Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) (34 page)

Of course, she had no doubt that he
was
right. It started to make sense now. Who else other than Corden could have killed  Brions and who else would have dared to order a Toron horde around? It was all him, Lana was sure of it.

But the damn Palian... He was doing it all wrong. Most importantly, he still thought anyone could reason with Worgen. Lana knew better, had
seen
better. Worgen didn't care who was to blame. He killed everyone he thought should die, without discrimination.

"This Brion," Worgen was saying. "What did he look like?"

Lana prayed that the Palian had
any
sense in his head to lie, now that the malice in Worgen's voice was very, very obvious. To her right, Lana thought she saw Yarel slowly drawing the gun from his hip. She wanted to warn them both, to scream, but it would have been a death sentence. Was it a Palian thing, to underestimate an enemy like that?

The scientist was hesitating, starting to realize he'd done something wrong, but still hoping to walk away from it.

"Tall," he said, "strong. Almost as powerful as you are, General."

If he thought flattery was going to get him out of it, he was wrong. Lana saw the understanding dawn on the mad general's face and it was horrible to witness. She would never have said the general looked peaceful before, but the change made it seem so.

Any warmth, any compassion he might have ever had washed away and was replaced with utter, all-encompassing fury. Lana and the Palians found themselves seeing the first true manifestation of the Brion rage since the dark days of their species.

She doubted any of them relished the historic moment.

Slowly, very slowly, the general turned to her. The contempt she saw there shattered any illusions she had of a happy ending to all of it.

Corden
, she thought. As life flashed before her eyes, Lana realized that her priorities had changed completely. It wasn't death she feared the most, not even torture. It was never seeing her
gerion
again.

"He lives," Worgen said and Lana chose not to respond. "You knew."

The general came closer to her and she knew there was no place to hide. It was over. They'd lost.

"I was wrong about you," the mad general snarled, inches from her. The blazing armor was hurting her, burning her skin and threatening to set her clothes on fire. Lana could barely breathe in the heat of him, but the look in his eyes was so much worse. "You don't have spirit. You are only a slave to this fool, a whore."

Lana backed away, fury rising within her. If these were going to be her final moments, she wanted to give that bastard a piece of her mind.

"I am no one's
whore
," she hissed, "and I will never be yours."

Before Worgen could answer, a shot rang out. Lana cried out when it whined past her, aimed right at the general's head.

The blade rose and fell and she heard the bullet clatter on the floor.

Impossible
, Lana thought, while the world went into slow motion around her.

Worgen turned toward his would-be killer and Yarel took another shot, his expression stony. The general advanced in slow steps while the commander staggered back from him, firing as he went.

Worgen dodged each and every one of them, seemingly not even expending effort to do so. The Palian scientists were pleading for him to stop, but Lana couldn't get one word over her lips. She only realized what was happening when Yarel stumbled, falling. His eyes met hers and flared wide.

Run
, he mouthed.

There was no time to consider her options or to thank him. Not even a second to say goodbye. Lana turned on her heels and ran, hearing a roar behind her. She heard another shot as she rounded a corner, followed by the screams of the Palians.

Yarel was dead, she knew it. The grief wanted to bury her, but she refused to give in. Not like that. The commander had bought her a chance with his own life and Lana wasn't about to waste it. She ran as fast as she could, but could she really outrun a Brion warrior?

Looking behind, she heard no footsteps. The hallways were empty, everyone hiding from the general and the Torons. Hesitantly, she peeked around the corner. Running was ultimately futile. She knew that. Worgen would catch her. Perhaps it was better to hide?

Lana didn't know what to do. Corden was somewhere on the ship, looking for her no doubt, but she had no idea where.

She decided to head back to the landing bay, the place where Corden thought she'd be.

Lana hadn't taken two steps when a figure appeared from the darkness of a corner. She breathed out in relief, but it died on her lips. Instead of her fated, flames appeared from the shadows, licking over an armor as black as its owner's soul.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Corden

The landing bay was empty.

Petrifying fear was not an emotion Corden was familiar with. It was the worst possible moment to experience it.

Lana and Worgen were gone. That in itself wasn't surprising; he'd expected the mad general to want to talk to her, only Corden had been certain he would be able to track them. Worgen's men had delayed him. The originals had been dispatched to the ship, to deal with the Toron threat.

Corden wondered if he'd underestimated Worgen's concern over his valued warriors. Judging by the viciousness the Brion warriors showed when they encountered a Toron, it was possible.

So Corden had taken only a few minutes to stay and help his allies. He knew he was asking a lot of them, despite the revenge they were already set upon. And it wasn't like the great beasts were helpless, but he'd meant to pitch them against the
clones
. A whole unit of originals were an opponent they would have struggled with. The general couldn't simply stand by and watch as they were being butchered.

He'd decided to join the fight, cutting through the ranks of the warriors with malice he hadn't expected. Corden thought it was the disappointment of the two rounds of fighting he'd done against the warriors in the lab. He was satisfied with the three that had chosen to take his offer, but it was infuriating that the others hadn't.

They were not Brions, no matter how brightly their valor squares might have burned now that they were finally experiencing emotions again. A real Brion accepted responsibility for their failures as well as the victories.

Arriving at the landing bay and finding it empty was almost too much to bear. Corden knew he hadn't tarried, had not toyed with the originals. He'd slayed them quickly and efficiently, taking the first opportunity for a kill he could find. And he knew it was the right thing to do, but it had lost him Lana.

Gritting his teeth, Corden forced himself to consider the facts.
Guessing
was a close second on the list of things he hated, next to not knowing all the details. He had to think. Where could Worgen have taken Lana?

The lab was a possibility, so was the bridge. Her quarters, even, as little as the general wanted to think of that option. Any of them were likely, depending on Worgen's mood. All the options open to him were equally bad. To dash after Lana raised the possibility he was wrong. To stay and wait meant losing even that slim chance.

