by Jade Waltz
“On your call.”
Idris licked his golden scale, making sure every part of the shiny plate was covered with his healing balm. Satisfied, he lined the first prepared scale to the edge of the wound and nodded.
“Pull it slowly and smoothly in a straight line. We don’t know anything about their anatomy, and I don’t want to take any chances of us damaging him even further.”
The male did what Idris asked without complaint. The amount of the slowly pooling blood concerned him. If there was too much, his scales wouldn’t attach themselves, leaving Aydin to bleed out.
Idris yanked off his shoulder scarfs, and as soon as the beamblade was free, tossed one to Raizxl. “Help me block the blood.” Quickly, he wiped away the crimson lifeforce and placed his scale to close the wound.
Wipe. Lick. Place.
Within moments, the chest wound was sealed, leaving only the waist to be dealt with.
“Put pressure on my scales. I am hoping his body will accept them as well as it reacted to my saliva,” he directed Raizxl as he moved to the other injury.
Erlyn was smart enough to copy what Idris told Raizxl and assisted him without voicing his opinion.
“Pull the cloak away, so I can seal it before I place my scales.” Slowly, Erlyn peeled the cloth away, revealing the flaming wound underneath.
Idris repeated the process—licking the cut clean to allow his saliva to heal it before placing his protective golden plates on top. As soon as the last one was placed, Erlyn mimicked what Raizxl was doing.
The room was silent throughout the process. He didn’t know if it was out of respect for the dead or concern about Aydin’s health. As he looked over Aydin’s body, it pleased him to see the slight rise and fall of his chest. It eased his worries some. Breathing meant he wasn’t dead—yet. As long as the male kept inhaling, it would allow his solution to work.
At least, that is what he kept telling himself.
The door slid open, and the sounds of the many boots filled the room.
“Sire!”
“What the Stars . . .”
Idris refused to pull his gaze away from Aydin, as if his stare alone kept Aydin alive, willing him to heal.
Qatszo fell to his knees next to him, instantly scanning Idris’s body with his medpen. “What are your injuries?”
“I am not the one you should be worried about,” Idris growled, pointing to Aydin lying still before them. “I’ve done everything I could do. I licked his wounds and sealed them with my scales, hoping it would stabilize him before you arrived.”
“You used your own scales?” His mouth dropped in shock as he scanned the golden paths on Aydin’s ivory skin. Angry red surrounded both, his skin still raw around both injuries. “It’s almost unheard of. Only starmates and close—”
“He saved my life,” Idris snarled. “I don’t care how taboo it is or what the other humans tried doing. I owe him for going against his own race—his own government officials.” He shot a glance between the three kneeling males, his gaze landing on Erlyn. “How many did he kill?”
“Three, Sire,” Raizxl answered, failing to stifle a chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Idris demanded, looking at the emerald male in disbelief.
Raizxl reached for Aydin’s defused beamblade and twirled it in his hands, studying its design. “I just find it ironic; I was right after all.” He glanced at Aydin’s face and nodded. “I knew from the night I watched you two spur, he was an assassin. But instead of ending your life, he protected it. At what cost?”
“That is what I am trying to figure out,” Qatszo muttered, scanning Aydin’s body with his medpen. “I need to have his soiled garments removed to get a better reading before I can determine if he is stabilized enough to transfer to the infirmary.”
Something about the suggestion didn’t sit well with him.
His affectation with Aydin unnerved him. He didn’t want others to see Aydin nude, whether he was conscious or not. Idris knew it was an irrational feeling.
Aydin was male, yet something about the human diplomat called to him, making Idris want to spend more time with him, and explore whatever it was between them.
Aydin worked for the government and was the same species that just sent assassins to a peace treaty signing.
Idris knew whatever beginning of a friendship they had built between them was now over. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a way for them to continue communications after this.
“I’ll do it,” Idris announced, reaching for his knife.
While they didn’t have beamblades like humans, their weapons were made from a strong combination of rare metal, making them just as deadly.
Using one hand, he pulled off both of his boots and tossed them to the side, placing Aydin’s bare five-toed feet carefully on the ground. Holding the fabric with his spare hand, he slowly cut along both legs to his juncture before traveling up along the middle of his chest.
His blade nicked something midway, making him halt his process to see what caught it. Idris leaned over and inspected what was under the slit fabric while Qatszo took the opportunity to peel off the black pants. His finger found a tight binding made from hard material.
Why would Aydin need to bind his chest? Did I injure him during our sparring match last night and didn’t realize it? Or was this a predetermined health issue?
Gripping the fabric hard, he pulled it away from Aydin’s body and sliced through it. Luckily, there wasn’t much more to cut through since the beamblade had burned through the rest.
Sheathing his knife, he peeled apart Aydin’s top, revealing the bare chest underneath. Idris cocked his head to the side and peered at the two raised mounds in confusion.
“Prince?”
“Yes, Doctor Qatszo?”
“You said Aydin is male?”
“Correct.” Idris shot a glance at the doctor and noticed he had placed one of his shoulder scarfs across the apex of Aydin’s legs. “Is there a problem?”
