by Cara Wylde
They reached the emergency pod close to dawn. The sky was growing lighter in the east as the silvery sun emerged from behind the mountains. Unfortunately, the old luminary had no heat left in it. All it could do was bathe the planet in weak, silvery rays that reflected off the sparkling snow, making it impossible to go outside without snow shades. In fact, it was so dangerous that most Iarnians had already gone through at least one eye surgery to reverse the damage done by the intense light they had to deal with every day.
“Trevkon, I’m sorry to smash your hopes, but this pod came from a Sepharan ship.” Kayvor stepped closer and inspected the writing on the side, his gloved hand cleaning the snow off.
“There’s someone inside!” Of course, Ash had slept so well the whole ride that now it was a piece of cake for him to remove the thick snow blocking the sliding doors of the pod and force them open. “It’s a girl!”
Kay and Trev stepped behind Ash to peek over his shoulder. Kay sneezed when some of his friend’s fur found its way inside his nose. Annoyed, he took a step back and blew his nose in the snow. Disgusting, but better out than in. The last thing he needed was a bloody cold, and he could already feel his sinuses protesting against the harsh wind.
“She’s still breathing.” That was Trevkon’s voice. He’d pushed past Ash to check the woman’s vitals. “Esus! It’s freezing cold in here! I’m surprised she’s still alive.” He took her into his arms and patted her cheek lightly. “Can you hear me? You have to wake up, now.” The woman moaned in her sleep but didn’t open her eyes. “Shit. We need to warm her up.”
Ash’s ears perked up. “I know a way!”
“Of course you do.”
“It’s the best way.”
Trev sighed, but didn’t fight Ash when he took the woman from his arms and carried her to the Red Beast. For once, the drunken fool was right.
Ash lay her down on the back seat, then scooted closer to her, closed the door behind him, and proceeded to remove his heavy coat. Two more pullovers came off too, until he was naked from the waist up. Gently, he took the woman in his arms and pressed her against his hot chest. He covered them both with the blanket and his winter coat and made sure they were as comfortable as possible. There was a long drive home ahead of them.
After studying the pod for a few minutes, Trev and Kay got into the Red Beast.
“She’s Terran, you know,” said Kayvor. His voice was low and calculated. He seemed more silent and lost in his own thoughts than usual.
“I can tell,” said Ash sleepily. “She feels amazing.”
Trev was just as silent as Kay, but for different reasons. Now, more than ever, he was convinced she was the one they’d been waiting for. Well, not them specifically, but the entire planet.
“The pod has shut down from the cold, but I took the computer memory with me,” Kay continued. “We’ll see what we can find out, but she’s trouble. Terrans rarely reach our galaxy, and when they do, it’s not of their own accord. And that pod has Black Laverna written all over it.”
“A slave?”
Ash cocked an eyebrow as he studied the woman’s pale face. As her head rested on his strong chest, the color was slowly coming back to her cheeks. She was beautiful. White, creamy skin covered in the tiniest of reddish spots, red hair that fell in waves over her shoulders and back, and a body to die for. Curvy in all the right places, with breasts as full as summer melons – well, Ash could only imagine what they looked and tasted like, since Iarna hadn’t seen summer in a while, – and hips so round and inviting. He’d seen Terrans before, but this one was something else. She smelled incredible, too.
“I hope she speaks English,” he said.
“Yes. I heard Terra is a very weird planet. They all speak different languages there.” And that was all Kay had to say for a long while.
CHAPTER TWO
Pippa
Her head hurt like crazy. But that was nothing compared to how badly her muscles ached. She sat up, pulled her wild hair away from her face, and opened her eyes. She froze in place, blinked a couple of times, but nothing changed. The room was still there, the king-sized bed, the furs all over the floor and walls, the windows covered by dark, heavy curtains.
“Where am I?”
