Wrong Alien (TerraMates Book 6) (27 page)

Mia would much rather have spent her time there at the
library, curled up in one of the squashy arm chairs with a book or her sketch
pad, drawing or reading or sneaking in a nap.

"I guess not," she'd replied, unable to keep the sadness out
of her voice.

Abon had smiled and ruffled her hair before reaching into
his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, leather bound book. "I have
something for you. This may not make much sense right now, but there will come
a time when it will explain everything. There are some things that have
happened and will likely keep happening, and they're my fault, and I can't tell
you how sorry I am. I hope this will go some way towards making things right."

At the time, she hadn't known what he meant by that. She'd
been confused over the indecipherable book and hadn't spent much time thinking
about the other parts of what he'd said.

But now that she had the benefit of distance and knowing
what was going on, Mia understood what he'd meant. He must have known that she
was being taken by the Shaddoc and why. And he must have known that it would
continue long after they'd stopped speaking.

The fact that she couldn't understand anything in the book
probably made it so that the Shaddoc couldn't get any of the information out of
her.

Clever.

When she managed to pull herself out of her thoughts, she
glanced at Asher who was studying the book intently. "Does it make sense to
you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Hm? Oh, yes. It does. It's written in our language, but
your letters. See?" He turned the book to face her and held a finger at the top
right corner of one page. "Right to left, and in a spiral across the page." His
finger traced a line through what was presumably a sentence.

Mia shook her head. "That makes absolutely no sense."

Asher shrugged. "To you, maybe. But this was never really
meant for you to read, I don't think. It's pretty much addressed to me."

"Why would your uncle give me a book that's meant for you?"

"So neither of us would have the whole story," Asher explained.
"In case I was ever caught by the Shaddoc, since they were already taking you.
You had all the information, but you couldn't read it, and I could read it, but
I didn't have it. So no matter which one of us they took, they couldn't get
anything."

"And now?" Mia asked. "Now we've got all we need, right?"

Asher grinned at her. "Yes. But now we'll know what to do.
And they won't catch us."

"You sound sure of that."

If anything, his grin got wider. "I am. Would you like to
know what the book says?"

The abrupt change of pace was surprising and took a few
seconds for her to catch up with, but she definitely did want to know. She'd
spent a good portion of her younger years trying to figure out what the hidden
message there was, and now she had someone there would could read it all for
her.

She assumed that Asher wouldn't' have offered if the words
inside were private and meant only for him, so she nodded and settled in,
looking at him expectantly.

Asher smiled, his eyes lingering on her for a moment before
he dropped them back down to the book and began to read. "There will come a
time when I won't be here any longer. When the things that I've set into motion
will mean that I have to leave this place. It will be a shame because I like it
here very much. I like the quiet of the library, I like the children who come
to see me. It's a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of being a king.
But I can't forget that  a king is what I am."

Even though Asher was reading, Mia could hear Abon in every
word. It was like being ten years old all over again and sitting in a chair
listening to him tell her stories. Now that she was transported back there, it
was hard to believe that she'd ever forgotten. All of her memories were so
vivid now.

Maybe the Shaddoc had messed with her head enough that she'd
repressed some things. Maybe they had clouded her memories of the tall, smiling
man who had made her younger years just that bit better.

Asher's voice was soothing as he read the words, and Mia was
reminded once again that she was still tired. She'd slept the night before, but
she'd had dreams for most of it, and it felt like she hadn't gotten much sleep
at all. Before long she was leaning into Asher, resting her head on his
shoulder and smothering a yawn with her hand.

She liked him, Mia decided. He had that whole affably
clueless thing going on, and for some reason it made her believe what he told
her and trust him wholeheartedly.

There was a chance that trusting him was a bad idea, but she
didn't think it was going to come back to bite her. At least she hoped it
wouldn't.

Chapter 6: Revelations

It took Asher a good ten minutes to realize that Mia had
fallen asleep on him. Once he figured it out, he found himself lowering the
book and watching her for a bit. And okay, yeah, he really needed to work on
not
watching women while they slept, but he couldn't help but be fascinated by
the way some of the fierceness drained out of her when she was sleeping,
leaving her looking softer and easier to approach.

She was probably very tired. There was no telling how many
nights of sleep she'd missed out on because of the Shaddoc wanting information
from her.

The fact that she hadn't seen Abon since she was a child
should have made them leave her alone, but apparently they wanted to catch the
king of the Nalyi so badly that they weren't taking any chances.

"Idiots," Asher mumbled. As if they hadn't already done
enough to his people without dragging humans into it and trying to finish the
job.

Mia shifted against him, and he smiled at her for a second
before he went back to the book. It was amazing to have something in his hands
that Abon had written. Something more lengthy than the little note he'd
scribbled before he disappeared, of course. So far it mostly seemed to be a
journal where he talked about his life before they'd fled compared to the life
they'd built afterwards.

Asher skimmed most of that, knowing that he would have time
to come back and read it more thoroughly later. For the moment, he was looking
for answers. For some kind of clue as to where Abon might have gone.

He flipped to the middle section of the book and was
surprised to see his name there in big, bold letters. It looked like it was the
middle of something, so he flipped back until he found the beginning of what
seemed to be a letter addressed entirely to him. Fingers shaking a bit, he
started tracing each sentence to read them.

Asher,

I don't know how long it's going to take from me writing
this to you finding it, but I can only hope you're doing well. I'm sure you're
tired and confused, but I'm also sure that you've made it fine without me. You
were always your mother's son, and you have so much of her in you.

I miss her.

