A sob breaks from my throat as I throw my arms around him, cradling our baby between us. I don’t want to let go. I don’t want to leave him.

  “I love you, Sol.”

  He kisses me and presses his forehead against mine.

  “Thank you, Sheh, for giving me this gift, here” he presses his hand to our baby, “and here.” He presses it over his heart. “Go.”

  I want to say something, but the trees a few feet away rustle, prompting me to turn and start sprinting through the forest on the opposite side. Before I break the treeline, I turn back to see Sol facing away, his hands held to the side in surrender. I don’t wait to see what happens. I keep jogging through the woods. I’m not going very fast. The forest is dense and vines hinder my progress. I wrap one arm over my chest and use the other to toss them out of the way.

  After long, my legs start to burn. I keep running even as I realize I have no idea where I’m going. I have no idea how I’m going to get out, or if I’m even going in a direction that will lead me to safety.

  Suddenly, my mind blanks. I’m on my knees. Kermit is over me. He rears back and slams his fist into my face. Pain shoots across my cheekbone. It’s not me. It’s Sol. I know right away that it’s our baby showing this to me.

  “Sol!”

  Do not look, little one. Release her.

  Sol’s voice is just as steady as it always is in my head. Just hearing it makes my heart hurt.

  My vision clears. I’m standing still in the forest. I turn in a circle, looking for any sign of danger. It’s quiet. I start moving again, and a second later, I’m back in my head. My arms ache. My body lifts up into the air in short, jerking movements. Each pull increases the pressure until my shoulders feel like they’re going to snap. Kermit’s razor sharp grin comes into view below me. He holds up a knife, fingering the pointed tip.

  “You will fight. I may not be able to kill you, but I can hurt you. I will hurt you.”

  I love you, Sheh. Do not stop running. Someone will find you. Release her, little one.

  The forest is back. I swipe at the tears streaming down my face and break into a run. I don’t make it two feet.

  We’re in the field. I am there and Sol is there, so is our daughter. She bounces happily between us, holding each of our hands.

  “Why have you stopped running?”

  Sol looks the same. His expression is easy.

  “She won't let me go. I don’t think she wants to leave you.”

  Sol smiles sadly and crouches down in front of our daughter. She takes hold of his face in her little hands.

  “You must release your mother so she can do as I have asked of her. It is important that you reach safety, little one.”

  Our daughter drops her hands and smiles before twirling around, her little dress floating out. Sol looks helplessly up at me. I drop down, too, and take her hand, stopping her mid twirl. She leaps into my arms, and I hold her close.

  “Mommy’s got you, baby. You gotta let me go.”

  She sticks up her two pointer fingers and pokes them into my cheeks. I look at Sol.

  “I don’t think she understands.”

  He frowns.

  “She does. She is being stubborn. I cannot block her. She is a much better telepath than I am.” He looks back like there’s someone behind him. When he faces me again, his expression is stressed in a way it wasn’t a moment ago. “I must go.”

  He’s gone, and I’m alone with our daughter. She stares up at me and her expression is familiar. It’s the same expression I had when my mother tried to get me to tell her how me and Tee got a hold of the bottle of cognac we drank behind the house. I wasn’t budging. To this day, I still haven’t told her. God, this little girl is my child.

  “You’re not going to let me go, are you?”

  She blinks slowly. It’s as clear a ‘no’ as I think I’m going to get. I sigh.

  “Yeah, I didn’t want to leave him either. Fuck!”

  My eyes shoot down to her. She continues to stare calmly up at me. I point my finger at her and give my sternest face.

  “Don’t you ever say that word, kid.”

  ***

  Gurgle.

  “Go!”

  The command is harsh through my translator, and the froggy at my back pushes between my shoulder blades, shoving me forward. I stumble, losing my footing. My hands come up automatically to shield my front, but I manage to right myself before I take a tumble.

  “Hey! Don’t fucking shove me. I’m carrying a baby!”

  Froggy grunts. I don’t think he can understand me.

  It took me forever to find my way back to where I left Sol. From there, I followed the path of cut vines and trampled dirt until I got to the edge of the campsite the froggies had set up. Until then, I was feeling bad as hell. I realized quickly, however, that trying to do a mission impossible on a camp full of aliens is harder than it seemed in my head. Frog dude found me before I even got a chance to look for Sol.

  He ushers me through the trees and into a small clearing. Around two dozen froggies are hanging around, but they all perk up when they see me. A few bark loudly. I let my eyes float across the space until they land on what I’m looking for. When they do, I stumble back into darkness.

  “Sheh, why did you come back?”

  Sol’s voice is calm. He looks like he always does, but that doesn’t erase what I just saw.

  They have him hanging beneath a tree by the arms. His big silver body is stretched long into the air so his feet dangle just above the ground. He’s a mess. The one punch I saw earlier must not have been the last because his face is swollen and dripping in a dark green liquid that I can only assume is his blood. His chest is cut up, and large, black bruises cover his entire torso. They done fucked my sweet, fine boo up.

  “I’m gonna kick that froggy motherfucker’s ass!”

