Alien Warrior’s Promise by Sue Mercury
Chapter 2
Dakk swunghis sword at his partner’s neck, but the male named Rellac ducked at the last moment. In the surrounding field, metal clashed with metal, and blaster fire rang out. It was late afternoon, and all the gathered warriors were engaged in one last sparring session for the day. Dakk growled as he faced off with Rellac, who’d finally managed to retrieve his own sword from the ground.
Their blades clashed with an earsplitting clang. Rellac grunted and thrust his sword at Dakk’s side, but Dakk was quick to jump back, thus avoiding what would’ve been a painful wound.
“Care to lay your sword down and surrender?” Rellac shouted with a friendly smile, even as he advanced on Dakk, his weapon held at the ready. “I promised Helen I would try to come home early today.”
Dakk grinned at his opponent and feigned tossing his sword to the side, only to lunge toward Rellac and knock his weapon out of his hand. “That’s the third time I’ve knocked your sword from your hand today, old friend. If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re trying to lose.” In a rare show of mercy, Dakk stepped back and allowed his comrade to pick up his fallen sword.
Rellac sighed and lifted his weapon. “If you must know, I got little sleep last night. The baby woke up crying four separate times.” He uttered the last few words through a comically wide yawn, and both men chuckled, even as they resumed fighting.
“Offspring grow up quickly,” Dakk shouted over the clashing of swords. “Surely this phase won’t last forever.” But a hollow ache pierced his chest, the desire to possess what Rellac had—a mate, a family of his very own—resounding inside him with a strength that nearly took his breath away. Dakk quickly pushed such longings aside and focused on the fight.
“That’s what my mate says,” Rellac replied as another yawn tugged at his lips.
Their swords struck together one final time before the sound of a horn blanketed the sparring field. All warriors ceased fighting and began putting their weapons away, Dakk and Rellac included.
When Dakk walked close to several warriors from another unit, they gave him a strange look and a wide berth. Whispers passed between the men, but he only picked up the words that’s him and cursed and unnatural. He stared directly at his fellow warriors, letting them look at his unusual black eyes, silently challenging them to say something derogatory to his face. But the warriors walked away quickly without uttering a word to Dakk, though they kept glancing over their shoulders, as if worried he would follow.
“If I didn’t know better,” Rellac said in an amused tone, “I would think you were looking for a fight. Those warriors are from Commander Berra’s unit. I don’t believe we have ever trained in such close proximity to them before. This is likely the first time any of them have ever seen you up close.”
“Are you defending their rudeness?” Dakk asked, sending his friend a wry look.
“No, I just don’t feel like pulling you out of another fight. Last time another warrior insulted you, you nearly killed him. If a touch healer hadn’t been nearby, I fear you would’ve ended up taking the young male’s life.”
Dakk shrugged. “He didn’t just insult me—he openly challenged me to a fight. How was I to know he hadn’t received his dose of healing nanobots yet? Ah but it served the young warrior right. He learned a valuable lesson that day.”
“Oh, and what lesson was that?” Rellac narrowed his eyes at Dakk.
“Not to fuck with me,” Dakk said, switching to Galactic Common, as the phrase—one borrowed from the humans—translated better in Galactic Common than in their native Vaxxlian.
Rellac rolled his eyes and gave an amused shake of his head. The two warriors departed the training field and headed down the white-stone streets of Starzzia, speaking of inconsequential matters. The streets were crowded at this time of day, and Dakk struggled to ignore the stares of passersby. A healer had once offered to fix his eyes—with an implant of a donor’s normal green eyes—but Dakk’s pride would not allow it.
Some of his fellow Vaxxlians might consider his black eyes a curse from the Star God and thus avoid him, but he could not in good conscience change his appearance.
My brave dark-eyed warrior.
His mother’s words visited him, a comforting echo in his mind. She’d always insisted his strange eyes were a gift and claimed they made him unique. Though he supposed she’d likely said such things to him as a child to help him accept his unusual appearance, changing his eyes now would feel like a betrayal to her memory. She’d accepted him, and so had his father—may the Star God watch over their souls.
He wouldn’t change himself, not to appease others, nor to make his life easier or better—even if it meant he would never find a mate. Perhaps he was stubborn or too prideful, but he resolved to go through life with the eyes he’d been born with—the eyes his mother had claimed to love.
“So, tell me,” Rellac said, walking closer and lowering his voice. “Have you signed up with Vaxxlian Matchmakers yet?”
Dakk sighed and glared at his friend, who’d been pressuring him to visit the matchmaking service for several moon cycles now. “If you must know, yes, I visited Vaxxlian Matchmakers five rotations ago, though I don’t expect to hear anything soon, or perhaps not at all.” He suppressed a growl. The truth was, he wished for a family more and more each day, but he still could not imagine changing himself just to attract a mate. Doing so would not only feel like a betrayal to his mother’s memory, but a great deception—an outright lie.
“I am pleased to hear you finally visited the psychic human sisters,” Rellac said with a smile. “I hear all the Vaxxlian-human couples they match are happy and most fall in love quickly. And, as you know, my mate and I are very happy together. Truly, I believe we are soul mates. Carmen matched us, in case you were wondering. Her sister is supposed to be just as good at matching couples though, so don’t worry. I have a good feeling, my friend—I bet you’ll receive a call from either Carmen or Heather any day now.”
