ONE
ROSE-TINTED GLASSES
Julia
There’smovement in the corner of my eye and my head swivels towards the window. Zaku’s lawn of dry grass, dirt, and scattered bones lies undisturbed. The line of tall pines past it indicates no recent movement. A single, small bug flitters by. When it flies out of sight, my shoulders relax.
Far to my right there’s a steep cliff with a beautiful view. While to my left, there’s more of Zaku’s lawn of dead grass and bones, then nothing else except rocky, steep terrain, and parched trees. Lots and lots of trees. Dull and dark green ones with sharp needles in large bushy clusters.
I’m not impressed. I could’ve stayed on a ship my whole life and have been fine without the trees. They were what disoriented me first when I arrived on Earth. They all looked the same and I couldn’t keep my bearings. Wild and thick, they surrounded me in every direction.
Still…
They’re also one of the reasons why I’m alive. So, as much as they unease me, I respect them, even admire them.
When my squad was attacked while we were out scouting—by the members of the crew of theWinged Ransom—it was a tree that blocked the bullet that would’ve ended me. And because of that tree, I was the only survivor.
The men of theWinged Ransomthought they could get information out of me so they kidnapped me instead, and to their disappointment, I had no information they didn’t already know and nobody wanted me enough from my unit to save me. Tied-up, starving, frozen, and in misery, I was praying for death before I was saved. Thefirsttime I was saved.
I flick my eyes over the trees once more and shiver. A forest is nothing likeThe Dreadnaut. It’s pure and utter chaos. It’s disorienting, eerie, and easy to get turned around. Which is why I’m alsonotthe newest member of theWinged Ransom’screw. That, and because I twisted my ankle on a raised tree-root and could go no further.
After I was saved by Laura and her mate, Azsote, I had a chance to leave Earth with the remaining members of theWinged Ransombut I never made it because I lost Gemma and Shelby, and then lost my way. So instead I hid, bound my foot best I could, and feared the worst. At that point, I was alone and lost amongst the trees…
Until I wasn’t. Searching for a certain naga amongst the spiny foliage, I instead force him out of my thoughts.
I shift my gaze away and check over my sleeping charges. Curled together in a cozy bundle in the middle of a cushioned, circular nest, Daisy’s children are slumbering deeply, part-way through their midday nap. I love the three little boys. The two with tails are holding onto them.
Besides my heart warming, I note no changes. My eyes move over the sparsely decorated bedroom, full of ruffled hides of many shapes and sizes and sewn-together pillows stuffed with old clothing. The only furniture is the cushioned, black chair I’msitting on beside the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up the entire front facade of Zaku’s home. There’s a few pictures on the wall, all showing mountainous landscapes and a single, large mirror framed in dark wood.
Since that day alone and lost with a sprained ankle, and subsequent rescue or recapture—I have not decided which—it’s been my job to keep the kids safe when their parents are elsewhere. I also help wherever I’m needed, earning my keep all while hiding away in Zaku’s home because I have no other good option available now that I’ve missed my only chance to leave Earth and return home.
While resting my foot, I decided what I should do… Whether I should backtrack and return to Zaku’s—find Laura and Azsote—or to take my chances alone, and keep going. If I kept going, I knew my only hope would be to find another camp but after my last unit betrayed me and left me for dead, I wasn’t eager to seek more of them out. They would interrogate me, and if I didn’t know too much, I would then be given a new assignment. But my choice was ultimately taken from me—again—when a naga found me.
Not just any naga. Krellix. Zaku’s closest confidante.
That was nearly six months ago. Rubbing my eyes, I can’t believe I’ve been holed up here for half a standard cyclical ship year.
After Krellix returned me to Zaku’s, I haven’t stepped a single foot outside becausehedecided I wasnotto be taken to any encampment and back to my own kind—which was an option I was considering. He decided that it would be safest for all if I remained behind Zaku’s impenetrable walls. By then I knew too much. I knew—generally—everyone’s whereabouts. I knew and still know where Laura is, which the leadership onThe Dreadnautis hunting. Everyone agreed it would be best if I stayed at Zaku’s, except, well Zaku. He, like the other matedmales, fought viciously to not be burdened by me: an unmated female that nearly every unmated naga male will want.
Branches shift along the treeline to my left. Searching the depths of the foliage as I straighten in my chair, a large form appears, partially obscured by pines and leaves.
By the time I meet his eyes, he’s already gazing directly at me, having found me in the glinting glass. A yellow and cream Boa, frightening and quiet, and often lurking about since his arrival several days past.
If I take a chance leaving on my own now, I risk coming up against him and the other nagas hanging around and if he, or one of the others, gets his hands on me… I may be worse off than now.
Because the Boa isn’t the only male watching me from the woods. He’s just the newest member of my ‘fanclub.’
Frowning at him, straightening further, it’s not worry that fills me upon seeing him, it’s anger. Something about the way he looks at me makes me feel like a piece of meat, like I’m in his way and… he’s unhappy with me. But unlike the other nagas, he doesn’t seem to be here just for me, at least not only for me, and that’s not good.
He pulls his gaze away from mine to search the rest of the front of the house.
Hearing a sound behind me, I drag my eyes away, hoping it’s not Daisy. The children remain sleeping as I quietly stand and walk across the room to check outside the door. Lining my back up against the wall next to it, I hear a long sigh coming from beyond. Peeking deeper into the house, I see Zaku’s tail coming out of the spiral staircase that leads towards his and Daisy’s private chambers. I don’t see the rest of him.
The room between us is nearly as large as the entry atrium of the house. While below and to the right of the house’s big entryway, this separate space is mostly empty with only a coupleof plush, black chairs along the walls. Daisy told me it once had a pool in it but she had the robots remove the water and cover it up.
Now, the middle of the room is covered in rugs, hides, and makeshift toys that are scattered everywhere, most of which are different sized balls made from various materials that the kids love to roll and kick. Unlike the other large entry space, this lower room doesn’t have access to the outer wall window, with guest rooms like the one I’m in being in between along the front of the house instead. From where I’m standing by the door, I can’t see the ground outside anymore, only the tops of the trees because of the way Zaku’s lawn slopes outside to the left.
“She hassss to go?—”