Her own voice sounded strange to her. She coughed, then sneezed and sniffed her slightly runny nose. Oh great! She was catching a cold! She looked around her and saw a glass of water on the nightstand. She sniffed it reluctantly, but it didn’t seem to contain anything fishy, so she drank half of it. Bad idea. Even though she was thirsty, the water was rather cold, and now her throat started throbbing with pain. She pulled the huge, thick fur off of her with the intention to explore the room and see where she was, but the moment she saw that she was naked under it, she gasped and covered herself back.
“What the hell?”
She rubbed her eyes and temples and tried to remember what had happened and how she’d gotten there. The escape pod had landed safely, she’d explored the surroundings a bit and decided it was too cold to do anything, so she’d gone back inside, eaten something, then gone to sleep. That was all she could remember. The rest was blank. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, suddenly thinking of all the horrible things anyone could have done to her while she’d been out. And she’d been seriously out. An unnatural sleep... the sort of sleep she hadn’t been sure she’d ever wake up from. She’d tried. Oh, how she’d tried! She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her brain to bring back any memories from the night before. She’d been in and out, she was almost certain... She’d moaned in her sleep, struggled to open her eyes, but the exhaustion was just too strong, pressing down on her consciousness, drowning her in a dark, dreamless slumber every time she tried to make her way to the surface. A warm body cradling her weak form... Soft skin against her cheek, a beating heard drumming a tune just for her ears...
“Oh. My. God. There was a man! He was naked!”
She jumped off the bed, furs wrapped around her nakedness. She started looking for her clothes, but they were nowhere in sight. She found the bathroom, stared at herself in the mirror for a long minute before admitting that yes, it was her, it was still her, Pippa Steele, still lost somewhere in outer space, then pulled at all the drawers she could find until she came across some proper clothes. She threw the fur on top of the king-sized bed and put on a pair of trousers and a huge, fluffy sweater. She found underwear and a couple of bras, too, but she had no idea whom they belonged to, so she was better off without. She really didn’t want to wear some other woman’s lingerie. Eww! Next, she drew the curtains open and let natural light into the room. Or... at least she thought it was natural...
“What is wrong with this place?”
Because something had to be wrong. Even though she’d spent her whole life on Earth and had never visited other planets, she knew that all the worlds out there were, at the very least, habitable. Yes, every planet was different, some had pleasant weather, others lacked a bit in that department, but they were all suited to sustain life. Her initial destination, Uthea, wasn’t as rich and welcoming as Earth, the land was harder to cultivate, and the people were poorer and had to work twice as much as anyone on Terra, but still... it had four seasons, with warm summers and mild winters. This one... this one didn’t look like it had ever known anything else than hostile winter. It was easy to tell.
Pippa opened the window just a crack, stuck her nose outside, and quickly scanned the yard and the wide lands surrounding the building. Her teeth started clattering from sheer cold, and she had to close the window in less than two minutes and grab the fur off the bed. The clothes she’d chosen weren’t very useful. She wondered whether she should have added two more sweaters. Maybe, if she looked hard enough, she’d find something skin-tight to pull under her trousers, too. From what she could tell, the house looked more like an oversized villa, with a snow-covered yard where nothing ever grew, a huge shed that was probably chock-full of firewood, and acres u
pon acres of land that could never be cultivated. If the man from the night before lived here, then she felt kind of sorry for him.
“Time to find out who you are,” she whispered under her breath.
She gathered all the courage she could muster and walked to the door. On the one hand, she didn’t want to think of the man who’d obviously brought her here, but she knew she had to face him. Maybe, even ask him if anything distasteful had happened between them. It was always better to know the truth than to live in the dark. She could deal with this. Whatever it was, and whoever he was, Pippa was a big girl and she could take the bull by the horns and stand victorious. She grabbed the door handle, pressed it down, and pulled, then pushed, then pulled some more. It was locked. Her blue eyes grew wide with panic. She swallowed heavily, then tried again. To no avail.
“Fuck no. No!”
