would leave a scar. She moved on to his calf, smoothing away the blood with the wet cloth. It too didn't look too bad.
"I suppose you'll live," she said quietly, getting up and moving back to the sink to rinse out her shirt. It would be stained, but she didn't care. It would be fine once it dried.
As she turned back, she noticed Terrex standing, the blanket in his hand, ready to wrap it around her. She moved toward him and allowed him to put it about her shoulders. She gripped the edges and leaned into him. "What are we going to do?"
"You never answered my question. Do you believe I would help my father ambush this ship, these pirates?"
Bella took a moment. Did she believe that? She thought about everything and couldn't quite come up with an answer, so she shrugged.
"Please, Bella, you…" he stuttered, his voice breaking. "I need you to believe me, to trust me. I don't think I could stand it if you truly thought I was capable of such duplicity. I would never intentionally harm anyone who wasn't trying to harm me. And I warned them repeatedly that my father wasn't to be trusted. That he doesn't value me at all as a son. I am nothing to him," he said, his voice nearly a whisper as he spoke those last words. He tightened his arms around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Please, Bella, please believe me."
In her heart he knew he was speaking the truth and finally it out weighed her mind. "I believe you."
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Terrex sighed in relief and held her closer. He knew that one of the crew would be down at some point to check on them, get them food at least, but he didn't really care who it was. Bella was the only one he cared about. The others could think what they liked, but Bella… Bella held his heart in her hands, and he couldn't stand it if she believed he'd be in league with his father.
Bella laid her head on his chest and he just held her for a few minutes. He needed to get them out of the brig. But how? Melody wasn't going to listen to him, especially if Mabav died. It made him sad to think that they blamed him, but nothing he said would change their minds. He was a Canian noble in their minds. He would get nowhere pleading his case.
He picked Bella up in his arms and moved to the cot. He sat down with her in his lap, wrapped in the blanket. They stayed like that for a good while, just snuggled together, not speaking. Finally, after about thirty minutes, Bella spoke.
"I'm hungry," she said softly.
"Me too, they will be down with something soon, I'd imagine."
"Think they'll let us out?" Her voice held an ache that hurt his heart.
Terrex shrugged. "I've been thinking about that. They aren't going to listen to me, but they might listen to you."
She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. "I doubt they'll listen to me either. They think you control me."
"I don't."
"I know that, and you know that, but how do we prove that to them?" Bella frowned at him.
"I don't know, but I have an idea that might work to get the money they need to repair the ship."
Bella's brow furrowed. "You do? What is it?"
"My mother. My father still values her. We could kidnap her and ransom her back to my father. I know he doesn't care about me, but he definitely cares about her." Terrex didn't care that his father treated him as less than his brothers. He'd always known that he'd never live up to their standards. Never be enough like him. His mother though was still capable of bearing children, and he knew his father would pay to get her back.
"There's just one problem with that." Bella frowned again.
"What?" Terrex couldn't see what the issue would be. All they had to do was go to Cania and grab her, get her on the ship and take off. Maybe they could even rescue her and send her back to Earth. Maybe if she were far enough away, the connection between her and his father would break, and she could be herself again.
"Have you forgotten that Devron and Melody are wanted by the I
SF? By the Canian nobles? They can't go back to Cania."
"Well, we could go in disguise, I haven't quite figured that part out yet, but I'm sure it could be done."
Bella nodded. "Well, it's worth suggesting at any rate," she agreed. "Depending on who brings us food, I'll see if I can talk to them. Maybe get them to listen."
He smiled at her. "Thank you. Thank you for believing me, for wanting to be with me."
Bella felt her heart soften even more as she gazed at him. The bond between them was strong. She could feel it, a thick cord connecting her to him. She worried about him, about his state of mind. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I don't want to be like my father. I don't want you to end up like my mother. My father—" He stopped and looked away, like if he distanced his gaze, he would be disconnected from his words. "The Duke never wanted me. He encouraged my brothers, praised them for every little thing, but I could never do anything to please him. I never knew what it was I did wrong. I tried to please him with everything I did to gain his attention. I did well in school, but my brothers were the top of their class and played in sports, so I joined the distance running team, he never came to an event. Never appreciated the effort I put in."