“Only that he is really a she.”
“If this isn’t Aydin . . . is this his twin sister?” Erlyn murmured.
Those words echoed through him.
It all made sense—the familiarity, the mediocre diplomatic skill, and how his instincts reacted to her when they sparred. It was as if his body had known his opponent was indeed a female as he subconsciously engaged in an ancient courting battle.
All this time, he believed he was attracted to a male.
Idris studied her face, finding the similarities to his favorite fighter pilot. “Are you certain?” he asked, even though deep down, he already knew the answer.
“I am fairly positive I could prove it,” Erlyn replied confidently. “But, I will need to bring up the recorded videos taken from your starstorm.”
“It doesn’t matter if this human is a male or female, if they are going to be my patient, I am going to need to take them to the infirmary,” Qatszo insisted. “My medpen reports she is already stabilized, but I will need to supervise her progress.”
Idris pulled his gaze away from the unconscious body and faced the doctor. Something about what he said unsettled him, and he didn’t know why.
“Why do you need my permission?”
Qatszo raised an eyebrow. “She is one of them—an enemy. I don’t have to do a thing if I don’t want to.”
Idris snapped his tail, ignoring the sudden throbbing from his bare spots, where he had taken his secondary scales.
“You. Will. Care. For. Her,” he snarled, his voice echoing off of the room’s walls.
Qatszo flinched as if he had hit him. “We don’t have any knowledge about their anatomy. How am I supposed to make sure she fully recovers?”
“Look around you.” Idris opened his arms, gesturing to the five dead humans scattered on the floor. “Use their bodies for science. They don’t deserve a proper funeral, and I refuse to send them back with her.”
“Wait.” Erlyn glanced up from his tablet. “You are
going to send her away?”
“Shouldn’t we keep her as a prisoner of war?” Raizxl asked.
“She can’t remain here, not after she falsified who she was—no matter the reasons.” Idris scanned her body. His golden scales shimmered brightly on the flaming red skin. “A life for a life. She saved mine, so I will spare hers and allow her safe passage home.”
Idris stomped into his quarters, his tail whipped to and fro in anger.
Betrayal.
The single word defined everything he felt.
Her disguise made him question his own sexuality.
The familiarity called to him, causing him to misjudge situations.
He trusted her, and his repayment?
In a different place and time, he would have been delighted to meet the pilot who he looked forward to combating against during each space battle mission. They would have been able to converse and see what developed between them—even if it was just a friendly rivalry.
No. He had to spar against her, marking her as his from licking the wound he placed upon her neck. Within a day, he did something a few others only did with those they loved. He used his own scales to save her life, permanently marking her as his.
And he was sending her away.
Detaching his sheathed knife, Idris threw it onto his chair and undid his pants, allowing them to drop as he stepped out of them, not caring to pick them up.
He was exhausted—both emotionally and mentally—and needed to wash away all the dried human blood.
He wished he could wash her from his memory.
Idris climbed the sand bed stairs and clasped the silky, warm surface. Something about today made him want to bury himself, allowing him to release his focus on the world around him. He had a feeling if he didn’t burn off some of the pent-up energy, he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Not with her scent surrounding him and the taste of her lingering in his mouth.
I had to insist on reapplying my saliva to her newly acquired scales, in hopes to reduce the inflammation and swelling.
Even though he was angry at how everything had unfolded, she was his responsibility until she was well enough to leave. He wasn’t going to allow another Daextru—male or female—to naturally heal her with their saliva.
Qatszo insisted, with his team, they would be able to come up with a solution by tomorrow through studying the five representative’s bodies. He was glad because even though he had no ill will against her, Idris didn’t want to need to keep licking her wounds until they healed.
The hardened sand against his claws told him he had dug too far while in deep thought. It didn’t matter, just more room for his tail.
He climbed in, lying back against the bed of sand before scooping the piles over him, encasing him. Idris laid his head back against the sand lumped behind him and stared at the ceiling.
Why did she have to meet me like this?
Warm fingers combed her hair, waking her from her slumber. Jaiya refused to open her eyes, not because she feared death, but because she didn’t want to be disappointed by how it looked.
“If you can hear me, I want to thank you for saving Idris’ life,” Erlyn whispered. “I know he isn’t reacting well to what happened, and an irrational part of him blames you. Not because of the secret you kept from all of us, but because you are human.”
The warmth traveled down to her cheek, before disappearing, only to reappear around one of her hands.
“I won’t pass judgment on you. Your actions have proven how loyal you are to us,” he sighed. “At least, that is what I keep telling myself. Why else would you give your life to save our prince—and his honor? I just hope he comes to his senses because you are not the enemy.”
Silence surrounded her then, and the warmth disappeared soon after.
She resumed floating in time and space, finally feeling the freedom of flight once more.
Something surrounded her other hand, enclosing it in heat.
“I know you are there, somewhere, waiting for your life to end,” an unfamiliar female voice spoke in Dzexet. “You mustn’t fade to nothingness. Not when you are needed in the land of the living. If I must bring you back myself, I will. I won’t allow a warrior’s soul to drift away because they were born in the wrong body.”
