Page 80 of Torn from the Alien Commander

“No, it wasn’t a fair contest.” I glare at him with intense focus, needing to bolster his confidence with the simple truth. “I fought with my powers, divining your moves, predicting the futures.” A sharp laugh escapes me. “If you used your powers, none of my paths showed any hope of victory.”

My old friend’s eyes glow purple as he nods with renewed confidence.

“You are the greatest of us, Krogoth Star Eyes.”

Chapter 26

Tyrxie

Miracle

Almost three weeks havepassed since we met Krogoth and Rocks. I smile, remembering our long conversations aboard their massive Scythian Battlebarge. Like me, Rocks had her human name, lost among all the titles and honorable labels she’d picked up from being with Krogoth.

She spoke casually about completing the Proving. My jaw fell open hearing all the crazy encounters she survived—from beasts and murderous Klendathians—like something from my darkest nightmares. Rocks’ eyes would glaze over, recounting the events as if reliving them again, but she remained so humble.

She’s so graceful and strong.

It was only when I spoke to the Klendathians that I got a sense of the magnitude of her actions—the first non-Klendathian tocomplete their sacred Proving ritual and the first Chieftainess in over two hundred years. The males regard her with almost mystical significance, as if she’s a harbinger of their people’s glorious revival.

After everything I’ve seen and done—maybe they’re right.

We also spoke about Earth—I bombarded the poor woman with endless questions. Every answer prompted more questions, leading to countless rushed queries. I had a general sense from the Nebian records, but with her help, she filled in the gaps, giving me a deeper sense of the place and people. Rocks said she was from a country called the United States of America. It seems like knowing your country of origin is significant on Earth, each region having a diverse and unique take on cultures and peoples. It excites me even now, thinking about traveling to experience each country—with Xandor by my side; I know we’ll have a lot of fun.

The best part was when Rocks showed me her strange rectangular human device—a cell phone. It reminded me of a wrist console, only archaic. Yet when she showed me her many pictures from Earth, I gasped in delight. It looked so bright there with its yellow, glowing sun, a bit like Xandors eye—a good omen. It was strange seeing so many faces like mine. I’m so used to being the odd one, drawing curious glances and open disdain. No powerful empire to call home, no glorious history—no nothing.

“Are you well, my love?” Xandor asks, peering over his massive shoulder, his usual easy smile on his lips. It always warms my heart to see him beaming at me. I don’t think he’ll ever understand how much it means to me; how grateful I am for that simple gesture. For most of my life, hiding from others, their looks of scorn and later predatory lusts—that’s all changed now, ever since Xandor exploded into my life.

He saved me.

“You have that look on your face,” Xandor laughs, pointing at my brow. “Where your mouth scrunches up and you stare at the ground like you’re looking for a missing credit chit.” His face turns concerned as he pats his heavy arcweave armor. “Wait, actually, where is my new wrist console?”

I giggle at his silly antics. “Is it on your ankle?” I suggest scrutinizing my towering Klendathian Mortakin-Kai.

Mortakin-Kai...

The word once so strange and foreign now rolls off the tongue like it’s always been there, a part of us. It was only a few days ago that Xandor and I entered the enormous building with the spiraled tower—Lanaisor, he called it. My love prepared me, in a way only he could, detailing with complete accuracy every event within the vision.

Despite his forewarning, the experience still almost overwhelmed my senses. I played the part of the Klendathian Goddess Dranuxia. Well, Xandor said they were Gods, but they never struck me as particularly Godlike, other than their powers—the same ones we possess. They were rude and full of arrogance, as flawed as any mortal, perhaps more than most.

Are these the same entities he worships currently? The ones that give me that strange dream?

“Ah, there it is!” Xandor declares in triumph, patting his wrist console, which dangles from one of the many leather latches at his belt. “You know, wrist consoles are a terrible design if you’re missing an arm.” Xandor lets out a sigh, “Shame that voiding Prefect didn’t leave me a longer stomp. I could’ve strapped it on there.”

I always feel a pang of sadness and regret when Xandor mentions what happened to him on Nebia, even though he speaks so nonchalantly about it. It’s still too raw, the thought of his pain and suffering like someone ripping my heart out of my chest—and worst of all, I was devastated to learn it was my faulthe lost his hand in the first place... why we got separated, leading to his brutal torture.

It eats away at me, the terrible remorse that I may have caused his immense pain and mutilation.

Xandor should hate me, he should curse my name and abandon me for my stupidity. But he never does. His love radiates from him like the violet glow of the massive Klendathor sun above us. When our souls mesh within our bond, there is no doubt—his love burns hotter than a thousand suns. He’ll always love me, always take care of me. His undeserved devotion almost spills tears from my eyes, and I know I’ll always be there for him, too.

I’d give anything to go back and get on that escape pod sooner.

“You knew where your wrist console was,” I challenge him with a laugh, struggling to scale over a massive root from a tree that reaches so high it appears to vanish into the heavens above. “You wouldn’t misplace something so important when you can read the future.”

“Is that so?” Xandor chuckles, steadying me as we travel through the dense Draxxi forest. His home planet is unlike any place I’ve ever been to before, devoid of urban sprawl or artificial stations floating in space. This planet is wild and untamed, the most natural and raw place I’ve ever seen in the universe. There’s a primordial energy here, a sense of something immense and ancient lurking around the impossibly large trees, the immense snow-capped mountains, and the bubbling volcanoes.

I should hate it here, so used to darkness and tight, sterile places to hide. My legs ache and my lungs burn from the long hikes. But the truth is, I’ve never felt so free and alive. The air is so fresh, the water so clean, and the food is delicious and abundant. Even the very woods teem with life. Squeaking andbarking echoes through the towering trees, some sounding more ominous than others, but with Xandor at my side, I rest easy.

“Who knows? Maybe I was distracted?” Xandor suggests with a playful leer, his words brushing close to my ear, sending tingles down my spine. “My sexy little puffrio, shining so bright, obscuring all the paths.” He supports me with a guiding hand along my back.

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