by Maia Starr
“Right,” I nodded. “Thanks.”
Then it occurred to me…if humans were being brought back to help them repopulate, how did it make someone like Naxra feel?
“I would hate it,” I said, and she tilted her head in my direction. “If someone brought a new species in to do something I couldn’t do.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?” the woman teased.
“No, I’m being honest. I can’t imagine how that must feel.”
In truth, I was trying to gain her sympathy or at least show her I could empathize with her. Anything I could do to try and gain more of her trust.
“Being replaced?” she said, crossing her arms casually. “Yeah, not the best feeling in the world. It’s funny you say that, though, considering.”
I blinked. “Considering?” I repeated.
“Forget it,” she said in a tone that indicated she knew more than she was willing to say. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Ever thought about starting a rebellion?” I offered nervously. “If you don’t like the females coming, then you could just…leave us here. Stay on Earth, get tested. Why not?”
She looked at me, considering it.
“Intriguing, but I know people who have gone against the Council, tried to bring the humans back, and they were banished.”
I swallowed. “So? If you don’t like it there, what does it matter?”
She tapped the tip of her nose and then shook her head. “The way you humans think astounds me. No loyalty. Besides, why should I get banished just so I can stay here and be your test subject?”
“You could make a life here,” I offered with a small shrug.
“I’d rather head my army,” she said smugly. “But nice try.”
Chapter Twelve
Korus
Five women. Five willing girls.
That’s all it took to get me back into the good graces of the Council.
“You sure you know what you’re doing here?” Joshua asked, setting a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded. We had it all worked out. I’d preformed the calling, knew where to bring the girls. Naxra answered my roar, and I handed the females off to her. It turned out that Naxra had Brooklyn at an abandoned space station, the first place we ever attacked when we came to the Earth.
I have to give it to her; the white shifter was fond of the familiar.
Unbeknownst to her, Joshua had gone ahead with the SAEW army, planning their attack at the base.
We waited for Naxra to take the girls indoors and then I shifted, taking to the air, and my mouth flooded with a single shot of fire. I blew it into the air, a signal to Joshua, and he readied his army.
I told Joshua once I fired off to go find Brooklyn and the other girls. I trusted him enough to believe he would get her somewhere safe so I could take care of this, send the Parduss back to Cadir and away from the humans.
It’s not that I didn’t think we needed the girls. In fact, I had been one of the biggest supporters of bringing the humans in…and some of them were happy. But falling in love with Brooklyn, I now knew there had to be a better system for this.
They didn’t have to be slaves or forced to help us. Humans could be good, deep down. They wanted to help. If we could get them to love us, the way Brooklyn loved me, then it would be that much easier
Shooting fire into the night, I attracted the rest of the Parduss, calling them into battle. My heart sank as they emerged, taking to the air to fight me.
It was enough of a distraction to give Joshua and his men a way out.
“You’re going back on your deal?” Naxra demanded as she swooped into vision.
“That’s me,” I shouted back, and she watched in fury as the SAEW ship took to the sky, saving the girls in one grand farewell, taking them away from the battlefield.
“You are so predictable, it sickens me!” the woman yelled, taking a sharp right turn.
“And yet you fell for it anyway!” I laughed.
She sneered at that. “I’ll take any opportunity to destroy you.”
Naxra chased after the ship as the other Parduss came after me. There were at least five waiting to tear me apart. I flew as close to the laser turrets as possible, my heart aching at what I had to do.
I pressed my eyes shut and went stiff, allowing myself to freefall, hurtling down toward the ground as my brethren flew by the turrets only to be flooded with a barrage of lasers by the humans.
The battle was quick, with one shifter knocking one of the turrets off its hinge, sending Joshua’s men down with it—but not before the guns had ripped holes through its body and left the attacking shifters lifeless.
Two shifters hit the ground with a loud thud, and the force of it nearly knocked me over.
I shifted again, making more room for myself amidst the chaos. Silence was all around us, the gunfire ceasing and leaving gunpowder plumes by the turrets. I swallowed as I looked at the bodies of my people, the ones who weren’t able to think for themselves.
And then Brooklyn emerged and my heart leaped. Her dark hair shimmered under the moonlight, Joshua walking out with her, urging her back. I knew that would have been impossible. Once she had something in her mind, there would be no changing it.
“You made a deal with Naxra, for me,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Yes,” I said with a single nod.
“And you almost sacrificed those girls,” she said with sob etching up her throat.
“No,” I said, reaching out for her and watching as she backed away from me.
The wind blew, causing her hair to blow over her face. She waited until the breeze died to brush it aside. Her eyes were fixated on mine, and she shook her head. “Those girls could have been my sister, and you would have traded them off for me.”
“No,” I shook my head, vehemently denying her words. “I had Joshua with me the whole time,” I said, gesturing to the man who had somehow gone from trying to tear us apart to being on both of our sides. “There was never a chance of that happening. And it didn’t happen.”