Dakk bit the inside of his cheek to keep from offering a sarcastic retort. He knew Rellac meant well, but Dakk seriously doubted Vaxxlian Matchmakers would be contacting him anytime soon. Besides, Vaxxlians didn’t typically believe in soul mates—though apparently, Rellac did. And so did the sisters who ran Vaxxlian Matchmakers—they claimed humans and Vaxxlians could share a soul bond. What if it was true? Did that mean somewhere out there Dakk’s one true mate was waiting?
When Rellac’s house came into sight, the two warriors said their farewells and Dakk headed for his furniture shop. He had custom orders to complete and looked forward to losing himself in the work. The bell rang as he opened the door and walked inside. His assistant, a young male named Vallis, looked up from helping a customer and nodded a quick greeting.
Despite Dakk’s cursed appearance and the stares and whispers that followed him, business only kept getting better and better as word of his skills spread around Starzzia. His father had taught him woodworking, as well as how to construct beautiful pieces of furniture from recycled materials. As the size of the settlement grew, so did the orders he received. In fact, business was so good, Dakk would have to take on an apprentice soon.
A son.
His heart panged.
If he had a son of his own, he could pass down his skills to his own flesh and blood.
But he had no son, or daughter, or mate.
He was alone.
Would he remain alone forever?
Thousands of warriors had signed up with Vaxxlian Matchmakers, all hoping to one day be matched to a human female. Though it wasn’t a first come, first served sort of thing, knowing that thousands of warriors (with normal green, non-cursed eyes) were waiting for their mates made Dakk worry the odds weren’t in his favor.
He entered the back workroom and picked up where he’d left off yesterday, finishing up a set of oversized bookcases. Once he completed this project, he pulled up the list of custom projects Vallis had recently compiled. His eyes widened. Yes, he definitely needed to find an apprentice, and soon. Even if he one day claimed a mate and had sons of his own, to whom he might pass down his skills, those sons wouldn’t be old enough to assist in his shop for quite some time. An apprentice was necessary no matter what.
He sat at his desk and entered the notice for an apprentice into his screen, then uploaded the posting to the Vaxxlian Community Forum. Would anyone answer the job opening? He supposed he was lucky to have Vallis working for him—though the young male had no family left after the war, and Dakk sometimes worried that was the only reason Vallis worked for him. But Dakk provided well for Vallis, paying for the male to live comfortably in a nearby house with other orphans from his hometown on Vaxxlia. He also paid Vallis a fair salary and intended to sponsor the male’s warrior training when he came of age.
Dakk sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He glanced into the showroom and watched as Vallis completed yet another sale of a readymade item—a large dresser with intricate swirling patterns carved across the drawers. For a moment, Dakk considered whether Vallis could fill the apprenticeship, but he quickly decided against it.
Vallis longed to leave New Vaxx one day and travel from outpost to outpost, and also to explore as many worlds as possible. Once the young male completed warrior training and was assigned to the command unit that best suited his skills and interests, he wasn’t likely to remain in Starzzia. It would be better to find an apprentice who longed to put down roots in this settlement, one whose ambitions as a warrior involved protecting New Vaxx rather than exploring the galaxy.
To Dakk’s surprise, his screen flashed with several responses to his job posting. But before he could open the first application, his wrist comm buzzed and beeped. He lifted his wrist and stared at the small screen, expecting a message or a call from Rellac—few others knew his personal contact details.
Shock reverberated through him when he saw the business name that flashed on the screen.
Vaxxlian Matchmakers.
His heart raced and he tensed, scarcely believing his eyes. He swallowed hard and swiped to answer the call.
“Hello? This is Dakk speaking.” He strove to keep his voice steady, even as his insides quaked with nerves. Cautious hope shuddered through him, causing his entire body to tremble. “How may I help you?”
“Good afternoon, Warrior Dakk,” came a familiar human female voice. “This is Heather from Vaxxlian Matchmakers. We met when you stopped by the other day. Anyway, I have good news. I’m calling to inform you that we’ve found your soul mate. Are you able to come to Vaxxlian Matchmakers today? Your mate’s name is Macy and she’s sitting here with me right now.”
Dakk’s throat went dry, and he struggled to form a reply. “Yes-yes. I-I will be there very soon. Thank you.”
He ended the call and jumped to his feet. The room spun for a moment, and he fought to regain his composure. His heart raced faster as a sense of disbelief enveloped him, and he resisted the urge to pinch himself. Could he be dreaming?
He inhaled a deep breath, and the scent of sawdust and paint filled his lungs. Voices drifted in from the showroom, and the laughter of children rushing down the street entered through the open window. He focused on the details around him and realized he was very much awake. This was really happening.
A mate. A human female.
Hishuman female.
He drew in a long breath and said her name aloud. “Macy.” Warmth filled him and his blood hummed with anticipation.
By some miracle of the universe, Vaxxlian Matchmakers had found him a bride.
He rushed out into the street, anxious to meet the woman called Macy, the very female with whom he would spend the rest of his life. He couldn’t run fast enough.
