Asterius: Alien Minotaur (Ancient Myths and Monsters) by Ami Wright

Author:Ami Wright [Wright, Ami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ami Wright
Published: 2023-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Asterius

I should leave Earth. I should never have come here at all. Of course I don’t have the fuel, which is what led to this whole mess in the first place.

But I have to get away from her before I do worse.

As soon as I realize what I’ve done, I activate my holotech and let the camouflage melt my image into the background as I slip away. Well, charge away, since I am hardly a quiet beast. Eventually I gain enough control of myself to soften my footsteps and leave the cellar. I find my way out into the gardens and breathe the fresh air for the first time in days. It smells of smoke and dry grass and the salt of the sea. Still it doesn’t clear my head. Not really. Ariadne’s beautiful perfume lingers on my skin and the memory of her on my tongue fills my thoughts.

But I hurt her. She wanted me to stop. She begged me and I didn’t listen.

I’ve got to be the worst excuse for a mate in the three galaxies. My little princess deserves so much better.

The palace sits on a hilltop on the outskirts of a tiny settlement. A great stone wall separates it from the surrounding countryside. With my holotech working properly, it’s not much trouble to slip past the guards at the gate and out onto the dirt road. Gentle green slopes covered with patchy trees and vines strung up on lattices descend into a valley. A river runs through it and out to the sea. I turn away from the dirt track and head inland, toward the high, rocky mountains that cut through the center of the small island. It’s there my escape pod landed. Thankfully, the deep gorge kept it fairly well hidden. But that means more than a day of arduous walking to get back to it.

I sigh heavily, not relishing the journey. The scent of Ariadne teases my nostrils, mingled with the salt of my skin.

I am a monster. Even now, all I can think of is that I wish I had taken her. Rutted her there on the cold stone floor of the basement, so that I could rest easy knowing I had claimed her as mine. But she can never be mine. Not truly. Just the thought of her fragile body under me makes me wince.

Then I remember her tears. She had come to the cellar to escape something, I’m sure of it. The more I think of this, the more my steps falter until I’m turning back toward the palace.

It doesn’t take me long to return. I tell myself I’ll just check on her. I’ll just make sure she’s safe. Instinct demands I protect her while it’s in my power. I can’t possibly leave her world without knowing what caused her tears. And without crushing whoever caused them beneath my hoof. My skin prickles with heat and I grind my teeth, imagining what might have distressed her so much. Was she running

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