A Forgotten Kitten (Sea-anan Saga Book 2) (34 page)

Areo tried to look at the one who had her hair wrapped around his fist. She raised her gun and took aim. A second invisible Orion snatched it out of her hand, breaking her right wrist in the process. The pain made her angry. Areo reached for her semi-automatic laser gun with her left hand. That same Orion dislocated her left
shoulder as he yanked the gun from her grasp, nearly ripping her arm from her torso.

Areo screamed in agony. While gasping for breath, she received a powerful blow to her midsection. She heard a crack. Through blurred vision, she watched the two Orions turn off their cloaking devices.

Two pale crablike faces appeared. Both were framed by silver dreadlocks that converted the atmosphere to their form of oxygen. They each stared back at Areo with their small black eyes. Had it not been for the one who held her hair, she would have slumped to the ground.

A big, clawed hand closed around her neck. Areo knew the end was near. The giant alien lifted her to his eye level. Opening his other fist, he clamped down hard on her head. Areo’s heart stopped. She knew exactly what he was about to do.

“Go ahead and kill me, Orion,” she croaked between sobs. “But know this…my husband will avenge me. Sev will hunt you down and kill you!”

“You think so?” he replied in a raspy voice.

“I know so.”

The Orion said no more. He intentionally took his time pulling Areo’s head. Areo guessed he was enraged that one lowly female was able to kill his comrades. She knew he would take her head and spine as a trophy, bringing it back to the mother ship to display alongside his other polished spinal columns.

Areo was unable to scream or breathe because of his tightening grip. Resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes and thought of one thing. Sev. She felt her spine stretching, pulling apart. All her thoughts ceased. Suddenly, her pain was overshadowed by a falling sensation. Her neck snapped back, halting her descent temporarily before landing hard on the ground.

Areo gulped in air. Coughing and crying, she realized she was still alive. She barely wondered what, or who, had saved her. She tried to move. Crying out in pain, she decided not to try that foolishness again and stayed where she fell, listening to the sound of
clashing steel. It did not last long. She was not surprised. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the inevitable.

Two big hands seized her shoulders and spun her abruptly, sending another massive wave of pain through her small frame. Areo cried out once before losing consciousness.

Tuesday, the 15th of March

Royal Chamber

Castle Laaren

Cynthia made her way next door to Areo’s quarters on her crutches. Her sister Tabitha had informed her that Areo had not opened her eyes in twelve days. Cynthia prayed her older sister did not remain in a coma for the rest of her young life.

Areo looked small and pale in the king-size, iron canopy bed. The eerie flow of its white curtains made Cynthia shiver. The idea of Areo never rising from the white bedding made her heart spasm.

Cynthia regarded the frightening looking bed frame and tears sprung to her eyes. She felt ill. She had loved the bed when Areo first purchased it, but now it looked like a steel coffin.

Unexpectedly, Cynthia detected movement from the pillows. Her breath caught. Her sister was stirring. Cynthia did not move, fearing that it was only her hopeful imagination. Still, she prayed like never before.

Areo tentatively opened her eyes. Seeing her surroundings, she was surprised to find herself in her bed. Thinking that perhaps she had dreamt everything, she tried to sit up. She cried out in pain and realized her ordeal had not been a dream.

Cynthia sighed in relief. “Let’s not do that again, OK?”

Areo greeted her with her mind. {Cyn! Thank God you’re all right. Where’s Coby? Is he OK?}

{He’s fine. He’s with his parents.} Cynthia hobbled over and took a seat on the bed. {How are you feeling today?}

{I’ll answer that with a question. Why am I not dead? And how did I get here?}

Cynthia held up two fingers. {That’s two questions. And I’ll just say this, I’m totally jealous of you.}

{Huh?}

{Sev is gorgeous!}

Areo’s brows met. {Sev?}

{Yes. I never would have guessed that short, skinny kid had it in him. Jeezum, Areo, is he really your husband? Did you really mate with that hunk of a man?}

{I don’t understand. Who told you about Sev? And what does he have to do with me being here?}

{Very simple. He saved your life.}

{What? How? He was supposed to be headed back to Oceanica.}

{Well, it seems that your faithful little kitten was devastated when he heard that you were killed trying to pass through the grid. Having nothing else to live for, and not wanting your death to be in vain, he used his title as our new king and ordered the fleet to remain where they were. They had to figure out a way to get past the grid. He wasn’t letting anyone leave until Laaren was back under Seacat rule—or until every Seacat was dead.}

Areo’s shocked expression placed a smile on her face.

{Sev’s White Star led the attack. He went first for the enemies’ docked ships. Once he was satisfied that none were able to fly again, he headed for the shelters in hopes that you had survived. While in transit, he received a warning signal from the Sword of Power that there was a Seacat in danger.}

Cynthia pointed to herself and then to Areo. {Us. He ordered his ship to turn around. Mike had already received my red alert and knew where to find us. So, before Sev had a chance to give his order, the White Star had its new coordinates plotted in. I was flying with Coby in tow when I saw the ship heading your way. I decided to hop a ride. We phased through the ship and onto the bridge, colliding with a couple of Oceanans who were not pleased to see us.}

Areo smiled as her sister kept speaking. She enjoyed listening to Cynthia’s girlish voice.

