Protected by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (books that read to you .txt) 📖

he lets me help him get Ilax out of the tashiv.

He places Ilax on the grass and leans over him, his face desperate. “What do you need? Which tonic?”

“It’s too late for that, boy.”

Vrex ignores him, picking up the huge barrel of water and heading back into the tashiv.

I stare after him, torn, and Ilax grabs for my tunic. “He will be back. Look after him for me.”

I lean over him, finding the source of the bleeding. Someone has stabbed him, likely with a fucking sword, given how huge this wound is. I pull the blanket off my shoulders and push against his chest.

“You’re going to be okay,” I tell him, and he laughs.

“You are as bad as he is.”

A roar of fury sounds from the tashiv, and then Vrex is back, falling to his knees next to Ilax.

“Your tonics are gone,” he says, his face hard. “I know another healer. You just have to stay with us until I can get you to her.”

Ilax ignores that, reaching his hand out to Vrex. Vrex takes it, and I have to glance away. I can barely swallow around the lump in my throat.

“They’ll be coming back for her,” he warns, glancing at me.

“This is my fault,” I murmur. “I’m so sorry.”

He shakes his head, wincing at the movement. “Not your fault. The innocent are never at fault when evil comes for them.” He turns to Vrex and raises an eyebrow. “A lesson some of us are slow to learn, hmm?”

I choke out a laugh. Even while bleeding out, Ilax is still attempting to lecture Vrex.

Vrex’s eyebrows draw together, and he gestures for the mishua.

“No.” Ilax’s voice is firm. “I am a healer. I will not make it, boy. I will die here, surrounded by my forest. And then I will join my family. They are waiting for me.” He turns to me. “He will blame himself for this. Do not let him. Be patient with him.”

I nod, and then he gasps, his face contorting with pain. Vrex’s eyes are wild as he glances back toward Nari, but Ilax squeezes his hand.

“Thank you for looking after an old male in the last years of his life. Your mother would be proud.”

Ilax chokes, blood running from his mouth. But he smiles as he looks up—through the canopy of trees in his forest, to the emerald sky…and beyond.

Chapter Eight

Ivy

We bury Ilax in his forest, close to the porch where he spent his days. Tears run silently down my face as Vrex digs the grave, refusing to let me help as he works one-handed.

If not for me, Ilax would still be sitting on that porch, staring out at the trees, waiting for Vrex to visit.

Vrex is silent until he has finished filling the grave. We managed to put out the fire before it could spread through the forest, but Ilax’s tashiv is mostly gone.

They must have been watching us to know where to hurt us the most. This is a warning, but if they think I’m going to hand myself over to them, they’re wrong.

This is war.

Vrex obviously agrees because his face is hard as stone as he turns to me.

“They will all die for this,” he says. He strides toward the mishua and helps me back on. Even Nari seems depressed, her head low as we slowly plod back toward Vrex’s tashiv.

We find two more Voildi in Vrex’s traps. One of them is already dead, and the second is unconscious. I look away as Vrex leans down and kills the Voildi without even getting off Nari’s back.

He instructs me to wait on the mishua while he examines the other traps around his home. Then he checks the tashiv itself before he returns for me.

“It’s safe,” he mutters, and I jump down so he can unsaddle Nari.

I hover awkwardly near him. “Can I help?”

He shakes his head, and I move inside, giving him space.

I pace for hours. Vrex seems to be compulsively checking his traps, disappearing in different directions only to return a few minutes later.

I simultaneously want him to join me and yet don’t know what to say to him. There’s nothing to say. I came to this planet, he helped me, and I got his only friend killed.

The guilt is crushing. It rips into me, shredding my insides as I watch the huge man secure his territory. His face is as hard as ever, but his eyes…

I look away, absently wiping my hands on my tunic. They come away sticky, and I stare down at the blood staining them.

Ilax’s blood.

I spin as the door opens, and Vrex steps inside. His gaze drops to my hands, and I almost hide them behind my back like a child.

“They’ll pay” is all he says.

I nod. “We’ll make them pay.”

“Tomorrow we leave. We will check for any messages from Rakiz. If there are none, then we go to him. It’s no longer safe here.”

I flinch, and he narrows his eyes on me.

“You think I can’t protect you?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m sorry your territory was invaded.”

“It was only a matter of time. You should get ready for bed. We will sleep early.”

I study his face. His expression is blank, and he holds his shoulders straight, his head high. But somehow, I know he’s barely holding it together. When he falls apart, he’s not going to want me to see it.

I nod and head to the bathroom, where I quickly bathe. I wrap a long fur around my body when I’m done and move toward the bedroom. Vrex is sitting, staring at the unlit fire, but I hear him enter the bathroom as I pull on my clothes.

I lie awake for hours, tossing and turning. Finally, I get up, planning to sneak past Vrex to grab some water.

He’s awake though, still sitting in the same chair, ignoring the furs near the fire. He glances at me, pain stark on his face.

I can’t help it. I walk over to him, reaching out. I don’t know for what.