Rocked: Elemental Warriors

by Ashley West

  The only thing Silvia had ever wanted for herself when she was younger was to be normal. She'd wanted to be doing what everyone else was doing, and she wanted to experience the things that everyone else got to experience.

  When she'd become an adult, she'd wanted to find herself. She'd wanted to have something that was hers, that she had made and cultivated and loved to do. She'd spent time letting others tell her what they thought she should be doing, and she'd let herself get lost, and it hadn't worked out all that well for her.

  And then things had changed. All on their own. She'd nearly been attacked by creatures she'd never even seen before, and then had met an alien who had changed her life for good.

  It was funny that in all the world, the thing that made her finally know where she belonged and where she wanted to be was from another planet.

  But life was funny like that. Sometimes you thought it was going to go one way, but it ended up going a completely different way, and it ended up being the best thing that could ever happen.

  Silvia finally stopped searching. She made a choice instead.

  Epilogue: The Difference of a Year

  "You wanted to see me, Your Highness?" Silvia said, letting herself into the room with a short bow.

  Comman huffed and looked at her, one hand on his hip. "Haven't I told you about calling me that?" he asked.

  "You have."

  "And yet."

  "And yet, you haven't seen Kain's face when I call you Comman to your face. He gets all...squinchy."

  "Squinchy."

  "Yes. It's a legitimate word, Highness. "

  He rolled his eyes at her and held up his tablet. "I read your latest messages to our allies."

  Silvia smiled. "And?"

  Comman smiled back. "It's perfect. Everything I wanted to say but spun to appeal to each group. Hiring you was the best decision I ever made."

  "Don't let Kain hear you say that," Silvia cautioned. "You know how he gets."

  "Well, I suppose if I hadn't taken him for my guard then he never would have gone to Earth with me and if that had never happened, then he'd never have met you and then we'd never have met."

  "So it all goes back to Kain," Silvia said. "As per usual."

  She pretended like that upset her, but honestly, Comman wasn't the only one who owed Kain a debt of gratitude. She hadn't known that day when he'd saved her from those creatures that he would change her life, but there it was. Her life was irrevocably changed, and she had him to thank for it.

  Things couldn't have been more different. A year and some change ago, she had been trying to find herself. She'd been putting off making decisions about her life and trying her hardest to just find some meaning. Now she got up every morning and knew she was doing some good in the world. It wasn't the same world she'd been in before, but that didn't matter to her. Exploring new horizons was turning out to be wonderful.

  She lived on another planet now.

  Jontira was as beautiful as Kain had described it to her, and she was finding that she was proud to call it home. When Kain had suggested that she leave with him, she'd thought he had lost his mind. Her? In space? It was laughable. Silvia couldn't even get her act together on Earth, what made him think that she'd fare any better on another planet.

  But he'd insisted and then Comman had gotten in on it, too, pulling her aside to tell her that he could use her help if she was willing to give it.

  "My help with what?" she'd asked. It was the same sort of thing that Bobby had pulled when they were first figuring things out and then continually through their time together. It was always that they had an opening at his office that they desperately needed to fill and if she took it she'd be doing him a favor, really, when in reality it was just tarted up charity, and she didn't like that at all.

  Comman had looked at her with honesty in his eyes, though, and Silvia remembered that the two of them seemed to understand each other. "An outside perspective. Someone who knows how to charm others with words. A liaison, of sorts. Someone neutral."

  "So this is just because I'm a human?" Silvia had asked, still skeptical, but slowly, slowly starting to hope. It had sounded exciting, there was no doubt about that. It would be a whole new life for her. Uncharted territory with nothing to keep her from exploring all she wanted to explore.

  "Not just," Comman said. "Humans are valuable. But no, that's not the only reason why. Kain trusts you, and I trust you as well. Considering what we have just been through, being able to trust those in my employ is more important than ever to me. Aside from that, I believe you have a unique perspective, and I also believe that Kain might actually decide to stay here, and I don't want to lose him."

  Silvia had shot him an incredulous look at that. "You're kidding, right? Comman, Kain wouldn't leave you for anything. Definitely not for me."

  But when she'd looked over at Kain, he'd had something like pleading in his eyes, and she realized that choosing to leave wasn't easy for him. That came as a surprise. They were close, yes, and she cared about him a great deal, but it hadn't been love. Not yet. This wasn't one of those fairy tale stories where they spent a week together, saved the world, and then came out the other side madly in love. She'd only just gotten out of a complicated arrangement, and rushing headlong into another one seemed unwise.

  But...but the potential was there. It was, and they both knew it. If Kain left and she didn't go with him, then how would they ever know? More than that, if Kain stayed and Silvia let him, would he come to resent her?

  It was a whole lot to think about all at once, and she was still reeling from the fight Kain had been in and how that whole thing had just been sprung on them.

  If she left she'd have to tell everyone she was going. She'd have to tell her parents and Bridgett and Bobby... It would be a huge thing and she'd never hear the end of how absurd this was, and...

  Well.

