“FuckingIbar,” I muttered. “Who am I?”
CHAPTER 36
CORA
Queen of the Eissoi Coast Appears at Kon’s Concert
Cora Keaton Ahlon made an appearance with her notorious husband at Qhev’in Kon’s concert last night, stunning again in vintage Americana style. The popularity of her signature winged eye-liner continues to grow since Kon debuted the look weeks ago, attributing the trend to a “friend” he met on BMM. Last week he stated in an interview that he had reconnected with that friend, none other than Earth’s Cora Keaton, the woman Eissoi mobster Yiri Ahlon claims as hisIbarchosen mate.X-tra Teacan confirm that the two are legally married and mated according to Bion and Venastean law, but who can say if the alleged fated mate status isbona fide? It would be the first such claim of anIbaranmating between a human woman and a daernir male not originating from the stiflingIbarutanmoon. TheIbarutangovernment’s claims that they have found several fated mates from Earth have never been satisfactorily proven, and we have yet to see concrete evidence or hear firsthand testimony of such a mating from any woman of Earth. If anyone has connections with Mrs. Keaton-Ahlon, this reporter would love to sit down and discuss the topic with her.
One thing is certain. The two were not unaffected by Kon’s distinctive performance. Seen leaving the theater withAhlon’s longtime associate Nerus Veron and his sister, Thisa Veron, Mrs. and Mr. Ahlon were visibly flushed and exhibited several public displays of affection. Who knows if he’s her fated mate or not, but Cora, enjoy your silver fox, girl. He might be a deranged gangster, but damn, the man is fine.
The article wasin an e-zine published by a human woman living on Venastea.X-tra Teawas geared towards other Earth women, spilling all the juicy extra terrestrial tea and putting it in a context that was more familiar to our home world cultures. Thisa sent it to me after waking me up with a call.
“This is so cool, Cora,” Thisa gushed to me over the cruiser’s large nexus frame. “I’m basically famous now, too! Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Seriously,” she said. “You don’t even know. A mention inX-tra Teanext to your name right now iseverything. I’ve been trying to learn the cat-eye all morning. I think I’ve almost got it down. It’s so hard to keep both sides even!”
“It takes a little practice,” I agreed. “I’ll send you the link I shared with Qhev.”
“Qhev,” she sighed with big hearts in her eyes. “You know him well enough to call himQhev. You’re so glamorous. How did a grumpy old male like Yiri ever pullyou?”
I laughed. “I guess maybe it’s an Earth girl thing, but I think it’s hot. I knew I was in trouble the first time he called me. He’s a little broody and dangerous, yeah. But don’t you feel safe when he’s around?”
“I guess,” she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“I could feel that from across the universe.”
“But how? I mean it’s not like he could do anything to protect you from Venastea.”
I cocked my head to the side. “You don’t think so?”
She didn’t answer, tight-lipped for once.
“Maybe you’ll understand this when you’re older, and maybe not. I don’t know how it is for daernir women.” I shrugged at her through the floating frame. “I like it when he tells me what to do.”
Thisa wrinkled her nose. “That sounds awful.”
“Like I said,” I lifted a shoulder, “maybe you won’t know what I mean. On Earth, I was completely alone. I didn’t have any family, no partner, and very few friends. I had to make every single decision for myself, I had to work really hard to support myself, and I spent a lot of time worrying if I was going to be able to make ends meet.”
Thisa’s face softened as she listened, her eyes rounded with surprise. “Thatsounds awful.”
“Yeah,”I agreed. “So imagine living your whole adult life that way, and then suddenly you meet an older man who radiates security and control. Just talking to him paid my rent, and then add to that, he tells me what to do every now and then. I don’t have to decide everything all the time. I can let him take over because he knows what he’s doing and what I need.”
Thisa bit her lip, her light blue skin taking on a lavender hue around her cheeks and ears. “Yeah, okay,” she said slowly. “I guess that’s kind of…. No.” She screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “No, it’s Yiri. It isn’t attractive.”
“But if it was Qhev’in?” I suggested.
That gave her pause. “Do you think… Do you think he’s like that?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I would have said no before seeing him perform. He’s so easy-going most of the time. But if he had a woman and that’s what she wanted or needed from him, I think he could handle it.”
Thisa’s shade of lavender was edging towards magenta. “I… I have to go for now. I’ll see you tomorrow at Della’s party.”
“Bye, Thisa.”
Yiri found me making a snack of grilled eslu and zibe fruit, reading the rest of the e-zine. He pressed close to my back, caging me in against the counter.
