Authors: Laurann Dohner
“That’s not going to happen.” She shook her head. “Not ever. Your council can kiss my ass if they think I’m going to just allow men to pass me around until I meet their baby requirements.”
He swallowed and released her. “It’s the law, Cyan.”
“It’s screwed up, Krell.”
“I agree.” He took a deep breath. “I wish I could protect you from the future. All I can do is currently keep males away from you and drag it out as long as the council allows it.”
“What does that mean?”
The long pause worried her as he seemed to find the ground, the sky, anywhere interesting, but looking at her.
“Krell?”
He met her gaze. “I’ve been trying to find the perfect time to inform you of what the council has done where you are concerned. This isn’t the ideal setting but we’re on the discussion. They have given you to—”
“Krell? It is you!” A deep voice boomed.
Krell spun away and Cyan peered around him. The sight that greeted her of the quickly advancing cyborg sporting a black uniform nearly took her to her knees. She only remained standing by locking her legs together.
Mavo hadn’t changed at all in the years since she’d last seen him. Not one bit. He grinned broadly, flashing white teeth, and happiness shone in his green eyes as he reached Krell. He hugged the cyborg, patted him on his shoulders, before taking a few steps back.
“It is so good to see you, my friend. I wasn’t aware you were on the
Bridden
. Was that your plan to use the
Vontage
to damage the attacking shuttle? It worked well.”
Cyan couldn’t breathe at first but managed to gasp in air to her frozen lungs. She stepped forward, her attention solely on her dear, beloved friend, and knew why she’d had such a crush on him when she’d been young. He was as gorgeous as she remembered, so handsome, and his eyes were just beautiful. Memories of the past hit her hard and when he turned to study her, his eyebrows lifted.
“Who is the human?”
She lunged, unable to stop it from happening, and grabbed him around the waist in a hug. His entire body turned rigid in her tight embrace, shock seemed to hold him immobile, but he didn’t take it as an attack since he didn’t shove her away from him.
“Um, Krell? Why is the female attached to me? It’s nice to see one who is obviously friendly to cyborgs but please explain.”
“Cyan,” Krell snarled. “Release him and back away now.”
She shook her head against Mavo’s chest. He didn’t know who she was but she’d always wanted to hug him this way, truly hold him just once, and she wasn’t letting go without a fight. Her arms tightened and she inhaled. He smelled nice but no longer like the soap she used to buy him. Tears filled her eyes and seeped between her eyelashes. He’d survived and they were together again. She sniffed.
“What is going on?” Mavo gently touched her back, giving her a soft pat in an attempt to perhaps comfort her. “What did you do to her? Is she that frightened?”
“Cyan,” Krell sounded closer, at her back. “Release him this instant. That’s a direct order.”
She sniffed again and knew she couldn’t cling to Mavo forever. Krell’s next words made her more than aware of that fact.
“I don’t want to cause harm by pulling you away from him but I will remove you. Release him!”
Her eyes opened and her arms eased as she lifted her chin to peer up at her beloved friend. Mavo stared down at her and both eyebrows were arched in obvious bafflement. It was so good seeing him that she didn’t even mind that he had no idea who she was. An idea struck.
“Close your eyes, Mavo. Please?”
He glanced at Krell. “Who is she and why does she know my name? What have you told her about me?”
“Cyan, return to my side now.” Krell sounded furious.
“Please, Mavo? Just close your eyes.”
He hesitated before shrugging. His eyes closed and Cyan reached up. She hooked her hand and hesitated before the pinky side of it touched his face near his ear. She slid her hand slowly down his check in a soft caress to his jawline, traced it to the front of his chin under his lip, before using her bent knuckles to rub under his jaw. She’d done this to him a thousand times, the only way she could ever touch him, and hoped it would tell him who she was.
His eyes flew open, shock widened them, and his chin jerked down. One hand gripped her wrist to pull her hand away from his skin where he kept it inches from his face. He stared into her eyes deeply and she stared back.
Know me
, she silently urged.
Remember me
.
“Cyan!” Krell gripped her hips, gently tugging on her. “Release her, Mavo. Don’t harm her.”
