by Rachel Aukes
“I’ll call Doc, but it could take him some time to get here. In the meantime, we need to staunch the bleeding.” She cut off his shirt, and then dabbed at the wound.
“It’s not too deep.”
She pressed a cloth against the wound, and he grimaced. “You’ll need stitches.”
“Nothing new to me.”
And that was something she had no doubt about after seeing Ace without a shirt. Scars of all shapes and sizes littered his skin, his latest addition not making the top three for worst scars on his torso.
She stood there for a minute, keeping pressure on the wound, as she watched Legian rub salve on Jax’s burn. Every now and then Jax would wince, but otherwise showed no sign of emotion.
Suddenly Ace pushed her away. “For fuck’s sake, give me a needle and thread already,” he muttered.
“But Doc should do that,” she replied.
“I got this.” He gave her a half-smile before winking.
With a wary eye, Sienna backed off and sifted through the supplies for a small pre-sealed bag labeled Suture Kit. She tore it open and held it out for Ace. He grabbed the bag and threaded the needle like a pro. She stared while he played doctor on his own body. “Sure I can’t help?”
“Nah,” he replied. His hands were steady, although his voice was tight. Stitching his own wound had to hurt like hell.
Sienna heard the screen door open, and she stepped out into the hallway to see a Sephian soldier walking into the kitchen.
“Wait up, Sana,” Sienna called out to the soldier.
The Sephian woman stopped, turned, and faced her. “What can I do for you, Sienna?”
“Get Apolo and Doc up here right away. Also, on your way out, send in two able-bodied Sephians.”
Sana jumped into gear quickly and without question.
Sienna stepped into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. She stopped when she found what she was looking for. An old bottle of whiskey she’d bought when she wanted to kill her pain, back when she had dumbly thought booze could drown the memories of Bobby. Instead, all the stuff had done was guarantee a lousy hangover.
She carried the Texas fifth into the bedroom. She could hear water running in the bathroom. Ace came out moments later, the blood washed from his hands. His eyes lit up. “That’s my kind of medicine,” he said as he reached out for the bottle.
Sienna handed him the bottle and bent down to examine his new stitches. “Impressive.”
“They don’t call me Ace for nothing,” he replied, and took a long draw before handing the bottle back to her.
Sienna stepped over to the bed where Legian had also finished patching up Jax. She offered the bottle. Without looking at her, Jax swung his legs over the side of the bed. He grunted and held his side as he dragged himself to his feet then he grabbed the bottle and stumbled out the room without even looking her in the eye. She watched him leave, and Ace jogged to catch up. He looped Jax’s arm over his shoulder, and the pair disappeared down the hallway.
Adrenaline making her hands shaky, Sienna pulled together the supplies and shoved them back into the plastic pouch. She noticed the blood on her hands. Strange that she hadn’t even noticed it before. The sight of it didn’t bother her any longer. And that scared her. She’d changed, but she wasn’t sure it was for the better.
Two Sephians stepped into the bedroom and froze when they saw the body on the floor.
Sienna pointed to the body. “Get rid of that traitor.”
There were some days she wished she could get a do-over. Today would have been one of those days. Whoever had said ignorance was bliss had really nailed it. Yesterday, Risa had been one of her friends. Today, Risa had tried to kill her.
Sienna had been through a lot in the past few months, but today was the first time she truly felt she’d lost her innocence. She would never again be the trusting Sienna she used to be. She was different, jaded.
She watched without emotion as one of the men grabbed Risa’s body by the shoulders and the other by her feet. They carried her out of the cabin and out of her sight. She didn’t know what they would do with the body. The truth was, she didn’t care. Someone she’d considered a friend had caused the deaths of hundreds of Sephians. That was unforgiveable.
