Page 3 of Betrothed to the Alien Mercenary

Captain Asmoded seemed to conclude that this was the price of dealing with royalty and slithered into the room, the first hint of a mocking smile curling his firm mouth. His human mate was not with him, but he was followed by his second-in-command, a very angry individual of a species I did not know. The last male to enter the room was another unknown alien, a male with huge red and white wings and a feathered crest rising from his head.

I didn’t know why I felt a sudden hint of disappointment when I realized that was all of them; the Asrai was never supposed to be here, he was their pilot, not an officer. I shouldn’t even want to see him again, I shouldn’t care one bit.

The captain dipped into a half-bow that would have been considered rude on Xurtal. “You’re welcome to sit in my chair, Princess Evadne. Make yourself right at home.” His voice was a deep drawl with a sibilant note, and my skin broke out in goosebumps upon hearing it. I had not interacted with the captain yet, and I’d never met a Naga before as they were rare in the Zeta Quadrant. He made a very primal part of my brain tingle with fear, warning me that I was in front of a monster, a beast, not a man.

“Thank you,” I said politely. “I will.” Stake my claim, sound cool as a cucumber; I could do this. “Have a seat,” I added, and I gestured with a hand at the chairs still available at the table. Asmoded intended to mock me, but treating his insult as a genuine offer was my only way forward. I had to establish dominance in a room chock-full of testosterone.

A Naga face, as it turned out, was hard to read, so I was not certain if he was amused or annoyed at my brazenness. The winged alien was far more humanoid-looking, and his muffled laugh was a clear indication of what he was thinking.

Once everyone was seated, I recognized the second-in-command as the real threat in the room. The Naga was frightening in a primordial sense, but this guy? His aura was so chilling that it seemed as though the temperature in the room had dropped. His silver eyes, under a pronounced frown, bored into me while silver curled and swirled across his black armor in peculiar, organic tendrils, reminiscent of kelp swaying in the current.

“You’ve already been briefed on the details of this mission by my personal guard,” I said, breaking the tense silence. “Are you prepared to take this on? My father, the King of Xurtal, will reward you handsomely for your services.” Of that, I had no doubt. The king would shower them with gold if it meant the salvation of the kingdom. But I couldn't let on just how dire the situation really was—that was information nobody could know.

The unknown, creepy, gray alien curled his lips into a dark, derisive smirk. That grin made me feel as if he knew everything, as if all my secrets were exposed on my face for him to read. I flicked my eyes away from his mesmerizing gaze to look at the captain, finding it easier to continue talking, to perpetuate the lie that Theronix and Evadne wanted me to maintain.

Before long, the winged mercenary was establishing a connection with the Xurtal homeworld. I didn’t really expect the King himself to answer the call, but I knew Evadne would have felt a pang of disappointment when it was his closest advisor. I felt it on her behalf now that she could no longer feel it herself, and that was probably what convinced Pelarios that I was truly her. He dipped into a very deep bow that made my chest ache, and smiled warmly, his relief obvious. “Princess Evadne, it is good to see you.”

I did not even have to open my mouth to claim that I was her, he bought it just like that. All I had to do was go along with it, and the ruse was complete. The negotiations went entirely through Pelarios after that, and I was happy to let him take the lead. When it came to hammering out the details of the mission and the requirements that the mercenaries had to meet to fulfill their contract, I perked back up. This was where I needed to have a say so I could increase my chances of survival.

I didn’t know what came over me when I insisted on a close guard with expert flying skills. Truly, it was insanity, but once I made the demand, there was no taking it back. Leveling a determined look at the present males, I outlined my reasons. “Theronix is a commendable warrior, but he is currently injured and not in fighting shape. I need a close bodyguard who is, and one who will never leave my side. I need a guard who can whisk me to safety, no matter the obstacles, should the situation call for it.

The captain offered a first true expression of mirth, his fanged mouth spreading in a wide smile. “I know just the male for the job, but how are you going to ensure he’s allowed into every meeting, and inside your chambers at night?”

Ah, damn. He was taking my words too literally; that wasn't what I meant… But when I glanced from him to Theronix, and then to Pelarios, I knew they were seriously contemplating it. The former because he knew my safety was the kingdom’s last chance, the latter for the same reasons, but also because he thought I was the heir to the throne. “He’ll have to be her fiancé,” Pelarios said eventually, his gaze pensive. “The Ovters are very strict with their rules. It's the only ruse that will give a bodyguard the right access. They’ll ban anyone else from the negotiations.

It wasn’t even about the bedroom as the captain had implied, but that was all I could focus on. Aramon and I in one room, all night long. This was a terrible idea, and now I couldn't prevent it. “I believe I can make this work,” Asmoded said, still grinning widely. “I'll send you the details of my man's fabricated background, and you can inform Ov'Korad.”