  Would it be worth it? That had been the question she kept coming back to. Would it be worth the hassle and the uncertainty and the change and newness to find herself? She'd been trying for so long on Earth, trying to be normal by other people's standards, trying to be what other people wanted to be, all the while not knowing what she wanted for herself. This could change all of that.

  And so, when the time had come, she'd made her choice.

  Comman's ship had been carrying one extra passenger, as well as most of her belongings, but that was fine, considering two of the guards who had come with them were now dead or not returning. There was plenty of room.

  The ride back had been uneventful, though Comman had looked smugger than even Kain had ever seen him, and Kain himself had just looked stunned.

  Silvia had spent a lot of time chatting with Litta and watching the cosmos go by.

  And now she had been here for a year, and her life finally felt realized. She had daily meetings with the Prince to discuss work, as well as daily sessions where they played games, ate food, or just talked.

  Litta was teaching her how to defend herself with her hands and feet as well as a few choice weapons, and Silvia couldn't wait to show Kain what she'd been working on.

  Kain had been promoted to the head of the Prince's Guard. He was now in charge of all the other guard members, which included firing those who weren't loyal and having them arrested for treason if need be. When they'd first arrived back on Jontira, triumphant if exhausted, Comman had turned the guard over to Kain and there had been much upheaval.

  It had taken time, but finally Comman had a guard he could trust. According to Kain, the people had also changed their tune regarding the Prince once they heard about what happened on Earth. Silvia supposed it was a rather romantic sort of story. The Prince and his hero riding out into battle against those who sought to destroy their kind and coming home the winners. That probably made her the damsel in distress or something, but she was choosing to think of herself as the heroine instead. It felt better.

  The trade agreements were in place and running smoothly, and the people e
njoyed trying things from places they'd never been to before. And those members of the Stone Guard who went out to defend their allies did so with pleasure. Those who didn't want to stayed to defend Jontira, and those who opposed all of it had been let go.

  It was kind of amazing to be a part of it all.

  "Your Highness."

  Silvia jumped, shaking herself from her thoughts at the familiar sound of Kain's boots on the polished floor behind her. She caught a glimpse of Comman's amused smile, and she knew that he knew she'd been daydreaming this whole time. He'd probably been talking, too. Curse it.

  "Kain," Comman said, smiling more genuinely. "Thank you for coming."

  "Of course, Highness. You know you have only but to call."

  Silvia rolled her eyes and elbowed Kain in the side when he was close enough. "You know how he feels about the formalities."

  He looked down at her, eyes amused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  He definitely did, and Silvia stifled a giggle behind her hand.

  Comman looked between them, amused and pleased. "You two have been working hard this last movement," he said. "Sil, you have gone between our allies and smoothed the way for this to be the strongest allegiance any of us have ever seen. You keep this whole thing moving, and I am infinitely grateful. Kain, I don't quite have the words to describe how much you've helped me. I would be dead several times over if not for you."

  "It's my job, Your Highness," Kain said, but Silvia saw that he was flushed just a bit at the praise.

  "I know. But you two have also been working without a break since we got back from Earth one movement ago. So, you're going on vacation."

  "What?"

  "Excuse me?"

  The two of them looked at each other and then back at their Prince. Comman just kept smiling. "Just a short one. I need the pair of you too much to send you away for very long. But you're of no use to me if you get burned out. And besides, I know that you could do with some alone time."

  Well, that was fair. With how hard the two of them had been working to get this whole thing up and running and make all the changes that needed to be changed, they hadn't had that much time to just be together. What time they were able to snatch was wonderful, though. Full of sweet moments and hot sex, heated glances and passionate embraces. Usually before they had to dash off to do something else.

  "And who will look after you?" Kain asked, arching an eyebrow.

  "I'm not a child, Kain," Comman said. "And didn't you appoint Litta as your second because you trust her to protect me in your stead?"

  Silvia laughed. "I think he appointed Litta as his second because you told him he had to have one," she said.

  "Hush, you," Kain replied, making a face at her. She just smiled back.

  Comman sighed and flapped his hands at them. "This isn't a discussion. I am your Prince, and I'm telling you to take a vacation. Two weeks on Shennadar, wherever you want to go."

  Silvia shrugged, seeing that there was no point in arguing with their very stubborn leader. "Alright," she said. "Kain, when you get done arguing, come find me and tell me what this Shennadar place is, okay? Thank you, Comman."

  She didn't wait for him to reply, just bowed to the Prince and headed off to wait for Kain to lose the argument with Comman about whether or not they were going on vacation.

  He showed up half an hour later, looking disgruntled but slightly pleased around the edges. Silvia smiled to herself. She knew that Kain worked hard and was tired. He deserved this break.

  "Don't say anything," he said as he came through the door.

  "Who me?" Silvia asked, batting her lashes at him innocently. What would I say?"

  "Something irritating, no doubt. You already know the outcome of my talks with Comman."

  She nodded. "It never pays to argue with him," she said. "He's gotten too good at getting what he wants."

