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CHAPTER FOUR

-Clay-

SILENCE FILLED THE bridge as everyone stared at me.

“Yes. You will leave and he will come with us,” the alien said.

I couldn’t breathe. No. There was no way that was happening. The crew wouldn’t let them take me. I was an employee of the ISE. I was protected.

I looked at the captain, who shook his head helplessly. He looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing either. “I can’t let you do that,” he said to the alien.

No, he wouldn’t let them do that.

The alien frowned. “Arcay has claimed tara-arwe, ” he said as if that cleared everything up. “We must take him.”

The captain raised his chin, although his eyes were wide with fear. “I cannot let you take a member of my crew. He hasn’t done anything wrong. None of us have.”

The alien stared at him for a moment and I waited, my fate hanging in the balance. Then his stance changed. He didn’t move away, but his body swayed back away from the captain, opening a space between them, and becoming less aggressive. I held my breath. Was he backing down? The captain was just as tense as me.

Then the alien gave one jerk of his head.

I let my breath out. I was gonna be ok—

Movement caught my eye. In front of the female security officer, the tall alien’s eyes flashed. That was the only warning I got.

He charged at me, effortlessly brushing the officer aside as if she were a dry autumn leaf, sending her stumbling. Another member of the crew jumped from his seat and stood in front of him, trying to block his path, but the alien knocked him over without a thought.

I scrambled backward as he advanced towards me, grabbed the metal bar I’d dropped earlier, and brandished it. But my fingers were slippery with blood, weak and numb.

Caldwell stood up. “Get away from—”

The alien grabbed him by the shirt, flinging him to the side.

Finally, nothing stood between us. He towered over me, glaring down with glowing amber eyes. In that moment, I was certain he wanted to kill me.

“Please,” I said. “I’m sorry if I did anything—”

I put my hands up, forgetting the metal bar that knocked against my temple hard enough to see a brief shower of stars. He wrenched the bar out of my hand. This is it , I thought, I’m going to die . Death by huge, purple alien .

But no death blow came. Instead, he spoke, his deep voice heavily accented, each word like stone slabs falling into place.

“You are mine.”