Page 70 of Heart’s Prisoner

Chapter Twenty-Two

She lay limp against him, her cheek on his shoulder, his arms holding her so firmly she could barely feel his movements, only the slightest bobbing and swaying as he slipped silently through the dark corridors.

She couldn't make out where he was taking her only that he was in no real hurry to get here. He paused at certain intervals as if to assess the area. Listening for any danger ahead. Then he would move again, with long, graceful strides. He was so quiet she couldn't even hear him breathing, as if carrying her was no exertion to him at all. Even when he crept up a set of emergency stairs, she could barely feel the rise and fall of his chest.

As he made his way through the dark, her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her teeth chattering in her mouth. Not from cold, as Xerus' body heat kept her warm, but from the endless terror of what was in store for her.

Where was he taking her? And why? Why not end her now or back at the room? He'd found her as he promised but why wasn't she dead?

These morbid questions had equally upsetting answers. Maybe he was going to take his time with her. Maybe he was taking her back to some nest and was going to work her slowly, destroying every little bit of her until there was nothing left. More tears spilled from her eyes at the thought. She wept silently in his arms but he didn't stop to check her, his eyes barely looked at her. Her chest felt heavy like her heart had turned to stone and was sinking into her stomach.

She felt too tired to fight, her body so heavy. She just wanted to sleep. To just get it over with. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, surrendering to her fate as Xerus weaved through the dark.

Eventually, he stopped and shifted her to one arm. Lana raised her head slightly and opened one eye to see his fingers working at a door pad. Frowning, she glanced over at the metal door before them and saw the Lazris star in the very center, painted in gold.

Confused, Lana watched as Xerus successfully entered the code and unlocked the door, entering the small foyer beyond. He did the same for the second door at the end until it too opened. He swept inside and Lana caught a few choice glimpses at the room–or rooms rather–that they had entered. It was similar to Jocab's unit only bigger. Much bigger. And like they had just stepped into an exotic resort suite, with a large entrance room that connected several other rooms and a balcony at the back displaying fake scenery. Lana didn't have a chance to register it all as Xerus took her through a doorway to the right, passing through to a large bedroom with a wide, fake window displaying some kind of beach scene. He set her on the bed then promptly left her before she could get a word in.

What thehell.

Lana wiped at her wet face, wincing as her face still stung from the blow, and tried to sit up when she felt the searing pain in her thigh and waist. She looked down and saw her suit was burned on one side from where the flare had caught it. Hissing in pain, she could feel that it was sticking to her skin.

She peered around the room and saw an opening to her left, showing a large bathroom with a marble tub. Everything was white and pristine and rich looking like some kind of modern summer house that her aunt used to live in. There was a large TV screen on the wall opposite her and a few choice pieces of furniture more decorative than useful. As she studied the room, Lana began to realize where she was.

This was the commander's suite.

She sat there in confused shock, staring at everything when the pain of her leg brought her back. The horrible stinging throb in her thigh made her groan and hunch over, tears still stinging her eyes. She didn't know where Xerus went but she wasn't going to wait for him to come back and do...whatever it was he planned to do with her. Carefully she got up from the bed and tried to stand. When she took a step, she fell over from a spasm of dizziness and pain. She swallowed a few breaths as she crouched on the floor. She went back to crawling and made her way over to the open door of the room. She slid her way back through the hall until she was inside the main entrance room. Xerus was nowhere in sight. Groaning from the movement, she slid passed a bar situated by the wall next to the door and was surprised to see a Scibot sitting beside it, bent back on a high seat, with wires hanging from it's body and it's computer displaying a loading screen. Frowning, Lana paused to wonder what Xerus was doing with it then decided not to stick around to find out. She crawled passed and went for the door.

Rising on her knees, she clawed at the door lock, getting the door to open, when she was abruptly pulled back. Lana let out a weak little scream as Xerus, appearing from seemingly nowhere, lifted her up over his shoulder with one arm and carried her back to the bedroom. She cried and kicked at him but it did absolutely nothing. Xerus dropped her back on the bed where she tried to squirm away from him.

"No, don't!" she cried as he reached for her. Panic and adrenaline from the pain brought back a new resolve, making her want to fight after all, even if it was still likely pointless. She kicked at him as he grabbed her leg and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. Lana looked up at his face and could read little of his expression. He was surprisingly calm. Too calm. And that somehow scared her more.

His eyes wouldn't meet hers. Instead, they focused on her body. He dropped a case beside the bed that she hadn't noticed he'd been caring and brought his other hand down to take hold of the opening to her coveralls. When his talon-like fingers ripped her clothing partially down to display her bra, Lana turned wild.

'Oh my god, he's going to eat me,' was the first crazy thought that jumped in her head. Like a small, terrified animal, Lana screamed and thrashed frantically as Xerus' face bent down towards her.

He caught her arms and pinned her down. "Eris sifa na enexi, kissala,"he growled.

Lana didn't bother to try to understand. She writhed and squirmed in his grasp. He continued to say something to her but she didn't want to listen.

"Lina..."

Lana struggled against him for a moment longer until she realized what he said and grew still. She blinked away tears, her breath coming in short bursts, but she let herself be still.

"What...What did you just say?" she choked.

"Lina. Na enex." He said in a low, soft tone.

Her name. He was saying her name though it came out a little off with his accent.

Lana, be calm.

Lana blinked several times and remained frozen though she still trembled under him. A tiny whimper still vibrating in her throat.

"I-I don't understand," she said softly.

His eyes met hers and, in them, she could see a calming blaze, not a raging inferno. There was no hatred there. Not for her.

Gently this time, he placed his giant hand on her chest, near her heart. He closed his eyes as if listening then bent his head back down toward her and inhaled through his nose, the slits of his nostrils expanding. Lana dared not move. She waited, watching him intensely for any sign of change to his oddly calm demeanor. When he finally opened his eyes, he sat back and exhaled.

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