Emma's Heart (Brides of Theron 3)

by Rebecca Pond

  “We all thought he was dead,” Emma said as she was gawking at the man lying still on the cold damp ground.

  “Who thought he was dead?”

  Her eyes trailed from the man lying prone on the ground to Zirlo, who was sitting next to her. She swallowed before she could get herself to answer the question. “If I am right, that man right there is the one who hurt the commander’s mate and kidnapped her from the mother ship. He helped the Drylons attack the ship on our way here to Theron. Brylon told me that if it hadn’t been for the Pernmocks, we probably would have all died because of him. That is all I know about him.”

  “Emma, can you tell me who’s in command of the mother ship now?” Zirlo’s eyes seemed to light up as she said the word “commander”. She could tell that he was listening closely to every word she said.

  “The commander’s name is Zeb. I am friends with his mate Avery.”

  “Please, tell me everything Emma.”

  After he went into the craft and found some type of dried food and a couple of canisters of water. They sat by the fire and over the course of the next hour as they shared the food and water, Emma related to Zirlo everything she knew about Lars and what had occurred on the journey to Theron. She even told him her story about the events that led to how she came to be here in the middle of an unknown forest with a hurt leg. Not once did Zirlo interrupt her, and seemed to make it easier for her to tell him her story. Every now and then Zirlo would glance over at Lars with a murderous look that he well deserved for being such a traitor to the entire Theron race.

  “Now I am here sitting with you, in a place that I don’t want to be. No offense, but I am glad that I have you for company. It is so much better than being in the woods alone.” She paused for a second as a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek, leaving a wet shimmering trail behind it. “I don’t even know if Brylon knows that I’m missing.”

  Zirlo’s head popped up at the sound of the familiar name, “Brylon is your mate?”

  “Yes, why?”

  He threw his head back and let out of deep hearted laugh. “I cannot believe this! You are mated to Brylon! I thought I would never see the day that he would take a wife. Well, wonders will never cease.” He continued to laugh until his sides ached.

  But Emma started to look offended by Zirlo as he laughed at her mate. “What is so funny about me being married…or mated to Brylon? He’s a great guy.”

  “Oh…oh…” Zirlo had to catch his breath before he could continue on, “Emma, I mean your mate no disrespect. I have known Brylon since he was in bundling clothes. Brylon and my son grew up together and used to get into so much trouble as children. When Brylon was about eight years old, he came right up to me and vowed that girls were gross and that he would never try to find a mate. He said that he had more important things to do with his life, than to spend it with some stupid girl!” His laughing had calmed down some after seeing the look on the earth woman’s face.

  “You knew Brylon?” Her jaw dropped as she spoke.

  “Know him? He practically lived at my house, until the boys left to go to the academy. The three of them were always together, Brylon, Zane, and Zeb. Your Commander Zeb is my son.” He waited for her to respond.

  The young woman was left totally speechless. “Avery had told me that Zeb’s father had died at the very beginning of the war, and you are Commander Zeb’s father? He believes that you are dead, you know.”

  Zirlo didn’t know how to respond to those words. The weight of what she said suddenly sank into his aching bones. Would his son accept him after all this time? Did his beloved Yaza find comfort in the arms of another warrior after she accepted that he would never be returned to her? How had their lives change without him being there for the last ten long years? “I naturally assumed that they would think that I was dead. I have been gone for nearly ten years, taken prisoner shortly after the first wave of the war. There were many times in my imprisonment that I wished for a swift death to take me from the hell that became my life. But, as I sit here with you under the pale glow of MY planet’s two moons, I am happy that I didn’t give up hope that I would one day return.” He quieted for a few moments before starting speaking again, “The last time I was with my family, Zeb was in training as a lieutenant! Now, he is a commander! What about Brylon and Zane? I know that Brylon was quite an ingenious fellow. He was always fixing and inventing things as a child.”

  She smiled at him, deep in thought. “Brylon is the Chief Engineer and Zane is the Medical Director.”

  Thinking back to when he had left the boys, still young children in his eyes. “You, my dear, have now left me speechless.”

  Chapter 24

  Brylon was going out of his mind with fear for Emma’s safety, and regret for how he had left things between them. If they didn’t find Emma soon, they might not ever find her alive, and she would never know just how much he loved her. Darkness had settled in around them again as they had taken a break. The men hadn’t eaten anything since they began the search and were exhausted from searching the woods and not finding Emma. Brylon’s hopes of finding his mate alive and well were quickly starting to diminish. There was no way a female as small as she was, would be able to survive another night out here on her own without access to food and clean water.

  “Brylon, we are going to have to set up camp for the night. We won’t be able to help Emma if we are too exhausted to even put one foot in front of the other,” Zane called out.

  Brylon looked around the area that they had just entered. He knew Zane was right but he just had to keep going. He had to find her. “You can stay here and rest if you want, but I want to move on. If your mate’s life was in question, you would do the same.” He walked off into the forest, disappearing from sight.

