Page 21 of Tempted By the Alien Warrior

Sard.

Dania snorts, drawing my attention and shattering the moment. She’s calm now, and her long, spiked tail lazily moves back and forth as she watches us with idle curiosity.

The sun has sunk lower, and the air is cooling with the approach of dusk. A light breeze blows, bringing with it the metallic scent of spilled blood from the fallen magnis as it seeps into the ground. The smell is so thick and cloying, it coats the back of my throat.

She follows my gaze to the creature’s lifeless body. She looks away almost immediately and draws in a shuddering breath, as if looking too long might bring it back to life. I can practically hear the thoughts spinning through her head.

Without thinking, I reach out to brush my fingers against her arm, but my hand pauses in the air just before making contact. I shouldn’t touch her. “Are you?—”

“I’m fine,” she interrupts. Too quickly. She glances up at me, and for a moment, her mask slips and I see the visceral fear and relief that haunts her. She shakes her head, and it’s gone.

I should say something, offer her some words of comfort, but I don’t know how. Soft words and tender emotions don’t come easily to me. There’s never been any use for them before.

I clear my throat and raise my eyes to study the terrain around us. “We should move on. The scent will attract other creatures. We don’t want to be here when they arrive.”

She exhales slowly, then gives a small nod. I grab Dania’s reins and lead the way. The human falls in beside me, walking so close that every so often, her arm brushes against mine.

Around us, the jungle begins to stir again. Liseks call from high above, their trilling voices echoing through the trees. Insectoids flit through shafts of golden light, catching the last rays of the sun before night falls. It’s like the world has shrugged off what just happened and returned to its own rhythm. But I haven’t.

All I can think about is the female beside me. This reckless, stubborn, brave female, who is far fiercer than I could’ve imagined.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye. She didn’t run. She stood her ground against a magnis.

I thought her first encounter with one of Laedirissae’s beasts would shatter her, leave her trembling and pleading to be taken back to the safety of the village. But she didn’t.

Her breaths are coming too fast, and her fingers are clenched into fists at her sides. She’s shaken, yes, but not broken. There’s steel hidden beneath all that softness, and it unsettles me more than I’d ever admit.

Because it doesn’t match what I’ve believed all this time. What I’vewantedto believe, because it was easier than questioning the only guiding voice I’ve known.

As soon as the humans appeared on our world, my father began ranting about them. How they were a threat. A sickness that would spread through our people if we let them. He would speak of their weakness, their frailty, their chaos. That they’ll soften us. Ruin us. That they need to be cast out into the jungle before it’s too late.

I believed him. How could I not, when those words came from my father’s mouth again and again, until they buried themselves so deep, they became part of me? And I repeated his words, convinced they were truth. Convinced that any compassion for the humans was dangerous.

Until now.

Emily should have confirmed everything I’ve been told by my father. She’s small and quiet with wide gray eyes that look pained.

But she doesn’t feel like a burden. Or dangerous.

Every time she speaks, every time she shows me who she really is cracks form in the foundation I’ve been standing on.

And I don’t know what scares me more: that she might prove my father wrong or that I want her to.

7

Emily

The light fades fast here,swallowed by towering trees and thick underbrush, transforming everything into a dreamlike world. Luminescent vines and flowers emit a soft glow in blues and greens that makes the jungle look like something out of a movie.

My legs feel heavier with each step I take. My calves burn, my thighs ache, and sweat trickles down my back, soaking into the material of my dress. It feels like we’ve been walking for hours since the magnis attack, but in truth, it’s probably only been an hour. Maybe less.

But I don’t stop.

Iwon’tstop.

I keep walking, keep pushing forward, even though every part of me screams for rest. My legs ache, my feet burn, and my eyes keep catching on the shadows in the jungle, like they might reach out and drag me in. It’s not just about Lily anymore. No, I have another reason for pushing forward now.

It’s because of him. Vrok. I know all too well what he thinks of us humans, and I saw the grudging respect in his eyes when I didn’t run away at the first sign of danger. So, I’m going to keep going just as long as he does, and I’m not going to complain or fall apart. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and it got me nowhere.

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