Page 37 of Resisting the Alien Commander

Except for the fact he’s been demonstrating the uncontrollable madness along with it. When I was with Quinn earlier, I didn’t feel mad. Out of control, yes. But it was my burning desire for her, not my mind.

At this time of day, the barracks are quiet. Males are either out on patrol or in the training facility. I pause outside of my room, sensing some type of disturbance. With a hand on my blaster, I open the door of my suite and brace myself for a possible attack. The person standing before me is far worse than any assailant.

I lower my arms to my sides. “What are you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet your mother?”

“It is when she shows up unannounced and uninvited within my private dwelling. Which poses the better question ofhowdid you get in here?”

She waves off my question with a flap of her hand. “Just as you have your ways of doing things, so do I.”

She stares more closely at me and her entire demeanor changes to something I can’t define.

“Why is your skin tone darker? And your eyes?” She gestures in the direction of my face. “Have they changed color as well? By the gods, please don’t tell me you’ve attached yourself to one of thosehumans.”

Why, of all the days for her to surprise me with an unwanted visit, does it have to be the same day I’ve been near Quinn?

“I would be careful how you speak of the females, Mother. One of them could be your future queen.”

She waves off my warning as though it is of no consequence. “Everyone knows Alik has no interest in finding a bride.”

I’d actually been speaking of my own bride, if my cousin is so determined to let the fever take him, and I—gods unwilling—become prince and eventual king. But I let her think what she wants. No sense in giving her any hope thatifI inherit the title she’ll get some kind of special privileges just because she’s my mother.

“Even still, stranger things have happened. Perhaps Alik will change his mind once he has spent more time with the females.”

“Gods forbid.”

“You would rather our people die out.” It’s not a question.

“Than taint our bloodlines with an inferior alien species? Yes.”

I control the breath I exhale so it doesn’t come across as a sigh.

“You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” Considering my mother lives in Haveeka—which is several ticks by shuttle transport—she would have to travel to Preska for a purpose.

“I came to remind you of your duty and to not let the queen’s soft words turn you from your true path.”

“You didn’t need to bother coming all the way here for something you could have said just as well over the comm. I’m fully aware of what direction my life is supposed to go.”

“See that you are.”

I’m not sure how to respond to what sounds so much like a threat, so I don’t. “If there’s nothing else then?”

My mother smiles with insincerity. “For now.” She sweeps past me and out the door.

No matter how brief any visit might be, every time I see her, I’m left emotionally exhausted. Thankfully they are few and far between. Because with each one, the voice inside my head belonging to her that I think I’ve banished returns. Only stronger.

I can’t help but compare myself to Bannik. Maybe he would be a better choice for Quinn. I can picture the joy on her face when they were dancing. The way he made her laugh. None of the things she did with me, although we didn’t get to spend near enough time together before the explosion occurred.

Yet it was me Quinn kissed earlier in the botanical garden. I was the one who aroused her. The one who made her lose control of herself, if only for a moment. It wasn’t the mating fever that caused her own reaction. Nor was it what caused mine. Not completely.

As if contradicting itself, the stabbing pain in my gut hits and I clench my fists while I breathe through it. The familiar drip-drip of blood from my pierced palms hits the floor. My fangs throb. I run my tongue over one and blood fills my mouth. My entire body surges with heat and urges me to find Quinn.

I take a huge risk and don’t reach for the kanet powder. It’s the only way I can prove what my mind is telling me. Of course, if I’m wrong, it may be Alik having to put me down instead of the other way around. My knees give out from the pain and I collapse onto them on the ground. I brace my hands on the floor, and breathe through the agony and torment.

Slowly, the excruciating torture abates, but the fever coursing through my veins continues to burn like an inferno. My mind, on the other hand, remains clear of the madness. There’s no destructive rage. Instead, it’s pure want. Need. For Quinn.

I carefully rise to my feet and enter the cleansing room to stare at my reflection in the bathing pool. My skin is a deep, dark copper, and the scales lining my shoulders and arms appear in a shade darker. It’s my eyes I can’t glance away from. They’re nearly black, but within their depths, they glow brightly with flames of red, leaving me no doubt: Quinn’s my heart’s fire.

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