by Isabel Wroth
"Holy shit. Are you invading a solar system or something?"
His amusement was plain, and he spread his hands to widen the hologram so she could see the different levels and get a better idea of how massive the ship really was. "No, my one. Our territory is vast, and fifteen of our vessels all of the same size routinely patrol a specified quadrant. I don't know how to accurately describe units of measurement to convey their space, would you like to see a map?" She nodded, and the particles of light shifted to show her a solar system, and she listened attentively, trying to understand just how massive it was. She understood that each of the fifteen planets that orbited a red dwarf star, six times the size of Earth's sun, were all part of Sarazen territory, and if it took ten warships carrying twenty thousand warriors to patrol that territory, it had to be a shit ton of space. One warship per planet, basically, and smaller ships for supply, trading, transport and things ran between them all. "Were we close to any of these planets?" She asked, and Tarek shook his head, moving the scan to show her one of the three barren moons that would have been closest to them, and then a red dot to show her where the Aria had been lost. "We downloaded all the information from your ship's computer, and there would have been no way for your deep space sensors to pick up even this moon. They had not the strength to reach this distance. You would have passed this system by in two of your earth weeks."
That mildly depressed her and made her wonder how many viable planets they had passed because their ships sensors weren't strong enough to detect them. Made her wonder if the Aria, and the other ships carrying what was left of the human race, were just doomed to float around in space, indefinitely. "I have gained permission from the Sarazen ruling council, to share the frequencies and information of your people's vessels, among the armada and have commanded three of our smaller deep space vessels to attempt to locate the remaining ships of your kind. I can give no assurances that anything will come of it, but we will try."
"That's very generous, Tarek. Thank you." She murmured, not quite knowing what to say, or how she felt. A bit overwhelmed, she focused on staring at the planets revolving around in front of her. "Which one is Saraz?"
He waved his hand, flicked his fingers really, and all the planets save for one, disappeared, leaving the giant pinkish green planet with two moons circling it, hanging in the space between them. She bit into her lip and tried to mimic his movements to enlarge the image, delighted when the hologram responded and turned this way and that in response to the touches of her fingertip. "You are my one, Clary." he finally said, breaking the tense silence, and she could suddenly hear the blood pounding in her veins, how every hair on her body responded and stood on end at the low rumble of his voice. "It is my privilege now to ensure your health and your happiness. I should allow you to think my armada searches for your people, because I wish to please you. And though my desire to please you is great, it is not only at your pleasure that we will look for your people."
She looked up and met his eyes, glowing gold in the dim light, like someone had lit a flame behind his irises. It made her blood thicken and tingles race up from her toes to spark in her belly. "My people are warriors, males and females alike, our kind predatory and aggressive, and by our...biological prerogative, as you say, we take only one mate. We have millions spread out over these fifteen planets, our population grows at a slow, but steady rate, and twice during our years, there are breeding festivals where the unmated go to seek out their one. We know them by scent, and all it takes is one moment, one hint of your mate's flesh to know that indeed they are yours. But it sometimes takes as many as a hundred breeding festivals, traveling from planet to planet, festival to festival, seeking our one. Every warrior in my armada is unmated, and have attended more than ten festivals."
She goggled at that number, "Three hundred thousand males?" He inclined his head, and she did a bit more math, frowning over what she knew of their yearly cycle. He had told her that one of her earth years was the equivalent of a third of their year. It took their planet almost nine hundred days to revolve around their sun, because it was so large. So twice every three years..."Tarek, how old are you?" His head tilted and a small frown pulled between his brows while he thought. "Eleven hundred, of your earth years."
Her jaw hit the deck, and his lips canted up at the corners, "This surprises you,"
"Um, yeah! Humans have a hundred year lifespan, if that. Eleven hundred…How many breeding festivals have you attended?"
"Two, each year since I came of age. I have lost count, and I had lost faith that I would ever be gifted with a mate. I know of a handful of others older than I who have gone without finding their one. And yet within the space of four revs, four of my warriors, myself so favored, have been called by a female not of our kind. It is remarkable, and it is possible that some of your males might call to our females. Though in honesty I am not certain of it. You are fearful of me now,"
Fearful. Excited. Uncertain. Confused. Overloaded with information. "I'm overwhelmed, and I think it's because I don't understand yet, that I'm fearful. Can I sit? I feel a little lightheaded," The hologram of the planet was banished almost instantly, and before she could so much as squeak, Tarek had leapt the distance between them and scooped her up like she was going to faint. The chill that had crept over her body was banished the minute he pressed her against his chest. Her muscles relaxed, but all too soon he was setting her down on one of the lounges and growling under his breath. "I grew distracted, you have not eaten yet. Remain here a moment," He ordered gruffly, and his long legs stretched as he hustled towards one wall of the observation room and did something she couldn't see, and came back moments later with a tray of food. Huh, there must be a simulator or something over there she couldn't see.
He seemed pissed off, more at himself for having forgotten to feed her. He sat on the low table with the tray beside him and offered her the choicest bits of fruit and a sweet bread of some kind that melted deliciously on her tongue, and in between one bite she blurted, "I didn't sleep well last night."
