Stolen

by Tana Stone

  He closed his eyes, trying to push away the mental image of Hope, but it only made it worse. He should have known he didn’t deserve her. She was too beautiful, too full of life, too adventurous. She should have been matched with one of the wild warriors from Inferno Force, not him.

  You’ve never been good enough, the little voice in the back of his head reminded him. You couldn’t save Jok’to. You don’t deserve her.

  Kos opened his eyes, his vision swimming as he remembered his younger brother. They’d told him it hadn’t been his fault, but he’d known better. It should have been him on the ledge when the Kronock fired on the Tarinthian research outpost where his parents had been stationed. It should have been him who’d disappeared as half the mountain had vanished in the explosion. It should have been him who’d saved his younger brother. He was the oldest. He was supposed to protect him. But he hadn’t, and nothing anyone had said had ever convinced him that it hadn’t been his fault.

  Kos swallowed down the lump in his throat. He’d spent so long trying to make up for his failure—working harder than the other officers, putting in more hours, training for longer on the holodecks. But it had still never been enough to redeem him. Not in his mind.

  What he didn’t want to admit was what he’d feared all along—that Hope deserved someone more worthy than him. Regret roiled in his stomach, and he clenched the edge of the console. Would he ever feel worthy enough?

  But if he could not have her, he could not stay while she was matched to another. He didn’t think he could stay even if she only chose to live with the rejects.

  No, he would have to leave. Maybe he would take the Inferno Force captain up on his offer. Fighting with the rough warriors would be just what he needed. If he could lead the hunting party to track down the Curator, even better. Exacting his revenge in person would be even more sweet.

  “Is that normal?” Xarla’s voice tore him away from his thoughts.

  He followed her extended finger to where it pointed out the front of the ship, his heart sinking when he saw the distant shape growing larger.

  Grek. It was a Kronock ship, that he knew, and it seemed to be on an intercept course. The question was, did the enemy know they were there, or was it a coincidence?

  Kos quickly altered their course and held his breath. Moments later, the Kronock also changed course to match them.

  He let out a long string of Drexian curses he would usually only reserve for his fellow warriors—and only after many drinks.

  “What is it?” Hope slipped into the chair next to his, her face pinched with worry. Xarla stood at her side, her hand clutching the top of the black chair.

  He thought about lying to the women, but he decided against it. “That’s a Kronock ship, and it’s on an intercept course.”

  “Fuck,” Hope whispered as Xarla staggered back into her own seat. “Can we outrun it?”

  “Not in this shuttle,” Kos said, tapping rapidly on the console. “I’m sending out a distress call on an encrypted Drexian channel. Our only hope is that my people get it in time.”

  He didn’t say what else he was thinking. He would not let the Kronock take them alive.

  Twenty-Six

  Hope watched as Kos tapped wildly on the shiny console, then twisted her neck to look at Xarla. The alien was white-knuckling her armrests, and her eyes were unfocused, even though she appeared to be staring out the front of the shuttle.

  Trying to ignore Kos’s muttered curses, she stood from her chair and walked back to join Xarla, taking the seat next to her and closing a hand over the alien’s clenched one. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Xarla jerked her head back and forth without meeting her gaze. “You don’t know that.”

  “Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure—”

  Xarla swung her head sharply to look at Hope. “You don’t know the Kronock.”

  The expression on the alien’s face made the words of comfort Hope had intended to say die on her lips. She felt the tremor in the thin hand underneath hers. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

  Xarla tore her gaze away, peering out the front of the ship again. The tiny spot on the horizon had grown in size, even as Kos changed their course again and the shuttle turned hard to one side. She shook her head, her eyes wide.

  Hope had never dealt with loss at the level she suspected Xarla had experienced. It was hard to imagine having your entire planet destroyed and losing everyone you cared about. Hope had gone to pretty extreme lengths to not have many people she’d be upset to lose, but even she felt an ache at the thought of losing everyone. Her mother had been a pretty crappy mother, but she still loved her. It would gut her if she died. And to have Earth decimated? She didn’t know if she’d be able to recover and survive half as well as Xarla had.

  She focused on the alien woman, who was clearly terrified, and her own stomach churned. How horrible were these Kronock?

  Squeezing Xarla’s hand, she tried to make her own voice steady. “Kos will do everything possible to save us. Isn’t that what Drexians are supposed to do? Keep the galaxy safe?”

  Xarla nodded, pulling her gaze away from the view of space. “I know he would do anything to protect you, so I suppose I am lucky to be next to you.”

  Hope laughed nervously, even though the thought of the Drexian protecting her did make her cheeks warm. “He’s going to do everything in his power to keep all of us safe.”

  Kos turned his head quickly, meeting her eyes. For a moment, Hope felt like all the words and hurt between them had vanished, and they were back in the cell on the Curator’s ship with the lights out and nobody watching them. Her pulse fluttered at the memory.

  When Xarla cleared her throat, Kos pivoted back around, and the connection was gone.

  “The Kronock will be within firing range soon,” he said, tapping more buttons, the sound of the engines growing louder.

