by Poppy Rhys
****
Gi’Ren and Val’Zun shared a black glance, chests heaving with the struggle to restrain Ta’Ra’Enn and pull him to his feet. They watched on as their younger brother held the small, breeding human with tenderness. They had not known what fascination he held for the creature. Ta’Ra’Enn continued to spew vile and vulgar promises of what he’d do to the human after he killed all three of them, and Gi’Ren and Val’Zun slimly avoided his talons as they curled and grabbed for anything they could sink into while they waited for Val’Ja’s command.
****
Lucia wheezed as her body felt heat and she began to shiver. Pinpricks littered her arms as blood began to make its way into her numb limbs. When she opened her eyes and saw Soren’s face looking down at her, she was sure it wasn’t real.
I’ve finally cracked.
Laughter shook her body in lazy jolts and it scratched from her throat, bringing on a new peel of hacking. Droplets of blood sprayed Soren’s chin and neck as she didn’t even bother to cover her lips. The entire act was exhausting and when her chest shivered with another breath, she made herself go limp to reserve energy while her eyes glazed over as she stared at the ceiling once more.
****
Soren’s nostrils flared, gusting with his outbursts of air after each lungful. He reached up, ripping the chains from the ceiling with a forceful jerk before he carefully laid Lucia’s bloodied, weak body against the floor out of the way.
His black gaze fell on Ta’Ra’Enn as his brothers restrained him between them. When they let go and backed away, Soren lunged at his oppressor and the bottom feeding creature that’d trespassed on every conceivable level by abusing what was his.
Ta’Ra’Enn lunged for him at the same time, thick talons raised and ready to be used like curved knives for slicing. They grappled and screeched and roared, the sound alone enough to scare any creature with a sense of self preservation, far, far away. Soren’s body whipped to the side and his elbow cracked the sensitive snout of Ta’Ra’Enn, eliciting a shrill howl that would, at any other time, make Soren fall to his knees in pain. Ta’Ra’Enn kicked out, his lethal feet tearing through a thin layer of skin on Soren’s thigh. The adrenaline was so high, Soren barely felt it as he pulled back, dipped and rammed his shoulder into Ta’Ra’Enn’s chest, roaring as he pushed until they both hit the wall with a sickening crack. He heard and felt cartilage and bones break. Rearing back, Soren sunk his claws into Ta’Ra’Enn’s shoulders and slammed him to the ground in his weakened state, not letting him get the upper hand.
Soren’s fists pummeled his sensitive snout when he pinned him to the ground and roared with pleasure as small bones crunched. It was music to his ears.
“You took what is mine!” he ripped out a talon.
“You abused what is mine!” he dislocated and tore off Ta’Ra’Enn’s right arm.
More screams and the sickening sounds of blood gushing fueled Soren.
“You defiled what is mine!” he bared his teeth and bit down, thick incisors scraping against bone as his jaws clamped viciously and tore his other arm from his body. Soren was covered in black blood as he continued to hack away.
“MINE!” he bellowed and slashed Ta’Ra’Enn’s throat with his black, dripping claws through tendons and bone until his head was free of his body and Soren was slashing at sludge.
Soren sucked in breath after breath as madness gripped his mind and he slumped on his knees, Trep blood drooling from his teeth like syrup and covering his body from head to toe. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was exhilarating and revenge tasted sweet. He spit to the side, ridding himself of the foul liquid and swiped a hand over his face to wipe off the bits of flesh.
Lucia moaned and the chains quivered.
Soren snapped out of his euphoria and rushed to Lucia, cradling her to his chest once more as he looked to his brothers. Their expressions were wary as they watched him through new eyes. “She needs medical attention,” he rasped and headed for the door, the chains dragging behind him. He cursed, and then nodded his thanks when Gi’Ren picked up the excess chain so they could move quickly.
Lucia’s noisy, hissing breaths grated on his mind and he wished he could bring Ta’Ra’Enn back to once more slice him into ribbons. She continued to bleed and the fact that Soren couldn’t do anything about it made him want to roar with frustration. Would A’Drast be so cruel as to take her from him for good when he only just got her back?
