Page 7 of Rescuing Mara

“My friend, you need your rest. You are no good to your Zarra when you have not slept in days,”T’Rak sends my way, making me growl.

“You know I am right,”he continues.“Find your calm. It worked for D’Var when L’Ren was taken. You need to stay strong for your mate, O’Rec. That is the most important role for you now. Trust in us to handle the rest.”

I sigh.“You are right, my friend. Thank you for reminding me. I do not take your loyalty lightly.”I can almost hear his grumpy response. He sees his loyalty as a given, but in a world as insecure as mine, it feels like a lifeline.

I breathe in, finding my calm. We Arracate Warriors are guided by the stars and fueled by the spark that gave us our home. We can find a little bit of that spark inside us, a force that connects us with the stars and with the spark that used to be our planet. When I am in touch with my Warrior Calm, I am one with the universe, my mind clears, and I am battle-ready. Right now, my battle is with myself. Once I have found my calm, I fall asleep quickly.

I sleep through the night and most of the day, so the remainder of the trip passes quickly for me. When I wake up, I do checks and scans. Then, there is nothing left for me but to wait.

CHAPTER5

Mara

“MARA!!!!! MARAAAAAAAAA!!!” I startle awake by Ananta’s bellowing. Quickly, I push myself onto my feet, still half asleep but ready for action, when she opens the door to the closet she locked me in.

“Mara, don’t make me wait like that anymore,” she snarls before she brusquely turns around, assuming I will follow her. And I do, quickly and silently, follow in her footsteps, close enough to hear what she’s saying, but not too close so I will annoy her with my presence.

She stalks through the corridors of the spaceship we’re currently staying on. The days have dragged on since we met that Arracate Warrior on that strange compound. Things have been happening since, but she kept me locked away for most of that time.

It’s not unusual for her to forget about me, but still, it’s far from the standard, leaving me anxious. Silence from Ananta usually doesn’t bode well for me.

We enter the command room, and the hairs on my neck prickle and rise when I see who’s waiting there for us. The High Commander, ruler of the Sternotheri, and Ananta’s father. She might be cruel, but she doesn’t hold a candle to our leader. He terrifies me beyond measure, and his beady eyes are focused firmly… on me.

“Thank you for joining, took you long enough,” he snaps at Ananta, who then lashes out without warning, backhanding me across my cheek.

The High Commander chuckles. “You can never get any good help around here now, can you?”

“This one has been particularly useless lately. But I think I have found a way for her to repay us for all our generosity.”

My cheek throbs, but I resist the urge to touch it by pressing my nails into the palms of my hands. I don’t like the ominous words Ananta uttered one bit. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her what she means, but I press my nails harder, letting the pain distract me from talking.

“Tell me your plan, daughter.”

She nods at one of the scientists standing to our right. He holds out his hand, and on top of it lies a small, round object. It looks like a button, but I doubt it’s as simple as it appears.

“This is a one-way, one-use transmitter,” he begins. “It’s untraceable until you activate it. Once activated, it sends a strong signal to the receiver. It is not fast, but it is indestructible. It will always find its way. Once the two devices connect, there is no breaking the connection, so we can always trace the signal.”

Ananta turns towards me. “Mara here will be taken by the Arracate Prince. He thinks she’s his mate, so he will search for her and take her to their new home. She will take the transmitter, and when he brings her home, she will activate it and lead us there.”

She turns towards her father, beaming. “You will finally reach your goal, father. You can finally destroy all Arracate.”

The High Commander is silent for a heartbeat, and then the slowest, meanest smile I have ever seen forms on his face.

“I’m so proud of you, daughter. You have brought me my greatest desire. We can finally have revenge on the filth that killed your brother.”

They talk about the transmitter and the plan, but I lose focus and get lost in my thoughts. What do I know about the Arracate? I understand that the Sternotheri hate them because they killed Ananta’s brother. I firmly believe that the asshole got what was coming for him, so I can’t really blame the Arracate for that. I have heard about their mates, of course. Rumor around the Galaxy is that they are treasured, revered females who get their undying love and attention.

Arracate mate for life, something with the stars? I heave a heavy sigh, because my mind turns blank and I have a deeply rooted urge to know more about them.

My sigh must have been louder than I thought because all eyes are on me.

“Something you want to share with us?” Ananta bites out, making me blush.

I whisper. “I apologize, mistress.”

She huffs. “Pay attention. You need to know everything about the Arracate we know and about the plan.”

So I pay attention. Ananta walks me through the plan again and again. When she gets bored, she leaves but has one of her cronies repeat the plan. They also tell me all about the horrors of the Arracate, and when they put me back in my closet hours later, I’m mentally and physically exhausted

---