The woman Sasha recognized, the woman she called Chris, frowned at him. “What could you have to say to us?” She wanted nothing to do with him. None of them did.
He waved his hand toward the Aqinas in the line, and Sasha stepped up onto the dry land. The moment her foot left the water, a blank expression covered her face and the light went out of her eyes. She stared straight in front of her, and her voice lost its ring.
Emily swept Sasha up and down with her eyes. The lifeless mask of her face horrified Emily more than the others, but Sasha approached the group and stopped in front of Chris. “I came to speak to you.”
Chris stared at her for a moment. Then her mouth dropped open. “Sasha!”
Chris rushed forward, but something in Sasha’s wooden demeanor made her stop short of throwing her arms around Sasha. She took hold of both her shoulders instead.
“Do you know this woman, Chris?” Emily asked
Chris gazed into Sasha’s face. “I only met her once, but I thought she was dead. What happened to you, Sasha?”
“I thought I was dead,” Sasha murmured. “I don’t remember exactly what happened.....”
From her place in the line, Frieda recognized it all. Without the water to anchor her, Sasha’s mind drifted with the fickle air. She couldn’t remember what happened to her. She glanced over her shoulder at the Aqinas to try to get her bearings. Nothing could restore her but the water. She longed for the water as much as the rest of them.
“The Romarie strangled you,” Chris told her. “It happened right in front of me. Do you remember the crash?”
Sasha blinked. “The crash....”
“What’s the last thing you do remember?” Chris asked.
Sasha hesitated. “It was raining.”
Fritz spoke up. “She washed into the river in the rain. That’s where we found her.”
Emily stepped forward. “Are you coming back with us? Is that why you’ve come?”
“I’m not coming back with you,” Sasha replied. “My home is with the Aqinas. Fritz….” She waved over her shoulder.
Chris nodded. “I understand. I guess the Aqinas Alpha has a human mate just like the others.”
Sasha smiled for the first time. “You can’t understand how comfortable and warm it is with the Aqinas. It's so comfortable and warm…..”
Chris and Emily glanced at each other. “What else can you tell us about the Aqinas?”
“There’s no questions there,” Sasha told them. “There’s no fear or wondering, and everyone embraces you in a warm, loving embrace.”
In her addled state, poor Sasha tried to explain what the Aqinas world was like, but they could never understand. While they talked, Fritz scanned the line. His eyes stopped on Frieda’s face. Through the trickle of water at his feet, he saw. He understood. She would never leave the water. She wouldn’t step out to speak to her sister. Her sister meant nothing to her here. She couldn’t get away from this place fast enough.
Chris sighed and nodded. “I’m glad you're happy there. Is that what you came to tell us?”
Sasha shook her head, but Fritz spoke up again. “There is another.”
“Another what?” Chris asked.
“Another human woman,” Fritz replied. “She came to us four days ago.”
“How did she come to you?” Emily asked. “Did she fall out of the Romarie ship like I did?”
“She came through the river, like Sasha,” he replied. “We found her at the mouth of the Borlass River.” He waved his hand toward the south.
The Ursidrean standing near Emily interrupted. “The Borlass River? That’s more than five hundred miles from here.”
Fritz shrugged. “That distance is nothing for the river. This woman is known to you, and she cannot rest until her people know where she is. She dreams every day and every night that her people are frightened something happened to her. She wants them to know she is safe.”
A shudder passed through Emily. “What does the woman look like?” She already knew the answer.
He held his hand up to his chest. “She stands about this tall. She has small hair, like this, around her head in small black curls.”
“Frieda!” Emily cried. “Where is she? Is she safe? Is she all right?”
Fritz nodded and smiled. “You are her people. She sent us here to tell you she is safe and happy. She is with us.”
Emily took a few steps toward him, but Chris held her back. “When can we get her back? If she’s worried day and night, we should get her back.”
He shook his head. “She is only worried for you. She worries you will worry about her. She is safe, and she will stay with us in the water.”
Emily narrowed her eyes at him. “How do I know she really wants to stay with you?”
“We wouldn’t keep her if she didn’t want to stay,” Fritz replied. “As Sasha said, it’s a very warm and comfortable place in the water with the Aqinas. Anyone would want to stay.”
Chris murmured into Emily’s ear. “I think we can believe him. The Aqinas are Angondrans like the other factions. They value hospitality and care of strangers. They wouldn’t keep Frieda against her will.”
Emily shrugged her hand away. “How can I see my sister for myself if I want to hear this from her?”
Poor little Emily and her tiny, insignificant emotions! She would never know the peace of the water. She would never know togetherness with other people. The air would always seal her away from everybody else. Nothing could induce Frieda to experience that isolation again—not for anything.
“You are always welcome to come to our territory to see her.” Fritz waved his hand over the company. “Any of you would be welcome.”
Chris turned to Emily. “Do you want to go see her?”
Emily shook her head. “Not now. Another time maybe.” Of course she didn’t. None of them wanted to see the Aqinas world. They would rather huddle in fear and cold on land.
