by Celeste Raye
“I want you to know before I do what I must do that I have felt something for you from the moment you stepped foot on this ship. It was why I chose you. Your beauty is an eye-catching thing, but your mind and your strength are something I have never seen here on Milisaria. It was something I wanted my people to have. You were a precious gift to my people and to myself. You may be right that I have never loved, but with you, I was certain I could have if you had only let me. I would have given up all of those women just to keep you, even in all of your stubbornness.” She didn’t know if she should believe him or not, but she couldn’t feel any worse than she already did. It was just more blood from an open wound at that point.
“And what is it you must do?” she asked as she watched the guards that had taken Nabvan away come back in. She found her eyes searching them for signs of blood but saw none. She didn’t know if she should hope for anything good, though. She doubted they would be allowed to so much as say goodbye.
“What I must do is follow Milisarian law which dictates a certain punishment for such matters. Nabvan is a Milisarian knight, and he will have to face the suffering that pays for the level of betrayal he has committed. I cannot stop that no matter what you say or what I want. Believe it or not, his service meant something to me. He was an amazing warrior.”
Alexis did not like his use of the past tense. Nabvan was already dead to the king. She bent over herself crying with no will left in her to speak or fight. She just wanted it to be over. “Will you kill me?” she asked him in an almost whisper before she felt the guards lifting her off the floor as if she weighed nothing.
She floated down the hall with the king following behind them. She didn’t know where they were going or who was seeing her being carried away like that. She didn’t really care anymore. She just wanted to know when it would end. “No, I will not kill you. You have not technically committed a crime. Though, your time with the Milisarians is over,” King Shene announced as she heard the clanging of bars. She looked up for the first time and saw that they were in the prisoners’ quarters, and the other women were locked up there as well. It seemed to be a formality only, with no guards around other than the ones who had carried her in. It was more of a symbol rather than a deterrent to anything. Wherever Nabvan had been taken to, it wasn’t there. “You will go back to Earth with the rest of them.”
The cell door closed behind her after she was thrown into the room, and she curled up in a little ball to cry. She did not get to end it yet, even when the happy ending would not come.
Chapter 23:
***Dravik***
Nabvan was ready to fight for his life and for Alexis’s. There was nothing left to lose after all. His punishment would be swift. He looked around the room and counted how many men were there. The king was there and had left one person to fly the ship while they took care of him: the betrayer. That was what they would call him even after his death. He had mated with the mate of the king, though technically, his claim would come first. If Nabvan had not been with a woman who was meant to be queen, the claim would be his and the dispute over.
There were four guards, two negotiators, the king, and himself. It had been a light load on the ship because the king had cockily believed the women would give him no trouble. How wrong he was considering the women were planning a takeover. And if the women had weapons, they could have very well overtaken that amount of men. He was wondering if his skill would allow him to take over those men. Though, Nabvan hated the idea of taking out his friend Siefer, who was on the ship as head negotiator. It was his last voyage until after his child was born. But Nabvan would do anything to ensure that his love could survive without the kind of punishment she might endure for his recklessness. He should not have had her on that ship.
He stood there, looking down at his feet with the reverence of a prisoner ashamed of what they had done, but he was testing his bonds right then, seeing if he would have the strength to break them. It would be tough, but he believed in himself to do it. He had been training others for moments like these with other races his whole adult life. Certainty, he could practice what he preached.
The execution was prepared. There would be torture, pointless other than as entertainment, and then the final blow. He would then be released into space and saluted as a past Milisarian knight, redeemed for his crime in his death. At least that was how everyone in the room with him expected it to go. But Nabvan was not going to let it get that far, not until he pulled one last crazy stunt. Hopefully, the women would still go through with their plan and help him out.
Nabvan put his thoughts on the only thing that would get him through as the guards walked towards him to order him onto his knees for the lashings. It was going to be now or never. He yanked free of the bonds with all his might, a loud growl coming from deep within his chest. Alexis was the fuel for everything as he began to swing at the men, taking the whips and other weapons off of them. Everyone fell in line to protect the king as always. He had to get through them. He lashed out with everything he had and ignored the pain as he got nicked with weapons and hit with fists.
Then, he heard a beautiful sound: the sound of angry women. They stormed the room, coming after the men with their bare hands. Their anger was plain on their faces, and they resembled feral animals as they helped him beat through the crowd. Alexis might have been with them; he didn’t know where she had been taken. But his focus was on getting through to the king. All would follow his orders once the king was dead.
“Injure them so they cannot escape and lock them up!” Nabvan ordered to the women who looked stunned before finally obeying him, hurting them and leading the men out of the room. He noticed that Siefer was helping the women as well. He couldn’t believe it, but this was a true friend until the end, and he would owe him if he made out of this mess alive. He caught one side glimpse of Alexis as she went with Siefer out of the room. He would have to thank Siefer for that as well. She did not need to be involved in this. It was just him and the king.
