Page 16 of Fated to the Alien Hero

“Then we will get you this divorce.” Or I will kill him.

Chapter 8

Astrid

I wish it were that simple. Everything inside me wants to just forget Grady ever existed, and that I’m free to do whatever I want. Especially after he tried to kill me. But my conscience won’t let me. I repeated vows of ’til death do us part. Not that I want to die, but what kind of person does it make me if I kiss Evren again or do more than that with him? An adulteress, that’s what.This version of Grady destroyed any feelings I might have had for him, but I am still his wife.A part of me hopes that one day he’ll change. Go back to being the man I fell in love with when I was eighteen. The man who treated me like I was his everything.

“We’re not on Earth any longer, and there is no such thing as a divorce on Tavikh. We need lawyers and a judge to dissolve the marriage. It’s not just something we can say is over. There is paperwork to fill out.” I’m not sure Grady would even allow me to divorce him. Not if it was my decision first. What if he refuses to let me go and no one does anything to stop him?

“There are many people in the human settlement. We will just find these…” he trails off as I shake my head.

“Even if anyone back at the colony were a lawyer or a judge, I still don’t believe a divorce would be legal.”

“And you will not try?” Evren asks with a hint of disappointment.

His question makes me pause. It’s not like me to give up, even at the risk of failing. Especially on something important to me. What’s more important than being free? Staying alive, I suppose. If Grady finds out he failed, will he try again? Will the Tavikhi—willEvren—be able to protect me?

Then again, do I want to spend the rest of my days looking over my shoulder, waiting for Grady to show up? I release a heavy breath. “You’re right. I should at least try.”

“I believe everything will work out. We must trust Deeka and the path she has laid before us.”

“Deeka? Isn’t that the goddess you mentioned before? The one you said chose me as your mate?” My mom was more spiritual than religious, but she always acknowledged the fact there is some higher power leading us through life.

“Yes, she guides us and provides all the things we need.”

“Hopefully she’ll provide it this time.”

“I know she is not who you pray to, but she has never once let me down,” Evren says with conviction. Almost enough that I might start to believe him.

Slowly, I shift my gaze from him and stare out at our surroundings. Maybe because there isn’t the weight of Grady’sjudgment and disdain pressing down on me, but somehow the river and forest outside the Tavikhi village feels different than the ones outside the colony. Not just their visual differences either. Or maybe I’m the one who’s different. Maybe I’m just seeing them differently because, for the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel at ease.

It takes me a moment longer to realize something else. Grady’s voice isn’t there. Yes, the nightmares kept me awake, but not once since I’ve woken have I heard him inside my head. There’s been no expectations of me beyond healing.

“You have grown quiet,” Evren interrupts my inner thoughts. “Is all well?”

“Yeah.” I slowly turn my head toward him. “Yeah, I think it is. Or at least, it will be.”

“I am glad.” He gestures toward the forest. “Do you know, I cannot remember the last time I did nothing but sit and rest and appreciate the beauty of Tavikh?”

“Me, either. Most of the trees that used to populate Earth have been torn down to make way for more buildings. There are still lakes and rivers, but they’re dirty, and all the aquatic animals that used to inhabit them have died.”

“That is infinitely sad. I could not imagine living in a place that does not have fiku trees or fresh, clean water from which to drink.”

“Huh.” It comes out as a small chuckle. “I actually just wondered the other day what you called that type of tree. Fiku?”

“Yes. And look.” He points at something on the opposite bank.

“What am I looking at?”

“There. See?”

Another second passes before at last, Idosee. Three small rodents of some kind amble out of the forest toward the water. They’re similar to an Earth squirrel maybe, and almost the same color as the yellow-ish grass, if not for the dark stripe that runs along their backs. Their tiny black eyes are alert and scan for danger. I want to scratch them between their ears and pet their short bushy tails. Two are bigger than the third and I wonder if the smallest is a baby and the others its parents. They stop at the water’s edge, and I practically coo as they dip their little heads and drink. They’re so adorable.

“What are they?”

“Ketri. Two adults and their kit,” Evren confirms my suspicion.

Ketri.Where have I heard that word before? It’s not a human one to my knowledge, which means I had to have heard a Tavikhi say it, but I can’t place when. Not that it matters. Storing the question in the back of my brain for later, I return my attention back to the cute family. The biggest one—the father, maybe—chitters at the baby, and the sound makes me laugh.

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