But Lero caught it and nodded once. “Then we're not we letting go of ours.”
Blayze groaned. “But how? How can we keep the females when we don’t have a planet to escape to?” He flopped onto the floor dramatically. “We’re doomed.”
Darren shifted his gaze to the wall, Aelanna’s voice echoing in his mind.
Then don’t push me away.
He closed his eyes.
The brothers stayed together in the dim room, exhausted but defiant.
Tomorrow, they would leave for Drypso, disillusioned but not defeated.
Chapter 17
A Second Journey
Darren stood to one side of the airlock ramp of the Pioneer with his brothers, the air sharp with the smoky metallic tang of Ohirin industry. The sky above was white, the bright Ohirin star filtered through a thin layer of cloud, the daylight like strip lighting that made his eyes water.
The ship had been thoroughly cleaned, serviced and restocked for the two-week journey. Pilot Joel and his crew were already on the bridge, running through pre-flight checks and programming the AI for the journey.
Aelanna and the other girls waited to board nearby, flanked by Ohirin guards.
His female was wearing the green dress and her long red hair hung in waves down her back and over her shoulders. Her face was pale and tense. She looked good enough to eat, but small and vulnerable, and he longed to take her in his arms and comfort her, but not with the Ohirins around.
Remembering their kiss the day before, the sweet way she surrendered to him and then kissed him back, sent pulses of desire through his body. He wanted to pull her into the spacecraft, pin her against the nearest wall, and claim her. He closed his eyes, reminding himself that he could never have her.
A cold presence before him. Near him. A hostile aura. He opened his eyes to see Crukugs standing right in his face. He raked Darren with his reptilian eyes, brimming with suspicion. He had marched deliberately over to the brothers, his feetthudding on the ramp, hands behind his back. Crukugs’ nostrils flared as he stood in Darren’s orbit. The commander had squared up to him, scowling.
Darren kept his face blank. Crukugs inspected him, the lizard’s eyes roaming over him. “You seem… different,” he accused. “What is the cause of it?”
Avoiding Crukug’s penetrating gaze, Darren stared in front of him and said nothing. The commander’s forked tongue shot out and tasted Darren’s cheek.
“Have you got closer to the females?” he growled and swept an accusing eye over Darren’s two brothers. “Any of you?”
Lero tensed, as if they weren’t tense enough. Blayze’s hand twitched toward his belt.
Darren kept his face bland and held still. “We leave for Drypso. Our orders are to guard the humans,” he said in a flat tone.
Crukugs’ tail flicked. “And I will not be joining you.”
The intention surprised Darren, though he should have expected it. The commander was needed on Ohiri. He could hardly have been expected to be absent from his duties for four weeks for the round trip.
“Carry out your orders, no more, no less,” he snapped in a voice loud enough for others to hear. “High Command is watching you.”
Darren’s pulse didn’t change. “Kesh var, Var-Kai.”
Crukugs lips tightened, then he hissed, a long low sound, turned and stalked away, the ramp vibrating with his heavy steps.
They boarded. Aelanna felt Darren’s hand lightly supporting her elbow as they climbed the ramp, but after a moment he took it away. Inside, the ambience was the same as she remembered, a rosy sunset glow and the air smelled faintly floral. She could have wept at the memories of being here before.
She, Kora and Nayli had the same cabins as before. Theyknew the way, but Darren escorted them anyway. “It’s my job to guard you, and it’s a pleasure,” he said. Lero and Blayze took charge of the other girls, four in Lero’s party, three in Blayze’s.
“Oh, am I pleased to be on board this ship again,” crowed Nayli. She was arranging bottles of toiletries on her vanity unit, that Darren had brought.
“Better put those away until after we’ve lifted off, remember?” Kora advised.
Nayli rolled her eyes. “Stupid me.” She put the bottles in her case and secured it to the bulkhead. Hands on hips, she faced Kora. “Don’t tell me your cabin is ship-shape?”