"That doesn't mean he didn't want you, Terrex," Bella said gently.
"I saw him out there, you know. At the window of the command deck. He ordered those Yebraxians to kill me."
"What? Why would he do that? I don't understand." Bella shook her head, her brow furrowed.
"I suppose it was the final betrayal to him. Getting kidnapped, making him look bad. He's tired of me being a disappointment to him, so he decided to get rid of me. Maybe everyone here would have been better off if I had just let the Yebraxians kill me back on Axia before all this started." He closed his eyes and sighed. "But I can't be sorry I followed them onto this ship, because it allowed me to meet you, and even though I may have to give you up, allow you to leave and go back to Earth, I won't regret a moment of being with you, of holding you in my arms. Of loving you."
Bella swallowed hard and then wrapped her arms around his neck and slammed her lips to his. She turned in his lap, shrugging off the blanket, and straddling his waist. She opened her mouth and they were so involved in kissing one another, they didn't realize that anyone was there until they cleared their throat.
"Ahem."
Bella broke the kiss that had stolen her breath and panted as she looked over at the door with hazy eyes. Blinking she realized it was Jodie. She licked her lips and slid off of Terrex's lap to stand and face her. Her shirt was still damp and stained with his blood, but she didn't mind.
"I brought you a couple sandwiches and some water." Jodie set the tray on the floor and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Bella moved over to her.
Jodie turned back and folded her arms over her chest. "What could you possibly have to say?" She arched a brow.
"Did…did Mabav…" she tried to question, but she couldn't put what she wanted to ask into words because she feared the worst.
"He's in a coma. We don’t know if he'll come out of it or not."
Bella nodded. "Terrex wasn't working with his father. He did everything he could to dissuade you all from trying this."
"Not hard enough, apparently." Jodie's tone was harsh.
Bella pressed her lips in a hard thin line before she said something she regretted. She considered her words carefully. "Once he realized his father had ordered those Yebraxians to kill him, he led them away from the others. If he were working with his father for some bizarre reason, why would he do that?"
Jodie's eyes narrowed as she stared at the two of them. "Maybe."
"And Terrex has an idea on how to get the money you need from his father."
Jodie's gaze slid to him and he lifted his chin under her scrutiny. "Fine. I'll talk to Melody, but I'm not making any promises. Everyone is pretty pissed off at you both right now."
Bella nodded. "That's all I can ask. Thank you, Jodie."
She gave her a little nod, then knocked on the door. It opened and she stepped out without a word.
Bella moved to the little window and noticed Lezin and Jodie talking in heated whispers before ascending the stairs. She turned back and looked at the tray with the sandwiches and water. She was hungry. She picked up the tray and brought it over to the cot where she sat down next to Terrex and shared the meal with him.
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Three days later, Bella paced the tiny brig. Every time Jodie brought her food, she had pleaded their case. Jodie had become sympathetic, and though she'd tried to reason with Melody and Devron, so far she hadn't had any luck.
"Bella, sweetheart, come sit. All this pacing isn't getting you anywhere." Terrex held a hand out for her.
"I'm going crazy in here," she whispered. Tears burned the back of her eyes. "I don't know how you stood it before!"
Terrex stood and pulled her into his arms. He held her as she cried, sobbing over their situation. "Shhhh, baby, it will be okay. Eventually they will see reason." At least he hoped they would.
Bella sniffled in his arms, finally calming some. She nodded, her head moving against his chest. "Do you really think so, or are you just saying that to pacify me?" she said, but he noted the ghost of a smile on her lips.
He chuckled. "I hope they will at any rate." He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the little cot they'd been sharing and sat down with her. "Come on, tell me about Earth. What do you miss the most?"
