Page 1 of Infala: The Priest's Temptation
CHAPTER ONE
Ella’s head felt fuzzy. Fuzzy mixed with a dull throbbing behind her eyes. Eyes she realized were closed and did not seem to want to open.
Open, you bastards.
Ella strained, and, with great effort, she finally managed to peel her lids apart, her aching head screaming at her for the foolish attempt. Nevertheless, she succeeded, and what she saw was most definitelynotwhat she expected. The violet-skinned man with piercing silver eyes and close-cropped golden hair standing over her was wearing a thin tunic, his defined musculature clearly visible as he leaned closer, a damp cloth in his hand.
He gently wiped her forehead, a look of utter kindness in his gaze as he tended her with the utmost care.
“What the hell?” she mumbled. “This is one weird-ass dream. Sexy as hell, but weird.”
A gorgeous little grin creased his lips, his eyes still radiating gentle concern. “If you can understand me, this is no dream. Lay still, you are in no condition to move.”
Ella’s head felt like someone had driven a spike through it. She winced, trying to pull away. That was when therealpain hit her. Every inch of her body was screaming at her, unwilling to move as though all her limbs were no longer hers to control.
Little did she know, most of her bones were broken, some in multiple places. And her skin? It didn’t hurt at first, but now that she was regaining her senses, it felt like she’d been doused in mild acid. Not excruciating, but very, very unpleasant, to say the least.
“Did you understand my words?” the strange man asked again, his very voice once more eliciting sharp pain in her head.
“It hurts when you talk! What did you do to me?”
He sighed and nodded, gently pulling the crusted hair from the spot behind her ear. “Hmm.”
The mystery man took a small jar of ointment from a pouch in the bag at his side and removed a small dab of a thick green goo with his finger.
“Don’t you dare put that shit on me. What are you doing?”
He locked eyes with her and sighed, then shrugged. “Trying to spare you pain. Let me work.”
Ella didn’t have much of a choice; her body was not about to obey her commands. But his expression when the pain hit her head once more was one of regretful care, not cruelty. The stuff on his finger stung when it touched her skin behind her ear, but a moment later a delightful cooling sensation replaced the burning. He watched a moment then nodded, apparently satisfied.
“Pain?” he asked. Just one word.
“A little, but barely any compared to before. What did you do to me?”
“A healing balm. Particularly powerful at that. It has helped stabilize your flesh. You felt pain because your translation rune was damaged in the crash.”
Confusion flooded Ella’s mind. “Crash?”
Then it hit her. Her abduction from Earth. Her captivity. The cruel aliens who had kept her locked in a compartment with a few others. But not humans. Aliens, all of them.
“Wait. I remember. There were these big green guys. Raxxians.”
“I am aware,” he said, a look of distaste flashing across his face. “Do not worry. None survived.”
“Survived. So, we really crashed. It’s kind of a blur. There was a bang, then I was thrown against the wall in my bunk.”
“Ah, that would explain it.”
“What?”
“Raxxian transports have sleeping areas built into the walls of the holding compartments. Your being in that indentation is likely what saved you.”
A sinking feeling hit her. Something in the way he said that.
“The others?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. You are the only survivor.”
