Page 27 of The Dalgur’s Pet

Thase slid his hand so that it lay atop hers, caressing her stomach. Like they were some sort of warped example of a happily expecting couple.

“I think you should ask him that question.”

His answer was entirely unhelpful, only furthering her curiosity.

“Is Vrix your only… partner?”

She wasn’t really sure that was the correct word, but he seemed to understand, shaking his head.

“Vrix is not my partner. Dalgurs do not take partners.”

Thase didn’t look at her, moving her hands out of the way so he could scrub the dried seed from her stomach. He wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t the sweet affection from a moment ago. Had she struck a nerve?

“Sorry, I just assumed… since you’re on the ship together and⁠—”

“It is no matter,” he interrupted, his eyes meeting hers.

Before she could say anything else, he dunked his hands into the water, sliding them under her body and lifting her in the air. Thase set her on her feet, taking a fluffy towel and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Giselle’s lips curled into a smile, one she tried to resist, though the softness of his gaze relaxed her.

“Now, you must rest, little human. Come to bed.”

CHAPTER 8

THE NEXT FEW SLEEP and wake cycles passed the same.

Wake up, eat, rest, sleep, wake up, eat, rest, sleep.

Vrix had said that exhaustion was a symptom of the incubation process and he wasn’t lying; Giselle’s body felt like it was dragging through mud every time she tried to move.

The two aliens had been surprisingly gentle with her while she went through the dissipation process, her stomach slowly returning to its normal, non-bloated state. They hadn’t pounced on her or hurt her in any way. They took turns cuddling her in the bed—sometimes both at the same time—and bringing her food and water when she needed it.

There was a sense of loss when she woke up and the eggs were gone. Her womb, or the cavity that was once her womb, was empty. She could feel it in her belly, but mostly in her heart, a deep hollowness that was impossible to shake.

Vrix held her, brushing her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, something that perked her up, but only a bit.

The haze from the incubation was gone and now the bigger issue remained; she was getting farther and farther away from Earth. Even more pressing, the Dalgurs wanted to perform surgery on her so she could actually host their brood.

Even as she lay in bed, comforted by his sweet words and warm embrace, she agonized over her future. She tried to hold on to hope that she could convince them to change their minds, to take her home, to let her be free.

A thought came to her, one she wasn’t sure would be helpful, but it was something she’d been meaning to ask Vrix in between bouts of uninterrupted sleep.

“What did you mean when you said you and Thase had been isolated?”

The words had struck her when he’d mentioned it before Umuna, but now they clung to her like a riddle.

He paused, eyeing her suspiciously, as if deciding whether to answer the question.

“We have not returned to our homeworld in quite some time.”

“Why not?”

Giselle watched him, examining his face for any clues, but his expression was solemn.

“We… are not allowed to return.”

He looked away, his eyes focused on the ceiling.