Chapter 1 - Samantha
My stomach was in knots when I followed Imogen out of thecapsule and onto the sand of a beautiful, alien beach.
The air was warm, andthe skies were blue—a color I had not seen for so long that I had to blink afew times to assure myself it was real.
When last I’d seen a sky, I’d beenboarding the USS Legacy , and I’d been stuck in stasis for most of itsjourney.
The sky on Earth had not looked anywhere near as pretty as this onedid, but it was a silly thing to focus on when far more exciting things wereabout to happen.
After an impossibly long journey, we’d finally arrived at aplanet capable of sustaining life—a planet rich in water, with skies that wereclean and clear, unlike the ones we’d left behind.
Our small group had beenselected to negotiate with the planet’s leadership, hoping to secure a treatythat would allow us to bring our people down to rebuild the lives we’d lost.
Iwas dying to catch my first glimpse of both alien species and alien flora.
Craning my head, I peered around Imogen’s shoulder and caughtsight of Lucy’s distinct brown hair streaked with gray.
We were spreading outon the sands, bordered by an azure sea on one side and an exciting jungle onthe other.
A tent had been erected, and Brooke had bravely accepted theinvitation of the tall men in front of it to step inside.
I was too nervous tofollow her in there and cast my eyes about to look for a distraction.
Were all the aliens inside?
From the reading material we’dbeen given before heading down, I knew they were all species that lived in thewater.
The ones I could see on the beach were called the Quxon, and they wereall tall and imposing and very blue.
But there were many more species living onSanos…
Had only the Quxon responded to our request to negotiate?
The other women were spreading out on the beach, but I caughthold of Imogen’s wrist.
“Hey, looks like things haven’t started yet, so I’mgoing to explore, okay?” I told her.
She’d been in a stasis pod next to mine,and that made me feel a certain amount of kinship—we’d been neighbors for thelong journey.
I’d already made up my mind that I’d go into the woods to inspectthe plants, but I wanted at least one person here to know where I’d gone.
“Not without me, you don’t,” Imogen said, her eyes sparklingwith a smile.
Her long brown braid swung over her shoulder as she jerked herchin toward the treeline.
“We don’t know what’s in there, but you’re right, weshould have a look. We can’t assume we’re safe just because they agreed to ameeting.” We exchanged a dubious glance before turning our eyes to the imposingfigures of the aliens and the flimsy tent Brooke had stepped into.
Withoutanother word, we strode across the soft sand and slipped behind a bush.
My fingers itched too much as I took in all the lush butforeign vegetation.
Imogen was far more professional as she led me deeperbeneath the trees.
I stopped several times to take a sample and add it to mysatchel for later study—not that I knew when or where that would be.
Until we’dsecured a treaty and could begin to build a settlement, I doubted I’d haveaccess to a lab.
I was still pondering that, lost in thought, when a suddennoise rocked our world.
I stumbled, then flung myself behind a tree for coverwhen I realized it wasn’t just any noise—it was an explosion.
The sounds thatfollowed were also very distinct: phaserfire.
The beach was under attack.
Imogen had taken shelter against a tree across from me, andshe’d pulled out her own weapon, far more prepared for this than I was.
Whathappened next neither of us expected.
The bushes parted nearby, and out cametwo large and very alien shapes.
They were on two legs, definitelyhumanoid-ish.
Where one was glittering azure, the other was dark as night.
Theyseemed as surprised to see us as we were to see them, but unlike me, they didnot freeze.
The azure one was closer to me, and red crowned his head injagged shapes.
A king, I thought—one of the ones we were here to meet, perhaps.
Then he had me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder like I was asack of potatoes.
The air whooshed out of me from the force, and, struggling tobreathe, eyes stinging, I was hauled deeper into the woods.
His arm had my legspinned to his chest, perilously close to the curve of my ass.
My friend had also been snatched, but she was not goingquietly.
I could hear her screaming and cursing at her captor.
Frantically, Isearched for her, but her abductor had chosen a different path.
Her shouting fadedthe farther he ran with his long-legged stride.
