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Chapter Nine
Gray landed lightlyon his booted feet, his outstretched wings helping to keep his balance. After folding his wings shut behind him with a snap, he turned around just in time to see Sienna dive into the water, her green fluorescent scales and her talk-stone lighting her up in the river and making her easily visible with his superior vision.
Except he’d lose her fast once she swam into the deeper water, where the river’s murkiness would conceal her.
Bongo raced over to him with a whine, his distress clear.
Gray pulled off his human clothes. “Don’t worry, she won’t drown.”
The dog cocked his head to the side and whined again, as though uncertain whether to believe him.
“Stay, Bongo. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” And he’d have his prize with him, one he didn’t intend to lose a second time.
He left on his boots and under-armor. The special hide and sap repelled water, ensuring his under-armor and boots wouldn’t get heavy and waterlogged. He ran hard toward the bank, his arms and legs pumping, then he threw himself over, taking note midair of the fluorescent green that was quickly fading away in the water.
Diving into the murky water, he wrapped his wings around his torso, reducing any drag and enabling him to cut through the river like a torpedo. Only once he’d slowed did his wings stretch out and beat through the water like a manta ray.
Sienna probably didn’t know it, but his species had adapted to water and were able to move through it with considerable speed, much faster than any human. If Sienna didn’t suspect his swimming ability, he might actually catch her by surprise.
His only weakness was his lungs. Though he could hold his breath for much longer than a human, he didn’t have gills. He’d have to come up for air eventually. For now though, he had enough oxygen to follow the luminescent green, he just had to stay in stealth mode and hope she had no idea he was closing in on her.
A glint of iridescent green deeper in the river ahead made his pulse surge. She was slowing down! Yes, she was diving deeper, but she clearly felt safe now and was probably just enjoying absorbing the river’s energy and imagining she was alone with just the many fish and other aquatic life for company.
His wings swooshed silently in the water, pushing him through the water with ease. If only it had been half as easy to convince Sienna to tell him everything she knew. Time was now of the essence and he didn’t want to hurt her by forcing the truth, but he would if it meant saving his people.
Not just his people, entire galaxies of sentient beings would be wiped out if Sienna stubbornly refused to talk. Without her knowledge, his people couldn’t possibly devise a way to protect themselves and fight back.
The Dronians had to be destroyed at all cost. A shudder rippled through him. He would despise himself for having to hurt Sienna, but there was no other option. He’d tried to be civil and had asked her nicely, but it’d been a waste of time, a gamble that hadn’t paid off. He was less a bounty hunter now and more a soldier; he had no choice but to be ruthless.
His world and his people could no longer afford for him to be Mr. Nice Guy.
It was enough that he was burning up what little bit of oxygen he had left in his lungs to drive forcefully through the water. Sienna was right in front of him, lying motionless in the water, her green talk-stone now glowing a gentle light while her eyes were shut.
For a moment his heart stopped beating. Was she dead? Then he realized, she was either asleep or on the verge of sleeping, resting in the watery depths while her body absorbed any nutrients it needed.
Gods she was beautiful. Like an ethereal mermaid, except without the tail. That she sported an iridescent green back fin that matched her gorgeous scales, her hair streaked with the same green, made his chest tighten. Even the shells that encased her breasts looked perfect on her, kick-starting far too many fantasies into his sex-deprived mind.
Bad enough he’d had trouble keeping his hands off her while she was in her human form, seeing her in her natural state left him too close to coming undone, his whole mission in jeopardy.
He shook off thoughts of the woman who was fast becoming his addiction, regaining his laser focus for the task ahead. His people were in serious danger. He could not afford to get careless. His whole world was on the line.
He swished his wings in one last final surge. Her eyes flicked open, her pupils constricting as he propelled toward her. With one last, desperate flip of her fin and kick of her webbed feet, she tried, in vain, to evade him.
He wrapped his wings around her writhing body, effectively trapping her before he used his legs and arms to push their combined bodyweight to the surface of the water. Though she was stronger now, especially in her Strazanian form, she was no match for the death grip of his wings around her.
He broke free of the water and dragged oxygen into his burning lungs. Had air, even this polluted Earth air, ever tasted sweeter?
Her breath hissed out, her gills still clearly doing all her breathing. “You bastard! Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Even if he didn’t have exceptional vision in the dark, her green talk-stone along with the glow of her green eyes enabled him to easily see the wet glint of her stricken gaze. “When are you going to realize I don’t have any information about the Dronians?”