“You look the exact same,” she whispered. “You haven’t changed at all but you used to smell better. I take it you ran out of the soap.”
His body sagged a little against her and an arm hooked around her waist firmly, dragging her closer to him and out of Krell’s loose hold. Mavo leaned even closer, staring deeper into her eyes.
“It can’t be.”
Warm tears tracked down her cheeks that she didn’t bother to try to wipe away. “You knew your creator. What he couldn’t fix, he replaced with a better design. Think of a sexbot body, only shorter, but with a real person inside.” Her voice broke and she sniffed. “I am so glad you made it. Look at you.”
He rubbed her hand against his face and she cupped it with her palm. “Is it you? You’re Emily Pleva?”
Pain lanced through her brain as if a hot poker punched through her skull. Her body seized and she nearly lost consciousness from the agony. Convulsions shook her violently and she was barely aware of Mavo’s alarm and Krell yelling. Arms held her, lifting her feet from the ground, and cradled her against a firm body.
“She’s got triggers inside her brain from implants,” Krell hissed. “Get a medic!” He yelled that.
“What is going on?” Mavo snarled the words. “It’s Emily, isn’t it? Why didn’t anyone tell me she was alive? That she found us?”
More pain shot through her brain, a scream tearing from her lips, and she fought to stay conscious.
“Don’t utter that name,” Krell roared. “It’s making her worse.”
The convulsions faded but she couldn’t open her eyes. Her body was limp and unresponsive. The arms holding her eased their near-crushing hold slightly and she knew they were moving. Mavo probably had her still, obviously walked with her, but she had no idea where they headed.
“I want an explanation immediately,” Mavo demanded near her ear, verifying that he carried her.
“We weren’t sure if she was the human in question or not.” Krell followed closely, seemed to be moving at their side. “Her body isn’t human any longer. She’s not a cyborg but she’s close or an updated design. We worried that she is a spy sent from Earth to track us with that human’s information to use to gain our trust. We didn’t want to notify you until we were certain of who or what she is because of your emotional association with her.”
“Why is she ill?”
“She has implants inside her head and she stated she’s been conditioned to hide her real identity. Hearing or saying that name causes pain and obvious violent physical symptoms.” Krell spoke quickly. “Give her to me now.”
“Go to hell,” Mavo hissed. “Someone should have told me. It’s her. I know it. Do you know who her father was? He—”
“Don’t say it,” Krell demanded. “You could set her off again. We’re aware of who she stated her father was. Our creator.”
“He could do this. It’s her. It’s my E—” He stopped. “It’s her. What is she called now?”
“Cyan Eous.”
Mavo halted and chuckled. “Of course. It’s her favorite shade of blue.”
“What?”
“She wanted her office painted,” Mavo said as he continued to walk. “We debated over colors forever and that’s the one she chose. It was a running joke between us. It’s her, Krell. She’s alive!”
“Stop,” Krell demanded. “You’re not taking her aboard the
Vontage
.”
“I’m not letting her go.”
Something rough happened, jerking Mavo hard to a stop, and hands gripped Cyan. “She’s mine, Mavo. You can’t have her. You have a female.”
“She’s a daughter to me. I’m not carrying her off to engage in sex,” Mavo gasped.
“She’s my female,” Krell snarled. “I’m her primary male and the only one in her family unit. Release her to me this instant or we will fight to the death.”
The arms holding her seemed to sag and her body was ripped away from Mavo. The hard body that gripped her in the cradle of firm arms was familiar as Krell snatched her away and violently turned, stomping as he moved.
“Bring her back!” Mavo came after them.
“Back off,” Krell rasped. “She’s mine and I’m not giving her up, even for you. Take it up with the council if you have a grievance but until that point, stay away from her! She’s my female.”
“Krell!”
He moved faster, nearly running with her, jostling her body in his arms, and Cyan fought to regain control of any part of her body. Her eyes wouldn’t open, her limbs were flaccid, and while she was aware of everything, she couldn’t do anything about it.
Mavo was alive, she’d held him, and she’d just learned that Krell and she were joined in a family unit, according to him. She was his female, he was her primary male—that obviously meant husband—and the shock of that information nearly made her pass out.
