Page 3 of Charmed by the Alien Warrior (Spirit Mates of the Laediriian Exiles #2)

Mara

“Mara! What the hell are you doing?” Maddie rushes over to me, her purple hair pulled back into a bouncy ponytail.

The Zyfeliks were scared to get too close to my sister because of her purple hair. They thought it was an indication she was diseased, and they made sure to keep their distance from her.

My lips tip up at the corners every time I think about Maddie muttering under her breath, “I wish I could give them a disease.”

“Well, right now, I’m headed back to our hut.” I chuckle when she scowls at my answer as I walk through the village and to the building that doubles as a medical clinic.

Daggir, the leader of the Anuriix tribe, has assured us we can each have our own huts when we’re ready, but so far, we’ve chosen to stay in the clinic together—all of us except Haley, that is, who shares a hut with Draggar. Maybe it’s because there’s safety in numbers. Or maybe it’s just that the world outside still feels too uncertain.

I push open the door, and Maddie follows, nearly stepping on my heels in her rush to keep up. She plops down onto one of the small beds lined up in the center of the room.

“You know exactly what I mean,” she presses. “You can’t be serious about traipsing around out in the jungle. You’re joking, right?” Maddie looks over at me.

I busy myself sorting through my meager belongings. Without looking at my sister, I glance toward the far corner, where one bed sits apart from the others, its occupant hidden under a fur blanket despite the heat.

“Shh,” I whisper. “You’ll wake Emily.”

Maddie follows my gaze, her eyes softening as she takes in the still form beneath the covers.

She sheepishly whispers, “Sorry.”

But Emily doesn’t stir. She’s done little more than sleep ever since we got here. It’s like she’s retreated into herself, barely speaking, into some place where none of us can reach her. After the crash, she suffered the worst injuries of all of us, and she lost so much blood that I didn’t think she’d make it.

I can still remember the sight of her pale face streaked with dirt, her skin waxy and blue-ish as Warrix, the tribe’s medic, worked over her with his strange alien devices. Somehow, he succeeded.

Warrix told us yesterday that Emily’s body has healed enough for her to return to normal activity. The words were meant to comfort us, but they didn’t. Because healing the body doesn’t mean much when the mind is still hurting.

Maddie mutters under her breath. “I don’t get it. She should be up by now, right? Warrix said she’s fine.”

“She’s not fine,” I say quietly, moving to sit beside my sister. “She’s alive, yes, but that doesn’t mean she’s okay. You know what she’s been through. What we’ve all been through. People don’t just bounce back from things like that.”

Maddie leans her head against my shoulder, just like she always did when she was a kid. “Yeah, I know. I just hate seeing her like this.”

I nod my head and sigh.

Emily’s body survived the crash, but the rest of her? It’s like she’s in a really dark place, right now, and I’m terrified she might never come back.

I turn back to my sister, keeping my voice even. “She just needs time. We all do.”

But even as I say it, I’m scared that time won’t be enough. Not to heal what’s going on with Emily. Or the rest of us.

I shake my head at my thoughts and change the subject, making sure to keep my voice low. “The Anuriix have been generous. They’ve clothed us, fed us, given us shelter and safety. But it’s not enough to just survive.”

Maddie narrows her eyes. “Please tell me you’re not serious about this.” The concern in her voice is impossible to miss, and it makes my chest clench with regret. Regret that I’m worrying my sister. But I only nod at her words.

“Of course I’m serious.”

Maddie’s mouth drops open in shock and she bolts upright, staring at me like I’ve sprouted an extra head. Or maybe elf ears.

I release a deep sigh. “Listen, there might be more women out there. Women like us. You saw the blueprints for the spaceship just like I did. You know I’m right.”

I don’t mention to her the other reason why I’m so set on going on this mission, at least not yet.

That I want to see for myself that there aren’t any ships that could take us off this planet and back to Earth. Surely, there have to be.

One of the Laediriians—Vrenner, the tribe’s tech—worked with Isabella to download files from the crashed ship. They found a blueprint of the mothership, and that blueprint shows there was a second cargo hold with the same layout as the one we were in. It makes sense to me that the Zyfeliks would have made sure to fill it just like they did ours.

I continue, “If the cargo hold was dumped on this planet like ours was, they might not be as lucky as we’ve been.”

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t trust the Laediriians, but things could have been so much worse if they hadn’t saved us.

