Authors: Melissa Landers
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Fantasy & Magic, #Love & Romance, #Action & Adventure, #General
Invaded
Copyright © 2015 by Melissa Landers
Cover design by Alison Chamberlain
Cover photograph © 2015 Michael Flores
All rights reserved. Published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Hyperion,
125 West End
Avenue, New York, New York 10023.
ISBN 978-1-4231-8700-4
For L’annabes of all ages.
Keep your eyes on the stars.
Contents
C
ara frowned at the starched gray duffel bag at Aelyx’s feet. It was identical to the
one he’d brought to Earth last fall when
he’d traveled from L’eihr to stay with her for senior year.
“We only have a few minutes,” he said, taking her hand in both of his.
She glanced out the spaceport window to the ship that would jettison Aelyx back to
Earth—without her, this time—while she continued on to his planet. A shiver of anxiety
skated down
her spine. The exchange wasn’t supposed to happen like this, without Aelyx there to
guide her. As much as she wanted to go home, that wasn’t an option. The Elders had
made their demands
painfully clear. Her chest tightened and heat prickled behind her eyes, but she refused
to cry. Repairing the alliance between their worlds could save the human race.
That trumped a broken heart.
She summoned a smile and met his silvery gaze. If they had only one minute left, she’d
make it count. “I love you.”
The corners of his lips quirked in a grin. “Show me.”
“I’ve been trying to show you for days,” she said suggestively. “You’d think on a
ship this big, we could find someplace to be alone.”
Her lame joke didn’t deter him. “Do it.”
“Right here?”
He checked over both shoulders to ensure no one was watching. “Go ahead. It’s safe.”
They’d kept her ability to use Silent Speech a secret, but Aelyx made her practice
every day. It didn’t come easily. Communicating with her mind was more grueling than
advanced
trig.
“But it’s our last minute together,” she objected. “Don’t I get a break?”
“No.” He took her face between his palms. “Show me.”
Of course she couldn’t deny him, not when she knew how good it felt to experience
his emotions, to know on a cellular level how much he loved her.
“Okay.”
Closing her eyes, she pulled in a deep breath and released the tension in her shoulders.
Aelyx used his thumbs to lightly brush her temples, helping her relax and reminding
her to clear her
thoughts. That was the hardest part—banishing her inner voice.
She rested a hand over Aelyx’s heart, feeling its rhythmic beat against her palm while
she focused on the rush of sentiment she felt for him in the moment—attraction, respect,
adoration, and, more than anything, need. She let the feelings multiply until she
couldn’t contain them any longer, and when she opened her eyes, she channeled her
passion through his wide
pupils and into the consciousness beyond.
He felt it—his expression left no doubt. He closed his eyes for a moment as if to
savor the sensation, then locked gazes with her.
That was amazing
, he communicated.
You’re getting better.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said.
Aelyx tapped her forehead.
Ask me the right way. From up here.
“Slave driver.”
You’ll thank me one day.
Cara heaved a sigh and restarted the process of clearing her mind. When she was ready,
she gazed through Aelyx’s pupils and formed two simple words in her brain:
Your turn.
But nothing happened.
Try again
, he encouraged.
She did—three more times—but without success. For whatever reason, she could share
her emotions with Aelyx but never her words. But on the bright side, she didn’t get
the
headaches anymore.
He caressed her cheek.
Be patient and keep practicing. Ask Elle to help you while I’m gone. She should teach
you to block your thoughts as well as share them. I trust her, but
don’t tell the other clones about your progress…especially not the Elders.
Just as she opened her mouth to reply, the steely travel band around Aelyx’s wrist
buzzed, alerting him that it was time to board. They shared a desperate glance before
he pulled her mouth
hard against his.
It didn’t take long for the kiss to transform from benign to scorching—it never did.
The signature tingles only he could summon danced across her chest. Cara crushed their
bodies
together, clinging to his broad shoulders like she could stop him from leaving if
she got close enough. But it didn’t last. Just as she captured his lower lip between
her teeth, he groaned
and broke away.
“I have to go,” he murmured, tilting their foreheads together. His wristband buzzed
again, a final warning before it would heat against his skin and cause him physical
pain.
She pushed his chest, refusing to break down. “Hurry. Before it burns you.” She smiled
and added, “I don’t want anything making you that hot unless it’s
me.”
With a grin, he grabbed his duffel bag and jogged across the metal grating that led
to the boarding corridor. When he reached the doorway, he stopped and shouted, “I
almost forgot. I built
a new blog for you, to replace the one Syrine deleted. Same login and password as
before.”
“Thanks,” she called with a wave. “You’re pretty awesome…for an alien.”
