Sirein: A Dystopian World Alien Romance

by S. J. Sanders

  Dragging her attention back to its face, her eyes on pale pink plush lips over a strong chin. She lifted her gaze to its glowing yellow eyes bisected by narrow pupils before continuing up to the forehead, where its head boasted a central horn between two larger pearly horns that jutted back from the sides of its brow. Just behind the central horn, there was a knot of what appeared to be visible scar tissue among the hair. Had it suffered some sort of injury?

  Not wishing to be so rude, she returned her attention to the horns and found herself instantly captivated. The horns were fascinating. With the exception of the central horn, the larger side horns were marked with pink spots that traveled down their length. Aside from its horns, and a smattering of markings on the bridge of its nose and forehead, it had two lines of them running down the sides of its face that continued to track down its neck, arms, torso, legs and even the long, tapered tail.

  The markings glowed in a way that reminded her of the light she had seen when she had investigated the crash site. That too had been accompanied by a flash of orange as the being swimming below her had moved. Could this be the very same alien?

  Its tail lifted, arching gracefully in an obvious full demonstration that had her biting back a smile. The alien’s lips also tipped in a smile, as if catching on to her amusement and sharing it. As the angle shifted, she was able to see that the tail had a strange, thin fold of skin at the top like flattened spines. It rose like a sail unfurling, and a gasp left her at the exquisite beauty of the fully fanned fin at the tip. Unlike the vivid oranges she could see on its various fins, the tail contained all the brilliant hues of orange and pink of a sunset. The tail fin closed again as it curled around to rest lightly next to its feet. Feet that bore nightmarishly long claws, not unlike those on its hands.

  There was one other glaring difference that she refrained from staring at despite its nude state. The alien appeared to be completely neuter, possessing no sexual organs at all. Or at least none that were visible. There was a fine line of what appeared to be a slit at the apex of its legs that made her wonder if its species carried their sexual organs internally. Such a curious difference made it especially hard not to direct her attention there as she flexed her fingers nervously.

  “Do you think she likes what she sees?” another voice cut in.

  It was only then that she noticed a second alien had also risen from the depths, this one with ruby fins to the other’s copper. It smirked at her dazed expression as she gaped openly at it.

  “How…” she whispered in a raspy voice, fear lighting through her.

  The other alien grimaced. “My apologies. I forgot she already had a translator.”

  “Silence,” the other hissed.

  The copper sunset alien—her alien—lifted its hands in what appeared to be a universal calming gesture. Or she could be mistaken and that was a sign to let the feeding frenzy begin. Her heart leaped, and the alien immediately made a soothing sound in the back of its throat, a soft, raspy trill.

  “Tsh, tsh, tsh. No harm will come to you. Ignore my senseless friend. Ger’se is fond of jesting when the moment is inappropriate. You are curious as to how you are understanding us, yes?”

  She nodded. Listening to them speak was a strange sensation. Her ears could hear the deep, resonant growls, clicks, and trills that inflected its language and made it musical to her ear. Yet at the same time, in her mind, every word was perfectly clear as to its meaning.

  Her alien smiled in an expression that appeared to be indulgent pleasure, its yellow eyes glowing somewhat brighter.

  “When you were injured by the horned beast…”

  “The juvenile dathli serpent,” she murmured. So, this was her rescuer.

  “Yes, exactly,” he purred happily. “I healed you the best that I could but decided to take you to our medic. When you were placed in the healing pod, En’il also saw to it that you were provided a translator to make communication easier between us.”

  “I’m sorry, but why? I don’t understand why you would want to speak to me,” she objected. “I am nobody, and certainly not capable of helping in whatever mission has brought you here.”

  “How do you know of our mission…?” he interrupted.

  “Perhaps things will progress a little easier if you bother to introduce yourself,” Ger’se suggested in an overly loud whisper.

  Her alien cut the other one a mildly disgusted look but inclined its head in agreement.

  “Yes, of course. Greetings, little female, I am Ji’wa, a commander and prime male of the Li’lal’fa pod. Who are you?” he inquired politely.

  “Nerida,” she choked out nervously, happy that her voice didn’t betray her and doom her to squawk embarrassingly. Although he had been frightening and all too intimidating in her memories, now that they were face to face, his strong presence and something else she couldn’t put a finger on made him more than a little intimidating for different reasons. “I’m a human. No profession or status,” she offered uncertainly. “Nerida the wanderer might be the best designation.”

  “You are alone, then.” It wasn’t a question, but a blunt observation.

  She knew she could protest and claim that she had people on an island somewhere, or try to spin a story like she had for the pirates, but what would that get her? Sooner or later, the alien, Ji’wa, would realize it was not true. Lying wouldn’t improve her situation any.

  “I am,” she said. “But by choice. I could not remain with my family or the pod to which we belonged. I didn’t have a safe future there, but nor could I go the cities, so I chose to sail alone out here. Better to be alone than to worry about someone trying to kill you or take everything you have. I chose this life out of necessity.”

