Her Forsaken Prince: A Scifi Romance, page 3
“Something better be on fire,” Sloan growled into her comm, one hand on her hip and her boot tapping against the cold steel floor.
“Not yet, but some things in the med bay are about to be destroyed,” Erl said in an out-of-breath tone that suggested he had been getting a tough workout. She heard crashing sounds in the background, as though something was trying to claw its way out of the room. “It seems our new visitor has had a little trouble adjusting,” Erl said. Sloan could hear more crashing coming from behind him.
“I’m on my way.” Sloan broke into a jog as she made her way down three decks and through the mazelike corridors to the med bay. The blue-glass entrance had a nice crack running the length of the door. Great, that’s at least fifty credits, she thought. This was shaping up to be a model rescue. Not. Sloan walked through the automatic door as a stool went flying past her head. Ducking out of the way, she found the culprit: her newly rescued visitor, who’d apparently gained some strength.
“Hey, I can take you back to Ganthar if you’re going to repay me for getting you out of there by fucking up my ship!” She unsnapped the holster on her blaster, prepared to stun him if needed. Her ship’s new patient froze on the spot, another stool held high over his head. He stared at her in shock, then slowly lowered the seat to the floor.
“Good start. Now can you tell me why the hell you’re trying to destroy my med bay. I’m glad some of your strength has returned, but if this is how you’re going to be, there is an airlock with your name on it.” She practically shouted through her fatigue and her anger at him for trying to bust up her ship. He didn’t move but had stopped throwing things, so that was a step in the right direction.
“Speaking of names, we haven’t been introduced yet. I’m Sloan. I’m the captain of the ship that you’re destroying. She’s called the Arrow. And your name is . . .” She held out her hand, waiting for a response from the ragged patient. While he seemed slightly stronger, Sloan could tell he needed more medical attention. His eyes were sunken, cheekbones prominent, and although his wrists were bandaged, blood began to seep through the bandages. He’d reopened the wounds.
Familiar with how much it took to bring someone back to health after captivity, Sloan knew it would be a few more weeks before he was fully nourished. Even now his strong features, straight nose, imposing cheekbones, and piercing eyes showed her he was a handsome man. His eyes were what gave her pause. They were gold, flecked with a green that made her want to stare. A piece of glass falling from one of the broken medicine cabinets brought Sloan back.
Sloan moved around, trying to clean up some of the mess while keeping an eye on her rescue. Papers, glass, overturned furniture, and medical supplies were all over the room.
“You sure did a number on this place.” She held out her hand again, gesturing to their new arrival, hoping he would fill her in. Still nothing. “Well, since you’ve calmed down now, stopped destroying things, and don’t seem to want to talk, I’m going to get some sleep.” Sloan was exasperated and pissed off with the newcomer. He whispered something so quietly she strained to get closer.
“What was that? Is your name Jan?”
“Xan. My name is Xan.” His hoarse whisper was barely audible. Sloan knew he hadn’t used his voice for much other than screaming in a while. She’d been there. She knew.
“All right, Xan, why don’t I get you some water, and we can sit down and have a chat. Would that be okay with you?”
He nodded slowly. Sloan went over to the sink, grabbed a couple of cups, and motioned for Xan to sit down on the bed. She dragged a chair to his bedside.
“Captain, do you want us to stick around?” Erl swept up some of the glass from the floor and dumped it into the refuse.
“That’s okay, Erl. I’m sure Xan is going to behave himself, and we won’t have any other problems. Right, Xan?”
Xan nodded and kept his eyes trained on Sloan’s face.
“I’ll be right outside, if you need me.”
“Thanks, Erl.” She angled her head slightly to watch Erl back out of the med bay, not wanting to take her eyes off Xan.
She heard the med bay doors open and close and moved back to the male, ready to listen.
