Taming Ryock
Page 20
“By your command,” Byland says before racing back to the mass of bodies. He begins to bark orders at the surviving Rathturians.
“Marketh, send word to father,” Lexi chokes out through her tears as she holds Thorn tightly to her chest.
“I have already,” Marketh says from the spot he has taken on Isla’s shoulder.
Her body is slowly shaking now, and as I watch her lips turn a light shade of blue, I prepare for her death rattle.
For the black hole that will surely engulf my universe when she dies.
We rush through the doors at a fast pace, each of us trying to keep a grasp on the world as we make our way through men and women of all kinds. Bodies surge out of our way at the shouting of Maul.
“How far to the medical wards?” I ask Marketh.
“Too far for it to matter,” he says as his voice cracks.
My feet slow at his words. If it is too far to matter than at least I can try to give her dignity in her final moments.
Kneeling down on the floor, I pay no heed to those around me.
“What’s going on?! Why did you stop?” Lexi screams at me.
“To say goodbye,” I look up to her, my words coming out in a whisper.
“No!” she shrieks out as she turns into Maul’s body, his arms wrapping around her tightly.
Bending over Isla, I place my lips as gently as I can with my stupid body. I, the mighty Ryock, unable to save a delicate human.
Lightly kissing her lips, I whisper, “I love you, my star.”
There is nothing but silence around us as my vision slowly begins to fade in and out. She’s dying now. There is no doubt of that.
Her final breath comes to me.
I start to purr, trying to give her comfort in her last moment.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Marketh barks with laughter.
“Marketh,” Maul and Lexi shout in horror.
His cackle can’t be contained as he says, “Big fucking guy here knocked her up!”
Lifting my eyes to little evil ball of silver, I have no words for him. My mouth falls open in anger.
“Look down you, big oaf! Look at her fucking wound!”
Lexi and Maul are instantly by our side.
I rip the shirt away from her chest, more than likely exposing far more flesh than she would have ever liked.
And there, for all of the world to see, her flesh is slowly crawling back together. The internal organs that were black and burnt are shedding the dead flesh away and slowly turning pink.
A shallow breath goes through her nose and then another. Each one deeper than the last.
“He knocked her up and she got some extra genetic material thrown in the mix,” Marketh cheers as he zips around us. “We still need to get to the medical bay, but there’s no rush now. She’s going to make it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Isla
Big, strong arms hold me tight, cradling me close to a hard vibrating chest. A nose pushes through my hair.
Lungs breathe me in.
I am his air. I am all that he needs to go on.
The sentiment pulses through the bond.
Without me, there is no hope. No light. There is only oblivion.
I cling to the warmth enveloping me, needing to be closer.
My skin presses against soft, fleecy skin.
Something wet and rough drags across my cheek… my chin… my neck. I tip my head back.
“Isla,” Ryock whispers.
From his lips, my name is so much more than my name. It’s hope. It’s fear. It’s an unanswered prayer begging for attention.
“Ryock?” I gasp.
A deep, rumbling purr crashes into me, so strong it threatens to push me back into the darkness.
“My star,” he says, his voice thick with emotion, and the grip around me tightens.
Relief. So much relief pours into me it leaves me breathless.
“Thank god,” I hear Lexi choke out from somewhere close. Somewhere behind me.
Why is she sobbing?
“I told you,” Marketh says triumphantly. “She’s as good as new. Better than new, in fact.”
“So you did,” I hear Maul concede, and even in his voice there’s a hint of relief.
Why was everyone so worried?
Slowly, I peel my eyes open. Bright light hits me, too harsh, too sharp, but with stubborn determination I wait for the pain to pass.
Ryock’s face comes into focus. His eyes are blazing, two burning suns threatening to go supernova.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” I ask, though I feel like I should know.
Ryock’s expression twists until his features are tight and pinched as if he’s in pain. “You were shot.”
All at once it comes back to me. The pain. The burning agony. The charred hole in my chest.
I pull back from Ryock’s chest and at first he resists it before his grip reluctantly gives.
Looking down, I see that I’m wearing a white shirt I wasn’t wearing before.
Yanking the shirt up, my eyes scan over my chest, searching for the hole, but all I see is smooth, unblemished skin.
Reaching down, I touch the spot where I was shot. It’s firm, there’s no soreness, and the flesh is smooth.
“Wow,” I remark. “Alien medicine is pretty damn awesome.”
“It wasn’t alien medicine,” Marketh scoffs, his silver orb zipping over. “You healed all on your own.”
“What?” I blink at him, totally not understanding what he just said.
Ryock makes a sound and I start to turn my face towards him when something crashes into me.
“Isla!” Lexi cries out, her arms wrapping around me as she throws all of her weight into the embrace.
I grunt and almost fall back but manage to keep my balance at the last second.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she sobs into my neck and hugs me hard. “I thought you were dead.”
“Trust me, I don’t plan on being shot again,” I tell her as I hug her back.
