Page 14 of Fire Forged

“Britta?”Mom called, “where are you going?”

“To pack, Mom.Where else?”She shook her head, what to take shooting through her mind.

“I guess we’re coming with you,” Mom said.

Aldur grumbled something.Britta didn’t care to eavesdrop.She was leaving this place, and the only sad part was her solarcycle alone and abandoned on her neighbor’s driveway.

Chapter Four

“Whathappened,SupremeCommander?”Pilot Edon asked the moment Nerx appeared in the scimitarSurata’scomm.

“I do not want to talk about it,” Nerx snapped, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes while willing them to heal.“How is Lily?”He raised his chin as if he could see but didn’t dare try.Not until Aldur was on board.

“She is well, Supreme Commander.Data Officer Ziot is still with her…drinking no tea out of tiny cups.”The strangeness in Edon’s voice almost made Nerx smile.

He too had attended many a ‘tea party.’“Has she asked for me?”

“Once.”Edon tapped a button on the console.

“More tea, Uncle Ziot?”Lily’s sweet voice filled the comm.

“Please, Lady Lily.”

At Ziot’s reply, warmth saturated Nerx’s chest at his male’s willingness to spend time with his Lily.He had wonderful males, and they deserved to find happiness either by adopting a child or finding their Dar Eths.

Striding to medical took longer than usual when he trailed his palm along the bulkheads.He pulled himself onto the med-E.D.bed, suspecting Aldur would command him to lie down when he arrived.

Rubbing his eyes, Nerx prayed the elder medic hurried up.For a successful mission, Aldur would have to convince the OB-GYN to abandon Earth for Etteria.Alodon’s balls, did she have to have such an irritating daughter and could they leave her behind?

Their meeting churned in his mind.He replayed everything he’d said.What had driven her to attack him?She’d demanded he leave, that she lived there.Perhaps he should have introduced himself?

No, her reaction was too volatile for the situation.He’d behaved above board as expected of an Etterian warrior.Anger swept through him, more potent than he’d experienced in a long while.His reaction was illogical.It had to be tied to whatever she’d sprayed in his eyes.Perhaps she’d poisoned him?

Fear, dark and seductive, slithered into his bones.If something happened to him, what of Lily?Who would care for her?He needed to be more cautious.

A wayward thought stiffened every muscle.Working on Fuyra would secure her future.That meant returning home, facing his father, and dealing with his grief.

Staying on Etteria was a no.He didn’t know what he’d do with his time.Perhaps he could serve on the Global Council.He grimaced.Politics and untruths grated on him, and he was sure to find both on the G.C.Nor could he serve as an ambassador to Earth, not when he longed to find Lily’s father and torture the male.

No, the options he had were Fuyra and remaining as a supreme commander.Would he forbid Lily to visit Berrann Falls?Everything within him roared yes, but doing so would compel her to venture there as he and Kyerx had.For the first time, he understood his father’s instructions.They’d been for their safety.

Nerx would construct proper steps with a railing for added stability as his father should have done.And he’d take Lily there often, teach her how to swim.He’d also install sensors, sec vids, and a compartment holding med-guns and other necessities.He’d know the moment she went there alone.

Tension eased from between his shoulders at the path that lay before him.Returning wouldn’t be easy, yet he’d do it…for Lily.Once they reached Issneen, he would inform Adviser Kanzo and King Xeus of his decision.Having their support would go a long way with his father.

The burning in his eyes lessoned, though he suspected that was his imagination.What was taking Aldur so long?He rolled onto his side, letting his mind wander.

Blue.

A world so soft and pretty held such wealth.

Yet thorns infested it.

He rubbed his stomach, still smarting from the helmet she hit him with.She’d stunned him next, as if setting his eyes on fire hadn’t been enough.The spark had tickled.Had she used a blaster stun, he might have been in worse condition.

No warrior should visit unaware of its hidden dangers.

Not from the exotic animals,

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