Sienna walked into the bathroom and scrubbed her hands. Even after she knew they were clean, she kept scrubbing, trying to wash away Risa’s betrayal. The med-tech’s actions made no sense to her. Her hand had led to the ambush, the base attack, and who knew what else. Hundreds of deaths would rest on her soul. What in the world could lead someone to do something so terrible?
Sienna didn’t stop scrubbing until her hands had turned red. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel. She couldn’t help feeling as though that death surrounded her, followed her. She hung the towel back on its hook and didn’t realize Legian had come in until he wrapped his arms around her. She let herself relax into his embrace.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Seems like I need to redefine ‘okay’ every day.”
He held her, saying nothing.
“I’m okay. You?” She turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist. She clung to him. With Legian, she felt safe. But safe didn’t cut it. Not anymore. With a deep breath, she broke the connection. “I should check on Jax.”
“Want me to come with you?”
She shook her head. “It may be better if just one of us go. How about you stay here and search through Risa’s things. See if you can find out if she had anything else underway. Or, if we have any more traitors in our midst.”
It took Sienna the better part of an hour to find Jax, passed out with the empty bottle of whiskey by his side. With a bit of help from a soldier on patrol, she was able to get Jax back into his bedroom, although she wasn’t sure he’d appreciate the reminder once he awoke.
“Unexpected turn of events,” Apolo said as she pulled a blanket up to cover Jax.
They made eye contact, and she stepped out the room, clicking the door shut behind her. Apolo followed her to the living room where Bente, Doc, and Legian waited.
“Doc, Jax has a laser burn on his hip, and Ace patched up a cut on his own shoulder. They both need to be checked,” she said before she sat down next to Legian.
“As you know, I’m not skilled in human medicine, but I’ll see what I can do. Where do I go?”
She nodded down the hallway, and he hustled off in that direction.
She sat there and scanned the faces in the room. Finally, she blurted out the words. “We found the traitor.”
Apolo leaned forward, eyeing her with interest.
“It was Risa, the med-tech.”
Murmurs filled the room.
She heard a gasp from the hallway. She looked to see Doc holding a hand to his mouth in shock. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and shook his head.
“Doc, Jax needs you now,” Sienna called out.
The doctor jerked up. He nodded and muttered “Yes, yes,” as he stumbled toward the guest room and disappeared. She had no doubt he’d blame himself—just like Jax—for not figuring Risa out earlier. She imagined there would be too much self-blame going around for a while. That’s what happened when someone close betrayed you. Someone had to be blamed. And with Risa dead, people would blame themselves.
But not Sienna. She had enough stuff beating her up already. Guilt wasn’t going to get added to that list. She turned back to the room and continued. “Unfortunately, we were forced to kill her before we could get much information from her. We still have no guarantees that she was operating on her own.”
“What we did learn was disturbing, though,” Legian added, and she turned to him. “Risa told us that Hillas lives.”
The murmurs in the room turned into an uproar as the Sephians present cussed and questioned Legian.
Sienna patted the air down with her hands, trying to quiet the room. “She could have been lying, although she had no reason to lie at that point.”
Apol
o clenched his eyes closed for a moment before opening them. “This changes nothing. We have always suspected the Draeken tyrant survived the war. This news substantiates that suspicion. But in the past, Hillas never allowed Roden the kind of authority he’s shown lately. There is something afoot in the Draeken camp.”
“We’ll question the prisoner.” At Sienna’s words, the entire room turned to her.
Apolo began pacing the floor. “We’ll question Talla, sure enough. But I know that one. She won’t give us anything we need.” He turned on his heel when he came to the window, stopped, and faced the room. “Without my informant, we are blind. We can only hope we repaid the favor in kind today.”
“Still no news yet?” Sienna asked with an optimistic raise of her eyebrows.
He shook his head. “I have to assume he is no longer viable.”
