by Emma Castle
Sef scooped Harper’s body up in his arms.
“What do you wish to do with the King brothers?” Trevlin, one of the guardians, asked. “Do your orders still stand?” Clearly the man thought he’d just said that to comfort the human woman.
“Yes. I want to deal with them personally. My surveillance shows that they wanted no bloodshed of our people. That may well save them from having their memories wiped, but they will need to be rehabilitated. Keeping Harper as my charl will go a long way for their compliance.”
Trevlin smirked. “So you wish to use her to keep them in line, and use them to keep her as your charl?”
“Exactly.” He knew his little human would be furious when she woke up. Furious, afraid, and hurting because he’d betrayed her and lied to her. Now he just needed to find a way to convince her that he cared about her and that there would be no more lies between them.
Trevlin confirmed something with a subordinate and faced Sef. “The ship is ready. Any other orders?”
“Yes, close the bar and the auto shop for now. Contact the woman employed by the garage named Ruby. She is to be given control over the bar and the shop until I decide what to do with them. Station a guardian in the region to watch over the businesses and residences clandestinely until we are sure they are safe. Also, clean out the apartment on the first floor. Have everything inside packed up and sent to my residence at the Kansas City Center. My charl will need her belongings and clothing to help her feel comfortable.”
He started to leave the bar but paused to give Trevlin one more order. “You will find some blueprints in the main desk of the auto shop. Pack those as well.” Then he carried Harper to the waiting transport ship. A number of humans had gathered a little distance away to watch what was going on, but no one dared to stop them from taking their prisoners on board.
Sef held Harper close to his chest as he headed for a small set of living quarters inside the transport. The ship was designed for planetary travel only, but it did have a bedroom and a bathroom. He carried Harper inside and pulled back the covers on the bed before laying her down. He tucked her in and left her locked securely in the cabin. The sedative he had given her would last for a few hours. Long enough for him to get her settled at his residence in the Center. The challenge of winning her trust back would begin, and he knew it was going to be a tough battle.
11
Harper came awake slowly, as though caught in the thin, glittering fabric of a deep and hauntingly beautiful dream. She had lain in Seth’s arms as they had spoken of the stars and the secrets they held for their futures. Seth had seen her for who she was, as both a woman and an inventor. She wasn’t broken; she wasn’t damaged. With him, she was just herself.
She stirred, and the tendrils of the dream fell away. She stared in confusion at the room around her. She was in a bedroom, lying on a large bed, the fluffy white comforter a gentle contrast to the robin’s-egg-blue walls. She peeled the comforter away and saw she was still in her pajamas. Pain flared in her skull, no doubt a reaction to the sedative Seth had given her, and she whimpered as everything came rushing back.
The fight, the arrests, the betrayal, the aliens taking her brothers away, her begging for Seth’s mercy, agreeing to be his charl, his slave, to keep her brothers from having their memories erased.
“What have I done?” Her voice broke as she covered her face with her hands.
She remained in bed awhile longer, letting her panic and grief subside before she ventured out of the room. They sure as hell weren’t in Lawrence anymore, but she had no idea where they were. The window in the bedroom had been sealed shut, and she thought it wise not to break it. But through it she saw only dense trees that blocked her line of sight from anything farther than twenty yards.
As she explored her surroundings, she realized she was in a small but comfortable-sized house of two floors. The bedroom she’d woken up in was upstairs. There were three other rooms—one guest bedroom, an office, and a large bathroom. Downstairs she found the kitchen, the dining room, and a cozy living room with a large monitor. Everything was sleek in design and modern with a soft neutral palette of white, beige, and a pale frosty blue.
And it was all empty. There was no one else around. She’d found the front door locked as well as the downstairs windows. She still couldn’t see anything outside except a lovely garden and trees. She padded barefoot onto the kitchen tile as she continued to look around. She licked her lips, desperate for a glass of water.
“Hello?” she called out, half hoping Seth would answer and half hoping she would never see the traitorous asshole ever again.
A soft, lilting female voice echoed all around her. “Hello. How may I help you?”
Harper leaped nearly a foot in the air before she realized no one was actually there. Which meant it had to be the house. The Krinar version of Alexa, perhaps?
“Um…I would like a glass of water, please.” She crossed her arms over her middle, her gaze sweeping around the kitchen nervously. There was a sink but no faucet and no glasses that she could find in any cabinets.
“Certainly,” the voice replied.
A second later a panel on the wall opened, and a tall blue glass full of water was visible on a shelf. Harper took the glass and marveled at how the wall panel closed itself back up without leaving a trace of having been there.
She reached out and ran her fingertips along the wall, using her nails to try to find even the slightest seam where the panel had to be, but she found nothing.
“I’ll be damned.” She would love to know how they did that.
“I’m sorry, can you please repeat your request?” the voice asked.
“Oh, it was nothing,” Harper said, and then she spoke again. “Hey, what should I call you?”
“I have no name designation,” the voice said politely.
Well, Alexa and Siri were too cliché. “Um… How about Linda? You sound like a Linda to me.”
“I will respond to Linda if you wish.”
