Alexis had been set free by the king. She was free to roam anywhere in the capital. He trusted her now that he seemed so sure his seed was growing inside of her, even as much as she hoped it wasn’t. To give birth to another man’s baby, that was something she didn’t know if Nabvan could stay with her through, even though he made the promise that he would. She didn’t know if she could live with that and continue to look him in the eye. Things were already hard. Despite their promise not to discuss anything about what happened between her and the king in the bedroom, the words that were not said hung between them so thick they could be cut with a knife.

Her roaming privileges had led her to the conclusion that she had been entirely right about the way the women were still being treated. What had been done had all been for show, though, she should not have trusted the king to do anything other than have sex with her. That was his priority, and he had now done that twice in less than a week. The ship was being prepared to go to Earth, and she felt a desperation growing, knowing the women would be boarded that evening. They had all been warned what was happening by their men and the king by now. That she was sure of, and part of her wanted to stick her tongue out like a child, glad that she was right. Some of the women were such bitter and ungrateful people. She had forgotten about that when she learned they were in such distress, but it still rang true. It didn’t mean they deserved that treatment, though. She had trusted that they would change in their new life with the Arkani.

Alexis was walking freely around the capital, enjoying the nice day when she saw the back of Nabvan. He had begun to train one of the young knights again in his spare time now that the king was focused on her. She hoped it was a good distraction from the pain he must be feeling.

Alexis paused for a moment, watching the way his muscles moved with the weapons he was training with. He was a deadly creature and beautiful in that deadliness. He was Milisarian knight through and through, which is why she knew what she was about to ask him might be the hardest thing he ever had to face. He could easily say no, and she had prepared herself for that. His loyalty was still with his people, though not with the king. She understood that now like she had not before.

Alexis hung back in the shadows until he was finished training for the time being. She did not want anyone to notice her fondness for him and report it to the king, not now that there was a chance to get what she wanted.

Alexis enjoyed admiring this incredible Milisarian man that she had the pleasure of meeting until he walked away, headed back into the building that took up most of the capital where they all lived. She headed him off and pulled him into the shadows with her, the same place he had brought her the day of the wedding to tell her that he wanted another chance with her. “I like it when you’re dangerous,” he whispered in a low growl that set her body on fire. Nabvan bent down to kiss her neck and then her lips, licking them before pulling up. But he still leaned over her, one hand on either side of her head. He was almost distracting her from what she needed to say to him.

“I know you do,” she told him playfully, hating to kill the mood. “But I actually need to talk to you about something serious.” Nabvan visibly frowned and stood up, backing off from her. He did not look happy at the change of subject.

“Are we ever going to enjoy each other again, my love?” he asked her with a hint of sadness and bitterness that she was not expecting. If she had any say in it, they were going to find a way to always have each other with no one else coming in between them, but that all depended on him.

“I can’t let it go about these women, Nabvan,” she told him straight, no smile, no gimmicks. She couldn’t stand the thought of being responsible for their demise. It was eating her alive from the inside out, and she needed to do something about it.

“My love, there is nothing that can be done now. You have gotten King Shene to offer to talk to the humans about their return. That is all you’re going to get. You have to let it go, or you are going to lose,” he told her, coming in close again to hold her. Nabvan was trying to comfort her, but there was no comfort in the guilt inside of her, roiling her stomach like she ate raw fish. There was no comfort in stolen kisses and secret moments anymore. Her desire for him was becoming painful, and she thought she knew a way to save herself and these women from a sad fate.

“Except I know that I can do something,” she told him, looking up into his eyes with a pleading from deep inside of her. “I have to do something,” she emphasized, leaning up against the wall. Now she felt guilty about two things; the women and the way she was dragging Nabvan into all of this. “I have a plan, harebrained as it is, and maybe the two of us can get something out of it too. You never know.” Her convincing skills were poor and involved a pout. She thought about walking away right then and there and telling him to just forget about it. It was too much to ask him, and she knew it.

“What else must I endure for you?” he asked her, slumping over as if she was sucking the marrow and energy out of him every time she asked him to do something for her. Yes, she needed to leave him alone. But the hurt was there, fresh like a tear in her heart. This man had promised to love her until death, but it looked more like she was loving him to the grave. And to have him say it out loud felt like the end of something.

Alexis stood on her tiptoes, snaking her hands around his waist and then his neck. She gave him a sweet kiss, more for her own benefit than for his. “You’re probably right; I need to get over it. I am sorry, I just have a lot of guilt about this,” she told him, reassuring him that he did not have to do anything: that it was over.

“I know you do, my love,” he told her in that deep, sweet as molasses voice of his. She was going to miss that more than anything. “But sometimes things happen in life we cannot control. I will be here to help you get through it. I promise.” He picked up her hand and kissed it before walking away. She knew they would meet up again in her room later, but by then, he would have noticed what she had done.

Her hand clenched around the thing she had taken from him in order to continue her plan without him. She would just have to do this on her own, with a little help from the radio she had stolen from inside his armor. Would he ever forgive her?

Alexis made her way back inside and went straight to her room. She had to take the first step before Nabvan or the king came for her because both of them would stop her for different reasons. She couldn’t risk that. Phase one of the plan was happening even if all else failed. Even if she got caught and jailed, away from the man she loved.

It took a good hour for her to figure out how to get to a frequency outside of Milisaria, but she knew with her tech experience she could make the radio work for what she wanted. Surprisingly, she remembered just how to get in touch with the Arkani, and she wasn’t sure how she did not think of it before. They were not fighters, but they were smart and desperate for these women to come to them. Surely, they could figure out a way to get the women back.

She felt her heart beating fast in her chest, praying that the king did not choose that moment to walk into the room and catch her in the middle of her message. “Attention Arkani, this is Alexis Fisher. I know where the women that were meant to come to you have gone. They are alive and being held as slaves by the Milisarian Knights. The knights will return uncooperative women to Earth in just a few short hours if they do not mate with the men that chose them. If you can find a way to come and intercept them, please do so.”

Alexis hoped it got through and switched off the radio before tucking it under the mattress where she hoped nobody would look. The call was made, and all there was to do was wait. Wait for her punishment and wait for the Arkani to come and rescue the women.