  He cocked his head and nodded before he walked by, giving her a view of his backside. Just below the long fringe of his hair that swung gracefully with his movement, he had long… what could only be described as spines that lay flat against his arms, with larger ones along his back, where he doubtlessly had a dorsal ridge, and down the length of his long tail. The tail was partially open, displaying a thick fringe of brilliant orange.

  The spines snapped closed against his tail once more, and he turned to sit on a bolted-down bench facing her. Yellow eyes drifted over her with a sort of focus that she found unnerving. It made her skin tighten with awareness everywhere his gaze touched.

  “How are you feeling?” he inquired, taking her by surprise.

  She fidgeted. His voice was having a strange effect on her, or was it the smell that seemed to get more intense when he came to sit so near where she was standing? She couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but her skin felt tight and hot, and her sex was clenching, a flush of arousal making it slippery. She had begun taking care of her own desires once she had been aware of them, so she wasn’t naïve about what she was feeling, but she didn’t believe she had ever felt sexual need so keenly. Feeling attracted to an alien with such an inhuman appearance was unsettling.

  “Any lingering pain?” he continued. “We were not entirely certain just how thoroughly our technology would work on your species.”

  Swallowing, she attempted a smile. “I am well enough. I don’t hurt, anyway. There weren’t any traces of injuries, even after that attack.”

  He grimaced as if disliking the reminder of how shredded she likely had been after the dathli had gotten ahold of her. He shook his head and then lifted his yellow eyes to meet her gaze. He wore an expression of relief as he sighed.

  “I am very pleased to hear that. I would not have liked knowing that you were suffering in any way.”

  Nerida’s mind immediately twisted the words as other forms of suffering popped into her mind. The heat in her belly intensified into a very different sort of discomfort—an erotic torment. It was confusing, frightening, and exciting all at once as her skin tingled and her nipples pebbled in reaction. She wanted to bask in the unfamiliar feeling stirred within her, yet she also wanted to run. Even now, she was tempted to bolt for the door
of her quarters and hide from the strange being inciting the feelings.

  His lips slowly pulled up in a masculine smile as his nostrils and the vents running from his nose to the outer corner of his eye expanded. She was certain that he was scenting her. Her suspicions were confirmed as he closed his eyes with a delighted expression. He shuddered and let out a musical moan. Those yellow eyes opened, warmed to an almost golden color. He turned away and glanced over at his companion. There was a warning in his expression that the other male appeared to catch as he discreetly turned his head away.

  Ji’wa grunted and turned to smile at her once more. “My apologies. I wanted to ensure that Ger’se didn’t experience a reaction to you. Your pheromones are without a doubt quite exquisite,” he murmured conversationally as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. He raised one hand and brushed a finger against his chin. “I really wasn’t expecting him to, but it is wise to be cautious. As expected, he is not experiencing any reaction. Still, rest assured that he will not intrude or scent you out of respect.”

  “I… I see,” she mumbled as she shifted in place.

  Ji’wa’s smile turned sympathetic. “This is a lot for anyone, I imagine. You are frightened even as you are ripening in response. I do not mean to scare you. This is not how I wanted our meeting to go,” he said with a sigh. “I miscalculated how a civilization uncontacted would react to our presence, much less all of this.” He waved a hand between them vaguely, but Nerida frowned at his words.

  “What do you mean? Your people came before. It was a few generations ago, and you took many of us away in attempt to save us from the hard life on this world. We still remember you.”

  He paused, his ridged brow rising as much as its limited flexibility allowed it to. Keeping his movements slow so as not to alarm her, he leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees and shook his head.

  “Nerida, we have never been here. Our people have been searching for generations for a new home. We were on the brink of dying when we found this planet. It was truly a miracle, since in all our time we had never come across another planet that would be suitable for our species’ survival.” His gaze turned speculative as he watched her. “This is new to us as well. I am not even entirely certain just how compatible our species are… but I cannot ignore instinct, even if it frightens me a little, too.”

  Nerida gave him a wary look. “I’m sorry, but what is that supposed to mean?”

  Again, he responded with a tiny smile as if he were uncertain as well as to how this whole meeting should go.

  “My apologies… That was a bit direct, wasn’t it? I am afraid we have much to discuss, and these are foreign waters for me in the most literal sense.”

  “Okay, let’s start with, ‘What do you want with me?’”

  It wasn’t the most original question, but the one that weighed the most on her mind. She couldn’t think of a reason why the alien would have gone through so much trouble to save her not once, but twice, and then go through the trouble of tracking her.

  His smile widened. “I suppose you can say that what I want from you is what a male would desire from the right female…”

  “What, friendship? Or a random fuck? Help me out here just a little,” she said.

  Her voice trembled, but she wanted to quit beating the dead fish and just get to the point already. She was still frightened, but his obvious lack of aggression had her feeling somewhat bolder than what was probably wise. She worried that he might retaliate, like when Erik’s face used to redden and his hands curled into fists whenever she sassed him.

