Page 14 of Veras (Nozaroc Alien Warrior #2)

“T hey found a way past the Guardians. They are here.” Veras swiped a few more holo-screens, and we could see the Aavvee coming in one after the other, with Inkonexo in the lead. But instead of walking like we had, they flew across the jungle in sleek-looking vehicles.

I froze. My safety net had been breached, and my body went stone cold. I can’t go back there. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t… I chanted as I sank within myself.

“No, little General. No. You must not retreat. Today is the day you show them who you really are. How fierce. How strong.” Veras’ voice broke as he peppered kisses along my cheeks and lips, the same way he liked me to do when he needed reassurance.

The scrape of his oversized fangs brought back the familiar sense of safety.

And anger. So much anger. They were taking from me again. Inkonexo, the Aavvee, even Veras, to a certain extent. He wouldn’t listen to me.

“They enter from the same place we did. I have to get you to the portal to Earth!” He picked me up and ran out of the room.

When we exited the lab, his tattoo lit up as he manipulated some sort of security system.

“The outpost will be sealed as soon as we exit. If it were discovered, it would be devastating. We have to head toward your portal. Now!”

We ran and ran toward the bad guys. “Why are we headed back there?”

“The portal is about halfway back from where we came.”

“But they have those flying thingies, which seem to be faster than our floaty thing.”

“I will get you there.” He bared his teeth.

I mourned the loss of my bath supplies. It sounded so superficial, but they were the only items that had belonged to me since I’d been abducted. I was also pissed I was being carted off to a portal. Which made no sense because it was literally everything I’d hoped for in Plan A.

I stewed as he boarded a floating platform. The anger, the misery, the fury I felt about all of these alien men controlling my life and stripping my choices, almost choked me. I knew Veras hated it when I retreated into my mind, but I needed time to process.

I was going to start kicking ass and taking names. I would never make myself small again. The chances of my dying were almost guaranteed, but I wouldn’t roll over. Not anymore. It took a good half hour of riding on the floating platform before I spoke to Veras. “Put me down.”

“Never!” His hands and spikes tightened around my back. “My heart, I’m so glad you’re back. I hate it when you leave me. Don’t do that.”

“I don’t want to leave Nozaroc yet.”

“You don’t mean that!”

I struggled in Veras’ arms, tipping our floating coffin as I shimmied to get down. “Put me down right now. You’re dumping me before all the action takes place.”

“Truena, I must. It is no longer safe for you. My plan is to return you to your old life. To the planet you love.”

“How many days are left until the Guardians let loose?’

“Exact calculations are hard, but maybe one of your days?” He set me down after I hit him in the chest a few times, taking careful measures that I didn’t fall off the racing platform.

He’s getting rid of me.

“Little General, it is killing me to think of not having you in my arms. After what we shared, after how you made me feel. I don’t care if you aren’t my almax.

You are everything to me, and because of that, I will keep you safe.

” He hugged me, burrowing his face in my neck.

“My only solace is that I will be destroyed shortly after you leave when the Guardians cleanse the planet.”

“What? Why? You’re from here.”

“I am not. My people came a millennium ago. We have always respected Nozaroc and the Oro, but we failed to keep the planet safe. We will be punished as well. I’m thankful I won’t have to suffer your loss for too long. I will be killed instantly.”

And that was the problem, right there. If I let him take me to the portal, he was going to run off on a suicide mission. He would die . And I couldn’t allow that. “Listen to me carefully. I’m going to give you one last chance to work with me.”

He ignored me and nuzzled my neck.

“Veras, please .” My voice broke. “We can do this together, be together . You have to trust me. Don’t you want that?”

“More than anything. I would cut off my thumbs. No, my arm. Both arms…”

Dios , I might be obsessed with my alien drama queen. I’d never met anyone so open with their emotions, and maybe after all my trauma, I needed that reassurance. “We’ll work together? You won’t ship me off to Earth quite yet?”