Harper grinned. This was kind of fun. “Excellent. Okay, Linda, where am I?” She felt like she was playing twenty questions with a robot.
“You are in the Krinar Center just north of Kansas City in the United States of America, planet Earth, system Sol—”
“Got it. Thanks, Linda.” She didn’t need Linda giving her the full universe address. She finished her glass of water and pondered what else she could ask.
“Who owns this place?” She hopped up onto the kitchen island and waited.
“This unit is currently occupied by Commander Sef.”
Go figure. Advanced alien computer technology and this one had a lisp. “I think you mean Seth. How do you spell it?”
“His name is spelled S-e-f. Commander Sef is a leading guardian of the Krinar people. His brother is Ambassador Soren. Sef is the son of Sarina and Sarket.”
“Holy shit, his brother is the ambassador?” How had she not seen the resemblance before now? She felt stupid…but Soren had dark hair and dark eyes, not like Sef.
“That is correct.” Linda’s voice continued to echo through the kitchen.
Harper leaped off the kitchen island and headed for the front door again. She was done. She wasn’t sticking around.
“Linda, be a dear and unlock the front door, please.”
“I’m sorry. My orders are to keep you confined to the house.”
“Who gave you those orders?”
“Commander Sef. I follow all orders he provides.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Harper growled. “Linda, where’s your control box?” Harper wasn’t completely useless with computers. The coding made her head hurt, but the basic engineering of a system was well within her talents. Of course, this was Krinar tech, so…
“I have no control box.”
That answer deflated Harper’s hopes, but she wasn’t out of options. “Do you have any kind of system settings that I could adjust?”
“My systems are controlled remotely by Commander Sef.
Should I message him your concerns?”
“No! Definitely don’t do that. Just let me think a minute.” She began to pace around the living room. Thankfully, Linda remained silent.
“Linda, where is Sef right now?”
“His location has been designated as classified.”
Great, just great. “When will he be back?”
“Approximately three minutes. I alerted him the moment you woke up, as per his instructions.”
Harper stilled. “Linda, if you were an actual person, I would punch you in the face.”
Linda did not respond, which was probably a good thing. If she got into an argument with someone who wasn’t even real, she would need some serious therapy. Harper checked every possible exit again, and when those possibilities were exhausted, she tried throwing a chair at the large window facing the living room. It didn’t even scratch the glass.
“Shit!” Harper flung herself onto the couch, hating how soft and comfortable it turned out to be.
A few minutes later, right on schedule, the door to the residence opened. Harper stared at the man in the doorway in confusion. Who was he? She recognized him, and yet she didn’t.
He was dark-haired now, not blond, and the sunlight behind him hinted at lighter russet tones in his hair. And his eyes… Gone were the endless depths of stormy blue. Now they were dark-brown irises that swirled with a subtle golden hue. But his face was the same, the strong chin, hard jaw, and that damnable sensuous mouth.
“Harper.” He said her name softly, though it now lacked the slight midwestern accent of her sweet, seductive drifter. Her imposter. Her heart tightened in pain. She stared at him from the couch for a long minute.
“Was any of it real?” she asked. “Was anything you told me true?”
Sef closed the door. She kept her eyes glued to his movements to see if there was a trick to opening it, but she didn’t see anything aside from a slight flick of his hand above the knob. Then he walked around the couch and sat down beside her. She shrank away, needing to keep her distance. This man was a stranger, after all. And dangerous.
“Much of it was true,” he admitted, then reached for her leg as though to touch her knee. She jerked away, and he pulled his hand back in response.
“What was true, exactly?” she demanded, but her tone was softer, her throat still tight with pain.
“My feelings for you,” he said.
Harper scoffed.
“Yes, well…I was truthful about my brother and parents, though I had to alter the specifics.” He dragged his fingers through his hair as though trying to decide how to talk to her.
“It isn’t enough,” she countered. “Too much of who you claimed to be was a lie, right down to your looks. I trusted you! You took advantage of that trust, and you used me, didn’t you?”
He didn’t argue with her, didn’t insist that what was between them had nothing to do with Mason and Liam.
“Harper…I’m sorry. I didn’t… You weren’t part of the plan.”
“And that makes everything okay, huh?” She curled her arms around her knees as she drew them up to her chest. They were silent a long, uncomfortable moment before she spoke again.
“I want to see my brothers.”
Something flashed in Sef’s dark eyes, but she couldn’t read it. “You will when you have accepted your place as my charl.”
“Can’t wait to play with your human toy?” she shot back.
“No,” he growled. “I need to be sure of your obedience to me to keep you safe. It’s clear that not even our own Centers are safe from resistance fighters. I don’t want harm to befall you. Once you trust me, you’ll have your freedom again.”
“I don’t believe you, and I sure as hell don’t trust you.”
He glared at her. “I don’t care what you believe. I speak the truth, Harper.” He rose from the couch and addressed the room.
“Please prepare two salads and namiba juice.”
Linda replied, “Of course, Commander Sef.”
He entered the kitchen and a moment later removed two plates and two glasses from the wall.
