Page 28 of Pact with the Alien Devil

With a gentleness I rarely allowed myself, I brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face, my fingers lingering against her cheek. Her skin felt impossibly soft beneath my calloused touch.

“You’re reckless, infuriating...” The words came unbidden. “And I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Her breath caught. Something shifted in her expression—surprise, vulnerability, desire—I watched her pulse flutter at her neck. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and I felt my own control fracturing.

My fingers traced the line of her jaw. For the first time in years, I wanted something beyond duty, beyond orders. I wanted her.

Footsteps thumped in the corridor beyond.

Iria heard it too—the sound of approaching reinforcements. The spell broke. I rose to my feet, pulling Iria up with me. My hand held hers, fingers twined.

“We’re not done with this,” I told her, voice firm with promise.

She nodded once, eyes still holding that flash of heat that had been there moments before. She checked her blaster charge. “Are we done here?”

We moved with newfound synchronicity through the bunker corridors. Where before we had worked as separate units with the same goal, now we functioned as one unit. Iria seemed to anticipate which direction I’d choose at each junction. I knew when she needed cover fire without her asking.

Two more mercenaries appeared at the end of the hallway. Before I could warn her, Iria ducked, giving me a clear shot over her head. I took them both down with controlled bursts.

“Nice shooting,” she said, flashing me a quick grin that did strange things to my chest.

“Nice ducking.”

We reached the surface access tunnel. Dust filled the air as the door cycled open, revealing the wasteland of Velaxis Prime. The once-thriving colony now stretched before us, buildings half-collapsed under the weight of war. The red sun hung low over the horizon, casting long shadows across the ruins.

Iria caught her breath, leaning against the doorway. A cut above her eye had begun to bleed, trailing a thin line down her temple. I stepped closer, taking the medkit from her belt.

“Hold still,” I instructed, applying antiseptic.

She winced but remained in place. “Thought you got hit back there,” she said, eyes flicking to my shoulder.

Her gaze flickered to my shoulder where shrapnel had torn through my armor. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s minor. Already closing,” I said, noting her surprise as she watched the wound begin to seal itself. “Vinduthi heal differently than humans.”

Her fingers reached out, hesitantly, then touched the edge of the closing wound. “That’s... handy.”

“It has its advantages.”

She looked up at me, hand still resting lightly on my shoulder. “Is that why you were so quick to play the hero? Throw yourself on grenades?”

“I wasn’t playing anything,” I said, my voice rougher than intended.

The data chip pressed against my leg in my pocket. I retrieved it, turning it over in my hand. “Krenis didn’t die for nothing. This chip better have the answers we need.”

Iria studied me, her expression cautious. “And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we find out who set us up,” I answered quietly. “No matter the cost.”

She nodded, turning toward where theStarfallwaited in the distance, a small silhouette against the dying sun. I caught her arm before she could step away.

“I meant what I said back there,” I murmured. “You’re more than I expected.”

Iria looked at my hand on her arm, then back at my face. Instead of pulling away as I half-expected, her lips softened into a slight smile.

“Come on, Lieutenant. Let’s see what that chip is worth.”

Whatever was on this chip, whatever came next, one thing had become clear to me: Iria Jann had become more important than the mission. And for a Vinduthi warrior, that was a dangerous revelation indeed.

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