Zuran: A Paranormal Sci-Fi Alien Romance: Albaterra Mates Book 6

by Ashley L. Hunt

  My feelings had expanded to exponential berth regarding Phoebe. I craved her as much as a dehydrated warrior craved water, never getting enough and constantly wanting more. The crevices of my mind not occupied with thoughts of Venan and the Council were suffocated by thoughts of her, and sometimes she drove my worries away and took me over entirely. I had never felt in such a way about anyone. My heart had never throbbed upon seeing vivid green orbs peering through thick black lashes before. My body had never yearned to be near someone before. It was intense, a rush of adrenaline and lust and passion and…something else I did not want to acknowledge. Love?

  I did not believe I was capable of love. I had never been in it, and I knew not what it felt like, but I always thought myself too selfish an A’li-uud to experience such a thing. Seeing my mother and father together was watching a connection of spirit and soul, a beautiful sight to witness to be certain but a sharing of self I could not envision for my own life. I thought myself too independent to be so willing to turn over a part of myself to another, even if only in the metaphorical sense.

  “What are you doing, making a moat?”

  Phoebe’s question shoved me out of the quarters of my musing mind into the present. I realized I had been dragging my fingers through the dry sand at the base of the castle near me until a deep river had formed. I stared at my unintentional work for a second, still a bit dazed by my thoughts, then filled the gap back in.

  “I thought it would make a nice accent,” I joked.

  She laughed. “Maybe you should’ve been an architect instead of an IAO.”

  I started to try out the word “architect” on my tongue when a telltale thump sounded near us. My entire body turned cold enough to raise my neck hairs, and I spun around. My boot accidentally smashed through the lump of wet sand I had attempted to decorate with a window, but I barely noticed. I would finally learn my brother’s fate.

  But it was not Vi’den standing by the corner of the medical facility. It was Sevani.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Phoebe

  The Elder was wearing jade robes like usual that matched his skin and made him look more like a paper doll than a three-dimensional being. Ropes of silvery hair whipped around his face as he landed before settling on his shoulders with more calmness than I felt. His phantasm eyes spanned the scene in front of him for a split second, and then his lip lifted in a sneer of derision.

  “We are working hard, I see,” he commented rudely.

  Zuran got to his feet gracefully, and the hoard of sand I’d tossed at him fell from his lap in a shower of shimmery golden grains. I clambered up too, much less elegantly than he had, and disregarded the fact he’d destroyed part of my castle. Sandcastles weren’t a priority anymore because, if the news was good, we’d probably celebrate and, if it was bad, Zuran would likely demolish the rest.

  “You have news of Venan?” Zuran asked. I noticed he chose not to address Sevani’s snide remark, which I appreciated because a fight with an Elder was the last thing he needed right now.

  “I do,” Sevani said. “Let us convene inside.”

  “Has he been cleared?” Zuran pressed, stepping forward in earnest.

  Sevani’s eyes narrowed. “I will tell you what the Council has decided if you will kindly join me indoors,” he firmly said. It was phrased as a simple statement, but I knew by his tone he meant it as an order.

  Zuran bristled, his shoulders squaring slightly, but he didn’t argue. “Then, indoors we will go,” came his tight-lipped reply. He turned toward me and extended an arm, and, as I stepped forward, he looped it around my waist. Sevani eyed us critically, but I didn’t flinch or shrink back in shame. The Elders may have held a lot of power, but they weren’t going to tell me who I could or couldn’t date.

  We entered the hospital, Zuran and I first with Sevani following. Initially, nobody looked up, but when Sevani breezed past us to take the lead toward the conference room, his sweeping robes captured the attention of the pair of healers bending over a Novai. They stared after us, and I heard them muttering something to each other in A’li-uud. Antoinette was assisting Dr. Griep with taking another patient’s vitals, and she noticed the Elder’s presence too.

  “What is he doing here?” she mouthed to me.

  I jerked my head pointedly toward Zuran and mouthed back, “His brother.”

  Her lips formed an O, and she nodded in understanding before turning back to Dr. Griep.

  The conference room was as dark as always, but Sevani lit the torch in the corner so I could at least see his and Zuran’s faces. Once we were all seated, Sevani at the head and Zuran and I on either side of him, I folded my hands in my lap and waited. The tension was palpable, and Zuran was practically turning turquoise from gritting his teeth so hard.

  “The Council has made its ruling in Venan’s case,” Sevani began. He spoke with the same kind of grandeur as Vi’den, but he sounded much less friendly doing it. If I had to equate the two A’li-uud to something, Vi’den would’ve been the college professor who genuinely wanted his students to succeed and Sevani would’ve been the drill sergeant whose goal was to break everyone down so he could build them back up the way he wanted.

  Zuran leaned forward. “And?”

  With a poorly-hidden grimace, the Elder said, “He has been cleared of the murder charge.”

  I felt a swoop of joy, and I swiveled my gaze from Sevani’s crude face to Zuran. A grin was slowly spreading over his thin, carved lips. His sugar-white irises were flickering a reflection of the torch flames, but I could see smugness swirling deep within his pupils. This news not only validated Venan, but it also validated Zuran. He was able to boast a big, fat “I told you so” without argument, though I hoped he wouldn’t because I doubted Sevani would receive it with any kind of grace.

