"It's good to see you, too, Terra."

Lucina cleared her throat and glanced at Kylu.

"It wasn't much of a rescue after all. I found her easily, but got into a little trouble."

"Being dragged off and assaulted by a Surtu is more than a little trouble," Kylu said with a frown on his face. "He was only alive temporarily. We made sure to put that animal down. Lucina won't need to worry about him coming back to get her."

I looked over at Kylu out of the corner of my eye. He had a possessive expression on his face when he talked about or looked at Lucina. Since when did he care what happened to Lucina? Did they even know each other? Lucina had an embarrassed expression on her face and gave Kylu a pleading look.

What the hell happened out there today?

"Did you two go out together? I'm glad you had a partner, Lucina," I said.

"We only met this morning," Lucina said. She was blushing.

"I had a bad feeling something might happen when she left alone," Kylu said. "I followed her to see if I could be of assistance."

"You followed her?" Jidden said, scowling at Kylu. "Like you followed Terra?"

Shit. Right now was his first introduction to the Surtu I kissed. Oops.

I tried to speak without stuttering. "Jidden, this is Kylu, my friend. We're nothing more than friends. Kylu, this is Jidden, my light-bonded."

"Terra told me you helped her. I appreciate it." Jidden said without emotion.

"No problem," Kylu said. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The encounter had gone better than I had anticipated. Jidden hadn't killed Kylu, so that was a positive outcome.

"I tried to talk to Lucina before she left, but she blew me off. She looked like she had a mission on her mind. I know the females from the Fortuna are trained warriors, but she seemed small and helpless."

Lucina frowned and made an insulted sound.

"That was what I thought before I saw you in action," he amended. Lucina looked slightly mollified.

"We're not supposed to look like we can take care of ourselves, remember?" I reminded her. "It was part of the ruse of the Fortuna to look like a bunch of helpless women."

"That's right, but it doesn't feel good to hear someone say it." She frowned at Kylu again, who raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I promise I don't think that anymore," he said, grinning. "Please don't kill me, warrior woman."

"I could, you know," she said fiercely. Her dark look and aggressive tone were a stark contrast to her tiny frame and angelic blonde hair.

"I know," he said. "I know."

The rest of us watched their conversation with interest. It was as if a relationship was developing in front of our eyes. Mrs. Whitmore whispered to me, asking if I knew anything about Lucina and Kylu. I had no answers for Lucina's mother. Everything here was new to me as well.

"I had the same idea you did, Terra. I wanted to make sure she wasn't getting herself into a situation that was too big for her."

"As it turned out, I needed some help," Lucina admitted.

"You did a damn fine job, considering the circumstances," Kylu said.

Lucina shrugged. "Kalij found me," she told us, looking around at everyone.

"Kalij?" Jidden said. "But he's dead."

"We thought he was dead," Lucina said. "Apparently you Surtu can be harder to kill than we imagined. Fore spared his life. In exchange, Kalij was working on special projects Fore didn't want anyone to know about."

"That bastard," I said. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Thanks to Kylu, I am," Lucina said, giving Kylu a surprising amount of credit.

"Anyone would have done the same," Kylu said.

I felt a cloud of shame envelop me. Anyone would not have done the same. While I had made love with Jidden, my friend's life had been in danger. I could have been with her, fighting Kalij myself.

"I watched my mother's house. I intended to go in and break her out, but when I tried to get into the backyard, I got entangled on a plant. Kalij appeared out of nowhere and held me at knifepoint, taking me to an abandoned building. Apparently he'd been often thinking about what he missed on the Fortuna."

All of us frowned, but she continued her tale.

"Kylu came in and stopped him before anything happened, but it was uncomfortably close," she said, looking nauseated at the thought.

We were all silent, reliving the moment in our memories or imagining Lucina's peril. Kylu seemed mildly embarrassed. He didn't want to be held up as a hero in front of us at all.

He couldn't stop himself from speaking, however. "I did what anybody would have done in the same situation," he said, trying to downplay his part in Lucina's rescue. I, for one, would be eternally grateful to him for saving my best friend.

Jidden spoke up. "Why didn't you save her sooner?" he asked. He had a suspicious tone in his voice. "If you were following Lucina the entire time, you saw everything that happened to her. Why didn't you stop him when he took her away from her mother's house?"

It was a fair question.

Kylu looked like he didn't want to tell us. Was there something more to this story? Why hadn't he rescued her at the first possible moment?

"That's right! Why didn't you save me earlier?" Lucina said, looking as suspicious as Jidden. Kylu had rapidly lost his hero classification.

I wasn't concerned. I was sure he had an explanation. He seemed to be a good man, and I didn't think he had done anything wrong. Jidden and Lucina would need to be convinced because they didn't have firsthand experience with Kylu the way I did.

He rubbed his nose and looked away, not meeting anyone's eye. If I didn't know better, I would guess he was embarrassed. His behavior did nothing to allay Jidden and Lucina's suspicions. If he didn't provide an explanation soon, they might both start attacking him.

"It is not honorable for this to happen to a Surtu, but I was not following Lucina carefully. Without me knowing where she went, she disappeared silently, and I did not know her location." He turned to Lucina. "You look helpless, but you move like an animal."

"It took me an hour to locate her again, and that was only with the assistance of technology. By that time, Kalij had pulled you into the building, and I was not in your vicinity. I ran to Lucina as soon as I pinpointed her location. I arrived as soon as I could."

He appeared to regret his delay. I wondered how far things had gone with Kalij and Lucina before Kylu arrived. I would have to ask her about it later. Unlike her previous encounters with Kalij, she did not seem traumatized, and I hoped her most recent interaction would not damage her mind.