{I have to say, this Miko has a nasty attitude.}

Areo cut in. {That’s an understatement.}

{Well, he was the one who broke my fall. And from the gleam in his eyes, I got the impression that he wanted to break my neck.}

Areo chuckled. {He probably did if you collided with him.}

{More like landed on top of him.} Cynthia shook her head. {I still can’t decide if landing on the floor would have been softer. Have you noticed how muscular he is? Let me tell you, sis, they are as hard as they look. How can he possibly walk with all of those muscles?}

Areo laughed and immediately regretted doing so. She placed her right hand on her ribs. Again, she winced at the pain it caused to move her shoulders.

{Anyway, after I told Sev that you were fighting the Orions alone, I was completely forgotten. He started barking orders to everyone on the bridge. Once we landed, the doors couldn’t open fast enough for him. And boy, did we have a dandy of a time keeping up with him.} She pointed to herself. {I changed into a smaller bird, and I still couldn’t keep up with him.}

She chuckled. {When we finally arrived to where I’d left you, we saw how you were about to become Marie Antoinette. Before the sight sunk into our brains, Sev roared so loudly that the entire planet practically trembled. And what we saw next will never be forgotten. But I got the impression the Oceanans were a little more shaken by it than our warriors.}

Areo frowned. {What happened?}

{Sev charged at the Orion who had you in his grip. First, he cut off the hand that held you around the neck. Then his attention was drawn away by the second Orion, who jumped in to save his companion. Sev caught a glimpse that the first Orion was still going to kill you, so…he really had no choice but to cut you free.} Her voice tapered off as she rushed the last few words.

Areo’s eyes widened. She had not missed the mumbled words. “What do you mean, ‘cut me free’?” She nervously patted her head. “My hair! My long hair!”

“Areo, calm down. It was either that or your life.”

Areo held up her hair to get a better idea of how short it was. “He cut off my hair!”

“He didn’t cut it
that
short. It’s still past your shoulders.”

“It’s short!”

“Oh, Areo.”

“Don’t you ‘Oh, Areo,’ me!” Areo shouted. “You like short hair!”

“It will grow back. Besides, it’s not that short, it reaches your upper back.”

Areo wagged her hair at her sister. “Have you forgotten how long it took me to grow this thing?” She looked at her hair. “I don’t believe he did this. How could he?”

It was Cynthia’s turn to be surprised. “Areo, it was either that or be killed. Which would you have preferred?”

Areo pouted. Not answering, she examined her hair.

“Areo!”

“I’m thinking! I’m thinking!”

Cynthia let out an exasperated cry. “I’m out of here.” She hopped back onto her crutches.

“Wait, you haven’t finished your story.”

Sighing at how impossible her sister could sometimes be, Cynthia plopped back down and continued where she let off. {Sev was out of control. No one dared to intervene for fear of being chopped down to size.}

{What do you mean?}

{He did to the Orions what they had intended to do to you. He cut off their heads with one clean slice of his blade.}

Areo pulled her eyes away. “He killed them?” she mumbled.

{Uh, yeah! What did you expect him to do? Shake their hands?}

{Sev had never taken a life, sis. He was innocent. None of them have taken a life before.}

{Ooooooh.} Cynthia grimaced. {I see. Now I understand why the Oceanans have been acting the way they have, especially Miko.} She bit her lip.

Areo released a bitter chuckle. {I can just imagine.} She watched her sister stand. {How’s your ankle?}

{Hairline fracture, like you said.}

Areo nodded. {Where is Sev?}

{He’s making certain the bad guys are being treated accordingly. No kid gloves here. He’s really pissed at almost having you killed right before his eyes. For the past twelve days, he’s been unreasonable and downright nasty to everyone.} Cynthia pointed to herself. {Including me, and I’m the one who led him to you. Talk about being ungrateful.}

Areo smiled, not insulted by her sister’s remark. {I’m sorry about that.}

Jokingly, Cynthia sniffed. “Hmph.” Lifting her nose, she hobbled to the door.

Areo giggled. {Take it easy with that ankle, OK?}

{And you stay in bed until you’ve fully recovered. I don’t want to get yelled at again by your devoted mate.}

“Ha-ha, oooh.” Areo’s laughter would have echoed through the room if it did not hurt to laugh out loud.

Sev entered on soundless feet after being notified that Areo was awake. With devotion in his eyes, he gazed down on his soulmate’s bruised features. His childhood assumptions that they were created for each other and that his life would end if he lost her had never felt truer.

The emotions he had felt when he had believed Areo was dead resurfaced. Sev was swamped by emptiness, confusion, and an immense, suffocating fear. He was drowning again, benumbed, just like on that horrible day twelve and a half years ago. He was unaccustomed to bearing such emotions. Each time he felt them, it pertained to losing Areo. This was quite unsettling, for life was not a sure guarantee at any age.

Sev gently sat beside his wife. With a feathery touch, his fingers roamed over Areo’s right cheek. Flashbacks of their life together skimmed through his mind, including memories of their last day together in their homeworld, within his chambers, and in his bed. Sev brushed his lips over Areo’s until she awoke. Filled with an unquenched thirst to finish what he had started long ago, Sev
gingerly clasped Areo’s face and stared into her eyes. He was taken back to that life-altering day twenty-two years ago when their eyes had first met.

With confident movements, Sev stood and removed his imperial clothes; then, he flung the bedcovers to the foot of the bed. He carefully climbed on the bed and straddled Areo. Using his black sword, he sliced Areo’s thin nightdress in half.

“I love you.” Sev dropped the sword unto the floor. He nuzzled his face around Areo’s and purred. “I have loved you since your father brought you out to greet us. When I looked into your tiny eyes, I sensed the other half of my soul within your small body.”