Zar: Science Fiction Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Raiders' Brides Book 1) Read online

  "Nayanors heal fast... You looked after me."

  There was a strange look in Ashley's eyes. She was sitting, wrapped in one of the furs, against the cell wall, regarding him with a dark gaze.

  "I did," she admitted, looking away. "All the while thinking of all the women whose lives you've ruined. The women you've stolen, including me. So much pain and suffering, for what? I don't think Nayanors are a happy people. You are the only one I've seen actually enjoying life."

  "Are you saying we should let ourselves become extinct?" Zar asked.

  "No," Ashley sighed. "I'm saying that any other woman other than me would have cut your damn throat and been right to do so. Not with that sword, of course. I tried to move it, but I could barely drag it."

  "Did you consider that?" Zar asked, his pulse beating as fast as it had during the fight with The Reaper's guards.

  It felt like his life depended upon her answer.

  "What? Cutting your throat?" Ashley asked, her eyes gleaming in the dim light when she turned her gaze back to him.

  "Yes."

  "No."

  "You lie," Zar grunted, trying to sit up, finding that it took more effort than it was worth.

  He laid back, looking at Ashley, waiting for her to confirm what he knew to be true.

  "I can't lie, remember?" she laughed humorlessly. "One of your many orders and rules. So tell me, what does this say about me? I shouldn't be on Luminos. I should be studied by scientists."

  She really didn't.

  Zar didn't know if it was a fact or his active imagination, but it felt like his heart beat stronger after that realization. The diadon in his chest seemed to glow brighter as well.

  "It says you're a good person," Zar told his mate, seeing the first change in her after he'd roused. "Someone who doesn't want to hurt others, just like you told me. If it was a Nayanor in your place, on Terra, they wouldn't think twice about getting however many people killed to be free. But you worried about my people. Not just your friends and Terrans. All people who would get hurt if The Reaper ever found out."

  "And now he has," Ashley said sadly. "People will get hurt no matter what I do. Hooray for my goodness."

  Despite the mournful tone of her voice, there was some life returning to her right before Zar's eyes. She moved slightly, twitching like her body wanted to come closer to him, only to be stopped by her mind at the last moment.

  "Are you really going to fight The Reaper?" Ashley asked then.

  "Yes," Zar said, choosing not to say how much he ached for her warmth.

  And her smile.

  "Why?" Ashley asked and there was genuine curiosity about her. "You don't need to. You could just outlast the long night and go. Take your people and find another place without risking your life again. The way you tell it, he's afraid of you. He'd leave you alone if you wanted."

  "No," Zar said firmly. "He needs to die."

  Ashley said nothing, letting the previous question hang in the air between them.

  "For you, he needs to die," Zar finished, seeing Ashley's mouth drop open. "As long as he lives and rules the Black Hall, you won't be safe no matter where I take you. Even the Foront may come under attack by Nayanors if The Reaper wants it. He's influential enough.

  "Besides, I like the Hall, I always have. You should know by now Nayanors take what they like."

  The shadow of a smirk appeared at the corners of Ashley's lips.

  "I do," she admitted. "Now tell me the real reason."

  Zar pushed himself up, despite Ashley's cry of protest. He sat up, pulling her against him. The motion hurt but Ashley's closeness was like a balm on his wounds, making everything better simply by existing.

  He kissed her. At first, Ashley didn't respond, but then, like always, inch by inch she gave in, deepening the kiss and letting him slip his tongue into her hot mouth.

  "You," he said when they had to break for breath. "You are the reason. I promised to protect you and keep you safe and this is what I need to do. And when I'm done with The Reaper, the Hall will be our home and you can do what you can to help the other females settle in here like you always wanted."

  This time, Ashley kissed him.

  When she laid down beside him, wrapping her hand gently around him and resting her head on his shoulder, Zar felt like he could conquer the world with her by his side.

  27

  Ashley

  Ashley had no idea how long they slept or if she dreamed anything.

