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  I curled into myself and sobbed, feeling the loss of Daniel as if it had just happened.

  “Your fault,” I whimpered, but the venom of my accusations was gone now. I had lost Daniel years and years ago. He had been my best friend, my everything up until I turned seventeen. That was when he’d gotten the letter. When…

  “Peace to you now, Earthling,” Zaine said, lifting me easily and cradling my body close to his. He gently checked the bandage around my forehead and frowned. “Freg. Signs of infection. We might have to put you up in the infirmary.”

  I didn’t care what he did. All I wanted was Daniel.

  My body suddenly became weightless as Zaine lifted me easily and cradled me to his broad, muscular chest. I was surprised by the appealing, spicy scent of his body, and squinted up into his face as silver strands of hair fell forward onto me as we walked.

  “You’re going to be all right, Yula,” he said to me, offering a handsome, reassuring smile that made me forget everything else, just for a moment. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Soon, I was in a small, sterile but comfortable, room, on a clean cot with a soft pink blanket beneath me. Zaine was rummaging around in the cabinets, sighing and cursing when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. I appreciated his concern, but I didn’t want him near me. Not when I knew it was the Verian’s fault that Daniel was gone.

  “Here it is,” Zaine said suddenly, his voice soothing despite my agitation. “Please ingest this. It will combat the infection. The cells can become impossibly dirty with so many human bodies in them. Your kind are hosts for all kinds of disease.”

  He said this with a disgusted wrinkle of his narrow nose, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “What’s the point in breeding with disease vectors?” I asked, tilting my chin up at him.

  For some reason, the gesture seemed to delight him, and I saw him laugh for the first time since I’d met him. It was a captivating, lyrical sound that almost made me wish it would go on forever. But he soon cut it off and looked at me seriously.

  “We have no choice, human,” he said, his silver eyes humorless. “Our women were defiled by your kind. All because we were attempting to restore balance to the universe.”

  “Balance,” I mumbled, taking the round capsule from Zaine’s hand and popping it into my mouth. “What kind of balance?”

  Zaine sighed heavily.

  “The balance to all things. Humans-”

  Zaine cut himself off abruptly and turned away, thinking his wording over carefully. Almost like he didn’t want to offend me. It was kind of adorable.

  “There is a system of balance that governs our world. The humans are just beginning to understand, but there are beings who have known this for ages. Advanced societies. But humans cannot even coexist with themselves and their own planet. All we ever tried to do was protect our universe. It is a system that we share.”

  I was quiet for a moment as I considered this. It was true, I had seen, that many humans could be presumptuous, but that was true of almost every race in the universe if given the chance. I couldn’t accept that we were the only ones destroying the balance.

  “What makes humans so much worse than everyone else?” I demanded. “Or are we just scapegoats because everything is going south on your planet and you need the resources that we have?”

  Zaine looked surprised, then drew into deep thought.

  “It is just as we were advised by the elders of our planet,” he said, his voice an agitated, deep rumble. “I have listened to the elders since the time of my birth. It is just as it is meant to be.”

  “Well, what if I told you the humans feel like you are simply trying to take over our world without any good reason for it, and we don’t see any way in which we are destroying the balance? We’re self-contained. Our home is ours to do with as we please, and our troubles stay within our own planet!”

  Zaine sighed heavily.

  “I will not waste my time arguing with a human who is deep in fever. The infection of your wounds must heal first. Maybe then we can pick up this discussion.”

  I don’t know why I wanted to keep pushing him. Maybe it was my illness, or maybe it just seemed absurd to me that in a war, both sides thought of themselves as the valiant protectors of something or other: the righteous ones. It seemed closer to the truth that maybe all of us were just a bunch of blood-thirsty and entitled jerks.

  The thoughts were driven from my head as my eyes followed Zaine, who was gathering his things and storming toward the door. The idea of him leaving me alone in the infirmary made my chest fill with panic.

  “Wait!” I cried.

  He hesitated, his back to me, before turning to look into my eye.

  “What is it, Yula?” he asked, his voice resigned.

  But I didn’t know what it was that I wanted. I just knew I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Can you stay? A little longer?”

  My voice escaped my lips before I could help it, and Zaine’s face suddenly softened. It was a strange and drastic change.

  “What would you have me do here?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably in the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure we were still alone, and then closed the door behind himself, leaving us in the comfortable silence of the infirmary.

  But I didn’t know what I wanted from him let alone why I had wanted him to stay. He was just so comforting, even though he alone could make my life a misery. I guessed I was feeling lonely, after dreaming of Daniel, and the idea of being stuck in this bizarre ward of the prison by myself was unsettling.

  Still, when I looked into Zaine’s eyes, I knew there was more to it than that. I wanted to be with him. Specifically. Who knew what the reason might be. All that mattered to me was that he stayed.

  “Just be with me?” I asked, sighing heavily. I really didn’t feel well. I was probably just thinking and speaking nonsense. Still, somehow it felt safe to be vulnerable near Zaine. Despite it all, he had suddenly become my bedrock. Who was I to argue?

