Page 33 of The Dreamer and the Deep Space Warrior (Xaal Alien Romance #1)

Isobel

“I’m going back to my room, it’s too hot,” Clara mumbled hours later. By the time her niece untangled herself from the sheets and stomped from the room, Isobel was fully awake.

She tossed and turned, fluctuating between being too cold and too hot. But mostly, now that she was awake, her mind wouldn’t stop racing. The restless energy sat beneath her skin, feverish and scratchy.

She could rise, sneak out of the house, and discover if Ved had departed for certain. But he’d said he would be gone in hours , and it had already been a full day.

Despite what the books said, it really was too late. Isobel had always known that the great love in books was never meant for her. And she and Ved, they weren’t a romance story. Romances ended in passionate kisses and happily ever afters. In ardent vows and unbreakable connections.

They were a genre unto themselves.

She was staring intently at the ceiling when the sound of her door creaking open drew her attention. Propping herself up on her elbows, she expected to see Clara. Maybe she couldn’t go back to sleep, either, and wanted to talk more.

But the threshold was empty. Eerily so.

“Clara?” she whispered.

And then a sudden realization dawned on her.

“Ved?” Excitement lit up her nerves. They’d agreed only one night. Had he changed his mind? She sucked in a breath as unexpected tears pricked her eyes. Maybe it wasn’t too late after all.

Red eye shields appeared first, and then the rest of him materialized.

Except, instead of the dark armor she’d come to know, she saw only silver.

The start of a scream tore from her, but the Xaal moved faster, pulling her by her feet to the end of the bed. She attempted to kick him, and she was certain she was yelling for him to let go, but the struggle was short-lived.

He lifted her up by a fistful of her nightgown. She thought to alert Henry and Clara, but then reconsidered. If they weren’t already aware, she didn’t want to put them in harm’s way.

Before she could think of anything else to do, something cold and sharp was at her throat.

A searing pinch. A consuming darkness. Then she knew no more.