“It’s war, Caroline. It’s dirty and ugly and terrible. I survived, mate. I survived because of you.”
My head snapped up at that, but his gaze was solemn. Serious. “I don’t understand.”
“Coalition fighters who complete their service are eligible for the Interstellar Brides Program matching protocols. We are promised a perfect match, a mate who will accept us, love us, allow us to pamper and protect her, love her, give her our seed. We are promised a future that isn’t dirty or ugly, but soft and beautiful and perfect. That is why you are here. That is why I found the will to fight, to survive. For the promise of you.”
My heart was breaking. Melting. Reforming into something I didn’t recognize. For him. God help me, I was falling in love with him. Right here, in this stark room on an alien world, talking about death and torture and banishment.
And hope. His words were raw and honest, and I swayed on my feet, dizzy and overwhelmed with what he said to me, the power he handed me to break him. It was too much. “The doctor said the Hive protein or whatever was gone. Out of your system. So why can’t you go home?”
“Because I still have this.” He pointed to his neck. “The integration with my biological tissue is complete and deep. The Hive enhanced tissue runs through half of my neck, to my major arteries, even to the nerves on the edge of my spine. Removing it all would kill me.”
My mouth fell open. “Wait. The Hive did that to you? Made your skin silver?”
He frowned. “Of course. Almost all Hive integrations are this color.”
“I just thought…well, I just thought you were born that way. Aliens on Earth are often depicted with…stuff like that. And the others? Ryston’s eye? The doctor’s hand? The governor? His skin is copper colored, and beautiful, except—”
“His arm. And his skin is not beautiful, mate.” Rezzer’s small jealousy was kind of adorable, so I was grinning when he took me to the dark side. “I was captured by the Hive twice. The first time, they did this.” He touched his jaw. “It does nothing. I don’t feel it. The implant in my ear gives me excellent hearing, almost as good as an Elite Hunter, so I do not complain. I was lucky. I escaped before they could do worse. But I am on the Colony because of it.”
“They captured you twice? And you escaped twice?” Holy shit.
“Yes. It is my greatest failure as a warrior.”
I frowned. “Um, no. It shows how strong you are. Brave. To escape the Hive twice. Wow.” I was amazed. And a little proud of him. Scared, too. I could only imagine what he’d gone through. Hive silver? All the way from his jaw to his spine? I shuddered.
I cleared my throat, changed the subject. “So now what? All the warriors, the fighters, just come here to work and die?” I asked.
He shrugged as if he didn’t care. “For decades that was our fate. But then the Prime on Prillon, their ruler, lost his son to the Hive. When Prince Nial returned, he was one of us.”
“Is he here?”
“No. His father was killed and the planet, the whole entire Interstellar Coalition, would have been lost without a strong successor. He took his second, a warrior named Ander, and traveled to Earth to claim his matched mate before challenging in the public arena to reclaim his throne.”
“She’s from Earth too?” The ruler of the entire Coalition Fleet was matched to a human? That was one woman I really, really wanted to meet.
“Yes. And a warrior. She said she was in your American Army.”
“Have you actually met her?”
“Yes. Her name is Jessica. They came to the Colony to celebrate the arrival of Lady Rone, the first matched mate to come here.”
My heart raced. Jessica? Was he serious? “She’s from the US?”
“What is U-S?”
I waved my hand to dismiss the question I’d asked. “And? What happened? Where is she now? Where is your prince?”
“He is now Prime Nial. He rules Prillon Prime and is commander in charge of the entire Interstellar Coalition Fleet. His mate, Lady Deston, gave us a new designation. We are no longer referred to as the contaminated. We are now veterans. Prime Nial also lifted the banishment, allowing us to return to our homes.”
Now I was really, really confused. “Then why are you here? Why is anyone still here?” I would have been out of here so fast, their heads would still be spinning. Home. Green grass and trees and blue skies. Chocolate and apple pie and Mexican food. Movie theater popcorn and sitcoms.
“The work we do here is needed. We could go home, but just because the Prime allows us to leave, does not mean we would be welcome on our home worlds. People fear us and our cyborg implants. We are different. We frighten the women and children and make the other warriors uneasy. Rarely will a female choose a contaminated warrior for a mate. It simply is not done.”
“But—“
“No, Caroline. Hope is worse than acceptance. We are useful here. We serve. We sacrifice, and we live the best we can. We protect resources vital to the Fleet. We still have a job to do here. If we went home, we would be…nothing. Invisible.”
“You’re too damn big to be invisible.”