Page 32 of Veras
I froze. My safety net had been breached, and my body went stone cold.I can’t go back there. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t…I chanted as I sank within myself.
“No, little General. No. You must not retreat. Today is the day you show them who you really are. How fierce. How strong.” Veras’ voice broke as he peppered kisses along my cheeks and lips, the same way he liked me to do when he needed reassurance. The scrape of his oversized fangs brought back the familiar sense of safety.
And anger. So much anger. They were taking from me again. Inkonexo, the Aavvee, even Veras, to a certain extent. He wouldn’t listen to me.
“They enter from the same place we did. I have to get you to the portal to Earth!” He picked me up and ran out of the room. When we exited the lab, his tattoo lit up as he manipulated some sort of security system. “The outpost will be sealed as soon as we exit. If it were discovered, it would be devastating. We have to head toward your portal. Now!”
We ran and rantowardthe bad guys. “Why are we headed back there?”
“The portal is about halfway back from where we came.”
“But they have those flying thingies, which seem to be faster than our floaty thing.”
“I will get you there.” He bared his teeth.
I mourned the loss of my bath supplies. It sounded so superficial, but they were the only items that had belonged to me since I’d been abducted. I was also pissed I was being carted off to a portal. Which made no sense because it was literally everything I’d hoped for in Plan A.
I stewed as he boarded a floating platform. The anger, the misery, thefuryI felt about all of these alien men controlling my life and stripping my choices, almost choked me. I knew Veras hated it when I retreated into my mind, but I needed time to process.
I was going to start kicking ass and taking names. I would never make myself small again. The chances of my dying were almost guaranteed, but I wouldn’t roll over. Not anymore. It took a good half hour of riding on the floating platform before I spoke to Veras. “Put me down.”
“Never!” His hands and spikes tightened around my back. “My heart, I’m so glad you’re back. I hate it when you leave me. Don’t do that.”
“I don’t want to leave Nozaroc yet.”
“You don’t mean that!”
I struggled in Veras’ arms, tipping our floating coffin as I shimmied to get down. “Put me downright now.You’re dumping me before all the action takes place.”
“Truena, I must. It is no longer safe for you. My plan is to return you to your old life. To the planet you love.”
“How many days are left until the Guardians let loose?’
“Exact calculations are hard, but maybe one of your days?” He set me down after I hit him in the chest a few times, taking careful measures that I didn’t fall off the racing platform.
He’s getting rid of me.
“Little General, it is killing me to think of not having you in my arms. After what we shared, after how you made me feel. I don’t care if you aren’t myalmax.You are everything to me, and because of that, I will keep you safe.” He hugged me, burrowing his face in my neck. “My only solace is that I will be destroyed shortly after you leave when the Guardians cleanse the planet.”
“What? Why? You’re from here.”
“I am not. My people came a millennium ago. We have always respected Nozaroc and the Oro, but we failed to keep the planet safe. We will be punished as well. I’m thankful I won’t have to suffer your loss for too long. I will be killed instantly.”
And that was the problem, right there. If I let him take me to the portal, he was going to run off on a suicide mission. He woulddie. And I couldn’t allow that. “Listen to me carefully. I’m going to give you one last chance to work with me.”
He ignored me and nuzzled my neck.
“Veras,please.” My voice broke. “We can do this together,be together. You have to trust me. Don’t you want that?”
“More than anything. I would cut off my thumbs. No, my arm. Both arms…”
Dios, I might be obsessed with my alien drama queen. I’d never met anyone so open with their emotions, and maybe after all my trauma, I needed that reassurance. “We’ll work together? You won’t ship me off to Earth quite yet?”
He looked at me, his wide eyes swirling. “That is the one thing I cannot do. I was selfish and did not send you away last night. I could not resist you! Sleeping in your arms, sharing intimate times with you, was the best event in my life. I thought I had time, and look what has happened. Inkonexo found us.”
The words cut. Again, my feelings had been dismissed. He thought he was doing it for my own good. Because of that, I resisted the urge to push him off the platform. Instead, I took adeep breath and looked beyond the anger. I was going to have to take care of things. I wouldn’t allow him to die.
I will fix this.Careful to keep my gaze off Veras and to keep my shouty thoughts to myself, a plan took form. All I needed to do was get my hands on some Oro. Then maybe I could talk to the Guardians. Get them to stop the countdown and convince them there were good people on the planet, too.
