Protected by the Alien Warrior

by Hope Hart

  The Zinta hands me the rope while Aroth stalks toward me.

  “Get down there before I push you down. The warrior will soften your fall.”

  I’d rather be stuck in a dark hole in the ground with Vrex than up here with these motherfuckers. The Zinta lowers me down while Aroth roars at his people, obviously enraged that Vrex was able to follow me here and do so much damage. But I block it all out as soon as I’m lowered enough that Vrex can pull me down into his arms.

  I stare up at him, furious even though his battered, swollen face is the best thing I’ve ever seen.

  “What were you thinking?” I snap.

  “I couldn’t leave you here alone.”

  I wrestle with that for a moment. This wasn’t a breakout attempt?

  “You got put in here on purpose?”

  He grins at me. “I couldn’t get you out without first getting in. And I’ve killed enough of them that they need to regroup.”

  I sigh, reaching up to prod at my head. Fireworks explode in front of my eyes as my hand brushes over the bump, and Vrex leans forward, catching my hand. The Voildi knocked me out when I was taken, and I’d give just about anything for a few painkillers.

  “You know, for a self-confessed villain, you seem to care a lot about the woman you were hired to find.”

  His jaw tightens.

  “You should have left me. Why would you do something so stupid?”

  “I couldn’t leave you.”

  “Well, now they have both of us to keep each other in line. They’ll threaten me to make you behave. And as soon as they sell me, they’ll kill you.”

  “That’s not the fighting spirit I’m used to.”

  I glare at him, and he holds me close while turning his head to examine our surroundings.

  If I were going to trap two people in a hole in the ground, I’d definitely design it just like this. The walls are made of smooth stone, and while I’m pretty good at climbing, I doubt I’d be able to scramble up to the top without risking a nasty fall.

  And if Vrex tried to climb it and slipped? His huge body would crush me.

  It’s suddenly silent above us. “Where do you think they’ve gone?” I whisper.

  “Likely to arrange for your sale.”

  I grit my teeth at the thought. “Are you okay?”

  He nods. “Get on my shoulders.”

  “Huh?”

  He crouches, and I sigh but climb on until I’m sitting on him like a kid at Disney World. Then he slowly rises to his feet, his huge hands wrapped around my knees to help me balance. I see where this is going.

  I’m tall enough to reach the grate, and I push my hands up against it. “Shit.”

  It’s not budging. My guess is that they’ve reinforced it with those rocks now that Vrex is in here with me.

  Vrex crouches back down, and I climb off his shoulders as I blow out a breath.

  “Well, the good news? They can’t force us to come out. If they try and come down here, we can kill them.” I hand Vrex the knife from beneath my tunic. His mouth drops open, and I nod at his frown.

  “Yeah, women are continually underestimated. On all planets. The problem is that they’ll eventually just starve us out. If they withhold water, we’ll be begging them to let us out of here.”

  I slump down, suddenly depressed, and Vrex leans over, taking my chin in his hand.

  “I swear to you, no matter what happens, I will come for you. I will never let them take you away from me, not while I still have breath in my body.”

  He brushes away a tear as it falls down my cheek, and then I’m burying my face in his chest as he wraps his arms around me, stroking my back.

  “It’s been one hell of a week,” I sob, and he murmurs his agreement.

  When my face feels hot and swollen and I’ve got no tears left, I slowly move back. “We need to come up with some kind of plan.”

  He nods. “We will respond based on their actions. Let’s see what they do.”

  I blow out a breath. “Okay.” We’re quiet for a long moment, and then I sit on a large rock, leaning back against the wall.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you when I found that note from Ivy. It’s just…my ex lied a lot. We just broke up, and I think I’m still dealing with it.”

  “He lied to you?”

  I nod. “He wasn’t trying to be hurtful. He wasn’t cheating on me or anything. It was little things. He’d say it was fine that I had to cover a shift or that I’d probably miss dinner. He said he knew what he was getting into when he first asked me out. If he’d just been honest, maybe we could’ve worked it out, or I could’ve broken it off earlier before we got to such a bad place. It turns out that it was never fine. He decided I didn’t care about our relationship and broke up with me on the phone. By distance,” I clarify, when Vrex’s face is blank. “He wasn’t with me, but we were talking.”

  Vrex looks intrigued, and for a moment I fantasize about what it would be like to introduce him to Earth.

  He’s silent for a moment, and then he frowns. “I should be apologizing to you. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you Rakiz had sent me to look for you.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  He shifts, obviously uncomfortable. “You were the first female I had met who was not afraid of me. My only skills are hunting and killing. I had nothing to offer you, and you…joked with me. You talked to me like I was just a warrior. I’m used to everyone else believing that I am nothing but the Assassin of Agron. But with you…it was different. I didn’t want to lose that.”

  My heart cracks. “You’re good at a lot more than just hunting and killing, Vrex. I’ve seen the furniture you carved in your home, and you’re incredibly talented. You’re funny when you let yourself relax. You’re amazing in bed. You’re kind and caring, and you made me feel safe, even when I was lost on a strange planet. I know it was your uncle who made you think you were a monster. But even living life as an assassin couldn’t turn you into the monster he called you.”