By the time the meeting was over, I was a shaky, troubled mess. At least I wasn't worried about my safety and the success of this mission anymore. I had very different worries now. What if the captain wasn't assigning Aramon as my guard at all? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

He wasn’t on the bridge when I glided from the ready room in my most regal strut, and I wanted to howl with frustration behind my cool mask. I never thought I’d be dealing with intense emotions like these, though they had trained me for the possibility. Trained… Pah, like you could train for the intense lust at first sight type of thing I was experiencing. It hadn’t even waned a little, despite spending two weeks on the ship without ever laying eyes on this guy again.

I felt like I’d run a marathon by the time I’d managed to leave Theronix behind in the hallway and entered my small, private room on the ship. I was the only refugee they'd taken in who had been given a private room, thanks to Theronix advocating for my status with the captain. I had hated it before, but today I was grateful.

My hands trembled when I slipped into the small, attached bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Green skin, red eyes, green hair. It wasn't me—and yet, it was such a familiar reflection that, paradoxically, itwasme. IwasEvadne, and that's who the Asrai male had lusted after when we'd seen each other in the hangar bay that day. Not the real me.

I shrugged open my jumpsuit, baring my chest, and slid my hand down my belly to touch the piercing dangling from my belly button. This was a common decoration among Xurtal females. Xurtal was a planet covered in unusual, rich green sand that matched the skin color of the women in the east, while lush, green forests dominated the west. The planet was warm everywhere, and the locals' dress and customs had developed accordingly. This included the peculiar extra eyelids of the eastern tribes, a necessary adaptation to protect them from the sun's glare and blowing sand.

A flick of my thumb over the red gem at the center of the gold pendant, and my reflection in the mirror abruptly changed. Gone was the emerald skin, in its place a pale cream that lacked any hint of a tan after space travel and captivity. I looked waxy and wan to my eyes, fake. I was too used to seeing myself as a Xurtal female to find this reflection any less alien. “I am human,” I whispered, but my red contacts and green dyed hair made a mockery of that statement.

“My name is Evie,” I added. Evelyn. A name that had only helped to cement my fate as Evadne’s body double, another similarity between us. “Evie Mordew.” I was nobody, and it was no wonder that Evadne’s people despised me for impersonating their princess. I hated myself for what I was, so of course, they did too. Theronix, standing guard outside my room, felt like another shackle. He was not there to protect the princess he loved; he was there to keep the fake that should have died in line.

“You can run away after this is done,” I said. That was going to be a promise to myself. They would not need a body double to a dead princess once the treaty was sealed. After I’d fulfilled my promise to Evadne and her people, my obligations were met. I would run away and find a better life, findmyself. I didn’t know any more who Evie the human was, and it was time I found out.

The sound of the ship-wide intercom turning on nearly made me jump out of my skin. Suddenly, I was certain that someone was watching me. My hand flew to the button on my belly button piercing, activating my disguise in the blink of an eye. Its cloak of illusion settled over my skin with a painful tingle that would last until my brain adjusted. Sometimes that was a few minutes, sometimes it took much longer, and getting zapped by every object I touched was a given. The discomfort of the device had not been a concern to the Xurtal.

The dark voice that spoke made me shiver, even as I realized that he was not speaking to me. It was the cold second-in-command of the ship, the man they called the Sineater, who was announcing our departure and calling Aramon to the bridge.

Was this a 'human Evie' thing, to ask for a male like Aramon to be my bodyguard? I hadn't asked for him by name, but this meant they had picked him, didn't it? Doubts struck immediately afterward. No, we were departing; they just needed their pilot on the bridge. That was all.

So why couldn’t my heart stop racing as I pictured the Asrai mercenary in his black armor, a grin on his ghoulish face? This was theworstmoment to feel attraction for anyone, let alone one as alien as him. I had a mission to complete, promises to fulfill, and secrets to keep.

Chapter 3

Aramon

There was a party going on in the mess hall, and I was loath to miss out on it. I loved a good party, and I loved the brawls that always came from them even more. Solear grinned wickedly at my departing back, and I could sense how much it entertained him that I was missing out. “Fine, whatever,” I said, though he couldn’t hear me from across the room. I waved a rude gesture that got the message across perfectly and made several of our crewmates laugh.

“It’s not like we don’t take down assholes like Batok on the regular anyway,” I muttered as I stalked to the nearest elevator that could take me to the bridge. Restlessness coursed through me, but that was normal; I hated being between missions. Today, though, I felt another layer of tension that I couldn’t place. I did not like delving into my thoughts to unravel them—I preferred avoidance.

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