LUCY
C old darkness lifted slowly.
The weight of deep water pressed against my skin.
Strong arms cradled me close, and strange sensations washed over me in waves.
A hazy memory of panic.
Water rushing into my suit.
Then warmth, safety.
“Rest,” a deep voice whispered.
“You’re safe now.”
The darkness pulled me under again.
My next moment of awareness came in fragments.
The brush of fabric against my skin.
Soft fiber beneath my cheek.
A sweet, unfamiliar scent filled my nose---like sea flowers mixed with salt.
My body felt heavy, as if I were still underwater, and every limb resisted my attempts to move.
The bed shifted under me as I stirred, and I let out a soft groan.
My head throbbed with a dull ache, and the effort of opening my eyes felt monumental.
When I finally managed it, the world around me came into focus---strange, curved walls glowing with faint light.
My training surfaced through the haze; instinctively, my eyes scanned the smooth walls for potential exits, weapons, or surveillance devices, before the sheer strangeness of the place fully registered.
Not the stark white medical bay of our ship.
Not the rough shelter we’d planned to build on shore.
The strange curved walls and glowing pearls captivated my attention, unlike anything I’d seen before.
“What...” My voice cracked, barely audible, and I sank back into the pillows, my strength already fading.
My throat burned as if I’d swallowed salt water, and even the simple act of speaking left me dizzy.
I forced myself to look around, taking in the luminous pearls casting their soft glow from niches in the walls.
Gauzy curtains rippled in the sea breeze, and beyond a vast window, the ocean stretched far below the cliff where this structure was built.
Fish darted through dark water, illuminating the waves with their luminescent trails.
It was beautiful---alien and impossibly serene---but none of it made sense.
I shifted slightly and froze as I became aware of my body.
Gone was my protective suit.
In its place, an otherworldly gown flowed over my skin like liquid moonlight, cool and weightless.
My chest tightened at the thought of someone changing me while I was unconscious, but there was no time to dwell on it.
My team.
Where were they?
What had happened after the attack?
I tried to push myself upright, but the weakness in my arms betrayed me.
My head spun, and I collapsed back against the bed, breathing heavily.
I felt trapped in my own body, unable to muster even the strength to sit up properly.
The door whispered open.
My heart jumped, and when I moved to look toward the sound, a fresh wave of dizziness swept through me.
I caught a glimpse of a hallway carved from the same strange material as this room, with walls that seemed to blend seamlessly with the natural rock of what appeared to be an island cliff.
I blinked hard, trying to focus on the figure filling the doorway.
Whatever he was, he was definitely alien.
His presence dominated the room, his tall frame and the burnished bronze of his skin reflecting the soft glow of the pearls.
The scales on his arms shimmered like molten gold, highlighting every subtle shift of his muscles.
His face was framed by a short, well-kept beard that emphasized the strong line of his jaw, the dark hair contrasting with the bronze tone of his skin.
His black eyes---endless and unreadable---fixed on me, and I stared back in wonder.
He was beautiful in a way that defied logic, his appearance both mesmerizing and unnerving.
But I couldn’t let myself forget the danger he might pose.
He stayed near the doorway, watching me intently.
“You’re awake,” he observed in smooth, deep tones.
“How do you feel?”
“Where... am I?” I rasped, barely able to get the words out.
My throat felt raw, and I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself.
“What happened to my team? Did you see where they went? Were Brooke, Emme, or Imogen injured? ”
“Enemies attacked you and your companions. I brought you here to protect you,” he stated with quiet authority.
“Protect me?” Frustration built within me, sending my heart into an anxious rhythm.
“What about my team? They’re still out there! What if they’re hurt? You can’t just keep me here while they---“
He stepped closer, silencing my reply before it formed.
“I saw them reach the shore under covering fire from their own vessel before I retrieved you. The currents near the coast are treacherous, and the Mersai were still present; searching immediately would have been suicide.”
I closed my eyes, frustration welling up in my chest.
“I’m not safe if I don’t know what’s happening to them,” I protested, emotion making my words unsteady.
“You say I’m a guest, but you’ve given me no choice. How is that any different from being a prisoner?”
His black eyes studied me, and I saw a muscle feather slightly high on his cheekbone.
“Would you prefer I left you to drown?”
“I’d prefer to know what you want from me.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.
I lifted my chin slightly, though the effort left me lightheaded.
“And your name would be nice.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up, a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I am Thalassar,” he said, his tone softening slightly.
“And what I want is to understand why humans have come to our world.”
“,” I offered, though my voice shook as I said it.
“And we came because we had no choice. Earth is dying.”
His expression shifted, his gaze turning sharper.
“So you seek to take our world instead?”
“No.” This was not at all how negotiations were supposed to go.
“We want to work together, find a way to coexist. We’re not conquerors.”
He moved closer, his movements smooth and deliberate, like a predator stalking its prey.
His scales glinted as he moved, their shifting colors hypnotic.
My pulse raced as he stopped beside the bed, his height imposing as he towered over me.
“Pretty words,” he murmured with a teasing undertone.
“But can I trust them?”
“Can I trust you?” I countered, though blood rushed loud in my head.
“You saved my life, then made me a prisoner.”
“Not a prisoner. A guest.” His fingers brushed lightly against my arm, and a shiver ran through me.
