Page 53 of Decadence

“You are wondering if he will be incapacitated in any way; if he will suffer.” The General studied her, his expression unreadable.

“I wouldn’t want that.” She couldn’t help but feel that this was all her fault, somehow. After all, the attacker had come for her, not him… right?

“Even my medic cannot predict what will happen after the surgery is complete. But Zharek will do his best to restore Ikriss to his peak function, and I have great confidence in his abilities.”

She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze drawn to Ikriss’s suspended silver form. “Why did this happen? The attack… everything… I’m not special. I’m no different from billions of other humans on Earth.”

“Hm.” He was still looking at her with those unnerving crimson eyes. “That, human, is a very pertinent question. Why were you singled out? It could have been a simple revenge strike, or there may be something else.”

“But you don’t know what that something is yet, do you?”

“We will. Especially now that you are ours.”

Heat spread through her cheeks. Her body grew warm all over. She shifted from one foot to the other as a terrible feeling of restlessness coursed through her.

You are ours.

Half of her wanted to fight. The other half wanted to surrender.

And the presence of all these big, intimidating alien males around her was scrambling her damn thoughts.

“Ikriss has seen more of the Universe than you or even I,” the General continued, spearing her with his gaze. “He is not the sort to make decisions rashly, even when he is driven by forces that are outside his control. He would never dishonor you, Sienna Adamo.”

“I… I kind of got that impression already.”

“He will be not be pleased that I brought you here to see him like this, but I wanted you to understand.”

“Understand what, exactly?”

“Firstly, that we have enemies, and they will strike in vicious and unexpected ways, because they are Kordolian, and we have inflicted great humiliation upon them. Secondly, that we are not all-powerful. On the contrary. We are fallible, but we will use every weapon at our disposal, and we will fight to the death to protect what is ours. Thirdly, that he, Ikriss, my friend and comrade whom I hold in the highest esteem, put his life in jeopardy without a second thought… for you.”

Dozens of questions flitted through her mind. Her first instinct was to go on the defensive, but she swallowed the words and forced herself to stare back at the fearsome Kordolian. “That’s twice that I owe him my life now.”

“You do not owe him anything. He would be the very first to remind you of that. What I need to know, human, is whether you are open to a future that takes you many galaxies away from what you have always known.”

Sienna blinked in confusion. Take me many galaxies away? What is he talking about? I can’t leave Earth. Not after I’ve worked so damn hard to create something out of nothing.

What the fuck is so special about me?

Her instinct was to rage against all of it, but something made her stop.

For some reason, she recalled Riana and the intimidating Kordolian male she’d declared to be her partner. On the transport back to Earth, Sienna had witnessed the most astonishing thing.

A look.

A tiny softening of the warrior’s cold expression; so subtle she could easily have missed it. It had happened when he’d looked at Riana, and Sienna found herself wondering how it was possible that these strange, fierce aliens could ever feel tenderness toward humans in the first place.

A penny dropped loudly in her head. “He didn’t come to find me on Earth because he wanted to investigate. He could have ordered any of his men to do that for him. He wanted…”

“You.”

“That’s too fast,” she whispered, shaking her head. What the hell? How could he even decide something like that?

The Kordolian’s eyes narrowed. “Believe me, you would not be having such doubts if he’d had his way. But now we are faced with an unexpected reality. My commander will survive the surgery, but without you, he may not survive that which comes after.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He has been hit by the Mating Fever, Sienna. Ever since his body recognized yours, he has been in a state of heightened arousal. The longer he remains unsated, the worse the symptoms become. The headaches intensify. The hunger grows unbearable. The aggression destroys all rational thought. He will heal faster. His senses are heightened to the point that every loud and high-pitched sound becomes excruciating torture. If left to burn for too long, the fever will drive him to madness. His metabolism will accelerate even further. There is a chance he could die.”

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