Page 5 of Venomous Heart
Uril bent his head and began to work his way through Ava’s portion in silence, his eyes cast down. He had endured so much, had lived through a dozen surgeries, faced countless myocardic nanite treatments to repair his faulty heart. He was stronger than anyone gave him credit for. Anyone but Ava.
“The Eoks are here now. A full contingent of warriors landed during the night.” Ava reached for his fine-boned hand and squeezed it gently. “Today, I’ll go find whoever is in charge. I’m sure they will be able to find it.”
“And if he refuses to search?” Uril lifted his gleaming eyes to her, full of a fear that resonated with her own. “What if the Eoks don’t care about me? I’m not even human. The other kids, they call me frog-boy, because of my skin. That’s when the grown-ups don’t call me the other word.”
Abomination.
Ava pursed her lips at his words. She had no answer for him, no words that could soothe the pain he felt, the fear.
“I’ll tell you what,” she whispered in a conspiratorial tone and leaned over the table toward him. “Finish this fast enough, and we can go outside for an hour in the small clearing behind the building before I go to sleep.”
“Really?” His mouth stretched into a true smile. “Thank you, Ava!”
Uril gobbled up the remnants of the food and they headed outside, through the small back door that was only used by them and, finally, into glorious sunlight.
“Don’t run,” Ava warned him as the boy walked gingerly to a patch of small purple flowers. “You don’t want to overheat.”
Uril nodded but she still saw him roll his eyes as she sat down in the warm glow of the morning sun, her back against the cool stone wall of the building. She shielded her eyes from the light, watching Uril play with the flowers and the myriad of small, lightning fast reptilians that lived in the knee-deep grass.
Fatigue rolled over her as she sat in the sun, heat blazing from above in a thick, sleep-inducing blanket. Her head was heavy, and soon, her eyelids closed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she intended to open them again, but she was too tired, and darkness invaded her vision.
She slept and dreamed of Uril, running around in the sunshine and laughing.
* * *
Arlen
Arlen walked at an efficient speed through the hallways of Minister Knut’s old mansion, not bothering to slow down to allow the human male to comfortably follow. It was no mistake on his part. He was the superior warrior, the one in charge of securing the entire planet, and having to negotiate with the officially elected human representative annoyed him.
“The population of Aveyn has a right to decide.” The human male’s voice was choppy, out of breath. “As their elected representative, I am demanding that you stop displacing people to the Tower right now.”
Arlen stopped abruptly, then turned to face the smaller male. “What is your name?” He didn’t bother with the customary niceties. His mission was to ensure the human population’s safety, not earn their affection.
“Jonah.” The male crossed his arms across his chest, his pale gray eyes gleaming with irritation. “For the third time, my name is Representative Jonah, Commander Arlen.”
Jonah pronounced his name pointedly but refrained from raising his voice. Arlen glared at him, hard. There was steel in this human, maybe even the potential for greatness. The humans would need a leader like that if they intended to survive and remain free, especially those wishing to remain on Aveyn.
But it still made him want to pummel the man into the ground for wasting his time.
“Well, Representative Jonah, if you want to know how I will ensure your people’s safety, then come in.” Arlen turned away and pushed open the heavy metal door to the control room.
As he entered with Jonah on his heels, all eyes in the room settled on them. Sitting in front of a large panel of screens were two Relany males, their faces filled with apprehensive awe as Arlen approached. He knew why, but didn’t appreciate the recognition. Anything that could hinder the efficiency of his mission was superfluous, and he didn’t do superfluous.
“Commander Arlen. I am Officer Shetak.” The first Relany officer got to his feet, bowing his head deeply in a respectful salute. “We are honored to serve under your command.”
“Don’t be.” Arlen cut the young Relany short. “I’m not here to honor any of you. I’m here for duty.”
Arlen looked at the officers one after the others, meeting their wide-eyed, awed stares head on. He had built a reputation as a merciless, fierce commander during his yearlong combat at the border, and these officers’ reactions were normal. They had no idea why he had left Eokim, why he’d hardly left the battlefield for an entire year.
And they would never know.
“If it isn’t the fiercest, most feared Eok warrior in all the Ring!” a familiar voice called from the right, and Arlen turned to see his younger brother walk toward him, a broad, easy smile on his face. “Wow! I almost forgot what a grim-faced killjoy you could be.”
Arlen stood straight, his hands clasped behind his back as Khal made his way to him.
“Captain Khal.” His voice was stern and as he spoke, Khal’s smile faltered, then faded altogether. “You are forgetting whom you are speaking to. During this mission, I am not your brother but the Commander of the entire Eok forces. You will be expected to behave in a manner befitting the respect your rank commands.” He stared at his brother, focusing his entire attention on the young Eok warrior until Khal swallowed, hard, then straightened his posture. The joyful expression on his face vanished to be replaced by a cool, polished efficiency.
“Yes, Commander.” Khal inclined his head sharply. The light glistened on the markings covering his skin, their colors a shade lighter than the deep Prussian blue of his skin. “Please forgive my outburst.”
