Chapter 3

 

 

The Colony

 

Zander and his sister got off the shuttle on the Colony. He had volunteered to come and help with the protection of the Morinians. He wanted to see them for himself, to see if they were really different from the Morins who had attacked his people. He didn’t want his sister to come but after her constant begging and Ava’s insistence that she come, he had finally agreed. He hoped this trip would give Lizetta something to do and to put distance between her and that young Katieran warrior who had been showing too much interest in his sxrala. Zander was part of a team that would meet a representative who would take them up into the jungles where these Morinians were going to go into living in secret.

“Where is this representative? He is late.”

“Sxralo, take it easy,” Lizetta used the Norad endearment for brother.

“I can’t abide a warrior who is late to do his job.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not a warrior then,” a female voice said from behind him.

Zander turned toward the voice that greeted them and felt as if he had been punched in the gut. The small female who faced him had on the flowing pale robes of a priestess and bore the face of a goddess. He wanted to fall to his knees and worship her.

“Who are you?”

“The very late representative, Priestess HonORa. Who are you?”

Hers—he was hers. She just didn’t know it yet. “I’m Zander Bardo, leader of the Norad survivors.” Not a title he readily used, but he wanted to impress her. She was a priestess, for goodness sake. He looked into her beautiful dark eyes with the strange gold irises. Only Katierans, Kiljorns, and the Colonists possessed those gold irises. A wave of electricity seemed to ignite between the two of them, and the whole world fell away, leaving just them. His body lit up with desire and he could swear he saw heat in her eyes as well.

A throat clearing behind him had him almost jumping backwards. His sister stepped forward, introducing herself.

“Excuse my sxralo’s manners for not introducing us. I’m Lizetta Bardo.”

HonORa blinked in confusion and her face paled. “You are his mate?”

“Sxralo means brother. I am Lizetta’s brother,” Zander told her as he stepped closer. He felt a magnet pulling him toward her. She stepped away from him and he didn’t like it. Was it because she was a priestess? Did she promise to remain pure? On his world, they had a male version—a priest—but he had a family. Things might be different on this world.

“Come with me, we have transportation to take us to the Colonial prime city,” HonORa told them, motioning toward a hovercraft a few feet away.

Zander followed her toward the vehicle. He noticed several warriors standing by, watching the area with concern. “Is there danger?” He pulled Lizetta behind him despite her protests.

“No, but Leader LarIS insisted that we bring security.”

Zander stopped walking. “Lizetta, go to the hovercraft. I have a few questions I need to ask Priestess HonORa.” He waited while his sister did what he said. The warriors gave her a respectful glance but didn’t say a word.

“What is wrong?” HonORa asked him.

“That is what I want to know. Tell me the truth this time. Why is it necessary for security to be here?”

“Leader LarIS will debrief you when we arrive at the Colonial prime city.”

“No, you will tell me now.”

She sighed with frustration. He found it adorable. He waited her out having a staring match, he would happily stare into her eyes all night if needed. She broke contact first.

“There are a few Colonists that don’t approve of the Morinians coming here. That’s why their arrival was delayed, and why they were sent to several remote locations on Kiljor. I don’t know all the details, you’ll have to speak to the leader.”

“I will do that.” With his last statement, he turned to head toward the hovercraft. He would find out what was going on and in the mean time, he would get to know this lovely creature better.

*****

HonORa watched the male called Zander Bardo walk away. She felt so many different emotions: frustration, confusion…and desire. For so long, she had felt no desire for relations with another, not since losing her TomAZ. She had been fine with that—relieved, really. Her only pleasure was in serving her people and her goddess. That had been enough for her…until she met Zander Bardo.

When she saw the blue male step out of the shuttle, she had been surprised. She had never met anyone with coloring like that before. It was a lovely light shade of blue, like the skies of the Colony. His voice was thick and accented, the sexiest thing she had ever heard in her life. When he spoke, it was like his fingers stroked her very skin. Then his eyes locked with hers and she felt like she had been struck by lightning. There was no other way to explain it. Her pulse was racing and she felt sweat collect between her breasts. She wondered if his body would be cool or hot to the touch. Was he blue everywhere?

Getting her thoughts under control, she followed the male to the hovercraft. One of the warriors stepped forward to speak with her.

“Are you alright, Priestess? Did the male say something to upset you?”