  I stomp my foot. My hands are balled so tight that I feel the skin in my palms break outside of my mind.

  “Sheh, you cannot win a fight with a Zefr. You should not have come. You should not have let her sway you. You must be firm. You are the parent.”

  I turn on him. He’s really going to give me shit about being a pushover mama when he’s hanging from a tree nearly beat to death?

  “Why are you letting him kick your ass like that? You should have fucked him up!”

  “I surrendered with the hope that it would give you time to escape, but I see now that it was for nothing.”

  He crosses his arms and gives me a look. I can’t believe he’s so calm about this. I throw myself at him, clasping my hands at his back. He feels warm beneath my cheek.

  “Sol, they’re going to kill you.”

  His hands settle around me, and he leans down over my head.

  “If they kill me, they cannot get what they want. They will, however, make it very difficult for me to withhold, especially since you are here.”

  Suddenly he grunts and then he’s gone. My eyes blink open in time to see Kermit deliver a fierce punch to Sol’s side.

  “You fucking froggy piece of shit!”

  I lunge forward, but I’m stopped. Someone pulls my arms roughly behind my back, and I cry out from the pain.

  “No!”

  Sol’s voice is distorted and rough. His one good eye opens and lands first on me before shifting to Kermit, whose warty mouth splits into a sharp grin a second later. He turns away from Sol and makes his way toward me. When he’s close, he leans down into my face. I turn my head to the side. This dude still ain’t brushed his teeth.

  He sniffs at my cheek. I suck in a breath and hold it. He keeps sniffing and then his head lowers to the bundle against my chest. The breath whooshes out of me.

  “He says you have a youngling. She is still in ovum?”

  One warty, clawed finger raises and pulls back Sol’s kesh to expose the smooth surface of our egg. I can't move. With my arms pinned behind me, I can't protect her. I feel like I’m with the saber toothed hippo again. Like if I move, something terrible will happen.

  “So you guys hurt kids? That’s some bitch ass shit.”

  I probably shouldn’t talk smack right now. I know I shouldn’t, but it’s all I got. I’m not getting free, and if he decides to do something crazy, I probably can't stop him, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to talk so much shit he’s gonna think twice about it.

  His eyes flick up to me and back down.

  “Younglings we do not harm, but we do eat eggs.”

  My stomach lurches at the same moment Sol roars from across the clearing and jerks his body, snapping the branch and tumbling to the ground. A bunch of froggies rush forward to tackle him, but he flings them off, sending them flying into the trees. He stalks toward us, his jacked up face as blank as I’ve ever seen it. When he gets a few feet away, he stops. I expect him to knock Kermit the fuck out, but instead, he holds out his hand. My eyes shift to the side.

  “Not the time to be friends, boo.”

  I push the thought out to him.

  “I will fight.”

  Kermit’s smile widens, and a long forked tongue flicks out across his lips. He grips Sol’s hand, pumping once before releasing it.

  My arms are dropped immediately. I stumble forward, and Sol pulls me behind him. I wince when I see his back. It’s worse than the front. I peek around to Kermit and give him my stankest stank face. I hate his ass.

  SOLUANITIAT’TI SOMIITI’UN

  “Wait, so now we’re all cool because you said you’d fight?”

  I pull Sheh against me in the water. Our ovum is strapped to her back. I told her she could have left our youngling on the bank, but she insisted on bringing her with us.

  “We are not cool, but the acceptance of a challenge cannot be taken back. If I run, he will get what he wants anyway. They do not need to force me anymore.”

  Sheh lifts a handful of water and lets it fall over my face. The tissue tingles, and the ache from the Zefr general’s blows lessens until it is a memory.

  “And what exactly does he want? You never did explain what this was all about anyway.”

  “He wants my kingdom.”

  Sheh stares blankly at me for a long moment.

  “When you say ‘your kingdom,’ you don’t mean that you’re a king, right?”

  “I am.”

  She shakes her head and blinks wide eyes on me.

  “Wait, what? You’re a king and you weren’t gonna say nothing?”

  “It did not seem to be relevant information.”

  “It didn’t seem relevant that you were a king? I’m sorry, are kings not a big deal here?”

  I shrug.

  “I do not know the importance of my position relative to others except that I have many responsibilities to my people, foremost of which is to keep them safe. It seems I am already failing.”

  “Sol, you’re not going to fail. You got like two feet and two hundred pounds on that froggy motherfucker.”

  “I will do my best, but if I do not win, it will be bad for my people. If he beats me, he can ascend to my throne, and my people will have to follow him. I do not think he will lead with peace.”

  Sheh stares across the water. Her expression is troubled.

  “Why are they even doing this? They don’t have their own kingdom?”

  “They are not natives of this planet. We extended asylum to them when their own homeland was destroyed during a war.”

  Her gaze shifts back to me in surprise.

  “Wait, you asked them to come here? Why?”

  “My father did before his passing.”

  Her face shifts down.

  “When did you father die? What about your mother?”

  I brush a hand across her forehead to remove the crease. I do not want her to be sad for me. Although when I think of my parents now, I feel something close to sadness at losing them.

