Page 24 of Claimed By Brothers

And as much as I love it, as much as I don’t want it ever to stop, I know deep down it’s not meant to last.

I have to find a way home.

7

Amber

The following days pass in relative calm and tranquility, much to my surprise.

I spend my nights with Binzen and Izzo, enjoying the fruits of our union to the fullest. It’s not that I can’t refuse them. I just don’t want to. They’re fucking incredible, especially when it’s the three of us together. I never imagined myself being so happy to be shared by two men—let alone by two giant horned and red-skinned aliens who absolutely revel in the pleasure of my company. At the same time, I’m wracked with guilt because I am fully aware of my intentions. I’m not going to stick around here for much longer. That bond of theirs… light years’ worth of distance should be able to sever it. I have to try.

With little Valen in my care while Binzen and Izzo are off to meet with their fellow tribesmen in the neighboring territory, I make my way across town to meet with Cynthia, Alicia, and Jewel by the river so we can talk in peace. There are always guards watching us, albeit from afar, so we know we can’t just walk out of here willy-nilly. But we haven’t given up yet.

“You’re really attached to the kid, aren’t you?” Jewel mutters as I hold Valen in my arms as he sleeps.

“He’s sweet and gentle,” I reply, smiling. “Besides, someone needs to look after him while Binzen and Izzo are away.”

“Listen to yourself,” Alicia says, shaking her head. “You sound like you want to stay. Are you really going to stay here?”

“No, no!” I reply vehemently. “No. We’re leaving. As soon as we figure out a way to escape.”

Cynthia takes a deep breath, letting her bare feet dangle above the rushing water. We’ve settled on a flat rock jutting just over the river, low enough to dip our toes in if we want to. The two suns of Sunna are out and shining brightly, the scorching heat making the four of us sweat aplenty, but we’re actually getting used to it.

“We’re always watched,” Cynthia says. “We have to make a plan here.” She’s wearing a short beige dress made of leather, tied around her waist with black string, and her long, black hair braided down her back.

I give her a nod. “I noticed they take shifts and turns watching us. When are you due to visit Lorra again?”

“Tomorrow. Her condition is worsening,” Cynthia replies, lowering her gaze. “I don’t think she’s going to survive.”

“What have you learned about the disease?” I ask.

“It’s blood-related. It’s a virus that attacks the immune system, particularly the red blood cells, which, by the way, look rather different under the microscope,” she says. “Similar to ours but functioning at a greater size and temperature. The Sunnaites are naturally bigger and hotter, and it shows in their blood, too.”

“Would you be able to find a cure?” Alicia wonders aloud.

“Not without further laboratory testing,” Cynthia says with a tired shrug. “And I don’t know their tech as well as I’d need to in order to do that. Maybe I could get farther along with an earthly lab, but… Girls, once we’re out of here, we are out of here.”

Jewel scoffs. “Listen, I’m sorry for what’s happening to these people. No one should have to suffer like this. But we’re not responsible, and we don’t belong here. We have to leave.”

“I agree,” I tell her. “But how do we do that?”

Valen stirs in my arms, opening his crimson eyes for only a moment—long enough to see it’s me who’s holding him, and then he’s off to sleep again, content and safe. It fills my heart with a peculiar warmth, but I keep the thought to myself as I look up at Jewel. She’s sporting a short linen skirt and her bikini bra, her brown hair tied up in a tight bun at the top of her head. She is always ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

“Well, I’ve been observing the guards’ shifts and the townspeople’s habits, in general,” Jewel says. “Our best shot to escape is at night when the moons are at their highest point in the sky. I will need to study the terrain farther down the river, though. I hear there are several bridges still standing after the civil war broke out. We could use one of those to cross and head toward the Cloud Mountains.”

“Why the Cloud Mountains?” Alicia asks. She’s wrapped in a thin yellow layer of linen with a leather string tied around her plump waist and across her chest, and the girls who haven’t perished from the plague were kind enough to style her blond hair into several long braids. “That’s the Sky Tribe territory.”

“Yeah, and we agreed we’d have to try our chances there, didn’t we?” Jewel reminds her. “We need one of their ships and, ideally, one of their flight techs to help us get off the planet.”

“I still think it’s insane,” I mutter. “Umok and his people were the ones who snatched us in the first place. As soon as they see us, we’ll be theirs for the taking.”

“They don’t have to see us,” Jewel insists. “I can tackle one of those fuckers, the most useful of them, at least, and no one needs to know until it’s too late.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Cynthia asks. “They’re all damn near twice our size.”

Around us, the midday sun burns hot. Steam rises from the flowing river while a soft breeze brushes through the dark purple and black trees dotting the stony bank. Above, the plateau rises in shades of deep red and orange on both sides beneath the scarlet sky. Behind us, the guards of the Mal clan linger at the bottom of the steps leading back into town, their eyes occasionally stopping on us as they survey the surrounding areas. They’re always on alert, I’m told, for fear of the Sky Tribe’s vessels flying too close to their town.

“First, we need to get out of here,” Jewel states the obvious with a grumble of sheer discomfort. “I’ll need a few more days to devise an actual exit strategy, and we’ll need some food and supplies for the long road ahead. Food, water, and weapons, to be specific.”

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