Alien Bride, page 25
part #2 of The Alien Series
“Really?” I cross my arms and raise a brow skeptically. Who does this guy think he’s fooling?
Chapter 44
Kye
It is hard not to laugh at the demeanor Alessandra takes on. This is the woman I love—open, honest, and expressive. She has never been afraid to challenge me, not even when this life was new to her.
“Truly,” I tell her. “I enjoy it here in Beacon. I think I have a new appreciation for the Islerian colonists, in fact. Can you imagine how much Loret would love to hear that?” I laugh, as I unbraid my hair, shaking out the dirt and combing through the sweat-matted locks with my fingers.
“You need a comb,” Alessandra notes. “And a chair,” she says, looking around my sparse room.
“I use my bed when I need to sit,” I tell her. “But you’re right, I do need a comb.”
“Looks like you didn’t pack much either… I never said thanks for my stuff, by the way. I appreciate having it here. Why didn’t you bring more of your own things?” she questions.
“Anu had packed for me… overpacked, really, but there wasn’t much room on Keone’s ship. I just brought my necessities and your things. I didn’t know what you would need, so I brought it all.” I shrug, and she comes and leans against the table next to me.
“Bet you’re regretting that now,” she laughs, inclining her head towards my threadbare pants.
“Not at all,” I tell her, honestly. Her smile falters.
“Do you avoid the village because of me?” she asks straightforwardly.
“I don’t know that I have a good answer for you, Alessandra. I suppose, in part I do,” I say, raking my hands through my hair. “But also because I am still learning who I am as Kye the man as opposed to Kye the Ambassador. I hardly know how to be with others now that I am not an Ambassador. I suppose that’s why I like the fields.” I shrug. “There is no pretense, just work.”
“I can relate to that,” she sighs. “It’s hard starting over, particularly when starting over blindsides you. I think that’s why I dove so deeply into music when I had the chance to back on your ship. It gave me something to lose myself in.”
“I thought you were a musician, you know? Professionally, that is,” I scoff. “My fault for not asking, I suppose. I should have known you were an artist, if only from the way you admired my collection.”
“Kye… I have to ask, why here? Why are you here and not on your ship? It is your ship, right? Not the Islerian government’s? Or why not go to Isleria or one of the colonies?”
“Let’s make a deal, yes? You answer a question for me and I will answer this for you,” I offer, buying myself time to think of a response that is not an outright lie.
“Sure,” she says without hesitation.
“When the Makaan had you… when they kept you in that cage… did you sing when you were there?” I ask, spilling my question out. It is something I have given much thought to over the past weeks, ever since Alessandra left my ship. The question has plagued me. I think of all her possible answers and what they might mean, as if her response to this one question is a key to understanding her more completely.
“No…” she says slowly. “I never thought to. I was someone else when I was in that cage, Kye. Plus, singing is about hope, you know? I didn’t have any when I was with the Makaan. I truly believed there was no possible way there could ever be a good outcome. So, I didn’t sing. No.”
“But you sang when you came to my ship?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Obviously.”
“So… you had hope then? While you were with me? With me on my ship, I mean…” I ask, hopefully.
“Let’s not go down that line, Kye. I had lots of hope building inside me while I was on your ship. I mean, I was told I would be taken back to Earth, for one…” she says, misinterpreting my meaning.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” I ask.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to dredge up all the hope that I lost in my time with you… on your ship, that is. It’s over, it’s in the past,” she tells me.
“But you do talk about it with the other humans?” I press.
She eyes me suspiciously. “Isn’t it your turn to answer a question?”
“Hm. What was the question again?” I ask.
“Kye! What are you doing here? Why here, of all the places you could be?” she demands, exasperated.
“Ah, yes. Why here… why here indeed…” Khalil told me not to lie to Alessandra, but I don’t think it is time yet for the naked truth. The truth is, I have come here to make Alessandra fall in love with me, to make her realize that we are soulmates, bonded for life only to each other.
“Most of the crew on my ship was salaried through the government. If I brought my ship with me, no matter where I went, they would need to be returned to Isleria to be reassigned. I opted instead to allow Anu to take command, and she became the Ambassador in my stead. That way everyone can continue on… likely better off, without me to get in the way.” I smile. “As for the colonies, and Isleria, for that matter? I have enemies in all those places and I no longer have the protection of the Islerian government.” That is mostly all true…
“Enemies? You mean the Makaan from Ipoch?” she asks meaningfully. I had forgotten about the Makaan. I nod solemnly.
“Well, it’s best you’re somewhere safe then,” she decides. There is a moment of silence. It seems there is nothing left to say, but I search for something, anything to keep the conversation going and to keep her from leaving.
