Page 10 of Cherished By the Alien Outlaw

I pressed my fist against my chest. “I would do it in a heartbeat. Know this.”

Her face grew serious. “Thank you. I need a friend so much more than someone willing to sacrifice themselves for me.”

If only she wanted more than friendship.

Chapter 6

Talia

How had I gone from closing up the dance studio to lying on a crude bunk inside a cell within a lizard alien mining operation? Sadly, I doubted any of the lizards were eager to learn dance. I suspected I’d soon be handed a pickaxe and a bucket and told to dig.

At least I felt clear in the head now. My arm no longer throbbed, and the fever I’d thrashed through had left my body. I was on the mend, and grateful for it. I couldn’t imagine facing a new life on an alien planet while sick.

“I’m glad you’re better,” Firion said softly, his concerned gaze sliding down my frame. His eyes held a hint of warmth, though I didn’t know why.

Feeling irritated, I struggled to sit up. I wasn’t mad at him, just the situation. And I was terrified about what might be happening to my sister.

He rushed forward and helped me, easing me back against the cold stone wall and stooping down to studymy face. His hand slid across my forehead. Even on an alien planet, the same gesture was used to see if someone felt hot. “You were very sick. What happened to your arm?”

“The lizards cut it when they captured me. I was in a spaceship . . .” I struggled to remember, but everything before waking up was dreamy. “It was small. It crashed in a desert and the top came off. I fell over the side and the lizards raced toward me. I struggled.” My growl rang out. “I tried to get away, but they were too fast and too . . . determined.” MaybeIhadn’t been determined enough. If I could’ve gotten ahead of them, I might’ve been able to find a place to hide. Then, once they gave up, I could’ve looked for Maggie. “My sister was with me.”

“Inside your small ship?”

“No, I meant she was captured on Earth when I was. I saw her on the bigger ship before mechanical arms placed me in the small one and shot me toward this planet. She’s here somewhere. I’ve got to find her.”

He nodded. “Another woman. Do you believe she’s in the desert as well?”

“We were taken together.” I frowned. “You seem to understand a lot of what I’m saying, and I don’t only mean language. I doubt you speak English. Although, I don’t understand the lizards. I heard you talking with the one across the hall earlier, but while I could understand you, his words were just grunts to my ears. Do you speak their language?”

He shook his headand fingered a small crystal he wore on a strip of what looked like leather around his neck. “This is a translator. If—no, when—we get out of here, I’ll make sure you have one too.”

“If we get out of here, I don’t care if I ever see another lizard again, let alone talk with one.”

“As for us understanding each other, that’s a gift from the gods.”

“Gods, huh?” Our parents had raised us in the church, and while Maggie and I had slid off after they died, not attending often, our belief system remained strong. But to hear of multiple gods on a distant planet . . . I wasn’t sure what to think about that.

“There are many of them. They crashed on our planet ages ago and remained.”

“Another alien species, then.”

“Perhaps. We worship them as gods because that’s what they are.”

“Everyone needs something to believe in.”

“I suppose.”

“It’s not like they’re tangible or anything,” I said. But, wait. “You said they crashed here and remained, which means they must be tangible. Our god isn’t.”

“They take care of us.”

“So people say on my planet, too. But they were noticeably lacking when my parents were killed and this . . .” My eyes burned with tears I refused to shed. There’d be plenty of time to cry once I got out of here and found my sister.

“Our gods work in different ways.”

“I’m sure they do.” I tried to keep my voice neutral. Who was I to attack his belief system?

“I’ll ask the stone gods to give me weapons,” he said softly. “That will show you.”

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