  It was very clear the Elder had not voted in favor of Venan, and his displeasure in the ruling dominated his shimmering face. His mouth was turned down sharply enough to create deep creases along his cheeks to his chin, and the pearliness of his eyes was marred with smoky disapproval. He glared at Zuran as if it had been him instead of the Council to make the decision, but the glower was also a warning to Zuran not to brag. His fingers tapped the table top irritably.

  “Have you released him yet?” Zuran inquired. I was glad he asked a reasonable question instead of gloating.

  “Yes,” Sevani answered shortly. “This morning.”

  If he’d been a human, I could’ve imagined Zuran pumping his fist and jumping into the air to click his heels together with happiness at that moment. Like a guy who’d finally gotten that promotion he’d worked so hard for or a guy who finally got a date with the woman he’d been into for months. He was utterly glowing. He probably could have competed with the blue light in the underground lair for the title of “brightest in the room.”

  “And everything is as it was?” Zuran continued.

  Sevani crooked a brow. “I should think not. An Elder is dead. Dhal’at is without its leader.”

  “But Venan will retain his rank in the militia?”

  A muscle ticked in Sevani’s jaw, and I heard his teeth scraping together. “Venan will return to his post in the same position, yes,” he replied. He sounded far from satisfied with the outcome.

  Zuran nodded. He was definitely satisfied with the outcome, elated even. He sat back in his chair and propped his arms up behind his head like he was lounging, much to the annoyance of Sevani, who made a small snarling noise in his throat. I didn’t know if the Council member thought Zuran was being disrespectful—which, to some extent, maybe he was—but I knew Zuran wouldn’t care either way, and I didn’t blame him. Venan wasn’t my brother, and I’d never even exchanged a word with him, but I was thrilled. I never felt Venan deserved to be in prison in the first place.

  “Well, I certainly appreciate your making the journey to tell me,” Zuran said with a grin. His hubris was radiating from him, and he met my gaze. I saw the familiar glint in his eye. He wanted Sevani
to leave because he was going to use my body for celebration. Hot slickness pooled in my panties, and I suddenly too wished the Elder would get up and go.

  “That is not the only reason I have come.”

  I heard car brakes squealing on pavement in my mind, and my arousal was immediately tamped. Zuran still sat with his hands behind his head, but he’d become still. I hoped our good news wasn’t about to become the preface to something awful.

  “As you were told upon receiving your assignments here, treatment facilities have been established all across Albaterra to research and cure this Novain disease,” Sevani told us.

  “Mutacorpathy,” I interjected.

  He turned his gaze toward me without moving his head. “Excuse me?”

  “Mutacorpathy,” I repeated. “It’s the name we came up with for the disease.”

  For a minute, his eyes blazed with my interruption, and I wondered if I’d overstepped my bounds. Then, he inclined his head slightly and said, “Mutacorpathy. Anyway, those staffed at these various facilities have, like you, been compiling data about the illness to establish common symptoms and development in the hopes of identifying a potential treatment, or cure if possible.” He was speaking directly to me as if Zuran wasn’t in the room, though I preferred to think he did so because I was the one with the medical experience rather than because he was trying to snub Zuran. “Like you, the others have been unsuccessful. After speaking with you at the trial, the Council decided it was time to look into other options.”

  “What other options are there besides doing everything possible to stop it from spreading to others and progressing in those who have it?” Zuran asked.

  Sevani looked at him reluctantly. It was clear the Elder would have rather pretended Zuran didn’t exist. “That was the topic of discussion in our latest Forum,” he returned. “And we have come to an agreement.”

  “And what might that be?”

  With a grim expression, Sevani announced, “The Council has decided that an A’li-uud representative, you, and a medical expert working on the case, you,”—he turned to me—“will be sent to the Novai mother ship.”

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Zuran

  I stared at him. I could not have possibly heard him right. Perhaps in my elation over Venan’s release, I had lost my senses and started hallucinating. Or perhaps Sevani was not there at all, and I was in the midst of a very realistic dream. Whatever the case, it did not seem likely the words I had heard were the words that were spoken.

  “I’m sorry,” Phoebe said, looking just as stunned as I felt. “What did you just say?”

  “You two will be sent to the Novain mother ship,” Sevani repeated. He looked much too calm given the outlandish plan he was explaining. “You will speak to the captain about his colonists and their condition.”

  “What do you imagine could come of that?” I asked in disbelief. “You believe he has the cure for the disease stocked away somewhere on his ship and he did not think to mention it when sending his colonists down to us to set up camp?”

  Sevani folded his hands indifferently. “At this point, we know nothing about this disease—mutacorpathy, as you have named it. If he or anyone on board has information about it, we need to know. If not, you return to Albaterra empty-handed, and we are no worse than when you left.”

  “Could you not just communicate with them from your respective locations?” I demanded.