She hadn’t escaped a slave spaceship, landed in the middle of nowhere, and almost froze to death to end up locked, trapped... kidnapped... Could this be considered a kidnapping? A prisoner. She couldn’t end up a prisoner! Now what? She felt the familiar sting of tears at the back of her eyes, and she blinked them away. The last time she’d panicked and cried for days, she’d missed her chance to escape when she was still in the Milky Way. So, she did the next best thing. Or worst thing... She’d find out later. For now, she curled her hands into fists and started banging at the door, screaming at the top of her lungs: “Let me out!”
Three minutes. Five minutes. Seven minutes. She was getting tired, and her voice was starting to break. Was there no one home? It was such a huge house. Even if the master wasn’t home, there had to be maids and whatnot. Right? She started sobbing, no longer having the power to fight the hot, salty tears. When the door finally opened, she screamed in surprise, and ran to hide behind the bed.
“What’s with the racket, woman? Is this how you’re thanking us for saving your life?”
Pippa wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She’d expected one guy, not three. Had there been three men the night before? She couldn’t remember. They were standing there, in the open door, looking as menacing as three hounds of hell. Wait. Why hellhounds? The fur collars around their necks must have had something to do with the image in her head. Were those things real? No, they couldn’t be. If anything, these three aliens looked more normal and human than most aliens she’d seen on Earth. They were tall, well-built, and their skin was of a nice, darkish olive. Nothing crazy. They didn’t seem to be brothers.
“Who are you?” she managed in a weak whisper.
The man who’d spoken before chuckled and puffed up his chest.
“Who are you?” he said in a booming voice. “And come out from behind the bed. You’re being ridiculous.”
Okay, that was good. The guy was intimidating, but he was also infuriating, which made Pippa’s blood start to boil. It was always better to be angry than to be afraid. She stood up and rounded the bed.
“I asked first. And I’m not being ridiculous, I’m being... cautious. Who knows what you did to me last night?” She pointed her finger at him and squinted her eyes as threateningly as she could. “I remember you. Naked. Disgusting. How could you?”
The man paused, taken aback by her harsh words. Oh, he was handsome! On second thought, maybe “disgusting” wasn’t the right word. She’d exaggerated a bit. He had long, dirty blond hair that reached the middle of his back and spread majestically over his fur collar, which was of the same color, maybe a shade lighter. His eyes were dark blue, and half of his face was covered in tattoos, as were his thick arms. He was wearing a pair of warm trousers and winter boots, but from the waist up, his bulging muscles were covered by a black T-shirt and that weird-looking collar that seemed to be very popular with the other two guys, too.
“Feisty, this one,” he finally said, amused. “Say... what are those things on your face?” He motioned in the general direction of her cheeks and nose.
“Tears, you asshole! I’ve been crying. Don’t the people on your weird, ice block of a planet cry?”
“No. The red spots.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“And no, we don’t cry as much as we used to, what with water turning immediately into ice and all. So, what are they? I’ve never seen spots like that on someone’s face. Terran or not.”
Pippa crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.
“They’re called freckles.”
“Freckles? And why do you have them? I mean... is it some sort of disease?”
“I have them because I’m a ginger!”
“Ginger? Is that a disease?”
“Ugh! Redhead. My hair is naturally red, so my skin is white, and I have freckles. Do you really know so little about Terrans?”
“We don’t see many around.”
Pippa’s eyes snapped to the brown-haired man with eyes as green as moss. His voice was so different from the blond’s. It was deep, calm, and... gentle. He had sharper features and wasn’t as ridiculously well-built as the blond, but he was just as sinfully handsome.
“Do you know where you are?”
“I know I’m far away from home.”
He smiled. “Indeed. You’re in the Lichora Galaxy, on planet Iarna. I’m Trevkon B’haduc, priest of the Temple of the Heart.”
He bowed his head slightly, and that got him right into Pippa’s good graces. He’d given her his whole name, too. How elegant of him.
“Philippa Steele. You can call me Pippa.”
“This is Ashtar Y’tamin,” he motioned toward the blond, “And Kayvor V’tal.”
Kayvor was a dark-haired man with thick, furrowed brows, and big brown eyes with specks of gold in them. He was the only one who hadn’t said a word so far, and Pippa couldn’t help but wonder what was hiding behind his mysterious eyes and stern demeanor. He was studying her silently, which made her both curious and uncomfortable. She nodded toward him and frowned when he ignored her gesture.