“Okay, well, I just wanted to make sure everything was—” she says, getting up from the table.
“Wait! Let’s make another deal,” I say, thinking fast.
“A deal?” she inquires suspiciously.
“I will try to integrate more…” I start.
“Okay…”
“If you will come and talk with me each day.”
“Both those things benefit you,” she points out.
“You are the one who feels sorry for me when I stay away from the others,” I remind her.
“I didn’t say I feel sorry for you… I said I feel guilty…” she says under her breath.
“You also said you wanted to be friends,” I remind her.
“So, if we talk, you integrate?” she asks, for clarity. “Any stipulations around our conversations? Time, place… duration?”
“Yes. Stipulations for all those things,” I agree hastily. “Good idea.”
She rolls her eyes. “Like what, Kye? I need to know what I’m agreeing to,” she says.
“So, you agree?” I ask.
“Depends on the stipulations,” she says, crossing her arms.
“Only two requirements then… duration has to, at minimum, be equal to the time I spend integrating.”
“Okay, that sounds fair. What else?”
“Our conversation does not count unless it is just the two of us.”
“Okay, I can do that,” she says slowly, looking for a trap. Finding none, she reaches out and takes my hand, shaking it. I remember she has done this before with me, but I also remember Kate holding her hand, so I don’t let go.
Alessandra flushes and appears nervous before tugging her hand away.
“Okay, well… let’s go,” she says.
“Go?”
“Yeah, it’s dinner time. Time to integrate,” she says, heading for the door, but she stops in her tracks.
“What is it?” I ask, reaching for my shirt.
“Oh… I just remembered. I brought you a peace offering.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out an Ibanna. It is new, smooth, and immaculately carved. A floral scroll runs along the side.
“You made this?” I ask, astonished, while Alessandra smiles at her work.
“You’ll have to teach me to play it now,” I say.
“You don’t know how to play it?” Her expression is one of shock. “Why did you have one in your room then?”
“More collecting.” I shrug. “I have an eye for precious treasures” I say, leaning in towards her.
“Psh!” She scoffs out a laugh and rolls her eyes. “Riiight. Come on, pretty boy. I’ll teach you how to play that thing another night. Let’s get cooking,” she says, as she heads for the door.
“You know, before I met you, people would have described me as having irresistible charm.”
“No kidding?” she says overemphatically as we walk together.
“I have a theory.”
“I’m listening…” she responds skeptically.
“I think that being in the presence of humans counteracts my natural allure,” I tell her, eyeing her reaction hopefully. I’ll say any number of ridiculous things to get this woman to talk to me.
“Hah! Are you saying I’m like your kryptonite?” she asks, her melodic laugh a reward for my efforts.
“What is kryptonite?” I ask.
“I’ll let you ask the others.” She smiles and throws a wink in my direction. “So you have a good segue into conversation.”
“Always the generous one,” I tell her.
Chapter 45
Alessandra
Kye and I make our way through the fields together, teasing and chatting. I have this silly, giddy feeling inside me, like my high school crush is walking me to homeroom. I hate to admit it to myself, but I’ve missed his sorry butt. That’s not to say that all is forgiven, but I think I had really gotten used to the dynamic that we shared. There’s never a dull moment in our conversation, and he really does help me forget my anxieties and fears about being abducted by aliens in the first place. It’s like he’s so annoying I can’t focus on being scared or missing Earth.
“There is a human now,” he says. “Should I ask this one about kryptonite?”
I look up in time to see Reagan emerging from a thicket of ferns and making her way through the jungle ahead of us.
“Hey!” I call out in greeting so we don’t startle her, but she still looks like a kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Holy shit! You scared me!” she exclaims, with her hand over her heart. “I thought everyone would already be in the courtyard…” she mumbles.
“Trying to sneak off somewhere?” I smile. This girl must be having a secret rendezvous with someone.
Reagan rolls her eyes, but her expression turns mischievous as she assesses Kye and me. “And what about you guys? Are you sneaking off somewhere or sneaking back?”
I give her a derisive snort, but Kye lights up the jungle with his smile. “I’m just doing a little charity work, trying to make sure Kye here doesn’t end up the redheaded stepchild of Beacon,” I joke, allowing the focus to shift to us so Reagan doesn’t have to feel defensive about seeing someone. I mean, it’s none of my business who Reagan spends her time with, and if she prefers to keep it private, that’s her choice, too.
“That is pretty selfless of you,” she tells me, with her hands on her hips while running unimpressed and appraising eyes over Kye. “You sure you’re up for it?” she questions, and his cocky expression turns to one of confusion.
“I know, he’s a real fixer-upper,” I lament.