Chris took Sasha’s hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? There are other human women in our factions. You wouldn't have to be alone with the Aqinas.”
“No one is alone among the Aqinas. Everyone knows your thoughts and feelings, and everyone loves you with a pure open love. It’s nothing like the way people live outside the water.” Sasha’s eyes already drifted back toward Fritz and the river. It was pointless to explain.
Sasha and Fritz took their places in the line and joined hands. Chris and Emily moved away. A surge of relief washed over Frieda. Her last connection to this wretched world crumbled into nothing. She was going home. A thunderous crash smashed into her ears. The scene vanished before her eyes, and the black void closed over her head.
Chapter 10
Frieda stood in the middle of the meadow and scanned the landscape in all directions. The wind tussled her hair and whipped her long white robe away from her body. The fresh breeze tingled in her nostrils.
The sky overhead shimmered a prism of every color, and the sunlight glittered over the waves in a million blinding sparks. Two enormous sea creatures, one slightly smaller than the other, crossed the sky and sent ripples through the water in their wake. The sun and wave patterns played on the stark white wall in the distance. Only a few people walked to and fro under the wall today.
Frieda brushed her hand over the tips of the grass. The longer stems poked up under her robe and tickled her legs. She turned her back on the wall and gazed toward the corner of the forest leading to the village. Just then, Deek came around the corner and strode toward her. “I thought I’d find you out here. What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
“Actually,” she replied, “I went to see my old house.”
He cocked his head to one side. “And how is it?”
“It isn’t there anymore,” she told him.
He studied her. “Does that surprise you?”
“Not really,” she replied. “I haven’t been back to it in months, and I would never
want to live there again. I suppose it only makes sense it would cease to exist, now that it’s not part of my life anymore.”
He nodded and waited for her to say something else.
“But my plants are still there,” she went on. “That’s one good thing.”
His eyes flew open. “Your plants?”
“The ones I tended when I first lived there,” she explained. “The ones I had growing in my window box. When I moved to the village, I planted them out in the ground under the trees, and they’re still there.”
“Congratulations,” he explained. “You have a green thumb.”
“Not really,” she replied. “They were the same species as some others growing in that part of the forest. They would naturally do well growing on their own, and as you say, I didn’t really do anything to them. It was more the idea of doing something with them that got me interested.”
He took her hand. “I’m glad it did.” They started walking toward the village. “Are you okay?”
Her head whipped around. “Why do you ask?”
“I wondered,” he replied, “after you saw your sister again at the convocation last night.”
“Why should I not be okay about that?” she asked. “I’ve seen her dozens of times.”
“I know,” he replied, “and every time you see her, you get very quiet for a day or two afterwards. You don’t regret your decision to stay here, do you?”
“Not at all,” she exclaimed. “I guess that’s why I get quiet. I keep thinking how much more I love her now that I’m here. I couldn’t love her like this if I was on land.”
“How does that work?” he asked.
“I don’t think I ever knew what love was before I came here,” she replied. “The water makes loving others so easy and natural. Out there, on land and in the air, love is a constant battle. You have to fight every minute to love the smallest thing, like a plant or an animal. With people, it’s much more difficult to the point of impossible. I wouldn’t want to try it again. I’ll stay here.”
“You saw at the convocation,” he went on, “the factions are moving more and more toward peace. Emily and her mate Faruk are working with Donen to ratify peace agreements with the Lycaon as well as the Felsite. We’ll have to travel to the land more now.”
“An agreement between the Ursidreans and the Lycaon and the Felsite is a long way toward planetary peace,” she pointed out. “The Avitras still hate the Ursidreans with a passion. They won’t make peace any time soon, and all those factions still hate the Aqinas. We’ve got a long way to go before we’re needed on land again.”
“You know what I mean,” Deek replied. “The Aqinas won’t be able to hide in the ocean forever. Now that your sister knows you’re alive, you’ll probably have to see her again some time.”
Frieda shook her head. “I’ll leave the peace negotiations to you and Fritz. I’m happy here. I don’t want to go back to the land, not even for an instant.” She shivered. “I can’t forget that terrible air.”
He chuckled. “It is pretty nice here.”
“I don’t know how you can stand to go up there,” Frieda remarked.
“We only go if we have to,” he replied. “We’ve saved many thousands of Angondran lives by negotiating peace between the factions before. If we can do it again, we will.”
“Then you should be expert at it,” she returned. “You don’t need me tagging along.”
He shook his head. “You were right about one thing, though. A human woman like you could get a lot further with them than we ever could.”
She gasped. “What are you talking about? Why would they listen to me?”
“Didn’t you see the way those women listened to Sasha when she tried to explain about the Aqinas world?” he asked. “They were fascinated.”
“They were clueless,” she shot back. “They couldn’t understand a word she said.”