She smiled reassuringly. “I’m perfectly fine and no, the male did not say anything to upset me. He had questions that I did not have the answers to, and that frustrated him. All is well.”

“If you are certain,” the warrior said, but he didn’t sound like he was too sure of it.

HonORa continued on to the hovercraft. She had to sit next to the strange blue alien. His sister was on the other side. Trying to take up as little room as possible, she pushed against the side of the vehicle. That left space for her to sit in between the two. Unfortunately the space was small and Zander was…big.

His body was pure muscle, which she could tell by the stretching of the clothing he wore. Not that she was checking him out or anything, but it was hard not to notice someone so…everything. The warmth of his body heat seemed to travel to her, and she felt her body start to respond. Her nipples tightened, her heart beat faster, and her breathing seemed really loud. Most embarrassing, she felt dampness between her thighs. She hoped he couldn’t tell. Her people had enhanced senses and would be able to notice right away. Did the Norads have enhanced senses as well? Glancing over at him, she noticed that he shifted his leg uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry, do you have enough room?” she asked, trying to squeeze further away.

He turned to look at her and she almost forgot to breathe. His nostrils flared and his dark eyes darkened even more. Yes, he had enhanced senses. She tried to get her hormones under control. This was uncomfortable, to say the least.

“It’s a small space. My artificial leg is cramping up.”

Artificial leg? She had no idea he was missing a limb. Now that she knew, she could tell he leaned more heavily on his other leg when he was standing. She wanted to ask him how it happened, when it happened. She wasn’t able to, because their time in the shuttle was up. It started to slow as they approached the opening in the jungle where the Colonial prime city lay.

“Oh how beautiful!” Lizetta exclaimed, sitting forward to get a better look. “From our approach down from the transport, I had no idea a city even existed in the midst of a jungle.”

“The jungle provides excellent coverage, keeping the city hidden from any who would do harm to the Colonists,” a warrior from the front of the hovercraft spoke in answer. He continued to speak, explaining how the Colonial prime city had originally been closer to an open area near a lake but that after an attack by an enemy, they’d decided relocate their people further into the jungle. They hadn’t had any problems since then.

HonORa was grateful for the distraction. It gave her time to cool off her body, but she could still feel his heat. She tried hard not to glance down at his legs. Which one was the artificial one? When he walked, she hadn’t noticed a limp or anything. She was fascinated by the male. Her attention thankfully was drawn to his sister.

“I’m very interested in learning everything about your planet,” Lizetta said enthusiastically.

HonORa smiled at the lovely young woman. “It’s not actually my planet. I’m from Katiera. Have you been there?”

“Oh yes. We lived there for a short time while Zander was getting adjustments to his artificial limbs. Then we went to Kiljor where our friends Ava and Colonial Commander AshOR were visiting. Now we’re here.”

She laughed. “I guess I’ve kind of traveled a bit myself. I grew up on Katiera. Then I traveled to Kiljor after the Morins attacked them, to help their people recover, and now I’m here on the Colony to help with the Morinians.”

“The Morins…they attacked Kiljor? I didn’t know that,” Lizetta wrapped her arms around herself protectively. HonORa saw the stricken look on the girl’s face and wanted to reassure her.

“You have nothing to fear, the Morins can’t get to you here. I don’t think they even know where the Colony is located.”

“They are evil, totally evil.”

HonORa wanted to ask her what caused the fear in her eyes, but Zander must have sensed the change in his sister and stopped to turn toward them. “Is everything okay?”

HonORa would have told the truth—that his sister was upset—but Lizetta shook her head. “No, everything is fine.”

She could tell by the look in Zander’s eyes that he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push for a real answer. He turned back around and followed the warriors to the entrance of the Colonial prime building. HonORa glanced at Lizetta, wanting to ask her what was bothering her, but Lizetta wouldn’t look at her. She looked ahead and caught a glimpse of Leader LarIS at the entrance, waiting for them. The questions she had would have to wait until later. There was something really bothering the girl, and it was clear she didn’t want her brother to know anything about it. The girl needed to get to know HonORa, to trust her with her secrets.

Lifting her eyes up to the sky, she said a silent prayer to the Goddess KatieRI to give her the knowledge of what to do for the girl. She felt a strong need to comfort and protect. This child had suffered something horrible and her soul was calling out in need. She could do nothing other than to help her in any way she could.