Bella smiled. "Easy. I miss chocolate."
"Chocolate? What is that?"
"It's a sweet treat. Comes in so many different varieties too. If we ever make it back to Earth, I'll have to get you some."
He grinned. "I'd like that. What else do you miss?"
"I don't know. I guess I miss the views the most. We have some incredible scenery on Earth. But there have been amazing views up here in space too, just different. I miss the sunsets, the yellow, orange and red over the desert, or the pinks and purples of the sky as the sun sets over the ocean… they are beautiful."
"I like listening to you as you speak of Earth," he said softly. "Your face lights with wonder as you describe it." He smiled.
As he spoke, they could hear someone coming down the stairs. Bella moved from his lap, standing up to look out the window, a moment later, they heard the lock being undone and then Jodie opened the door.
"Melody and everyone have agreed to meet with you. Hear you out."
Bella bit her lip. "And Mabav?"
"Still in a coma, but his vitals looks good, so we'll see."
Bella nodded and reached for Terrex. "Any chance we can shower before we meet with everyone? We're a little…" her nose wrinkled, "well it's been a week."
Jodie nodded. "We're taking you both to your former quarters. You'll have half an hour to shower and change."
"Thank you," Bella replied as she noticed Lezin standing behind Jodie.
"Thank you," Terrex echoed. He took Bella's hand and they followed Jodie up the stairs with Lezin following behind them, like they'd try to escape.
Jodie let Bella into her room, and Lezin escorted Terrex down to his. She followed Bella into the room and sat down on the bed. "Go ahead, I'll wait here for you."
Bella nodded. Before heading into the bathroom, she grabbed a change of clothes from the closet and then went into the bathroom and closed the door. She wished she had Terrex in there with her, but of course they didn't want them together. Bella supposed it was a test of some sort. To see if they could be apart or would make a fuss about being separated. Give them a reason to throw them back in the brig. But Bella wasn't going to let that happen. She quickly showered, took a minute to enjoy the heated spray of water, and then dried off and redressed. She used the brush to dry her hair and put it up into a ponytail.
"Just so you know, chick, Melody is still skeptical. She doesn't trust easily, and you've broken her trust numerous times regarding Terrex," Jodie said, as Bella came back into the room
.
Bella nodded. "I am aware. I didn't do it intentionally, well… not really." She frowned. "I mean, I… well I thought he could help, and then well, the more I got to know him, the more I liked him and then it all just kind of turned into this thing—"
"So, what you're saying is, you aren't enslaved by him?" Jodie arched a brow.
"I'm not."
Jodie twisted her lips to the side. "Hmm. Well, we need to go. Everyone is meeting in the galley."
"Where are we?" Bella asked. The ship had landed somewhere the day before, but being in the brig, she didn't know where.
"Verva. It's about halfway between Cania and Starsinia. We've been making repairs from the hits we took from the Imperial Space Fleet. Luckily, Rayhan was able to get us through the asteroid field without too many hits. The ISF won't follow us through it, and by the time they went around, we'd already made it here. They're probably doing a planet by planet search, so Lezin has been listening to comms to see if he can pick them up and see where they're at."
"What's Verva like?" Bella asked. It was too dark outside to see anything, so she hadn't bothered to look out the windows.
"Not bad, mostly jungles, hot and humid temperatures. The people here are nice. They're a neutral planet. They won't turn us in to the Imperial Space Fleet." Jodie opened the door and led Bella out to the hallway.
"What do they look like?" Bella asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Um, well similar to us, but with different features, and they can shift forms."
"What do you mean, shift forms? Like werewolves?"
Jodie grinned over her shoulder at her. "Well, sort of, but they can shift to any form, not just one. Mostly they shift to resemble the visitors to the planet, as they wish to make them comfortable."
"Huh. I guess that's cool. I wonder if I can get some pictures of them," Bella mumbled as they turned into the galley. Her eyes immediately went to Terrex who was already seated at the table between Lezin and Jorwon.