  “So, we can shoot at them?” Hope asked.

  “This shuttle has limited weaponry.”

  Hope’s stomach sank. “You mean, they’ll be able to fire on us soon.”

  He was silent for a moment. “They could easily blow us out of the sky, but that is not my greatest fear.”

  “What’s worse than being blown up?” she asked.

  “Being taken prisoner,” Xarla said before Kos could.

  Hope looked between the two, waiting for an explanation. “I know I’m new to this whole alien war thing, but would someone mind telling me a little more about these Kronock? What’s their deal?”

  Kos didn’t turn to face her as he spoke. “The Kronock are an ancient species—as ancient as the Drexians—but one that was born out of violence. They were a war-like race on their own planet and drove their planet to the brink of collapse with fighting. When they achieved space travel, they immediately began invading other worlds to replenish their own destroyed resources. But they do not understand co-existing, so they pillage a planet and destroy its population, leaving their own kind behind to harvest any resources. It became the mission of the Drexians to stop these invasions and save the other species.”

  “You did not save mine,” Xarla said, her voice soft.

  Kos twisted slowly, his eyes cast down. “We were not able to save everyone. The Kronock are widespread, and their warships were a scourge on the galaxy. In some cases, we were too late. We attempted to take in survivors and give them new lives in our society, but some species were all but wiped out.” He raised his eyes to look at Xarla. “I am sorry we were not able to save your kind.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “I don’t blame you.” Her gaze flicked to the viewscreen. “I lay the blame at the feet of those monsters.”

  “So, if they’re known for wiping out alien species, why would they take us captive?” Hope asked.

  Kos set his mouth in a hard line. “They have been attempting to invade Earth for a long time. It is why we defend your planet so faithfully.”

  Hope cocked her head at him. “That and all the wome
n you kidnap.”

  “We do not kidnap.” His cheeks reddened. “We have a legal treaty with your governments—”

  She held up her hands. “Calm down, big guy. I know all that. I’m just taking the piss out of you.”

  Xarla blinked at him a few times. “How would you remove—?”

  “Not actually remove piss,” Hope said, shaking her head. “It’s an expression. Never mind. What were you saying about the Kronock and why they would take us captive?”

  Kos focused on her. “The Kronock have been altering their own biology with technology and also fusing their DNA with other alien DNA to enhance their abilities.”

  “They’re making themselves into super-aliens?” Hope shivered. “Creepy.”

  “We intercepted intelligence that harvesting human DNA and fusing it with their own is part of their plan to make an invasion of Earth easier,” Kos said.

  The realization hit Hope, and she put a hand over her mouth. “So, you don’t think they’ll take all of us captive, you just think they’ll take me?”

  Kos didn’t answer, his gaze shuttering as he spun back around. “I do not know what they will do. I cannot claim to understand the scaly beasts.”

  “And they have scales?” Hope gaped at Xarla, who gave her a half shrug. “This keeps getting better and better.”

  Hope took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to remember any of her mother’s meditation techniques that she’d dismissed as woo woo nonsense. “So, what are our options? Fly as fast as we can and hope your Drexian buddies reach us in time?”

  “We will jump away and hope we can get close enough to Drexian space that we won’t be followed.”

  “Jump?” Hope asked. “Is that like using a transporter beam?”

  Kos craned his neck to look at her, one eyebrow raised. “Transporter beam?”

  “Never mind. It’s a Star Trek thing.”

  He looked even more confused. “It is a way for us to jump through space. Hard to trace and therefore hard to follow.”

  “Then let’s do that!” Hope said, wondering why they hadn’t jumped already, if it was such an easy way to travel.

  He faced forward again, his fingers dancing across the console. His shoulders hunched over and he braced his arms. “Preparing to jump. Strap in.”

  Hope quickly fastened herself into her seat as Xarla did the same. Peering out the front of the shuttle, she saw the gunmetal-gray enemy ship taking shape as it neared them. Even from a distance, the hull looked scaly and menacing.

  Come on, let’s go, she thought as she tapped her fingers impatiently on the armrest. I do not want to be part of some alien DNA experiment.

  The ship began a countdown in a stilted female voice.

  “Three…two…one.”

  A bright red light flashed, and the ship shuddered, before Hope was pushed back into her seat and the shuttle lurched forward. But instead of seeing the streaks of stars passing like she did when they increased their speed, there was only a flash and then the view outside the ship changed.

  There was no more Kronock ship in the distance, and the moon they’d been passing had vanished.

  “Did it work?” she asked, although she knew the answer before Kos confirmed it.

  “It worked,” he said. “The jump was successful.”

  She let out a relieved sigh. “Are we at the Drexian outpost or wherever we’re supposed to be?”

  “The shuttle’s jump drive does not have enough power to make that kind of jump.”

  “So, how many more of those until we’re back in Drexian space?”

  Kos tapped the console, a muscle in the side of his jaw ticking. “We cannot jump again.”

  Hope noticed that the familiar background hum of the engine was gone, as was the soft vibration she’d grown accustomed to. “Why not?”

