covered her, but the thin material didn’t hide much. Arkhan was complimenting her in a way, and she knew that, but his words were not making her feel any better.
“Yes, I’m sure.” She wondered how red her face was.
“I doubt you would suffer the same fate on Oretoz. In fact, you might be beating off potential mates left and right. Once they got over the fact that you’re an alien, that is.”
He stood straight once more, and Katie felt as though she could breathe again. “What’s so bad about being from Earth? If you don’t like where I come from, I would think you’d be eager to take me back there.”
Arkhan shook his head. “Earthlings, from what we can tell, are soft. Emotional. They are not good fighters. But you are needed on Oretoz, nevertheless.”
The door to the bridge whirred open once more, and Troxeo entered the room. He stopped for a moment and took in the scene before him. “Take the human back to her quarters,” he commanded to Chixo. “I have some business I need to take care of.”
“But I just got out!” Katie protested.
Troxeo stared at her blue ones. “I’m commander of this ship. Obey me.”
The door closed swiftly on Katie’s heels as Chixo escorted her back to the room.
Chapter Twelve
T roxeo actively tried to prevent himself from watching the human leave. He marched swiftly toward his seat at the helm instead. He sat down in the chair and ran a hand through his hair. The things he saw when he entered the bridge bothered him.
The human was standing in the middle of the floor, looking tiny and vulnerable with Arkhan towering over her. Troxeo realized that she must look the same way to others when he spoke to her, but he hadn’t thought about it before. The human was getting under his skin, peeling back a layer of his armor every time she looked at him.
“Is something troubling you, cousin?” Arkhan returned to his seat as well. “You don’t seem to be yourself.”
Troxeo stared out the front window of the ship as he thought about his next moves and even his next sentence. Arkhan didn’t realize how correct he was. Troxeo had been second-guessing every thought he’d had in the past several hours.
“Did you get any useful information out of the human during your interrogation?” Troxeo didn’t respond. “I know you were in her quarters for some time,” Arkhan said innocently.
Troxeo turned to glare at his cousin. He knew what the man implied, and it fueled a fire deep inside him. He didn’t know if it was anger or lust, but it burned regardless. “She didn’t have much to say.”
“Oh, I see. You probably mean there were no words that suited your purpose. Did she speak to you in other ways, perhaps?” Arkhan had an annoying habit of dragging out the end of a sentence to make it have an implied meaning of far more than the literal interpretation of the words themselves.
“What is the matter with you?” Troxeo slammed his fist onto the arm of his chair, feeling it shudder beneath him. “She is an alien from Earth. I didn’t fuck her.”
Arkhan shrugged. “If you say so. But I would be the last person to criticize you if you decided to pursue it. I mean, she’s surprisingly attractive for an Earthling. Somehow I thought they would be repulsive.”
Troxeo’s throat clenched as he struggled to swallow the first retorts that jumped into his mouth. He couldn’t agree out loud with his cousin’s appreciation for the human. Nor could he lie openly about his attraction to her. By all rights, the girl should have been nothing more than a piece of luggage. That was what he had intended.
But from the moment she looked into his eyes, there had been a word echoing in the back of his mind. Eleste. It was an ancient word, an old-fashioned idea that most modern Oretoz cast aside as something so silly it might as well be mythical. It was the word used for the deepest connection imaginable between two souls, a link between their bodies, their hearts, and their
“Yes, I’m sure.” She wondered how red her face was.
“I doubt you would suffer the same fate on Oretoz. In fact, you might be beating off potential mates left and right. Once they got over the fact that you’re an alien, that is.”
He stood straight once more, and Katie felt as though she could breathe again. “What’s so bad about being from Earth? If you don’t like where I come from, I would think you’d be eager to take me back there.”
Arkhan shook his head. “Earthlings, from what we can tell, are soft. Emotional. They are not good fighters. But you are needed on Oretoz, nevertheless.”
The door to the bridge whirred open once more, and Troxeo entered the room. He stopped for a moment and took in the scene before him. “Take the human back to her quarters,” he commanded to Chixo. “I have some business I need to take care of.”
“But I just got out!” Katie protested.
Troxeo stared at her blue ones. “I’m commander of this ship. Obey me.”
The door closed swiftly on Katie’s heels as Chixo escorted her back to the room.
Chapter Twelve
T roxeo actively tried to prevent himself from watching the human leave. He marched swiftly toward his seat at the helm instead. He sat down in the chair and ran a hand through his hair. The things he saw when he entered the bridge bothered him.
The human was standing in the middle of the floor, looking tiny and vulnerable with Arkhan towering over her. Troxeo realized that she must look the same way to others when he spoke to her, but he hadn’t thought about it before. The human was getting under his skin, peeling back a layer of his armor every time she looked at him.
“Is something troubling you, cousin?” Arkhan returned to his seat as well. “You don’t seem to be yourself.”
Troxeo stared out the front window of the ship as he thought about his next moves and even his next sentence. Arkhan didn’t realize how correct he was. Troxeo had been second-guessing every thought he’d had in the past several hours.
“Did you get any useful information out of the human during your interrogation?” Troxeo didn’t respond. “I know you were in her quarters for some time,” Arkhan said innocently.
Troxeo turned to glare at his cousin. He knew what the man implied, and it fueled a fire deep inside him. He didn’t know if it was anger or lust, but it burned regardless. “She didn’t have much to say.”
“Oh, I see. You probably mean there were no words that suited your purpose. Did she speak to you in other ways, perhaps?” Arkhan had an annoying habit of dragging out the end of a sentence to make it have an implied meaning of far more than the literal interpretation of the words themselves.
“What is the matter with you?” Troxeo slammed his fist onto the arm of his chair, feeling it shudder beneath him. “She is an alien from Earth. I didn’t fuck her.”
Arkhan shrugged. “If you say so. But I would be the last person to criticize you if you decided to pursue it. I mean, she’s surprisingly attractive for an Earthling. Somehow I thought they would be repulsive.”
Troxeo’s throat clenched as he struggled to swallow the first retorts that jumped into his mouth. He couldn’t agree out loud with his cousin’s appreciation for the human. Nor could he lie openly about his attraction to her. By all rights, the girl should have been nothing more than a piece of luggage. That was what he had intended.
But from the moment she looked into his eyes, there had been a word echoing in the back of his mind. Eleste. It was an ancient word, an old-fashioned idea that most modern Oretoz cast aside as something so silly it might as well be mythical. It was the word used for the deepest connection imaginable between two souls, a link between their bodies, their hearts, and their
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