Blue Coral (Naga Brides Book 3)

  Blue Coral

  Naga Brides #3

  Naomi Lucas

  Contents

  Blurb

  Naga Names

  New Earth Map

  1. False Positive

  2. Falling For You

  3. Darkness and Longing

  4. A Risk Worth Taking

  5. The Argument

  6. Deeper and Deeper

  7. The First Circle of Hell

  8. Bones, Blood, and Water

  9. The Way is Unclear

  10. Stranger in a Strange Land

  11. The Lurkawathian

  12. Dripping Wet

  13. Monster

  14. The Laboratory

  15. A Brief History

  16. Worthy of a Mate

  17. Dangerous Games

  18. The Elevator

  19. The Breakup

  20. Villainous

  21. The Truth

  22. Coming Together, Coming Undone

  23. The Sacrifice

  24. Resistance is Futile

  25. The Bottom of the Pit

  26. Sacrificial Lamb

  27. The Ascent

  28. Reunion

  29. Old Friends and New Fears

  30. Zaku’s Castle

  31. The Choice

  32. A Watery Abode

  33. A New Beginning

  Epilogue Chapter One: What is Peace?

  Epilogue Chapter Two: Monstrous

  Author’s Note

  Death Adder’s Blurb

  Also by Naomi Lucas

  Copyright © 2021 by Naomi Lucas

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission in writing from the author.

  Any references to names, places, locales, and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Naomi Lucas and Cameron Kamenicky

  Map by Naomi Lucas

  Edited by Mandi B., and LY

  Created with Vellum

  To everyone who likes books that are a little… different.

  Blurb

  When I see her, I have to have her.

  The one they call Shelby.

  But the humans have not given her to us. She remains behind the walls of the facility they have reclaimed. She remains with a male that does not DESERVE her.

  This beautiful, enchanting creature with long black braids and bright eyes needs a real male, a master, a true protector. She needs me.

  I will do whatever it takes to claim her.

  I’ll kill.

  I’ll cheat.

  I’ll steal.

  No human, naga, or otherwise will keep us apart. Tonight, Shelby will be in my arms whether she wants to be or not.

  To hell with the rest.

  Naga Names

  Vruksha— Viper

  Azsote— Boomslang

  Zhallaix— Death Adder

  Syasku— Cottonmouth

  Jyarka— Diamondback

  Zaku— King Cobra

  Vagan— Blue Coral

  Krellix— Copperhead

  Lukys— Black Mamba

  Xenos— Sidewinder

  One

  False Positive

  Shelby

  “Why aren’t you showing?”

  I purse my lips and switch off the feed from my eyes. Wiping away the sweat gathered on my brow, I turn to Peter. My captain. Except he’s not my captain anymore. He’s the prick who’s working me to the bone.

  “I’m still in my first trimester, Captain. Most women don’t show until the second. Your question is inappropriate,” I say, unable to keep the hatred dripping from my voice. Glancing at the sentinels behind him, on either side of him, and the ones now circling me, I try not to shake. Peter has them watching me night and day. Ever since a deal was struck with the locals—locals who shouldn’t be here—and gave Gemma, The Dreadnaut’s Communications Director and team’s liaison, and Petty Officer Daisy to them. Our transport ship’s pilot. The only one we had.

  He’s a fucking psycho. How are we going to get back to the main ship without her?

  He wanted to hand me over to the locals too—for his precious tech, so he can please his bosses—but Collins, his second-in-command, wasn’t about to have that.

  Peter eyes me up and down. “I want another test done.”

  “I’ve already done three. I’m not doing another.”

  “This evening, come back to the ship and just do it.”

  Fisting my hands, I stop from hitting him. “Is that all, Captain?”

  Peter glowers. He hates when I’m mad, and I’m always mad now. His face is blotchy with sunburn, his eyes are red, and there are dark smudges beneath them. He hasn’t shaved in weeks, and a beard is forming upon his once smooth jaw. His short hair is tousled, sticking up from grease. He hasn’t showered in days, weeks maybe, and it shows. Then again, neither have I. He’s not wearing his captain’s uniform correctly. His blazer is off, and the top of his shirt is open, revealing the hair on the top of his chest.

  If Central Command saw him, they’d dock his pay for the crime, maybe even replace him. He looks tired and weak and not like a leader at all.

  He’s not, not anymore. At least not to me. He’s a piece of shit criminal who has bad karma coming for him, and as far as I can tell, he knows it. Part of me wants to empathize, part of me wants to help, but then thoughts of Gemma and Daisy arise and all I want is to see Peter burn. I think of what I’ve done, and what my lies are going to cost me, and I hate him even more.

  Because I’m not pregnant. I can’t even get pregnant. It was part of the procedure done to me, a sacrifice I made for my work. No one seems to know that, though, and I’m glad. It’s saved my life.

  For now.

  I think.