  Instead of anger, Ji’wa’s lip curled at her suggestion, revealing the terribly sharp edges of his teeth, as the gold in his eyes deepened into a molten pool. “Is that what you would imagine? I have many in my pod who I count as friends. Why would I pursue you to such lengths just to seek friendship? Yes, I do value a friendship with you and hope that we develop deep connections, but friend would be far too mild of a word for what I need. As for the other question, if by ‘fuck’ you refer to sex, as my translator suggests, then no, it wouldn’t be random at all. Sirei are not made that way. Not only do we not sexually mature for anyone but our mate, our sexual needs are pinned to our attachment to our mates, which develop almost immediately.”

  “Okay…” she said. “That’s a nice crash course in sirei sexual education. So, no fucking and not just friendship, then what?”

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t interested in fucking,” he said easily, as if they were discussing the weather. “It just would be entirely and very specifically with you.” His eyes gleamed at his final words, delivering a full punch of heat that caught her off guard.

  The interest that sparked within her demanded satisfaction as his desire seared her and ignited her own. Would she be able to embrace that sort of passion and be able to walk away when it was over? What about the whole no random sex thing?

  “I’m afraid you have me confused. What exactly are you saying?”

  “It is simple really,” he said, his voice lilting with subtle notes on each word that called to her like the song of a fabled siren that sailors still whispered of in hushed voices. If only they knew and could witness the real thing!

  “How so?” she asked softly, meeting his eyes as desire burned within her in hot, heady waves.

  He leaned forward, and she inhaled the rich scent of him. Crushed roses and a spice that teased some forgotten memory. His gaze held hers as he reached out and ran one tough ivory hand down the side of her face.

  “In all the revolutions I have been alive, it has all come to this moment. I never suspected that a strange female on alien shores would be the one to mature me… but you have. All it took was your scent and the feeling of your body pressed against mine as I worked to save you. Sometimes, it happens like that. Other times, it occurs after numerous meetings over a great many rotations. Because of you, I feel the desire to mate for the first time in my life. I desire you, but I also need you,” he said quietly.

  “Need me?” She shook her head in confusion. “No one needs me. Desire isn’t the same as truly needing me.”

  “I do,” he replied so frankly that it struck her as bizarrely genuine. “I am already forming a deep bonding attachment to you with every second I spend in your presence, just as you are to me. I recognize the signs as clearly as I would see it in my own species. So alike and yet so different. I tell you now that as things develop, we will need to be close to each other.”

  Nerida ran a hand through her hair, panic flaring in her chest at the idea of being locked into something she never signed up for. She left her family pod to be free of being chained forever to a male, and now it was happening in an entirely different way. He had saved her and was now claiming some sort of bizarre alien bond that she couldn’t even begin to understand. “This is… a lot. I’m going to need some time to think on this.”

  He looked as if he were about to object and she stiffened for a fight, but to her surprise, he let out a breath and inclined his head. “Perhaps time for adjustment would be ideal for both of us. I will remain nearby, but if it is permissible, I would like to accompany you.”

  She glanced warily at Ger’se. “Both of you?”

  The other male opened his mouth, but Ji’wa shook his head, shooting the other male a dark glare.

  “No. Just myself. Ger’se has assisted me as much as he can. What comes next is up to us alone.”

  She bit her lip uncertainly. Ger’se didn’t look happy about it, but he threw up his hands with a click of disgust and strode to the back of the boat. His body arced elegantly in the air as he leaped over the railing into the waters below, leaving her alone with Ji’wa.

  Her jaw tightened. “You won’t be in my housing quarters while I sleep.”

  He inclined his head in agreement. “I will do well sleeping here on the deck if you have some sort of covering to keep me warm and protected.”

  She shifted uneasily. “I suppose that’s reasonable.” With one
last glance in his direction, Nerida ducked inside and fetched some of her spare bedding. Carrying it outside, she held it out to him and drew back when he took it from her hands. She cleared her throat. “What mission did you say you were on, anyway? Clearly we were not speaking of the same thing.”

  Ji’wa sighed as he wrapped one of the heavier blankets around himself. “I am looking for a home for my people. Right now, we are safe, but we are only delaying our decline. I need to find an island cove where we will thrive once more. We need a home.”

  Her lips quirked. “I guess we’re looking for the same thing.” A sigh left her as she glanced around the deck a final time. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay out here? It’s not very warm.”

  “It is fine,” he murmured as he found a comfortable place to settle against one wall. There was no way he could know that was the wall of her own sleeping quarters, but she refrained from saying anything. Sleeping on deck would be miserable enough without her insisting that he move to a colder spot on the deck. “Sirei run hotter than humans, I believe. As a largely aquatic species, we are not so negatively affected by cooler temperatures. The heat of the midday sun is difficult, but if I can find shelter from it, then I should be fine.”

  Nerida nodded and slipped into the safety of her quarters. “I will bring evening meal out as soon as it’s ready,” she called softly.

  There was no answer. She glanced over to discover that he was curled within the bedding, already sleeping soundly, trusting her to guard him in his slumber. Something in her heart lurched, and though she scolded herself for the tender feeling, she felt the smile on her lips as she quietly shut the door behind her.

  Chapter 13