Kate and the Kraken by Honey Phillips
Chapter Thirteen
Kate raced out of the lab, doing her best not to give in to the tears that threatened. After their original conversation, it had been surprisingly easy to forget that A’tai thought of her as no more than a slave. He had never treated her that way—until just now.
She burst out into the sunlight, a little surprised she had made it that far without him following her. The jade waters of the bay sparkled peacefully under the brilliant rays of the two suns, the colorful algae beds adding to the vibrant scene, but it all looked horribly alien. She had to get away, but how? Where?
A bird called from behind her, and she whirled around to find herself looking up at the wooded slope that led into the interior of the island. It wasn’t exactly like an Earth forest, but right now it seemed vastly more familiar than the waters of the bay. Without pausing to consider her decision, she headed for the trees.
The undergrowth at the base of the hill was annoyingly thick, but once she had fought her way through it, the ground beneath the trees was much clearer. The temperature also dropped under the shade of the canopy, and she gave a sigh of relief as she started to make her way up the hillside.
As she climbed, her initial urgency began to fade, and she wondered if she had been too impulsive. She had accepted A’tai’s terms, intending all along to use him to gather information on how to find her friends and then escape. She had forgotten about that part of the plan in her enthusiasm over the work that they were doing at the algae farms, so closely allied to her own work back on Earth.
If nothing else, A’tai’s reprehensible behavior had simply reminded her that she was alone in an alien world. Maybe it was time to discover if there were other options. The farms clearly required a large number of workers, and Simea had mentioned a village. If she could make her way there, perhaps she could find a way to reach the capital.
None of the Mafanans she had met so far had seemed to bear her any ill will, and Simea had certainly been shocked when A’tai announced that she was his slave. Maybe she could find someone equally sympathetic to help her.
But although she tried to occupy herself with plans for the future, she kept returning to thoughts of A’tai. The way he smiled at her, and the way he wanted to protect her. Was that why he had so adamantly refused to consider her working with Pulata? Did he think she would be in some kind of danger? Was there more to his arrogance than just a desire to control her?
Her chest ached, and she told herself it was due to the exertion of the climb, but she knew she was lying to herself.
When she finally reached the top of the ridge, she found herself in a shaded clearing. On one side, the ground continued to climb upwards, growing increasingly barren. A small waterfall trickled down the rocky slope. From the other side of the clearing, she could see a much larger bay. A harbor occupied one end, while a village stretched out along the remaining shoreline. White buildings lush with flowers were stacked along the water’s edge. At the far end of the bay the ground rose steeply into a rocky promontory, crowned with a large white building that reminded her of a fairytale castle. It too was covered with flowers.
The hillside leading down from her position to the village was also densely wooded, but it didn’t look like a difficult descent. The boats floating in the harbor promised a way off the island, if she could find one willing to take her on board. Hadn’t that been her plan all along? To escape and find her friends? All she needed to do was to descend the hill, but her feet didn’t want to move.
She kept thinking about A’tai. His arrogance and his unexpected sweetness. The way his touch set off fireworks in her body.
I don’t want to leave him, she realized. But how can I stay and be his slave?
Was that really how he thought of her? As upset as she had been, she had seen the regret that flashed across his face as soon as he spoke. But was that enough? Would he bring it up again as soon as she wanted to do something of which he didn’t approve?
Her mind and her heart wrestled with the decision. Still debating her options, she went to the waterfall to collect some water. The cool liquid trickled down her throat, making her realize how thirsty she had been from the climb.
As she went back to collect a second handful, the rocks seemed to move. A strange creature perched there, its body almost invisible against the rocks until it changed position. Bulbous black eyes stared at her as it raised its tail, a tail as long and thick as her leg. The scientific part of her brain noted that it bore a distinct resemblance to a scorpion, but the rest of her was paralyzed by fear as she saw the clear liquid glistening on the pointed tip of its tail.
It’s going to sting me, and I’ll never see A’tai again.
The thought broke through her paralysis, and she tensed, preparing to move as soon as it attacked. The tail rose higher, then darted towards her at a shocking speed. She tried to throw herself to one side, already knowing that she wouldn’t make it.
And then A’tai was there. He crouched over her body, his limbs forming a protective wall around her as he seized the tail right below the glistening point. The creature made a high screeching noise, twisting around to try and attack A’tai with its claws, but he was too fast for it. Two of his limbs grabbed the claws, wrenching the creature apart and tossing the carcass aside without a second look as he turned to her.
