“Veck. What is this?” I move to a chair and sit, dizzy.
“I told you,” he snaps. “An Akronian. Apparently a vicious, warlike creature that kills its mates after they bear young. And kills all female young, too. Our mate”—and he emphasizes the word with heavy sarcasm—“brought us a mating gift inside her body, Benn. An alien species, a kind which we would kill before allowing on our planet. And she snuck it in. Into our home. Into our lives.”
My head swims. “It’s a female.” I look at the little being. In one picture, an enhanced three dimensional image, it looks almost real, like it’s in front of me. I swear it has Danica’s smile. But the eyes, the face, the ears—utterly foreign.
A weariness of the likes I’ve never known settles over my heart. I sink back into the chair, let my head fall back, and close my eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe we should send her away.” Gorde’s voice shakes.
My eyes snap open. “Where would we send her?” But I don’t even want to see her right now, so I exactly understand his emotions.
“Jesel, I suppose. I don’t vecking care where. She deceived us. I couldn’t care less where she ends up. But I can’t talk to her right now. If I look at her face, all I’ll be able to see is that mongrel young.”
A clatter from the doorway startles us. We both whip our heads around and there stands Danica, a stricken look on her face, mouth open in a silent O.
Her voice shakes. “You know?”
“We do. And I don’t understand how you think you would have kept this from us.” Gorde stands up and paces, practically steaming.
Danica steps backward. “I didn’t—I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” Her voice is pleading, but also firm. She stands tall and puts both hands on her belly. “And it’s not a mongrel. It’s mine.” Her tone is fierce. “It has nothing to do with Akron, not anymore. It’s different. She’s different.”
“But you admit that you did know you were carrying a violent species’ young when we met you. Before we mated you.”
She nods, slowly. “That’s accurate.”
“That’s deceptive.”
“I tried to get away from you.” Her voice cracks. “You brought me back. I was going to get on the transport ship, Gorde. But you took me back.” She looks up at us, eyes wide, face pale. “You made love to me. Told me you wanted me.”
“That was before we knew.” Gorde whirls around and punches the wall. “Veck.”
“If I had stayed with Akron, he would have killed me. And the baby.” She coughs. “That’s why I escaped, but I was caught by slave traders and put up for auction. Then, you two came along.”
“And you used us as your lifeboat.” Gorde’s voice is bitter.
“I love you.” Her voice is pleading. “I didn’t expect to, but I did. I do. That has to mean something.”
I can’t untangle my emotions. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were already carrying a young?” I demand, approaching her. As I speak, the full weight of my ire comes out in my tone. “We might have taken you back anyway. Who knows. But now?” I shake my head. “Knowing you tricked us? It’s impossible to go on like before.”
“I was panicked. I didn’t have any other choice.” She wipes her eyes. “But you chose me.” I hear the abject plea in her voice. “You cared for me.”
“No longer,” Gorde snaps. “How can I feel the same way after what you did? I can’t understand it all all. The utter deception.”
“We thought it was our young. We—” I shake my head in disgust. “Everyone thinks it’s ours. What in the galaxy do we do now? Tell everyone we have a mutt baby? Veck.” I bury my face in my hands.
Tears well up in her eyes, and she nods, slowly. “Someday, you two will have a real young of your own.” She looks from one of us to the other. “And then you’ll understand why I did it. And I hope when that day comes, you can look back on me with sympathy and maybe even forgiveness.” Her breath catches in her throat. “I’ve come to care for both of you and I love you, I truly do. That’s why it was so hard to lie to you, this whole time.”
“How can you keep saying that you love us?” I roar.
She blinks and flinches. “Because I do. I love you both, and Zandia. I love the friends I’ve made. I love being able to do real work for the future. I love not being a slave.”
“But it was all built on a pretense,” Gorde snaps. “Veck, Danica, what are we supposed to do?” He sounds as uncertain as he is mad.
“I don’t know.” Her voice catches on a sob, and she clears her throat. “But I won’t allow you to kill my young. I won’t.” Her voice gains strength. “I’ll go to the king, if I have to, and beg for our survival. You can send me away to Jesel or somewhere else, but I will not let you hurt this child. She’s smart, Gorde. Benn. She’s powerful. She’s—she’s changed me. And I’ve changed her.” Her voice is wild and fierce. “She’s not Akronian anymore, not really. At least not in her heart. I can feel it. I can sense it.”
“We wouldn’t kill it!” I’m astounded at her words. “Why would you say that?”
“You kill violent species. You told me more than once. You showed me.” Her voice is low. She swallows hard. “I needed to give her a chance. To see if she could be okay. I didn’t want to lie to you. Mother Earth, it killed me, day after day, to keep this a secret. I wanted to tell you every singl