United: An Alienated Novel by Melissa Landers Read Free Book Online Page A

singular species. We share no lineage with any of the beings we’ve discovered.” As Zane spoke, he turned to take in all ten members of The Way. When his shadowy eyes passed over Cara, they caught and held for a moment before moving on, almost as though he recognized her. Maybe she’d imagined it. “We rarely intervene in our children’s lives, but for the protection of all, we must make an exception in this case.”
    “How so?”
    “We cannot allow an alliance to exist between Earth and L’eihr.”
    Cara’s stomach dipped.
    “Over the millennia,” Zane continued, “your civilizations have developed more aggressive tendencies than other Noven. The merging of your planets poses a threat to delicate races we’ve seeded in nearby galaxies. Through exploration, you may discover these races and decide to overtake them.”
    Alona said what Cara was thinking. “We are a threat to no one.”
    “That is not for you to decide.”
    “But we haven’t done anything wrong,” Cara told him, unable to stay quiet any longer. “There’s no evidence to back up what you’re saying.”
    “This is a proactive measure to maintain peace,” Zane said. “We will allow humans and L’eihrs one month to return to your respective planets and then surrender all interstellar travel technology. If you refuse to comply, both civilizations will have to be neutralized.”
    Cara sputtered, too stunned to speak. The Aribol weren’t simply demanding the end of the alliance—they wanted a permanent separation of humans and L’eihrs. Not only would she lose her home and never see Aelyx again, but both societies would suffer. L’eihrs needed humans to breathe new life into their gene pool, and L’eihr technology had saved Earth on more than one occasion. Agreeing to Zane’s terms might save them in the short term, but it could also lead to their extinction.
    “Please reconsider,” she begged. “At least make an exception for humans on the colony who want to stay. Some of us have found l’ihans —life partners. None of us are violent. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
    Zane stared blankly at her for a moment. “I am sorry, young human, but there can be no exception. It is better to leave your mate than to bring about the destruction of your kind. We don’t enjoy punishing our children, but we do, when necessary.”
    “How do we know you have the means to destroy us?” Alona asked.
    His façade swiveled toward her. “Here is a demonstration to eliminate any doubt.”
    There was a beat of silence, followed by a clamorous roar from the sky. Cara rushed to the window and peered up. She didn’t see anything at first, but then debris began to enter the atmosphere in great balls of fire that streaked through the darkness and landed in distant ocean waters.
    “That was your spaceport and your Voyager fleet,” Zane told them casually, as if discussing what he should order for dinner. “One transport craft remains intact for use in complying with our demands. I urge you to obey. We’ve neutralized entire worlds for less than this.”
    And with that, his image vanished.
    Cara couldn’t blink, and her lungs seemed to have stopped working. Her mind kept jumping the tracks from one train of thought to another: Was anyone on board those ships when they exploded? Was the spaceport empty? Why didn’t the Aribol just kill us all and be done with it? What are Aelyx and I going to do? Maybe we can live in hiding. But wait. We’re famous on Earth. If we both disappear, people will know we ran away together. What if someone tells? What if the Aribol make an example out of us, like I did to Jake?
    “Miss Sweeney.”
    At the sound of her name, Cara jerked to attention. “Sorry,” she told Alona. “I’m still in shock.”
    “I’d like to hear your initial thoughts. Your instincts have proven useful to me in the past.”
    Cara blew out a long breath and tried to calm down. As she processed the news, her first reaction was that