Page 44 of Cherished By the Alien Outlaw

I missed my sister so much. As twins, we were rarely apart. Some twins fought a lot, but we never did. Losing our parents only brought us closer. We’d cried together, laughed together, and commiserated about bad relationships that left us burned together.

I couldn’t wait to introduce her to Firion and see herreaction. She’d be looking for her own Zuldruxian mate not long after that. I’d bet anything on that.

I woke to the heat of the sun on my face and the steady beat of Firion’s heart against my back. He’d kept his arms wrapped around me while we slept, his presence soothing, protective, and loving. I blinked against the late-day sunshine slanting across the desert sand, reflecting beams of light that I’d learned could be blinding unless I shielded my eyes. The shade had fled with the day, leaving us to swelter, but it would be dark soon, and we'd travel in the relatively cool night.

I stretched and turned over to face Firion, noting how still he lay, his eyebrows drawn in a tight line even at rest. We'd sheltered beneath what I'd started calling alien cacti since they were shaped about the same as ones I'd seen in pictures, though dark purple instead of green and with much longer spikes than I could imagine growing in Earth’s deserts. They’d make brutal weapons if you could figure out how to build a sheath to hold them.

An ominous feeling kept drilling through my mind, though I wasn’t sure why. As far as I could see, we were still alone, and I didn’t hear anything to cause concern.

My body still heavy with sleep, I shook myself, trying to fully wake up.

Because something still felt off.

The air lacked its usual daytime warmth, feeling cooler than it had been when we fell asleep early this morning. Shadows skittered across the sky above us, and the sky no longer held the same bright color from before;it had morphed into a muted gray, a shift that sent a quiver across my skin.

Easing away from him, I pushed up onto my elbows, squinting at the horizon. Dunes continued for as far as I could see, but now they looked different, though I couldn't name why. I sensed they and the entire world were holding their breath.

My heart flipped over.

“Firion?” I grabbed onto his shoulder and shook him slightly. “Wake up.”

He grunted, tension still etched on his face. Almost from the time we met, worry had created creases around his eyes, and they only deepened as he took in the change in the sky.

“Something feels wrong.” My eyes shot to the horizon again. “The air feels dense, almost electric. Look at the sky. It’s different. Something’s changed.”

Firion sat up and took a deep breath, studying the landscape and the sky arching overheard. “The air’s too still. This isn't right.”

The tension in his shoulders was palpable, and it worked its way through my palm resting on his back and into me. I struggled to shake off the worry coiling in a band around my heart.

“It’s calm now. Too calm.” He rose and climbed the slope behind us. At the top, he stopped to scan the area. His body radiated tension and unease, and his hands clenched to fists at his sides. I’d seen him fight, but there was something even more feral in the way he held himself now, as if a survival instinct was kicking in.

The silence deepened, and I got to my feet, my instincts on high alert. As I tossed the few things we’d left in the sand back into our packs, the air pressed down around us, growing thicker by the moment.

“Something’s happening,” I breathed, glancing up at him with panic flickering through my veins. “Sandstorm?”

“Maybe.” Firion jogged down to join me again, sand shifting ahead of him, turning into a small rush that wound to the base before coming to a sluggish stop.

We moved quickly to get ready to leave.

I could almost hear the gears turning in his mind. He was strategizing, figuring out what our next move should be, and it calmed me to see how focused he was.

My heart raced as I recalled the few shows I'd watched about sandstorms turning peaceful desert landscapes into nightmares.

“We need to go.” Urgency sharpened his voice. “Can you travel fast even if only for a short time?”

Or longer. I read that in his eyes.

I nodded, glancing at the distant horizon once more. The sand had darkened there, coated with shifting shadows that stretched farther than they should. “What if we get caught in it?”

“We’re going to do our best to make sure we don’t.” He grabbed my hand, his grip tight and reassuring as we jogged south. “We’ll find shelter before it hits. Thicker vegetation can provide some cover.”

Something that didn’t appear to be in sight.

We scrambled over the dunes, fighting theweight of our packs while the wind picked up, sending flecks of sand swirling around us. The air felt charged, almost alive with the impending storm. As we moved, a low rumble began to build in the distance, a sound like thunder rolling in, echoing the fear prickling down my spine.

“Do sandstorms have lightning?” I shouted; my voice nearly swallowed by the wind. If only I’d done more than half pay attention to those shows or watched more of the survival stuff one of my friends enjoyed. We were out in the open, two of the few things sticking up from the ground other than the random alien cactus. A bolt couldn’t miss us.

“I don’t know.” The tension in his jaw made mine spike. “We’re going to get through this.”

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