AMNESIA

by Canada Jackson

“I’ll kill her.”

  Leyahanna was at Amber’s side, readying to wake her when Whyle exited Wrexel’s study.

  “I need a blood sample from her,” Whyle said in a lowered voice before he left the room. “Bring her to my lab.”

  She nodded. “I can bring you a sample, my lord, if that helps. I am fully medically certified.”

  “Sure,” he said as the door closed.

  Leyahanna stroked her beloved mistress’s head. Whyle would get a sample, but after what she had overhead, it would not be Amber’s.

  * * *

  The following day, Leyahanna arrived in Wrexel’s quarters as he had ordered.

  “Did you provide Whyle with a blood sample?”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “Good.” He didn’t look happy. “Did she give you six questions?”

  Leyahanna flushed. “Um no, she... she gave me one statement for you.”

  “She did?”

  The Gweithi fidgeted. “It’s not relevant, so there is no need to share.”

  “Leyahanna…” he said firmly.

  “She said… she um… she said you should ‘fuck off and die.’”

  Wrexel’s laughter rumbled across the room.

  * * *

  The remainder of the evacuation procedure took place swiftly. Soon, the time to depart Earth arrived.

  Wrexel had left Amber alone. He kept his distance, giving her space to get over their last encounter and giving himself time to deal with the torrent of emotion he experienced when he thought of her.

  He made his way to her just before the final departure, knowing the surge from the current stable, hovering position would be shocking. Wrexel was used to the move, but even hardened Thromians buckled in to ride the 15-minute storm when the ships moved to hyper speed. The jump brought about weightlessness and, often, violent nausea.

  Wrexel could not leave Amber alone to cope with the stormy ride. He set the orders in place for their departure and went to her room. He found her arguing with Leyahanna about drinking a potion that would make her sleep.

  “I will stand at the window and watch the parting from all that I love.” Amber sounded hysterical.

  “You will throw up and feel horrible,” Wrexel interrupted.

  She looked down at her hand, clearly sorry she did not have something to throw at him.

  “Go to your bed, Leyahanna,” he ordered.

  The alien nodded in relief, skirting up the wall, in a way Wrexel always found creepy, to her little webbed cocoon on the roof.

  Amber watched her go and then turned to Wrexel with flashing eyes as he closed her view of Earth.

  “I will view the departure,” she demanded. “I will watch and pray that I will be back with Travis soon.”

  “The view will not be worth it,” he said.

  “I loathe you!” she screamed.

  “You may loathe me, this is true, but your body wants me,” he reminded her. “There will be nothing to see but speeding stars.”

  “I don’t care.” She began to cry. “I should not be here. I should be on another ship with my Travis.”

  She reached for her medication, the tablets that kept her calm. As she opened the bottle, Wrexel stilled her hands. “I ran a test on these. They dull your mind and erase an integral part of who you are. Individuality and eccentricity should be coveted, not stunted. Take them if you wish, but you never have to hide unconventionality from me.”

  Amber stared at the bottle, then back at him in shock. Why did the words she always wanted to hear come from him? Why did everything she secretly dreamed about occur when he was with her? Her eyes filled with tears and her hands trembled when Wrexel took the tablets and tossed them on the nearby chair.

  “When you’re done throwing up, let me know.” He lay down on her bed.

  Amber stood at the window in silence, wondering if she should have sent the six questions after all instead of deciding her father would probably lie again or perhaps confirm that both he and Travis had lied to her, which would affect her driving force to return to them.

  She had written questions repeatedly, tearing up the paper every time she imagined an answer that would make her hate her father or Travis. The last thing she needed was to lose her hope for the future. The queries could wait. She glanced at Wrexel, who waited patiently for the hyper drive to start as they both listened to the countdown over the loudspeaker in the room. She padded over to her medication and lifted the bottle, hearing her father and Travis in her mind.

  Have you taken your meds, Amber?

  You seem a little distraught; have you had the right dosage?