For the first time since serving him, Nabvan saw fear in King Shene’s eyes as they began to circle around each other, sizing each other up. The king was not an experienced opponent, but he was big and strong. Nabvan would normally have agility and experience on his side, but he was slowed down by his injuries, which were much more than he had sensed before, in the middle of battle.
The fight with the king was a slow dance, each going for the other and missing. His only hope was that the king, with his hard blows, would exhaust first and make a mistake.
That was just what happened, just the move he needed to make. With a crack of the whip, he pulled the king close and ran him through with the sword for good measure. The king fell to the ground just as Alexis came into the room, running from Siefer who had tried to stop her. But he should have known nothing would keep her away.
Nabvan went to her, trying to get to her to embrace her, but he fell just short, almost collapsing to his knees until the other two caught him. “Just get me to the command room, and then you can see if you can figure out some of the medicines and things,” he told Alexis, knowing those things would only buy him time.
“Where are you taking us?” she asked him as they dragged him back to where he could command the ship, telling the current commander to step aside. He was young and afraid. He did what they said.
“I am taking those women to the Arkani,” he breathed, slumping down in the chair to put in the coordinates. The ship could be felt jerking around and going back the way it came. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
Chapter 24:
***Dravik***
Nabvan could feel himself trying to hold on as the ship sped towards Milisaria. The Arkani had to have made it at least that far already. If not, he wasn’t sure he would make it all the way there. He didn’t want to say it out loud because he knew that Alexis would lose it while she was trying to dress his wounds to the best of her ability and stop his bleeding. He had to make sure she had a will to keep going because
she would never forgive herself if these women never made it to the Arkani now.
Siefer had come into the room to help steer the ship where Nabvan could not. He was so grateful for his friend who was risking it all with the fact that his wife and child were back on Milisaria. Would he be allowed to get back to them after aiding in the betrayal of the guards and the king? There was a chance he would not.
“We are getting close to Milisaria,” he announced, looking back at Alexis who was clinging to his shoulder like she was unable to let go. And maybe that was the case.
It was just the three of them. The rest of the women had gone to guard the guards in the cells and make sure they could not escape. The plan was to release them out into space on the small getaway ship that was always onboard for emergencies. They would float away, unable to tell the whole truth of what happened to the king. Nabvan hated they would have to suffer in such a way, but the king was dead, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood still. That would not bode well if, by some miracle, they did ever make it back to Milisaria safely. That was a slim possibility at this point, though.
“What do we do if the Arkani have not come?” Alexis asked, speaking for the first time since she had started caring for him. She had been deathly silent, probably for fear of breaking his concentration. It was nice to hear her voice, but she wouldn’t like his answer.
“We crash the ship on the Arkani planet to get their attention,” Nabvan answered flatly, as if it were the simplest answer imaginable. He looked back at the woman he loved to see her lips pursed so tight they had turned pale. But she didn’t say what she was thinking. She didn’t have to. He knew they would lose people in the process, possibly himself. He was already injured. That kind of jarring could easily mean his demise. But he would do what he had to do. At least on the Arkani planet, if he had to leave this world, Alexis would be safe. No man would force anything on her, and she could practice science to her heart’s content. She would be alright.
The time went on in silence, no one daring to speak as they kept their eyes open for an Arkani ship, but there was nothing. Nabvan knew just what he needed to do, and he needed to do it quickly. He put the ship into its highest gear, flying way too fast for a lot of control. It would only aid in the crash he wanted to make, but it would be a semi-controlled one. He wasn’t looking to kill everyone on board, just make an entrance the Arkani could not ignore. Siefer would have to find another way back to his wife. Maybe the Arkani would be kind and let him have one of their ships, or they might be able to fix this one. He couldn’t think about that right now.
Nabvan stood up, getting ready to steer the ship as needed, right down onto the planet. Alexis came to his side and whispered in his ear. “I love you more than anything. Please, be careful.” He was damn well going to try to, but he couldn’t make promises to her he wouldn’t be able to keep for sure. He wasn’t that kind of man.
“I love you too,” he told her, coming in close to orbit. The Arkani planet was darker than even Milisaria most of the time. They had a sun, but its orbit meant that it took several Earth days to see the light again. And there was only one moon as well. It was why the Arkani were not an attractive race. They always looked thin and sallow. These women would not have the pleasure of great lovers or good-looking men, but the Arkani were intelligent and kind. That was what they needed most after what they had been through.
Everyone found something to hang onto as he brought the ship down, much too fast for anyone’s liking. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as they approached the dry soil that covered the surface of the planet. They were going to hit hard enough to make a ruckus. He hoped they were somewhere heavily populated. He had tried to get as close to the capital as possible, but he had never been, only seen maps.