It must have been a really close call if she’s this upset.
I rub and pat her back as she cries, purging out the stress of what just happened. When her sobs start to die down but she still shows no sign of releasing me, I look around the room. The walls are white and I’m sitting on a bed surrounded by medical equipment.
“So... What happened? Where are we?”
“We’re in the Citadel,” Marketh answers. “In the medical ward.”
I nod my head, accepting that, and glance towards Ryock. He’s still staring at me hard, his eyes blazing with emotion. Through the bond I can feel he’s barely keeping himself in check.
“And I somehow healed myself? How did that happen?”
There’s this long pregnant pause before Marketh gives a drawn out sigh. “Really? No one else? Not even you, big guy?”
When everyone remains quiet, Marketh sighs again. “I suppose I’ll explain it.”
He floats closer to me. “You see, Isla, when a male and a female are attracted to each other, they—”
“Marketh,” Maul growls, cutting him off.
Marketh shimmers and buzzes with indignation. “She did ask, Maul.”
Lexi giggles and pulls away, rubbing at her eyes.
“Just get to the point,” Maul says and adjusts Thorn’s weight on his hip.
“Very well,” Marketh says. “Long story short, Isla, when the big brute over there knocked you up, he also gave you an extra bit of genetic material. His genetic material has merged with your genetic material and now you share his ability to heal.”
“For real?” I gasp.
“For real,” Marketh confirms.
I shake my head and reach down, placing a hand on my belly. What Marketh said is so amazing it’s almost terrifying.
“And our baby? Our baby is alright?”
“All is well,” Marketh says, and I get to experience that same strong sense of relief everyone else is experiencing.r />
Thank god. I don’t know what I would do if I lost our little one.
Big hands suddenly wrap around my hips and yank me close. Ryock settles me on his lap and wraps his arms possessively around me like he doesn’t want to let me go.
He buries his face into the crook of my neck and breathes me in.
“And… I think that’s our cue to leave,” Marketh snickers. “Let’s give the two love birds some privacy.”
Marketh zips away, heading for the door. I relax against Ryock, enjoying the vibrations of his purr against my back. I get the sense again that he’s on edge and could quite possibly snap at any moment.
“Come, my heart. You need rest before you collapse,” Maul says, approaching the bed.
Lexi nods her head and let’s Maul pull her into his side. His left arm wraps around her middle while he holds Thorn in his right.
“I love you,” she says, looking at me and wiping the last of her tears from her eyes.
My heart aches in a good way to see the three of them together. I know I promised her I’d never get shot again, but I’d take that bolt again in a heartbeat if it meant saving them… if I’m not pregnant, of course.
I smile at her. “I love you too. Now get some sleep, you look like shit.”
She laughs at me and shakes her head.
Maul looks to me. His eyes are full of tenderness and affection, but there’s also this glint that tells me he knows exactly what I did. “Given the circumstances, the Supreme Leader has graciously postponed our audience. There are trusted guards posted outside, but we’ll be in the next room over if you need us.”
With that, Maul gives us one last nod and then the four of them make their way to the exit.
The door swishes open then shut. Everything falls quiet.
There’s only the two of us. Sharing the same air. The same bond. The same heartbeat.
“Isla,” Ryock groans as if he’s in pain and the dam between us bursts open.
Love. Fear. Anger. Pain. Relief.
It all slams into me, leaving me stunned as I struggle not to drown under the weight of his emotions.
He spins me around in his arms, bringing us face to face.
Breasts smash against pecs. Hips meet hips.
“I thought I lost you. I tasted oblivion.”
There’s so much pain there, so much pain I hate it.
Looking into his eyes, I watch them darken and for a moment I experience a fleeting flash of what he experienced.
A yawning expanse of emptiness and despair that’s never-ending.
Then the spark between us blazes to life, driving away all the darkness.
Our baby.
I cling to Ryock, trembling. Crying. Sobbing.
“I’m sorry,” I’m mumble as the full weight of what happened hits me. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I keep repeating.
He thought I was dead and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself for doing that to him. It wasn’t intentional, but it hurt him regardless.
A low, throaty growl is all the warning I get before his lips smash into mine. His kiss is rough, hungry, desperate, and full of need.
The need to reconnect. The need to bind our souls again.
His mouth slants over mine and I throw myself into the kiss. Giving him everything I have to give.
My love, my body, and my heart.
My soul.
My forever.
What words can’t say, I push through the bond and feel it growing and deepening between us.
Healing him.
I repeat back to him what he said when I woke up.
He is everything I want and need. Without him, there is no hope. No light. There is only oblivion.
Isla, my name resonates through the bond, and I marvel at it.
My star. My everything. My forever.
Ryock, I push back through the bond. I love you.
We grab at each other’s clothes, tearing away the last barriers between us.
Seams snap. Fabric rips open. Breath mixes with breath.
I pull him into myself, promising to never let go. To always cherish him. To cherish this.