  “They perished in an accident several years ago. Since then, I have been preparing to ascend to the throne. I assumed my duties the moment I returned from Lyqa. I have yet to actually act as king. I am new to it.”

  “Aw, babe. I’m sorry. I’m sure they would be proud of you. But why did you father give them asylum if they were at war?”

  “We were misled to believe they were a peaceful people in search of a home away from the division that had ravaged their home. Our planet is uninhabited except for the Somii. We saw no reason not to share. However, it seems they only seek the power of others. It is difficult to live a life of peace—even when it is available and easy—when all one is used to is fighting.”

  Her eyebrows raise, and her mouth curves slightly.

  “Wow, you really are a king.”

  “I am.”

  “So does that mean she’s a princess?”

  She nods her head back to our ovum.

  “She is, and you are my queen.”

  Her brows pull up in surprise.

  “I am? Even if we aren’t married?”

  I feel my face shift into a frown.

  “We are not partnered? You said we were meant for one another. You said you love me. Does that not make us married?”

  She pokes her full bottom lip out and brushes through my plume.

  “Humans have a thing, a ceremony. It makes it legal, like binding. You guys don’t have that?”

  “We do not. We are a decisive people. We make a choice and that is it.”

  She meets my gaze.

  “Did you choose me?”

  “I did. Have you chosen me as well?”

  “Yes!”

  She hugs my neck and presses kisses to my cheek, but I sense disappointment.

  “We can still have a ceremony if you wish.”

  She leans back, and her lips poke out again.

  “We don’t have to.”

  Her mind flashes with images of her sisters in white gowns and plants in their hands. They stand with their Lyqa. This is what she wants?

  “Did your sisters have ceremonies with their partners?”

  She nods.

  “Yeah, but if that’s not your thing.”

  “It can be my thing. It can be our thing. We will do it. As soon as we return to my kingdom, we can do this.”

  Her face brightens, and she hauls her body up against mine.

  “So you’re gonna try to win?”

  “To do this ceremony with you and have you as my queen, I will try my best.”

  ***

  “Okay, ball your fist up like this and just bam, swing it.” Sheh holds her tiny hand in front of us and thrusts it through the air. She insists on training me for my challenge with the Zefr general, and I have allowed her terrible instruction because I have come to discover that she is adorable. “Okay, now you try it.”

  She holds up the flat of her hand and raises her eyebrows in encouragement.

  “Come on. Just pow!” She gestures again with her tiny fist. I take hold of her fragile target and bring it to my mouth. I let my lips linger over the soft flesh.

  “Are you under the impression I do not know how to defend myself?”

  Her eyes shift to the side and back.

  “You said you didn’t.”

  “I did not.”

  She pulls her hand away and crosses her arms over her chest.

  “Boo, you totally said ‘I do not fight.’ It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  I reach for her and pull her hand back to my mouth. I flick my tongue out against it.

  “Until I met you, I had never felt any emotion, so I had no reason to feel shame. I told you I did not fight. Not that I was unable.”

  She tries to pull her hand away, but I hold firm, flipping it over and pressing a kiss to the warm pulse at her wrist. It quickens beneath my lips.

  “Wait, so you can fight?”

  I nod.

  “Of course, I can fight. Somii are peaceful but practical. We have lived in contact with other species in the universe for thousands of years. We know that others do not seek peace as we do. It would be irresponsible not to prepare for the occurrence that I may have to defend my people.”

  “I’m sorry, why didn’t you want to fight then?”

  She pulls her hand away, breaking my hold, and crosses her arms tightly. She is upset.

  I fold myself onto the ground of the tent we have been provided and bring her with me, settling her stiff body into my lap.

  “What happens when you strike at me in jest?”

  She snorts.

  “I nearly break my hand.”

  I lift the hand that she has damaged so many times against my body and kiss it.

  “I am sorry that you cannot stop from hurting yourself, Sheh. And what happens to me when you strike me in jest and nearly break your hand?”

  She is quiet for a moment and then her eyes widen in understanding.

  “You feel it.”

  “I do. So, Sheh, I do not refrain from fighting because I am incapable. I do not fight because, even when I must, even when it is to save someone I heart very much, I will feel it, and I am not be able to inflict harm to another that will not harm me as well. It is a flaw in my makeup that I cannot avoid.”

  She is pensive for a long moment then she exhales deeply, collapsing her spine into my arms.

  “That sucks, dude. So how are you going to win if every time you hit him it’s gonna be like hitting yourself?”

  “I do not know, but I enjoy the idea of you being my queen, and I would have you stay as such.”

  I should be devising a plan, but ever since we were in the spring, I have only been thinking of one thing. I roll us onto my kesh and lay Sheh on her back. She grips the fabric of her dress and inches it up her legs until her pussy is bared to me. She holds her hands out to me, but I ignore them. Instead, I nudge my shoulders between her thighs.

  “Sol—”

  She shifts her hips back, but I catch her, holding her in place.

  “Sheh?”

  I rub my nose through her folds, and she releases a muffled moan. Her hips twitch to get away, but I hold firm.

  “I’ll be too loud. We’re kind of captive right now. We can't just be fucking all loud.”

 

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