My stomach ached, each jarringstep driving that hard shoulder deeper into me, while panic caused everythingto somersault with emotion.
I raised my head, intending to follow Imogen’s lead and fightthis disrespectful treatment.
And then I saw it—the fire blazing beyond thejungle, the smoke that filled the sky.
Holy crap in a handbasket…
what theflying pigs was that?
Who had done that?
Why?
This was evidence that someone onthis planet did not want us humans to make a treaty—not with anyone.
Had thoseon the beach survived?
My mind flashed to Brooke, who’d gone into the tent,which surely had been the target.
Emme, Lucy, and the others who had remainedon the beach—what had happened to them?
I was not brave and bold like Imogen, and the will to fightfaltered in the face of the disaster.
What if she and I were the onlysurvivors?
I bit my lip, my eyes trailing along the broad back of the stranger whowas carrying me rapidly through the jungle on this island.
His skin was vaguelyhumanoid but smattered with a network of azure lines.
At a closer look, Irealized those were scales, pressing against his flesh as if they were risingto the surface.
He wore some kind of sash made of a strange, shimmery fabricaround his waist, with a few pouches dangling from a black leather belt thatheld it all up.
His outfit reminded me of the ancient Greeks and their togas,only his “toga” was much skimpier.
At least I could comfort myself with the knowledge that hewas humanoid.
Two legs, strong feet, muscled calves, and an ass I tried not tonotice was hella sexy.
My bag of specimens and supplies was still caught withits strap around my body, slapping against his arm—probably in a veryuncomfortable fashion—yet he didn’t seem to notice.
Then the ground changedfrom dirt and forest to sand, and I knew we’d reached the beach on the otherside.
Oh, I’d frozen again.
This was my last chance to act, and I really had to act because I had no clue whether this guy even knew I couldn’t breatheunderwater like he could.
“Stop!” I shouted, because my fear of drowning wasstrong enough, and our distance from the fire and phaser sounds was far enough.
He’d already planted both feet in the water, but he jerked to a halt, waveslapping at his knees.
Twisting, I pressed my palm against his warm, broad shoulderblade for balance.
Finally, I could see just enough of the back and side of hishead to make out who he was—what he was.
Short black hair with vibrant strandsof blue and silver, a crown of coral in wild, jagged shapes: a little sharp, alittle mean.
His ears were round and human one moment but began to grow intotall points, fanning like the webbed fin of a fish—blue again, with silvertips.
He was Ondrithar, and I knew it doubly so when I saw the trident withelegant symbols on the shaft that he clutched in one fist.
It was supposedlytheir preferred weapon beneath the waves—for hunting and for war.
He twisted his head slowly, his gaze bright blue and inhumanas he met my eyes.
A shiver shot down my spine.
My belly, already sore, nowtwisted as if he’d punched me in the gut.
At least, I thought that was what itfelt like, but I’d never been punched in the gut, so I wasn’t sure.
Itcertainly felt like the breath whooshed out of me, and now my lungs ached asthey labored to draw breath again.
“Stop?” he said, his voice a deep, sonoroustone that made my skin break out in goosebumps.
It might have been my fear andnerves, but the flash of silver in his eyes made me feel like he wasreprimanding me.
Instinctively, I wanted to curl up inside myself, towithdraw.
The basic negotiator skills that had been drummed into me for thismission told me not to back down.
They clashed, resulting in another frozenmoment, but this time, it was while our eyes were locked.
A curious thinghappened then—an unfurling in my belly, the tension ebbing away like the tide.
My body began to feel soft and light, sheltered by his arm around my thigh andhis chest against my belly.
“Yes, stop,” I said more firmly.
“Who are you, and where areyou taking me?” I couldn’t go with him until I knew those answers, but part ofme also wondered if letting myself get abducted by this king—for he clearly wasone—wouldn’t be helpful.
The negotiations were in shambles thanks to thisattack, but he was simply taking me to safety the only way he knew how: intothe water.
If I could work on him while I was in his company, maybe I couldsecure land inside his territory for the humans still left aboard the USSLegacy .
It was a plan that was so unlike my quiet, scientific mindthat I struggled to consider the ramifications.
