Page 6 of Loving the Alien Spy

Arvik salutes Horek. “Yes, Commander.”

The senior officer, as well as his two subordinates, eye me with pure disdain. The commander turns to me.

“Do not make the queen regret having a kind heart.”

“Never.” I swear it.

Horek studies me a moment longer before pivoting away and leaving me with the others. They sneer while they finish gathering their weapons and comms. Without offering me a word, they head out. I fall in line with them. Their whispered conversations and frequent glares during our patrol don’t bother me. They’d bother Bannik, though.

“I swore my oath to the queen already, but I’ll swear it to you as well.” I gesture toward each of them. “Not that I expect your forgiveness. The only excuse I have is that my mind was clouded by personal grievances against my brother. I regret the decisions I made and the consequences of my actions.”

“You are a traitor to our people and deserve to be thrown in the pit without kanet powder until the madness takes you,” Arvik growls. “I would put you down myself.”

If I expected my words to make a difference, I’m clearly mistaken.

Chapter 4

Lindsey

The knock on the door doesn’t surprise me. What does, is that it took so long. Since the attack by the rebels, all three of my friends have been absent. Quinn and Olivia, I can understand since their overprotective mates probably haven’t left their sides unless absolutely necessary. But after Devon went back to her own apartment that first night, she hasn’t come by again.

When the knock comes a second time, there’s no point ignoring it. I get up from the sofa where—besides my bed—I’ve spent every waking hour for the last two days to answer it. Olivia barges in, followed by Quinn and Devon. Mak remains out on the walkway, as though standing guard. She does actually make me feel safer.

“We’re all getting out of this stuffy building for some fresh air,” Olivia announces.

I’m kind of enjoying this stuffy building, thank you very much.

Obviously sensing my hesitation, she continues. “Yes, the thought is terrifying, but I’m not letting that bitch Mohneek win.”

I can’t blame Olivia for her rage. The woman Janik had been raised to believe was his mother is, in fact, a first-class psychopath. How else does a person explain the fact that she not only kidnapped him from the king and queen when he was a baby, but then made it appear as if he’d been murdered?

Afterward, she raised him to despise not only his father, but his brother, so much that he organized a rebellion to take over the throne. None of Janik’s plans, however, included Bohnari being killed. No, that had been all Mohneek and her lover.

Given that fact, I don’t want that bitch to win either.

“Fine.” As if they didn’t know I’d give in.

“Excellent. Let’s go,” Olivia says.

She and Quinn have been best friends since they were children. While we all worked together in the sanitation facility in the bottom tier, it wasn’t until we got on the Bohnari ship that brought us here that Devon and I joined their friendship. Still, in that short time, I’ve come to learn Olivia is fearless and confident. She doesn’t hesitate or let things stop her. In fact, she’s the one usually going full speed ahead. Sometimes I envy her for that.

We make it down the lift and out the guarded doors of the dormitory. Mak stays alert and close to Olivia. Considering the phinnek’s head is nearly level with our friend’s boobs, someone would have to be extremely desperate to mess with us. If her size alone isn’t enough to scare away any threat, then Mak’s deadly teeth and claws should do the trick.

The farther away from the dormitory we get, the more the destruction from a few days ago becomes clearer. I’d been a little too shell-shocked to truly survey the devastation when we walked through the city the first time. Even with days of cleanup, it’s still an awful sight.

“Seeing everything again this way really pisses me off,” Devon says, and I agree.

Preska had been beautiful. Scarred as it currently is doesn’t necessarily make it any less so, but the pure flawlessness is missing. Before, the streets bustled with a frenetic energy. Now, the people are listless. Eventually, the physical damage will be repaired, but I’m not sure about the emotional damage. The entire reason we humans are here is because Alik is trying to save his people. Because of the rebels, he’s lost far too many.

Debris—and bodies—have been cleared away, but it will take a while to rebuild, even with all the advanced technology the Bohnari have, especially given the fact that two other cities besides Preska were attacked. Another difference is the number of guards roaming the city. I’m not sure if new ones have been recruited or if they’ve come from other cities, but there were never this many before. It’s both reassuring and terrifying at the same time.

“Are we heading anywhere specific?” Devon asks.

“The botanical garden,” Quinn replies over her shoulder.

She and Olivia have both raved about the garden, but I haven’t visited it yet. Although, I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe because I’ve spent too much time hiding in my apartment since the disastrous encounter I had with Lorik after the do-over welcome banquet the queen insisted upon throwing.

The botanical garden is only about a twenty-minute walk from our complex. I can tell we’re getting closer each minute because the scent of flowers grows stronger. I kick myself for avoiding it this long because I’ve come to realize how much I love plants and flowers. It’s why I have so many of them in my apartment. We had nothing like it on Earth, especially not in the bottom tier.