CHAPTER TEN
COMMANDER CERIK HADE
Watching Maria soundly sleep was enticing to me. She looked so petite and fragile that I hated to wake her up. A part of me wanted to climb into the bed beside her and wrap my body around her. I sort of wished that Hekan and Ravinn were not with me, because then we could be alone again. Maybe we could have another round before we landed on Kelon, but that was not possible. Not with these two with us in such a small ship. I had to wake her eventually and earlier was better because I wanted to give her some time to see the planet on approach as well as be fully awake when we landed. I did not want her to feel disoriented by landing and then waking her up on a strange planet. This way she would ease into it. It was the least that I could do after what I had put her through. Who knew what Ephane had put her through when she was passed out? I almost did not want to know because I would want to kill him. But I had done something to her, and I had told her about it.
I had to tell her. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew that she hated now me. She felt betrayed, and she had every reason to. I had used her as bait, just as she said. I used both of us as bait. I had to. I had to make it look like I had an actual reason for being out in space, coming back from Earth. It was the only way to make it look real. Otherwise, Ephane would have been way too suspicious. But I wasn't expecting to have such drastic feelings for the human female that I picked up on Earth; I did not think it would matter that I used her for bait. I was wrong; I was very wrong. I now felt an enormous amount of shame and guilt for what I had done. She would never understand, she wasn't even giving me the space to explain. I would have to fix it later. For now, I had to focus on this virus and the water supply contamination. I would give her the space and time that she needed to stop being angry at me. I only hoped that her anger would disappear soon. But when I saw her whispering to Hanek, my jealousy rose once more. What were they talking about? Why was she confiding in him? She hardly knew him. I needed to know what they were speaking of. I was not someone that dealt with jealousy very well; it made me feel anger, and that anger could easily turn to rage.
“What did you see on the space station?” Ravinn asked me pulling me out of my thoughts. He was in the pilot chair as we moved closer to our planet, about to enter the atmosphere.
“I saw something that worried me. The landing port was full of activity, and full of warriors.”
“Do you think they were preparing for something?” he asked.
“I do; it looked like they were preparing for an invasion or a battle,” I said. “ But that is only my thought.”
“Yes, but you are a commander. You know what battle preparations look like. We will have to tell the king about it,” he said.
“I agree,” I said.
Just then, Maria got up from her chair. She moved toward the back of the ship, and I watched as she went to the food area. She grabbed a bottle of Hiwa and poured the dark liquid into a cup. I was surprised that she knew what it was. Maybe she did not know; I thought I should tell her that it was a very strong drink. I walked over to her.
“That is called Hiwa. It is very strong. It is not water or juice; it is like wine on Earth but so much stronger,” I said to her. “It is made from this fruit that we have on Kelon and it is—”
“I know what it is,” she said as she chugged down the glass. Her nose wrinkled and she coughed a little. I restrained a smile.
“I told you,” I said. She was quiet and poured herself another. I looked toward the front of the ship and Ravinn and Henak were engaged in conversation. I would try again to explain to Maria.
“I am sorry about what I did. I know that it was wrong. But it is not what you think; I did not do it to put you into harm's way. All of this is bigger than any of us. I had to sacrifice in order to stop Ephane from whatever he is doing. I hope that you will understand that.”
“Stop, don't say anything else. Can you just leave me be? I don't want to hear your apologies or excuses. It means nothing to me. I just want to get on the planet and be far from you,” she said. “Could you move toward the front of the ship? I just need some space right now.”
“Yes,” I said, not wanting to push it. I moved to the front of the ship and stood next to Hanek. I looked over my shoulder to see Maria moving to the back of the nook with her cup. She wanted some privacy, and I should give it to her. Plus, this was a good time for me to question Hanek.
“What did she tell you?” I said quietly to him. He looked at me.
“Sorry, Commander, she made me promise not to say anything.”
“You are not entitled to keep her promises. For all purposes, she is my human female. I am the one that took her from Earth,” I said feeling very annoyed. I was his superior. He was nothing but a warrior, and I was a commander.
“She seems to be angry with you at the moment. Do you want to make her more angry by pressing me for her secret? It will only piss her off more. I know this about human females; I have one myself,” he said.
“Why should she confide in you? What did she tell you? I am not going to ask you again,” I said getting in his face.
He stiffened. He was not backing down. I could tell that he was not going to tell me. I felt an enormous amount of jealousy inside of me. Was Maria already looking for another mate? She was already done with me and planning to find another as soon as we landed. I was sure of it. My jealousy was turning into rage. I pressed my chest against his.
“Does she want you? Is that what it is all about?”
“I can see why she is angry with you. You think of nothing but your pride,” he said in return.
“How dare you say such a thing to me. I am a commander,” I said.
“All right, enough you two. We are landing. I don't need the distraction of this tense situation between the two of you,” Ravinn said as he put his body between ours. I gave Hanek a look and then turned away from him. Ravinn was right. We were landing, and it was time to work. Ravinn took the pilot seat again and began to enter the atmosphere.
“We need a plan. I will go directly to the king with the device and the news of a possible invasion or battle preparations on the space station. Now, who will go to the water supply and warn the guards or see if the water has already been contaminated?” Ravinn said.
“I will go directly to the water supply. I will station more guards as well.”
“Good, that is a good plan. Hanek, you will see to getting Maria into a guest hut.”
“I understand,” Hanek said.
I did not like that. I did not like the idea of him with Maria alone walking through the village and then alone in the hut. But I would have to deal with my jealousy later; the water supply was more important than anything.