“Sorry to hear that.” Her words were barely above a whisper. Even though Apolo remained stoic, the news—or lack thereof—from his informant had hit him hard. Legian had told her the pair had worked together for many years. Even though he was Draeken, he was one of Apolo’s closest, most trusted friends. But, because he was Draeken, Apolo would never be able to admit that to anyone. It sucked, wasn’t fair, and was too much like she’d seen happen time and again on her own planet. Instead of wings, it was religion or color or some other bullshit excuse.
She leaned back into the comfort of the couch while Apolo spoke about the new alliance. Both the Americans and the Brits were on board, but she didn’t think for one instant that it would be easy. Nightmares of power struggles, red tape, and deception already lurked at the outskirts of her dreams.
The next morning, after spending the entire night talking about the Draeken threat, Apolo returned to the base. Sienna was exhausted but happy. A lot had been discussed and even more had been accomplished. It had been a good night.
Jax stumbled out of the bedroom. Legian and Sienna sat on the couch, watching him as they ate breakfast. He looked like hell had frozen over as he sifted through the cabinets. After going through several cabinets, he slammed one shut, grabbed at his side with a wince, and turned to glare at her.
“Don’t you have anything to fucking drink in this place?”
She handed her plate to Legian and walked into the kitchen, using her cane for support. She opened the fridge, pulled out a soda, and tossed it to Jax.
Jax ignored the can as it flew past his shoulder. His bloodshot eyes fired daggers. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know exactly what you meant, and that won’t fly here,” she replied. “Come with me.”
At first he looked like he wanted to shoot her, but then the soldier in him manned up and he followed her through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement. The basement was small, used more as a wine cellar than anything. It had cost her a small fortune to build one in the rock-laden ground of Arkansas, and the construction company had balked at her request. But she had grown up in the Midwest and considered a basement a must-have anywhere with even a remote chance of a tornado. She’d never imagined it could double as a makeshift prison.
The Draeken prisoner sat on the floor with the black band-like material the Sephians used around her neck and wrists. The other end of the band was locked onto a steel I-beam. There was enough room in the cord for her to walk around without there being enough for her to attempt suicide. She could just reach the toilet. A basement bathroom was something Sienna had specifically requested from the construction company. And she felt completely redeemed seeing its value now, even though the guards had removed the door to keep the prisoner always in their view. The Sephians had been going to give the prisoner a bucket, which went against Sienna’s morals, let alone the Geneva Conventions.
The Draeken prisoner’s name was the only information she’d shared willingly, and the only thing they’d already known. Talla Kohlm didn’t even look up when Sienna reached the bottom of the stairs. The Sephian guarding her, on the other hand, came to attention immediately. Sana, the consummate soldier. Way too rigid, that one.
“We won’t need any more guards down here right now.” At the sound of her voice, everyone in the room looked at her, including the prisoner. Sienna turned to Jax. “The prisoner is Lieutenant Jerrick’s responsibility now.”
Jax frowned. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Sienna,” he gritted out.
She stood her ground, at full height. She could feel every eye in that underground room on her. “You were there for me, and I’m here for you now, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I don’t care how you do it, but this prisoner is now on your shoulders. Got it?”
His eyes narrowed at her, and they stayed in the standoff for what felt like minutes before he sneered. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Sana will keep an eye on the prisoner until you clean up. Get some greasy food and caffeine in you.”
It was his turn to stand his ground. “No. I’m good.”
“Fine. You can grab something when you assign other guards.”
Without a word, he walked over to Sana, who handed him a com. She headed upstairs with a look of relief. Jax fastened the device around his throat, grabbed a folding chair, and carried it over. He opened it and sat down, his forearms resting on the seat back, and faced Talla. She sat there, glaring first at Jax then at Sienna.
Sienna held out the soda she’d grabbed before coming down. “Got this covered, Jax?”
“Covered,” he muttered from his chair and took the can from her hand.