She told him that for no definable reason, but it made his brows snap down intently and he straightened, asking her if she wished to lie down. "No. I think what I meant was, that I wasn't as comfortable with the other women as I'd thought I'd be."
"Were they insubordinate?"
"No. I don't know exactly what it was, maybe I'm more of a solitary person. I don't know. Ignore me, I'm being melodramatic."
"I will allow time for you to better know me and grow to understand the things that make you fearful. But my bed, in my quarters is where you will sleep from now on."
She asked to go back to the temple after breakfast, despite the fact that she really wanted to stay in the viewing room to just watch the stars go by. But she knew if she sat there and watched those beautiful sparkling lights, she would wonder just how many times they had passed a galaxy, a planet where they could have found a home. But they were about to have a home, the possibility of more. More than just drab grey walls with no windows, and looking through a microscope to see the beauty in the universe around her. With a massive alien to show it to her.
The thought made her smile, and she was smiling when the doors to the temple swished open and she was hit in the face with the intoxicating scent of the flowers and the grass, and the strange warm wind that blew through her hair. Tarek walked beside her up to the stone arch where the idol of their faith rested. She stared at it, at the massive beast staring at them, so alive it looked like it would prowl right off the stone steps and come alive. “What happens, when we get to Saraz?”
He stood next to her, and she could see him from her peripheral, his arms crossed over his chest, muscles bulging under his skin and it was a miracle they didn’t split the golden flesh right open. The tattoos that ran down from his scalp, to his throat and disappeared under the sleeves of his tunic. She wanted to touch them, but she hadn’t even asked him yet what they meant. “We will dock with a station that will house this vessel and it will
be resupplied for another journey, those of us disembarking will take a shuttle down to the planet-“
“No,” She laughed, “I mean with us. Me. You. The others.”
“Ah. Well, we will dock at the station, and await for most everyone else to disembark. But before we can go, I must await my replacement. After that, we will take a shuttle down to the planet surface and I will take you to our quarters in the city. Your people will be housed close by, and for the time being some of my people will act as liaisons. Show them their new home, help them acclimate, teach them our laws. As I will do for you.”
“Your replacement?”
“You are my one, I can no longer take command and risk my life now that I have a mate.”
“I’m sorry,”
“Why?”
“You’re being replaced, taken away from your position, because of me.”
Her stomach was churning with guilt, but before she could say more, he had turned and his fingers found their way into her hair. To her face. He cradled her head while he tipped her chin up and made her look at him. She hadn’t seen him smile, not really, she’d seen his lips curve up at the edges, but his face hadn’t softened at all. It did now, and it was the most devastatingly beautiful thing she’d ever seen. It made his eyes turn molten, made his entire face change. He brushed his knuckles down the edge of her cheek, his chest and hers brushing as he stepped closer, surrounding her with his intense heat. “I am being relieved, my one. Relieved from a life of loneliness. Relieved from hopelessness and desolation. I am being relieved, not taken away or losing anything. I have been given the greatest gift, my one, a gift that I thought I would never receive.”
He murmured the words to her, the tip of his nose touching hers, that sensual, sweet purr vibrating in his chest the whole time. He said those things to her, and her entire body felt like it melted and the only reason she was on her feet was because he had his hand in her hair, kneading gently at her scalp. She felt…overwhelmingly happy, touched, that he thought she was some kind of gift. Emotional, because this massive, powerful alien being had felt alone and desolate without her. “What will you do, if you’re not going to command an armada?” He tilted his head and rubbed his nose alongside hers, and she finally realized this must be the Sarazen version of a kiss, “Most likely I will be promoted to a seat on the elder council,”
“And me?”
“You may do whatever pleases you. I will take you to each planet in our solar system to gather flowers if it is your wish.”
She nodded, boldly returning his caress, and then touched her lips softly to his, feeling him still and tense around her. “Why did you do that?” He asked curiously, and she frowned, tugging her lip through her teeth, wondering if she’d just made some kind of mistake. “Because I um, I wanted you to know I was appreciative, moved even, by um, by what you said.” His palm slid down to her waist to pull her that last few inches closer to him, leaving her no room for her hands except on his biceps, and she could see him frown. “Humans touch lips when they are pleased?”
“O-or to convey um, affection. It’s called a kiss. I won’t do it if you don’t like it.”
“A kiss. To show affection,” He said pensively, touching one of his own to her mouth, and another like he was testing out the way it felt.
His lips were firm, like him, but oh so gentle, and the more he did it, the hotter she got. The more her head spun with desire, with want. “It brings you pleasure, I can smell it.” He growled, the sound pinging off her nerve endings until she shuddered and clung a little breathlessly to him. “It brings me pleasure to kiss you. Yes.” He made her feel like some kind of sensual, seductive being. Made her feel bold enough to slide her hands up over his thick shoulders and around his neck, his hair sliding along the backs of her hands like thick strands of silk.