Once they were on the ship, Soren had laid Lucia on a cot and covered her shivering body, whispering to her that he was getting help for her, that they were on their way home. Her gaze looked straight through him and it chilled Soren to the bone. He left her to walk the few feet away to the command center. Soren kept her in his peripherals as he comm’d Angus.
“I have her,” Soren rasped. “She will not stop bleeding. Loo-Sha needs immediate medical attention.”
“We will be at port, waiting with doctors,” Angus’ eyes were wet. “Thank you, Soren.”
For the next hour, Soren stayed at Lucia’s side, watching her go in and out of consciousness. Sometimes it seemed she would recognize him and other times, she just seemed lost. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he watched her grow paler and bleed through the sheets wrapping her body. His constant growl could not be contained. Soren was scared for her and it maddened him.
****
Lucia’s mind was numb, even though her body was warm and wet in some places. Soren’s presence was calming and his heat sent welcome shivers through her body that gulped any extra warmth it could suck up. He whispered to her about home and help. She’d turn her head to look at him, sapping up more of her energy and it took all she had to climb back to consciousness when she seeped into blackness.
Suddenly Lucia was being hauled up. A new burn slashed her nerves and breath whistled past her lips in protest. Leave me be, her mind told her mouth to speak. Dry air hit her face and she dangled like a rag in his arms, too weak to even consider trying to move. Her head lolled against her shoulders and the world rushed by, blurs of people surrounding her and the stench of chemicals. For a certain amount of time, she could swear multiple people were saying her name. Light shined into her eyes, leaving behind bright spots that clouded her vision.
Another needle skittered her arm and a greater warmth spread like a cozy fire through her veins. Her heavy lids needed no further convincing as they slid shut and she drifted on a wave of drugs.
****
Soren stood in the lobby of the hospital with the rest of the Herana residence. He was still covered in dried Trep blood and he kept forgetting about it until he’d catch someone staring at him like he was the stuff of nightmares. His claws were still dangerously long and crusted with pieces of gummy flesh. No part of him was clean. Soren refused to leave until Lucia was out of surgery.
Gi’Ren and Val’Zun sat there too, watching him and waiting along with everyone else. He still hadn’t explained what Lucia meant to him, but by their dissecting gazes and his actions regarding Ta’Ra’Enn, they knew. “What?” he fumed, stalking back and forth.
“You know what,” Gi’Ren said, his eyes sweeping over the Herana family, and then landing on Soren. He could tell Gi’Ren was treading lightly. “You cannot mate her.” Grams huffed in Gi’Ren’s direction.
Soren’s growl clicked along as he continued moving. “I think it is too late for that talk now.” He wasn’t going to give Lucia up. The king and queen would have to deal with it. “She carries my young.”
Val’Zun’s eyes widened.
“Even if she did not,” Soren continued. “I would not give her up.”
“She is human,” Gi’Ren scoffed. “She will never be accepted. Not by the people, not by our mother, not by our father.”
Soren’s hands clenched and unclenched, tail whipping and snapping with agitation. “I will make them accept her.”
Val’Zun had the sense to be less combative in his tone. “You know that will not happen. You would h
ave her and your youngling pariahs?”
“Leave her with her people,” Gi’Ren said.
“She is mine!” Soren roared, making every individual in the lobby jump. He breathed harder, trying to calm himself down. “She will be a princess to our people and they will love her, as I do.” His voice was more level. “Our youngling will be accepted by our people and they will love her, as I already do.”
Gi’Ren groaned and Val’Zun continued to watch Soren.
“Why do these humans call you ‘Soren’?” Val’Zun asked.
“It is the name Loo-Sha gave me when she freed me from enslavement under Ta’Ra’Enn,” Soren calmed down a little more. “I had lost my memories and I did not get them back until today. At Loo-Sha’s coaxing, I underwent a procedure, which is the only reason you are both here right now. I would not know you otherwise.”
Gi’Ren and Val’Zun let this sink in. “We owe her a great debt for bringing you back to us,” Val’Zun nodded. “Her family will want for nothing, but you should leave her here where she will be with her people and those who love her.”
