Rescued by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (literature books to read TXT) 📖

Finally, I gave up on sleep.

Most of the Braxian warriors simply nod at me when I appear to collect the ingredients Moni asks for. Rakiz has them constantly changing up where they’re stationed, but there have been no more sightings of Dokhalls in the area.

I have no doubt they’re planning something.

Just like us, they probably want to get home to their planet. Home to their families. I feel a moment of nausea as the Dokhalls I killed flash in front of my eyes, and I stumble. I glance over my shoulder, but Jozet is sharpening his sword, his mind obviously elsewhere.

No, Zoey. Those Dokhalls bought you. They treated you like a product and almost killed you.

Logically, I know I did what anyone would have done in the same situation. I had a pregnant woman to protect, and if the Dokhalls woke up, they likely would have killed me.

But it doesn’t change the fact I took three lives.

I bite down on my lower lip until it almost bleeds, glancing over my shoulder at Jozet.

The last few times I brought Jozet to the forest with me, he was practically vibrating with tension, ready for an attack. But now we tend to run into so many other guards in this area that he’s gradually relaxed. Thank God because the more tense he is, the more nervous I get.

I’ve been visiting Nevada most days and cuddling her gorgeous little daughter. She has the tiniest toes and the shadow of green-blue scales across her chubby baby shoulders.

I wonder if mine and Tagiz’s babies would have the same scales.

No, Zoey, we don’t think about him anymore.

He still hasn’t told me what he was doing with Dragix. He seems to be giving me space, although I constantly find him watching me, promise in his eyes. He doesn’t go near Malis, who has been walking through camp with her own Braxian male by her side.

But I still don’t trust it.

Mom once told me about how my father used to swear he would leave his wife. As soon as she got the courage to break things off with him, he would tell her he just needed a little more time. He kept her hanging on for years.

I don’t think Tagiz is anything like my father. But he’s an honorable man who feels beholden to Calix. And I can’t compete with Braxian honor.

Jozet opens his mouth when I approach, my basket full. Inside the basket is a tiny wooden box, painstakingly carved. Beneath the smooth lid, the box has been divided into sections, allowing me to keep herbs and plants separated.

I found it beneath my pillow a few days ago. It’s a thoughtful, kind gift that shows just how well Tagiz knows me.

And my heart breaks a little more every time I look at it. If I were smart, I’d give it back.

But I’m not.

Jozet clamps his mouth shut at whatever he sees on my face, following me back to the healers’ kradi where he checks on Hewex and then leaves us both with a murmured goodbye.

I get to work, and I’m lost in grinding, cutting, and mixing when Tagiz storms in, his expression fierce.

My heart leaps into my throat as I greedily drink him in. A small part of me is relieved to see he seems to be sleeping about as well as I am, dark circles beneath his eyes.

Eyes that turn sharp as they narrow on me.

He storms forward, ignoring the way everyone in the kradi goes silent as he grabs my elbow, pulling me further toward the back of the kradi.

“Don’t leave,” he says. “Please, Zoey.”

I look at him wide-eyed. “What are you talking about?”

“Hewex told me you’re going to leave as soon as the ship is fixed. Just give me one chance, little healer.”

I’ve said no such thing, and I barely control my eyes, which want to dart in Hewex’s direction. The grouchy warrior has obviously decided to give his friend a little encouragement.

A small part of me is enjoying the look of desperation on Tagiz’s face. After so long of me being the one pining for him, I have to admit it’s not the worst thing to experience the opposite. But I quite simply don’t think I can trust him with my heart.

“Tagiz—”

“I know I don’t deserve it. But I can make you happy, little healer. I can give you the kind of love you deserve. You’ll never find that kind of love with another male. I swear it.”

My heart flips in my chest, and I open my mouth to at least tell him I have no plans to leave…right now.

He clamps his hand over my mouth, and I growl at him.

“Don’t decide now.” His eyes are frantic. “Give me some time to prove to you how much I need you. And how happy I can make you.”

He’s gone before I can reply, and I’m left staring after him in bemusement. Hewex rolls onto his side, and I raise my eyebrow at him.

“What exactly did you say to him?”

“The boy needed to realize you weren’t going to stay here and wait for him forever.”

I sigh. “Since when do you care about our love lives?”

“Since I’m sick of hearing the camp gossip. ‘Will they,’ ‘won’t they,’ ‘should they’—it’s tiresome.”

“Tiresome. Uh-huh. And how much did you bet on us getting together?”

He scowls at me in offense.

I raise one eyebrow, waiting.

“Ten credits,” he mutters. “But only because I know you’ll be mated soon. It’s easy to see you’re meant to be together.”

I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat. “Aw, Hewex. I never realized you were such a romantic.”

He gives me a look that suggests I’m a grade A idiot and closes his eyes.

I spend the rest of the day mixing the wrong ingredients together, continually ruining my salves and tonics and starting again.

I’m so distracted I can barely work, and this tiny, burgeoning hope is almost worse than the low-level depression that has plagued me for days.

I snort.