He looked at me, his wide eyes swirling.

“That is the one thing I cannot do. I was selfish and did not send you away last night. I could not resist you! Sleeping in your arms, sharing intimate times with you, was the best event in my life. I thought I had time, and look what has happened. Inkonexo found us.”

The words cut. Again, my feelings had been dismissed. He thought he was doing it for my own good. Because of that, I resisted the urge to push him off the platform. Instead, I took a deep breath and looked beyond the anger. I was going to have to take care of things. I wouldn’t allow him to die.

I will fix this. Careful to keep my gaze off Veras and to keep my shouty thoughts to myself, a plan took form. All I needed to do was get my hands on some Oro. Then maybe I could talk to the Guardians. Get them to stop the countdown and convince them there were good people on the planet, too.

Because even if Veras didn’t want to admit it, there must be other humans around. We were like rats and cockroaches; there was never only one. Which meant I owed it to them to help. To ensure they had a chance at a life that didn’t involve being a pet or used for body parts.

I needed Oro. It was the only way the Guardians would hear me. And I knew just where to find it.

“Find what?”

I ignored his question and asked, “How far are we?”

“From the portal? Close. If you keep your mind quiet, we can slip in around Inkonexo.”

Shoomp. Shoomp. Shoomp.

That terrible sound, signaling the arrival of the Aavvee, echoed through the jungle. Because of the overhead cover, the noise boomed through the trees, along with my pounding heart.

“Truena, look at me. I would do anything to protect you. Even if it means losing you. You must know my heart, how I feel—”

A blast whizzed by our heads, knocking the platform sideways. Luckily, it pitched us into overgrown pink leaves that cushioned our fall. We slid down a massive trunk and landed hard.

Veras sprang into action, grabbing me and racing forward. But it didn’t take long for the flying sleds to catch up to us. We came face to face with Inkonexo, the supreme, and a million guards.

Veras pushed me behind him and backed up. I felt his intention, his golden eyes sweeping the jungle for a portal.

“You have failed, Veras.” Inkonexo strode forward, still in the body of an Aavvee. He held a weapon the size of a crossbow, weighted in his arms. Now that I knew he was originally from Nozaroc, I also knew he would know how to use it. “You know I can kill you both in an instant.”

“But you don’t want to do that, do you?” My voice rang out into the jungle.

“And why is that, Pet?”

“Because I have something you need.”

“Truena. Run! Hide. I will take care of this. Look for the portal.” He scanned the encroaching guards. “Go!”

“She will go nowhere. Neither will you.” Inkonexo laughed and flung his cloak over his shoulder.

I noticed the tattoo on his arm. It was different from Veras’—muted and gray against the green of his skin.

Even though he still appeared as an Aavvee, his dull tattoo seemed…

off. I tried remembering what Veras told me about the marking and its meaning.

Guards surrounded us, immediately jumping on Veras. “Run, Truena. Please .”

A familiar rancid smell assaulted me. Rough hands grabbed and pushed me to the floor. My face smashed to the ground, and all I saw was Inkonexo’s boot. “Still think I need something from you?”

“Let me up.” I couldn’t breathe. A guard had his boot on my back. “I do have something you want.”

Inkonexo pulled me up by my hair. I ignored the pain and willed him to see my intent—how I planned to stop the Guardians from killing us all. He transferred his hold to my arm, preventing me from falling on my ass.

“You think you’re strong enough to calm the Guardians? How?” Inkonexo’s grip was intense, a few minutes from breaking my arm in half.

I searched for Veras. They’d jumped him. Close to twenty Aavvee were piled on top of him. Please stay alive. I wanted to beg for his life, but I had a mission. “I need Oro. A lot of it.”

“We- we will not give our Glrtsstlllloroggg to you, Pet.” The supreme trilled, making a dramatic entrance as he walked through his mob of guards. His frill of feathers snapped up, no longer indulgent of me now that I wasn’t serving him.