  Kos swiveled slowly. “We escaped the Kronock, but it seems they got off a shot before we jumped.”

  Twenty-Seven

  Hope’s brow was furrowed as she stared at him. “That’s what that red flash was?”

  Kos nodded absently as he studied the readouts. If they were correct, the laser fire had caused a fuel leak and the shuttle was hemorrhaging fuel into space. Even from inside, he could smell the scent of char and scorched fuel. They were lucky the laser fire hadn’t caused their ship to explode, but if he didn’t stop the leak, they would soon be without power.

  “At least the Kronock are gone.” The relief in Xarla’s voice was palpable.

  “But where are we?” Hope got out of her chair and moved to sit next to him, leaning so she could see out the front. “There doesn’t look like there’s anything here.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” he told her, glad for once not to see approaching enemy ships or feel the tug of another ship’s tractor beam.

  Hope didn’t seem so sure as she drummed her fingers on her knees. “But we still aren’t close to the Drexian…”

  “Outpost,” he finished for her. “The space station is still under repairs, so we’re heading back to a temporary outpost.”

  She nodded. “But everything will be the same at this outpost?”

  “Not exactly the same,” he said. “There is no holographic technology there, so you will not be in a fantasy suite until we return to the station. That is, if you still wish to be in one.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want to be in the fantasy suite? Being on a fake Caribbean island was the coolest part of the whole thing.”

  “If you do not choose to remain a tribute bride, you do not…”

  Her eyebrows popped up. “I forgot. No fancy suites on the low rent side of the station.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Typical.”

  “Why would you decide against being his bride?” Xarla asked. “I thought you two were…?”

  Her words drifted away as Hope shot her a look.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Hope said, not meeting his eyes. “I’ll just be glad to get back to solid ground. I’ve been on one kind of ship or another for ages.”

  Kos couldn’t shake the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. It didn’t appear that her mind had changed, but he also wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight about it anymore.

  He turned his attention back to the console, swiping his fingers across the smooth surface. He needed to focus on the mission, which had always been to bring Hope back safely, nothing more and nothing less. The best way to ensure they made it back to Drexian space in one piece was to repair the shuttle and seal the leak. Neither of which he could do sitting in the pilot’s chair and feeling sorry for himself.

  Standing, he strode to the back of the shuttlecraft. He opened one of the hidden cabinets and retrieved an environmental suit, the shimmering fabric reflecting the ebony interior. He rubbed the sleek material between his fingers. It had been a long time since he’d needed to don one of the high-tech suits, but he remembered them well from his training.

  Drexian scientists had developed the fabric, which morphed colors depending on its surroundings and shrunk to fit the wearer, creating a lightweight outfit that would protect warriors from the elements and even from the harshness of space. Instead of bulky outfits, the Drexian environmental suits had hoods that zipped around the face and provided a steady oxygen flow, while the rest of the suit adhered to the skin and kept the wearer protected from heat, cold, and even radiation.

  He shook out the suit and stepped into the legs.

  “What are you doing?” Hope asked, joining him in the back, while Xarla remained in the seating area at the front.

  He didn’t look at her, focusing instead on pulling the black fabric over his hips. “Preparing to fix the ship.”

  “And you need a flashy jumpsuit to do that?”

  “I need an environmental suit so I can go outside the ship safely.”

  Hope held up both palms. “Wait a second. You can’t go out there. It’s space.”

  He glanced at her. “I am aware of that. That is why I am putting on this suit. It will protect m
e.”

  Hope touched the fabric covering his leg. “This? It’s so thin!”

  He pulled the suit up over his waist and slipped his arms in, zipping the front up to his neck. “It was developed to be thin and incredibly strong.”

  She put a hand to his chest, rubbing her fingers across the iridescent fabric and sending heat ricocheting through him. “I’ve seen wetsuits that are thicker than this.”

  He put his hands over hers. “I promise you it’s safe.”

  She pulled her hands out from under his and shook her head. “I don’t want you to go out there.”

  He sighed. He did not have time for this. They were losing more fuel every moment he stayed inside arguing with her. He slapped a band around his wrist that shrunk the suit so that it fit him like a second skin. “I have to.”

  “No, you don’t.” Her voice was shrill, although her gaze moved across the form-fitting suit encasing his chest. “You could stay in here with us.”

  “And what?” he snapped. “Wait until our fuel is gone and then wait until our power goes out and our life support dwindles, and I have to watch you die?”

  She drew in a sharp breath. “No, but I don’t want…”

  His patience unraveled, and he backed her into the wall, pinning her hands to either side of her. “What do you want, Hope? Or do you even have any idea?”

  Her eyes were large and dark as she looked up at him. “I know I don’t want you to risk your life for me anymore.”

  “You don’t get to decide that.” His voice was a near-growl. “You can decide whether you want to be my bride, you can decide to go live in the reject section, you can even decide you don’t want to see me again, but you do not get to decide who I risk my life for. You may not be sure about me, but I have always been sure about you. I know that you are mine. You will always be mine. And I will never stop trying to save you.”

  Her mouth dropped open and a small gasp escaped her lips.