“Korus, I…”
“Please,” I said, grabbing her small hands into mine. “I know, I lied. And you hate that. But what was I supposed to say to you? How was I supposed to tell you after everything you’ve been through? I love you. I didn’t want you to…no,” I corrected, “I couldn’t have you hate me.”
“You’re one of them?” she said.
I knew she’d already seen me, knew she had seen my true form. But she had to ask—had to hear it for herself.
I nodded. “Yes,” I confirmed.
“Please, try and understand what happened to us. To my people.”
“I already know!” she shouted in frustration, taking a step back from me. “It’s sad, and I’m sorry!” she continued, bursting into tears, her face contorting into a tortured sob. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse to war with us or—”
“—We’re dying off!” I shouted, trying to get through to her. “And the Parduss are gone,” I said, softer now. “They’re gone.”
“We got ‘em, B,” Joshua added gently.
“For now,” she added like it wasn’t good enough.
“I was trying to change it, Brooklyn,” I insisted, pulling her into my arms, even as she struggled against me. “All of it. Why do you think I was flying that stupid ship in the first place? Those girls were on Cadir, and I was bringing them back. But Naxra shot down our ship when she found out I betrayed them.”
“It’s too much,” she cried. “This, me…you. I can’t.”
“Please,” I begged, feeling my emotions getting the better of me then. “Try and understand how desperate we were.”
“You killed us,” she said sharply. “We didn’t invade your planet. That happened the other way around. And you were with them, weren’t you?” She let the silence hang.
“How am I supposed to believe anything you say?” she asked, still enveloped in my embrace. She looked up at me with no light in h
er eyes, just numbness. “How am I supposed to believe that you weren’t sent here as a spy? That you didn’t come to help them take us?”
“Brooklyn, what do you want? I've been trying for so long to make this right between our people! I want things to be right! I tried bringing them back. I threw everything away just for the chance to save your people, and you're mad because, what? They weren't the right ones?”
She pushed away from me. “I want you to leave,” she snapped. “I want you to fix this, and then I want you to leave.”
“I’ll fix it,” I said. “But I won’t leave.”
“I need you to go,” she repeated.
“If I go back, they’ll kill me. I betrayed the council.”
“Then go somewhere else,” she said with a defeated shrug.
I narrowed my gaze at her, searching her eyes deeply. “I love you.”
She nodded, strong at first, and then fell back into one loud sob. “I love you, too. But it’s not enough.”
“It is enough,” I argued, unwilling to let her throw us away.
“Korus, stop!” she yelled, “I said no!”
“I have spent years trying to undo what’s been done, and you would shoot that down? Do you want these attacks to keep happening? Do you want me to stop trying?” I begged, furious.
She shook her head. “Of course not.”
"Be my partner. Help me change everything. We can be the example, not the exception. Let's start something here. Look! Look," I pointed to Joshua, "I've already been talking with Joshua and the SAEW about doing an exchange treaty. We can fix this."
“Not to interrupt,” Joshua said quickly, “but we’ve got company.”
“Then go fix it,” Brooklyn said softly. “Please.”
I wouldn’t lose her. Not now. She could cry and fight me all she wanted, but I could see the bigger picture. We were meant to be together. If she needed time, I’d give that to her. If she needed proof that I loved her, she’d damn well get it, but there was no way I would give up on us.
“I’m going,” I said and kissed her forcefully and feeling a sick relief bubble up in my stomach as she kissed me back. “And then I’m coming back for you.”
Brooklyn said nothing, but I never gave her the chance to. It was time to end this.
I made my way to the landing zone, a wide stretch of metal ground used by the humans to load goods from the space colonies and one of the areas big enough to hold my true form.
My body stretched and expanded until the transformation was complete.
I felt strong and ready to fight. I looked up and saw Naxra overhead, just low enough for me to know she’d been watching me.
With a mouth wide open I fired a warning shot of flames, which she dodged expertly and then began to make her descent.
I knew she commanded the Parduss army and that with one gesture she could have the shifters swarming me, tearing me apart with the sharp teeth and sheer strength, but I knew she wouldn’t. Because for Naxra and I, this battle was a long time coming.
It was our time to fight. This wasn’t about forgiveness of the council anymore or a battle for the humans. Naxra knew she’d already lost that war. This wasn’t about winning some prize—this was about honor.
We had been rivals as long as I could remember. When the council decided whether to seek out other female lifeforms for our species’ survival, I supported the decision to go after the humans—Naxra vehemently opposed it.
We had almost been lovers. We’d begun building a life together, making plans for our love. She couldn’t produce children, and I accepted that and thought no less of her for it.
But once that decision was made, once I opposed her, she’d made me her enemy.
Now it was time to put this fight to rest.
Stadium lights lit up the spaceport loading docks, and she finally made her appearance known. Various Parduss perched around us and cawed, their bellows shaking the ground in a great war cry.
Naxra swooped down, looking stoic and regal, her mane whipping in the wind she created with her landing. She expanded her wings, the white, transparent plagiopatagium looking silken and strong in the starlight.
“Let’s end this,” I called to her, a communication only a Parduss could understand through our high-pitched, throaty cries.
