Axtin: A Science Fiction Adventure Romance (Conquered World Book 2) Read online

  “Fine.”

  She walked away from me again, but at least she was quiet about it this time. We walked for nearly an hour in silence before I made another mistake.

  “I have an honest question for you,” I asked.

  With a normal voice that took me by surprise—I hadn’t heard it from her before—she responded with a simple, “What’s that?”

  “All you have to do is double-check an equation for a formula, yes?” I confirmed.

  “Yeah,” she answered.

  “Couldn’t we have done that from the Vengeance? Why did we have to risk danger to travel there?” I followed up.

  She stopped dead in her tracks, forcing me to stop and look back at her. The look on her face made me realize, finally, that I had made that mistake.

  “Really?” she asked, clearly exasperated this time. “You think my job is so easy that I can just do everything remotely? That I don’t need to be hands-on? That I can do it while sitting on the toilet? Is that what you think?”

  “Well, no…I just…” I never got to say another word.

  She went into an absolute tirade, ripping into me about my lack of intelligence, how I was just a jock—whatever that was—and how this was her life, her passion, and that she can’t just do it from some room on a god-forsaken alien trash can.

  She kept going for what seemed like forever before I heard something. I tried to quiet her, but she just took it as another dig at who she was and what she did and proceeded to get louder. I still heard the sound through the slight pauses in her verbal attack.

  Something was coming.

  Then they crashed out of the trees nearby, five of those Luurizi things—enough to be a herd. They were little delicate creatures, with poisonous barbs on their hooves. They jumped high in the air, their hooves aimed right at Leena’s head.

  They never made it there.

  I caught one of the creatures, bounced it off the ground, and snapped its neck, turning its head clean around a full rotation.

  Then I took my blaster and shot three of them in quick succession, knocking them back, rendering them immobile.

  The remaining one changed its trajectory and then ran away as it saw its herd decimated.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God.” Leena kept repeating over and over, staring at the creature as it twitched on the ground.

  I grabbed her and pulled her close, wrapping her in my arms. “I have you. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Why am I letting myself feel for her like this? Why do I care about her own blasted feelings right now? She’s annoying, she’s stubborn, she’s stupid—not really, she’s brilliant, and she knows things I’d never hope to understand, but she’s stupid on basic things—and she drives me crazy.

  Then I noticed her eyes on me, her quickened breathing, and the look behind the shield she had put up. There was something there that I’d never noticed before. I chuckled to myself.

  She was barely tall enough to reach my chest. Her blonde hair was in stark contrast to my brown, and her slim figure was dwarfed by my hulk. Something inside me screamed out to take her, to take her right now and make her mine.

  Srell.

  I knew right from that moment that there was something special about this female. But we had a job to do, and if we didn’t get it done soon, there wouldn’t be a chance for me to find out what. I pulled away from her.

  I cleared my throat to get my voice back. “We should get going, before anything else shows up.” I started walking.

  3

  Leena

  My hands shook, my breath coming in uneven gasps as I followed Axtin further down the path.

  I told myself that it was the Luurizi attack, that I was just shaken from the near-death experience, but the lie felt hollow even in my own mind.

  Sure, almost being impaled by a wild animal was unsettling—there was no denying that. But it was what I felt in Axtin’s arms that had truly shaken me. Even then, walking several feet behind him, I could still feel him, the press of him against me, the heat of his emerald skin.

  I groaned, shoving the thoughts from my mind with force.

  Obviously, I reasoned with myself, the past few days had affected me even more than I had realized. The trauma of everything had finally been catching up to me—sure, that was it.

  Because clearly, I wasn’t actually attracted to Axtin. For fuck’s sake, he wasn’t even a human being.

  Feeling reassured of my relative sanity, I hurried my steps, closing the distance between us.

  It wasn’t exactly the simplest task. Axtin was, after all, a great deal larger than me. His long legs ate up the distance ahead of us, and I rushed to catch up to him.

  I ignored the way my hands picked right up shaking as I got near him, just as I ignored the sound of my own pounding heart.

  I had more important things to focus on after all, like save the world.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice quiet, gruff.

  “Fine.”

  He turned his head slightly, eyeing me slowly. For a moment, I thought he’d speak, but he clearly thought better of it, turning his attention back towards the path.

  I watched him from the corner of my eye, feeling unable to control my gaze. The sunlight played wonders on his skin, reflecting brilliantly off the deep green, off the bands of purple that stood in stark contrast to the rest of him.

  He seemed to walk with extra care since the attack, his eyes constantly roving over our surroundings. Every now and then, he’d quicken his pace, hurrying ahead to move a fallen log from the path or peek around a blind. His attention felt odd, personal somehow, and I found it almost impossible to look away.

  It wasn’t until his eyes met mine again that I even realized how long I’d been staring. Quickly, feeling like a child, I bowed my head, staring in rapt fascination at the thick carpeting of leaves beneath my feet.