When was he going to tell me? That son of a bitch!
Chapter Eleven
“Drink this,” Krell ordered, pushing the warm cup closer to her lips.
Cyan glared at him. He’d taken her to Dell’s old quarters, she assumed, since she’d never ventured there on her visits to the shuttle when the mercenary had owned it. It was a nice stateroom aboard the
Bridden
, probably the only private sleeping quarters on the small shuttle, and while it was compact, the bed was a double size.
“Please drink?” He sat on the edge of the soft mattress, grimly looking at her.
“When were you going to tell me we were married?”
He flinched. “You were conscious after your episode? You heard what was said between Mavo and me?”
“No. I’m a mind reader and guessed.” She drew in a breath. “That’s sarcasm. How could you not tell me? How? And why did you threaten to kill Mavo? He wasn’t going to carry me off and have his way with me while I was down.”
Anger tensed his mouth. “He was going to take you aboard the
Vontage
and planned to keep you away from me.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad plan at this moment, you lying jerk! You accused me of being dishonest but you take the cake.”
“Cake?” He set the cup on the small table next to the bed. “Could you please speak English?”
“Fine. You’re a dick, Krell. You allowed the council to marry us, didn’t even tell me, and have treated me as though I’m some devious spy bent on destroying cyborgs. That’s a shitty way to treat your own wife.” She took a deep breath. “How do we get a divorce? You better hide anything sharp if you say there isn’t such a thing. I’m all for becoming a widow if that’s what it takes.”
“Calm down.”
“Go to hell.”
He watched her, frowning. “Cyan, it wasn’t my idea. I wasn’t the one who initiated sex between us.”
“You said we could have it and not be married. You lied!”
“We were already joined into a family unit. You were assigned to me by the council when you were released from Medical.” He paused. “Blame Councilman Zorus. He feared they would assign you to other males who would force the issue. I never would. We’re both friends with Mavo and we wanted to protect you in case you really were that human he cared so deeply for from Earth.” He paused again. “You’re safe in my care. Have I ever forced you to suffer my unwanted touch? Have I allowed other males into a family unit with us? No.”
She stared down at her hands, clutched together on her lap where she leaned against the padded headboard. She didn’t even know what to say. She felt betrayed and angry. She’d been the one to go after Krell, couldn’t deny that, but he should have told her they were married. It was just rude not to mention that detail. She inwardly snorted.
Understatement!
Pain came next. It hurt that he’d lied, had kept something so significant from her, and he obviously wasn’t thrilled either since he’d tried to resist her advances.
“Cyan?” His raspy voice lowered to a whisper. “Look at me.”
She lifted her gaze. “What?”
“I’m worried about you. Are you well? How do you feel? May a medic examine you?”
“I’m fine.”
“You were convulsing and lost consciousness.”
“I wasn’t totally passed out but my body shut down. I think being directly confronted and hearing those names from someone from my past caused that reaction. Names cause severe reactions. I heal fast and I’m sure no permanent damage was done. I don’t even have a headache.”
“May a medic examine you?”
“No.”
Frustration flashed across his features. “I’m still worried. You frightened me.”
“I’d probably care if you weren’t such a dick.” His concern did matter but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. “I’m really fine. May I see Mavo now?”
“No.” His fingers curled into fists. “You don’t belong to him. He has a female in his family unit.”
“He’s my friend. I want to talk to him, not ball him.”
“What?”
“Never mind. It’s a graphic sex term. I just want to talk to my friend.”
“No. We’re almost done with the repairs and we’re going to leave the planet’s surface. You may see him once we reach Garden. I’ll allow him to visit you in our home.”
Her anger spiked. “You’ll allow him? Really? Is that how you think it’s going to work? That you have a say in who I see and who my friends are? You never answered me about a divorce. How do I obtain one?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. You’re seeking to start an argument.”
“You’re right. I’m mad!”
“I understand.” His hands unclenched and he reached for her, paused, but dropped them to the bed inches from her leg. His gaze held hers. “You don’t want to be separated from me, Cyan. They will assign you to another male if you protest our joining. The council isn’t going to allow you to live without someone to protect you and to be your primary male. I won’t harm you and I’d never force you to do anything you don’t wish. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what had been done but I was hopeful that the situation would be resolved before you had to be informed. I wished to avoid upsetting you this way.”
