Page 95 of Heart’s Prisoner

Dahlia slipped a hand on Lana's shoulder reassuringly and gave her a small smile before returning with the others. They waved to her as they entered their ship. Lana waved back and turned to Xerus. "You want me to come with you?"

Xerus' eye narrowed on her as if annoyed. "Did you honestly think I would leave you?"

Lana opened her mouth then closed it, feeling ashamed. "I thought...you have to go back to your home planet to tell them you completed your mission."

"Yes..."

"And...to become a Predomis." Her eyes fell. "And..." Oh, to hell with it. "And I can't be there with you when that happens. I can't watch you be with another and be alone." Lana turned her eyes back to him. "I don't think I could take it. Because..."

Xerus nuzzled her neck then whispered in her ear, " Do you ever actually listen to me? Or do humans lack the ability to remember things clearly?"

Confused, Lana looked back at him and Xerus sorted. He took her hand in his. "I am not Predomis yet. But I already have a queen. Because she will be chosen as it is her right."

Lana blinked, staring at him. "I can be made a queen?" she said softly. "Even though I am not Vrisha?"

"A queen is chosen for her strength and bravery. For her cunning and ability to endure." Xerus stated. "That is the Vrisha way. You have proven this ten-times over. You who helped destroy our enemy and put your life at risk to save me." Xerus bowed his head. "The others will know as I will be the one to tell them. You will be made a queen and you will be mine."

Lana stared up at him, barely able to think. Not knowing what to say, only that a weight had vanished and she felt alive. She reached up and kissed his jaw, his neck, uncaring of the stares from people still waiting to board the other ships.

"Let's go home," Lana whispered, smiling.

Xerus grunted and lifted her in his arms. He took her to a ship at the very front, shutting the doors behind them.

At the front of the ship, Xerus placed her at a seat next to his then began working the controls. Lana watched in fascination as he started the ship.

"You really can fly this?" she asked nervously.

Xerus looked at her and his mouth twitched. "Your technology is rather simple."

Lana smiled then laughed.

The engine roared to life and, as it moved, the doors to the dock entrance opened. Light spilled out, the first natural light Lana had seen in months.

The ship sped up until Lana was pushed back by the force. They shot from the entrance then climbed to the clouds until the sky darkened and there was nothing but stars.

Epilogue

Xerus

They were close. At least if the readings were correct. Human tech always made him a little nervous as it was so susceptible to error. Or breaking at the most inconvenient times. But he could estimate enough that they were passing Airus, their third moon now, the farthest from Tryth. Already he could see in the distance the black-edged Vrisha ships in orbit. They would contact him soon.

Flicking a few switches and using his knuckle to tap at the screen before him, he placed the ship in auto and left his seat. Unhurried, he strode down the narrow passage behind the pilot's cabin until he reached a room at the back. Within, several dozen pods sat in rows of three from the ground to the top in a semi-circle around the room. He went to the one on the left closest to the door and peered down.

There his queen slept peacefully. How she could stand to be confined in such a space astounded him. Though she was so small he supposed it worked well for her race. At least he could feel assured that she was secure inside, only having to check on her every few hours.

The pods were barbaric. As were their ships. What space-traveling race in their right minds used such tech to get around? Clearly, they had been impatient to leave their homeworld even if it meant speeding through space in a ship slower than a Vrisha carrier on the Tryth seas. He'd wanted to tear the rest of his scales out just from the sheer frustration of it. But he forced himself to be patient. And grateful.

Only a few weeks ago they had escaped that toxic planet and the underground base within. Now gone and buried, his enemy with it. Xerus closed his eyes. Finally, the parasite that had destroyed so many other races was gone.

He didn't know if he could ever tell her how bad it really had been. He had kept so much from her in the beginning and even now he was uncertain. But then she would soon find out regardless. The others would show her if he didn't. It was only good now that the parasite was gone. Even if the sacrifices had been great. Xerus curled his lip back as the memories of destruction flashed through his mind. Of the planets destroyed, of every living organism needing to be wiped out and exterminated. And he had been the enforcer.

He would have done it to her race too if it had come down to it. And he gave silent thanks to Veradis that it hadn't been so. It was the Vrisha way to place one's mission and duties above all else to complete their goal. But it did not leave out the agony or the despair or utter fear. Several times Lana had brought out those emotions within him when he thought he would have to end her life if it meant destroying the parasite. Even in the beginning he had felt oddly saddened at the thought, but once he understood what he was feeling towards her, he had been determined to save her at any cost.

This strange little human had made him more afraid than he had ever felt in many cycles. He didn't let it show, to keep her from worrying, but there had been more times than he cared to admit. When those human males had trapped him, all he could think about was what was going to happen to her.

He opened his eyes and let out a hiss of laughter. She had nearly sabotaged the mission and hadn't even known.

Maybe it would have been easier to have told her everything in the beginning. But he couldn't have risked it. Not when he didn't know who all was infected yet. Not when he suspected they were harboring the parasite. He had even feared at one point that they were working with it somehow. That they were planning to use it as a weapon. No, because he hadn't known for sure, he couldn't risk it. Even if he felt for Lana, wanted to protect her. He couldn't let slip his mission until he knew for sure they too weren't his enemy.

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