  I tried my best to focus on the real issue at hand, redirecting my thoughts back to the scent bombs. I had a fairly good memory of the formulas I’d already seen. If I could just focus on it, I might come up with a good solution before we even arrived in Duvest.

  Try as I might, though, my thoughts seemed beyond my control. One moment, I’d be reciting a formula in my mind; the next, I’d find myself once again staring at Axtin’s hulking form.

  I groaned inwardly, frustrated at my own behavior for once.

  What on earth was wrong with me?

  We walked in silence for a long while, my thoughts twirling strangely through my mind. I don’t know how long we went on like that. It seemed like hours, though I knew it was far less.

  Axtin was the first to break the silence, slowing his gait to turn towards me.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine, Axtin. Why?”

  “I just—” He seemed to stumble over his words, unsure how to continue.

  “What?”

  “I didn’t do anything, did I? Like hurt or scare you, I mean.”

  I scoffed in amusement, completely caught off guard by the question.

  “No, trust me. You couldn’t, even if you wanted to.”

  He tilted his head, his features contorting into an expression I’d never seen on him before. He looked surprised, hurt even.

  But more surprising than his reaction was my own. To my utter amazement, I immediately regretted my words. Sure, Axtin got under my skin from time to time—or most of the time. But it had never been my intention to hurt him.

  I opened my mouth to tell him as much, but found myself at a loss for words. I had never encountered anyone who could make me trip over my own thoughts like this before. It was utterly infuriating.

  I reached up, running my fingers through my hair in irritation as I struggled to come up with a coherent thought.

  I was just opening my mouth to try again when the sound reached my ears.

  My teeth slammed shut with an audible click, my head whipping around wildly in search of the source.

  “Leena.” I heard Axtin
say, but my attention was elsewhere.

  Somewhere, near from the sound of it, someone was crying—a child.

  I spun in a circle, searching the trees as my heart started to thump wildly in my chest.

  What would a child be doing all the way out here?

  Had the Xathi found them?

  After a moment that felt like an eternity, I stilled, focusing on the direction I was now sure the sound was coming from.

  “It’s coming from over there,” I said, pointing towards a dense thicket.

  “Leena, it’s not—”

  I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say—I couldn’t. With every passing second, my fear only seemed to grow. I knew something was wrong, and I couldn’t simply stand around and talk it out with Axtin.

  I surged forward before I’d even fully decided to, my feet kicking up clouds of dirt as I propelled myself into the thickening forest. With every step, the sound seemed to grow louder, beckoning me on like a siren.

  My mind spun through a million possibilities for what might lay ahead, each grimmer than the last. I clenched my fists, struggling to find a sense of control in the sudden chaos.

  I could hear Axtin calling my name from somewhere back in the trees, his voice laced with near panic. I understood his worry, feeling a deep sense of dread pool in my own chest, as well.

  Still, I raced onward, unwilling to let my growing fear stop me. Somewhere in these trees was a child in need of help. I could never look at myself the same way again if I didn’t do anything to help the poor thing.

  The trees thinned around me, space opening up in the dense foliage. The cries grew even nearer, seeming impossibly close.

  Finally, panting, I broke into a small clearing. My body quivered from the exertion, sweat beading my forehead as I looked wildly about for the source of the cries.

  I was so panicked, I nearly missed her. She sat in the shade of a nearby tree, her dark hair was matted, falling around her in waves as she buried her face in her hands. The cries only seemed to grow louder as I approached, one hand extended before me in what I hoped would be seen as a sign of peace.

  “Hello? Don’t be afraid. I want to help,” I said.

  She didn’t move, didn’t say a word. Her cries continued unabated, her small shoulders shaking in the intensity of her pain.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked softly, still inching my way towards her.

  Still nothing. It was like she didn’t even know I was there.

  “Everything’s going to be okay. I’m going to help you.” I was nearly whispering, trying my best not to frighten her as I finally closed the distance between us.

  I should have known that something was wrong—the way she ignored me, the way she seemed utterly oblivious to my presence. It should have been obvious that things weren’t what they seemed.

  My own fear made me completely unaware, though.

  “Sweetie?” I asked, reaching down to touch her.

  I expected her to jump, maybe even to scream at my touch, but she didn’t—though I suppose that makes sense, given that I never touched her at all.

  My hand passed neatly through her, disappearing into the pale white of her shoulder. I felt nothing—no resistance, nothing.

  My thoughts seemed to stutter, logic failing me in my shock.

  I reached for her again, only to watch my hand pass once more through the shaking child at my feet.

  I looked around dazedly, feeling my eyes widen in fear.

  And that’s when the walls went up around me.

  The forest floor sprang to life, beams of energy seeming to jump from the earth itself. I was instantly encased, trapped on all sides by the neatly spaced beams that created a wall around the air.

  Time seemed to slow as my mind spun painfully, desperately trying to make sense of this newest twist. In utter horror, I took in the cage that now surrounded me, my gaze whipping from it to the still sobbing child now safely outside of its walls.

  My thoughts seemed to slow even as my heart began to race.

  That’s when I started to scream.