He could be kidnapping me fornefarious reasons, not to save me from the phasers back at the meeting place.
He could be taking me so he could murder me quietly under the water.
Now, myhead was filling with all kinds of horrible scenarios, and I struggled to keepmy breathing even as my heart began to pound anew in fear.
“I am Kaerius,” he said, as if that was supposed to meansomething to me.
I drew a blank for a long second, staring into his mesmerizingeyes while I fought to recall the names of the kings on this planet.
There weremany factions and many different species or subspecies, all with their ownruler.
Which one was he again?
Right—Ondrithar.
And yes, Kaerius was the nameof the king of that species.
I could thank my lucky stars that at least I’dalways been good at cramming information into my head and recalling it underpressure.
I’d been quiet too long, and he was clearly done waiting forme.
His legs began to move, wading deeper into the lapping waves, and Irecalled that I hadn’t warned him I couldn’t breathe underwater.
Opening mymouth, I again endeavored to tell him to stop.
He didn’t let me speak thistime—his patience worn thin, or maybe even completely gone.
His arms jerked medown his chest, catching me in a bridal-style grip against the front of hisbody.
Now all I could see was his face and how big and luminous his silver-blueeyes were.
His body had already begun to transform for a swim: azurescales pressing to the surface, his ears like the fins of a fish, pupils largeand wide.
He was wholly alien now—nothing like the tan, humanoid male from afew moments ago.
Even his wide chest was now fully covered in hard scales,while gills sat on either side of his neck—three narrow slits that flared openwhen I stared at them.
Then cold water lapped at my bottom, and I managed tosqueak out, “I can’t breathe underwater! I hope you know that!?”
The smile that suddenly tilted his lush mouth at one cornermade my stomach flip-flop wildly.
That looked sinful, tempting, and the lastthing I should be thinking of was kissing that mouth.
He was a king, a captor,and ruthless by the looks of it.
Nope—bad idea.
I should not be havingsuch thoughts.
The water was icy despite the sunshine and the blue sky.
Itwas up to my chest now, and if he took a few more steps, I’d be submerged.
Gulping, I drew in a deep breath in preparation.
My specimen kit waswaterproof, but I wasn’t.
I wasn’t even sure if I liked water or swimming.
I’dnever done it, never even been submerged completely.
All I’d known wererationed water showers—a rarity—and dry foam washing, which was more common onwater-polluted Earth.
“Do not worry, human,” Kaerius said, and I wondered if thatwas a halfhearted attempt to be kind and ease my fear.
It seemed to be anafterthought.
It also wasn’t lost on me how he’d given me his name when I askedwho he was, but he hadn’t bothered to ask for mine—like he didn’t give a damn.
When the water closed over my head, I wasn’t ready for it.
Itstung my eyes, and my instinct was to scream—which was a very stupid instinct.
Precious air bubbled from my throat in a big gulp, and then water rushed backin, and I began to drown.
That’s when I started fighting, kicking and twistingin the Ondrithar King’s tight grip.
Yup, he was picking the “drown in thewater” option.
Asshole.
I should have known that negotiating with barbaricwater kings wasn’t going to be easy.
Not a walk in the park, as my ancestorswould say.
Not that I’d ever seen a park, which was why I was so fascinatedwith plants.
Thrashing as wildly as I was, panic absolute, I was onlyaware of the King as my captor—the tight band of his arm around my waist, thecoiling of something long and powerful around my legs, pinning them tight.
Andthen, shockingly, the grasp of his hand around my throat.
Immobile, completelycaught, he twisted my head until I was looking at him, at his silver eyes.
That calm I’d felt before washed over me as suddenly as thelack of air had burned my lungs.
For one peaceful moment, I could see him, takehim in: the blue of the ocean as it closed over our heads, the way his shortblack-and-blue hair fanned in the current.
His jaw was a sharp line, hisexpression forbidding.
And then I saw it—a softening.
I had to be imagining it,but it felt like there was recognition in his eyes, a connection that wentbeyond the differences of our origins and species, that transcended all that.
Then darkness claimed me.