Chapter 6
Xan sat on the bed, ashamed of his outburst and pained at the disappointed stare his D’Auriel was giving him. He knew now that her name was Sloan, but he liked to think of her as his D’Auriel, a being that watched over others from above and protected them throughout their life. He had awoken in the med bay disoriented and afraid that he had dreamed his newly acquired freedom.
He’d heard voices coming from beyond the curtain that surrounded his bed. The panic had set in, the one that often did when he awoke in a place he couldn’t place. When that happened, it usually meant bad things for him. His heart rate had increased rapidly, and the curtain was yanked back.
“Get him a sedative,” the male had said to a smaller female behind him. “Easy, everything will be okay,” the male had told him, his hand in front of his body in an attempt to calm Xan. But Xan had been a long way off from being calm. The smaller female had appeared with the injector, and Xan had felt he had to get out of there. The threat of sedation and being transported somewhere new was one that his body would not allow. At that point, his mind hadn’t even been engaged; he’d been programmed to fight.
Stronger and in less pain than he had been in for years, Xan had used that strength to try to keep his attackers at bay. The strange surroundings had done nothing to quell the terror that had clawed its way up his throat and out his mouth as he’d screamed and ripped the foreign tubes from his body.
The lack of pain and newfound strength had been at least partially able to quell his rampage, but it wasn’t until he saw her—Sloan—that he’d truly known it was real. As he’d lifted a stool over his head to keep the medic away from him, she had walked through the door, eyes blazing, gloriously furious at his treatment of her ship.
He’d slowly lowered the stool and felt his heartbeat speed up even more as he realized it was all real. It had happened; he was free. Now he needed to find out what she wanted in return for his freedom. It didn’t matter what it was; he would give her anything she asked of him.
Xan’s translator was better able to parse through her words as she spoke. It took a few times to realize she was asking for his name. “Xan,” he croaked, his throat dry, before she moved to leave. Her mouth curved up at the corners, and Xan found himself correcting her as she misspoke his name and hoped he would be able to provoke a full smile soon.
She sat in a chair holding two cups of water as he found his way to the bed to sit. He stared at her intently as she asked him why he’d had an outburst was why he’d taken out his anger on the ship. His translator was partially able to comprehend her words. It meant he had never met someone of her species before, at least not one who spoke her language. This was unusual, as most species’ languages were programmed directly into the universal translators so the user could immediately understand all known languages.
Xan attempted to talk some more, but a coughing fit brought on by not using his voice for so long took hold of his throat and chest. Sloan handed him one of the cups, and he gratefully drank from it, upending it and gulping down the contents until it was empty. She offered him hers, and he gladly obliged. As he was finishing the second cup, Sloan walked over to a sink, retrieved a pitcher, filled it with water, and brought it to his bedside. Xan’s heart swelled at her compassionate actions and her attempt to take care of him. She motioned to the pitcher.
“Would you like some more?” she said, attempting to refill one of the empty cups.
Xan shook his head. “No, I’m fine now, thank you.”
“Your throat is doing okay?”
“Yes, it’s much better now,” Xan said. It was a stronger croak, but a croak nonetheless.
“So, tell me Xan, what happened, and why are you busting up my ship?”
“I was unable to believe my captivity had ended and thought this was another trick of Ganthar’s to break me.” Sloan peered at him with such sadness and compassion that it stole his breath away. Then her face transformed from sadness to rage.
“He is a sick fucking piece of shit.” Sloan became visibly agitated at the mere mention of Ganthar’s name, her unruly curls wrapping around her face as she shook her head from side to side. She had let them free in the time he’d been on the shuttle.
“Yes, he is,” Xan said. There was nothing in her statement he could disagree with.
“Well, don’t worry. You’re safe now. You are on my ship; you will have safe passage to Halkon Station. We should be there in a few weeks for a refuel and a night off for the crew.”