Frantic hands searched her body. “Are you hurt? Did it sting you?”
The tears that had been pending since she left the lab suddenly burst free. She tried to reach for him, but he was inspecting her even more urgently now.
“Where’s the wound? I need to stop the venom from flowing into the rest of your body.”
“Not… not wounded.” She managed to sob out the words, and he collapsed down next to her, pulling her into his lap.
“Thank the Sisters. I’ve never been so terrified. You must never run away like that again.”
She only cried harder, trying to bury her face against his chest.
He tightened his arms around her, rocking her back and forth. “Please stop crying, amali. If you want to work in the lab, you can work in the lab. Just don’t leave me.”
“I… I wasn’t leaving you.”
“You weren’t?”
“No,” she admitted to him, and to herself. No matter how tempting the village appeared, she knew she had been about to march back down the hill and confront him. “But we need to talk.”
His arms tightened at the caveat.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked suspiciously, and she had the sudden urge to laugh. It appeared that no male ever wanted to hear his female say they needed to talk.
“You know that everything about this place is strange to me,” she said slowly.
“I know. You said you had never been to Mafana before.”
She took a deep breath, determined to trust him. “It’s not just Mafana. It’s everything—aliens, spaceships, the Empire. My world isn’t aware of any of it.”
Shock covered his face, rapidly replaced by understanding. “You come from a pre-spaceflight world?”
“Yes. I mean, we have spaceships, but they don’t go very far.” She clutched his hand. “Does that mean if the Royal Fleet finds me or my friends they’ll take us away and put us in prison?”
“Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“It’s what the slavers said. That we were illegal.”
“It is illegal for them to steal you away from your world. It does not make you illegal. The Royal Fleet would not imprison you.” He gave her an unexpectedly sympathetic look. “But neither would they return you.”
“So there’s no way to return to Earth,” she said softly. She waited for dismay to swamp her, but all she felt was resigned acceptance. She suspected she had recognized that it was a one-way trip a long time ago.
“I am afraid not. No reputable ship would make the journey. And the less reputable ones would be no better than the slavers who took you.” His face hardened. “There are many worlds where your background would make you vulnerable to being enslaved.”
She choked back a sob as she thought about her friends again.
“Is that true even on Mafana?”
He sighed. “I would like to say no, but there are unscrupulous people everywhere.”
“I have to find my friends. I’m worried that someone will take advantage of them.”
“I understand. When we return to the house, I will have my agent start some discreet inquiries.”
“Your agent?”
He gave her a rueful look. “I suppose since we are revealing all our secrets, there is something you should know about me.”
“You mean the fact that you’re Prince A’tai of House Maulimu?”
She wasn’t sure exactly when she had reached the conclusion, but the various hints had been coming together in her mind. The castle in the village below had been the final piece. He looked so shocked she felt rather smug. Then he burst into laughter and hugged her.
“My amali. I should have known that you would figure it out. I will never be able to keep any secrets from you, will I?”
Her smugness disappeared in a wave of uncertainty. He spoke as if they would be together for a long time. Did he really mean it?
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“We return home.”
“To your castle?”
“Not unless you insist. I was coming here to get away from that life.”
“Why?”
“Because my mother is insisting—” He came to an abrupt halt. “Insisting that I take a greater interest in the future of the House. I was more concerned with the present and the issue with the algae.”
She was quite sure that he still wasn’t telling her everything, but she let it drop for now, more concerned about their argument.
“Did you really mean what you said about letting me work at the lab?”
He scowled, but he looked like a pouty little boy rather than an angry Prince. “Yes, but I do not like it. You will be away from me all day.”
When he put it like that, she wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. So much of her life had consisted of nothing but work and sleep and study. Even the short time they had spent together had shown her that there was far more to life than that.
“Maybe it could be a part-time kind of thing,” she suggested. “Do you think Pulata would allow that?”
“He works for me. He will do whatever I tell him to do.”
“You’re very good at ordering people around, aren’t you? Do they always do what you tell them to do?”
“Perhaps we should experiment.” His eyes heated. “Kiss me, my amali.”
She shouldn’t, she really shouldn’t, but Lord, did she want to.
“Please,” he added, and that decided it. She obeyed.