  “There is plenty for me to do in the prison,” Zaine said, raising an eyebrow and stepping toward me. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but we are understaffed right now. Most able-bodied men are in training for the war.”

  Mention of the war irked me, and I shook my head.

  “How about when we’re together, we don’t talk about the war?” I suggested amiably. “What if we’re just ourselves and the rest of the world is a whole other thing entirely?”

  The look in Zaine’s eyes when I said that – the anguish, the longing – etched in every line of his face. He was doing his best to do what he thought was right. Why was I being so harsh with him about it? He wasn’t the one in control of everything happening during the war. I couldn’t hold a grudge forever. So far all he had shown me was that Verians could be decent too. Even protective, despite the vast differences in our cultures.

  “We don’t have to talk about the war,” Zaine said, his voice strained. “In fact, we shouldn’t be talking about anything. I am the guard here. I am meant to keep you safe until you are ready to bear the children of my people. What is so difficult to comprehend about this situation?”

  As he spoke, he walked closer to me, as if venturing not of his own accord, but because of something else pushing him forward. I sat up groggily; the medicine had really slowed me down.

  “I know you’re the guard,” I said defiantly. A small smile creased his face, and suddenly his body was close to mine again. So close that I was overwhelmed by his spicy, masculine scent. Zaine’s silver eyes studied me quietly, and suddenly my hand was in his. It was much bigger than mine, hardened by his work, but gentle around my fingers.

  “Then you know that you’re my charge. And there is nothing appropriate about this situation. Right?”

  I swallowed hard, unable to look away from this handsome Verian’s full lips just inches away from my face.

  “So throw me back in my cell and forget about me!” I exclaimed. “I don’t care wha
t you do. My life is in your hands now.”

  “That’s right,” he said thoughtfully, his long fingers sliding up my arm. “Your life is my responsibility.”

  I was frozen as his fingers sent a hot jolt of longing all through my body, and I stared at Zaine in surprise. He’d seemed at the end of his rope with me so many times already. So what was he doing now? And why did it feel so good?

  “Please,” I said, sighing softly in pleasure as Zaine’s hands continued to roam my body. “Tell me why I’m here. What are you going to do with us?”

  I was shocked out of my curiosity by the soft warmth of Zaine’s lips on mine suddenly, and I closed my eyes, lightheaded and swept away by the unbelievably pleasurable feeling of his tongue caressing my own.

  Tendrils of pleasure electrified all of my senses as I was pulled close to the protective warmth of Zaine’s broad chest, his hands exploring me cautiously as we became entwined in our pleasure. I had wanted him for so long, but what was going to happen to me if I gave into it? What if he lost interest in protecting me once he’d had me and left me to whatever cruel fate awaited me in this prison?

  But the thought was driven from my head as Zaine’s mouth explored the sensitive nape of my neck and hot tendrils of pleasure coursed through me. I had wanted to be with him for so long now. It was hard for me to resist.

  Suddenly, Zaine pulled away, leaving me panting, cold, and confused.

  “What is it?” I asked, frowning.

  “That wasn’t proper,” he said, clearing his throat and backing away. “You are unwell. You need rest for now.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but before any words could escape my lips, Zaine was gone.

  ***

  It seemed to take quite a long time before Zaine returned to the infirmary. I had been left to my own devices for the entire day, and frankly, my stomach was beginning to rumble. Whatever he had given me to cure the infection and numb the pain had worked miraculously, and I wondered to myself what might happen if the Verians and the humans were someday able to commiserate together. Wouldn’t we be better off sharing our knowledge with each other as opposed to constantly trying to fight?

  But those were idealistic words of a pacifist, and there was no room in our current world for pacifism. Things were the way they were for a reason, and all we could really do was hope for the best and that our people would ultimately be victorious. That was all I could allow myself to do. Thinking about the impossible would just leave me disappointed.

  “Yula, your meal.”

  I was disappointed when the voice that reached me wasn’t that of Zaine, but of a young man who was nearly as handsome. Still, he wasn’t the man I’d wanted to see, and I let out a distinctly unhappy sigh when he entered the room. This made his eyes hard, and he refused to look at me as he deposited a tray on the small table in the corner of the infirmary and left without a word.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, wondering if the Verians had any grasp on sarcasm. Mostly I had gathered that their language was straightforward and practical, with little use for frivolous descriptions. Surely, they would think my inclination toward poetry was utter nonsense.

  I moved slowly to the corner table, discouraged that despite my interest in eating and the care that Zaine had given me, I was still heavy on my feet and dizzy. Still, I was feeling a million times better, and ate slowly as I mulled over the events of the night before.

  Honestly, they were fragmented and strange in my mind. Memories of a dream I’d had about Daniel, bizarre memories of Zaine in my cell, a vial in my hands that had promised to take the pain away, the urgent look on Zaine’s face when he realized I was in danger…

  But did he care for me or not? Was I just another human in his charge or was there more to it? It was impossible to tell, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to understand his ways. Had we really kissed, or had I slipped into a sensual fever dream that had left me crumbling at Zaine’s mercy?