  Amber, you skipped a day, you can’t take chances like this!

  Anything out of character was despised by them – a stark contrast to Wrexel’s telling her it was okay to be eccentric.

  Crazy was happy with company, it seemed.

  Amber realized she now had something to throw at Wrexel. The plastic bottle popped open and the tablets scattered around the room as they bounced off his chest. He did not get up. A slow grin spread over his face and he rolled on his side to watch her.

  As he predicted, she soon doubled over with dry heaving and a headache. He lifted her gently from the floor to lie upon the bed. Amber hated that, once again, he was in control. Once again, she was at his mercy, weak and shaking, leaning on him for support.

  She hated herself, and she hated him.

  * * *

  Later, she woke up in his arms. He was awake and staring at her intently. She quickly moved out of his embrace. Leyahanna came down from her web. Her eyes widened when she saw that they were still together. “My apologies.” She immediately began backing out of the room.

  “Wait.” Wrexel stood up. “I’m glad you’re here, Leyahanna. I need to speak with you.”

  He punched some details into his monitor, then pointed at the chair, asking Leyahanna to sit. She looked a little unnerved but did as he asked.

  Amber sat up, groggy, tired, and queasy.

  “What do you wish to discuss, my lord?”

  “In a moment, Leyahanna. Perhaps you will help Amber freshen up first.”

  The two women went into the bathroom. Amber felt as if she had been jumping on a trampoline for hours.

  “What does he want?” Leyahanna asked her.

  Amber shrugged. “I was going to ask you. He seems on edge.” She washed her face and reached for the toothbrush.

  Leyahanna nodded and whispered, “We will be on Throm in a day, and I think he is not looking forward to the return.”

  “I thought he loved his planet.”

  “He does, but he has… many issues of concern there.”

  “Like?”

  “He hates the Monarch and fights with his brother Shihlo on how to deal with it and… he has to take you to his family. You are the first human lover of a Thromian Prince.”

  Amber raised her eyebrows. Perhaps this would be her chance for release.

  * * *

  A few minutes later, they returned to the bedroom where Wrexel still sat waiting. He looked regal and comfortable in her chair. When the door buzzed, he allowed the person in. Leyahanna and Amber exchanged glances when a Thromian placed a large chest on the floor at Wrexel’s feet. When Wrexel opened it, Leyahanna gasped.

  Inside were small jewels of different sizes, not of Earth origin. Lighter than jade and intricately cut, they sparkled in the room’s light.

  “My payment!” Leyahanna dashed forward and ran her fingers over the gems. “But I still have many cycles; why would you give this to me now?”

  “I am not. I just wanted you to confirm that this is indeed your payment, for full loyalty and service to me.”

  She put her hand to her chest. “As I swore, I will serve you loyally for ten cycles of the Thromian moon. Your requests, as long as they comply with Gweithi law, will be my bidding.”

  Wrexel lifted the heavy box and placed it on Amber’s lap. “Then witness my gift, without prejudice.”

  Leyah
anna gasped, then flew at Wrexel and darted kisses upon his hands until he pulled his fingers from hers.

  “Explain it to Amber,” he said and left the room.

  “What just happened?” She stared at the door in relief that he was gone.

  “He has given you a wonderful gift, Amber. He has sold my services to you. I no longer serve Wrexel. If you will promise to pay me with this at the end of my cycles, I will give my full loyalty to you.”

  Amber frowned. “Why would he do that?”

  “He wishes nothing in return.” Leyahanna became teary-eyed. “He knows that in Throm you will be alone, but now in me you have a loyal friend and servant.”

  “I always believed you would do what was best for me.” Amber handed her the box.

  “No, my lady. You shall keep this until the end of my service. It’s not right to give it to me now. And, yes, I would always do what I could for you, but if Wrexel ordered me to no longer work with you or to leave his employ, I would have had to obey. Now nothing can come between us.”

