The Arcav General's Woman

  The Arcav General's Woman

  Hope Hart

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Methi

  The ship shudders around me and I wake, pulled from dreams of her. It feels as if we are landing, however, that cannot be right.

  Talis and I were sent on this mission by Varian, our King. The goal is to stabilize Fecax after the planet’s princess was kidnapped and the royal family was slaughtered. With the Grivath invading and enslaving planets across the galaxy, the Fecax rely on our alliance.

  But Fecax is still days away.

  I reach for my weapon, rubbing at my horn as I slowly awaken. We are not due to land for at least three more cycles. Has Talis changed the plan? He has been acting increasingly erratic. Small changes, as if his reactions are off. Perhaps he is feeling the need to mate. My jaw clenches at the thought.

  The lights are low, and I trip over something solid as I leave my quarters, almost falling to my knees. I lean down and my hand brushes hair and cold flesh. One of the crew.

  My heart thumps harder in my chest and my horns straighten at the threat. Have we been boarded? How did I not wake? I find more crew, all dead, as I sprint toward the control center.

  I open my mouth to call for Talis and then snap it shut. If enemies have boarded our ship, I must practice stealth. My mind returns to dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a quick grin.

  Concentrate.

  The ship is a graveyard. Why did Talis not send up an alarm? How did my men die without my knowledge?

  I move closer to the control center and freeze as I hear voices. Is that Talis? I open my mouth to call to him. Is he unaware of the danger? I freeze as a feminine voice sounds. We have no females on this ship.

  “I had to leave. I could not take it one moment longer.”

  Brexa? Varian’s cousin? Why is she talking to him on the ComScreen while we are under attack? I cannot be awake. Surely, this is just a nightmare.

  Talis’s voice is hard. “Why would you leave your post? I believed we had an agreement.”

  I slam my mouth shut as bile creeps up my throat. No. Not Talis. He is a trusted Arcav general.

  “He left me, Talis. He left me for her.” Rage has filled Brexa’s voice.

  Talis sighs. “I know, my love. He will pay. They will all pay.”

  “Varian discovered that Chenda is dead.”

  A long silence.

  “I thought that you had it handled. We have been using her to pass false intel to Jaret for years.”

  “So did I! How was I to know that the Trasla would finally agree to negotiate with Varian?”

  Traitors. Both of them. The Trasla have been allied with the Grivath for centuries, and Varian has been attempting to sway them to our side for just as long.

  My hands fist, blood dripping from my knuckles as my claws cut into my palms.

  Brexa may only be present via a ComScreen, but I will make her watch as I kill Talis for his treachery.

  I stalk toward Talis, weapon in my hand. Brexa calls out a warning, and I jolt in pain as something hits me from behind and everything goes black.

  Meghan

  The medi-center is interesting. Of course, everything on this ship is interesting. We’ve just been attacked by Grivath- a real-life space battle, and my adrenaline is pumping.

  Of course, I was unlucky enough to get knocked out, spending most of the battle unconscious.

  Typical.

  I follow Harlow into a private room. She wants to check on one of the generals who was injured. I like that about her— that she actually cares and doesn’t just put on a show like most adults.

  Apparently, this Methi guy saved her life and lost an arm in the process. If not for him and the other brave Arcav, the Grivath might have made their way back to where the unarmed humans were hiding.

  I freeze as I run my eyes over the man in the bed. His arm is in a weird glass machine that pumps out gas every so often. I hate it. The thought of this strong, brave guy losing an arm hurts something inside me.

  The healer explains that the machine will keep his arm in stasis until it can be replaced.

  And then Methi opens his eyes.

  They’re beautiful, like the rest of him, a light blue, almost violet. Those eyes meet mine, and I have the weirdest feeling like I’ve known him all my life.

  There you are.

  My gaze goes lower, and I have the strangest urge to lick my lips.

  “Methi,” Harlow says, ice in her voice. “She’s fifteen.”

  He removes his gaze from me, and I mourn the loss as he frowns in confusion. I do the same. What does my age have to do with anything?

  “She’s a child,” Harlow says, and my mouth drops open as I choke on my spit.

  “I’m almost sixteen,” I say, blinking back tears. Teenage hormones are the worst. “And that was mean, Harlow.”

  I leave before I can do something even more embarrassing, like burst into tears.

  I lay my head on my arms, my gaze on the garden. Outside, Harlow’s cat stalks through the bushes. A few months ago, something mauled that cat, and Varian tried to keep it from Harlow, taking Tom to the medi-center to be fixed before she found out about it.

  Unfortunately, Harlow ended up in that medi-center and found her cat, right before she learned that she was pregnant.

  Harlow told me that Varian promised not to keep something like that from her again. Sounds nice in theory, but I think these guys can’t help but be overprotective.

  I frown in thought. Is it nature or nurture? What makes the Arcav so different from humans in so many ways, yet so similar in others? My mind immediately begins spinning. I wonder how many genes the Arcav have. I’m more interested in machines than people, but everything in Arcavia is interesting.

