Alien General's Fated (Brion Brides 5)(23)

Ryden was looking at her with something akin to sadness in his eyes. Aria had no pity for him. She had only blinding rage, something only a woman who feels betrayed could experience.

"Not only," the general said, "I did want you. I still want you. If you'll have me."

"I absolutely will not," Aria hissed, realizing she was snapping at a Brion general too late.

Somehow, she felt she was entitled to. Oh God, she was one of those silly girls after all.

"Why?" the general asked, turning to her. "I know you enjoyed this as much as I did."

Aria didn't answer. The truth wasn't an easy one to bear. Before, she'd been thrilled at the prospect of letting the feared general fuck her, an experience she might never get again. But something had changed when it actually happened. She didn't know why, but it hurt like nothing else ever had to know she was not the one for him. Aria hadn't wanted the general, shouldn't have felt bad about it all. In fact, she should have been overjoyed that the fuck could be exactly that and nothing more.

Instead she felt like her heart was being ripping out of her chest, not even knowing why.



Aria refused to tell him that. Her pride was back with a vengeance.

"Leave," she said quietly, instead. "Get out of my rooms."

Ryden looked like he was about to protest, but Aria gave him the most furious look she could muster. The water suddenly felt cold around her. And the pain in her heart, the feeling of being used and begging for it to happen, was almost unbearable.

She didn't look at him when he got out of the bath and dressed. She knew his body might make her regret her decision to have nothing to do with him anymore outside of her duties.

"Aria."

Her head snapped up at that, unbidden. The general was standing by the door, looking so good in his armor, powerful and invincible. Aria had to bite her lip not to say anything to stop him from going.

"I meant I hoped it would be you," Ryden said.

It took a whole lot more willpower not to answer that, but after a long moment of silence, Aria was left alone.

Right then, the alarms blared. She knew that sound. Aria looked up, knowing that somewhere above her head, a threat had been detected in the system. She didn't know if it was the Clayor armies or whether one of the supposed ally armies had decided to attack the Brions. All she knew was that it had begun.#p#分页标题#e#

And she would have no time to grieve for a love lost that had never even happened.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ryden



The alarms going off everywhere on Ilotra shouldn't have made him glad, but they did.

Ryden had never thought of himself as a naturally patient person. His place was in the thick of action, where the fighting was the hardest, the bloodiest. All this planning, worrying, dealing with the council... it had made his skin itch.

Now, finally, there would be something real. Sure, there would still be Clayors and the general knew his real opponent was somewhere on Ilotra with him. Only there was an urgency to it. A sense of the now. He always worked best when he had to make quick decisions, when lives depended on his choices.

He allowed himself one pleased smile when the outer rim announced that the first Clayor ships had jumped to the system.

Of course, the first were blown to pieces. Ilotra was fairly safe in the shadow of the gas giant Ilo. Farther away at the system's edge, the union  's patrols greeted the enemies first, along with support from all four gathered fleets. It didn't surprise Ryden in the least how many had volunteered. Waiting wasn't a natural state for any warrior; they longed for action.

The feared Brion general Faren's words were starting to make more sense to him every day. The cold warlord had often said that being a general was nothing to desire, because practically no one who wanted to be one understood what it meant.

Right at that moment, for Ryden, it meant watching from Ilotra as his captains went to war against the enemy. Every inch of him ached to leave it all behind and join them, but he knew that he couldn't leave Ilotra until the Host did. No matter how big the armies were the hive mind threw at him, the Host remained the most dangerous enemy. The only one that mattered.

Ryden had already seen his handiwork. The Host hadn't executed the massacre on his own, but the command center had definitely been him. Breaking through Brion ranks like that... not even a squad of champions would have been able to do that.

His first order was for the shield to be brought up. That seemed like a coward's tactic, but he firmly reminded himself that protecting the fortress was his duty. And that hiding behind a shield wasn't cowardice, but tactics. There was nothing glorious about inviting death when it could have been avoided.

