“They are ruthless. If they attempt to board, it would be better for us to die than be taken prisoners.”
“Don’t say that, Dhiro! Oh, my God, we have to get back to Trenu Zel.”
He turned away from her, pushing the controls to maximum speed. The ship creaked and groaned, the alarms incessant with no way to turn them off. She held his hand.
“I love you, Dhiro. No matter what.”
“If there were any way, know I would do anything to save you. Our life supports will be the first to go. Oxygen is leaking out at a steady pace.”
“Bronn said there were extra oxygen canisters in the hold under the sleeping chamber. He didn’t want you to know how bad the life support systems were. It was too important for me to get back to your planet.”
He growled. His brother should have told him. Risking his mate like this was unacceptable.
“Stay buckled in your seat. The ship is unstable. I will get the oxygen. Once life support is stable, I can focus on the other systems. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us into Trenu Zel space.”
She nodded, not saying another word.
He rushed off, hardly able to catch a breath as he ran. Time was of the essence. The hold was in an awkward place with many bolts to remove in order to access it. Once he finally had the hatch removed, he heaved it aside and slid stomach first into the darkness.
That was when the ship rocked as if a bomb had gone off. The impact sent him crashing into the metal side of the ship’s interior, the oxygen canisters ramming against him.
His first thought was with his mate. Ella.
****
When she opened her eyes, there was only a thin slice of light to the side. She sat up straight, feeling groggy. Where was she? What happened to Dhiro?
It had all happened so fast, she scarcely remembered a thing. Something struck the ship, metal on metal at impossible speeds. The entrance of their ship opened soon after and, rather than open space, she could see a flexible corridor leading to another ship.
That was all she could remember.
Now she was here, wherever here was, and she wanted to whisper Dhiro’s name but was scared she wouldn’t get a response, or worse, another man’s voice would answer. Instead, she breathed, focusing on not panicking. At least she was alive—for now.
They must have drugged her, or did the lack of oxygen pull her from consciousness?
There was commotion and muffled voices on the other side of the wall. The Scyathra had a vicious reputation. She’d only been told bits and pieces about them, but knew they had the same fertility issues. Would they rape her? Kill her baby to impregnate her themselves? She was terrified about the prospects.
“You’re with child.”
Ella gasped, instinctually wrapping her arms around her stomach. “Who said that?”
A soft light flicked on. She looked around and realized she was in some type of infirmary. The woman speaking to her had a large scar on her cheek.
“Your child is the key to our fertility crisis.”
“So everyone keeps telling me,” Ella said. “Where’s Dhiro? Where’s my mate?”
“He’s not of our concern. Only you are.”
She was scared to ask more questions but had to know. “Did you kill him?”
“He will not likely survive, but we did not kill him. He’s still aboard the failing ship.”
Ella wasn’t sure if she should be happy or sad. He was alive, but for how long?
“What are you going to do with me?”
The woman didn’t answer.
“What are you going to do with me?” she repeated, more frantically.
Darkness once again returned, and she heard a door click shut. Ella began to cry. She cried—ugly, hard, and loud—and she didn’t give a shit. How had this happened? Everything was perfect and now completely falling apart around her.
She worried about Dhiro and was terrified of being alone without him.
The door opened unceremoniously soon after, the harsh overhead lighting coming on at the same time. She sheltered her eyes until they adjusted.
“You shouldn’t have used the tranquilizers on her. You could have harmed the child!” A man rushed into the room, a team of a few others following behind him. She truly felt like an alien science experiment right now.
The Scyathra were almost the same physically as the Trenuians, large builds and similar features. In fact, they were hard to tell apart at all. Only where Dhiro’s people were reserved and modest in behavior, these people were rough and brutish. They reminded her of criminal organizations on Earth.
She kept silent.
“Does she need to eat?”
Ella frowned. “I can understand English.”
They all looked at each other, appearing surprised. She felt like she was in an episode of Planet of the Apes.
“Are you harmed?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what you gave me. Why am I here? What are you going to do to me?”