  I looked around the clinical walls of the infirmary and sighed. There were no answers for me here. All I could do was eat my meal and try to find some semblance of peace, whether Zaine was there or not.

  Chapter 6

  Zaine Volaire

  “What happened to Lawrence?” was the first thing I heard the next day when I wandered down the halls of Ward B, where the humans were all anxious to hear the latest gossip. It had been their fault in the first place that Regan had been removed, but now they were all dying to know what had become of her.

  I was personally asking myself a completely different question. What had happened with Lawrence? I’d gone in to dress her wounds and treat an infection, and had left with my body ready to take command of hers and create an entire Verian army of my own inside of her. I’d never wanted to claim somebody as badly as I had at that moment the night before, when our lips had touched, and the softness of her breath had escaped her lips…

  “Is she all right?” another female asked, breaking into my thoughts. It was something of a relief to know that if I returned Regan now, it was possible people would begin to feel a softness toward her now that she had been personally victimized by the cruel Verian race. If nothing else, it would serve to make her time in the prison a little bit more manageable.

  “Yula Lawrence is where she has been asking to be since the moment we landed,” I said, my eyes hard as I looked from cell to cell full of eager, curious Earth females. “She is in solitary.”

  A soft, collective gasp filled the air, and I looked deep into Cell 3, where Yula Casey and her friend were exchanging pleased glances. It had been their doing, and they thought that they were getting away with something. Perhaps they believed I was stupid enough not to understand the full goings on here, but they were going to be surprised when the day for their assignments came. They would be the first to be hand-fed to the returned soldiers. That would wipe the smirks off of their faces.

  “As for the rest of you, I expect you won’t give me the same kind of trouble as Yula Lawrence. Is that understood?”

  The females nodded enthusiastically, shouting their willingness to submit to the laws of the prison system. It was a relief to have been able to make an example of somebody so quickly. I just wished that I could dole out their karmic rewards much sooner. It wouldn’t have been so bad for them if they hadn’t hurt Regan so badly. But they would soon see just how cruel the Verian race could be.

  “Today we are going to go on a little trip,” I announced to the females. “To the building opposite this one. You will be briefed on what is expected of your kind and prepped for your new roles here.”

  The females who had already undergone this process jeered menacingly from down the hall. It was a painful process, to be sure, but if we didn’t vaccinate the humans, it was possible that the Verian-human hybrids would not have proper immunities to the human diseases.

  “Silence!” I shouted. The clamoring of the females was too much for me. I had been suffering from a desperate headache for most of the night after tending to Regan, and it was clear that I was losing my muscle mass rapidly. I couldn’t wait until the Heakai were able to come up with a cure to this mysterious illness so that I could move on with my life.

  The females quieted down a little but maintained murmuring in disapproval, undoubtedly recounting stories of their own painful vaccination process.

  “What about Lawrence?” Casey asked, frowning. “Doesn’t she have to get vaccinated too?”

  I gritted my teeth, biting back the harsh words I wanted to shout at Casey for harming Regan. However, my mind worked much more quickly than my anger – one of the other things that set the Verians apart from the lowly human race – and I smiled coldly at her.

  “Of course. If she survives solitary.”

  Casey’s smug smile faltered, and she glanced at one of the females that had been holding Regan still during the attack. Clearly, she was now having second thoughts about victimizing the poor girl, but it was already too late. Perhaps, the question of her responsibility t
o Regan’s safety would haunt her for the rest of her days. I could only hope that would be the case.

  “Now. I need you all to line up in your cells, just as we do during meal times. Instead of turning left to the dining hall, you are to turn right and only do as I command. Understood? Anybody who gets any funny ideas in their heads will join Yula Lawrence in solitary. And I promise…that is not a pretty place to be.”

  The fear on the females’ faces was almost comical to me. If I was going to be honest with myself, I would have rather lived in one of the solitary cells than in the overcrowded jail cells in Ward B. But as long as the inmates believed that they would be subject to horrific treatment in solitary, it was likely that they would continue to be cooperative.

  It was one of my primary defenses considering the fact that we were woefully short on men who could help me to keep all of these women in line. The Pelin helped, but they were small and weak; not only physically, but mentally. I had caught more than one of them making friends with inmates. The Earth females somehow found the aesthetic appearance of the Pelin to be quite appealing, and more than once would squeal in delight when they were around, particularly those who were rotund.

  “Good,” I shouted as the females formed their lines. “Now follow me.”

  We marched forward through the winding corridors of the prison, and I couldn’t help but remember the last time I had led someone this way. It was Regan, when she had been under the observation of the Doyan. I shuddered again at the thought of the beautiful creature coming to harm at the hands of the merciless man that Vera had married. I would almost rather her beat up in the infirmary than touched by that slimy krocha.

  I led the females inside the laboratory, where the eager scientists awaited with cruel little smiles on their faces. These were women and men of weak physical disposition, with a strong hatred of the human race. Still, the existence of humans and the mysteries of their biology gave the scientists some odd sense of satisfaction. They wanted to know everything they could, and for the females who were particularly difficult, I often turned them over to the lab for study.