I lean back, letting out a breath before deciding to tell her the truth. “Besides, I want to see more of this place. I need to. If there’s even the slightest chance of finding a way off this planet and back to Earth, I have to take it. I know the Laediriians claim they don’t have a working ship anymore. That their ancestors’ vessel ran out of fuel generations ago. But I want to see for myself.”

Maddie stares at me for a long moment, her expression caught somewhere between frustration and reluctant understanding. I’m going to go on this mission regardless, but I want my sister to support me in this. I don’t want to leave with her upset with me.

“And I just... I feel like I have to do this. I want to do this. Imagine how scared those women will be if a bunch of teal Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show up carrying swords.” Maddie snorts at my words, her mouth quirking up at the corners. “They’re going to be terrified. I can help calm things down.”

“I get it. I just don’t want to lose you, too,” she says finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

Something tightens in my chest, but I force a small smile. “You won’t.”

My sister searches my gaze for a moment, her green eyes so much like my own, and then, she huffs out a breath and nods. “If you’re sure.”

Hopping up, Maddie crosses to the door. “Since you’re going, I’ll go see if I can find an extra satchel for you to pack your clothes in.” She disappears through the door, and I go back to sorting through my belongings.

Not that it takes long to do that. Two shirts and a dress made out of an animal hide that has been worked until it’s buttery soft and underwear pieced together from loincloths the Laediriians gave us. Then, there’s the jeans, sneakers and hot pink bra I was wearing when I was abducted. The rest of my clothes had nearly disintegrated by the time we made it to the Anuriix village, but I’m thankful to at least have something from my old life. Some of the girls don’t even have that much.

“You’re not scared?” A small whisper comes from across the room, startling me. It’s Emily. I had almost forgotten about her.

I look up and see her pale face peeking out from the fur blanket she’s buried under. Her blonde hair is neatly braided over one shoulder.

Her question catches me off guard. I hadn’t even realized she was paying attention, let alone awake.

“A little.” I shrug, then decide to be honest. “A lot actually. But I really want to do this.”

Emily nods, her expression unreadable. Then, without another word, she turns onto her side, facing away from me.

I let out a slow breath, staring at her back. She’s been like this ever since the crash—quiet, withdrawn, as if she’s a ghost of herself. During our time on the spaceship, it was the same. She barely spoke, spending her days curled up, staring into nothingness.

The other women notice it, too. I’ve seen the way they glance at her when they think no one’s looking, their concern etched into every furtive glance. We’re all worried. And none of us knows what to do about it.

A sharp rap on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. I turn toward the sound, already assuming it’s Maddie returning from her self-appointed mission.

“Come in,” I call out absently.

But it’s not Maddie. It’s someone else entirely.

Sorrin stands in the doorway, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.

He’s tall, filling the frame of the door and blocking out most of the light behind him. Though not the biggest of the Laediriian warriors, he’s still at least a foot taller than me. His aqua skin catches the faint light in the room making everything suddenly seem brighter.

Then there’s the smile.

It’s wide and almost always present. His lower lip—fuller than it should be—seems made to... Nope . I shake the thought away before it can go any further. Not going there.

I jerk my gaze up from its perusal of his mouth, and our eyes meet. Even his eyes look like they’re smiling, almost as if he’s on the verge of laughing at some joke.

Sorrin inclines his head at me, his deep voice rumbling through the room. “Daggir has called a meeting of the volunteers in his hut. He sent me to request your attendance.”

Which means I have to go. I’m assuming when the chief of the tribe requests your attendance, it’s not actually a request, it’s more like an order.

I nod and open my mouth, ready to tell him that I’ll follow him there, when I notice Sorrin’s attention drop to my hands. And that’s when I realize what I’m still holding.

The hot pink bra.

I freeze. My fingers grip the offending piece of fabric as though I can will it out of existence. A wave of heat flushes my face, and I’m certain my cheeks are now beet red. I quickly stuff the bra behind my back.

Sorrin’s ever-present smile sharpens with curiosity as he cranes his head trying to peek around me to see what I’m holding. His prominent brow ridge—where his eyebrows would be if he was human—raises high in silent amusement, while his grays eyes twinkle with unspoken questions.

I want to sink through the floor.

“What is th—,” he starts to ask, but I cut him off.

My voice is high and frantic as I say, “I’ll be there in a minute!”

Before he can say another word, I lunge for the door and slam it shut.

Leaning against the wood, I press my hands over my flushed cheeks and groan, humiliation washing over me in waves. I can hear his chuckle through the door. It’s a low, warm sound that almost seems to lodge itself deep inside me.

Great start, Mara, I think, staring up at the ceiling.