  “Meghan?”

  I turn as my mom walks in. We’ve got pretty good digs in Arcavia. We had the option of moving out and living near most of the other humans, but Harlow said that there was more than enough room in the palace, and hooked us up with an awesome apartment that even has a small office for my mom to see patients.

  Mom’s a therapist. Yeah, I know, fun, right?

  We’re pretty close though. I’m an only child, which could’ve made me a weirdo, especially when you consider my IQ. But mom did everything she could to make sure I was as well adjusted as I could be.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  Mom smiles sympathetically and I almost roll my eyes. I’m so sick of people giving me pity looks. Methi’s not dead. He’s going to come back, and I’ll be saying a big fat I told you so to anyone who gave me that look.

  “Arax and I are going to go to the market. Do you want to come do some shopping? Maybe grab dinner?”

  Arax is my new alien stepdad. Sounds weird, but he’s a good guy. He worships the ground my mom walks on, and he’s the reason we got to ditch Earth for a way cooler planet.

  When the Arcav invaded, they could’ve demanded anything. The firepower on their spaceships could’ve made Earth burn. But at first, all they wanted was for every woman on Earth to do a simple blood test. That blood test would determine if they were compatible as
mates. Once they were mates, they were shit out of luck. They had to give up their careers, and their lives, moving to Arcavia with their new mates. Thanks to Harlow, it’s not as bad anymore. Women who already have husbands and kids don’t have to leave if they don’t want to. Oh, and she’s managed to stop any blood tests on anyone under eighteen.

  Harlow is a total boss.

  When I found out that mom was a mate, I insisted that we come to Arcavia right way. A chance to see a new planet, learn about Arcav technology, and escape Earth? I was all in.

  “No thanks.”

  Mom clears her throat.

  “Honey…”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Here’s what you should know. Before Methi broke my heart, he was my best friend. I haven’t had a lot of friends in my life. Being that weird kid in high school when kids my age were still learning to read probably had something to do with it.

  But Methi somehow got it. He got me. And he liked that I was weird, and smart, and questioned everything. We’d spend hours together while he talked to me about Arcavia and introduced me to his world.

  I’m annoyed at everyone. I’m fighting with my mom, mad at Arax, and Jaret’s still not convinced that I should be allowed to train with the Arcav. I’ve snuck off to my secret spot, a small lake hidden in the forest behind the palace.

  Bushes rustle and I spin, annoyed that my hiding place has been discovered. My mouth drops open as I meet Methi’s eyes.

  “How’d you know I was here?”

  He grins at me. “Where you go, I go.”

  A few weeks ago, we found out that Methi was on a ship with Talis, the Arcav traitor. They’d left on a trip to Fecax— home to allies of the Arcav. The royal family had just been slaughtered- all but one of the young princesses who’d already gone missing weeks before. Varian says that Talis wouldn’t have expected the Arcav to discover he was working for the Grivath and was likely planning to continue the trip to Fecax as planned.

  Varian was ready to surprise Talis with an arrest when they landed in Fecax, but last night, the ship veered off course and went completely dark. Talis must’ve realized Varian was onto him and disabled the tracking sensors.

  I’m not an idiot. I know things aren’t looking good for Methi. But he’s smart. He’s a survivor. And he’s not dead. He’ll deal with this and come out swinging.

  Mom sighs but leaves. Technically, I could have my own place in Arcavia. But I know mom likes having me around, and it’s nice to hang out with her.

  When she’s not psychoanalyzing me, that is.

  Methi is my closest friend here. Sure, I hang out with Harlow, Eve, and now Bree and Amanda. But my friendship with Methi is special. At least it was until he suddenly left me with no warning.

  That’s what men do, Meghan.

  It doesn’t matter. Methi was the one I clung to when I first arrived here. The one who hooked me up with a chance to learn how to fly honest-to-god spaceships. And he was all I could think about when I took my first solo flight a few weeks ago.

  I get to my feet. Enough moping around. I need to convince Varian to let me look at the information about Methi’s flight path. Maybe I can help figure out where they were headed.

  I mosey down to Harlow and Varian’s quarters. They’re pretty chill considering they’re royalty. You don’t have to make an appointment to see them or anything. At least I don’t, ‘cause I’m friends with Harlow. Varian tolerates my spontaneous visits because it makes Harlow happy. I swear that guy would do anything to see her smile.

  I greet the guards outside their door and knock twice, almost vibrating with impatience.

  “Enter,” Varian’s deep voice sounds, and I throw open the door, finding Harlow in her usual spot, sipping tea on the gel sofa.

  Her pregnancy has been tough, and she generally walks around looking pale and sweaty, as if constantly on the verge of tossing her cookies. I don’t know why you’d want to play host to something that’s gonna tear open your hoo-ha and then boss you around while stealing your sleep but to each their own.