Harper watched closely to see if he did anything special or different than she had in the kitchen earlier. “How does she do that?”
“I am not able to discuss our technology with you. Only charls trusted by their cheren are allowed to know such things.”
“Well, I guess I’ll never know,” she said, staring hard at him. “Because I fucking hate you.”
“No, you don’t. You have an affection for me. That hasn’t changed. Now come and eat your lunch. You slept for seven hours, and I know you’re hungry.”
She really was hungry but it didn’t matter that her stomach was rumbling or how good food really sounded right then. She was too pissed off to give him the satisfaction.
“Harper, you will eat, or I will do something you will not like.”
“If you are looking for a willing pet, threats of violence are just going to make me hate you more.”
He arched one brow. “Oh, I had no intention of being violent. I intend to take you to my bed and remind you how much you do like me. Those are your two options. Eat, or be taken my bed.”
They shared a look, hers full of rage, his one of firm determination. He wanted to take her to bed and remind her how much she liked it when they fucked? Damn him! She wanted to scream at his quietly arrogant demeanor.
If she had something sharp or heavy nearby, she would’ve grabbed it and thrown it at him. Unfortunately, the only thing near her was a pillow. She punched the pillow once before stalking over to the dining room table as he set a salad bowl down in front of her.
“Can’t a girl get a decent burger around here?” she asked. It was nice to take a potshot at his people’s veganism. Unfortunately, her words didn’t seem to faze him.
“We have excellent meat substitutes that you would never be able to distinguish from the real thing, but try the salad first. I think you’ll like it.”
He took the chair opposite hers, neither of them speaking as they ate. And she hated to admit it, but the salad was good. She reached for the glass of juice and took a hesitant sip. It was amazing, like cranberry juice with hints of lemon and cinnamon.
“What did you call this again?” she asked, unable to deny her curiosity.
His brows rose, but he didn’t look displeased. “That’s namiba juice. It’s a little like your apples in shape and size, but it grows into a blue fruit when it’s ripe. We’ve been growing several of our native fruits and vegetables in our Centers here, testing in controlled batches to determine if they will be invasive or not. Earth’s soil composition is not too different from Krina, and we are able to keep some of our more vulnerable flora from going extinct now.”
“Extinct? What do you mean?”
Sef hesitated, and Harper studied his face, searching for any trace of the man she’d started to fall in love with. “Soon life on our planet will be unsustainable. Krina’s star is far older than your sun, and it is dying. We have time still, and our people are good at thinking and planning ahead. Eons ago, we sent the seeds of evolution out into the galaxy, into what you call ‘Goldilocks Zones’ where life could potentially survive. Your planet took well to our genetic material, and when what you call hominids began to develop, we adjusted your evolution further. In some ways, you are like distant cousins to us. As a result, you are biologically compatible with us—not for procreation at the moment, but certainly for sex.” His gaze swept over her, and despite her best efforts, her body flared to life as she remembered all too well how compatible they were.
She cleared her throat and focused on their discussion. “Were there other planets that responded like ours?”
Sef shook his head. “There have been other planets with habitable environments, but the life existing there is either incompatible or not friendly or developed enough. Like Zaruth.”
He took another bite, and she did the same. When he didn’t go on to explain what Zaruth was, sh
e pressed him on it.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s Zaruth?”
“It’s a planet my brother, Soren, explored. Long before we came here, Soren was an explorer for our people. He journeyed to planets in other systems that had been seeded long ago, conducting progress reports and looking for evolved races with potential or that required further biocompatibility adjustments. But during his expedition to Zaruth, he was captured by the humanoids who live there. He was kept prisoner for more than three hundred years in the most unimaginable conditions. We didn’t know the depth of what had happened to him until he came home. My parents held out hope he was alive for about fifty years. I…” His voice grew rough. “I never gave up, even when everyone told me to. I could tell he was still alive.”
She saw the ghost of that pain lingering in those golden-brown eyes, which she understood all too well.
After her parents’ car had been found and only her father’s body was pulled from the car, she had prayed that her mother had survived, but that was impossible. Still, she’d believed deep inside that she was alive somehow. But as the years had passed, Harper had finally been forced to accept that her mother’s body had simply washed away.
“So what you said about Soren, that was true?”
“After a fashion. Centuries instead of months and another planet instead of a forest. But essentially true.”
“And you really are twins?”
“Yes. It’s very rare on Krina, far more so than with humans. And are were natural twins. Since the development of nanocytes increased our lifespan exponentially, our birth rate declined to prevent overpopulation. Today births are rare, and most Krinar females do not naturally conceive—their children are carefully planned genetically to ensure good health. My brother and I were a happy accident for our parents.”
Harper sensed where he was headed. “So you and Soren have a deep connection, the whole twin thing people always talk about?”
He nodded. “We can sense each other most of the time. General feelings, anyway.”
“So for three centuries you sensed he was alive, and no one believed you?” As much as she didn’t like Sef or what he had done to her brothers, she did feel sympathy for him. To lose someone that close to him for so long and still know he was alive while everyone else said he had to be dead? She couldn’t imagine the pain.