  All she knew was that when she woke up, Zar's hand was wrapped around her protectively, holding her tightly against the harbinger's body.

  The fact that he didn't rouse when she moved showed how badly he'd been wounded. Ashley couldn't imagine a warrior would sleep through something like that, yet Zar gave no indication of being awake when she pushed herself up to look over his wounds.

  They were much better than she'd expected, though. It seemed what they said about the Nayanors’ crystals was true. Like a second ticking heart, the diadon seemed to glow brighter than ever, slowly restoring Zar to his former greatness.

  Ashley sat there watching him for a long moment, considering her next step.

  She found there was nothing to consider or think over. All the choices had been made for her a long time ago by fate or gods or whoever really ruled what went on in the universe.

  The harbinger had held her in her sleep. All those wounds and all the trouble she'd brought upon him, Zar still wanted her, protected her. And Ashley found that all the reasons to run or fight fell hopelessly short of the love that burned in her heart. It didn't matter to her anymore what Gwen or The Reaper or anyone else thought.

  The bond between them was true and more alive than anything she'd ever felt.

  "Zar," she said quietly, giving the harbinger the slightest of pushes.

  When the warlord still didn't wake up, Ashley felt the cold touch of fear against her heart. She called out his name again, pushing harder this time.

  Zar's dark eyes flew open, wide and wild. Then he saw her and a softness settled in them, unlike anything Ashley had ever seen from him.

  "My love," the harbinger said, his breathing calming. "Is something wrong?"

  Only everything and nothing, Ashley thought, unable to keep the smile from her lips.

  "No," she replied. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

  As an answer, Zar pushed himself upright to sit and turned his body left and right to test it out. She could hear a small groan and saw his hand move to cover his chest. Ashley guessed one of his ribs had to be broken or at least bruised.

  "You should lay back down," she said, worried. "I shouldn't have woken you. With these wounds, you could have done with more sleep and rest. Stay still. I'll find something for you to eat and drink."

  Zar didn't move. He was looking around them, his eyes sharper and more present now.

  "No, you were right to wake me," the harbinger said. "I can't sleep here while the Hall is fighting on without me. I have to get back to the melee before The Reaper takes it all out on my people."

  Ashley put a hand firmly on his chest, stopping him from getting up. Naturally she wouldn't have had the strength to keep a Nayanor warlord in place, even as badly wounded as Zar was, but the man didn't push her away. He leaned into the touch instead, pulling Ashley in for a gentle, lingering kiss that made her moan. Not out of lust or scorching desire, but pure, boundless love. The kind that didn't need a reason to exist except for the fact that it did.

  "Be still for just a little more," she told him with a soft smile when they broke for air. "We don't even know what's going on. You don't want to walk into a trap. If The Reaper fears you as much as you say he does, I don't doubt he'll want to trick you or lure you out somehow."

  Zar grinned, looking more and more like himself by the second.

  "That's true," he said. "Don't worry. I won't do anything that might endanger you. As for myself, I survived the first battle. I don't plan on dying before the last one."

&nb
sp; "I wish you wouldn’t die at all," Ashley said pointedly, trying to give him a hard look and failing utterly.

  She couldn't help it. Objectively speaking, they were at a low point in their lives – alone, without any knowledge of where their allies were or if they even had any. Zar was wounded. Not to mention Ashley guessed that other Nayanors were unhappy with her as well, never mind The Reaper. She didn't know how much support she'd already cost Zar.

  "I would not leave you," the harbinger said, his deep voice making her gravitate to him like always.

  "Good," she said, kissing him. "I hope that means every sense of the word. I don't want to be left here again. I won't go into battle with you, but no more locking me up."

  "Alright," Zar said, nodding. "On one condition. No more secrets from me. I can't protect you if I don't know what I'm fighting."

  "That's fair," Ashley said, smiling. "I'm starting to think that you can be reasoned with."