“So, Philippa Steele. Pippa.” Trevkon took a step toward her. “What brings you to Iarna?”
“Err...” She felt lost for a second. “Where do I begin?”
“You’re a slave.”
Kayvor’s low, deep voice startled her. If Ash had seemed threatening a minute ago, then Kay was… terrifying.
“I am not,” she said.
“Yes, you are. You escaped from the Black Laverna. The spaceship was headed to Sephara, and you stole an emergency pod and landed on Iarna.”
“Hey, wait a minute. The fact that I was on board of a slave ship doesn’t make me a slave. I was tricked, okay? I never consented to this.”
Kay gave her a dark, wicked smile. “Darling, when was the last time you heard of someone to consent to becoming a slave?”
Pippa opened her mouth, then closed it. He had a point. But it was still unfair.
“No, wait. No. This is just a huge misunderstanding.”
It was too late, though. The three of them looked like they’d already made up their minds.
“What do we do with her?” asked Ash.
“She belongs to Sephara,” answered Kay. “We have to return her to her master.”
“Wait! I don’t have a master!”
“The trader is your master until he sells you,” Kay explained diligently. “The right thing to do is to take her back and be on our way.”
“What if we kept her?” suggested Ash. “We need a mate, anyway. A triad without a mate… another year or two, and we’ll be the last triad in Kriva that hasn’t taken a wife. And Terrans make good wives, just as they make good slaves.” He chuckled. “If you want, Kay, we can pay the trader. I don’t mind. We can all chip in. Terran women are known through galaxies for their fertility. She must be expensive.”
“What?! No! No way, I’m not for sale!”
Kay shook his head but didn’t say anything. He looked up at Trev.
“I sa
y we take her to the Temple,” the priest said. “She is the one. I’ve studied the Prophecy my entire life, and with every minute, I’m more and more convinced that it didn’t speak of a falling star, or any other cosmic event. From the very first moment it was channeled, it spoke of a woman. Iarna needs her. It is our duty to, at least, try.”
“What are you talking about?” Now, Trev’s suggestion was even weirder than Ash’s. She almost expected him to say she had to be sacrificed.
“All right,” Kay said. “We take her to the Temple, then we take her back to her master.”
“Oh, come on! We should buy her! She’d make a perfect wife!”
Kay and Trev ignored Ash. Pippa’s blue eyes filled with fear when Kay grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the door.
“No, no. What are you going to do to me?”
“No need to be so dramatic, Kayvor.” Trev caught up with them, a pair of winter boots dangling from his hand. “It’s a long, cold way to the Temple. We want to return her in one piece. Here, Pippa. Put these on.”
CHAPTER THREE
Kay
He clenched his fingers around the woman’s arm, aware that he was hurting her but unable to stop. His hand was shaking too hard, and he’d rather leave purple marks on her white, perfect skin than let her see just how nervous she made him, just how much the closeness of her body rattled him. Grabbing her by the arm and pulling her toward the secret passageways underneath the villa had been a bad idea, but Kayvor couldn’t back down now. What was he supposed to do? Stop in his tracks, push her toward Ash or Trev and tell them to take her because he couldn’t stand being so close to her? Even through the thick sweater she was wearing, Kay could feel her skin radiating sweet, delicious warmth. And he was only touching her arm... What would it feel like to pull her close, wrap his arms around her waist, and crush her full curves against his strong body? He growled low in his chest and furrowed his brows. What was wrong with him? He was being so pathetic! He’d just met the woman! There was no way what he was feeling was normal or healthy. He was Kayvor V’tal, and she was a Terran slave who didn’t mean anything to him. She was unwelcomed on his planet and in his house, and the sooner they got rid of her, the better. All he had to do was to take her to the Temple of the Heart, prove to Trevkon that she wasn’t the answer to Iarna’s struggles, and then arrange a spaceship to take her to Sephara.