  4

  Axtin

  There was a moment, the smallest fraction of a second, where I couldn’t imagine Leena making that sound.

  I couldn’t picture her making such a noise. The pure terror, the anguish, drove me into a blind rage. Not even the trees were safe as I tore a path through the dense undergrowth to reach her.

  I didn’t understand it. Yes, I had orders to protect her, and regardless of how much of a pain in the ass she was, I was going to fulfill those orders. I’m not going to pretend I’m easy-going; I’d just as likely shoot something before talk to it.

  But this aggression, this blood-boiling rage, was irrational, even by my standards.

  If it was anyone else, I would have scoffed. It was their fault for being careless. I warned them, and they should have listened to me.

  Of course, I’d help them, but I probably would have been a bit of an ass about it. But not with Leena. All I wanted was to find her and get her somewhere safe.

  Leena was caught in a spring-trap cage with a force field keeping her in. I shook my head in disgust. I’d seen this too many times.

  Leena clawed at the invisible barrier frantically, still trying to reach for the child—rather, the holographic projection of a child. Each time, the energy feedback crackled and pushed her back.

  Quickly, I looked and found a rock, throwing it into the force field. Energy shards went in all directions, lighting up the surroundings. Still, the force field stood.

  I took my blaster and began to unload on it. It flickered furiously. I continued my firing until the force field finally winked out.

  Leena was still shrieking, her eyes wide, but not fully seeing what was happening around her. I pulled her into my chest, trying to stabilize her.

  For the second time that afternoon, we were incredibly close. And for the second time that day, I realized she was not as indestructible as she made herself seem to be. The living ice statue of a person I’d been bickering with was just a cold exterior—I didn’t have a clue what she was really like.

  “Make it stop! Make it stop!” she moaned, trashing against me and pounding on my chest with her almost comically small hands.

  The hologram was still activated, the false child still crying for help. Still keeping Leena close, I kicked away at the layer of dead twigs and rotting leaves until I found the small hologram generator. It made a satisfying crunch when I smashed it under the heel of my boot.

  It had been a while since I’d seen a hologram lure like that. If I hadn’t been trained to recognize them, it would have fooled me the same way it did Leena.

  “It’s gone now,” I said, wrapping an arm around Leena’s small shoulders. She wasn’t fighting against me anymore, but her breathing was rapid and shallow, and her eyes still darted around like she was still searching for the human child.

  I reached up and gently caught her face in one of my hands, forcing her to look at me. It was easy to forget how small she was when she had such a large presence. She put so much effort into making herself seem bigger and scarier than she actually was.

  “Leena, listen to me,” I said gently but firmly. “That child wasn’t real. It was a hologram.”

  “What?” she rasped.

  “It was a Xathi hologram lure,” I explained. “So right now, we have to get moving. If there are any Xathi in the area, they’ll be heading this way to see what set it off.”

  That seemed to snap Leena back into it. She nodded once before stepping out of my arms.

  “Which way?” she asked.

  I jerked my chin vaguely towards the path of destruction I’d left behind me when I rushed to help her. She nodded again but didn’t start walking until I was in step with her.

  We walked quickly and quietly for about a mile. When I was sure the Xathi were no longer an immediate threat, I reached out and touched her arm.

  She flinched at first, fixing me with a cold stare that did
n’t have its usual bite behind it.

  “I just want to make sure you’re okay,” I told her, lifting my hands in a surrendering motion. She softened a bit.

  “You said that thing was a Xathi hologram,” she started to speak, not answering my question. “How did they make it?”

  I didn’t say anything at first. The answer to her question wasn’t a pleasant one.

  “Axtin,” she said, the annoyance I’d become used to rising in her voice, but now it was tinged with dread.

  “They record them from real people,” I responded, looking at the ground.

  She’d stopped walking. I didn’t want to see her expression. It was rare for me not to want to look someone in the eyes.

  “What happened to the child they took the image from?” she asked further, her voice low and quiet.

  I had a feeling she already knew the answer, so I remained silent. She didn’t like that. I heard the sound of her stomping towards me, closing the distance between us.

  I lifted my gaze to meet hers.

  Her eyes were brimming with tears that she was using every ounce of her willpower to stop from falling. She was working her hands again, opening and closing her fists. Her jaw was set in that stubborn way of hers, but I could see her lower lip trembled.

  The urge to kiss her rose up in me once more, but now was not the time. I could see that she wasn’t going to let it go. For whatever reason, she wanted to hear me say it out loud.

  “When the Xathi target a species, they use these lures to break a population—a psychological form of torture, if you will,” I explained. It was easy to say if I thought about it like I was reading a mission dossier. Forewarned is forearmed, or some crap like that.

  “They target the offspring of the species,” I went on, “knowing the adults will go to extreme lengths to keep their children safe. It disrupts organization, demoralizes spirits, and troubles minds. They can traumatize a whole population by threatening the children.”

  “That’s horrible,” Leena gasped. She wrapped her slender arms around herself and shifted uncomfortably. “How do you know all this?”