  "Careful," Zar warned her with a smirk of his own. "We are still on Luminos and that is not going to change."

  Ashley rolled her eyes.

  "We are having a nice moment," she said. "Can't you let me have this?"

  When Zar kissed her, Ashley took that as a "yes". They clung to each other, letting their bodies do the talking that seemed to be so hard with words when all the differences between them kept getting in the way. Zar's tongue danced with hers in her mouth and Ashley moaned, wishing they could stay there forever, away from everyone, just the two of them.

  She didn't mind Zar's plan, though. If The Reaper was gone, if they could rule the Hall – that was the best possible outcome Ashley had heard ever since he took her from Terra. She could make an actual impact even if she couldn't save everyone. And given that she was passionately kissing her captor, arching to meet him and aching for more, who was to say all the women even wanted to be saved?

  It didn't take away her concern for Zar. When the warlord finally released her with a devilish grin that promised her more as soon as the fighting was over, Ashley watched him don his armor again. It was considerably slower than before when she'd seen him go through the same motions.

  Seeing the way she was looking at him, Zar laughed.

  "Just because I'm being careful doesn't mean I'm not ready to fight," he told her firmly. "I would not rush headlong into a hopeless, futile battle. That is not how Nayanors win wars. We're not as reckless as Corgans."

  "Yes," Ashley protested, "but Corgans also have two hearts. At least."

  Zar chuckled, pulling the straps of his armor to make sure it fit perfectly.

  "Exactly," he said. "I only need one to live and to love you."

  "You are going to keep using that as an argument a lot from now on, aren't you?" Ashley asked with a smile she wasn't able to fight.

  "I told you," Zar said, giving her a look that made the desire rise to the surface at last. "I am a Nayanor. I don't lie, which means I like telling the truth."

  Ashley began to laugh, but stopped when she heard a small groan from Zar.

  "You are not well," she said, frowning. "Zar, please reconsider. We can wait, just a little while."

  "We can't," the harbinger said and the look in his eyes was as dark as the hazel irises. "The Reaper threatened to close the gates for my people. By now he will have done it. Outside, the storm is growing faster than ever. It will hit us soon. The long night has begun. Every second we spend here costs lives."

  That changed things, but it still hurt Ashley to see Zar in pain.

  "Okay," she said reluctantly. "I know you can judge your own strength best, but by gods, I've seen you take off your armor faster when we were about to have sex."

  Zar answered that with a grin.

  "Yes, but that was much more important and had a considerably better incentive," he said.

  "You're horrible," Ashley said, laughing, put a bit at ease by the harbinger's insistence.

  "I am," Zar said, standing up straight, making Ashley think that perhaps he really was ready, looking as formidable as ever all of a sudden. "And now The Reaper will know it too."

  28

  Zar

  He opened the comm link that had stayed miraculously silent throughout the day.

  It said something to Zar and the information was surprising, he had to admit. The harbinger had been certain that Roagh wouldn't be foolish enough to contact him in case he gave away his location, but the others he wasn't so sure about. Nayanor loyalty was a curious thing in the sense that it was mostly nonexistent, at least that was what Zar had believed.

  Now, even after the truth had come out about him being partially responsible for The Reaper's wrath, his people were trying to protect him.

  It seemed a poor way to thank them by contacting Roagh, but there was no other way. He couldn't go into the battle blind.

  "Roagh," he spoke into the transmitter, confident that the one word was enough.

  If the captain was alive and in any shape to speak, he'd answer.

  Right on cue, the comm link came to life. The relief was almost palpable in Roagh's voice.

  "Harbinger! You're alive."

  "Nothing gets past you, does it?" Zar asked, pleased that his second-in-command was still drawing breath.

  Roagh laughed, his voice echoing strangely like he was in some great open space. Zar could hear no storm in the background, so the captain had to still be in the Black Hall.

  "What about your fated, Harbinger?" Roagh asked carefully, clearly prepared to face his wrath if Ashley happened to be dead.

