18. Alyssa

CHAPTER 18

ALYSSA

" I can't believe this," I whisper. "This is a nightmare."

The aircar whizzes through the Martian sky, its sleek form cutting through the thin atmosphere. I sit in the passenger seat, my body rigid, hands clenched into fists on my lap. The man next to me, the one I thought I knew, the one I thought I loved, is a stranger.

"Alyssa, please," Maar says, his voice low and pleading. "Let me explain."

I turn my head, staring out the window at the red landscape below. "Explain what? How you lied to me? How everything was a sham?"

"Not everything," he insists. "What we have?—"

"We have nothing," I snap, cutting him off. My voice trembles, betraying the storm of emotions raging inside me. "You were sent to kill me, Raaj. Or I should call you Maar? I don't even know anymore."

He sighs, his hands tightening on the controls. "Maar. My name is Maar."

"Right. The criminal. The liar." I laugh bitterly. "The man I fell in love with doesn't exist."

"He does," Maar says softly. "He's right here."

I shake my head, fighting back tears. "No. The man I knew was honorable. He saved my life on Horus IV."

"I couldn't go through with it," he admits. "I was supposed to capture you, but when I saw you... something changed."

"Oh, how romantic," I spit out. "You decided not to kidnap me. Should I be grateful?"

"I killed your bodyguard while you were getting on the shuttle, and yes I was coming to kidnap you that day. But when I saw you enter the shuttle I saw you for you." Maar's jaw clenches.

"Why didn't you do it?" I ask.

"I felt something," he says. "Something that stopped my hand. I knew then that I couldn't hurt you like I had been sent to. I had to protect you. I knew the Odex battalion was coming. I had to hold them off."

"So it was actually you that did that? Held off the Odex while the shuttle left?"

He nods. "I laid down as much covering fire as I could till the shuttle took off. Then I swapped ID tags. Now I'm trying to save your life again."

"By whisking me away to who knows where? How do I know this isn't just another trap?"

He turns to me, his eyes intense. "Because I love you, Alyssa. That wasn't a lie."

I want to believe him. Part of me aches to throw my arms around him, to feel safe in his embrace. But the rational part of my mind screams at me to stay alert, to not fall for his tricks again. He's cold, he's hot… what I know for sure is he's lethal and a liar.

"Love?" I scoff. "You don't even know me. The real me. Just like I don't know you."

"Then let's start over," he suggests. "Right now. No more lies."

I laugh, the sound hollow and pained. "Start over? While we're running from assassins? While my entire world is crumbling around me?"

Maar nods, his expression grim. "It's not ideal, I know. But it's all we have."

I turn away again, watching as Olympus Mons looms in the distance. My mind races, trying to make sense of everything that's happened. The man beside me is a killer, a fraud, a criminal. But he's also the man who made me feel alive, who understood me in ways no one else ever had.

I sit in silence, my mind reeling from everything that's happened. Maar's presence beside me is both comforting and unsettling. I want to hate him, but my heart won't let me.

"Alyssa," Maar says softly, breaking the tense silence. "I need you to understand something about the jalsaghar bond."

I turn to face him, curiosity getting the better of me. "What about it?"

His eyes meet mine, filled with an intensity I've never seen before. "It's more than just a connection. It's... it's brought me peace. For the first time in my life, I feel whole when I'm with you."

"How can I believe that?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Maar takes a deep breath. "Because it's changed me, Alyssa. This love... it's not something I ever expected. I was a killer, a criminal. But with you, I've found a reason to be better."

His words strike a chord within me, but I remain silent, letting him continue.

"Every moment with you has been like coming up for air after drowning for years. Your laugh, your touch, even your stubbornness – they've all become part of me now. I can't go back to who I was before."

The spaceport looms ahead, a stark reminder of our precarious situation. Maar's grip on the controls tightens.

"I only want to keep you safe now," he says, his voice thick with emotion. "You can come with me, and we'll face this together. Or..."

"Or what?" I prompt, my heart racing.

He turns to me, his eyes blazing with determination. "If you choose to go your own way, I'll follow. Whether you like it or not, I'll fight to keep you alive. And if I fail..."

The words hang in the air, heavy with implication. I find myself holding my breath, waiting for him to finish.

"If I fail, I'll take down as many of those bastards as I can before I die. Because without you, Alyssa, I have nothing left to live for."

His declaration hits me like a physical blow. I struggle to find words, my emotions a tangled mess.

"That's... that's a lot to put on someone, Maar," I finally manage.

He nods, a sad smile playing on his lips. "I know. But it's the truth. You've become my reason for existing, Alyssa. My purpose. My home."

As we approach the spaceport, I'm torn between fear, anger, and a love I can't deny. Maar's words echo in my mind, leaving me with an impossible choice.

The aircar touches down with a soft thud, kicking up a swirl of red Martian dust. Maar's hand hovers over the door release, his eyes locked on mine.

"Alyssa," he says, his voice low and urgent. "You have a choice to make."

I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest. The spaceport looms before us, a gateway to countless possibilities - and dangers. I can smell the metallic tang of the air, feel the vibration of distant ships taking off.

"It's hardly any kind of choice," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

Maar's eyes soften, a flicker of vulnerability passing across his face. "It is the only choice I can offer. You can come with me, or you can walk away. I won't force you either way."

I laugh, but it's a hollow sound. "Some choice. Run away with the man who lied to me, or face assassins on my own."

"I know it's not ideal," Maar says, his jaw clenching. "But it's the best I can offer right now."

I look out at the bustling spaceport, my mind racing. People hurry back and forth, oblivious to the drama unfolding in our aircar. A family passes by, a little girl skipping alongside her parents. For a moment, I envy their normalcy.

"And if I choose to leave?" I ask, turning back to Maar. "What then?"

He meets my gaze unflinchingly. "Then I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe from a distance. But Alyssa, I can't guarantee-"

"You can't guarantee anything," I cut him off. "That's the problem, isn't it?"

Maar nods, a pained expression crossing his face. "You're right. I can't. But I can promise you this: whether you choose to come with me or not, I will never stop fighting for you."

His words hang in the air between us, heavy with meaning. I close my eyes, trying to sort through the chaos in my mind. When I open them again, Maar is still watching me, waiting.

"I need to know something," I say, my voice steadier than I feel. "If I go with you, what happens next? Where do we go from here?"

Maar's hand moves from the door release to rest on the console between us. "We disappear. I have contacts, safe houses. We keep moving until we can figure out a way to neutralize the threat."

"And then what?" I press. "We live on the run forever?"

He shakes his head. "No. We find a way to to make it safe for you to live your life again."

I raise an eyebrow. "And you? What happens to you in this scenario?"

Maar's expression turns grim. "I face the consequences of my actions. Whatever they may be."

I step out of the car, unsure what my decision is going to be.