Then, the ship struck with a horrible sound of ripping metal. They all fell, and he felt his head hit on something. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew he had taken it too far. He reached out for Alexis with his hand, but he felt no one grasp it. The best thing he could do before he passed out and possibly die was to make it off of the ship and to an Arkani citizens to let them know who they were and why they were there. They needed to claim asylum just in case the Arkani saw the Milisarian ship as a threat.
Nabvan crawled his way out of the hatch, onto the dry red soil where the Arkani had already gathered to see what was going on. They backed up at the sight of the injured Milisarian as he begged for them to listen. “On board are some of the human women who were supposed to come to you. They were captured by the Milisarians. I have brought them back. We claim asylum. Please, help us. I do not know how many are injured.” Nabvan tried to stand for a moment before falling at their feet, no longer able to help himself. Just before he passed out, he saw Alexis coming off the ship, looking like she was alright.
“I love you,” he tried to croak out, but he didn’t know if she heard or not. The blackness soon consumed him.
Chapter 25:
***Alexis***
Alexis reached for Nabvan’s hand and felt it entwine with hers. She looked over at him and felt emotional; tears threatened to come streaming down her face. It was so nice to see him well and walking around again. The way he looked when the ship had crashed had broken her heart all over again. She had been so sure he was going to die. If they had still been on Milisaria or headed to Earth, he would have died. But the Arkani had been so kind to them. They had begun healing anyone injured immediately, waiting for a full explanation later.
Alexis had been able to sit down with some of the leading council to go over with them what had happened to them after being captured by the Milisarian knights. They were sorry for what had happened and had gotten her communication, but they did not think they could do anything with a Milisarian ship. They thought it would be best to let the women go back to Earth.
They were so happy now to have the women with them and had begun to court some of them, the right way. Alexis had gotten to pore over all the research that had been done about the disease killing off the women while Nabvan was on the mend. She had helped them find a link in the genetics of the bacteria that latched onto a DNA strain in the women that the men did not have. It was great work, and it had taken her mind off of all of the things that had happened to her since leaving Earth.
But Siefer had been sad. He had ended up with two broken arms, but that was it. He was ready to go home and see Destiney. It had been almost two weeks since they landed there on the Arkani planet, and he knew those on the planet would be worried about what was to happen next without a king or an heir. He did not know what that would mean for his beautiful wife or the child that might be born at that very moment.
The Arkani had offered to repair the ship, but it was taking time. Nabvan, Siefer, and Alexis were on their way to check on the progress of the repairs. They hoped it was done today, though Alexis was still unsure what would happen to her and Nabvan. Their love had grown and been solidified. There was no one else between them anymore. But there was still something else that could rip them apart: where they wanted to live. She had made a place for herself on the Arkani planet, at least that was how she felt, but she didn’t think Nabvan felt at home. They could easily go back to Earth, but she didn’t know that he wanted that either. So, where would they go? Alexis was hoping for the answer soon.
As they approached the ship they had crashed onto the planet less than two weeks ago, Alexis could see that it looked brand new. If it wasn’t finished, it would be soon. “Ah, welcome my friends,” the Arkani councilor said as he came to embrace them. It had been strange to touch them at first. Their skin was slightly slimy. But they were so warm and kind it didn’t matter anymore. “I am so happy to tell you that the ship will be finished tomorrow. Siefer, you can go home to your wife.”
Alexis looked over to see the broad smile on Siefer’s face. Destiney had really landed a good one, and she hoped they would have a happy reunion. It made her miss Destiney a little, thinking about her on the planet, wonder
ing where her husband was and having a baby.
“Alexis, may I talk with you for a moment?” Alexis was caught off guard by the question as she was pulled away from the two men. She looked to Nabvan, but he urged her on. She took him with her, though, not wanting to do anything without him. Life was too short for that, and she had nothing to hide.
“What is it?” she asked the council leader with curiosity.
“I realize that you have been through much and that this may not feel like your home anymore, but you have done great things for us in your short time here,” he told her with a warm smile on his face. Alexis felt proud that he said that. She had never been so appreciated for what her mind could do. It was nice to hear for a change, especially coming from a man. “We wanted to extend an offer to you, that you remain here and become head of research in our lab here in the capital. You could do even more great things for us.” Alexis tried not to gasp at the offer. It was exactly something she had dreamed of, but as she looked at Nabvan, she saw a tinge of sadness there.
“May I have a moment with Nabvan first?” she asked. The council leader bowed his head graciously and went back to check on the work of the ship. She turned to Nabvan and asked him point blank. “What are you thinking? What do you want to do?” She braced herself for the answer. She knew one of them would have to sacrifice if they wanted to be together. Long distance relationships on one planet were hard enough. There was no way to keep that going on two separate planets, no matter how much she loved him.
“The truth is, I am worried about my people,” he admitted, looking sheepish. “I don’t know what kind of a welcoming I or you would get after the death of the king, but they will need help finding a new one and stabilizing. Maybe I can help with that. I don’t think King Shene was that popular among villagers. Maybe I could make a change. But if you want to stay…”