Forbidden Law (An Alien Love #1)

Chapter Twenty Four

"Please tell me what I can do," Jace whispered into my hair. "I cannot see you like this." He gently rocked me back and forth, then said," I love you more than you can know."

"I-I...my face-and his...sucking..."

"I know, it is not a pleasant feeling," he replied. We went quiet, the only sound being my gasping breath. He brushed a thumb along my hairline, pushing stray hairs to the side. His shirt became damp. "Do you want a story?"

The sudden change of subject actually made me stop. Only hiccups remained. "Okay."

He chuckled, and he slid us to the floor. I could only imagine what my parents thought was going on in here, but I didn't care. If my mom really was one of them, then she could easily hear it all.

"Our past is long," he started. His voice was now smooth and quiet, lulling. "It spans much longer than the history of humans, but has changed little since. Our species evolved about two billion years ago. There was once a..." He searched for a word. He let out a breath. "I guess he would be considered a king, but the followers were not full of empty obedience like here. They all held strong positions of importance in the communities, nor did he possess a castle. The king assigned Lords to sections of land, even along the threads of islands that spanned the coasts of our waters. The humans had copied our obsession with renaissance attire, because our kind loves pretty things," he said almost ruefully. "We like order and hierarchy, a system of command that brings status. Our abilities influence this a great deal. There was a princess, and she loved the king very much. But her father only saw her as a pawn, one to sell to the greatest bidder.

"Because why not, when you had many sons to take your place, should something happen to you? His daughter soon found this to be true, and planned an escape from her betrothed, who would be a dark emperor of the distant states. She did not want to lose her home and the things she knew most; the purple skies, the gleaming turquoise waters of her coastal home. The three moons that hang in the sky were her gods, and they directed her as such."

He cleared his throat. "She tricked the guards that accompanied her everywhere. She staged a trip to the market to choose some fabrics for her Ceremony dress. The guards would be surrounded and distracted by many citizens, and her main ability was that of Shifting. She could disguise herself as someone else, anything else really, without the need for a divice. She changed into the form of a fellow guard as they all dispersed to find her. This is how she escaped.

"But when she reached the edge of the city, she would make the decision to either stay in eternal danger of being caught by her father and betrothed, or leave her beloved home for safety. So she chose the latter."

"How did she do that?" I asked. My eyelids began to feel heavy. Distantly, a memory tickled the back of my mind, but I waved it away.

He stroked my hair, his fingers softly forming a line down my back. It sent chills through my blood. "She changed into a Scientist, so that she would be given the chance to steal a ship. The king knew of her ability, of course, because it was a trademark of his bloodline. He had set up guards to scout every corridor and room of the manor, so that nothing was left unturned. But the princess was clever. She stole the credentials of the Scientist who was most close to her father, which included a ring with his special insignia, and a robe of protective fabric that only Scientists were given. The ships they made and invented were tricky, made of unpredictable elements that would sometimes harm them, thus the robe."

"Are you two okay in there?" Dad called into the restroom. "You've been in there awhile..."

I smiled at his concealed 'protective father' voice, and replied with "Yeah, we're just talking, Dad." A muffled grumble replied, but he went away. Jace continued.

"She stole away on a new ship, one of the smallest ones so that it would be less noticed or needed. It was one shaped like a cylinder, made for only five or less passengers. She escaped here to Earth, the near hundred year long trip seeming like seconds in the cryo-state. This was before we had the technology to get here in a matter of days. When Arriving, she landed in what is now Missouri, and her human finder took care of her. The human descendants now wait for any sign that she needs help, posing as her parents and cousins to better help her blend. This princess is your mother."

I blanched, my heart skittering. "Excuse me? That's impossible."

"Is it?" he murmured, lips brushing my forehead. "This is the information I have been gathering. I thought it would be important to you." Then his head lifted, turning an ear to the door as if listening to something far off. A small triumphant smile graced his lips, and I felt the urge to pull him into a heated kiss, one that would wipe all of this nonsense away. My mind snatched at his words, fixing them into ordered strings of...well, definitely not organization. It all rolled around like scattering marbles. I shook my head and fingered his wet shirt. I couldn't even get the idea of being half alien through, but now I had to be half alien princess. Fantastic. From what it sounded like, I'd already have a hard time of it, but now this...it'd be damn near impossible to lie low.

"My turn," Mom's voice came through the door. "I've gotta go."

We locked eyes and smiled. Yep, she'd heard, and Jace's eyes confirmed it. He swiftly got to his feet, gently sweeping an arm around my waist and tugging me after. My mom's face was pale, eyes shut down into something scarily blank. I looked for the princess in her features, and only saw my mother, the beautiful and knowing creature that had wiped my dirty mouth at meals, the one that would make chicken noodle soup when Riley and I were sick, after forming the noodles into haphazard smiley faces.

But not this. Not a princess. A deceiver.

My fists balled and we brushed past her. Jace nodded his head respectfully, but I tore my gaze from hers with some effort, dropping into the hospital bed with a huff.

*****************

That night, I was left alone when visiting hours ended and Jace went home to clean up. My room was dark and still with the exception of the small beeping of my monitor. I was set to go home tomorrow, since my x-rays and other tests came back relatively normal. My mother had declined a blood test with some force, but the doctor had said I was a legal adult. I had met her eyes, and ever so slightly, she shook her head. I declined.

But now, with silence being my only companion, I fiddled with the gauze on my arm and shifted. I was going to go crazy. City lights cast a soft glow over the rock-hard looking couch. It was nearly two a.m., and here I was wide awake; I shut my eyes, trying to quiet my mind and stop thinking about the shit storm that was now my life.

And felt something hard go over my mouth.

My eyes flew open, and I started to squirm and claw at the...I squinted, but failed to make out any shapes in the darkness. No sounds came, but there was a deeper patch of black to my right, blocking out the only light from the window. I felt for the nurse button, but something grabbed my wrist and twisted. My breath came in short whistling puffs as whoever was restraining me flipped me to my side and yanked my hands behind my back. My shoulders screamed as the gash along my arm strained against its' stitches.

I bit down on the hand over my mouth. I gagged as a small flow of slimy  liquid entered. It was not blood, blood was salty and wet, and this was thick and numbing...I couldn't feel my mouth anymore. A gurgled chuckle scraped through the air from behind me, and I shivered. I bucked and kicked, my foot connecting with the water pitcher as I squirmed harder. A heavy weight came down on my waist and pinned me in place. My cries and shrieks were muffled, useless.

A binding was now around my hands. It held them locked together like extremely tight handcuffs. I growled, but I couldn't tell if my mouth was in a snarl or even smiling it was so numb.

I was suddenly pulled to my feet. My knees wobbled and gave out, and I silently screamed as my arms were twisted farther back to catch my weight. Another chuckle. Then a sharp prick in my neck, and the soft city light falling into my room went black.