Venomous Heart

by Mary Auclair

  Arlen walked away and heard Khal following him through the rooms. He growled in annoyance, but his brother wasn’t deterred.

  “You saw Doctor Ava again.” This time, Khal’s footsteps stopped. “What is going on between you two?”

  “I only wanted to tell her we found her credentials.” Arlen faced his brother and scowled when the younger Eok looked at him like he had a horn sprouting out from between his eyes. “I also had to ask her what she needed in terms of medical supplies. She’s responsible for the entire population’s medical care, so her work is my work as well.”

  Khal lifted his brows and his mouth stretched in a sarcastic smile as he nodded. “Of course. I mean, why wouldn’t the Commander of the Eok forces go down to the medical clinic to chat with the doctor? After all, it’s not like there aren’t a hundred other people who could run your errands.” Then Khal paused like he’d just had some kind of insight. “Wait, you’re attracted to her?”

  Arlen crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at his brother. It was his own fault Khal was so disrespectful of the hierarchy. He had indulged the youngster too much. “You forget your place, Captain Khal.” Arlen reminded him of his rank once more, and Khal had the good sense to look chastised. “Now, why have you come here?”

  “Jonah is asking to see you.” Khal scoffed, then rolled his eyes. “It appears some humans are refusing to move.”

  Arlen groaned. Those humans were too stubborn for their own good. “I’ll deal with Jonah. Now, either you go finish those figures on the census, or you can volunteer for babysitting duties. I always need more guards on night duties.”

  At this, Khal snapped to attention, excused himself and left, his expression a mixture of resentment and subdued shame.

  After he was gone, Arlen shook his head.

  Because Khal was right. Why had he sought Ava out in the first place?

  Ava

  The air was hot, warm and humid but the breeze felt good on her skin. Ava made her way through the dense growth of flowers inundating every corner of the garden, her fingertips running over the vegetation at her side as she moved, light as feathers on the delicate petals.

  This was where she always came when she knew she was about to break. When her soul felt like a bleeding wound and she didn’t know how to go on. It had been so long since she’d last come here. A year, maybe more. Not since Knut found out her plans to betray him and cast her out along with Uril.

  As she finally came to stand in front of the river, she sighed. Her skin prickled with goosebumps as the cool air from the water drifted toward her. She shivered slightly and welcomed the feeling. She stood barefoot in the short grass, cold with dew, still wearing her synthetic cotton medical uniform.

  The quiet beauty of the flowing water dulled her pain and for what felt like the first time in a month, she was able to breathe. She tilted her head back and stared at the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud and the large open eye of the moon right above her stared back, round and pale silver. Indifferent.

  She closed her eyes.

  The scents became clearer as she kept her eyes closed. The water, pure and cold; the grass under her naked soles; and the flowers. The flowers, with their stubborn, extravagant love for life. How many times had she wished she was like one of those flowers? Blooming, happy, beautiful. Hundreds of times, thousands, she’d wished it. Every time Knut made her cry, every time Knut made her feel like she wasn’t truly a person.

  “You shouldn’t come out here alone, especially at night.”

  A male voice startled her and Ava turned quickly, holding the scalpel she had brought with her in front of her body defensively. A tall, broad figure stepped out of the deep shadows created by a series of bushes, a figure she recognized instantly.

  “I could tell you the same thing.” Ava lowered her arm but didn’t withdraw it completely. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were following me.”

  “I am following you.” There it was again, that humorless voice, all business and military. It made her body tingle in all the wrong places, even though alarms bells rang in her head.

  Ava watched warily as Arlen approached, completely undeterred by her weapon.

  “How very stalkerish of you.”

  He didn’t answer, just prowled closer to her with an uncanny, almost feline grace. The silver moonlight reflected off his head, making the markings on his skin even more apparent. A tiny thrill skittered across her skin at the sight of him and she pulled the sides of her cotton sweater more tightly around her body.

  He was close enough now that she could see his features clearly, the harsh shadows from the cloudless moon playing on the angles of his face, giving him the appearance of an ancient, long-forgotten deity. His pale eyes reflected the light, seeming almost entirely white as he stared down at her.

  There was nothing soft about him. Not even the plump hardness of his lips as his mouth stretched into a humorless grin.

  “Are you always this insolent?”

  Arlen hovered above her, barely two feet away, and he was so tall she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. His arms were bare in his sleeveless vest, rippling with muscles and covered with markings. He was a monument to strength and control, to this cold military authority she sensed in everything he did.

  The tingling in her belly grew as she stared at those strong arms, that skin covered with markings that seemed as rough as it was soft. What would it feel to run her fingers along it? Her tongue?

  Get a grip! What is going on with you?

  “Maybe it’s just your Eok charm.” Ava forced herself to relax her posture but her arms refused to let go, and she still hugged herself. “Are you always this creepy?”

  He shook his head at her sassy answer then his eyes went down to her scalpel. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly, and there was something in his gaze that wasn’t there before as he looked back up at her. It looked an awful lot like amusement.

  “Do you plan on stabbing me? If so, I hope your arms are stronger than they look. It’ll take you all night to kill me with that.”

