The Breeding Prize - Aya Morningstar Page 0,11

the bridge. I can see the portal on the higher dimensions. I run as fast as I can, and I do not look back again.

I leap in the last moment, and the cold tingle of the interdimensional substrate washes across my skin. I cling tight to Annabelle, holding her in both hands. My injured arm is healing already, but using it to hold her tighter still sends waves of agony and pain through my entire body. I have to hold her tight though. I can’t risk losing my grip on her as we travel through the higher dimensions. If I lost her there, I might never be able to find her again.

Five

Annabelle

I’m afraid to open my eyes.

There was a gross and wet rush of cold that washed over all of my skin. It felt like it ignored my clothing and went right to my skin—no, under my skin. I feel wet on the inside, and not in the good way.

I’m afraid that I’m going to open my eyes and see something horrible and terrifying.

“We’re safe now, little human,” he says.

“Do you promise?” I’m lying on the ground. It feels cool and soft on my back, and there’s a pleasant breeze.

“You said you trust me now,” Raiska says.

His hand takes mine and squeezes.

I open my eyes.

We’re on a beach. The sand is black, and the water is crystal clear. There is a large slash through the sky, which is dark blue and glittering with colorful stars.

I look around and see a city behind us. There are some tall buildings, but it’s mostly smaller ones that look intensely futuristic. Some of the buildings look like modern-art sculptures, others look almost like pieces of puzzles that shouldn’t even fit together, but do.

There are pleasant lights of all colors bathing the city from different angles. One side of a building might be covered in purple light, while the next corner is in a cool teal.

“Oh my God,” I whisper. “It’s beautiful.”

“This is Lakria,” Raiska says. “A ringed planet near the center of the galaxy. There are many more stars here because we are close to the galactic center. Some say the sky of worlds like this are much more beautiful than those of worlds in the spiral arms.”

I nod and look up at the sky, completely awestruck. “I would say that too.”

I point to the thing slashing across the sky. “That’s a ring? Like on Saturn?”

Raiska nods.

We’re both lying in the sand. He hasn’t stood up yet, though I get the impression he wants to. I’m still not quite ready to stand. I’m overwhelmed enough lying here.

“Can we just chill here for a bit?”

“You are cold?” he says, “then we must get you inside at once.”

“No.” I shake my head. “Chill means relax. Can we just stay here for a while? You said we’re safe, right?”

He gives me a concerned look, and his jaw clenches, but he nods. “We are safer than we were, but we will not be safe until the Breeding Games have ended.”

“For now though, we are safe, and we can just look out at these stars, right?”

“Yes, little human.”

I watch the waves crash against the black sand. Even though the water is crystal clear, the waves bring up enough foam that I can’t see through them. There are glowing fish and things that look like jellyfish or other kinds of marshmallow shaped little creatures swimming through the water. Most of them are glowing a hot pink or teal, but some are warmer colors like orange or yellow.

“If I had listened to you from the beginning, Raiska, I could have been here without you getting hurt. And without having to see all those terrible things in the library.”

“You’re safe now,” he says, “and I heal very fast. I am Valittu.”

I sit up to look him over, but he sits up as well. I put a gentle hand onto his bare shoulder. His muscles are tight, but the wound on his arm where the little alien’s claws cut through him is closed up. There’s blood on it, some of it still fresh, but it’s not still bleeding like a human’s wound would be.

“You really do heal fast,” I say.

“I was bred to be a warrior. A warrior who can shrug off injury is a valuable tool for the Ulkar.”

“You said you’re half Ulkar?”

He nods.

“And the others?”

“I’ve never encountered these half-breeds. The Ulkar used to forcibly breed with various species. My mother race was called the Aparans. They have been wiped out now,