He passed her off to another man. “Take her to the escape hatch under the ship. She must not be taken.”
Back on Earth, she couldn’t even get a grant for her research, now entire civilizations were fighting over her. This was too much.
Crawling down through the dark lower emergency stairwells was unnerving, especially when her captor was impatient with her. As soon as he cracked the hatch at the bottom of the ship, fresh air and natural light flooding in the tight compartment. And she heard the voice on the loudspeakers.
“Release the human or face the consequences.”
It was Dhiro.
Chapter Twelve
A miracle and a curse all at the same time.
Dhiro stared at the ship. He had to admit to himself, he was impressed. If the Scyathra had hoped to get rid of him, they’d made a huge mistake. Taking Ella had guaranteed his survival. The oxygen had been just enough to get him to Trenu Zel, and with protecting his mate on his mind, he’d taken a great many risks.
The ship his brothers had helped to craft and repair was nothing more than a jumbled mess of parts and bits. There was no way it would ever return to Earth, let alone go for the odd trip in the Trenu Zel sky.
His commander put a hand on his shoulder. “Our scanners show the human female is there. We will find her.”
Dhiro had enough communication power to alert his people to what had happened. It was how they were able to get to the Scyathra location. They’d been waiting for them.
He held the weapon in his hand, normally designed for two soldiers, but he only needed himself to master it. Staring at the ship, he was more than happy to take each Scyathra out, one by one. His mate needed him. They had attacked his ship, taken his mate, and now they would pay the price for what they did.
He wanted to fire straight away, but to do so risked his mate.
Ella.
He needed her.
They were back on his planet, and he still didn’t have her in his arms. Anger rushed through him, threatening to make him act rashly. His time on Earth hadn’t done well for his patience.
The main hatch opened up, and a woman he didn’t recognize appeared.
She held her hands up. “Do not shoot.”
“Give me my woman, and I won’t have to. You will be able to walk away freely.”
“My name is Khirana. Ella has told me to talk to the Trenuian who calls himself Dhiro.” Her voice was loud, clear.
Dhiro frowned.
Considering they were meant to be primitive beings, he was surprised her speech was firm but refined. He had been raised to believe the Scyathra were nothing more than savage animals.
“Dhiro?” his commander asked.
“I have to do what it takes to take care of my mate. She needs me now more than ever.” He held his weapon tightly and took a step toward the ship.
“Put your weapon down,” Khirana said.
“How do I know you won’t kill me?” he asked.
“We all want the same outcome.”
“I highly doubt that,” he said.
“I’m not surprised. You are all suspicious of change. You’re willing to risk life and limb to save yourselves without asking for help from us. We have created a system that helps to complete all repairs within a ship on voyages. It is inexpensive and has multiple compounds found on our own planet.”
Dhiro was skeptical. “How do you know this?”
“We’ve had time to do our research. We’re not old. We want to move forward. You are responsible for our infertility crisis. We’re the ones, as usual, trying to solve it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not surprised. You’re a Trenu Zel male. Your entire race is rough, set on a path of power and destruction. You are not to be trusted.”
“Then why are you talking with me?”
“Ella. She told me you don’t know the truth. You don’t know how your people poisoned all of us, trying to wipe the Scyathra from existence, but in doing so, made us all infertile. We were all punished for your stupidity.”
Dhiro couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re wrong.”
“No, we’re very right about this. We know why we were outcasts. Now drop the weapon or we take Ella away forever.”
He put the weapon down on the ground without a single hesitation. Behind him, he heard his commander, his men. They were not happy with him giving up so easily. They didn’t understand. His mate was in danger. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her, even if that meant putting himself in harm’s way. He’d been willing to kill himself to grant Ella more oxygen, so going toward the Scyathra ship without a weapon was a piece of cake. A little expression he’d learned from Earth.
Humans were such weird beings. He was never going to understand them completely.