Page 6 of May the Stars Have Mercy
“Warning, oxygen low.”She opened her eyes, her vision drenched in the red light from her helmet. She looked down at the being she clung to and found them staring back at her. She blinked. They blinked.When did they shift me to their front?Her lungs tightened. She studied their face, following the features down to the chest, then to the arms.
“Did he fucking miss?” She seethed. Snapping her head toward where Danny had been, she opened her mouth to berate him only to lurch. Danny was still there, but he wasn’t alone. And he wasn’t alive. Her mouth dropped open and eyes widened as two other beings, like the one that chased them, were beside him, pushing two long blades through his torso. Danny’s head was already knocked against his helmet, blood pooling around his visor.
Aphrodite returned her attention to the naked attacker. Her stomach lurched and she nearly fainted as all four of their arms hugged around her. They situated her better against their body. Palms flat against her back andbackside,they squeezed her, hard. Something akin to a chuckle if it were under water and floating around her filled her ears, “Fair hunt, my mate, you have won. Now, claim your prize.”
“My what?” she blurted out before her vision began to spin. “Oh no,” her speech was slurred as the lights around her grew bright and dark at the same time.
“MyMate?”
She shouldn’t be able to hear him. He was talking…in space!She flopped backward in his arms, the lack of oxygen attacking her brain first.
“Kannatch, your mate; the suit says oxygen low.”
Aphrodite was blinking in the dull, flashing red lights of her helmet when a large hand was placed at the back of her head. The hunter cradled her, speaking to her but she couldn’t understand. She swirled down the drain of her mind before everything went black.
At least…I died to oxygen loss…and not to Danny and his fucking ego.
Chapter Six:
Aphroditewokesteadily,aharsh sting to her sides brought her back to life. She blinked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Moving her arms?No, not happening, hurts like a bitch. Moving her head? That’s not so bad. She winced after she flopped her head to the side. The room around her formed fully in pieces until her blurry, spotty vision was clear. She swallowed hard.A spotless space shuttle room.Near identical to the one she had back at the main station.Granted, most ships have stuff like a bed, an embedded shelf, and clean chrome walls.Though, whatever ship she was on, the metal was darker, and the floor was lit up with tiny dots.The floor is either set to electrocution or sensor.She wasn’t ready to find out which.
She moved her head again and realized she was propped up on a silk-like pillowcase. Nuzzling her face against the fabric, she sighed with relief.It was a nightmare, a hallucination, a terrible—The wooshing sound of a door filled the room and her eyes snapped open.
It was real.
“Ah, my mate, you are awake. Delightful, I was worried your healing around the breathers would make you rest longer. I have awaited to see you open your eyes for somecekys.How do you feel?”
“My brea—ah, fuck.” She tried to move her arms again, to sit up, when a stitch on both her sides reminded her who was boss. She gasped for air. The hunter was at her side in the blink of an eye. They sank on the edge of the bed and put one of their hands to the center of her chest. She froze, her skin and muscles tightening painfully. They pressed her down to the mattress and kept her there until she relaxed.
“You will need to stay still until the wounds heal, my mate.” They peeled back the blanket, and she was able to shift her head enough to look. The hunter pointed at her side. Horror and morbid curiosity made her study the angry red skin. There was a skinny, metal oval embedded into her flesh with clear stitching around the device. Her eyes widened. Not only was she not in her suit anymore, but she also wasn’t even in the clothes she wore under it. She was in some cloth and fabric that was medically taped to cover bits of her flesh.It will be hilarious that they’d covered my belly buttonlater.She tried to take a deep breath and found herself inhaling more oxygen than necessary. The sound, soft and humming, from deep within her told her that something about her was notsohuman anymore.
“You experimented on me?” she sobbed, fingers curling around the fabric of the sheets.
“Well, breathers are the best for beings that cannot produce their own breath.” The being at the side of her bed lifted the two arms closest to her and exposed a similar oval machine. She furrowed her brows. Her arms trembled from pain and panic. However, she managed to move them across the bed toward their torso. They rested their arms over their head. Her fingertips traced the edge of the device embedded into their flesh. Her panic subsided as she realized…she could fucking breathe better.
“This is…why you didn’t need…a helmet.” She swallowed, blinking rapidly to clear the tears.
“And now why you will never have to hide your beautiful face from me.” A tender hand the size of herwholeface came down from over their head to cup her cheek.
Aphrodite tried to hold it together. She tried not to blush or react to the words.But that was the cutest shit I’ve ever heard.Then came with the sick realization that she was still alive.I am still alive.She gasped for air again, wincing, then letting out a shaky, wet breath. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she dropped her hand from their side. “How am I here?”
“I suspect how most of your species is here, science, experimentation, exploration—”
“Why am I here!”She flinched, hands rushing to her sides at the pain that bit into her. Their hands snatched hers and held them away from her wounds. She nearly choked on her own tongue at the pain of being restrained. It made all her muscles tense.
Which, in turn, makes the pain of having technology shoved into my body hurt more.
“Well, my mate, you’re here because you’re healing. And I was informed by the technicians you needed a sterile environment forproperhealing. Unfortunately, my chambers are not…sterile. I have to clean up. Do not worry.” They smiled again. In a way that only the hunter could smile. She was once again able to study their face.
A rounded head with flared ridges of their skull, it almost looked like bone. Large obsidian eyes framed with thick lids and lashes, which was still completely unfair. Their mouth was a collection of pincers brought in at the center that opened and closed as they spoke, showing off an inner collection of teeth and a tongue that was flatter and longer than human tongues.I wouldn’t be surprisedif their tongue has teeth too. But their face seemed to brighten, emote even, as they spoke.
“How can I understand you?” she blurted out, sinking into the bed.And what is with this mate nonsense?“Who are you? Why did you—”
She choked on her words as the memories left physical pressure on her chest.The crew is dead.She shuddered, wincing once again at the movement of her body.
“Oh! Well, I took Anglo-saxis when I was younger, I understand that your species was quite…explorative? Is that the phrase? You like to be places you shouldn’t be. It became necessary for me during hunts to be able to speak your language. However, I do fear I am lacking in some departments. Your language is full of contextual words that I may not understand due to your tone. As your tone suggests you are upset.” They cocked their head to the side. “And it would please me for you to call me Xexis.”
She licked her lips nervously, staring up into the black pools that watched her. “What do you want from me, Xexis?”