“I love her,” Soren growled his protest, unable to stand still. “If she does not go, I will not go.”
“You would abandon your people again?” Gi’Ren grated.
“I fought for our people in the war, remember brother?” Soren’s calm was gone again as air grunted from his chest. “I lost eight years of my life to enslavement for fighting for our people. And now you ask me to leave the only good thing that came out of those years of misery, for our people?”
Gi’Ren growled back.
“What have our people done to deserve my sacrifice once again?”
“Val’Ja,” Val’Zun said warningly.
Soren couldn’t believe the audacity of his brothers. He knew his people would have a hard time accepting Lucia, but she was his now. He couldn’t leave her; didn’t want to. Seeing her hanging there and feeling her limp body in his arms when the real Lucia was so full of life and warmth, it had cut his being in half. The thought of not being with her to sate the prejudice of his people made him feel unclean and disloyal to Lucia. She had been his friend when her people reacted much the same and the Herana’s had slowly welcomed him.
Dr. Trex entered the lobby and everyone held their breath. “Lucia is in recovery.”
****
Lucia was warm. It felt divine. Her body felt heavy, but it wasn’t a struggle to breathe and her ribs didn’t whine with effort like they had before. Something lingered in her veins and it made her feel drowsy but pleasantly relaxed. She could use some relaxation.
The sounds of people whispering floated to her ears. Lucia recognized those voices. Where were the Treps? They didn’t sound so human. Her head felt heavy as she moved it, coaching her eyelids to cooperate and open. It took some time, but the whispers stopped and her lids cracked open. Light seeped in and she opened them further. Everything was blurred and a gasp of horror came from her right side. Her eyes swiveled that way and colors merged together. One more blink, two more blinks. Things were getting clearer each time.
Lucia’s family started taking shape around the bed she was in. She slowly sucked in her lips to wet them, lids feeling heavy again, but she willed them to open once more. Nova looked on, sickened and Lu didn’t realize the whites of her eyes were red from the ruptured vessels and how traumatized she looked.
A hand stroked hers and she followed it to her Grams who was teary eyed. Lucia half smiled and said “Don’t cry,” but it was only a wheeze that scratched up her throat. A cough racked her body and another until she struggled to breathe. Wetness hit her face as little sprays of blood fell back on her skin from her abused throat. Nova’s sob permeated the room and Lu reached for her face, wiping and smearing with her shaky, dulled control.
“Don’t try to speak sweetling,” her Grams choked out and began dabbing the blood from her face. “The nanomeds need time to finish their work.” When she grazed lightly over the knot on Lu’s jaw, her body jerked. Her entire cheek was swollen and an ugly black and purple from where Quinton had hit her. The cuts on the inside of her cheek still throbbed, even through the drugs.
Quinton.
Lucia’s eyes widened and she dare not try to speak again, so she formed her fingers as best she could and made jerking movements to try and indicate her need for pen and paper. When no one moved, she again moved her hands and her sister finally understood. Lucia breathed out and in, retaining some energy.
The pen slipped into her hand and the paper tablet underneath. The strain of trying to keep her hand from shaking while cooperating was immense. Her wrists were bandaged but they still burned with each flex. A squiggly Q made it to the paper slowly followed by a U, an I and N. Lucia panted with the exertion and dropped the pen.
“Quin?” Grams asked and Lu nodded. “Sweetling, the Trepnils did this to you.” Lucia shook her head and winced. There was no way to convey that isn’t what she was saying without verbalizing. Another shaky breath filled her lungs. She brought her hand to her face and it felt like that took forever, to point at her jaw. “Quin hit you?”
Lucia nodded. That’s when she heard a clicking growl from the corner of the room. Her eyes swiveled to Soren. He looked scary, but Lu only felt a sense of calm surround her. Her lips curved as she smiled best she could in his direction.
“How did the Trepnils get to you?” Frellie asked and was immediately admonished to not force Lucia to speak. Lu breathed deeply again and pointed to her face once more. “Quin? Quin took you to them?”