"It's okay, Kylu," she said, shaking her head. "It wasn't your job to save me."

"If there is a next time, it will be my job to save you," he vowed.

"Anybody would have lost one of the Fortuna sisters, Kylu. Their looks are deceptive. They are better trained than our army. You had no idea of her skills, so you underestimated her." Jidden looked in my direction, and I knew he was thinking about the beginning of our relationship. "It was an easy mistake to make. You can't blame yourself. You did your best."

I was surprised that Jidden would try to make Kylu feel better. I suppose he understood how difficult it was to protect a warrior who didn't want or need protection.

"But what about Mrs. Whitmore?" I asked, turning to the older woman. "How did you end up here with them?"

"Lucina brought me here," she said easily.

"When we got to the house, there wasn't anyone to rescue," Lucina explained. "My mother had already killed her Surtu. When we finally burst into her home with our blasters, she got mad at us because we made her break a dish."

"There was no need for broken crockery," Mrs. Whitmore said primly.

"Why were you washing the dishes?" Jidden asked. "Did you overcome a Surtu warrior by yourself?"

Mrs. Whitmore nodded, smiling.

"I killed him a few minutes after we walked into the house. I dragged his body into a closet and cleaned up. I don't like messes. I was going to leave after I finished the dishes."

"Mother didn't have anywhere to go, so we brought her here," Lucina said. "No rescue needed. She rescued herself."

"She rescued herself," I repeated quietly to myself.

Mrs. Whitmore patted Lucina's hand. "I know you would have saved me if I needed it, darling. I appreciate it more than you know."

Lucina smiled and hugged her mother again. It was nice to take a break from the fighting and the war, even if it was only for a moment. We headed back to the outpost, talking and catching up with each other. Lucina decided her mother would stay at the outpost until the next rescue ship arrived and then she would go to the refuge, just like my parents.

I was not paying much attention to the conversation. I was dreaming about a new plan that could save Earth from the Surtu. The spark had started when Lucina explained how her mother saved herself.

What if all the women forced into light bonding with Surtu men were able to kill their mates the way Mrs. Whitmore had?

It was just the beginning of an idea, but I thought it was feasible. I needed to converse with my sister warriors. They would help me figure out the details.

If I was correct, we had a way to save Earth.

"Daniel, you can't stop me. I need assistance I can only get from the sisters of the Fortuna."

"Terra, I feel like you just got back. I don't know anything about a Surtu military encampment. I'm not excited to imagine you going off to an unknown place without any reconnaissance."

I sighed. Jidden stood behind me. He was silent, but I hoped he was supportive.

"If I were going on rescue missions with your team, I would be in a dangerous position as well."

"That may be true, but I would be able to watch over you," he said, hanging his head. He knew arguing with me was futile, but he was putting up a good effort.

"Daniel," I said, taking his hand and feeling a wave of sadness wash over me. "I will always know you watch over me. I'll be back," I said. "I pro-..."

He put his finger on my lips.

"Don't make promises unless you know you can keep them, Terra," he said.

He was right. I didn't know if I would come back. I never did in these turbulent times, when one might die at any moment. We were at war. A person's life was quickly snuffed out.

"If you won't stay here and I can't go with you, then I want you to take Kylu along. That way, I know there's someone I trust who is looking out for your best interests."

Jidden spoke up for the first time. "I'm right here," he said. "It's my job to protect her."

Before they could get into an argument, I spoke up.

"I don't need any male to protect me," I said, a rush of anger bringing redness to my cheeks. "But Kylu may come along if it will make you feel better."

Jidden and Daniel looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to escalate the issue.

"Fair enough," Daniel said. "I'll let Kylu know he'll be leaving with you in the morning."

I nodded, and Jidden and I turned back to our quarters. He snorted and talked to himself.

"Send Kylu to protect her," he muttered to himself. "I could eliminate Kylu in a heartbeat."

"Jidden," I said. "You know he's only a protective brother."

"He could have picked a different Surtu."

I put my hand on the side of his face and gazed up into his eyes. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I know, I know," he said gruffly. I kissed him.

"Is it something else?"

"Does your brother think my presence is not enough to take care of you? Doesn't he know that I would die to save you?"

"Oh, Jidden," I said, my heart overflowing with emotion. "It doesn't matter what he thinks."

"It doesn't?" he asked, his eyes finally focusing on me.

"No. It matters what I think."

"And what's that?" he said, still looking troubled.

"I think you're the most amazing Surtu I've ever met. I think I love you more than life itself. If I ever need protecting, and I won't, I want you to be the one doing it."

"Okay, warrior lady."

"That's warrior woman to you," I said. "I'm no lady."

To my relief, when we arrived at the encampment almost all of the Fortuna women were still there. The one exception was Bellona, who hadn't been seen in three weeks. The Surtu at the mechanical shop serviced the vehicles of the army. They consisted of soldiers who were unfit to serve anywhere else. After learning about the network and discovering some Earth women would willing choose a Surtu mate, the men in the encampment had gone rogue.

There were secrets in the mechanical shop. One of the men, Kist, was called Kista. She was a Surtu woman disguised as a man who wanted to help the women of Earth. It was good to see her again when we arrived. She led us to the location of the Fortuna women.

Lucina and I greeted our sisters with hugs. There was a lot of talking as we all caught up on what had been happening at the different locations. Our sisters were overjoyed to see Lucina had recovered from her trauma. Around the campfire that night, she told us the story of Kalij's return from the dead.

I chose the silence that followed as my opportunity to speak.