“Once we get there, I will give you enough credits to get on your feet, and you don’t have to worry about him ever again.” She gave Xan a reassuring pat on the knee. He felt his manhood stir at her gentle touch. It was the first bit of kindness, aside from his rescue, that he’d had in a long time, and it had elicited a reaction he didn’t remember having for a long time. There wasn’t much time for enticing thoughts when you were trying to survive the day or even the hour.
“You are leaving me at Halkon?” He was stunned. He couldn’t imagine being parted from his rescuer so soon. Disappointment crashed into him.
“Don’t look at me like I killed your pet,” she said, seeing his crestfallen expression.
He used to be much better at hiding his emotions; he was not accustomed to wearing them on his sleeve.
“I thought you might have a place to get back to—family, friends, and all that. You can stay on the ship as long as you would like, if you have nowhere else to go. Do you have a family? A planet to get back to?”
Xan whipped his head away from her gaze. “No, I don’t think I do. My family would have come for me otherwise. My mother would have stopped at nothing nor allowed me to be kept where I was for as long as I was if my family were alive.” Xan felt a tightness in his chest, a roar blazing through his head, and tears filling his eyes. Crying was something he hadn’t allowed himself to do in years. Blinking back the tears, he stared back at Sloan. “I do not believe I have anywhere else to go.”
“In that case, welcome to the crew.” She put her hand over his on the bed. “We’ll have to find some way for you to make yourself useful. In the meantime, we’re going to need you in good shape, so take the meds and nourish packs that Erl gives you, and don’t destroy the rest of med bay. okay?”
A small smile played on Xan’s lips as he nodded to his D’Auriel.
“Good, now lie back and try to get some sleep. You’re already looking a lot better than yesterday. Once you’re nourished and healed, we will work on getting you some quarters.” She placed a hand on his chest as he lay back on the bed.
Xan grabbed hold of her hand, which seemed to catch her off guard. “If I haven’t said it already, thank you. Thank you for taking the risk of rescuing me. I pledge my allegiance and protection to you, my D’Auriel—Captain Sloan. I am forever in your debt.”
“You are not in my debt. You are free to do as you please, and don’t feel that you have to stay here. I would never ask that of you. You can choose to make a life for yourself anywhere you want. And with the money you make before we get to Halkon, you’ll be able to make some plans if you want.” She stared directly into his eyes and held his gaze so there was no confusion on this matter. “You are under no obligation to stay on this ship.”
“Whether or not you ask, I will remain and repay my debt to you.”
Xan held her hand to his chest and stared into her warm eyes, which were the color of the bark of the Bri’tan tree. Old memories, long since forgotten, surfaced as he gazed into them.
Chapter 7
Sloan was glad he’d finally seemed to calm down. She knew all about that fear of waking up in a strange place, especially when you were newly freed. She didn’t know how many times she’d woken up screaming on those first few months on the Arrow. It had been a rough transition. As she tampered down her anger at the destruction, she couldn’t but feel a pull to Xan. She was about to tell him about it when she found herself mesmerized by Xan’s intense golden gaze. Images of a world she had never visited flashed through her mind. The images were overexposed and overly bright, and they left a warm touch on her mind as they flashed before her eyes.
“Xan. Come here, Xan,” a mother called to her child as they walked across grass in a garden. Based on the unsteady gaze, it seemed as if the vision was that of a small child. In the next image, she was running toward a father’s open arms, and he whirled up into the air. A laugh bubbled up in her throat as she was thrown into the air. Then, she was sitting next to another boy, a brother. They were fighting over a toy until the mother scolded the brother that he must learn to share.
Dozens of scenes flashed before her eyes, and she felt each one of them as if it were her own. Completely mesmerized by the peaceful and happy visions running through her, Sloan could have stayed there all day. Perhaps she was much more tired than she thought and was hallucinating. In the next scene, she peered into a mirror. No, it wasn’t her, but Xan. It was Xan staring into a mirror with a crown on his head and his mother fixing his tie. The knowledge that these images were coming from Xan was enough of a shock to break the trance she seemed to be in. She tugged her hand from his hold.
