Page 52 of Claimed By Brothers

“Not funny!” I groan and try my best to recover what’s left of my composure. “I can’t believe this. I didn’t even notice the bump.”

Cynthia gently caresses my face, smiling softly with warmth glowing in her emerald-green eyes. “Babe, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Jewel was just joking. I have more faith in the evolutionary process than most. I’m certain a baby wouldn’t have been conceived in your womb if you didn’t carry all the genetic markers that would make you eligible to carry to term.”

“Are you sure?” I whimper, the anxiousness working its way through me to the point where I’m shaking like a leaf despite the volcanic heat that has settled over the land.

Cynthia nods her head slowly. “Umok did blood tests on us, remember? He said we’re compatible to carry their children. I’m sure conception wouldn’t be possible if the mother wasn’t able to survive it. What would be the point?’ She takes my hands. “Listen, Amber, don’t be scared, all right? We may have the ability to reason and think things through, and we may be able to draw certain conclusions, but evolution and biology are way more straightforward. Two plus two equals four on literally any planet.”

“I’m not sure that makes me feel better.”

“What Cynthia is trying to say is that we don’t have all the information yet, but we must have faith in the natural process. Evolution has been around since long before we started walking upright and using our brains,” Alicia chimes in. “That aside, holy cow, you’re actually pregnant.”

I nod once. “Yeah. It barely dawned on me, too. I wasn’t sure who to tell, given the circumstances.”

“Do Binzen and Izzo know?” Jewel asks.

“God, no. They would’ve tied me to the bed if they knew,” I say. “They never would’ve let me leave the house again. Besides, given our strained relationship as of late, I wasn’t sure whether I should tell them. Especially since we’re about to do something insanely dangerous.”

Cynthia beckons me to sit down once we reach the river while Alicia refills my water bottle and brings it over to me. All of a sudden, I’m the center of attention. Jewel gives me some dried meat and a handful of dehydrated plums, insisting I eat everything. I’d almost forgotten just how caring and loving these women are. They didn’t deserve any of this, yet here they are, coming through for me when I need them the most, even though they each have their issues to deal with.

“To be honest, I am having second thoughts about letting you come with us,” Cynthia says.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I shoot back. “The bump isn’t that big.”

It’s not. It’s not really showing underneath my soft, silken dress, but the girls know me better than most. Cynthia is also a brilliant doctor with an acute sense of observation.

“We’re already far out,” Jewel says. “Amber shouldn’t be on her own. And we still have a little one to save.”

“I’m not backing down!” I insist. “I’m coming along. We’re doing this together.”

Cynthia looks around. I can almost hear the wheels in her head turning as she makes a decision. I know what that is, and I’m thankful I don’t have to push this further. We’re in this together, and we’re going to see it through to the end.

“We’ll figure the preggo stuff out later; what do you think?” I say with a casual shrug.

“Yeah, wait until Binzen and Izzo hear about this,” Jewel scoffs, but her attitude softens as she kneels beside me and gently touches my belly through the fabric of my dress. “How does it feel?”

“I’ve never been pregnant before, so there’s a lot for me to process,” I say. “But I feel kind of heavy and tired all the time. Cynthia was on point about the mood swings. I’m a tad brain-fogged, too, but that could just be the stress. This really isn’t the best case study for a hybrid pregnancy, given the circumstances.” I glance back at Cynthia. “How long do you think I’ll carry the baby? Like, what’s the usual term for a Sunnaite woman?”

“I was told it’s anywhere between ten and twelve months, depending on the mother’s health and age. The older the mother, the longer the pregnancy,” she says.

“That doesn’t exactly compute with me,” I mutter in confusion.

“It doesn’t compute with anybody, but it’s still happening,” Jewel says. “Okay. Come on, we need to get moving. We’ll just have to be careful with you going forward. That’s all.”

If Umok finds out, it will open a different can of worms. It will give the Sky Tribe plenty more reasons to send more starships to Earth and bring hordes of human women back here. It was one thing to run tests on us and conclude we’re compatible to carry, but it’s something else entirely to have proof of conception. It has now become beyond imperative for us not to get captured by the Sky Tribe again.

Which is ironic, given that we’re about to walk right through their gates.

24

Amber

“All right, we’re going to do things differently this time,” Jewel says as we approach the Sky Tribe camp.

The mercenaries settled on the western side of the southernmost ridge, just a couple hundred yards from the original crash site. We’re back where we started, in a way. It’s depressing as hell, but I have every reason to fight for my freedom.

I’m sweating rivers in this wretched heat. It’s getting worse by the hour. I’m pretty sure the water in my bottle will soon dry out. My blood curdles as we carefully make our way across the open stretch of yellow grassland separating the hill from the mountain’s low ridge. My gaze wanders along the stony peaks adorned by rapidly drying tufts of red and purple shrubs. From what I remember, this is a natural process. It happens every year. The summer literally burns everything down slowly, only for nature to swiftly replenish it as soon as the wet season begins.

Of course, what they call the wet season is what we consider the equivalent of a couple of days’ worth of short summer rains. They only have three seasons, each hotter than the other—the moon spring is the longest, lasting about six months; the summer is the worst, stretching up to three months; and the wet season covers a month, tops. From what I’ve been told, the natural balance of Sunna revolves around its inner fire, but I have yet to see any of that for myself. It sounds more like something out of a folk tale, yet everyone I’ve spoken to fiercely believes in Sunna’s strength.

---