His touch was warm, almost electric, leaving a trail of tingling awareness in its wake.
I hated how my breath caught, but I couldn’t pull away.
It was as though my body betrayed me, responding to him in ways I didn’t understand.
“Though I admit, an unwilling one for now,” he continued, his voice softener this time.
I averted my gaze, trying to break the spell of his touch.
“Then let me leave.”
“I cannot. Not yet.” His gaze held mine, steady and unyielding.
“Here, you are safe.”
“Safe and trapped,” I muttered, turning my head toward the window, though weakness kept me from sitting up to look out.
“You are not what I expected,” he said, his voice closer now.
“What did you expect?”
“Greed. Arrogance. The desire to take what is not yours.” He appeared at my bedside, his silhouette reflecting in the window.
“Instead I find... curiosity. Wonder.”
I turned my head slowly to meet his gaze.
“Your world is beautiful. We don’t want to destroy it. We just want to survive.”
His hand settled lightly on my shoulder, the warmth of it seeping through the thin fabric of the gown.
“Then perhaps we can help each other.”
“How?”
“Tell me of Earth. Of your people. Let me judge if you speak truth.” His fingers trailed down my arm, leaving a path of warmth in their wake.
“Stay here, as my guest truly, not my captive. Help me understand.”
“And if I refuse?”
His other hand cupped my cheek.
I inhaled sharply at the contact.
“Then you remain my prisoner, and I learn nothing of your true intentions.”
I should pull away.
His touch sent heat spiraling through me.
But I stayed still, caught in his dark gaze.
“Do we have an agreement, ?” He stepped closer, until I had to tip my head back to maintain eye contact.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“But I have conditions.”
His thumb stroked my cheek.
“Name them.”
“I need to contact my team, let them know I’m alive. And I want to know more about your people. This isn’t just about you judging us.”
A smile curved his lips.
“Bold demands from one in your position.”
“Take it or leave it.”
His laugh rumbled through me.
“Very well. You may send a message to your team. And I will answer your questions - some of them, at least.” His hand slid to my neck.
“But first, you should rest more. Heal.”
For a moment, the strength I’d been clinging to wavered.
I looked up at him, unsure whether to trust his words.
His gaze softened, and something flickered there---an emotion I couldn’t name, but it steadied me in a way I hadn’t expected.
He moved to a shelf carved into the wall, selecting something from among the collected curiosities there.
“For you,” he said simply.
The small crystal in his palm caught the light, splitting it into rainbow patterns across the wall.
I froze, my hand outstretched.
“What’s wrong?” Thalassar asked, noticing my sudden stillness.
“Sarah---my sister---she collected anything that shone.” My voice felt thick with unexpected emotion.
“Our bedroom was filled with them. On sunny days, our walls looked like this.”
Thalassar placed the crystal in my palm, closing my fingers around it.
“Then you should have this one. To remember her by.”
I clutched the crystal, feeling tears prick my eyes.
“It’s strange. Sometimes I feel like she would have belonged here more than I do. She was always the adventurous one, the one who believed in magic and other worlds.”
“Tell me more,” Thalassar said, settling beside me.
“She was brilliant. Fearless. She believed problems had solutions if you were brave enough to find them.” I smiled sadly.
“She would have loved you.”
“And what would she think of you becoming my...” He trailed off, expression shifting into something I only dared to guess at.
I laughed through my tears.
“She’d tell me to be brave enough to follow my heart, even when it leads somewhere unexpected.”
His eyes held mine in silent communication.
Then he nodded and stood.
I caught his wrist.
“I’m fine.”
“You nearly died.” His grip tightened slightly.
“Rest. We will talk more later.”
He released me and moved to the door.
“Food will be brought soon. The bathroom is through there.” He indicated a smaller doorway.
“If you need anything, simply speak. Someone will hear.”
“Thalassar.” I called as he reached the door.
He paused.
“Thank you. For saving my life.”
He looked back, expression unreadable.
“Sleep well, .”
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
I sank onto the bed, head spinning.
What had I gotten myself into?
And why did my skin still tingle where he’d touched me?
I lay back against the impossibly soft pillows.
Just a short rest, then I’d explore more.
Find a way out if I needed it.
My eyes drifted shut as exhaustion swept over me.
My last thought before sleep took me was of black eyes and warm hands trailing fire across my skin.
Sleep pulled me under, but instead of peace, I found Sarah.
In my dream, we stood on Earth’s last clean beach, waves lapping at our feet.
The water was wrong though---too green, too thick.
“You left me,” she said, her voice hollow.
“I had to,” I told her.
“The mission--“
“Not then.” She turned to me, but her face kept shifting---sometimes Sarah, sometimes Brooke, sometimes Emme or Imogen.
“Now. You’re forgetting us.”
“I’m not,” I protested.
“I’m trying to find you.”
The tide rose suddenly, swirling around our knees, our waists.
Sarah’s face finally settled, her expression sad.
“Don’t forget why you came,” she whispered as the toxic water reached our chins.
I woke with a gasp, my heart pounding.
The room was dark except for the glowing crystals near the ceiling.
I pressed my hands to my face, finding it wet with tears.
“I won’t forget,” I whispered into the darkness.
“I promise, Sarah.”