I know you miss her, too. I know you can remember her
just fine and you think of her often. And honestly, I truly believe that she's
still up there somewhere, waiting for us to come back.

Things will be very different when we return to the
Nalyi, Asher. I was their king, and I ruled them with as much strength and
grace as I could muster, but I think my time is up for that. Coming here has
shown me so many new things, and I don't want to deal in politics and war for
the rest of my life.

That means our people will look to you for guidance and
leadership. Don't make that face at me.

Asher realized he was making a face: one that was a mixture
of shock and horror that his Uncle even thought to pass something like this off
on him.

You've learned so much since we came here, and you're
ready. You're more ready than I was when it was my time to take over, trust me
on that.

There is one thing, though. Nalyi kings cannot rule
alone. I did for a time, but your mother served as my queen for the most part,
even though she's my sister. You will need to find someone to rule beside you,
Asher.

I don't know how amenable she'll be to it, but Amelia is
an excellent candidate. You must have found her to be reading this, and I can't
imagine that the years will do anything but make her smarter and more
resourceful. I am truly sorry about the things that will have happened to her
because she knew me, but I also believe that these experiences will have taught
her things that she wouldn't have otherwise learned.

She's good for you, Asher. A grounding presence for
someone who has often had his head in the clouds. Don't scowl. You know you've
spent plenty of time daydreaming of home.

I'm not sure what the state of her life will be, but I
know that she will be good at this. It will fall to you to make her see that
this is an option, should she choose to take it. This planet is too small for
her, and I think some part of her knows it.

At any rate, I am going home.

Don't feel betrayed, Asher. You weren't ready. There is
no telling what awaits us back at home, and I have to do something to make up
for dragging you from your mother and making you grow up on Earth. Although, I
do believe it was the best thing for you.

The plan is still the same.

And that was the end of it.

Asher's fingers were trembling and he dropped the book in
his lap, leaning his head back against the couch and letting out a low breath.

So Abon had gone home without him.

His uncle had been missing for enough time that Asher knew
it was deliberate, but he hadn't expected that he'd gone back home. How had he
even gotten back?

Last Asher had checked, their transport was still where it
always was, and there wasn't exactly some trans galactic cab service he could
have called, so it didn't make sense to him. There were so many things that he
didn't understand, and for some reason his Uncle thought he was ready to be
king.

Yeah. Right.

Mia murmured in her sleep, and that drew his attention back
to her.

That part of the letter hadn't been any less confusing than
the rest of it. Mia had been a child the last time Abon had seen her. How in
the world could he have just decided that they would work together when they
were both so young?

And hadn't he taken into account the fact that she would
most likely have a life and a career and friends that she didn't want to
abandon just because Asher asked her to? Asher was nothing to her. Just some
alien who'd dropped into her life trying to save her from the Shaddoc and had
accidentally gotten more entranced than he'd meant to.

He scrubbed his hands through his hair as much as he could
without disturbing Mia and tried to think things through.

Technically, he didn't
need
Mia. If it came down to
it, he would figure out a way to be king without a queen. Abon couldn't hold it
against him if he came back without her because she'd refused to come.

And honestly, Asher wouldn't blame her if she did.

Who just up and went to another planet with some weirdo
she'd just met. Not smart women, and Mia definitely struck him as a smart
woman. It was one of the reasons why he liked her so much.

He didn't even know how he would go about broaching that
topic. "Hey, nice weather we're having. You know where else has nice weather?
My home planet. You should come back with me, and I'll show it to you. Also,
have you ever had a burning need to be a queen? Just curious. Asking for a
friend, really."

Asher snorted at the sheer absurdity of that.

"You are being very loud. And fidgety."

He looked down to see Mia squinting at him with one eye
open. "Sorry," he said quickly, and he just knew he was blushing.

"It's okay. I just think you need to revisit what pillows
are supposed to do, which is mostly just be comfortable and quiet."

She flashed him a sleep edged smile, and he was lost. Yep.
It was pretty much over for him. Asher had no idea if it was just because his
uncle wanted it or because Mia was amazing, but he
wanted
her in that
moment.

Instead of letting anything stupid come out of his mouth, he
cleared his throat and picked the book back up. That was safe right? Reading
until she moved?

It didn't take long, either. Eventually, she was sitting up
and stretching, and Asher kept his eyes locked firmly on the book in front of
him, not watching the way her shirt rode up as she lifted her arms over head,
showing off a warm expanse of skin between the hem of his shirt and the
waistband of her pants.

"I need to actually get some work done," she said. "And
maybe send an apology note to Dr. Prince. I was super rude to her yesterday,
and apparently she was right all along."

Asher shrugged. "She'd probably appreciate it, but she's
used to it. You aren't the first person she's had to tell about the
abductions."

"Well, all the same. I feel bad about it. I'll be in my
study for a while, and then I'll whip us up something to eat, okay? You can
stay here if you want."

She got to her feet and stretched again, and this time Asher
let himself peek just a bit. Mia looked a little anxious, but he didn't comment
on it. Instead he watched her walk around the couch and disappear into another
room.

The door closed a bit, just enough so that she could have
some privacy, but there was enough space between the door and doorway that he
could see her moving around in there if he turned his head and watched.

It felt invasive, though, so he turned back to face the
front, losing himself in his uncle's words for the time being.

Asher could cook well enough to feed himself, but there was
something about watching Mia move about the kitchen that had him watching her
closely. She looked more at him with her bowls and pots and pans than she had
since he'd met her, and there was no doubt that she was cooking because she
loved it.