  It hasn’t done anything for the guilt that’s plaguing me. Guilt that keeps me up at night. Guilt that whispers in my ear and hisses, telling me I should be out in the forest like the others. I should be suffering like they have, like Gemma still might be.

  “What have you discovered?” Peter asks. “Any closer to the source of the electrical spikes?”

  “Not yet. The diggers are excavating slower now, so I believe we’re close to something. Besides that, I’ve discovered nothing new.”

  “You said we’d have something by now.”

  “I can’t crack the data cube your friend gave us. Not without access to the ship’s terminal. And you’ve taken away my access to the ship.” I glower back. “I can’t ramp up the diggers without compromising what we might find beneath the ground. If it’s what we’re searching for, Central Command will kill us all if we deliver broken tech.” I turn on my eyes, and the blue light they cast falls upon Peter’s face. They automatically begin recording him. “Tell me to ramp up the diggers again. Go ahead.”

  He scowls at my provocation. “Your insubordination is tiresome. You’ll be doing double shifts until your baby pops if you keep this up.”

  “It doesn’t change the facts.”

  Peter takes a step toward me. I brace. Is he going to hit me?

  “I want an update this evening, and that test,” he says, keeping his hands at his sides. “Central Command wants an update and they want it now. Keep the diggers level. I’ll let them know I am trusting your expertise,” he spits. “They put you on my team for a reason. But remember, Shelby, your circumstances will only get worse if you don’t deliver. If you think I’m bad, you have no idea what can be done to you. I’m trying to be nice here. Supportive, even.”

  Right. Like trading me to one of the locals so they can eat me, or worse?

/>   “Is that all?” I ask. Talking to him makes me tired. I’m already exhausted enough as it is.

  “Tonight, Shelby,” he warns, eyeing me once more. “I want something to give to Central Command tonight. You hear me? You better come up with something.”

  He turns and climbs out of the pit, taking some of the sentinel robots with him. He’s been using them as his personal guard since Daisy’s return and big escape. I’m proud of my girl for attacking him, for busting his nose. She did what I couldn’t. What none of us could.

  I just wish I could have stopped her before she stole the skiff. Seeing it crash into the mountain destroyed something in me, taking one more sliver of innocence from my soul.

  You didn’t have to die. Not for him, not for me, not for any of this. I told her to save us, I shouldn’t have.

  Not at the cost of your life.

  Hearing Peter’s footsteps fade, I slump and close my eyes hard. I’m the one who’s supposed to save them. I’m the one who lied to do so. And look where it’s gotten me? Nowhere.

  Now Daisy’s dead. Gemma might be too.

  You just have to outlast him. Once Command knows what he’s done, you’ll be rid of him. You’ll be rid of him, and they’ll find Gemma and return her before anyone else dies.

  I keep thinking this, but as the days come and go, it’s getting harder to believe it. Peter has me guarded at all times so I don’t rat him out. But someone else must have said something by now, right? The rest of the team is made up of men—Gemma, Daisy, and I were the only women on this mission, thank the nebulas—and not all of them like what he’s done. I frown.

  Collins hates Peter.

  Collins still won’t rat him out on my behalf.

  I’ve known him for years, having encountered him again and again during academy training. He’s the real reason I’m here at all. He recommended me for Earth’s first excursion. And yet, he’s loyal to the bone to his captain.

  We had a short contracted relationship before the mission, and we terminated the contract once it was certain we would both be going landside. Jobs come first, after all. More so for him. And this job was important, extremely important. A dream job for me and a way to prove my abilities. A clear path to becoming a captain for him. We ended on good terms, laughing and flirting, over a drink.

  I wasn’t about to let our contract ruin our life’s work, and neither was he.

  Hours spent listening to Collins talk about his work killed any potential romance we could’ve had anyway, especially since he never gave me an ear in return when I wanted to talk about mine.

  “Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay? What did the captain want?”

  Speaking of Collins…

  Looking up, I spy him climbing down into the pit, past some of my tarps.

  I stand as he nears. “Peter. Call him Peter, or scumbag. He’s not a captain. He doesn’t deserve the title. Do not call him a captain when it’s just us.”

  “Scumbag then.” His eyes soften on me. “You okay? I brought you food.” He hands me a canister, and I snatch it from him, twisting the top off. The smell of oatmeal hits my nose, and I tip it back, letting the warm sludge slide down my throat. I swallow it all, feeling a little better after my stomach’s full.

  When I lower it, Collins is studying me. “You look tired,” I say, handing him the empty canister. “Thank you.”

  “I wish I could have brought more. I hate seeing you like this.”

  “Peter still being flaky on the food?” I ask.

  He sighs. “Now that Central Command wants to keep the team here for an extra month, yeah. Food is being rationed.”

  My heart drops. “Wait, another month? You’re not serious.”

  “I am, unfortunately. I came to tell you. We can make it through. You can make it through.” Collins reaches out and pushes one of my braids behind my ear. “You’re strong. That’s why I like you so much. What did Peter want?”