Big hands lift me up and then pull me back down until I’m full, so blissfully full of him.
“I love you,” I cry out.
Screaming it to the world, the universe, the stars.
I love you, I push through the bond, speaking it directly to his soul.
I love you, he pushes back and I experience true bliss, true happiness.
He drives his hips up, over and over.
Flesh driving into flesh. Pleasure creating pleasure.
And together, with our minds, bodies, and souls joined together, we heal.
We become one again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ryock
Thankfully, for Isla’s sake and mine, we are kept out of the Tribunal’s official hearings. Instead, we are permitted to watch the proceedings in a private room on holovid.
It’s surprising to me that I would even be permitted to see what happens considering I could still be thought of as an enemy.
The Tribunal Assembly Chamber is packed. Every floating podium is filled. A representative from each of the twenty-three different races that make up the Tribunal is in attendance, which is almost unheard of.
The Supreme Leader, a crimson Rathturian, reigns over it all from his floating Throne positioned in the forefront.
On the floor, below the throne, stands a single Crima. He’s tall, taller than most Crima I’ve encountered, and his hard outer shell is a dark, sickly shade of green that reminds me of the murky swamps on my homeworld. Big black eyes gleam with malevolent energy and four arms twitch at his sides, his fists clenching and unclenching in anticipation.
Justice with the Tribunal is an odd thing. Sometimes it’s swift and merciless, and at other times it has been known to drag on forever. Today, it is the former of the two.
“By a vote of twenty-one for, and one undecided, Crant of the Crima race, we have formally come to the decision that your race shall be removed from the Tribunal’s ranks. Your names and records shall be scrubbed from our official records,” the Supreme Leader declares.
“You! You would not dare do this to us!” Crant shouts at the Supreme Leader. “Not a single one of your lesser races will stand against us!”
Leaning forward in his throne, Supreme Leader gives the Crima leader a wicked grin. “Crant, you will only control your solar system and the three neighboring systems.”
The Crima may not have eyebrows, but if he did I imagine they would reach all the way up to the tips of his antenna.
“They have completely stripped them of their power. Whether the Crima will fight this or attempt to use subterfuge to keep control… who knows? The system in place has been static for so long… Nothing changed. Now it seems everything will be changing,” Maul says beside me.
Back on the holoscreen, the Crima leader bursts out in rage. “You cannot take our property! You have no right!”
“I have the right as the Supreme Leader of the Tribunal,” the Supreme Leader says quietly, then continues louder. “I have no need to explain to you how this works. All of your military forces will soon be stripped of their power. You will no longer be permitted to experiment on any races. Including those of the Tribunal.”
“This will not work, Creaven. You don’t have the power…” Crant falls into a stutter as two Fourth-Striped Red Masks come marching towards him followed by a strange looking male.
The strange male is half machine and half humanoid. I’ve never seen the like of him before.
“Remove Crant from the Citadel. The Vicarion delegation have requested and been granted approval to research the Crima race,” Supreme Leader, Creaven, says with a smile.
The screen darkens as Maul shuts it off.
“Holy shit!” Lexi whispers quietly.
“What’s holy shit?” I ask Isla quietly. I’ve been meaning to ask how feces can be considered sacred.
/> “Another saying,” she grins at me. “Like worshipping the porcelain god.”
“Ah,” I say, nodding.
“What’s a Vicarion?” Isla asks.
“Those are the guys who helped Maul and me when we got trapped on that space orbital,” Lexi says, looking to Maul. “They are a race who lives on the outer rims of the galaxy. They used to be a warrior race until they went too far and lost their female population. Now they are searching for a race that is compatible with their own. They believe humans to be that race, but they’re being cautious. It would be a terrible blow to their hopes if we aren’t compatible.”
“Wow. So what was that part machine, part humanoid guy?” Isla asks.
“That was a Vicarion,” Maul grunts.
“Oh… um, yikes. They look scary as shit,” Isla murmurs.
Scary isn’t the word I would use to describe them. I find them more interesting than anything.
“What is to become of the races the Crima had control of?” I ask Maul quietly.
“They will fall under Rathturian control until we either distribute them to other races or they are able to take the vacant seat on the Tribunal.”
“Couldn’t the humans do that?” Isla asks.
“Not as of yet, no. Your race has yet to achieve warp drive capabilities, and as of right now they are under the protection of the Vicarions,” Maul answers.
“Why are humans under the protection of the Vicarions?” Isla asks with a frown.
“The Vicarions have taken us humans under their protection until they have determined if we are a viable breeding match for them or not,” Lexi explains then sighs. “It will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully, their intervention will stop people from disappearing from Earth.”
“You mean like me?” Isla asks, and I can sense her anger through our bond. The ache of missing almost two complete years of her life has angered her much over the last couple of days.
Nodding to her sister, Lexi leans over to give her a quick hug. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find you sooner.”
Isla shakes her head as the two of them pull apart. “It’s better that you didn’t. I wouldn’t have found Ryock if you had.”