  Vrex’s eyes darken as he stares at me for one long moment and then reaches for me, wrapping me in his arms again.

  I snuggle close. “Why do you collect favors? What do you use them for?”

  He shrugs, leaning his chin on the top of my head. “They’re security in this world. A guarantee that I’ll be left alone.”

  I nestle closer to him. “Is being alone really that great?” I feel as if I’m asking myself the same question, and we’re both quiet for a long moment.

  “I thought so,” he murmurs, running his chin gently along the top of my head. “But now I’m not so sure.”

  I smile up at him, and he leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

  “I have used my favors to get across the Great Water. And I will use the rest of them if it means that you will be safe. Don’t worry, little Flame Hair. I won’t let them hurt you.”

  I blink back tears. “You used your favors for me?”

  He nods. “Rakiz has spread the word. Anyone who owes me a favor has been notified that I need help.”

  I thought I had no tears left, but more of them are winding hot trails down my face.

  “I’ll help you get new favors,” I promise, and he grins at me, his white teeth flashing in the low light.

  “I don’t need favors…if I have you.”

  Ivy

  A few more hours pass before a Zinta appears, leering down at us through the grate. “Stay seated if you want this water,” he warns. “If you get to your feet, I will pour it on you.”

  Vrex vibrates with fury next to me, and I reach for his hand. Both of us want nothing more than to take this guy out, but we have no idea how many other Zintas are out of sight above us.

  Earlier, Vrex handed me back my knife and instructed me to hide it. But we need to wait for our chance.

  We stay seated, and the Zinta lowers a bucket of water on a rope. I’m thirsty, but I wait until the Zinta has replaced the metal grate and walked away before I tur
n to Vrex.

  “Do you think it’s drugged?”

  He shrugs. “If they drug us, they will need to climb down here and pull us up.”

  I reach out a hand and scoop up some water, tasting it. Vrex watches me closely.

  “I will wait before I drink some,” he says. “If you become unconscious, I will at least be able to fight them off. If we both are unconscious…”

  “We’re screwed.”

  He nods, and we spend a few minutes in silence. His hand clenches occasionally, as if he’s missing his sword.

  “This is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” I mutter.

  He glances at me.

  “My favorite book as a kid. Never mind. We need to start thinking about a plan. Want to hear my thoughts?”

  Vrex narrows his eyes at me, and I have the weirdest feeling that he’s reading my mind.

  “They’re going to take me, Vrex. And when they do, you’re going to lose your shit, and they’re probably going to kill you. Not only are we seriously outnumbered, but you don’t even have your sword.”

  “I won’t let them take you.”

  “Listen to me—”

  “No.”

  “Vrex.”

  He narrows his eyes at me, lowering his head as his chin sticks out stubbornly. God, his mom must have had her hands full with him.

  “I need you to find me,” I say, getting to my feet. I grind my teeth as he stares at me silently. I need to speak his language.

  “You’re no good to me dead,” I snap. “I need you to play along, let me be taken, and then you can break yourself out of here.”

  He growls, reaching out and snagging my wrist. “And what if I can’t get to you in time? What if my favors don’t come through?”

  “Trust me to stay alive. If those furry guys are planning to sell me, that means they don’t want me dead. At least not right away. I can look after myself. So let me do it.”

  I stare down into his hard face, and then I’m pushing his hair back and running my finger down his long scar.

  “One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or not at all,” I quote. He stares at me, frowning, and I brush my fingers over his cheek. “I trust you to find me,” I whisper. “Trust me too.”

  He trembles for a long moment, and then he pulls me closer, pressing his lips to mine. He kisses me like I’m something infinitely precious. Like he can’t handle the thought of losing me. Like he’ll come for me, no matter how far they take me.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” he murmurs. “I just found you, little Flame Hair.”

  “We’ve got this,” I reassure him even as my heart pounds at the thought of being separated from him. This is the best plan, I know it. If they take me to be sold, they’re unlikely to be focused on Vrex for a while. I shiver. At least I hope so. I’m trying to ignore the little voice in my head that tells me they’ll kill him when they take me.

  No. After the way he killed so many of them and with his reputation on this planet, they’ll want to kill him slowly. Bile rises, but I know I’m right. They’ll want to make a spectacle of his death.

  I tremble harder at the thought. What if he doesn’t escape? What if they take me and then kill him and I never see my huge, brave warrior again?

  How did it come to this? How did I end up feeling so much for this guy in such a short time? After I’d spent my life holding people at a distance, Vrex kicked down my walls, stalked over my boundaries, and made me care more than I’d ever thought possible.

  “I can’t lose you,” I murmur. “Please don’t let them kill you.”

  He shakes against me, and I glance up. “Are you…laughing?”

  “I may not agree with your plan, Ivy, but it is a good one. Their attention will be split, and they will believe me wounded and unable to get free from here.”

  I glance up at the metal grate holding us prisoner. “And how will you get free from here?”

  He smiles, and my breath catches in my throat as I stare at him.