  First, the Elders had sent me to this hospital in the middle of Dhal’at because, at Vi’den’s own admission, they wanted to make sure I did not interfere with Venan’s case. Now, they were sending me into space to meet with the Novai leaders who, for all I knew, had the same disease and were equally aggressive as the ones down here and could likely kill us if they so desired. It was infuriating.

  “The Novai have left the range of communication,” was Sevani’s answer. He said it simply, as if it was an idle fact of no consequence. “If we are to communicate with them, it is necessary to take a ship to travel to them and board their ship to speak with them directly. A matter such as this, we feel, should be addressed face-to-face anyhow.”

  “But why have you chosen us?” I asked heatedly. “I have no knowledge of substance about the disease, and any I do have is of no help to the task.”

  “And I am only a nurse,” Phoebe chimed in. “Don’t you think, if you’re going to send someone with medical knowledge, it should be a healer or a doctor?”

  Sevani started with her question first. “We have chosen you because we were quite impressed with the knowledge you demonstrated during the trial. We also considered you to comport yourself with elegance and grace under pressure, and that is a skill we feel will be necessary when speaking to the Novai.”

  “I can’t speak to the Novai,” she protested. “They don’t speak English.”

  “You will have a translator, of course,” Sevani told her. “An A’li-uud can speak for you.”

  He then turned his attention to me. While he had spoken to Phoebe with a significant amount of respect, albeit some unhidden irritation at being questioned, his face hardened upon looking at me, and it was clear he did not have the same patience.

  “You were chosen because you are an Interplanetary Affairs Officer. It is your duty to handle interplanetary affairs. Aside from that, you are the only Interplanetary Affairs Officer to have been onsite at any of our medical treatment facilities that we have established, and you have firsthand experience another officer would not.”

  “That is a thin argument,” I snapped. “You are trying to get me as far away from you as you can.”

  “I cannot deny that idea appeals to me personally,” Sevani sneered, “but I am afraid that is not the motivation of the Council as a whole. We believe you two to be best suited to the task.”

  “When are we supposed to do this?” Phoebe asked. She was not looking at Sevani; she was looking at me, and she was clearly scared. Her eyes had gone wide, and her hands were clutching the edge of the table so tightly her fingertips had become yellowish-white.

  Sevani explained, “We must ready a ship for your journey, and, of course, we must gather a crew to accompany you. That will take at least a few days, if not a week. Possibly longer, if we encounter any difficulties.”

  I shook my head. I did not want to go into an explosive rage as I had so often over the past several weeks, but I had had my fill of the Elders. I had never cared for them much anyway, particularly during my years as a criminal, but I was certainly losing any tolerance I had developed very quickly.

  “I still do not understand,” I said. “I do not believe the Novai would have known about this illness, its existence and its possible triggers, without having said anything. I certainly do not believe they would have sent down colonists unprepared should the disease have been encountered.”

  Sevani tilted his head dangerously. “Are you insinuating the Council has ulterior motives?”

  I was, but I did not want to get myself or Phoebe into trouble, and I certainly did not want any backlash to come to Venan after what he had just gone through, no matter how unlikely it was that would happen. “I believe the Council wants a treatment to be found,” I said. That was true, at least. “I am only unsure the Council has made a wise decision in choosing to send Phoebe and myself into space to speak with the Novai who we have only had minimal interaction with and whose demeanors are completely unbeknownst to us.”

  “When the Novai sent their colonists to us, they were entrusting us with the care of their people,” Sevani said severely. I did not like him, but, if there was one thing about Sevani, he was fierce in his responsibility for those in his charge. The Novai colony had been established in his kingdom of Pentaba, and I imagined he had a much more personal relationship with those colonists than anyone else on Albaterra. It was likely this disease was more troublesome to him than others. “The Novai leaders deserve to know the current status of their colonists. They deserve to know that a disease of mysterious origin has devel
oped amongst their kind. Additionally, as I have already noted, there is a very real possibility they will have information to help us in curing this disease, if they do not have the cure themselves.”

  Phoebe was frowning now. I turned my gaze to her because it looked like she wanted to speak, and Sevani followed my gaze to look at her as well. She blushed under our attention but spoke up.

  “I know you think the Novai may have been aware this disease exists, and I know you think it’s possible they’ve encountered it before and therefore have the treatment,” she said. “But we have done everything we could to determine not only a treatment to slow, if not stop entirely, the progression of the disease, but we have also researched, observed, tracked every last detail. If we haven’t found anything that could be of help, what makes you think they have?”

  To this question, Sevani appeared to think deeply. His answer came slowly, as though he was thinking about each word before he said it. “I know you have not been on Albaterra long,” he said. “And I know human knowledge of sentient life outside of Earth, prior to meeting the A’li-uud, was limited. You must understand, the Novai are not of our world. They are not of our galaxy. What you and I encounter as existence in our respective lives may not be what the Novai know to be real. We cannot imagine what their planet was like. We cannot imagine the resources they had. The most information we know about them and the life they once had is there were similarities to what we have here on Albaterra. As far as medical developments and treatments, they may very well have had resources available to them we have never seen. If so, it is imperative we learn of them.”