Page 45 of Alien Jeopardy (Mated & Afraid #1)

CHAPTER

FORTY-THREE

Ellison

Smoke billows beside the kaiju crawfish, the heat blistering my face. From the smell, I’m pretty sure I singed my eyebrows off.

“Well, that’s not what I planned on happening.” I blink, staring at the resulting fire from the arrow gone wide.

Explosive arrows, apparently.

I cringe because I’ve already fallen on them once.

I’m pretty sure I do not want to land on my back.

“Ellison barbecue is very much not on the to-do list.” I tilt my head. “It could be on the crawfish’s to-do list, but it’s not on mine. Just FYI, Ken No Privates.”

I think I might be in shock.

The crawfish does its weird little clicky thing, staring at the flames in the remnants of the trees next to it.

“I don’t think I can eat seafood again,” I manage.

Do I dare try to shoot another arrow at it? I missed pretty badly, and I banged up my arm when I let the string go.

It slapped me silly, and is probably why the arrow went wide.

A welt’s already forming on the inside of my arm, and I wince at the thought of aiming badly enough again to hurt it worse.

Then a claw slams down in front of me, and I decide that getting eaten by a swamp lobster is a worse fate than having a painful bruise.

“Here goes nothing,” I say, nocking an arrow and aiming carefully, trying to remember all the shit my camp counselors drilled into me all those summers ago.

The arrow flies when I loose the string, and while it does hit my arm, it doesn’t slap it nearly as hard.

The arrow explodes on the side of the crawfish’s face, a massive show of red and orange fireworks… that do absolutely nothing.

The crawfish screams, enraged.

Did you know crawfish could scream? I didn’t.

Did you know all those little legs can move pretty quick when they want to?

I’m not a fan.

“I didn’t know I needed crustacean-related nightmare fuel, but I guess I’ll be lucky to have a nightmare, after this.” I don’t know who I’m talking to, but it helps me feel slightly better to say it.

A massive shadow passes over me, blocking out the scorching sun, and a fresh wave of fear sends a chill down my spine.

Have thirty minutes already passed? Is the next threat aerial?

I nock another arrow, ready to fight for my life—then release it, sobbing, as Ka-Rexsh lands in front of me like an avenging dragon angel.

He takes me in his arms, and I cry like an idiot. “There’s a giant kaiju crawfish and I hurt my arm,” I try to tell him, wriggling so I can get space to fire another shot.

But it’s not there.

Or rather, we’re not there. The maze is gone.

Alas, poor labyrinth, I hardly knew ye.

An icy wind sweeps over me, such a stark contrast to the heat of the marsh that I shiver all over.

“I found you,” Rex tells me, holding my muddy face in his hands. He kisses me, hard, and I melt into him, beyond relieved.

Relieved to be in his arms, relieved that he found me—and relieved that it’s him.

“My Ka-Rexsh,” I say, pulling away, my gaze tracing over every inch of his face, checking him for wounds. I hug him close again.

He’s okay.

He’s here, he’s real, and he’s okay.

I’m crying again.

“As touching as this is, I have to break you up so we can continue with our show format,” a familiar voice says.

“Ken?” I glance around. “Is the crawfish okay?”

It’s an utterly absurd thing to ask, but I feel bad for the kaiju crustacean.

Ken stares at me for a long moment, apparently thrown.

I swallow.

“The crawfish, as you call it, is fine.”

“Thank you,” I say meekly, vowing not to interrupt Ken again. He looks less transparent here, wherever here is.

It looks like a sci-fi rendering of a spaceship. Bright white lights, a huge screen full of symbols I can’t make heads or tails of, and a whole lot of shiny metal.

“As I was saying,” Ken continues slowly, smiling expansively at us, “You two are the first to finish your journey here on Mated and Afraid . As such, you will be the first to arrive at the Suevan colony that Billie and Ayro worked so hard to help secure for you all.”

“Are Billie and Ayro there?” I interrupt.

So much for that resolution.

Ken’s grin falters. A second ticks by. Another.

“Sorry,” I say, only slightly sorry. Rex tightens his grip on my waist.

“Billie and Ayro are none of your concern,” he finally answers.

“But you will find out everything soon, when you tune in to another episode of Mated and Afraid yourselves. In addition to the incredible prize package your former producers put together, I also arranged for a basket of goodies to help you remember your time here on Station X0-3. And you, at home, can purchase it too!” Ken addresses this to what I can only assume is one of the camera feeds.

“Join us again for another episode of Mated and Afraid , where we will find out if Lily and Zan-De’Eer will fare any better against my labyrinth! ”

Ken’s smile fades.

Suddenly, I wish I were facing the crawfish again because Ken is fucking scary. I cling to Rex, and he wraps his wing around me, hiding me from view.

“I’ll be transferring you to Sueva momentarily,” Rex says, his over-the-top announcer voice replaced by something more matter-of-fact.

“What happened to?—”

Rex coughs, cutting off my question and giving me a meaningful look.

“My comms tablet?” I finish meekly. I was going to ask what happened to all the people on the space station, because it’s important.

It’s not right for thousands of living beings to just disappear in the blink of an eye.

“I’ve sent the comms tablet ahead with your branded merchandise,” Ken says. “Now close your eyes. You might see a bright light, but this shouldn’t hurt one bit.”

Rex folds me into his body as soon as Ken finishes that sentence, pressing my face against his chest, wings cocooning me.

If there’s a bright light, there’s not a crawfish’s chance in hell he’s going to risk me seeing it.

When he finally releases me, I’m dizzy.

I plop down on the floor, and dried mud flakes off my legs.

“Holy shit.” A woman who glows like Tinkerbell crouches before me. “Kanuz, look, it’s the couple from Mated and Afraid . The AI kept its word.”

“Are you a fairy?” I ask her, woozy.

“Fucking hell,” the blonde woman rolls her eyes. “No. I’m Gen, and you’re on Sueva. You’re going to be alright.”

I exhale, and then I promptly and quietly pass out.