“No, but they wanted to,” he replied. “They want to know what it’s like down here, and they want to understand the Aqinas. When the day comes for us to join the rest of the factions in planetary peace, you and Sasha will have better success convincing them to accept us than any other Aqinas could. You can explain to your sisters and your friends what it’s like here, and why we are the way we are, and why we have the convocation, and everything else. The factions won’t trust us or listen to us, but you human women trust and listen to each other. You could negotiate on our behalf.”
“If the day ever comes,” she countered.
“It will,” he replied. “Be certain of that.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” she told him. “But if the day comes, I’ll do my best to help the Aqinas, and I know Sasha will, too. I never wanted anything but for the others to understand the Aqinas, and to understand why I’ve chosen to make this world my home.”
“We are part of Angondra, just like the other factions,” he explained. “No peace on this planet can be complete without us.”
“That is true,” she replied. “You are one people.”
He stopped walking and took her in his arms. He kissed her, and his hands trailed down her back.
She pulled away first. “I have to get back to the village.”
He followed her, but he dragged his feet. “You weren’t in any hurry to get back when I found you just now.”
She laughed. “I’m meeting Trin. We’re going to visit Hen and her new baby.”
“When are you going to stop visiting babies?” he grumbled.
“Never,” she replied. “I want to see as many of them as I can.”
“But kids and babies are everywhere,” he complained. “Why do you keep having to run off and visit them.”
“I’ve seen so few of them since I came,” she replied. “Now that I’m seeing them, I have to really see them.”
“So see them,” he returned. “Do you have to run off everywhere else to see them?”
She drew close to him. “Don’t worry. I’ll always have enough time for you, and now that I’m seeing children, it’s only a matter of time before we have some of our own.”
A light twinkled in his eyes. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
She took his hand, and they passed around the corner into the village. Five boys barrelled down the path and stampeded past them. They shouted and waved sticks at each other, but they took no notice of Deek and Frieda.
Deek jerked his head at them. “Is this what you want?”
She slipped her arm around his waist. “No. We should have girls.”
THE END
Book 6 – The Alien’s Bliss
Chapter 1
Aimee Sandoval stuck her head through the door and called. “Are you ready to go, Marissa?”
Marissa stood up from her place by the fire. “I’m ready. You don’t have to shout.”
Aimee looked her up and down. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“You could see me if you looked around,” Marissa pointed.
Aimee’s head whipped around. “What’s the matter?”
Marissa walked away into the Lycaon village. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
Aimee fell in at her side. At the edge of the village, Aimee crouched to bound forward, but Marissa laid a hand on her arm to stop her. “I don’t feel like running. Let’s just walk.”
Aimee’s mouth fell open. “What? It’s ten miles up into the mountains.” She pointed to the summit towering over them. “It will take all day to walk up there.”
“Half the day, maybe,” Marissa replied. “Anyway, I don’t feel like running. Let’s take our time. Besides, we won’t be able to talk if we’re running.”
Aimee blinked at her. Then she shrugged. “Okay. I thought you would want to run to get there faster, but I guess we can walk.”
They set off through the trees at an easy pace. “Are you in a hurry? Do you have to get back soon to join the warriors?”
“I don’t have to get back,” Aime
e replied. “I’m on leave for the next three days.”
Marissa eyed her. “How did you manage to take three day’s leave? The warriors needed every hand right now.”
“They’ll be all right without me for a few days,” Aimee replied. “I wanted to take time for this visit without rushing back.”
Marissa threw back her shoulders. “Good for you. This visit means a lot to me, too.”
The leaves around them showed their bright colors with the changing seasons and fluttered in a brisk breeze. Cold weather would settle in soon. “Have you heard from Chris since she moved back up the mountain?”
Marissa shook her head. “She hasn’t been down, but Turk came to visit Caleb. I wasn’t there. He had something to report from the border. I didn’t ask what it was.”
“It’s nothing we haven’t talked about already,” Aimee told her. “All the factions are cutting their border patrols. The Ursidreans have almost no one on the border anymore—certainly no armed patrols. Only the Avitras keep a full complement of Guards on the border, and I don’t see how they can keep that up for much longer.”
“That explains why the warriors don’t need you right now,” Marissa replied. “Soon they won’t need you at all. What would you do with yourself then?”
“I wouldn’t mind.” Aimee ran her fingers through her short auburn hair to comb it out of her eyes. “I only joined because they needed me. I’m sure I’ll find something to do.”
Marissa shot her a sidelong glance. “Your hair is growing back.”
Aimee blushed. “I meant to cut it again before we went up the mountain, but I let it slip.”
“It looks nice this way,” Marissa told her. “You looked so severe with it shaved.”
Aimee smiled. “Emily sure was surprised when she saw me.”
“Is that why you did it?” Marissa asked. “To shock your relatives?”
“I did it to keep it out of my way when I went on patrol,” Aimee replied. “It’s so much more convenient that way.”
Optorio Civil War Complete Series Box Set (Books 1 - 6): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance (Optorio Chronicles Book 2) Page 72