She understood me! For the first time.
“Dinosaurs are out there, and you’re smiling at me?” She squirms so hard against my chest that I nearly drop her, her flesh slick with the slide of rain and sweat.
“I’m taking us somewhere safe.” I hope. She can’t understand me, but I’m not about to give her any reason to stare out at the jungle with more fear.
“We need to get somewhere safe. Where something that big can’t get in.” Her blunt white teeth worry her lip, and I nod vigorously.
“Is that what you’re doing? Taking us somewhere safe?” she asks, squinting up at me.
The fearful look’s been replaced by focus, and her bravery sends a shiver of delight through me. Not many Suevans would respond as well to the knowledge the Crigomar had their scent, but this little human is thinking her way through the problem.
I like that very much.
The trees suddenly give way to brackish water, green scum thick on top. Insects the size of my hands flit about the water on shining wings, unafraid of the creatures dogging our steps. As if I’ve summoned them with my thoughts, one of the Crigomar looses another explosive roar, this time closer than before.
I step into the water.
“What the fuck?” Gen’s little nails bite into my scales, and I clamp down on a moan of pleasure at the strength in her grip. Now is not the time to lose myself to the pleasure of her intensity. Not at all.
“We can’t go in there,” she hisses. “Who knows what kind of disgusting alien bacteria is in that water. Look at the size of those bugs.” Her throat bobs as she swallows.
“Sssssafe,” I tell her, mangling the human word, but she still glances up at me in clear surprise. I jerk my head to the barely visible temple in the distance.
It stirs a need in me, the sight of it. Calls to some latent primal urge in me to seek the goddess, to ask for her help. The Crigomar are her creations, just as all of Sueva is. Perhaps the goddess is in agreement with the separatists, however. In agreement with my father, too.
Maybe I am unfit to rule.
Maybe aligning with the humans to save our species is the unholy act they claim it to be. My father gave his blessing, albeit warily, as it is the only way for Suevan life to continue.
I shake my head, setting my jaw and splashing through the green muck. Something thick coils around one of my ankles, and Gen’s grip on my shoulder’s becomes painful.
“That’s the biggest fucking snake I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes are round as saucers. “What is wrong with flora and fauna on this planet? For crying out loud. I need a weapon. I can’t stand this.”
“Am I not weapon enough?” I huff at her, annoyed at her outburst. “I am the prince of Sueva, the heir to the throne, and I am trained to defend our planet from all threats. I can easily dispatch this snake.” I kick at it with a taloned foot, and it raises a thick head from the water, before disappearing deeper into the muck.
“See?” I tell her, shrugging one shoulder. “They’re not as brave as you are, my ferocious female.”
“Tigress?” Her nose crinkles in confusion, her translator obviously ruining my words. Again. “Are there tigers here, too?”
Weary of my inability to communicate, I sigh, the foul-smelling water now up to my knees. Ahead, the temple entrance yawns dark, mostly obscured by the thick vines. We’re still a good way away, and the muck at the bottom of the stagnant water sticks to my feet. Every step is a struggle, and still, the Crigomar draw closer, judging from the way the birds of the jungle take flight, the way the treetops rustle.
I grit my teeth, glancing over my shoulder at where the creatures last bugled.
They’ve gone quiet, and I do not think this is a welcome development.
Fuck.
Gen follows my focus, craning her neck back to peer over my shoulder. “What are you looking for? You don’t think those things are following us, do you?”
“They’re following us,” I tell her. “The water may slow us down, but it should slow them down as well. The temple should keep us safe. They’re too big to follow us in there.” I point to the stone statues that flank the opening, the carved eyes weathered by time and the elements. A root snakes from one of the statue’s mouths.
She stares up at me, then squints at the temple in the distance. I see the moment my explanation registers, even though she still doesn’t understand the meaning of my words.
“There’s something over there, and you think it’s safer?” She tilts her head, her eyebrows raised. Gen speaks very slowly, as though I’m the one having trouble communicating.
I snort my amusement. “Yes, wife, that is exactly what I think.”
Her eyes crinkle at the corners, and for a fleeting moment, I think she will grace me with her smile. But her gaze slips behind my shoulder, her body tensing in my arms.
“Oh, holy shit.”
Something large splashes into the water behind me, and I don’t have to look to know exactly what it is.
“I need a fucking gun, why don’t I have my gun?” Gen asks, her eyes blazing with a vividness I haven’t seen. “Nature finds a way,” she says, and then sucks in a startled laugh. “Well, I never thought I’d die being eaten by an alien T-Rex, but here we are!”
I throw her over my shoulder, and she makes a soft whoomph as the breath whooshes out of her, and I break into a run, the muck and water slowing my steps.
Behind us, the Crigomar screams its frustration.
We need to make it to the temple, and fast.
CHAPTER THREE
GEN
The alien hauls me over his shoulder, and I can’t even find it in me to fault him for it. Do I like being slung from his shoulder like a sentient bag of rice? No. Do I think I can move as quickly as a being made to race through the swamp? Also no.
I’m not an idiot. My best odds right now are to stick like glue to the scaled warlord with his muscly arm clamped around my thighs, his tail swishing through the poison green water as he races to the structure at the edge of the swamp.
The alien growls something at me, same as he has for the last week and a half.
It doesn’t irritate me, not now, seeing as how he’s clearly as focused as I am on getting our asses to that stone house and away from the fucking walking museum exhibit paused momentarily on the edge of the swamp as he sprints away. Mud and viscous green sludge spatter my face and hair, and I brace my hands on the alien’s lower back, watching the dinosaur’s progress.
“This is insane,” I tell him conversationally, my heart pounding so loud it nearly drowns out the frustrated whuffs the T-Rex makes as its huge nostrils flare. “Dinosaurs went extinct on Earth millions of years ago. I can’t believe I’m seeing one in real life.”
“Crigomar,” the alien says, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“Sure,” I say. “Of course.” Who am I to argue with the slab of scaled meat carrying me through a swamp like a green knight? I’ll play princess if it saves me from getting eaten by the monster staring us down.
The dinosaur isn’t green. In fact, it looks nothing like the T-Rex toys I played with once upon a time as a kid. Its hide is deep, blood red, with long zagging stripes of dark brown like a zebra’s. I’m half-fascinated, half-terrified, and I can’t help wondering why it’s that color.