He was in the command center when Aria arrived, panting heavily. Her beautiful eyes were bright, alive. Afraid, yes, but ready to do her part.

Seeing her was both exhilarating and distracting. Ryden hadn't lied to her before. He really had wanted Aria to be his gesha, but it seemed the fates had other plans for him. That didn't mean merely looking upon the little Terran wasn't bittersweet. She called to him, but every inch of her was farther from him than ever before.

"General," Aria said, avoiding his gaze. "Is it the enemy?"

She took a seat behind one of the consoles, seeing for herself. With a few quick moves, she was bringing up detailed reports of the situation. He watched Aria checking the status of the shield, then moving on to bringing some of the weapons up, ready to blast the enemy ships. Hadn't she mentioned some of them were her own design?

Fate better have something amazing in store, Ryden thought, looking at her with not a little regret.

"Commander," one of his own warriors called. "There has been a sighting."

Ryden rounded on the man at once.

"Where?" he demanded.

He hadn't stopped running the scans for a moment. His officers were doing their absolute best to try and distinguish the Host from the regular Clayors. Any hint they got, Ryden went to see personally. After seeing the bodies the Host had left behind—most of them had been cleaned away when he led Aria to the center—he was intent not to let any other civilian face the creature. Maybe not even his own warriors. If there was anyone on Ilotra who could take it down, Ryden knew it was him.

The screen showed the Host not far from them. A trap, an obvious trap, the general knew that, but it was a tactic he and the hive mind both seemed to like. The risk was too great. The Host was heading toward the shield generator. Ryden wondered if it was its actual destination, but it made little difference. He couldn't let it reach the hangar.

But if it did, he'd need Aria there to observe the damage and fix it if she could.

"Aria," he said. "Come with me."

She looked surprised, but came along as he'd ordered. Ryden liked that, another on the long list of things he liked about her, especially opposed to everyone else on Ilotra. She listened to him and didn't question his orders when time was of the essence. That was how things worked with his own warriors. Aria being able to replicate that feeling in him—that was quite something.#p#分页标题#e#

Ryden called for a unit with him. He wasn't sure if they could hold off the Host, but it was worth a shot. If the hive mind got past him, there would be little difference anyway.

"Protect her at all costs," he ordered the captain of the unit. "She is your first priority."

He saw Aria go very pale at that, but it wasn't up for debate. She was too valuable, both to Ilotra, and to him.

They ran along dark, empty corridors. The center kept reporting on the paths the Host was taking. It didn't seem to want to run from them, but neither did it go back into hiding.

Ryden knew sooner or later he'd have to face the hive mind anyway and it was definitely better to do it while the Host was alone. It was a strong enough champion on its own without hordes of Clayors throwing themselves on his blade to stop him from fighting. The only problem was trapping a creature that looked at the world with thousands of eyes.

When he saw the Host, Ryden motioned for Aria and the unit to stay behind and he went on. He could sense jealousy in a few of his warriors. That was good, a hunger for glory was always a good quality in a Brion warrior. His valor squares pulsed approvingly.

The Host turned when he approached. It didn't appear afraid or even careful. As a member of a species who loved hard-fought victories, Ryden thought there was something fundamentally wrong with an enemy simply baring its neck to him.

The Host was almost literally doing that. It carried the battle knives, but otherwise it seemed to have brought nothing. No armor, no backup. Ryden would have been insulted if he hadn't been so sure the Host was provoking him on purpose.

None of it mattered.

He was a Brion. That meant only going forward in any battle worth fighting and this one surely qualified. Ryden pulled his tall spear free, giving it a few practice twirls to get the feel of it like he always did. The Host watched him come with an amused, but interested expression.

"You can't truly mean to take me on alone," it said.

"I was about to tell you the same."

The Host laughed. Somewhere around them, the sound echoed back oddly. Ryden signaled, but his warriors had already noticed it too. A few stayed with Aria, but more ran into the nearby hallways to look for the hidden Clayors. The Host nodded appreciatively.