A Palian crewmember was walking around the bay aimlessly. His big eyes were wide, like he was searching for something. The clothes marked him out as one of the crew, specifically the bridge.

Yarel
, Corden thought.

He took one more moment to make sure he was reading the signs right. No, the Palian was definitely there waiting for him.

He approached the man, seeing the way the Palian flinched at the sight of him. Corden wasn't surprised; he was still covered in the blood of his enemies and the battle spear on his back probably didn't help either.

But Yarel had chosen his men well. As much as the Palian obviously feared him, he walked to meet him right away.

"General Corden?" he asked, just in case there was another six-foot-five warrior with beaming valor squares on the ship.

Other than Worgen, that was.

"Speak," the general ordered.

Immediately, the little Palian switched to reporting mode, specific and precise.

"Captain, commander, and the evil general are in the lab. Interrogating scientists about the Torons. Worgen is very mad. Commander signaled for you to hurry."

Corden didn't need to hear more. Without another word, he took off toward the lab, not even bothering to hide himself anymore. It was all going to be over soon one way or another.

He arrived to find the scientists gathered around a body lying on the ground. No Lana. No Worgen. Corden rushed closer, only to see Yarel lying in a pool of his own blood.

It hurt more than he'd thought it would, especially when the frightened Palians explained to him that the commander had died protecting Lana. She had run away and Worgen had followed only after making sure Yarel was dead.

Corden looked down at his fallen ally. It was the worst thing about loyalty. You could only really know someone's worth once they had laid everything they had on the line . The general had known the Palian commander was willing to fight by his side and destroy Worgen, but to do so much for him... it was a debt Corden would never be able to repay.

He had thought they were alone, but the sound of footsteps made him turn around. Worgen had been very quiet, almost impossibly quiet to cheat his hearing. The other general approached, his spear already drawn, a mirthless smile on his lips.

"You survived," he stated. "Very careless of me."

Corden turned, his eyes looking for Lana, but finding no evidence of her. If he'd gotten her, if he'd hurt a hair on his
gesha
's head...

"That is what happens when you send your men to fight your own battles," he replied, drawing his spear. "Where is Lana?"

Worgen stopped a little way from him, the black eyes glaring a hole through Corden.

"I expected better from a general, you know," Worgen said, ignoring him. He was slowly beginning to circle Corden, keeping him firmly in sights. "Briolina has clearly lost its way if even you don't see the truth."

"The truth of what?" Corden asked calmly.

The battle focus had settled, his enemy was in his sights. Every sense he possessed was now narrowed down on Worgen, taking in the other general, trying to discern a weakness. So far, the mad general didn't seem to offer any. He was an intimidating opponent—Corden was ready to admit that. About as tall and powerful as he was, not to mention damned quick and agile.

The way Worgen had killed the Toron had showed Corden that even more so than their first skirmish had. He couldn't underestimate him. He couldn't even assume Worgen had put up a real fight on the
Raptor
. The man opposite of him was dangerous, if only for being made entirely out of lies.

Worgen's black eyes were watching him as well, impossible to read. The burning armor was red hot, but an issue only if he got too close.

"The truth of victory," Worgen said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You think I am a coward for not returning to the little ship to face you myself?"

"Of course. I am a Brion. I would never send another man to face my enemy."

"Didn't you?" Worgen asked, pointing to Yarel.

Mentioning the Palian made Corden's valor squares flare to life, bathing the lab in crimson. In the light of it, he noticed the scientists had run, as they should. Yarel's body was still lying on the floor.

"He was not supposed to face you. Not in actual combat."

"But he did."

Corden laughed, getting the first real reaction out of Worgen. The mad general growled, his easy demeanor dropping for a second before he regained control. They were still circling each other slowly, trying to figure out their opponent's weak points.

"You think that is an insult," Corden said. "You think I sent him to fight you. I assure you, I did not. He chose to confront you himself, knowing he'd die. It makes him a thousand times braver than you are."

"How
dare you
?!" Worgen boomed then, the armor almost engulfed in a bright red flame. "You would compare me to a
Palian
?"

"No," Corden said. "I wouldn't dishonor the Palian by comparing him to you."

Worgen's roar echoed back from the high walls of the lab, but Corden merely grinned. If the other general wanted to hand him the advantage by getting furious, he was welcome to.

"He was a fool," Worgen hissed when he saw that Corden wasn't about to say anything more. "And so are you."

"I am Brion," Corden said. "What are you?"

"I am the man who will remind you what true victory is. I will remind all of you."

"I know my brothers and sisters," Corden said proudly. "No matter what happens here today, they will never side with you."

"Then I will kill them all."

"That would make you a very lonely victor."

"That is fine with me. The Last Brion. It has a ring to it, don't you think?"

Corden smiled, raising his spear on guard. "The last Brion would die fighting against you.
Where is Lana
?"

Worgen's own grin returned at last and he answered by assuming a battle stance.

"Her?" he asked. "She is on the
Abysmal
."

Only seconds after thinking that Worgen was about to hand the victory to him by losing his temper, Corden growled in unrestrained fury.

"If you hurt her—" he began, but the mad general cut him off.

"She is fine, for now," he said. "Waiting for me in my bedroom. This is what I was talking about, boy. True victory. You don't simply kill your enemies. You break them to pieces before they die so others will never even try. And
you
will draw your last breath, knowing that I will fuck your
gesha
's wet pussy after I hang your corpse on the wall for her to see."

All his life, Corden had relied on his mind to show him the path to victory. Almost always, it entailed a well-crafted plan that he executed without a fault. In that moment, listening to Worgen defile everything he held dear, his mind and body were in accord.