  Zane summoned up the last bit of energy he had left. “Come on, let’s move guys.” He knew without a doubt that he would do the exact same thing if had been Gracie lost out here. He wouldn’t stop looking for her until he found her. She was the most important person in his life now, along with the twins that she carried in her womb, and he knew that Brylon felt the same way about Emma.

  “Ceran take the lead again and see if you can pick up the trail.” Zane motioned for warrior to move forward. “And, try to keep an eye on Brylon too.”

  It wasn’t long after the group had started searching again that Manko had come across a trail of the small footprints. This time the prints lead through a very large cluster of shrubs. Zane called out for Brylon, who immediately came running over.

  “She went through here. Not sure why she would do that, but it’s the way she went,” Manko stated to the group as he pointed out the direction that the trail was leading them.

  Without hesitation Brylon pushed through the thick brush and shrubs that started to surround him. He continued on, not caring about the short branches reached and scraped against his bare arms. On the other side of the wall of bushes, he caught sight of a fire and could smell the smoke coming further up ahead. Not thinking twice about what was on fire, he started running as fast as he could, and didn’t stop until he reached the area where the glow of a fire burned brightly. He slid to a stop to survey the area. Behind him, he heard the approaching footsteps coming from his comrades that were running. As he stared at the image before him, the other men crashed into him and knocked him to the ground.

  A crashed fighter was wedged between the ground and a large tree. The glow of a fire lit up the small area near the fighter and they could see someone very large was sitting next to it holding a rather large knife in his hand. Near to him, a figure lay still on the ground, covered with a blanket.

  Ceran and Manko advanced forward, slightly off to each side of the fire to flank the pilots. They didn’t want the pilots of the downed fighter to have an advantage over them in the case that they decided to fight. Brylon and Zane continued to follow the path they were on, and slowly approached the man by the fire.

  Brylon breathed a sigh of relief when the bi
g man didn’t even attempt to get up off the ground. In just another couple steps, he could see that a head was lying in the man lap and a small body was curled up on the ground next to him. An icy cold feeling washed over Brylon’s skin as he recognized the small figure.

  “Emma?” Each step towards his mate took a lifetime. She was lying on the ground with head in the lap of another man, and she was totally oblivious that he was right there by her. “Emma?”

  “I am afraid that she is sick with fever. She hasn’t woken up in the last couple of hours.”

  “Zane!” Brylon immediately shouted out for the doctor.

  Zane was there by his side in an instant, bending over the fevered body of Brylon’s mate. He pulled off the backpack containing his medical supplies and searched for a temperature gauge. The pencil thin device clicked once as he inserted it into the canal of Emma’s ear.

  “Her fever is really high for a human, 106 degrees.” He looked her body over. He was trying to find a cause. “It looks as if she has an infection somewhere and it needs to be brought under control immediately.” Zane’s first initial examination was a scary one for the entire group. She had managed somehow to survive the deep inner forest, but now she was in danger of dying from an infection.

  “Manko call for a shuttle now!” Brylon barked out his orders while kneeling on the ground, holding the hand of his mate. “Emma can you hear me?” He leaned closer to her face, brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead. He could feel the heat that was radiating from her body as he touched her reddened skin.

  “Do you know where she is hurt?” Zane asked the man by the fire.

  “It’s her…her…leg.” Zirlo struggled to answer.

  Zane immediately focused in on her legs. He grabbed both of her ankles and straightened them out so that he could get a better look. Finding the rip in along the front of her pants, he went to work on the injury. “Brylon this isn’t good. I need to get her to the infirmary.” He looked up at Brylon, but just as their eyes met, Zane looked past him at something on the ground. “Who is that over there?” Zane shifted his chin in the direction of the shape on the ground.

  Brylon looked to the man holding his wife’s head, “Who is that?”

  “That, Brylon, is someone I think you already know,” he whispered out.

  Confused by the fact that the man knew his name, he asked, “How do you know who I am?”

  “That’s easy. I watched you grow up in my home with my son.” He saw the man smile up at him.

  Brylon’s mouth tried to form the words he wanted to say, but somehow his brain forgot how to speak. His copper eyes widened in shock. It was like the movement of everyone and everything around him stopped.

  “What…what…” he couldn’t get any other words. That was alright though, because Zane managed to say what he could not.

  “Commander Zirlo?” Zane looked just as stunned as the rest of them.

  “How many times to I have to tell you boys to keep your mouth shut or the bugs will fly in?” Zirlo chuckled, “It is so good to see you Zane.”

  “Oh my Gods! You’ve got to be joking!” Zane regained his senses and returned his attention to Emma.

  “This is no joke boys. Do I need to tell you a story about the reason for that high powered optical tube that I caught you three building in my home?” Zirlo’s eyes twinkled in amusement as the scene immediately unfolded in Brylon’s mind. Brylon thought back to the time when he and his two friends had built a high powered optical tube so that they could spy on the young female that lived in the house next to Zeb’s. Zirlo had to explain to the council why the item found in his home, was in his son’s room.

  “No sir. I do not need to relive that moment,” Zane said as he continued to clean and re-bandage the infected wound on Emma leg. “But, please, tell us who’s lying on the ground over there. I think that I heard you say that we already know him.”

  “What, you don’t recognize your buddy Lars?”