She took one last look at Talla, who was now deep in a staredown with Jax. Her wings ruffled in agitation. Sienna turned to the stairs but paused before going up the first step. “Oh, and one more thing.” She waited for Jax’s eyes to meet hers. “Don’t kill her… yet.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Oddly, moving back to the Sephian base felt a bit like moving home. For the first time in Sienna’s life, everything felt in balance. The base was now operating around the clock. Legian took over much of Apolo’s role since Apolo was swamped with bureaucratic duties. After a week back on her original human sleep pattern, Sienna had been waking up more refreshed and energized. Several platoons, all under Major Sommers, had moved to the base, requiring many of the Sephians to bunk together to free up quarters for the soldiers. Too many changes, too many bodies in close quarters, and short tempers made most of Sienna’s job schoolyard patrol.
Legian’s arm lay loosely over her. She traced the mark that swirled around his forearm. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”
“Someday.”
Unfortunately, this wasn’t someday. Nalea was still missing, and the shadow of the Draeken threat smothered her every thought.
Music blared from the nightstand. Startled, Sienna grabbed her new smartphone. “Sienna speaking.”
“Sienna! So good to hear your voice.”
Sienna pulled the phone away and stared at it a moment before bringing it back to her ear. It had been months since she’d heard that voice. “Kat?”
“Of course it’s me, sweetie. I’m back in the States, and I look forward to catching up. We must talk, Sienna. We’ve so much to talk about.”
“Things are a bit crazy right now, but—”
“No buts, dear. I’m already in Texarkana.”
Sienna ran a hand through her hair. Her mother’s timing seriously sucked, but Kat was still her mother, so Sienna would make things work. “Yeah, sure. I’ll pick you up at Filly’s at noon. Sound good?”
“Perfect. See you soon, sweetie. Love you.”
“Love you too, Kat.”
Sienna sat there for a moment before setting the phone down. She nudged Legian’s arm. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
He mumbled some kind of response.
“You get to meet my mother today.”
His eyes jerked open, and curiosity battled with dread.
She laughed. “Don’t worry. Kat’s not that bad.” She thought for a moment. “Well, yeah, she can be.”
She sto
od and rummaged through her closet, randomly grabbing clothes. “I’ll check with Sommers, and I’ll have her brought in blind-folded, just like we do for press access.” Over the past week, Sienna had been working with Major Sommers to establish access badges for the visitors who were bound to start checking out Earth’s latest additions. Inquisitive Kat would be a great way to test security.
After throwing on a long-sleeved thermal, cargos, and hiking boots, Sienna grabbed her cane, left Legian, and hobbled straight to the Commons to grab breakfast. Fresh muffins sat cooling on the counter. She ate one as she watched the sunrise on one of the digital screens brought in for the humans’ benefit. Warm blueberries burst like hot caviar bubbles in her mouth. After licking her fingers clean, she washed down the muffin with a glass of orange juice.
She then grabbed a couple muffins and a carton of juice before looking at her cane. Setting it back down, she took a wicker basket full of fruit and dumped the contents. Adding back in a couple of bananas along with the muffins and orange juice, she walked clumsily down the hallway to the holding cells, carrying the basket in one hand while gripping her cane in the other.
When she reached the only inhabited cell, Talla looked at her. Her wings, covered in the usual Draeken tattoos, hung loosely out from her sides. Her long, silver hair was fastened on top of her head. She looked exhausted, no doubt from the daily rounds of unending interrogation. A small part inside Sienna was glad to see that the prisoner had survived Jax’s sour mood. Sienna hadn’t been confident she would survive a night, let alone a month.
Even though Jax now had guards assigned to his prisoner, he still spent hours every day overseeing her “care”.
“Here.” She held out a muffin first to Jax and the other guard before offering one to Talla.
Jax didn’t move an inch. “No thanks. Already ate.” He sat with the folding chair turned around and leaned forward on the backrest, keeping his prisoner under close scrutiny.
Talla snatched the muffin from Sienna’s hand and sat facing away from Jax to eat it. He watched the prisoner while she ate and ignored him.