  Amber realized the magnitude of his gift and became very still. She wanted to hate Wrexel with a burning passion, but at moments like this, she had trouble summoning the full force of her hate. This unnerved her.

  She had to remain strong.

  Leyahanna began picking up Amber’s pills as she tidied the room. “Do you need these, my lady?”

  “No, Leyahanna… I do not… but keep them just in case."

  19

  Return To Throm

  Stockholm syndrome; she knew what he was doing!

  His gift to Leyahanna was a well-devised scheme to gain her affection.

  Whilst the gift of her loyalty was indeed a treasure, Amber ignored the feeling of gratitude and reminded herself that she should not be there in the first place. She eyed the now-closed box of her father’s betrayal and shelved the feelings this brought about as well.

  Denial about everything was her comfort zone. It riled her that her father had lied to her, but she told herself there had to be a reason why he did it. They would have their day of reckoning and mysteries would be solved, but until then she needed to focus on her love for Travis to get her through. Thinking that Travis had maybe lied to her would not help.

  Denial!

  Wrexel was repulsive.

  Travis was good.

  Father had reasons.

  That was her mental stance.

  She ignored the voice that told her she found Wrexel anything but repulsive, but this made her disgusted with her lack of resolve.

  Denial!

  * * *

  Leyahanna insisted that she sit upon the front bridge of command with Wrexel as they approached Diogel. According to the internal announcements, they were a few hours away from arriving at the Diogel solar system that housed all eight planets, but as she came in and sat down on the bridge, he looked anything but happy about the news.

  He frowned at her and was terse with his officers and soldiers. Their impending arrival had him out of sorts. Amber hoped that perhaps their strict rules would be his undoing and he would be punished for taking her against her will. She quickly stamped the feeling down that she did not want him to come to harm.

  Focus, she told herself.

  He is your captor and enemy.

  She saw Inndra enter the room and watched him argue with Wrexel for a short while until he eventually turned his back and walked over to her. Unlike the other Thromians, who acted with reserve and respect around Wrexel, Inndra always seemed unafraid.

  “Wrexel doesn’t seem very happy to be near his home,” she whispered to him as he sat beside her.

  Inndra shrugged, not too concerned with Wrexel’s mental state, which he privately believed to be certifiable when it came to getting what he wanted. Ruthless wasn’t descriptive enough for his tactics and attitude.

  “Maybe bringing me to Throm will not sit well with his family?” Amber said eagerly.

  Inndra considered this idea. “Perhaps… you are the first colonial human he has ever shown interest in,” he said thoughtfully. “But it’s not like you’re his permanent mate.”

  “Does his family know about me?” she asked.

  “I did divulge that you would be joining Wrexel, but not the terms of your agreement. I prefer to keep out of the arguments that the brothers engage in, but I do think others who have come to hear of your arrangement may have found the news worthy of the Monarch himself. We enjoy our own form of gossip and there have been some tabloid reports that all of Throm, including the Royal family, will be wondering about.”

  Amber knew they had their own kind of paparazzi and Leyahanna claimed they approached her consistently for feedback about the couple that she steadfastly declined.

  “Perhaps the Monarch will send me to back to Rheese,” she added hopefully.

  Inndra shook his head and then, seeing the direction of her thoughts, became very grave,

  “Be warned, Amber, the Monarch makes Wrexel look like that pet you carry around. He is unforgiving and relentless in his pursuit of self-indulgence. He will never act in kindness. He is cruel and bombastic, a murderer without remorse. Your arrival will not bode well with him and he will never be an ally.”

  Amber took the warning to heart and lapsed into silence as another Thromian Royal entered the deck and walked directly to Wrexel. Taller and larger than the Thromians who worked at their stations, he had the same regal air as Wrexel. He turned in her direction and she bristled, recognizing him from the chronicles.

  * * *

  Whyle of Throm.