  I push his hand away, uncomfortable with the affection he continues to show me. More so now that we’re pretending we’re having a child… a fake child that Collins seems almost giddy about. It’s beginning to make me worry.

  But another month of this? I try not to wilt.

  Turning, I duck under the tarp before I give in to a moment of weakness. Showing any vulnerability is bad in our profession. Collins follows me like I knew he would. Inside are my excavation tools and gear, even a cot because I’m not allowed back on the ship unless requested. Radars and trackers, scanners and chemicals are organized neatly upon rocks with flat surfaces. I’ve set up a makeshift laboratory and workstation.

  Everything I need to collect, examine, and study any alien or human technology I come across. Most are contraptions I created or have had a hand in creating. Alien technology can be volatile, and handling it takes someone with knowledge, care, and deep respect for it.

  Lurkers nearly wiped us from existence. Who knows what the pieces they’ve left behind might do?

  To my left is the hole at the bottom of the pit. Around the deepest parts are the diggers. They’re carefully excavating through pipes, dirt, and stone. There are also my laser scanners collecting data, examining the hole continuously, sending it to the diggers and my tablet.

  “Shelby?”

  Checking over the current data, new readings are saying the ground is getting warmer and the electrical spikes higher. My eyes narrow. Moving to the hole, I peer down, seeing… My eyes narrow further. Cement? Steel?

  Why would there be a foundation thirty feet under the facility?

  A niggle of excitement rushes through me.

  There is a sublevel!

  “Shelby?” Collins cups my shoulder and turns me to face him. “Dreadnaut to Shelby, what did the scumbag want?”

  I blink. “What?”

  He snaps his fingers. “Peter, Shelby, pay attention.”

  “Sorry, got distracted—”

  “I know.”

  My lips purse. “He wants me to take another pregnancy test—”

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  “Yes. He’s suspicious.”

  Collins runs his fingers through his hair, dropping his head back in exasperation. “Well, fuck, glad I came to check up on you. Now I’m going to have to get into the damn lab without being noticed again. Fuck. A fourth test?” He paces. “What is wrong with that guy? Doesn’t he know trading you to some alien savages isn’t going to get him any closer to what he wants? Your expertise is priceless.” His face contorts.

  Even the complete mess Collins is right now, his sharp features are nice to look at. His light grey eyes are mesmerizing. He’s always been nice to look at. Unlike Peter, Collins continues to put effort into his appearance. Thick biceps strain his jacket, his dark brown hair remains close to his head in the standard military cut, and there’s not a single wrinkle in his suit. I’ve seen him chased by multitudes of women, only to ignore them. Why he ever wanted to contract with me of all people is a mystery.

  “Yep,” I agree. “You could tell Central Command this,” I add with a mumble under my breath and look back into the pit. I knew there’d be a sublevel. I knew it.

  “At least that means you’ll be back aboard for the evening.” Collins stops pacing and faces me. “I’ll let you have my weekly shower slot.”

  “Do I smell that bad?” I huff absently, glancing back at him.

  He smiles. “Like dirt.”

  “Thanks.”

  His hand cups my cheek, and I go rigid as he presses his brow to mine. “I like the smell of dirt,” he says, his voice lowering. “We can try for real, you know.”

  Shuddering, I pull away from him. “You know it’s not possible. I don’t want children, not unless we defeat the Ketts. If that miracle happens, I’ll get my eyes removed and my uterus replaced.” Maybe.

  “I’ll defeat the Ketts for yo—”

  The ground trembles. Collins and I shift apart. “What’s that?” he asks.

  I scan the pit. “I… don’t know.
”

  My machines start shaking, and rubble slips into the hole, displacing pebbles and debris. Tightening my hold on my tablet, the trembling abruptly stops. A few seconds pass, and the dust settles.

  “What the hell was that?” Collins growls, walking away and lifting the tarp to check outside.

  Heart thundering, I switch my eyes back on and lift my tablet to scan the readings. “A seismic wave maybe…”

  “A what?”

  The ground jumps under my feet, and I fall to my knees. I lose my tablet as the tarp drops atop me. “Collins!” I shout, struggling to raise it, to rise. “We need to get out of the pit! Now!” Catching my balance, I try to stand again, only to be forced back to my knees as the rumbling worsens. Flapping plastic hits my ears as the tarp flutters. In the distance, someone shouts. Someone screams.

  “Shelby, where the fuck are you?” Collins yells to my left. “The ground’s caving in!”

  As he shouts, the dirt gives way beneath my feet, and I start sliding toward the hole. “Here!” I cry, rolling to my left, and grasping at the ground.

  “Shelby, there’s gunfire!”

  Clawing away from the hole, the tarp envelops me, blanketing my vision. Sparks go off. A vacuous, hollow groaning hums through the air from every direction. I scramble toward Collins’s voice, seeing him on his knees a few yards away. Wide, fearful eyes meet mine as the ground gives way under him.