  “Of course not.” Ava brought her arm down, suddenly feeling very foolish. What was she expecting, anyway? It wasn’t like she could fight off an Eok warrior with her scalpel. “I brought it with me for protection, that’s all.” She turned to the river, but she could feel Arlen’s gaze on her. “Nobody comes here, anyway.”

  “Nobody but you.” He planted himself at her side and they stayed like that in silence for a while. When he finally spoke again, his voice wasn’t all business and efficiency, but a bit dreamy. “Did you come here often? Before?”

  Ava’s arms tightened around her body and a sudden surge of emotions welled up in her throat. Aside from Uril, nobody asked her questions. Nobody cared what she felt. Why did he? Or maybe she was just a fool to think he did.

  “Yes,” she admitted simply. “I sneaked out whenever I could. Even when I was a little girl, I would come here in the middle of the night and not get back until just before sunrise.”

  Arlen stayed silent at her words, but it was a good kind of silence. It made her want to keep talking, tell him things just so he would stay and listen to her.

  “Did you know that the best flowers in this garden actually open at night?” She turned to the left, where a thin trunk reared out of the ground straight up toward the sky, twice as tall as Arlen. “This is Mortiferum Luna, but most people call it Deadly Sunkiss.”

  She plucked a white flower and examined it. It sprouted straight from the trunk and was as large as her palm, emitting a powerful, heavy perfume of honey and spices that made her slightly dizzy.

  “It’s highly poisonous, deadly even to the touch—during the day.” Ava played with the soft, waxy petals, her mind lost in a past she would give anything to forget. “But at night, it’s totally harmless and it lures you in with the most wonderful smell. It’s a carnivorous plant, you see. It attracts nocturnal insects with the promise of nectar and shelter, and when t
he daylight comes and the insects hide in its petals, it kills them. Its deceitfulness is what makes it so dangerous, and so successful. It lures its prey into thinking it can provide for them and keep them safe, and when it has their trust, it kills them.”

  As she spoke, she knew she wasn’t just talking about the flower. Pain twisted in her gut, along with a hatred so cold, it frightened her.

  “It was his favorite flower.” Ava turned from Arlen and looked at the water, flowing in complete indifference. “Knut. He just loved the Deadly Sunkiss.”

  The river kept flowing, filling the silence between them as Ava deeply inhaled the perfume from the flower. She stared down at the perfect, waxy white petals, then closed her fist around them. When she opened it again, they were crumpled and ruined, never to be whole again. In a slow gesture, she flipped her wrist, throwing the flower into the river. She watched as it rolled over and floated away. It seemed almost happy to be free.

  How she envied it.

  “Do you miss him?”

  The question was abrupt, and Ava looked up to see Arlen staring at her intently, his brow creased and his mouth hard. He almost looked angry. She turned to face him as he took a step closer, closing the gap between them.

  “Miss him?” she scoffed. “How could I miss the man who made me a prisoner? Who sold my people into slavery?”

  “Were they?” His voice was soft, and hurt as much as a physical blow. “You’re as much Avonie as you are human. Tell me, who are you really?”

  We know what you truly are. Abomination.

  All those years of being pushed away, of being alone and scorned by the people she wanted so desperately to belong to rushed up like a knife across her heart. Her hand rose all by itself, open and ready to slap that handsome, cruel face with all she was worth.

  A hand made of steel closed around her wrist, an inch from his skin.

  Arlen glared at her as she unsuccessfully tried to pull her arm away. It was no use; he was much stronger than her. Anger and pain raged inside her mind as she watched him. How could she have been stupid enough to think he was different?

  “Let me go.” Her voice shook, and that made her even angrier. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

  But he didn’t care for her protest. He held her prisoner, his arm as good as carved from stone as she struggled to free herself. His chest was just inches away from her, and she had to tilt her head back so much her neck hurt to look at him.

  “Like he did, is that what you mean? He kept you close. Cherished you above all the others. Treated you like a pet. How could you not miss him?”

  The accusation was barely veiled, as was Arlen’s anger. Pain shot through Ava’s heart at his words, old and familiar. Because this was one of the many reasons why the humans on Aveyn hated her. Because Knut hadn’t. Knut hadn’t hated her.

  He thinks I was his lover. He thinks I loved that monster.

  Anger and pain twisted together inside her, and she embraced it. They all saw her the same way, all saw the unnatural creature, Knut’s personal little project, not the woman she was. None of them knew. None of them cared.

  “You think Knut had feelings for me?” She spat out the words, not caring that Arlen’s face was twisting with rage and that he was inching closer to her. Closer above her. “You think he loved me? You know nothing of what it was like to live under his roof, be his little trained monkey. Watch him sell off my friends, one after the other. Show me what happens to bad little girls who don’t follow the rules. You know nothing of my life with him. You know nothing of me!”

  His other hand closed around her waist and Arlen pulled her in, crushing her against his hard, male body. Her fingers clenched around the weapon she still held in her free hand, and in a flash of pure instinct, Ava raised the scalpel, the blade coming to rest just under his chin. Eyes as pale as the moonlight stared at her without a single trace of fear as the blade moved in tandem with his pulse.