He laughed as he backed into the corridor, leaving her with five final words.
“Actually,
you’re
the alien now.”
M
ONDAY
, D
ECEMBER
24
I’m Dreaming of a Beige Christmas.
Happy Holidays, earthlings! Welcome to INVADED, your exclusive sneak peek into my
one-woman invasion of planet L’eihr. I don’t know how 597,350 of you found my
new blog so quickly, but I’m glad you’re here. Pull up a chair, kick off your boots,
and grab a steaming mug of
h’ali
(the closest thing to hot chocolate on this
sugar-hating spaceship).
It’s Christmas Eve, and if the stars align—not to mention the intergalactic transmissions—you should see this maiden post by morning. It’s an icy
absolute zero here in space, but we should arrive at my balmy home away from home
by lunchtime.
I have to say, it’s a little weird being one of only two people on this vessel to
celebrate Christmas. My new friends think it’s crazy to believe that
God’s spirit impregnated a virgin, but they think it’s totally logical to accept that
a Sacred Mother birthed six gods and goddesses who created L’eihr from meteor dust
and
starlight. Because that’s a lot more feasible.
But I digress. L’eihrs celebrate the birth of their deities each spring, but instead
of exchanging presents, they fast for two days to bring them closer to the
Sacred Mother by way of collective suffering.
Talk about
bah humbug
!
To all my friends and family back home, guzzle some eggnog for me, and while you’re…
at it, choke down some fruitcake, too. You’d be surprised how much I miss
that stuffand you. Always you, dear readers.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Posted by Cara Sweeney
No comments had posted, but that didn’t surprise Cara. Sometimes there was a twenty-four-hour
delay sending and receiving electronic data from the L’eihr ship
stationed above Earth’s atmosphere. Still, that wasn’t too shabby, considering how
many galaxies those poor bytes had to travel.
She pushed aside her brother’s laptop and set her com-sphere on the polished cafeteria
table, where Mom and Dad would soon join her for Christmas dinner, hologram-style.
Her life felt like
a futuristic holiday special:
A Very Virtual Christmas.
If only she could summon some digital decorations for the ship’s sterile, empty dining
hall. It was as festive as a death-row
prison cell in here—bare gray walls, rows of meticulously parallel metallic tables
and benches, dead silence, and nothing illuminating the darkness but the computer’s
backlit
screen.
At three in the morning, not a creature was stirring, not even a
harra
, the L’eihr equivalent of a mouse. But instead of nestled all snug in her bed with
visions of Reese’s
Cups dancing in her head, Cara was running on Midtown time, day versus night, waiting
for the “phone” to ring. As she often did during these quiet moments, she wondered
what Aelyx might
be doing in Manhattan.
It’d only been a week since the L’eihr Elders had sent him back to Earth to help rebuild
the alliance, but it felt like a year. Aelyx was the reason she’d left Earth in the
first place—so they could build a life together on the L’eihr colony. She never imagined
she’d be alone when she glimpsed her new home for the first time.
Well, not literally alone.
Her brother, Troy, was here to serve as a human mentor, but truth be told, he was
a real horse’s ass—the kind of guy who would point and laugh at her misery instead
of warning her
not to touch a flesh-eating alien plant…assuming those existed on L’eihr. She hoped
they didn’t.
The sound of dragging footsteps turned her attention to the doorway, where Troy shuffled
into view sporting unlaced combat boots and the same rumpled military fatigues he’d
worn to bed
last night. He yawned loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth, and used both hands
simultaneously to scratch his chest and butt.
Yep, that was her mentor. She was
so
screwed.
“They call yet?” he grumbled, taking the seat across from her.
Cara slid an extra nutrient packet at him. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”
Instead of answering, he rubbed one eye and plucked his offering from the table. He
loved those protein bars, though Cara couldn’t understand why. They smelled and tasted
exactly like
boiled cabbage.
“Merry Christmas,” he said eventually. Then followed it with, “Dorkus.”
Flipping him off didn’t seem very “yuletide gay,” so she rolled her eyes instead.
“When are we supposed to shuttle down?”
“Dunno.”
She rested her chin in one hand and sighed.
Their transport had reached the L’eihr solar system hours ago, but for reasons she
wasn’t privy to, the Elders had held off on shuttling them planet-side. Cara had a
raging case of
cabin fever—or starship fever, as it were—and if she had to listen to Troy’s chronic
snoring one more night, she’d smother him in his sleep. He’d insisted on bunking
with her while Aelyx was on board, because God forbid she got lucky for once, and
he’d refused to leave her side ever since.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I hope you don’t think we’re sharing a dorm at the
Aegis.” Or on the colony, or wherever they ended up.