Warm puffs of his breath blew on her
neck as she leaned in. She paused, noting the remarkable eight-pointed
star-shape of his pupils. The mutation was his one physical difference, and
only if one looked closely. The pupils dilated when hit by the scope’s light.
She’d never seen eyes as remarkable.
“You’re doing great,” she soothed. Her
head burst with countless questions.Where are you from? How did you get here?
What do you want?
He appeared to like the cadence of her
voice. His posture relaxed, and his breath against her was steady. How long had
she been staring into his eyes? Should she push her luck and try to examine his
mouth?
Before she could try, his finger stroked
her inner arm. He was still restrained at the wrists, but he could reach her.
She allowed it. He stroked a
featherlight finger along her forearm. As he did so, his gaze never left hers.
She offered a kind smile. “That’s right. Friend.
Sakota. Sa-ko-ta.”
He opened his mouth and let out a
chicken-like squawk. “-Ota,” he said in a throaty, deep voice.
She raised her eyebrows. “Good. Very
good.”
He tilted his head, watching her lips.
“Gooood.”
Excited, she lowered the retinal light.
“Can you understand me?”
He looked confused. “Me…”
“Okay. That’s a no. Then let me take
this opportunity to say, in no uncertain terms, you, my friend, are the stuff
of dreams and legends. I’ve waited my whole life for this. Are you getting
this, Alistair?” she called out.
He came in over the speakers. “I am.
Amazing. I’ll get to work on a linguistics program. Our friend seems to want to
communicate.”
She moved to pull away, but the man’s
fingers closed over her wrist.
“Let me go.” She jerked her arm, but he
wouldn’t release his grip. She gave him a cautionary look, and he loosened his
fingers, though he still held her. Warning bells went off.What if he’s not here
in peace?But his eyes sparkled impishly. He seemed to enjoy her skin pressed
against his. Maybe he hadn’t been touched in a while. Or maybe he had a crush.
Who knew.
Before she could extricate herself, the
intercom chimed. “Sakota, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. He’s just being
friendly—”
The man’s forefinger trailed along her
arm again. She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes as a series of images
flashed through her mind.A high wall made of stacked stones. A hand spread out
to touch the tips of tall, golden wheat of a field. Multihued buildings in
the distance under a purple sky. Children’s laughter and then screams. She
jerked when the images changed.Strange rain, like metal. Black ships attacking
from the sky, horrible screams which rent the air, death.A gentle brush against
her hand again. She inhaled and opened her eyes. The man searched her, calm and
patient. She struggled to see straight, but her mind spun.
“W-was that your—”
The isolation walls shot up. Rutledge
burst into the room and advanced like an angry bear, brutish, immaculate, and
combat ready in his black Oceanstone fatigues. “Let her go,” he snarled.
Rutledge yanked the man’s hand off her
and pushed her aside. She fell to the floor on her back in a dizzy haze,
reeling from the vision. She turned her head. The man bellowed and tore loose
from his restraints. His and Rutledge’s images faded into one as they collided
and fought. Rutledge’s weapon whirred as he strained to activate it. The rifle
propelled over her head and hit the wall.
“Stop.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. She
closed her eyes.
The men barged into the room with heavy
footfalls and angry shouts. She opened her eyes, but her vision swirled. The
blurred image of the alien lifted Rutledge’s lieutenant like a kitchen chair
and catapulted him in the same direction as the weapon. “Stop,” she hollered to
the men. “Don’t shoot him. He wasn’t attacking me.”
Another soldier fell to the floor with a
sick thud, holding his stomach. “Yeah? Well, he’s attackingme.”
The alien pounced over her, crouching
low. He caged her with his body and made a guttural rumble in his throat, a
warning to the men. She turned her head to the marines, who zeroed their
weapons in on them.
Earth is headed for annihilation and a team has been sent
out into space to find humans a new planet to live on. Dr. Sakota Thorell is
part of the team sent out to find them a new home. Sakota knew there was a good
chance of running into other life form or aliens on their journey but what she
did encounter was unlike anything she ever expected.
Sakota saw an alien life form floating outside the window of
her lab. This alien was very similar to humans. They brought the alien life
form on board the ship. They kept him contained until Sakota could study him
and find out if they could trust him. There was an instant attraction between
Sakota and Astraeus.
At first Sakota wasn’t able to get much out of the alien, Astraeus
but she soon learned that his planet had been attacked by other aliens. The
aliens who attacked Astraeus and his people are now hunting Astraeus which
could spell disaster for Sakota and all humans.
Astraeus is a fast paced and engrossing read that will keep
you hanging on for more. The excitement builds and builds until bam and then it
slams you in the face. For a little while you feel as if you are right there
with Astraeus floating in space and seeing the stars all around you. You get to
see space through Astraeus’ eyes while first looking through Sakota’s. Astraeus
is told through Sakota’s eyes or point of view.
If you like space exploration or Star Trek then you are
going to love Astraeus. Pick up your copy of Astraeus today and start your trek
through space with Sakota, Astraeus and the rest of the crew.
1 comments:
Thank you so much for your amazing review. I'm pleased you enjoyed Sakota and Astraeus's story. I'm hard at work on the sequel, and I hope others will benefit from your experience and check out the book, as well. I'm available all day to answer any questions for readers.
All the best,
Haley
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