Sloan was immediately met with the pang of longing for the warmth and comfort she’d felt while holding Xan’s hand. What was that? She’d never experienced anything like that before, not even with the multitude of species she’d encountered over the years. She’d have to do some research on his species to figure out what that was and ensure he wasn’t able to use mind manipulation on her.
“Why don’t you get some sleep, and try not to hurt anyone or destroy any more of my ship, okay?” She patted on the chest, careful not to have any sustained contact with his body. Xan nodded solemnly as she adjusted the blankets over his chest.
“Haven’t tucked anyone in for a while,” she said, chuckling. “We’ll see about getting you some quarters once the doc says you’re ready for discharge.”
Xan simply nodded as he watched her go.
Sloan walked to the med bay door and watched Xan’s eyes droop as the adrenaline seemed to leave his system and he passed out. She called Erl back into the med bay and helped him clean up some of the mess Xan had made during his outburst. She discussed the next steps in his care. He would need nourish packs, some workouts to increase his strength, and rest. Lots of rest.
“Have you ever heard of a species that can give you visions?” Sloan asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake Xan.
“Do you mean like from a bite?” Erl questioned.
“No, not from a bite, just a touch.” She glanced back toward the curtain they’d closed around Xan.
“From a touch?” He followed her gaze to where their newest passenger lay. “I can’t say I’ve heard of that before, but I could do some research.”
Sloan shook her head. “No, that’s okay, Doc. It’s probably because I’m running on fumes and slightly delirious after all the excitement today.” She went back to helping clean up the med bay mess. After another hour or so, they had finished repairing what they could and had thrown away what they couldn’t. Swaying on her feet, Sloan grabbed on to Erl’s desk and let him know she would be heading back to her quarters.
“I’m heading out, Erl.” Her voice wavered as she cleared her throat.
“Captain, I told you to go ages ago. Masya is here to help, and it looks like Xan should be out for a while. Go!” He shooed her out of the med bay.
As she walked to the door of the med bay, she stopped to pick up a large piece of glass and throw into the nearby garbage. Eighty credits for that damn window.
As much as she wanted to be angry, Sloan knew what those first few moments of freedom felt like and how uncertain things seemed. How could you be sure that it wasn’t all a trap and that you wouldn’t be punished for it? Pushing back memories of the time before she captained the Arrow, Sloan made her way back to her quarters.
The walk to her quarters was less hurried than her departure to the med bay had been as she thought about Xan. It wasn’t until after she’d scanned her hand to unlock the hatch to her quarters, opened the hatch, and stepped into the room that the tension finally ebbed from Sloan’s body and the fatigue set in. She washed the sweat and grime off herself and set the alarm for nine hours of shut-eye, then finally got into bed after almost twenty-two hours awake.
She could finally let all the craziness of the day fade away. The warmth and comfort she’d felt when touching Xan came back to her as she lay there. She was asleep when her head hit the pillow and had dreams filled with a place she had never been but where she felt warm and safe.
Chapter 8
Waking to the sound of her alarm and not the comm was a welcome change from most nights on her ship, where she was usually awoken by some sort of problem and had to rush to put out a fire, sometimes literally. Sloan dragged herself out of bed and found her mind wandering to the status of her newest—maybe—addition to the crew. The warmth and happiness that filled her when she thought to the visions he was projecting made her want to go back for more.
After taking care of her morning routine and finding out which quarters were available, Sloan asked for an update on Xan and let Doc know she was on her way. When she arrived at the med bay, it was a very different scene from the previous night. Xan was up, sitting at the small table in the med bay having his nourish pack with Erl and Masya.
“Glad to see everything is still intact as I left it last night,” Sloan said.
Xan flushed at her cheery tone before speaking. “Captain Sloan, I would again like to apologize for my outburst and destruction to your ship. I will do everything in my power to repair the damage and repay you.”