“Really? You brought him ?” I asked Inkonexo as I gestured at the supreme.

Inkonexo glared at the leader and tipped his chin up in an alien nod. “Tell me why you want the Oro?”

“You saw me talk to my wind.” My chest tightened as I thought about Nito. “I can do the same with the Guardians.”

“What does she speak of?” the supreme demanded.

“He has told you much.” Inkonexo’s eyes narrowed, and he signaled the guards to get off Veras.

My alien was completely passed out, but I could see his chest moving up and down. Still breathing.

“You think you can whisper to the winds?” Inkonexo’s toxic emotions battered me as he invaded my mind with the delicacy of a precision laser. Searing me from the outside in.

“Y-yes. But I don’t have enough Oro in my system for them to truly hear me.”

“Fascinating?” His grin turned evil.

“But I have some demands.” I squared my shoulders. “You will not hurt Veras.”

“He’s already half dead.”

“Well, you better make sure he isn’t any more dead, or we don’t have a deal.” I looked at Inkonexo’s tattoo, and my theory felt right. “Besides, you’ll need him to open the portal, right?”

“Who- who are you to make demands?” the supreme interrupted. “Which- which portal?”

I ignored the supreme, understanding who the real power was, and continued, “I know you can’t access it anymore.” I gestured toward the dull gray marking on his shoulder. “But Veras can. He needs to stay alive. I’ll quiet the Guardians, and then you can access the entrance.”

“Entrance- trance ? She knows what lies within?” The supreme spluttered. “You- you said no one knew but you.” The supreme chirped, his feathers snapping open and shut.

“Silence! I will hear her. Go on,” Inkonexo said.

“If I see one hair on his head further damaged, I won’t open my mouth. You can ask him.” I pointed to the supreme. “I didn’t say a word for…” I struggled to remember the alien word for years, “ sanos , and I won’t say a word to the Guardians if you hurt him.”

“How do I know you won’t turn them against me?”

A giggle burst forth which bordered on full-blown hysteria, but I prayed they didn’t know that. “You think I can control the Guardians that much?”

The supreme squawked, and soon all the Aavvee guards chirped alongside him. “My- my pet? Control- trol those winds? I think not.”

“If you can’t control them, why should I bother to help you?” He raised a hand to motion for the guards.

“Wait! All I need to do is distract them until Veras opens the portal. With you next to him.” I let my worry bleed through, which wasn’t hard because it already seeped through every pore of my body. “I’ve never done this before, but I know I can get their attention.”

“And then what, Pet ?”

“Then I go home. There’s a portal back to my planet. And you let Veras go. Whatever you want beyond the Guardians’ protection has nothing to do with him.” I focused on home and everything I missed, desperately trying to keep him off my plans for world domination.

“You would leave him?” Inkonexo asked.

“I want to go home!”

“I sense so many plots brewing in your mind. You only reveal part of the truth.” He sighed. “I could rape your mind, rip it into pieces, but I sense it would break you. If that happens, you’d be of no use to me.” He snapped his fingers. “Because of that, I agree.”

“Truena.” Veras opened bleary eyes. When he looked at me and felt my shame, he roared, “What have you done?”

I betrayed you. I let all my anger at him for ignoring me, the shame and worry—every negative feeling I possessed—swim on the surface of my mind, shouting at him as loud as I could. “Why wouldn’t you believe in me? Trust me?”

Because Inkonexo still held my arm, he felt every nuance. He blinked and threw his head back, belting out a textbook evil villain, maniacal laugh.

Unfortunately, it did the trick, inspiring terror within me. But Veras, he wilted. Lost all steam and turned away. Cutting me off from his thoughts. But right before, I felt such intense pain, it made me gasp. I would have stumbled, but Inkonexo’s firm hold kept me up.

The supreme looked around, understanding and greed creeping over his features, his feathers snapping up and down. “Yes- yes . What does she need?”

“ Glrtsstlllloroggg. Lots of it.”