We resume our trek to the courtyard together, and after a few moments of quiet Kye leans close to whisper a little too loudly, “What is a redheaded stepchild?”
“The joy of explaining all things human,” Reagan says idly.
We reach the courtyard, and dinner prep jobs are divvied up. Kye shadows me as I help make something resembling a salad, with pink cabbage, nuts, and fruit. We fill two large bowls, proudly made by Clark and April in the pottery studio. Kye is quiet and introspective, listening to the humans’ conversations as we work.
“I keep craving soup, is that weird?” April asks.
“I still crave avocados,” Reagan replies.
“Yeah, but you can actually have soup here, you know that, right?” Clark tells her.
“We’d need a damn trough to make enough soup to feed everyone. The problem is the logistics of it…” April says thoughtfully, munching on cabbage nuts as we watch Rennek man the barbeque.
“It’s still too hot for soup,” I add, noticing the sweat on Kye’s brow and the shirt he keeps unbuttoned.
“I wonder what the seasons are going to be like here?” Kate ponders. “Are we going to get a cold spell ever? Or is it always going to be a sweltering jungle?”
“I’ve actually been wondering about that quite a bit,” Clark says. “You know rainforests typically have a wet season and a dry season, and so far, there’s only been mild drizzling here and there. I expect that at some point we’ll really learn what it means to live in a rainforest.”
“I’ve always liked the rain,” I say.
“I do as well,” Kye responds, but more to me than to the group.
“I think the Amazon gets about 12 feet of rain a year,” Clark informs us.
“Whoa, I don’t know if I like rain that much.” I balk at the idea.
“I’ll have to ask Madreed to bring us some big cooking pots next time she comes. We’ll need to be ready for soup season,” Kate proclaims.
“Soup season! Yes! That’s what we’ll call it!” April declares as Gorrard and his men enter the courtyard.
When they aren’t up in the temple with Rennek, or helping out in the fields, these guys spend their time in the airfield, maintaining and repairing the handful of ships we have here. Reagan looks up as they approach, and it piques my curiosity. Could one of these men be her secret lover, I wonder? I have never spoken to Gorrard’s men, the Sovolians. As a matter of fact, I don’t even know their names, but they seem nice enough. Reagan’s man could be one of them. Heck, even though Gorrard is a little older, he’s got that super-sexy silver fox thing going on… and who can’t appreciate that, right?
I look over at Kye sitting next to me. His own snow-white hair is now such a stark contrast to the deepening purple of his skin tone. Even though the courtyard is blanketed with shade due to the sinking sun, I notice he is still sweating. I get up and pour him a cup of water, bringing it back to our seats.
His eyes look surprised when I pass it to him, but he downs the contents and gives me a nod of appreciation, then clears his throat, “Tell me more about kryptonite, Alessandra,” he says with a rehearsed tone and impish smile. Is Kye being silly right now? That’s a new side of him…
Everyone at the table hushes and looks at us with smirks and furrowed brows.
“Are you telling him about Superman?” Kate asks.
“I’m curious to hear how this conversation came about,” April laughs.
“Maybe he has things in common with Superman.” Reagan shrugs. “Is it super strength or super speed?” she asks laughing.
“Oh my god, this is so not how I imagined this conversation would go…” I say, rubbing my forehead.
“You might not know this about me, but I happen to be a Superman fan,” Clark says.
“Well, you’d kind of have to be, huh?” Reagan reflects. “With a name like Clark and all.”
“Superman is the most interesting superhero, because of his alter ego,” Clark tells us in a way that makes me think she’s had this conversation a hundred times over.
“All superheroes have cool alter egos,” Reagan interrupts.
“That’s right.” Clark nods. “Superman is the only one with a human alter ego,” she explains.
“Huh?”
“Most other heroes are humans pretending to be something special. Superman pretends to be normal,” Clark tells us excitedly.
“What a freak,” Reagan teases, “I can see why you like—” But she stops short when four of the Nev'Rhaan Madreed left behind to lend a helping hand come through the gates. Curious… they don’t normally eat dinner with us.
They’re another group I don’t know too well, but these guys aren’t planning to stay on Elysia, so I don’t feel too guilty for not making an effort to get to know them better. Madreed rotates her guys out each time she comes back, too, so they’re only here for a few weeks at a time. I only know one’s name, and that’s because I heard Kye say it today. Rad… though I think it might be short for something.
Reagan gets quiet as they pass us, pretending to be deeply focused on spearing a chunk of pompaya, while Clark continues her lecture on Superman. So… a Nev’Rhaan. I smile discreetly, not wanting Reagan to feel exposed. I wonder which one? I keep my eyes on the group as they mill about with the quiet and more reserved Sovolians.
