Page 43 of Charmed By the Alien Warrior

Mara raises an eyebrow, a teasing smile stretching across her lips. “And you? What about your strength?”

I scoff. “Strong warriors don’t need rest.”

Mara’s eyes do that odd rolling movement the humans enjoy so much, but her smile softens settling like a warm ember in my chest. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

Her eyes sweep over my face and I note the concern in them, something I never thought I’d see in this human’s gaze. And I suddenly feel the urge to reassure her.

“I’ll be fine.” At her look of disbelief, my voice gentles. “I may even take a nap in a little while.”

“You’re sure?” Mara asks. At my nod, she scoots a short distance away on the bench and curls up until she’s almost in a ball.

It doesn’t take long before her breathing grows soft and even as she falls into sleep, and I’m alone again. Just like I’ve always been.

My gaze falls on Mara.

But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way.

***

A throbbing pain at the back of my head is the first thing I notice as I wake up. My eyes blink in confusion as I take in the thick darkness surrounding me and my memory comes rushing back. I’m trapped in a pit inside one of the many caves that dot Laedirissae.

It’s so quiet I can hear every beat of my heart pounding in my head like the thud of drums. The steady thump-thump reverberates through my skull and grows in intensity until it sounds like a heartbeat. Somewhere in the distance, I hear water dripping and the sound of small creatures scurrying along the floor.

I’m completely alone except for the small animals. Just like I’ve always been alone. I should be used to the empty void deep in my chest by now, but for some reason it feels hollower now than ever. A cavernous emptiness that I can’t explain. There’s something or someone just out of reach, something that could fill that void, but no matter how much I search my memories for what or who it is, I can’t grasp it.

I’ve always been alone, and I’ll always be alone. I’m an orphan. Just like Vrok says… No one wants orphans.

The darkness thickens around me, crawling closer. It presses down like a living thing, reaching out with unseen tendrils to consume me whole. Fear rises inside me, sharp and choking, like a dicro bone lodged in my throat. But I can’t let it overwhelm me. Warriors don’t succumb to fear. I’m not a warrior yet, just a young hunter, but I will be. And warriors don’t break.

I won’t let my fear win. I won’t let it control me. I must be strong. That’s the only way to keep the weakness—the loneliness—at bay. If I’m strong, no one will hurt me. Not Vrok, with his teasing words, or Sevvern and Terrik... They were the ones who put me here. Well, Terrik did. Sevvern would never dirty himself to any task when he has Terrik to do it for him.

A mournful cry cuts through the stillness, and I freeze as I listen, my ears twitching to pick up any other sounds. It’s a xeno, and it’s close. Too close. A shiver crawls down my spine like ice in my veins. I can’t stay here.

I glance up, eyeing the towering walls of the pit. They rise high above me, narrowing at the top like the gullet of a large beast. I have to get out.

I grit my fangs and dig my fingers into the rocks and hard-packed dirt of the walls, and I begin to climb. My muscles burn as if they’re on fire, but I keep climbing, desperation making me rush.

But it’s no use. I climb and climb, but the walls of the pit seem to stretch on endlessly. My nails are torn and ragged and blood drips down my fingers, making my hold slippery. Pain sears along my nerve endings, but I don’t stop climbing. I can’t.

The xeno’s cries grow louder, its mournful call vibrating through the walls as it comes closer and closer.

I push myself harder, the rough rocks and dirt digging into the already raw flesh of my fingers, but the walls stretch on endlessly, as if mocking my struggle. No matter how much I climb, freedom is always just out of reach.

My heart pounds in my ears, but not loud enough to drown out the low, rumbling growl just above my head.

Stilling, I look up and into the gaze one of the most fearsome predators on Laedirissae. The xeno.

Yellow eyes gleam in the shadows above, piercing through the gloom like twin flames. The beast’s sleek black form blends almost seamlessly into the darkness around it. It opens massive jaws to reveal rows of sharp, pointy teeth that look as if they would be particularly adept at tearing apart the flesh of a Laediriian hunter.

A thin line of drool trickles out of its gaping mouth and splatters on top of me, landing in my eye causing me to flinch. The beast growls again, low and dangerous, crouching as if it’s preparing to pounce.

But in the blink of an eye, the animal’s form blurs and dissolves, seeming to melt back into the cold, oppressive darkness it came from.

I let out a sigh of relief and force myself to keep climbing, my muscles screaming in protest. This time, I reach the top. A triumphant grin spreads across my face as I curl my hands over the edge of the pit.

But just as I’m bracing my muscles to pull myself out of the pit, a heavy boot slams down on top of my hand, grinding it into the stone floor and sending a sharp pain through me.

I hiss in agony and look up in disbelief to see Terrik looming above me.

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