“No. You will stay in my rooms. This way.”
“I’d prefer the cell.”
Her admission gives me pause. Have I made her so uncomfortable that she desires to stay on a thin bed rather than in my plush rooms? She retrieves her clothing from the ground and slips into them, then puts on the soft shoes.
“I can offer you comfort.”
“I’m sure you can. I’ll be honest. I’m unclear about what your intentions are for me. One moment, you’re suggesting that I’m going to kill your ex-bride, and the next, you’re coming onto me. Even more confusing is that I don’t feel like myself. I haven’t since I arrived here.”
“In what way?”
She pulls the towel between her hands. “You saw me fight. I didn’t know how to do that before I got here. Yes, I knew a few silly moves, but to actually fight effectively? I didn’t have a clue. And I feel like Iwantto fight. I want to kick ass and take names. My hair is different. My skin has these little freckles.” Fern gestures to her face. I noticed the alluring spots but had no idea what they were.
“Just now, I totally wasn’t afraid to get naked in front of you. The old me would have never done that. And when you say that you want me? Oh, buddy, I desire you, too. The old me would never think that way. I don’t even know you but I’m ready to jump into your bed.”
I like the meaning of her words. But they sound as if they cause her discomfort, so I redirect away from our mutual desire. That will come, just not tonight.
“What do you think caused the changes? Fighting takes much practice to perfect, and your techniques were very skilled.”
She lifts one eyebrow. “Before I answer that, does this mean you no longer think I’m an assassin sent to kill you?”
I am still not certain what to think of this human. However, I no longer believe she intends to kill me, or anyone on Tala Furi.
“It is my fault that you are here. The portal was not sending you to this place, so it’s unlikely you intended to kill me. I believe there is another reason that you are here. I’m not sure yet what that is.”
She yawns and it does something to me. I must take care of her, comfort her, and ensure she’s comfortable and safe. I lift Fern into my arms again, expecting her to complain or deny me. But her hands curl around my neck and she leans against my chest as I walk inside and open the bifold doors to my rooms with one hand. Passing through the sitting rooms, I enter the back chamber. My bedroom.
I place Fern gently on the large rectangular sleeping pad. Her head falls against the plush headrest that conforms to her head as she sinks into it.
Her eyelids flutter as she accepts the thick coverings I pull over her small body.
“I want to go home, Gam. I want to go home to Earth.”
The sleepy words step lazily from her mouth but rush into my hearts. My energies rush through my body and collect on my skin. For a moment, a mere nano second, my colors return. I feel them lighting beneath my scales and pushing against my flesh. My hands turn a gradient pink and purple and I feel warm. So warm, as I was when my energies were whole before I drained my lifeforce with constant cosmic manipulation.
This human from Earth makes my colors return. She renews my energy and makes me feel connections and desires related directly to her wellbeing. I desire to protect and comfort her. To make her happy.
There is still a dangerous mission ahead of me, one which may take what’s left of my life. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but one thing inside of me is certain.
I’ll do anything Fern asks if it brings her joy.
Chapter Nine
“It is as you thought, Gamalt. Maneshha is planning to go off world.”
“Cargo?”
“Unknown yet.”
Maneshha’s tribe has been under surveillance since they fractured from us. Our Queen consented to leaving the defectors alone, as long as they did not engage in activities that would harm the people as a whole. But soon after breaking from us, Maneshha’s tribe began bartering for travel craft from incoming traders. We suspected she’d use them to begin raiding planets within our galaxy as our ancestors did long ago, before the use of portals allowed us to readily access other galaxies.
The Queen banned inter-galaxy raiding long before the decision was made to cease raiding for good, and no one dared stray from that order until Maneshha.
It seems her ships are ready, and she plans to follow through.
Some of her followers had defected back to us recently, choosing to engage with the more peaceful life we are creating on Tala Furi. She erected holotrap around her compound shortly after. Anyone within six feet will be shocked to their death.
Derlix, one of the King’s advisors sits across from me and taps on a handheld screen which plays surveillance footage of Maneshha’s compound. Looking at the footage, I realize that she’s extended the fence and there appears to be no way in, or out.