“What does that mean?”
“It is possible that you could be deemed human if you truly are who you claim to be before you were given that body. That means you’d be the female who helped cyborgs escape from Earth and you would be given special concessions.”
“Now it’s your turn to speak English.”
“You’d be considered human regardless of your body’s origins if I could prove you were the daughter of our creator. Cyborg law wouldn’t apply to you and you wouldn’t be required to take more than one male into a family unit. Humans are exempt from that law as long as they provide a child for the male of their choosing. In my case, I’m undesirable and no child is required by me. I’m not part of a breeding pact and my obligation has already been met by Mavo. He had a son, gave him my name, and he’s registered as my contribution to our future.”
She took that information in. “He had a son for you, to cover your obligation?”
“Yes.”
“You just threatened to kill him. Nice.”
He flinched. “I was agitated. He was taking you away from me. I’ll apologize later.”
A nagging thought popped into her head. “Why did you care so much? You should have been happy to have someone want to take me off your hands.”
He looked away to study the wall.
“Krell?”
“I need to see how things are progressing. Rest, Cyan. Lie down and please drink the healing tea. You’ve had a trauma. Stay put.” He stood quickly, turned and strode to the door. “I’ll return soon.”
He fled and she sat there in stunned silence for a few minutes. He’d refused to answer her and that made her wonder why. Was he getting attached to her? Maybe he’d experienced jealousy when Mavo tried to carry her off? Was he feeling possessive? It opened all kinds of possibilities, most of which meant he cared more than his gruff exterior showed.
She carefully rose to her feet, tested her legs to make sure they worked and took a few deep breaths. She rolled her shoulders, shoved her braid out of the way and found her boots on the floor where Krell had placed them when he’d put her on the bed. She sat down, put them on and stood again. He was in for a rude awakening if he believed she’d meekly follow his orders just because they were married.
Her eyes closed as that information still stunned her.
I’m married to the grim cyborg
. She checked her clothes, made sure they were neat and approached the door. It opened and she was glad he hadn’t tried to lock her inside. She was on the lower deck of the shuttle, near the cargo doors that led outside, and she turned in that direction. Something caught her attention as she stepped inside. Across the room near the open door her weapons had been neatly stored on the wall. She grinned.
Krell had distracted her the first time she’d left the shuttle with him and she’d missed seeing them. She quickly put on her belt and checked her weapons before returning them to the holsters down the front of her thighs. It made her feel more like her old self with them in place. It might get her shot when the cyborgs got a look at them but she didn’t care. The planet had warlike inhabitants and from the amount of men sporting heavy-duty weapons, the threat wasn’t just bullshit Krell had made up to keep her close.
The guard at the end of the ramp turned his head and his grip on his rifle blaster tightened as he faced her.
“Stand down,” she ordered him with a smile. “I’m Krell’s wife. He’d get pissed if you shoot me. You’ve met my husband and know he’s not someone you want to mess with.”
The cyborg frowned in response but he didn’t point the weapon at her. That was good enough. She figured she might as well use her status to do what she wanted. Krell obviously didn’t have a problem using his status as her primary male to issue orders since he’d taken her away from Mavo.
“Where did he go?”
Indecision made the guy hesitate. “To the
Vontage
to check on their repair status.”
“That’s where I’ll be too.” She walked down the ramp past him and rounded the shuttle. The sight of that big hotel on thrusters on the ground still wasn’t something she’d adjusted to. It looked too weird. The feel of the baked ground under her boots made her step carefully, not wanting to slip and fall on her ass.
The
Vontage
’s underside was a hive of activity with repair teams working and men watching the surrounding thick vegetation. She glanced along the outline of ugly trees, wondering what could be so badass to make all those cyborgs look that nervous.
She’d been to alien planets a few times and hadn’t seen anything too scary. Of course, by the time they visited a planet, settlers were already there and the military had been sent out to resolve some unrest between them. This planet hadn’t been colonized. Her gaze drifted back to the men under the shade of the big ship. Krell wasn’t too hard to spot with his tall frame and jet-black hair.