  “Meghan! I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you doing?”

  There it is, that sympathetic smile.

  “I’m fine. How are you? How’s the bump?”

  I nod toward her stomach, where she’s barely showing.

  “I’m pretty sure I felt a kick last night. It’s still too soon for Varian to feel much, but it made up for some of the puking.”

  I grin and slump beside her on the couch.

  Varian’s sitting by the window, working on his communicator and I nod toward him.

  “Is he busy?”

  Harlow frowns, her concerned gaze turning to Varian.

  “Yeah. He’s barely sleeping while he tries to find the new Fecax Queen, smoke out the other traitors, and locate Methi’s ship.”

  “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you guys about.”

  Harlow shifts, her gaze landing on my face. Talking to her is sometimes as bad as talking to my mom. She’s an ex-cop, which means she sometimes gets this steely look in her eyes that warns you to be straight with her. I want to master that look one day.

  “I want access to everything available about Methi’s ship and flight path.”

  She nods slowly, like she was expecting this exact request.

  “Why do you think you’ll be able to find something that the Arcav haven’t found?”

  She’s not being snarky, she’s just weighing up pros and cons.

  “My supercharged IQ, of course.” I send her a shit-eating grin and she smiles back.

  The polite term is gifted. The more common term is freak. I’m the girl who ruined the curve for people ten years my senior. It’s not my fault I was a child prodigy. When I was younger, I would’ve given anything to be normal. Now, I own my genius— for the most part. If I can use it to help find Methi, then maybe all the years of being a freak will be worth it.

  “You know, the Arcav are pretty intelligent.”

  I send her a look. “Of course they are. But how can it hurt to get another pair of super-smart eyes on it? Maybe I’ll spot something they’ve missed.”

  She looks at me for a moment longer and then nods her head. Harlow loves Methi like a brother. She’ll do anything to help find him.

  Harlow turns to Varian, who’s already walking toward us. He stands behind the sofa and strokes a hand down the back of Harlow’s hair as he narrows his eyes at me consideringly.

  “You believe that you can help find Methi.”

  “I sure do. What can it hurt, right?”

  A ghost of a smile crosses his face. “I believe it will hurt the egos of my generals if you find Methi before them.” His face sobers. “But all that matters is that the ship is located. I will order the Arcav who are currently searching for Methi to allow you access to their files.”

  I blow out a breath, shoulders slumping in relief.

  “Thank you.”

  Methi

  Something splashes my face and I jerk awake, looking up into the eyes of a general I trained myself. I have known Dezi for half a century, and never could I have imagined the look of glee on his face as he stares at me, lying in the dust.

  The ship waits just a few hundred lengths away. My jaw clenches at the sight of Talis standing close by. We have landed somewhere not on our flight plan. And they obviously plan to abandon me here.

  I stumble to my feet, head throbbing. “Why?”

  Talis snorts. “Is it not obvious? We no longer want Varian’s rule. He has grown soft, making treaties with planets that barely offer any advantages. The Arcav could have ruled this galaxy, but he insisted on protecting the weak Fecax and making enemies of the Grivath.”

  “The Grivath attempted to invade us!”

  “Only after their request for a treaty was ignored.”

  “They run a slave planet,” I spit. “They have ruined lives across the universe. They are murderous beasts, and you believe we should have allied with them?”r />
  “Ever the loyal soldier. You sound just like Varian.” He throws me a pack. “Water and basic supplies for a few days. You were always good to me. Take this chance.”

  I just stare at him. “How could you betray us like this? What is your plan? You think Varian will not discover this duplicity?”

  Talis grits his teeth. “Varian will not discover anything until it is too late.”

  I take a step forward, incensed. “You worthless traitor!”

  He raises his weapon and pain knifes through my leg as I fall to the ground. I grit my teeth as my nerve endings erupt in fire.

  “I am not the worthless one! Perhaps I will take your mouthy human when I arrive back in Arcavia. I will be so devastated that I had to kill the Arcav who was betraying our race. I am sure she will be upset to learn that you were a traitor and tried to kill me. Perhaps she will need…comforting.”

  I try to ignore his jeering, but my stomach clenches. Would she believe him? I left her with no warning. Would she see that as the act of a traitor?

  “No one will believe you,” I growl, growing dizzy as my blood saturates the ground beneath me.

  “Of course they will. This is the way of the world. I will tell them my sad story and how I discovered your deception. They will be only too happy to believe that the little upstart, the bastard was colluding with the Arcav.” He grins down at me. “You should never have dared to crawl so close to the crown,” he says, madness dancing across his face. How could I not see this?

  “Kill you,” I groan weakly, and he simply sneers.

  “Goodbye, Methi.”

  I watch as the ship fires up, Talis and Dezi boarding without looking back. I am sure I will soon lose consciousness, so I pull the bag closer, finding a small bottle of water and some bread.