Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York
Kator
The moons shone dimly through the window, bathing us in a mild, perfect light. Looking down across the exposed patches of Riley’s gilded body, I pulled the blanket closer, lest she get cold. She breathed lightly in her sleep, shifting gently as I nestled against her. As much as I would have loved to continue feasting my eyes on her body, protecting her against the cold felt more important.
Protecting her against anything, really.
Her words still careened around inside the cage of my ribs, threatening to crack it open and sail free. She loved me. The admission was more than I could have allowed myself to expect. Being able to hold her, and share intimacy with her after hearing that was one of the richest experiences of my life.
Because I loved her too. How could I not? Even if it had nothing to do with some sort of fated bond, I may well have found Riley irresistible. Her strength, the perfect sharpness of her mind, and the gentle core of her spirit were undeniable. I almost chuckled at my fortune of being the one to love her.
But, there was another passion festering in the porches of my heart. Something so dark, so malignant, that it threatened to overshadow the majesty of what I felt for the woman in my arms. And that was my hatred for Mofat.
Thinking of him, I clenched my fist in the darkness. If I wanted to offer myself to Riley, she deserved nothing less than the best of myself. The whole of me. And I would never be whole while King Mofat of Aetam breathed. The dark fire of his crime would consume me, even as our love tried to quench it.
I was left with no choice. I had to become entirely D’Tali—to kill the Aetam in me. And that meant killing King Mofat.
Easing my arm out from under her neck, I slid to the edge of the bed and looked down on the sleeping goddess. Tucking the blanket around her, I planted a kiss on her forehead. And with that kiss, I planted a promise: to fight in her name.
Dressing quietly, I readied myself for all that lay ahead. Before I stepped into the corridor, Riley shifted in her sleep. Turning back in the doorway to regard her, I held my breath in case her eyes opened and found me. If she woke, I might never leave. I might let all the world burn to be with her.
She slept on. I whispered to her through the shadows. “Riley Evans, I love you. Everything I do is for you.”
With that, I stepped into the hallway, and toward my destiny. Hugging to the walls, I crept to each corner.
I might be a guest here, but there would be questions if I was found running around in the middle of the night.
Thanks to our conversations back in the Aetamian kingdom, I had a notion as to where the armory was situated. The only danger was in getting taken before I made it. My vengeful heart would be poisonous if I wound up locked away. It simply wasn’t an option.
Padding cautiously down a flight of stairs, whispered conversation filtered up to meet me. Two midnight guards kept a peaceful vigil.
“Best I ever had,” one said.
“You need to get out more,” the other chuckled.
“The fuck I do! If you can find a better dish of orlian in Tahkath, I’ll eat this sword.”
“I grant you, Gurik serves the best orlian in the Westerly quarter, but you need to venture beyond your own streets. Head to the South.”
“Don’t say it,” the first voice cut in. “Don’t you dare say Nuvil’s.”
“Will you let me finish?”
In some ways, it was refreshing to see that conversation was the same everywhere. When one is raised in the belief that a whole people are an enemy, it’s hard to imagine them squabbling over favorite places to eat. One believes that the whole of their lives is consumed with nefarious plans.
Their debate flared with good-natured heat, and I held my breath as I slipped further down the steps. The two guards stood just off the corridor, with their backs to me. The way I needed to go was clear, but sneaking past them would be hard. I could practically see the door to the armory, and my whole body itched to make the dash.
“You can’t be serious!” One of the men let out a bleat of laughter, and wandered out of sight.
“Wait, hang on. Will you hang on a second?” With a smirk, the second guard ducked after his friend, and opportunity fell open before me.
Springing ahead, I dashed down the hallway in swift silence. An adulthood of spying had rendered me adept at moving unseen.
In an instant, I was at the door. Offering a mute plea to the Ancestors, I tried the handle. With a click, the door fell open.
Slinking through, I snugged it closed behind me, and the first leg of my journey broke into success. I turned to find a room lined with anything I could have asked for. All through Aetam, it was well known that the D’Tali boasted less advanced weaponry. But the volume of it was staggering.
I may never have been much of a bowman, but freshly minted crossbows promised to do the job for me. Rows of swords sat humming in their racks, and a wide array of daggers tempted the treacherous desires in my chest. Right in front of me was everything I would need.
Better still, racks of breastplates presented themselves. Walking among this bounty, I donned a coat of chainmail, then ran greedy fingers over the armor. A sturdy leather chest piece came to rest on my shoulders. Heavy gauntlets guarded my arms against anything that I might encounter.
It was tantalizing to weigh myself down, but there was a journey ahead, and I would need to move easily and quietly. If I was going overboard on anything, it was the weaponry. Harvesting a sword to my hip, I collected a crossbow and a brace of bolts. After that, it was time to load myself with daggers.
One for each boot, another three for my belt, and one for the glorious task. Pouring over them, it seemed inordinately important to find just the right one to sink into Mofat’s withered throat. That couldn’t be the duty of just any old blade. It needed to be cruel enough for the work, yet beautiful enough for the glory.
Then I found it.
Tucked among his glittering brothers was a taut little stiletto. The wooden handle boasted a single, golden ring at the pommel, and the blade fairly reeked of noble blood. It was perfect.
Finding its home on my belt, I was ready to set out. At the far end of the arsenal was a door. What little I knew of Tahkath beyond Riley’s quarters and the corridors between told me it should lead outside. But why would any respectable kingdom have such ready access to their storehouse of weapons? The D’Tali were smarter than that.
Walking over, I gritted my teeth and prepared to push through. It was possible I would encounter a room full of guards at their leisure. If so, I would have to fight my way out, and I hated the thought of shedding D’Tali blood. But, if an ocean of it lay between me and the throat of the bastard who sired me and condemned my mother, then I would wade in up to the chin.
A musky smell greeted me, accompanied by a muted snuffle. Stall after stall of numa ate quietly in the night. There was no way I could ride all the way into Aetam, but one of these mounts would carry me as far as the outer bounds.
Vanishing among them, I hunted out their eyes until I found a pair that gleamed without a trace of sleep. Deep into the stable, I found what I was after. A single numa trotted about his pen, seemingly as eager to be free as I was to free him. Reaching out, I placed a palm to scrub just below his quartet of horns.
“Is it you,” I whispered. “Are you up to the task?”
A rumbling grunt told me that he was. It was as if the whole of the Ancestors were behind me, guiding every choice I made. The inevitability of success glowed in my heart, chasing away the venomous doubts that clouded there. Now, there were two radiant swells inside me, one light and one dark.
One had to earn the other.
Drawing my steed out to the cusp of the night, I swung up to his back and looked out at the stars. They had watched over me this far, and I breathed in the best they had to offer. With that, I landed a series of tight kicks in the numa’s hard sides, and we galloped out toward Aetam.
My aim was to have the sun rise to find Mofat’s head on a spike. No matter how many Aetamians had to fall, I was bound to accomplish my dark ambition. Even if I had to die in the process.