She nearly made it to him when a loud roar fractured the sounds of male voices as they worked. She halted, turned her head in the direction of the noise, and didn’t see anything at first but trees. Another loud roar sounded, something ominous and deep, near thunderous, and the ground under her feet thumped.
What the hell
? Her hands automatically grabbed the handles of her weapons.
“Incoming,” a cyborg yelled. “Northeast section. Four annihilators are spotted.”
Four what
? The ground shook again, trembled as if something big had slammed against it, and the volume of the next roar nearly hurt her ears. She turned toward the teams of heavily armed cyborgs as all of them dropped to their bellies and aimed the biggest weapons they carried toward the trees. Backup cyborgs rushed forward with more crates, tore the lids open, yanked out weapons and rushed to lie down next to their fellow crew members.
Her heart raced and no one seemed to notice her in the chaos that followed. More cyborgs rushed toward the first wave of armed cyborgs, dropping down beside their crew until they formed a long line of men aiming weapons in the same direction.
The ground shook worse, huge thumps that made her brace her legs, and suddenly two of the trees were ripped apart. Something big just seemed to grab hold of the trunks, uproot them, and they sailed into the air to disappear into the thickly wooded area. The thing that stepped out made her back up.
“Holy fuck,” she hissed, taking another step back.
The thing that came into view resembled something between a dinosaur with its massive body, stood two or three stories high, but had a humanoid-shaped torso with large, clawed limbs. The head of the thing was huge, had big black-looking round eyes in a furry face, and as its mouth opened, another roar tore from its vast, gaping jaws. Cyan could have sworn she felt the wind hit her face from that thing’s anger as if it had expelled its breath that far.
The cyborgs opened fire to hit the ground in front of it. Explosions flashed, the noise earsplitting, and flames shot upward from the ground to form a wall between the creature and them. They missed the thing by a good forty feet.
Aim higher
, she urged them silently. The creature turned and dived out of the way, disappearing into the line of thick trees, and the smoke from the bomb grenades they’d sent at it rose at that point to hide it.
“Cyan!” Krell grabbed her arm, drawing her attention. “Get inside the
Bridden
.”
She gaped up at him. “What was that?”
“We call them annihilators. Return to the shuttle. The repairs aren’t completed. We need another ten minutes.” He gave her a gentle shove. “Run. I’m ordering it to lift off. It’s too dangerous for you to remain here.”
“They need to aim higher. They missed it.”
“We don’t wish to kill them unless we have to.”
“Are you serious? Did you see that thing? It’s huge and pissed!”
“They are just attempting to defend their planet.”
Half of her admired the cyborgs for their compassion but the other half, the military soldier inside her, protested. “Will they stay back?”
“Doubtful. They’ll come at us from different angles.” He moved his big body enough for her to witness more cyborgs rushing from the
Vontage
, all carrying heavy-duty weapons, and they lay down to surround the ship and take positions to cover all directions. “Return to the
Bridden
.” He glanced down at her body and his jaw clenched. “Now.”
She released her weapons. “We’re not going to blast off and abandon the other ship. Hand me one of those grenade launchers. I can handle them.”
“It’s not your fight.”
“Bullshit!” Anger burned. “You’ve got hundreds of cyborgs on that ship, right? It’s crippled and you need to buy it more time for the repairs to be finished. We’re not abandoning them.”
“I’m not. You’re going on the
Bridden
and it will lift off to take you to safety.” His hold on her arm tightened. “Move.”
She twisted hard, grabbed his arm and ended up behind him. Her hand gripped his braid. “Don’t fight with me, Krell. Don’t make me kick your ass in front of your buddies.”
She quickly released him, her point made, and jumped back. The ground under her shook and a roar came from the woods. She forgot their argument to turn her head in the direction of the sound. Trees split apart and another big beast rushed out. The ground shook noticeably as it ran at them, bigger than the
Bridden
they’d flown in on once she got a look at the long back of it. It had six legs, a huge torso, and those huge arms attached to a very wide chest. It also looked really angry.