Page 56 of The Alien Warrior's Heart

“N-no.”

“If it is, know that I have no qualms ending you. My mate is the only reason I am sparing your life.”

“I am aware.” Chozo glanced down. “Why do you hate me so much?”

Zar snorted. How could this brood ask such a question?

“Why?” Chozo insisted.

“Your species—”

“I am not speaking of my species,” Chozo said, his voice rising bravely. “Me. Why do you hateme?What have I done to earn your mistrust?”

“You are Heronas.”

“But I am also Chozo.” The brood tapped his chest. “You do not know me.”

“I do not have to know you to want to kill you.”

Chozo swallowed audibly. “Does Simone know?”

“Know what?” Zar snapped, irritated. He disdained the mere sight of this Heronas and the fact that they were having such a long conversation made him want to release his dagger and end the madness.

“How angry you are. How much that hate fills your heart. How you treasure it above all else, even her?”

Zar’s fury splurged and he grabbed Chozo by the throat. “Listen closely, you little Heronas beast, your species killed my father in a raid that was organized days after the Heronas promised peace.”

“Ah…” Chozo’s small hands pressed against his, struggling to be free.

“You tortured him before he passed. You spit in his face. You made him suffer. That is the kind of treachery and wickedness your species is known for. That is whatyouare.”

“P-please,” Chozo choked.

Zar tightened his fingers until the Heronas’s mask began to fog. The white shadows clung to the clear pane in his headgear and covered his eyes from view. “Donotmistake my yielding to my mate’s wishes as weakness. The very sight of you makes me sick. I would enjoy nothing more than to see you die slowly, but I am holding myself back by a single thread. Now keep your mouth shut andneverspeak to me of these matters again before I slit your neck and bury your body in the ground.”

Chozo shivered.

“Do you understand me?”

His head moved up and down quickly.

Zar released the Heronas and whirled around. His anger flared and he had to take deep breaths to calm himself. His mind flashed with memories of his father’s body. The bruises and slashes on his face. The signs of the Heronas torture chains. The ghastly marks that spelled his father’s last moments were anything but peaceful.

He fisted his hands as a storm roiled in his heras and an angry tear fell from his eye.

Twenty-One

Simone

Her dreams wereshapeless and colorless. All black and shadows. She was a light sleeper and that meant she rarely had any actual ‘dreams’. At least none that she remembered when she woke up. But a sharp unease filled her consciousness even while she slept.

Simone’s eyes snapped open. The harsh sunlight made her wince and she squeezed her eyes shut so it didn’t burn as much.

Where are we?

She sat up slowly, more confused than anything. When she glanced across the cave, she saw Zar standing with his back to her. Chozo was nowhere in sight, and her first thought was that Zar had killed him.

A moment later, the little alien stumbled out of another room, his face downcast and his shoulders slumped.