She kissed him again, and this time she licked at his bottom lip, smiling when he hugged her back, his arms shaking as his muscles bulged. “Is this okay?” She asked, but she could feel just how okay it was, how he crushed her to him carefully, how the hard proof of his arousal dug into her belly and the purring rumbles deepened in his chest. “Show me more,” he commanded, a hungry chuff leaving him. She went up on her toes to get a better angle, and just when she meant to kiss him again, one of his arms tightened under her butt and hoisted her up off the ground so that they were eye to eye. It made her laugh, made her stomach dip and churn with unexpected excitement, “Why do you laugh?” He asked deeply, and she shook her head, stroking her hands down the stripe of his hair. “Because you’re strong, and you surprised me.”
He looked curiously at her for a moment, touching his lips to hers in such a way that they clung together and made a sweet, sensual, wet smacking sound. “Surprised you?” He purred, and she felt him moving with her, but she was too lost in the golden glitter of his eyes to notice or care where. “Mm hm.”
“You wished to be closer to me, I made it so.”
Her face hurt from smiling, blushing so much, and as she was this close and held so securely against him, she took a moment to trace the strong bones in his face with her fingertips, learn the texture of his skin and wonder why he didn’t have rough stubble on his cheeks. Maybe Sarazens didn’t grow facial hair. She traced his eyebrows, his brow, up along either side of his Mohawk and down to his nape. “You find my features pleasing,” He said with a smug smirk, and she couldn’t help but kiss that sexy twist of his lips, “Yes. I find your features very pleasing, Tarek.”
“Good. Then give me more of your kisses, my one.”
She’d never taught anyone how to kiss before, but Tarek picked it up very quickly and soon she wasn’t the one kissing him. He was still gentle, but it felt like she was being devoured. She opened her mouth to draw him in when suddenly she was spinning and a vicious snarl rent through the air. She blinked and found herself held behind him with one thick arm and it was him making those vicious, feral noises. “Apologies, Commander.” A soft hiss followed the deep voice, and Tarek relaxed slowly. “Perhaps in the future, my one, we should share these kisses in the privacy of our quarters.” She peeked around him and smiled at him, feeling how her lips throbbed, swollen from kiss after kiss. “Certainly, Commander.” She teased, rising up on her toes to touch a kiss to his cheek, and his lips curled at the edges.
Nine
She returned for the evening meal and saw Andi, the tiny, dark haired little engineer pacing back and forth on the far end of the room while the rest of the women shot her uncertain looks of concern. Cassie got up and met her at the door, leaning in to quietly murmur into her ear, “You need to talk to Andi. The warrior who wants her, told her she wouldn’t be sleeping down here with us anymore and she freaked.” Her heart dropped to her toes, her blood surged and this sensation of responsibility crashed down on her hard enough to make her feel like she’d shrunk a few inches. “Thanks.” She managed to rasp out, and Cassie moved away with a nod. The others looked at her expectantly, and she half turned away to touch the communicator on her wrist, “Tarek?” She murmured, and almost immediately he answered, “Yes, my one?”
Her stomach flopped with a heady mix of lust and relief, her skin rippling with it, “Andi needs my help, I’d like to take her to the observation deck you showed me earlier. Is that possible?”
“Of course it is. I will be there momentarily, Ohlen-“
“Not Ohlen, not yet. He’s frightened her by telling her that she won’t be spending her nights here with the other human women. I need to speak to her first. Please.”
His sigh came over the communicator, clearly expressing his frustration and his discontent, but he didn’t argue with her. Yet. “I will be there soon,”
“Thank you,”
Andi nearly leapt a foot into the air when she called her name, her face turning scarlet when she motioned her over, and came quickly. Hands shoved under her arms, hunched over protectively like she was waiting for some kind of blow to be delivered. “Come with me,” Andi nodded silently and fell i
nto step beside her, huddling closer when Tarek appeared in the hallway to escort them. A bleak expression fell over her now ashen white face, her terror plain to see, no doubt assuming that she was being taken to Ohlen and had no choice but to obey. Her chest hurt, like a giant fist was squeezing down on her lungs, making every breath extremely difficult to take.
Tarek looked at Andi, nostrils flaring, and then nodded tightly to her in understanding. He was silent as he led them up through the corridor, showing them into the observation room, dropping a gentle kiss on her brow before leaving, “Call, if you have need of me, my one.” He murmured, and she suddenly didn’t feel so…alone. Once he’d gone, she turned to find Andi standing by the viewing window, the same expression of awe on her face as she’d experienced earlier. It made her smile to know she wasn’t the only one fascinated by the streaming colors of the stars. “I hear that Ohlen wants you in his suite of rooms from now on.”
Andi looked at her, her head whipping around so fast Clary worried she’d pulled a muscle in her neck. Poor thing looked like she was going to throw up. She waved her hand and Andi stumbled like her feet were leaden, over to the comfortable couch that faced the window and slumped down, drawing her feet up onto the seat to hug her knees to her chest as tight as she could. She didn’t say anything in response, and it took her a moment to realize she hadn’t asked Andi a question. “I realize that we don’t know each other well, but you and the other women unanimously picked me to be your voice with the Sarazens. I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Are you afraid of Ohlen, in the same way you’re afraid of Ethan?”