Page 95 of Invasive Species
Her words stir something inside me. “You’re right. But then we were exiled…”
“For what, exactly?”
I take a breath, the weight of the truth pressing down on me. “We failed to retrieve the healing plant we needed for a female. She died, and the Prif ordered our execution. Only the All-Mother intervened, and our sentence was commuted to exile. But that didn’t stop them from trying again. I’ve always thought that the Prif would take any chance to erase those involved in the experiment.”
Arra-bellah holds me tighter, her arms wrapped around mine like she’s trying to pull me back from the brink. “I’m sorry, Gara,” she whispers. “It sounds horrific. From what I’ve heard from you, maybe that is true.”
I bow my head. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For listening. I’ve never been able to say these things, not even to my crew. They would have every right to be furious if they found out. But right now, all I care about is you.”
The thought of her suffering because of me claws at my chest. I'm not even a good Selthiastock clone, I’m no closer to healing her. It would have been better if the bots had succeeded; at least Arra-bellah would be happier without having met me.
A chime sounds behind the bed, shattering the fragile peace. My blood turns to ice.
“Excuse us, esteemed female,” a male voice rumbles through the comms, each word a heavy thud in my ears. “We must conduct an emergency inspection for a criminal Selthiastock.”
THIRTY-ONE
ARABELLA
Shit.
Gara's mask turns to face me and my chest seizes, popping the warm bubble of our bond. There’s nowhere to hide in the stark openness of this room except under the bed, so I motion him under there. They only have to duck their heads to see under and discover him, but it’s our only chance.
He shakes his head once and presses the intercom, clearing his throat. He goes all calm, Gara in a crisis, whereas I'm mentally screaming for him to run.
“My patient is unwell,” he replies to them in a bland voice. “Please return in one cycle.”
The guy on the other side snaps, “I have orders from the most majestic Prif herself. We’re coming in.”
One of the walls trembles, tiny blocks twisting back on themselves to make a doorway. Three hulking aliens exactly like the triplets block the exit, huge purple muscles flexing and scales so dark they’re almost black on their forearms, creating thick gauntlets tipped with curved claws.
Triple shit.
They balk when they see me, but I know it’s not my punysize or alienness that intimidates them. It’s my femininity. They pull their stares from me and lock onto Gara, moving as one toward him like a hunting shoal of sharks.
Gara puts himself in their path to block them from me. “Please do not interfere with my patient?—”
The lead guy seizes his throat in his black fist, so fast it’s a blur. He doesn’t even look angry; this is just another day’s work for him.
Gara’s hands rise reflexively but then he lets them drop to dangle at his sides, and his helplessness cuts through me.
“Hey,” I hiss. “Let him go.”
With a grimace, the lead male drops him. “Apologies, female, I will not intrude long. Our orders from the Prif are to apprehend and scan all Selthiastocks. Any with faulty chips are to be taken away for questioning.”
Questioning my ass; they’ll kill him. “Well, I'm ordering you to leave my healer alone.”
Agony twists his face. “Female, I cannot obey.” He gestures toward his brothers. “We will administer ten lashes to each other for this crime, but I must not fail. The Prif demands it.”
I bite my lip, trying to think. I can't put my foot down like I did with Dom and the others, but if I don't do something, they'll take Gara away from me.
“Give me your arm,” the one with green eyes barks, brandishing a handheld device like a knife at Gara.
My darling alien slowly stretches out his forearm, and I know from the scales hardening to click together on his throat this is going to go very, very bad.
