Page 35 of Charmed By the Alien Warrior

Once he’s gone, I take a deep breath and rise to my feet.

After that, it doesn’t take us long to eat a quick meal of fresh bilb berries Sorrin found on a vine before we’re ready to leave. I run my hands over the large knife he gave me last night before sliding it into the sheath that I’ve fastened around my waist. I don’t know how he knew that having an actual weapon, not just a makeshift shiv, would make me feel better, safer, but it does.

I can feel the tension and fear that has been following me around for days—no, weeks, maybe years—release a little bit, and for a brief moment, I wonder if it’s the weapon or the man walking tall and confident beside me.

And for the first time, I actually take a few minutes to look around and enjoy my surroundings, and I finally understand what Haley has talked about. About how this planet may be dangerous, but it has a wild, untamed beauty that is gut-punching.

Early morning light filters through the dense foliage, casting a golden glow over everything. The jungle around us is waking up, the air alive with the sounds of chirping insects and rustling leaves. Large vibrantly red pinecone-like things hang from some of the taller trees. A brightly feathered bird that looks like a cross between a parrot and flamingo sits on a nearby limb, its eyes glued to us. The Laediriians call the birds psittas, and usually they hang out in large flocks looking for insects to devour.

Sorrin quickly takes the lead, his arrogance—no, confidence—and experience a silent reassurance. I follow closely behind, and before long the terror that had such a strong hold on me earlier is gone. Instead, it’s replaced with determination.

We have a mission.Ihave a mission, and I can’t afford to let fear hold me back from completing it. Not when there’s so much at stake. Not when there are people counting on me.

***

As we walk through the day, the foliage of the jungle thins, and the ground grows rockier. Dark gray boulders dot the landscape and the ground is covered in small pebbles. We stop a few times for breaks, to fill the waterskin and eat more bilb berries that are delicious, energizing, and always seem to be easy to find on Laedirissae.

It’s just as I’ve stepped behind one of the boulders for a pee break that I hear a sharp, rattling noise that instantly puts me on edge. I freeze in place, my eyes darting around wildly as I try to find the source of the sound.

“Sorrin!” I hiss.

Before I can even blink, he’s there in front of me, his skin flickering colors until it quickly settles on a mottled gray color to blend in with the land around us. His sword is drawn and he grips it with firm hands.

“Don’t move, Mara.” He whispers out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes fastened on a large stone situated nearby.

A stone that is moving. My eyes widen in disbelief. A fucking rock is moving.Just when you think you’ve seen everything.

“It’s a stonelurker.” Sorrin voice carries back to me.

A stonelurker?I watch as the creature unfolds itself until it’s standing. It has three legs and matte, coarse dark gray skin that ripples as it moves unsteadily across the ground. Then, with a swish, it turns and I realize its back was to us.

Its eyes, numerous and multifaceted like those of a fly, glitter in the sunlight. Its mouth opens, revealing rows of sharp, stone-like teeth, and behind it, a thick spiked tail twitches, sending out that same warning rattle that I heard just moments before.

Sorrin’s stance shifts slightly as he prepares for the attack. “Stay back,” he commands, his voice steady and calm, and not for the first time, I wonder if anything really ruffles him.

Oh, wait. Yeah, he didn’t really like Zahrik.

The stonelurker lunges at Sorrin with surprising speed, its three legs propelling it forward with a force that seems impossible for something its size. Now that it’s standing up, it’s nearly two feet taller than Sorrin, but it doesn’t matter.

Sorrin moves with practiced ease, advancing and sidestepping the creature’s attack before bringing his sword down in a powerful arc. The blade glances off the stonelurker's tough hide, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

The creature roars in fury, its movements becoming more erratic as dark green fluid that I realize is blood oozes out of the deep cut. It rears back on one leg, allowing it to bring two of its legs up. Sharp, dagger-like claws protrude from its feet.

Sorrin dodges a swipe of its claws, then lunges forward, driving his sword into a vulnerable spot. The stonelurker shrieks, a horrible, ear-piercing sound and thrashes wildly.

But Sorrin holds his ground, using his strength and agility to stay ahead of the creature’s frenzied attacks. He ducks under a swing of its tail and brings his sword down again, this time with a lethal strike that pierces through the stonelurker's soft underbelly.

With a final, convulsive shudder, the stonelurker collapses to the ground.

Sorrin pulls his sword free and steps back, breathing heavily but otherwise unscathed. He turns to me and his eyes seem to be lit from within by a smoldering golden glow as they rake over me. I can’t stop myself. With a cry, I launch myself at him.

He catches me, his sword clattering to the ground as he wraps his thick arms around me. Shudders run through me as I’m enveloped in warmth and a spicy scent that is all his own. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I can’t help it.

His large hands run up my back soothing me and within minutes, the tumultuous emotions running through me subside and I’m left with a low simmer of desire that settles inside me. Wait…desire? For Sorrin? No.

I jerk back and push away from the big man who only seconds before held me so gently. “I… I’m just glad you’re okay.” I can’t meet his eyes, that gaze that has so often infuriated me with its laughing twinkle. My eyes drop to the ground.

Sorrin chuckles. “If I had known this is all it took to have you in my arms, I would have found a stonelurker to battle days ago.”

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