Page 21 of Scars & Starlight
The pain in his eyes makes me reach out to cover his hand with mine. One of the elders, the principal of our improvised elementary school, gasps in outrage.
Fuck her and the xenophobic horse she rode in on.
When he turns his hand around to intertwine our fingers, I give him a conspiratorial smirk. Then he squeezes my fingers, and an echoing pulse of desire tugs on my ovaries, making my smile turn shaky.
Damn this ma… malien. He has no business being tempting.
Potts clears his throat, and my cheeks ignite. We’ve been having a moment here like no one’s watching.
Unbothered, Kairen licks his lower lip before facing the head of our soldiers and putting on hisI am the Commandermien. “Many, many cycles ago, the Ghorvek came to Avaris…”
And so, I translate while Kiko provides the occasional visual backdrop for the story I heard on their big spaceship, the one they call The Sovereign. I tell them about the Avaren becoming all but infertile, of liberating planets from the brutal invaders, and looking for viable partners.
“So they’re here to take our women?” Smithy asks in a raspy growl. Cigarettes are very hard to come by in this apocalyptic world, but Smithy still sounds like he smokes two packs a day. He used to own a construction company back in the day, and his experience is valuable in the camp. But man, can he be abrasive.
“Men as well, Smithy,” I chirp. “Maybe a leggy Avaren female will take you for her own.” I doubt it, but the look on his face is priceless.
“What’s the difference between Ghorvek making zombies and raping our people, and the Avaren looking for their matches?” the Sergeant asks, making Kairen flinch.
“The difference is,” I say before the commander can, “that rape, even attempted rape, is punishable by death on Avaris. Or, I guess off Avaris as well,” I add, fumbling with my words. And I started off so strongly.
Potts lifts an eyebrow. “And how do you know this?” he asks, anger seeping into his voice.
Ah, yes. Oops.
“I might have had a small incident,” I begin. “With three Avaren and a medical probe. No, I jammed the probe into the alien!” I add as Potts takes a breath. “I mean, I jabbed it into his neck and killed him.” It’s Patricia’s turn to gasp. “And then Kairen killed the other one. And the third one is still alive, I guess. He didn’t hurt me. He went to get help.”
Kairen rubs his forehead with his free hand, the other still not letting go of mine. Some things really are universal, in the literal sense of the word.
“Is this behavior common among Avaren?” Potts asks through gritted teeth.
“No,” Kairen answers in a sad sigh, and I translate for him. “The biggest culprit, Zaiem, took advantage of Rheven and Orren’s desire to find a match and create a new life with a female who belonged to them. The last planet we followed the Ghorvek to… we were too late, and the surviving inhabitants were few.” He waits until I’m done speaking before continuing. “Tara defended herself against Zaiem, Rheven showed little remorse, and young Orren just wanted to see what a human female looked like up close. He didn’t know the other males intended to harass her.”
I can see Pott’s jaw working while he digests the information. His light eyes land on our intertwined hands, and I casually pull mine back under the guise of tightening my ponytail.
“You two seem friendly quickly,” he remarks in an unreadable tone.
“Tara is–”
Kairen interrupts whatever Kiko was trying to say. “Tara is a wonderful creature, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have her as my ambassador on Earth.” I blush while translating his words.
“Your ambassador…” Potts repeats while Patty and Feldman give each other a knowing look.
“Indeed,” Kairen says, stretching back on the chair. “Before coming here, we shared our findings on political power players across your planet with her. Once we assist you with whatever fallout you have after the attack, I would like to initiate contact, with Tara’s assistance.”
“Assist with the fallout?” Patty asks once his words are translated. “Tell me, alien, can your kind bring back the innocent dead?”
I hang my head, thinking of Micah, and hear Kairen shifting in his seat beside me.
“You wouldn’t want that,” Kairen says for me to interpret. “Once the spark of life abandons the body, what’s left behind is an emptyshell. One you’ve seen roaming your planet too many times since the Ghorvek came, I’m sure.”
“So they’re dead?” I ask him. “There’s no hope?”
His eyes are so soft on me. I could fall in love with those eyes over and over again every night and every morning.
“I’m afraid so, Princess. The Ghorvek’s viruses are enhanced with nanites. The process is irreversible,” he says for Kiko to translate to the rest of the humans.
Just as whatever caused their fertility issues is irreversible. The Ghorvek really do suck lemons. Sensing my sadness in whatever way he has, Kiko jumps off the table to land on my lap like an alloy pet. It’s so unexpected and adorable that I burst into giggles.
