Page 14 of Alien Soldier
And it was beautiful…arousing. So why did it feel like a nightmare?
Perhaps because I saw the two of them, and I feel like they are going to find divine symmetry together.
I tie my trousers around my legs and stretch my arms high to the ceiling, my scales scraping against my horns as my hands brush the dangling vines above. I need to speak about this with someone, but Frankie would be my first choice and she is the subject of this disruption. Bekah and Zandro are probably in their room, and I’m certain I would be more than welcome after the nights we’ve spent enjoying each other’s company…
…but I feel that sex, in this moment, would drive me mad.
Because there is only one person I want.
Or maybe two.
I roll my shoulders and head for the door of my room, my scales so cold that I almost feel like I should go back to sleep and hibernate as our evolutionary ancestors did eons ago. I do not have the time to hibernate though, nor do I have the peace of mind—I need to talk to someone, even if it’s just the ship.
I wander up the spine and toward the cortex, hoping to perhaps find one of the crew or Ondari. Ondari keeps late hours and always has words of wisdom; perhaps he will be able to inform me on what I should do with this strange feeling, why I feel the way I do. The ship is empty though, everyone safe and warm in their bunks.
All except for me…
…and Ravik.
My oldest friend stands at Jaya’s eyes, staring out at the starscape beyond. It will take a few jumps to reach the Razakiin fleet, and we have to land on two garden worlds to get Jaya enough energy to do so. That means hopping across the galaxy while planets burn, and the rest of us are handling it about as well as can be expected.
Ravik isn’t handling it at all.
His tail twitches behind him, glowing a dark silver—more like iron, in fact. He doesn’t face me, his horns glinting sharply in the light of an alien sun as he stares into the stars.
“I know you’re here,” he says, his voice a low drone.
Ravik seems so old. I’ve known him for years, since he was a child—we escaped Zanpi together after its destruction at the hands of the Second House—but in the past few months, he’s changed. Yes, he’s always been sullen and quiet, but this…this is different.
He doesn’t invite me to talk with him, but I step forward anyway, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. We used to talk for hours late at night. Well,Iused to talk for hours, and Ravik was always a good listener. I can sense the anger rolling off of him though, even if he doesn’t show it with his bioluminescence. His tail thrashes behind him, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his mouth drawn into a scowl.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he mutters. “Any of it.”
I glance over at him, averting my eyes from the starscape. “I think it’s fine if we talk.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
I look down at my feet, where my talons are nestled in the moss coating Jaya’s cortex. There’s a thin layer of pollen on the sharp tips of my toes, no doubt from Jaya’s decision to grow hallucinogens in my room. Something strange is blooming on this ship.
“We do not ever want war,” I murmur. “You know that Zandro would not do any of this if he did not feel it necessary. He was hesitant even to attempt a coup against the Second House. He did not want this.”
“Zandro would not do any of this if he had not fallen in love with Bekah,” Ravik snaps.
I frown, staring at him. He won’t look back at me. I do not know if it is out of intimidation, rage, or embarrassment.
I do not get the impression he is embarrassed.
“You blame Bekah for this,” I conclude, tapping my claw against the mossy floor.
“I blame all of humanity,” he says. “And the Lyra. And all who…”
He trails off.
“No. I shouldn’t say.”
“Tell me, brother,” I say, though anger is roiling in my gut. “Out with it. Otherwise I will infer your meaning.”
Ravik turns to face me, and his eyes flicker with a dark purple sheen.