  The one who had taken Earth’s resources, and the driving force behind the rape of her planet. Young and handsome like Wrexel, with hair just as dark, he had blue eyes that were an attractive contrast. His beautiful face hid the truth of his merciless nature.

  He engaged in clear argument with his cousin and she turned raised eyes to Inndra.

  “It’s probably over his sister, Rix.” Inndra sighed heavily but then, seeing her glare, he quickly placed a hand on hers. “Some advice?”

  “Please.”

  “There are two ways you may get freedom from Wrexel on Throm. Shihlo, who is highly ethical and fair, may overturn what he has done, and/or Whyle.”

  “Why?”

  “Whyle opposes most of Wrexel’s plans and schemes and is a lot more level-headed. Fighting with Whyle for what he did to Earth is a waste of your time. It is over and he did it because he was desperate to save Throm. Whyle will do anything to protect what he loves.”

  Amber watched Whyle carefully as he continued to speak in hushed anger with Wrexel.

  “Align yourself with Whyle and Shihlo; they’re as powerful as Wrexel with none of the impetuous behavior and they would challenge him for your freedom if compelled.”

  She decided to set her personal feelings for Whyle aside. This wasn’t the time to mourn what had already ended. The world was dead, but she still had a chance for her own freedom.

  * * *

  Across the way, the cousins still growled at each other.

  The fact that Wrexel had left Rix stranded with the Yimmyrd for almost two weeks, out of communication with her people and against her will, had angered Whyle and he was hell-bent on making Wrexel atone. “I will pay you back for lying and keeping my sister on Earth for much longer than you should have.”

  Wrexel knew he was serious. As boys and even as adults, they paid each other in kind for crimes against one another. He did not relish Whyle’s retribution, for he was highly intelligent and could be as conniving as Staede at times.

  Whyle then drew in his breath and Wrexel lifted his eyes from his control panel.

  “My God, that’s Amber?”

  “You saw her the other night.” Wrexel scowled.

  “I saw a sleeping figure on the couch; I remember her scent more vividly,” he said tartly, knowing that this would annoy his cousin.

  “She’s the most beautiful colonial creature I have ever seen.” He watched her talking with Innd
ra and took in the graceful movements of her hands. The way the thick waves of hair fell upon her shoulders. Her features were delicate and alluring, a perfect mouth, eyes with long lashes, and a body that was worth a hundred glances. Even sitting down, he could see she was slender and yet curvaceous, her breasts full and enticing.

  She stood out, not because she was human, but because she was intoxicating. “She’s ravishing,” he said to Wrexel.

  His eyes roamed over the ship, as did Wrexel’s, seeing the Thromians’ response to her presence. None of the men were immune; they kept glancing at her, even though they tried to hide it, their expressions warm, appraising, and at times inappropriate.

  Whyle laughed under his breath and Wrexel grimaced. He had endured the looks all morning. He wanted to drag Amber back to her bedroom and court martial all of his landing deck staff. Admitting a weakness was not optional, however. It took everything he had to hold back the furious jealousy and possession that strummed through his veins.

  It was unusual and unacceptable but he couldn’t seem to stop it.

  “She’s going to cause you a lot of trouble,” Whyle said decidedly. “So much so that I almost feel inclined to forgive you for what you did to Rix.”

  When Wrexel raised his brows with hope, he shook his head. “But I won’t, because you get to sample all that she offers, and enjoy what every Thromian on this ship seems to covet.”

  Whyle appeared overjoyed with Wrexel’s discomfort. “Tonight you will be drunkenly and mistakenly challenged for her. She is lovely enough to set any man on a mission to be killed by you. God, this is going to be epic.”

  “I will fight you not as family,” Wrexel hissed.

  “Not by me, idiot; I have no time for bullshit in my life, but definitely by any Thromian who thinks she’s worth the challenge and a beating from you.”

  Wrexel frowned at him.

  He didn’t care about the Thromians on his planet, for he could defeat any one of them; as long as his brothers and Whyle stayed out of his hair, he would deal with it.