Page 62 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

“What should I do until then? I…I do not wish to be of no use.”

“You…could tell me about yourself. Or about your planet, or how you got here.”

She peeked at him as she moved the clumping eggs with the spatula. He turned back toward the windows, leaning forward with all four elbows on the table. His silence stretched, leaving only the sound of the wind over the roof and the gentle sizzle from the skillet.

“You don’t have to. It was only a suggestion,” Zoey said.

“MyUmen’rakwas traveling through this system because it was the shortest route home,” he said after a few more seconds. “We had completed ourNes’rakand struck akorvaxxstaging point elsewhere in this galaxy.”

“What donezrackandkorvaxxmean?” she asked.

“Nes’rakis…duty. I think the wordmissionis the closest in your language. A task of great importance that is given to anUmen’rakto complete. And the korvaxx are an alien species we have warred with for a long while. After raiding an outpost on a world in the korvaxx’s control, we obtained intelligence on their war effort, and had learned of many more worlds they meant to conquer and enslave. That is what the korvaxx do; take and take until nothing is left. But with that information, we would’ve had the chance to stop many of their assaults before they were underway.”

She looked at him again; his posture was hunched, his head bowed.

“While we were on the enemy world, our ship must’ve been…sabotaged, or something of the sort,” he continued. “I was jolted from stasis by an explosion that destroyed a large portion of our ship. Our pods were automatically jettisoned to this planet, and the command module was separated from the wreckage. That module can function as a ship of its own, though its defenses and weaponry are somewhat lacking. That is what I’m trying to reach. I don’t know if it landed safely or if it crashed, but it is my only chance to get off this planet.”

“Was yourUmen’rakcaptured with you?” she asked, frowning.

“Many died in the explosion or did not survive the fall to the surface because their pods were too damaged. But yes…some of them were captured with me.”

Zoey stilled the spatula, keeping her eyes fixed on him. “What happened to them?”

“I…” He lifted his head for a moment before sagging down again like a great weight was pressing down on him; she understood why. “I do not know. Not with any certainty. A couple were likely too wounded to have survived long, even with theirnyros. The rest…thescientistswere eager to learn our anatomy and had no qualms about inflicting harm upon us. Some of what I’d heard indicated that at least one of my companions was cut open while still living. The leader of the operation implied that the rest were killed due to similar experiments, but I was never offered any solid information.”

Annnnnndyoujust made him relive all that. Way to go, Zo. You’re really crushing it lately.

Without paying much attention to what she was doing, she removed the skillet from the stove and scooped a pile of scrambled eggs onto one of the plates she’d set out.

Zoey didn’t want to imagine what he’d been through while he was in captivity. She didn’t need to. As big and strong as Ren was, the horror and trauma he’d experienced was evident in his voice, in his body language, in the thickness of the air around him. She was glad that he’d confided in her, but seeing him like this made her chest hurt and her stomach flutter anxiously.

She carried the plate of eggs and a fork over to the table, setting them in front of him. He made no move to eat.

“What will you do if the command module doesn’t work?” she asked.

“Attempt to get the communications into working order to call for rescue.”

Zoey nodded and returned to the stove to cook the remaining eggs.

“Thank you for the food,” he said after a long silence.

“You’re welcome.”

A few minutes later, the oven timer beeped. Turning it off, she grabbed a pot holder, opened the oven, and removed the pan of blueberry muffins from within.

She wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or concerned when Ren didn’t turn to look at what she was doing. He sat hunched forward, lower elbows on the table, eating his eggs with slow, stiff movements. His fork occasionally clinked or lightly scraped against the plate, but he was otherwise quiet.

Zoey plucked two muffins from the pan, hissing at the heat on her palm, and dropped them on a small plate to top each with a bit of butter. She brought the muffins and her plate of eggs to the table, sitting across from him. She placed the muffins on his side.

“Surprise,” she said half-heartedly, forcing a smile as she pushed the muffin plate a little closer to him. Her smile quickly faded. “I don’t want us to fight.”

Ren reached forward with one of his lower hands and picked up a muffin, drawing it closer for inspection. He gently poked it with a finger. “I don’t want to fight, either,” he said softly, meeting her gaze. “It’s all I’ve done for my whole life, and I am tired of it. Even when it does not involve bloodshed.”

Zoey bit the inside of her bottom lip. “Forgive me?”

“Yes. So long as you forgive me. I did not mean it the way I said it.”

“I didn’t mean it the way I said it, either.”

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