“You shouldn’t have taken them,” Naxra said in a sing-song voice, irritated but not as angry as I thought. Perhaps, she didn’t care at all that the girls were taken. She had never wanted them there to begin with. Maybe she was only furious that I’d made it impossible to come back to Cadir. To ever be with her.
“We need them,” I called back, starting to circle her as she did me. “But not like this.”
Naxra vaulted toward me and laughed wickedly when I flinched. The sudden movement caused the other Parduss to swoop down instinctively to fight me, but quickly she shouted, “No!” to them, whipping her tail out in protest against their involvement.
“Haven’t you lost enough?” I hissed. “Don’t do this. Go home!”
She raised a brow, ice blue eyes looking determined and powerful. Then she swung her neck wide and bashed her tail into me, sending me flying across the slippery ground. I cried out at the punch and let out a deep wail. I charged her and flew up before she could touch me.
Naxra followed me into the air, knowing she could fly faster and made a maze of her path so that it was nearly impossible to catch her.
I flew to the ground, cracking the pavement as I landed and blazed fire into the sky, forcing her down.
She did just as I thought she would and landed gruffly, doing her best to smash into me as she hit the ground.
Coming up behind her, I bellowed with such force it knocked her back. I took advantage of the opportunity and bashed her with my tail, trying my best to incapacitate her.
Still in no mood to cooperate, Naxra took back to the air and started flying in dizzying circles. It was something she did when she was getting ready for her next big move.
“Naxra!” I yelled at her, urging her to stop as I flew toward her.
I wouldn’t kill her.
It was a precarious position. I didn’t want her dead, nor did I desire any of the other Parduss to die, but I couldn’t let them attack the humans anymore.
Naxra met my eyes furiously and changed direction, heading for a lookout tower that was ringing off a WORP-WORP-WORP noise from the sirens that had been activated. At the very top of it stood Brooklyn and Joshua, both watching the battle.
I pressed my eyes shut, clenching them in frustration and then felt my body grow hot. I raced toward Naxra, frantic as golden light began to build in her mouth.
Without a second thought, I slammed into her, opening my mouth to her neck and sinking my teeth into it with several bites as hard as I could until she began to fall.
I whipped her back and forth as we descended, trying to shake the life out of her.
I landed first, her still in my mouth, and made sure that her body fell on top of mine. Then, once I had hoisted her off of me, I made the decision to shift—to show her my submission.
My frail human form stood before her, the massive white dragon. She was dripping with blood that splattered to the ground, much larger looking now from my shifted perspective.
“Naxra,” I repeated weakly.
I could hear Brooklyn scream, a protest to my giving up, my transformation. With a hard swallow, I turned away from her, focusing on Naxra.
The great shifter stomped her foot against the ground petulantly, causing the pavement to break and spike as though there were an earthquake. I shook under her force, falling and getting back up several times before she finally stopped.
“You surrender?” Naxra finally said, wheezing out from her wounded throat. All the humans could hear was the beastly scream from the dragon, but I could hear the words as clear as day.
The noise the white shifter was making, the low groans and liquids spewing through holes made me sick to my stomach.
�
��I’ve won,” I clarified, reaching a hand out toward her. “Give up.”
She looked at me curiously and then knelt down slowly. The effort of the gesture caused her to collapse onto the ground. Her long neck was stretched across the plains of the pavement, and for the first time ever, she looked broken.
Her bumped and scaled skin rested oddly against the ground, like it didn’t belong there, and she looked cold and pale. She had fallen on her side, eyes skyward. Her whole body heaved with tired, defeated breaths. “You would choose her over me?” she surmised, not looking at me.
“Shift,” I said.
“No,” she tried to shake her head but couldn’t, the blood pooling around her neck. “I’ll die.”
I nodded. She was probably right. In larger form, the injury wouldn’t be as intense, but if she shifted, her entire neck would be bleeding out.
“Go home,” I said.
She moved uncomfortably and looked me over, then laughed, “You would choose her over me? A human?”
“That was never what I wanted.” It was the truth. “You let us go.”
“No,” she said, “You always wanted a human. Someone to save you. And now look, you have it.”
I swallowed awkwardly and felt my heart lilt.
“It’s fine,” she said tiredly, closing her eyes. “You and I were always better friends…when we were enemies.”
“Send them back,” I urged her, fearing she would die at any moment. “Please. They’ll listen to your orders.”
Her eyes snapped open, droopy and tired, and she seemed like she was trying hard to focus on my request.
“Please,” I said sincerely, “Give these humans a fighting chance. We need them, Naxra, not for breeding, but to help you, to help all of the Eniwan. They can find what went wrong—maybe even cure you.”
“Enough.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, smiling from the corner of her lips. “Tell Brooklyn…I don’t owe her a favor anymore.”
Then she arched her head back, trying desperately to call out to the rest of the Parduss. She was too weak to give her command, so I shifted back and walked over to her, nudging her with my snout.
It was just enough to jolt her awake, and in unison, we made a furious cry of retreat. A warning to all Parduss to go home. A command only Naxra could give.