The relieved sigh that deflated Lucia’s chest was sweet and one nod was all it took to send her father into a rage as he left the room in search of someone. Lu figured it was to tell the authorities.
You were wrong Quinton.
He came.
You didn’t win.
Lu’s hand slipped from the bed and dangled as she looked at Soren in the corner. All she could manage to do was twitch her fingers. What little energy she had was slipping away from her but she needed to feel his hand.
Soren timidly approached her, sinking to his haunches so she didn’t have to further exert herself. He took her hand in his grimy one, but Lu didn’t care. She was just happy he knew her. The procedure must’ve worked.
The drugs took her under again.
****
Soren bared his teeth as he tried to control his breathing while he watched Lucia slip back under again. His black eyes looked at her small hand between his mucky, clawed ones. This close, he chanted in his mind, I’d been this close to losing her. A half hour more and he’d be without her now. There wouldn’t have been anything any doctor on this planet or the next could do.
Dipping his head to rest the bridge of his nose on the back of Lucia’s hand, Soren tried to get himself under control. She was alive, she was here, that was all that mattered now. The jagged, helpless whine that ripped from his lungs before he could stop it shuddered through his shoulders and brushed the soft skin of Lucia’s hand.
She is safe now.
Chapter 17
Three days passed before Lucia woke again. The drugs still flowed through her body, numbing a lot of the pain she’d felt. It was much easier to open her eyes at that point and it wasn’t as much of a struggle to keep them open. Her family milled about, sitting in chairs around the room or standing. They looked so exhausted and immediately Lucia felt bad she’d ruined their week of entertainment at the capital.
Lucia swallowed, and noticed it wasn’t painful. When she tried to speak, she still rasped, but it didn’t bring on a coughing fit. That small sound had Soren beside her in the next blink. His large hand smoothed over her forehead and her wild hair. Her smile was wide as it couldn’t be contained. Slowly Lu lifted her hands to his face, pulling at him until he lowered his face to hers as she’d urged and kissed her lightly on the lips. It was so faint, Lucia wasn’t sure it had actually happened. Her chest shook with a small laugh and it hissed from her throat.
“You shou
ld not be laughing,” Soren said to her, rubbing his lips against the back of her hand.
“If,” she rasped, swallowing a gulp of the water that had been offered. “If I don’t laugh,” her rasp was easier to decipher with moisture on her throat. “I might go crazy.” Soren groaned and shut his eyes like he was saying a small prayer. Lucia’s free hand strayed to her stomach and the swell had her mind rushing at how it was even possible. Her bloodied eyes swept the room in a questioning gaze.
“She is healthy,” Nova came to her other side. Her own eyes were red and swollen. Her delicate fingers stroked Lu’s good cheek and she leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. “That’s twice now we owe Dr. Trex our immense gratitude.”
When two men entered the large room, Lucia’s brows rose and her eyes widened. They looked like Soren; not exactly, but enough resemblance to look related. They stopped on the inside of the door, staring back at her. One had green eyes and a large scar with a beefy build while the other had slightly finer features, thinner lips, a leaner physique and yellow eyes. It was easy to tell which one was the brawler.
“Loo-Sha,” Soren began. “These are two of my elder brothers. Gi’Ren is the ugly one and Val’Zun is the other.” Gi’Ren grunted and a quiet ripple of twittering floated around the room.
“Don’t be rude,” Lu rasped, smiling in spite of herself. Soren has family. Her excitement that he not only remembered her, but his people was hard to contain and her weak body shivered with it. “I am Lucia,” she dipped her chin and smiled at them. They looked at each other and then back at her before nodding once, almost in sync.
Dr. Trex burst into the room, nearly barrelling into the backs of Soren’s brothers. “Excuse me,” he grinned and squeezed through them, eyes glued to Lucia. “My dear, you are looking much better!” Immediately he grabbed the familiar wand. “I wanted to wait until you were awake,” he said warmly. As he’d done before, he swiped the wand over her middle and the glass sheet against the wall lit up. There in blue was proof her youngling was healthy and growing. Its little heartbeat filled the room and its tiny arms and legs twitched.