  The area was in chaos a moment later as Ceran, Manko and Brylon all sprinted to the man covered by a blanket. Ceran tore back the cover only to reveal one of the most hated men in Theron history.

  “What the fuck?” Ceran took a step backwards while Manko pulled out a stun gun and aimed it at sleeping man.

  “It can’t be possible!” Manko said to the back of Ceran’s head.

  “Where in the fuck did he come from? He is supposed to be dead!” Ceran threw the question out into the air for no one in particular.

  “As dead as I was believed to be?” Zirlo chimed in. “He was brought to the prison camp I was working in, almost two months ago.”

  “Zeb is going to shit an ona when he sees this asshole.” Ceran was so shocked that he had to sit on the ground just next to the unconscious man.

  “Do me a favor when you call for the shuttle. Don’t mention that I am alive yet. I wish to see my son face to face,” Zirlo spoke to the group of warriors as a whole.

  “Gods, what a turn of events this been. No one is going to believe all of this even happened.” Brylon sat back down to attend to his mate. “How is she?”

  “I can’t do much for her down here. I didn’t bring any medicine that would handle something this severe. Manko, have you called for the shuttle?”

  Manko whipped out his communicator to check on the progress, “I did when we got here, boss. I’m going to check the E.T.A. Commander?”

  Zeb’s voice sounded over the communicator loud enough for Zirlo to hear, “How is Emma?”

  “She is pretty sick. Along with Brylon’s mate, we have also found two survivors from the fighter crash. What is the shuttle’s E.T.A?” Manko reported.

  “A shuttle will be there in about fifteen minutes. Hang in there. Tell Zane and Brylon that I will meet them at the hospital when I can leave.”

  The sound of his son’s voice sounded like pure music to his old ears. It had been so long since he had heard it. Before the war, he wasn’t known to wear his emotions on his sleeve. He was always thought to be a tough warrior. But, upon hearing the sound of his son’s voice for the first time in nearly ten years, he started to break down. A sob escaped from his lips, followed by the tears that started to run down his face. Yes, this has turned out to be the best day of his life, he thought to himself.

  The head on his lap stirred a bit, “Zirlo?” Emma whispered.

  All eyes dropped to the small voice that sounded so weak and frail.

  “I am here, young one and so is Brylon.” He smiled down into her fevered red face.

  Emma tried to open her eyes, but they were so heavy. Every square inch of her skin hurt and her head pounded. It was hard to move any part of her body, each part was so heavy and she felt so weak, and cold, and thirsty. She thought she heard Zirlo say Brylon’s name, had he really found her? Was this just a dream? “Brylon?”

  At the sound of his name, Brylon leaned in close to Emma face and she could feel the coolness of his breath on her face as he whispered to her, “I am right here, my love.” She opened one of her eyes just a crack and saw him smiling at her and said, “I found you, my love, and I am so sorry for what happened. I never should have yelled at you that way. I was wrong for what I did.”

  She managed to turn the corners of her lips just a fraction of an inch upwards. She said through dry lips, “You found me,” before she had succumbed to the grip of the fever raging inside her body.

  Overhead the sound of the shuttle grew closer, and it wasn’t long before it landed a short distance away in the closest clearing in the woods that was near to crashed fighter. The medics exited the shuttle with a hover stretcher and proceed to lift Lars onto it. The second stretcher stood in waiting, for Brylon to lift his mate into it, but it seemed as if he was frozen in place.

  “Brylon! We need to go!” Zane’s voice reverberated throughout his entire being and brought him out of his trance.

  He scooped Emma up as gently as he could and placed her on the stretcher. Her skin felt like it was
on fire and her face was completely flushed. He couldn’t lose her now after finding her again. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if she didn’t survive. What a fool he was, to have behaved the way that did.

  “Excuse me, but could one of you boys please help an old man up off the ground.” Since the shuttle arrived, they had completely forgotten about Zirlo. The old man didn’t have the strength or energy to get up. His body looked worn out and though it looked like he was trying, his body would not answer his calls to rise from the ground.

  Zane turned back to the man he had known his whole life, “Come on, old man, up with you now.” He lifted the frail warrior as easily as he would lift a baby. Zeb’s father, once a proud and extremely intimidating warrior, was now a shell of the man he had been.

  “Old man, huh?” Zirlo chuckled as he slung his arm over Zane’s shoulder, letting the doctor basically carry him to the awaiting shuttle.

  “Well, you said it first. Come on, let’s get you home.”

  “That’s the best thing I have heard in a very long time.” Zirlo let the tears run freely down his cheeks. After ten years of captivity, Zirlo was finally free and going home to his family.

  Chapter 25

  Hours later in the infirmary, Brylon was sitting next to Emma’s bed. She still hadn’t regained consciousness after waking up for those briefs seconds in the forest. The infection in the leg, thankfully, hadn’t spread much further than the wound itself. But, the fever still raged on. With all the advancements that the Therons made in medicine, fever from infection was still the one thing that the Therons hadn’t been able to master. Even though very few people died from fever anymore, it was one of those things that everyone just had to wait and let run its course.