The Alien's Revenge - Ella Maven Page 0,12

brown eyes and I’d seen a glimpse of what I’d been.

This was a complication I didn’t need, as my plans were focused on punishing the one who betrayed me. But she was a complication I wouldn’t walk away from.

I couldn’t.

She needed me. Her injury was severe, and she was alone. Where did she come from? She wasn’t from this planet. I didn’t know her species, but she wasn’t like me.

What was I?

Something important. A warrior. But that was all I remembered. I thunked the heel of my palm against my head, wishing I could knock something loose inside, to jar memories, but my mind, as always, remained dark.

Except for her. She was a large blossom on my mind, a golden flower which glowed, just not strong enough to break through the smoke choking my mind. I wished I could draw them closer, to clear the darkness inside of me.

Instead I stayed on the other side of my tree hut with my tail curled around my ankles. She’d be hungry when she woke, so I gathered a collection of jerky and fruits from my hoard and prepared it on a board. With silent steps, I placed it on the furs next to her along with a jug of qua, then padded away back to my corner. I wouldn’t disturb her. She needed her rest. Fortunately the gramin I gave her would help her heal. I wished I had more, but the splint and cast I made, along with the gramin, was the best I could do.

Until then, I’d care for her. I’d feed her and help her get clean. She was my purpose now. My wrists burned slightly, and I rubbed them with a frown. Then I rested my hands on my bent knees, leaned my head back against the wall, and waited.

The sun had almost set by the time she began to stir. She came awake slowly, smacking her lips with contented sounds. It was only when she stretched her arms over her head that pain streaked across her features and her eyes popped open. She gasped and shot to a sitting position, her gaze darting around my hut. The golden bloom in my mind began to close, and it wasn’t until she spotted me in the corner that the delicate petals once again opened. She showed no outward signs, but the truth of her feelings in my head gave her away.

I pointed to the food and drink by her bed. She eyed it for a moment, and then slowly reached out and grabbed a hunk of jerky. She bit into it slowly, but then as if suddenly realizing she was ravenous, rapidly finished everything on her board and drank down the last drop of qua.

When I went to replenish her board, she shook her head. “Uv ad eeenuf.”

I sat down beside her bed and ate the remaining handful of berries and jerky. My rationale for doing this was I didn’t like anything to go to waste. The truth was I liked being close to her, and she didn’t seem to mind.

“Ken u wondersten meh?” She asked me a question with her heat tilted.

I wished I knew what she was saying.

With heavy sigh, she looked away before meeting my gaze again. With a hand over her breast, she said, “Merr-anda.” I frowned at her, and she repeated it again, this time pointed at herself. “Merr-anda.”

I guessed that she was telling me her name, and I liked the sound of it. I would have given anything to let the syllables roll of my tongue. Instead, I only nodded.

She pointed to me and shot me an expectant look. Ah, so I was supposed to tell her my name? I did not know it. Not anymore. That was in the Before, and now I was just a disgraced warrior.

I shrugged, and she sucked in a breath. “U dun no?”

I repeated the shrug and this time shook my head. Something odd passed over her face, and her brown eyes shimmered in the orange light of the setting sun.

“Merr-anda,” she said pointed to herself. Then she placed a hand on my chest, over where my cora beat. “Heart.”

Was she telling me my name? I didn’t think it was Heart, but if that was what she wanted to call me, I’d accept it. I nodded, and her full lips stretched into a smile. I sat transfixed at the way her face changed. The skin at the corners of her eyes crinkled, and small indents notched into