Chapter Eight
Suki struggled to open her eyes. Every time her lids parted even a little, a bright light nearly blinded her and sent shards of pain through her head. It almost felt like someone had been pounding her brain with a sledgehammer. She lifted her arm to block the worst of it and groaned from the effort. What was wrong with her? It was like a ton of rocks were weighing her down, her movements sluggish and taking more effort than usual. Her lips were dry, her mouth having that cottony feeling people had with a hangover.
“You’re awake,” a male voice said. One she didn’t recognize. Panic filled her, her heart rate spiking, and her entire body locking up tight. Who was that? Where was she?
Her mind scrambled, trying to remember. Everything started to come back to her. The brothel. The alien taking her as a hostage. Then being attacked by that same alien before being discarded on a strange world. She’d lost consciousness as her body had hit the ground, having been shoved from the ship without the vessel even fully landing. She didn’t understand what had happened or why. Suki tried opening her eyes again, focusing on a blurry blue alien. No, the alien wasn’t blurry. Her vision was. She blinked a few more times as everything sharpened.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“Tourmalane. I’m the Healer and serve the royal family, though most simply call me Healer. Princess Lucie has been quite worried about you. I’ll notify her and your mate that you’ve woken.”
Suki jolted. “Mate? Tark is here?”
Or had they mated her to someone else? Her stomach clenched and acid burned her throat at the thought of being given to some random male she’d never met before. Never seeing Tark again made her chest ache and she rubbed at the spot.
“Your Tark is here,” Healer confirmed. “Please rest while I get Princess Lucie and your mate. You’ve suffered much trauma.”
Suki attempted to lie back and relax, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not until she saw for herself that Tark was really here. She didn’t know how he’d found her, but she was grateful. When the alien had taken her, using her as his hostage, she’d feared she’d never see her sexy, sweet cyborg ever again. As the slaver had beaten her, her only thought had beenplease let me live to be with Tark again. If he was here, then someone had heard her prayers and answered them.
A human woman came into the room, smiling, and Suki studied her. She didn’t remember seeing her at the brothel earlier. In fact, she didn’t remember ever having seen the woman before. As if her thoughts had been heard, the woman held out a hand.
“I’m Lucie. Or Princess Lucie as they call me around here. I’m married to Prince Drexyl of Tourmalane.”
Suki shook her hand hesitantly. “But you’re human. Aren’t you?”
Lucie nodded. “Yes. I was a slave on Keshpa. When my owner fled his planet, Drexyl boarded the ship and claimed me as his.”
“And you’re happy?” I asked.
“Very. He’s amazing, and I love him so much. I didn’t just gain a mate, but an entire family. Drexyl has a father and two brothers, who try to coddle me and I let them sometimes. We also have kids.” Lucie’s gaze dropped to Suki’s belly.
Suki placed her hand on her abdomen and looked down, wondering why Lucie was staring at her like that. Was something wrong? Had the slaver damaged her so much, he’d taken away her ability to have children? It hardly seemed fair, after Tark had given her the option of reversing her sterilization. What if the damage couldn’t be undone this time? Would her cyborg still want her?
“Suki!”
Her head jerked up and she smiled as Tark ran into the room, not stopping until he knelt beside the pod she was lying inside. Suki couldn’t stop the tears that slipped down her cheeks as she struggled to get out of the pod. Tark lifted her into his arms and held her tightly. She winced at the pain but wouldn’t release him regardless of the discomfort. She fisted his hair and buried her face against his neck, breathing in his scent.
“You came for me,” she said softly.
“Of course I did. I’m sorry you were injured, my sweet mate. I failed you.”
She shook her head. “No, you didn’t. I insisted on going, and when I thought you were hurt, I had to get to you. I’ll never forget how you looked when I walked into that room.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “It’s no one’s fault but mine.”
“No,” Lucie said. “It’s the fault of the asshole who hurt you. Not yours. Not your mate’s. Blame the alien responsible for this mess. The idiot demanded credits for you, which my mate gladly paid in order to free a human female, then just dumped you off his ship without landing. If Drexyl hadn’t already transferred the credits, he never would have paid the asshole.”
“She’s correct,” Healer said. “Were you injured, cyborg? You never mentioned that you needed to be healed.”
“I’m fine,” Tark said. “I was healed before I arrived here. It’s why the slaver was able to get away from us so quickly. Myself and another cyborg had to be placed in med pods before we could track the slaver. My injuries took longer to heal and my cyborg brothers were hesitant to go after Suki while I was on board another vessel.”
“Are the others here too? And the women we rescued?” Suki asked.
“Yes.” Tark hesitated. “I’m not certain the females will be leaving with us. One bonded to a Tourmalane. Negotiations are in place for more human females to come to Xpashta, ones here who haven’t bonded with anyone during their stay. And the Zelthranites are discussing the possibility of brides being offered to my people if they don’t match with someone from their world. Since we’re half-Zelthranite, their council feels it would be an easy enough agreement to make with your Earth.”
Suki smiled. “It will be nice to have more women on Xpashta. When can we go home?”
“After you’ve rested more,” Healer said. “You have more than yourself to consider right now.”
Suki blinked at him. “What’s that mean?”
