“Hold your breath, Opal.” His voice, although distorted underwater, is clear. It’s the voice of my protector.
The salt water stings my eyes, and I shut them. As he works his powerful body through the currents by feel alone, I know this is what his kind was designed to do. He cuts through the bay with movements like a dancer; we spin with corkscrew-like movements as he picks up speed. His mouth finds mine again, and he breathes sweet oxygen into me once more.
“We’re almost to the surface. I’ve had to find somewhere to break through outside of the fire,” he says.
I believe him; I can feel the heat as the fire burns on the surface of the water.
The gulp of air I take as we break the surface is all smoke and acrid tastes. I cough and splutter as Ke’ain wraps my legs around his hips. He treads water so effortlessly, keeping us afloat as he turns my head in his hands, checking me for wounds.
“Are you hurt?” he asks frantically, searching my face. “Tell me if you are in any pain.”
“I think I’m alright…” I say, my gaze drifting over his shoulder to the destruction behind us.
The si’bok is unrecognizable. Smoldering bergs of debris float haphazardly throughout the bay. People scream and sirens blare. My hearing, which I didn’t realize was dulled, comes back with a painful whoosh. The terrible sounds of the scene become all the louder. I cover my ears protectively just as I feel the whipping of winds building up behind us.
Ke’ain’s eyes widen, and I turn my head to see a large black craft hovering over us. A hatch flips open, and a bright blue light floods around our bodies. We are lifted from the water as if every cell inside of me is being pulled toward some unseen force. I have no control over my faculties as Ke’ain and I drift apart. I can’t speak, I can’t scream. Some unseen force holds us, and we ascend into the metallic black craft. All Ke’ain and I can do is stare into each other's eyes right as blackness overtakes me right before we reach our destination.
CHAPTER7
?SAINT BEYONCE?
?OPAL
I open my eyes,but there’s nothing. Am I blindfolded? I try to reach my hands up to clear whatever blocks my vision and realize my limbs are bound. The rough texture on my back leads me to believe that maybe I am tied to a tree.
Something that feels like wire bites into my wrists. I don’t smell the smoke from the accident, but I do still smell the sea. I wiggle my toes in the sand and wonder where my shoes went, although I wouldn’t be surprised if I had lost my ornate green heels when Ke’ain and I were blasted into the fucking air. Oh god, is he here with me?
“Ke’ain,” I whisper, “are you okay?”
I think I hear his voice, but it’s muffled. The sound of snickering fills my ears, and it’s not Ke’ain’s voice. My heart pounds—we’re not alone.
“Well, well, well,” a gravelly voice croons, “I don’t see what the fuss is all about. She was easy enough to snag, wasn’t she, boys?”
I hear mumbling, at least two other voices, and a slow and measured one speaks.
“Yeah boss, total cinch!”
“A total cinch?” This voice is different. “A total cinch wouldn’t involve an exploding royal convoy. It wouldn’t involve having to entangle the royal heir, to actively kidnap a member of the royal family. We arenotgetting paid enough for all this bullshit!”
“Don’t worry Saniri, it’ll all work out,” the slow and measured voice says.
“No f’teeing names!” the gravelly voice barks.
“Sorry, Captain.”
Heavy boots step toward me, their soles plodding through the sand. I feel a rough hand work its way up to my blindfold, fingers deftly untying it from my head. As the fabric drops and my eyes adjust, I take in the alien before me.
Parts of him seem like my Ke’ain. His build, his hands, and the small bit of his skin I can see look like they belong to the fi’len. From the bridge of his nose down is covered in a skintight suit. Its black fabric is covered in snaking lines of glowing red liquid, almost like his circulatory system is on the outside of his body. I mean, like if his blood was made of glow stick goo. The shock of black hair atop his head is in sharp contrast to Ke’ain’s lighter locks as well.
His eyes burn the same bright red as the glowing tubes that pulse and twist around his form. His face is too close to mine, and his hot breath grazes the skin of my cheek. I want to push him away, I want to yell, but his entire presence is so domineering that I just keep still. I know this man will hurt me.
“So, tell me human, why’s the bounty on your head so high?” He steps back slightly, crossing his arms. He doesn’t look impressed by me in the least.
“I didn’t even know there was a bounty…” I take a guess at his name. “Captain.”
He scoffs, but continues to give me the once over. I look at his companions. They both wear dark gray coveralls, but that’s where the similarities stop. One is tall and broad, his skin is dry scales of orange and red. It breaks near the crown of his head as though he is mid-shedding. His face still seems very human to me, save for the horns that decorate his jaw line. He looks incredibly annoyed. I can only guess that he’s Saniri.
The other alien reminds me almost of an orc. He has rows of horns that lead to his thick black hair ornamented with golden beads and rings. He is as wide as he is tall and obviously the muscle of the crew. I’m guessing the muscles supersede the common sense on that one. Smart or not, I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley.