  "She's fine," Zar said. "Report, Roagh. What is going on?"

  There was a deep sigh from the captain, uncharacteristic for him, since one of the reasons Zar appreciated his company was never wasting time with uncertainty.

  "It's a mess, Zar. When you went to see The Reaper, everything went to shit faster than you could imagine. No one really knew what was going on. Suddenly the gates were closing and you were nowhere to be found. The Reaper claimed you were dead but I doubt anyone bought that.

  "Still, we weren't able to prove the lie so a lot of people are feeling uncertain. Harbingers from the other regions are anxious. They hate The Reaper as much as we do, but the Hall... everyone needs the Hall."

  "Casualties?" Zar demanded darkly.

  "Some," Roagh responded impassively. "The Reaper is coming for us. The warrior you set free didn't waste time in relaying your words. Somehow, miraculously, that information got to me and the other captains before The Reaper emerged again, the fucking coward.

  "Gave us time to get most of the females and children into hiding. Warriors are fighting The Reaper's guards, but they're outnumbering us. It's chaos, Zar. There is fighting all around, some females have escaped into the depths of the Hall, other domains are afraid. And there are still thousands behind the gates. The storm is upon us.

  "Are you back to lead us?"

  Zar listened, gritting his teeth. A part of him had hoped that The Reaper wouldn't be as petty as to take revenge on him like that. At a time when they were actively trying to save their people, who was mad enough to leave thousands to die out there in the storm? No ship flew during the long night. They provided some shelter, but food and water were going to run out eventually.

  The Reaper, that was the answer. The man who was terrified of losing the power and influence he had over other Nayanors. Without the Hall, he was nothing. The warlord didn't go on raids, depending on others and their need of him to bring his people the females they needed.

  Zar realized The Reaper had known from the moment he set foot in the throne room what he planned, even before Zar himself did. Roagh had been right to warn Ashley about his temper getting them all killed. It was only natural that he wouldn't let himself be commanded, which left The Reaper to take every measure to protect the Hall.

  By leaving his people behind the gates, he was keeping the other harbingers under control as well. Finally, proof that The Reaper was as good as his word – his threats in particular.

&nbs
p; There was only one answer to Roagh's question after that.

  "Yes," Zar said. "Assemble the warriors. Meet me at the end of the walkway. We are going to take the fight to The Reaper whether he wants it or not."

  Ashley said very little as they left the cell. The fear he saw on her beautiful face was a sign that she wasn't as impervious to danger as she wanted him to believe.

  It was also a strange experience for Zar.

  No one had ever really worried about his well-being and survival, not like his fated, at least. It had been a surprise to him that his people relied on him so much, to the point where another warrior simply hadn't taken his place, presuming him dead. Roagh was one of the few people Zar would have called a friend, someone who probably would have been saddened to hear of his death.

  That was all different, basic choice between preferring him to be alive rather than dead. None of them worried, or actually believed he could die.

  Ashley wasn't a Nayanor, of course. It wasn't natural for her to trust in his martial capability, but there was more than that. His fated had come to love him. It wasn't that she didn't trust him to survive and win the fight with The Reaper. She feared for him, because she couldn't bear to lose him.

  It made Zar regret his hasty decision to allow Ashley to come with him. It would have been safest to leave her in the cell with the promise not to leave, but he couldn't risk losing her at the moment when they stood to gain everything.

  Even so, with Ashley, he needed to make sure.

  "Our little deal," he told her. "The one about truth."

  "You mean the policy that only applies to me?" Ashley asked, smiling softly. "What of it?"

  "I need your word that you will not do anything to endanger yourself," Zar said. "When I leave you with your friends, you stay there until The Reaper is dead."

  "Yes," Ashley sighed tiredly. "I told you. I have no stomach for bloodshed, you saw that back on the Foront. I will be happy to stay with the women, make sure they're safe. Keep the order among my own, if you will."