  The smile leaves his face as we’re both silent for a long moment, and I raise my hand, running my finger over his lips. “You’re even better looking when you smile,” I mutter. “You shouldn’t do that when there are any other women around. Ever.”

  His eyes widen, surprise flashing over his face, and then he laughs. “You think any other female would amuse me like you do? Besides, other females are afraid of me, remember?”

  His lips twist, and I grin at him. By now, I know him well enough to be sure that the blank expression he’s slapped on his face is covering up the hurt.

  “Good,” I say. “Keep being scary. I don’t want to have to fight any bitches for my man.”

  The breath leaves him, and he stares at me like he’s never seen me before.

  I raise my eyebrow. “What?”

  He smiles again, and my chest clenches.

  “Yeah, I was serious about you not doing that around anyone else. Keep that sexy smile for me,” I joke.

  “You are the only one who makes me want to smile,” he says. Then he leans back slightly and reaches behind his neck. “I want you to wear this,” he says, tying the necklace around my neck.

  “Vrex…I can’t. This was your mom’s.”

  He nods. “She would have loved you,” he says. “This symbol is for protection. It will keep you safe until I can find you.”

  I swallow around the lump in my throat and stroke the gold pendant as Vrex pulls me into his arms and kisses me again.

  “We’re going to make them pay,” I murmur. “Them and the Voildi. For what they did to Ilax and for what they’ve done to us.”

  He nods. “We will.”

  Vrex

  The moment that they take Ivy from me is one of the worst of my life. It’s as bad as when I learned that my mother had died. When my father sent me away. When I found Ilax in a pool of his own blood.

  It takes all of my self-control to stay seated as they lower a rope and instruct her to hold onto it.

  “We’ve got this, Vrex,” she murmurs. Her face is pale, her lower lip trembling, but she squares her shoulders. I clench my fists, battling the urge to reach for her, to take her lips with mine. We’ve already said our goodbyes and agreed to this plan.

  But it is not easy.

  She takes the rope, and I want to roar as she’s lifted above me. Panic makes my hands shake, and I sit on them, determined to keep my promise, knowing that Ivy is right, that we must be separated for a short time.

  But the voice in my head urges me to pull her back to me. To not let her out of my sight. To not risk her.

  “Remember your promise,” Ivy murmurs, her eyes holding mine. “Wait for the right time and then fuck some shit up.”

  My lips are numb. “I promise.”

  I pace the small space like an animal when the metal grate is pushed back into place. This is what I have avoided. When I am foolish enough to get close to people, they are taken from me.

  But I will get her back.

  I strain, focusing all my attention on listening to what the Voildi are doing above me. It’s quieter than it has been, and it is likely that most of them have gone to deal with whoever they are selling Ivy to. It’s unlikely that they would want to risk being outnumbered while selling her. Otherwise, the buyers may simply kill the Zintas and take her from them.

  The grate is still in place, but I reach for Ivy’s knife, hidden behind the rock she was sitting on not long ago.

  “They’ll find it on me,” she said, running her hands over my chest as I shook my head, unwilling to take her weapon. “We had a deal, remember? You need to get out of here.”

  Finally, I agreed, finding no other way to be able to scale the walls of this cage.

  The walls are smooth, but there are still plenty of notches between the rocks for me to bury my knife. I shove the blade deep into the wall above me, using it for leverage. And then I begin to climb. My feet slide and sweat runs down my face as I painstakingly use the knif
e to make my way up the wall, focused only on getting to Ivy.

  “I trust you to find me. Trust me too.”

  I am unused to trusting anyone and even less used to being someone who is trusted. But I will not fail her.

  I finally reach the grate. I lift one arm out to push against it, clinging to the knife with my other hand, my body shaking as my boots scramble for any kind of leverage.

  I shove as much weight as I can into the grate, and surprisingly, it lifts. I blink sweat out of my eyes, using all of my strength to flip it up.

  Rakiz’s laughing eyes meet mine.

  He reaches down, and I lunge for his arm, hauling myself up and flipping onto my back, panting as I stare up at the roof for a few moments. My bad arm howls at me, but I roll to my feet, narrowing my eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” I snarl, glancing around. I can hear the Zintas in another room, somewhere above us.

  “I couldn’t risk a full-scale attack in case they killed you. I had a feeling that would negate the spirit of the favor I owe you.”

  “You look much too amused by this.”

  “I have to say, rescuing the Assassin of Agron from a cage across the Great Water will be a story that few will believe.”

  “Where have they taken Ivy?”

  “Dexar is following her with his men. He wants to wait and attack all the Zintas along with anyone who thinks to purchase a human woman. He has become obsessed with the safety of his human qatal, and he says it will send a signal to anyone who would consider harming her.”

  My mouth drops open, but we both clamp our mouths shut at a movement above us. A Zinta roars with laughter, and I turn my attention back to Rakiz.

  “Dexar is here?”

  “Of course. You think he would miss the chance to remove one of the favors he owes you?”

  I blink at that.

  “Are you two finished having your little catch-up? Or would you like some tea and cookies while you gossip?” a voice hisses, and I turn my head to see Nevada crouched by the door, half hidden in the shadows.