  “Let me go.” Her voice wasn’t trembling anymore.

  “Or what, Ava?” Arlen pushed his head forward and down and the blade broke his skin, a trickle of blood dripping down his neck and into the open collar of his vest. “You will kill me? Slit my throat in cold blood?”

  Ava let out a shaky breath, her hand pulling slightly away from his jugular. Still, his face lowered, his eyes set on her like a predator, ignoring her threat.

  His lips landed on hers above the blade; imperious and hard. He kissed her like it was a command, demanding absolute submission.

  And she responded. Her body weakened, her fingers opening and the scalpel falling to the grass at her feet. Her lips parted under his and his tongue entered her mouth. His taste was male and clean, and he took possession of her mouth completely as her mind went blank. Her knees buckled, but his hold on her was firm and he held her there against him.

  She could barely breathe as his fingers dug into her flesh, descending to grab her ass. He pulled her against him as a hardness all too male dug into her stomach.

  Fear mixed with her arousal, then the hand that had held the blade went to his chest and she pushed against him.

  Arlen growled into her mouth, refusing to heed her plea to stop. As his hand went down to cup an entire ass cheek, she whimpered in fright against his flesh.

  The sound of her fear was like a shock and, as suddenly as he had begun, he stopped. A second later, the Eok warrior stood five feet away from her.

  The moon shone a pale light on his features, and his eyes seemed to glow as if lit from within. His gaze trailed over her body and she was aware of her breasts pushing against the thin fabric, the plunging shape of her neckline, revealing way too much skin. His chest heaved as he stood there, his expression one of pure shock.

  Then he turned his back on her and left, disappearing into the night.

  Ava stayed there as the fog lifted from her mind. Her fingers went to her lips as she stared blankly at the darkness into which Arlen had disappeared.

  Then she realized that things were going to an all new level of shitty.

  5

  Arlen

  The human male shook his head with stubborn pride, and Arlen restrained his impulse to grab him by the scruff of the neck and shake some sense into him.

  “This is not open to negotiation, Representative Jonah.” He didn’t try to hide his irritation and showed his fangs in a warning hiss. The human took a step back, nearly toppling over a chair. “There is no choice. All humans will relocate to the Tower. It’s the best way to ensure their safety, and their safety is my mission.”

  “And those who refuse?” Jonah regained his composure but his eyes kept straying to the door. He was scared, but not enough to shut up. “Those who refuse to leave their homes?”

  When will these humans learn? They’re far too stubborn for their own good.

  “They will answer to me. Whether they want to or not, it will be done, but your assistance as their elected representative will make it much easier. And much less traumatic, should I have to intervene by force. Knut scattered a hundred buildings to house humans all over the surface of Aveyn. What was a great idea for him makes it impossible to ensure their safety now. If they all live in the same building, it will be much easier to keep them safe. Then you and I can focus on more important things.”

  “What could be more important than forcefully displacing people out of their homes?” The look in Jonah’s eyes told Arlen all he needed to know. This mission wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought.

  “Farming, raising animals.” As Arlen spoke, Jonah’s expression changed. “Humans can’t keep relying on Eoks to provide them with those rations you’ve been eating. You need to be able to feed yourselves. Aveyn is a rich planet, you can produce all the food you need, you just need to learn how.”

  “And you will help us?” Jonah’s face was still incredulous, but he wasn’t rejecting the idea—far from it. There was a sudden interest in his eyes, in his entire demeanor. He seemed to know this was key to the humans’ sur
vival. “Why?”

  “How can a people be safe if they can’t feed themselves?”

  Arlen stared down at the human until the other male swallowed, then nodded, once. He didn’t seem happy about the relocation, but at least he understood the truth in what Arlen was saying.

  “We will start with the Southern Hemisphere, Fourth Quadrant.” Arlen studied his screen, on which all the residential facilities were identified by green lights on a map. “The farthest and most isolated first, then we work our way back.”

  Since Jonah didn’t contradict him, Arlen turned to his Relany officer, who was staring at his screen, a carefully neutral expression on his face.

  “We will give them notice to be ready in a week’s time,” Arlen said to Jonah. “It will be better if you stand beside me to reassure them.”

  Jonah came to stand beside him and the Relany officer worked on his control panel.

  “Officer Shetak, set up communication with Facility Twenty-One.”

  Seconds passed and Officer Shetak turned a concerned frown Arlen’s way. “The communication attempt has failed.”

  “Try again.” Arlen clicked his tongue impatiently. “This is the most remote facility on Aveyn. The signal must have been interrupted by interference.”

  “That’s just it, Commander Arlen.” Officer Shetak’s voice was thin, and the concern was clear on his drawn features. “The signal wasn’t lost. It was cut off.”

  “Again. Send it again.”

  Silence descended on the room as Officer Shetak pounded on his controls. “It’s been cut off again.”

  Arlen straightened, then turned to Jonah. “This is treason.” Anger ran cold in his veins as he focused on the human male. “Your action has directly put dozens of human lives in danger. As commander in charge of security, I have the authority to arrest you.”