Silence fell once again, but the inferno remained, burning her hand as it grounded her.
“Can’t you do something, Doctor? Or do I have to find someone else to wake her?”
“I am doing everything I can, Warrior Princess,” an older male voice replied. “You can’t force someone to live if they don’t want to.”
“If only my dimwitted brother would come in here. I bet he could get her to wake up.”
“I have already tried; he only wanted to do what was necessary to keep her alive.”
“But why keep her body alive when you won’t rescue her soul?”
“I don’t know. This is your brother we are talking about.”
The inferno soon left along with the chatter, leaving Jaiya alone to float once more.
“You need to wake up soon,” Raizxl’s deep voice rumbled. “I don’t like guarding someone who wants to leave their body behind.”
He sighed, filling the room with his loud exhale.
“I am not good at these things, especially since my starmate died. I wanted to find a way to join her, but I remembered my promise to the fleet and stayed behind to protect those who can’t protect themselves. What I am saying is, if I have to live, then you have to as well, because there are no mates waiting for you among the stars,” he choked. “And I believe your star is still living.”
The rumbling storm disappeared, and yet Jaiya didn’t feel like flying anymore. What Raizxl had said struck a nerve. If he hadn’t given up yet, then what gave her the right? She hadn’t had the chance to find love and experience it in its full beauty.
“Okay, Jaiya, I dragged my stubborn brother in here to talk to you. If anyone can get you to wake up, it has to be him—”
“—it could be her twin brother or her father,” Idris mumbled.
“Do you happen to know where they are?”
“No, they both went into hiding,” Idris replied.
“Exactly, so you are the next best thing.”
“I don’t want to be in here.”
“Why? She saved your life.”
“She lied to me!”
“You used to lie to me all the time, but I don’t wish for your death.”
“But you were never forced to think you were attracted to females because the person you felt attracted to was pretending to be one!”
“Wait. What?”
“Never mind.”
“Where are you going?” The Warrior Princess demanded.
“Away from you two.”
The inferno returned, but this time it brushed through her hair.
“You need to wake up so we can both kick my brother’s tail.”
Jaiya slowly opened her eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep in the creases of her eyes as she tried to adjust to the environment.
A sapphire-scaled Daextru stared down at her. If she hadn’t looked exactly how Jaiya envisioned a warrior princess might, she could have easily mistaken her for Idris. They had the same color scales and long, dark, blue-almost-black hair. The only differences were her golden eyes, shorter horns, and the placement of her golden scales.
The Daextru walked around bare-chested or with a vest, as their pilots wore shoulder capes of a variety of colors. This female wore something apart from the others she had seen—her shoulder capes connected in the front, barely covering her exposed chest.
Unlike the male Daextru, the female’s neck protective scales trialed down the middle of their chests and wrapped around their small breasts, as if they were cradling them. From there, they curved along their sides, meeting the scales that peeked above their waistbands.
“Welcome back,” Idris’ sister said, smiling. “My name is Ushyaz. It is nice to finally meet
you.”
“I would say that I am glad to be back, but I feel like I died.”
“You basically did,” Ushyaz whispered. “Idris gave you his scales in order to save your life.”
“Wait. What?”
“The Daextru have a few tricks to heal others in times of need,” Ushyaz explained. “Our saliva can heal minor wounds, while also temporarily marking the injured person by scent. Starmates use it on each other even when they aren’t injured, as a signal of possession.”
“But what about giving me his scales?” Jaiya asked, confused.
“The larger scales that cover the most fragile parts of our bodies are also a form of special sealing bandage. If someone close to the Daextru is injured, and they trust the surrounding environment, they can peel their protective scales off to seal the wound. This is only used in dire need, for it leaves the donor vulnerable.”
“But why would he save me?” Jaiya shook her head in defeat, tears threatening to fall. “I wasn’t able to get your people the sand you need.”
“It could be worse.” Ushyaz shrugged. “I am just happy to be alive and free for another day.”
Jaiya searched her unfamiliar surroundings.
The metallic room was filled with advanced medical systems and displays unknown to her. Only her medical bed, a table, and a set of chairs sat within the room. “Where is Idris?”
Ushyaz failed to hide the pained expression crossed her face before she looked away. “He felt that it would be better if he didn’t see you.”
Jaiya leaned her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes as a sense of defeat filled her. “Why did he heal me if he wants nothing to do with me?”
“Because he believed you deserve to live after everything you have done.” Ushyaz’s warm hand gripped hers. “You saved my brother’s life, and for that, I can never repay you, but he feels betrayed and conflicted in what he should do with you.”
Jaiya opened her eyes and met Ushyaz’s golden slitted ones. “I only disguised myself as my twin brother in hopes for the peace talks to go well.” She licked her lips nervously, not wanting to anger the Warrior Princess. “He was set up by his superiors. By Kaela’s obsession with Idris’s hair, it seems like her main objective was to claim his head as a trophy.’