Page 37 of Rathgar

After the first few hours, Iris finally cried herself out and fell asleep in my arms. At least they didn’t separate us. At least Lara is still here as well. I try to remind myself of the positive notes to keep myself from spiraling into panic, but…

Let’s be real. I’ve been kidnapped by alien savages. There’s nothing positive about it.

One tiny sliver of good news — if you can call it that — is that Ray was off with one of Soren’s friends on a mini field trip of sorts. They were well out of range when the raid happened, but what would they think when they returned home to see everyone gone?

Lara promises me that Ray’s all right. I asked her how she knows, and apparently that’s a feature of having a child with your ‘heart-mate’. Just as she can feel Soren’s presence, even over lightyears of distance, she too can sense her son’s life force. I can only imagine what could have happened if he’d been there when the raiders attacked.

I have no way to know how much time has passed. I only know that I’m hungry, sore, and scared for my life. Lara’s doing her best to look after Isabella and giving the death glare to any guard who comes by and lingers on her a little too long, but there’s not much we can physically do.

Please, Rathgar. Where are you?

Despair starts to seep in, little by little. It’s only a trickle at first, like an occasional drip from a leaky faucet. But the more time that passes, the more Iris cries and the more Isabella wails and the more I sit here in this dark, timeless void, the more doubt creeps in. A tiny drip turns into a trickle, and then a small stream.

He probably doesn’t even know where we are. And if he does, will they make it here in time?

Another loud crash. I should be getting used to loud crashes by now, but every one makes me jump. Makes me hold Iris just a little bit closer. She’s not the only one that’s terrified. Even my baby seems to know what’s up, moving and shifting and pressing against all the wrong spots. I should be resting and taking it easy.

Instead, I’m in a literal cage while some alien brute decides what to do with me.

“Soren will come,” Lara promises me, but it sounds more like she’s trying to convince herself. “He will. Rathgar too. They’ll find us. We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

But the way she hugs her knees to her chest, the way she fusses over Isabella, and the way silent tears fall when she thinks I’m not looking tell me things aren’t fine at all.

I would say we’ve been through worse, but poverty and starvation is one thing. Being literally kidnapped and our lives threatened by a violent group of hostile aliens is quite another.

Time bleeds together into one hazy, painful fever dream. I don’t know what time it is or how long its been. I’m drifting in and out of sleep when the sound of footsteps rouses me.

“Rathgar?” My body jerks upright and my heart skips a beat. The fact that he was the first word on my lips tells all. But when the silhouette comes into view, it’s not Rathgar at all. It’s worse.

While Soren and Rathgar have bulky, imposing builds that show off their muscles and sheer physical power, this man looks like some kind of experiment gone wrong. His proportions are all over the place, and the only thing that’s consistent about him are the haggard scars etching just about every inch of his body. His dark, beady eyes fixate on me. A sick grin crawls up his face; I cringe away on instinct, but there’s nowhere to go.

His filthy gaze crawls up and down my body, and I swear I can feel it on me like a spider. Iris, for her part, hasn’t woken up yet. Good. She doesn’t need to see this.

“Knock knock.” He raps on the bars of the cell with one grimy hand. Even his voice makes my stomach churn. If my stomach wasn’t so empty, I would have hurled. “How are my guests doing?”

All I can do is snarl.

“But where are my manners? My name is Kovarx. What’s yours?”

I don’t meet his gaze. I don’t say a word. I’m not going to cooperate with a villain like him.

“Oh, giving me the silent treatment?” He makes a tsk sound with his tongue, and there’s a flash of panic. Was he going to punish me now? “That’s all right. I don’t need to know your name to know who you are.”

With a flash of movement, he leans inward, his face reaching through the bars. He’s even more hideous up close, and I can see the sweat and grime sticking to his skin. Just that’s enough to make me want to gag. “You’re one of his.” He rasps. “I can smell it all over you.”

My blood turns to ice just as my baby kicks again. I hiss in a shattered breath, holding my stomach. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into,” I growl through clenched teeth. “Rathgar will come, and when he does I’ll delight in watching him destroy you.”

“So confident, are we? But you see, it was I who orchestrated that little diversion in the first place. They will be far afield by now, and even if they do come back?” His eyes flash with murderous glee. “They’ll be too late.”

Equal parts rage and panic well up inside of me. I take what energy I have left and spit, right at his feet. I know I’m playing with fire, but I’m too mad to care. The longer I can keep him talking, the longer I can string this along, the more time Soren and Rathgar have to arrive. I just need to hold out a little longer.

Kovarx doesn’t take kindly to my display of disgust. With a quick, harsh movement that belies his huge size, he grabs me from inside the cell, yanking me to the front. My joints cry out. I scream and kick, trying anything I can to get away from him. But it’s no use. He’s too strong, and he’s got two misshapen cronies guarding the cell right next to the doorway.

Iris is awake now, held firmly in Lara’s arms while she looks on, a scream building on her lips.

“Mama!” Iris cries out for me, and the last thing I remember as they drag me away is a cold, resigned conviction. If this was going to be the end for me, I’d at least give Lara, Iris, and Isabella all the time I could.

I never wanted to give my heart to Rathgar. I never wanted to give my heart to any man after what happened with my old flame back on Earth. But as I’m dragged away from my family, I realize that I unwillingly already have.

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