  Kain sighed and flopped onto the bed they shared. “He has. And I can’t help but think that it’s mostly our fault that it’s that way.”

  She giggled at that. “It probably is, but you have to admit that it’s better than the way things used to be.”

  He sighed, which was a sure sign that he agreed with her. Poor Kain, honestly, between the two of them, he never got to win.

  "Do you not want to go on vacation?" Silvia asked. That small voice in her head that told her that Kain wasn't happy with the way things were was getting slightly bigger, and she bit her lip and tried to make it shut up.

  Things had been busy since she'd come here. There had been so much to do, and both of them had been wrapped up in it in one way or another. Sometimes she worried, usually when Kain was tired and snippy, that he regretted bringing her here and secretly wished that she'd stayed on Earth.

  It was one thing to like her when he was far from home, and quite another to have her in his life and on his planet all the time. She just hoped that he didn't mind it too much. But they hadn't talked about it. There hadn't been that much time, and when there was time, she didn't want to bring it up. If it turned out that the traitorous little voice in the back of her head was right, she was going to be heartbroken.

  "I do," Kain said. "I just...I worry about him. Things are so much better now, but that's the prime time for someone to try something. It's so hard to just relax."

  "I think that's the point of him sending you away," Silvia pointed out. "So that you can relax."

  "I could try, I suppose," he said, and then fell silent.

  The two of them sat there, unspeaking for long moments. Silvia's stomach churned with her nerves, and she bit her lip hard, wanting to ask but being too worried about what the answer would be.

  "Have you been happy here?"

  Kain's question came out of nowhere, and she blinked, startled. "What?"

  "I...have you been happy? Sometimes I feel guilty. Sometimes I feel like I brought you here and then you immediately started working for my Prince and making things better for my people, and I'm not sure you got any of the things you wanted out of it."

  For a moment she was speechless. Of all the ways she'd thought this conversation might go, this was definitely not one of them. He thought she was unhappy? "Kain," she said. "I've gotten everything I wanted out of it. I mean, not everything because I also wanted to spend more time with you and that hasn't really happened yet because we're so busy, but Comman is helping with that, so maybe everything. How could you think otherwise?"

  He met her eyes for a moment and then looked away. "I've always been single minded. I wanted to join the Stone Guard and I wanted to join the Prince's Guard, and I achieved both of those things. I want Comman to succeed, and you've been helping him with that, and I just worry that I've somehow manipulated you into it because you care for me. I worry that you want to go back to Earth."

  "Oh, Kain," she said softly. "First of all, if anyone manipulated me into it, it was Comman. And I was aware of it every step of the way. I'm here because I want to be here. I'm here because I made a choice, and what's more, I made it for me. Yes, you being here was one of the really huge perks, but I did this because I wanted it. I've learned more about myself and the things I can do since I've been here than I ever did when I was on Earth. People treat me with respect here, even the ones who still don't know what to make of me. I'm happy. The only thing that would make me happier would be if we were less busy so we could spend more time together."

  "And Comman in his wisdom has made that possible," Kain said, finally giving her a smile. "Alright. Good. I was just...I was worried, and I didn't know how to bring it up."

  Silvia laughed. "Believe it or not, Kain, you weren't the only one worried. I was thinking you just wanted your life back. Without me in it."

  "Never," he said, and he said it in that voice that meant he was sincere. The one he used when he told Comman he was everything their people could want in a Prince. The one he used when he threatened those who would oppose their peace.

  It was such a relief to hear that voice, and
she threw herself at him, laughing when he caught her up as he always did. He drew her up to him and they kissed for a long moment, wrapped up in each other and how much they cared about each other.

  "I want you with me always," Kain murmured against her mouth. "I don't know why I've never told you that."

  "Neither do I," Silvia said back. "Say it again."

  "I want you with me always. Running into you was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love you."

  "Same here. I would have gotten eaten by monsters if you hadn't shown up."

  "Romantic."

  "That's me. But I love you, too."

  Kain snorted a laugh and put her back down on her feet with a smile. "Good to know. So. We're going on vacation."

  "We are. And it's going to be fun. I don't know anything about this place we're going to, but I haven't been on vacation in years."

  "I'll pull up some holo vids of it and you can pick a place," Kain told her. "But first, I think I have about a movement's worth of showing you how glad I am that you're here to do. It's going to take a while, so you should get comfortable."

  And then he picked her up and tossed her onto the massive bed.

  Silvia laughed, feeling light hearted and pleased. It had been a while since she'd felt so secure, so right with the way her life was going, and she wanted to savor every single second of it.

  About the Author

  Ashley West was raised in a small Midwest town. She has always been a big fan of science fiction and paranormal books and movies. Her all-time favorite movies are the first three Star Wars movies. She started writing at a young age and has not looked back since. Ashley brings her worlds to life with vivid details and likeable characters.

  On her spare time, she enjoys painting, jogging, and curling up next to her favorite books. If you enjoy Ashley’s titles and wish to receive a Free Sci-Fi Alien Romance, stay updated on all her new releases and book giveaways, please visit her website.