“We know they’re cruel to women, but our planet treats even criminals well, so we will treat them well. But the delay in theirreturn is because a storm has blown in on that side of the planet, and those usually last for a full day. There’s a reason there are no towns over on that side of the planet—it is our storm side,” the prince explains.
“When it rains here, it’s only for a few hours or maybe a day,” I burst out.
Jane stands, reaching for my hand and one of Nadine’s. She squeezes us both. “They are safe. Asher has assured me that they are staying in the outpost there and have enough supplies and food for the entire army—for our whole planet—for over a year. They will be safe, and as soon as the storm is over, we’ll go get them.”
Jane’s touch is comforting, but I’m afraid. I miss my mate, and I could swear that even our baby misses our mate. I slide my palm over my belly, which is round now. It’s startling to have a baby grow so fast.
I reach for Melody’s hand and squeeze it. “They’re going to be okay,” I tell her, almost as if I’m trying to convince myself.
“I promise you that I will report any updates as soon as I receive them,” Asher says, dipping his head solemnly. “You have my word. If you have questions at any time, just communicate with Jane, and she will get me immediately. I don’t care if you wake me in the middle of the night. I will get an update at any time. We know the patterns on the storm side. This should be over in another day or so.”
“Is this the kind of storm that killed so many women?” I ask.
Asher nods. “Yes, but we don’t live on the storm side, and the women’s festival doesn’t happen on the storm side. It is on that side of the planet, but closer to that area. The storm that blew through didn’t last twenty-four hours, but it was brutal and fierce—what we call a once-in-a-century event. We can control many things, but the weather is not one of them.”
“Thank you,” I finally say. “I appreciate you keeping us informed, telling us everything.”
“Are our people safe here with these men from Earth?”
Asher is quiet for a beat before he nods. “Yes. We are gathering information, but we think that the rebels here—which exist on every planet, not just ours—convinced the men from Earth that there were more of them and that they had more power here than they do. I think the men from Earth regret their choices deeply, and they will be sent back to Earth and likely never be allowed to visit this planet again.”
Melody lets out a quick sigh, and I squeeze her hand again.
“I understand,” she says. “I’m just worried. I want Hunter safe.”
“They will be safe. They are safe,” Jane assures us.
I hold her words in my mind as Melody and I depart together. We go to my place because she and Hunter’s child iscurrently with their nanny. Like me, she’s distressed and tells me she wants to vent without upsetting her child.
After we arrive, I wave for her to sit down on the couch and get her a glass of her favorite juice. She loves lemonade, but I know she’s partial to a juice native to our new planet. It is sweet with a sharp tang to it. I love it as well, but I still prefer lemonade.
Once we’re seated in my living room, Melody looks around, her lips curling into a soft smile. “It’s like our house but a little different.”
My gaze arcs about the room before my eyes meet hers again. “I will never stop being amazed to live here. Everything here is beautiful and wonderful, and I’m just—’” I let out a deep sigh, so relieved to be off Earth.
I feel tears spring to my eyes, and when I meet Melody’s gaze again, I can tell she knows exactly how I’m feeling. Living in fearall the time is exhausting, and it wears you down to where you feel like you lose parts of yourself in the process.
“They’ll be okay, right?” I ask.
Melody takes a breath and a sip from her drink. “I believe they will, but I don’t know. One of those storms killed a bunch of women. That’s why we’re here.”
“Yes, but they were out in the open. Thorne and Hunter are safe inside,” I say quickly. “The prince explained they can go into the mountain. They have housing and food.” My voice rises, and I realize I’m trying to convince myself as much as her.
“Do you want to stay with me tonight?” she asks a few moments later.
“Like a slumber party?” I tease slightly.
“Yes. You can stay in our guest room. I promise our baby sleeps well, and it’ll just be nice not to be alone while we worry. We can watch shows,” she says.
Those of us who originally arrived here from Earth have started watching old television shows that played on Earth before the planet turned into a baked desert. The luxury on those shows is beyond what I could even imagine. I’ve seen some old pictures, here and there, of the relics of Earth’s glory, but it’s shocking how much was lost.
They’re from what the history books here tell us was Earth’s heyday after the Second World War. Then television came out, and the seventies, eighties, into the nineties and early two-thousands are show after show of people living what appear to be utterly ridiculous lives of luxury. We’ve learned so much about our own history since arriving here. We’re allowed to sit in on any of the classes here, so we’ve done so out of curiosity. The rich people on Earth before its ruin were ridiculous. They even had what they called reality shows with these women called housewives. Being a housewife on Earth now is nothing more than pure drudgery.
“Let’s,” I say, grinning at her.
I end up staying with her for four nights, and we still haven’t heard word from Hunter and Thorne. On the fourth morning, I wake and roll over, feeling a stronger tug on the cord that makes me believe I’m connected to Thorne even though he’s on the other side of the planet.
I hurry out to the kitchen to find Melody making coffee. “I’m going to the other side of the planet. I’m going to find them,” I tell Melody.
