She’d wake up with a minor headache and a few bruises from her emergency pod’s crash landing, but everything else was fine.
After putting everything away, I stood next to the fireplace, needing some warmth after being out in the cold rain for the majority of the day.
It was impossible for me to fight off the feeling of exhaustion. My wings hurt because I’d been flying for hours. As I glanced out the window, the sun was just about to set.
To release some pressure, I stretched my wings. After such a lengthy flight, a good night’s sleep was greatly anticipated. I walked over to the cozy-looking dish chair, which resembled a nest, and sat down, the warmth of the fire on my face.
As I shut my eyes, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. Having had a long day, I appreciated the tranquility of my cliffside villa.
The sound of the waves crashing against the cliff below lulled me to sleep.
3
Naomi
Strange sounds surrounded me, startling me awake. As I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I discovered I was in a beautiful villa rather than a spacecraft.
I sucked in a deep breath and scrambled to my feet, the blanket that had been covering me falling to the floor as I took in my surroundings.
Everything around me was exotic, made of expensive-looking natural materials like wood and cloth, but the walls housed many devices that put all those high-tech futuristic spy movies to shame. It was nothing like the neural network headpieces that the majority of the population used to work and play in simulations outside the real world.
No, this villa was a high-end, expensive property that was probably designed by an interior decorator with how everything flowed and went together. Every inch of open space I was in was filled with luxurious furnishings and decorations I’d never seen before.
I couldn’t help but notice that some of the furniture was in unusual shapes that would not normally be sold in a store and had to be custom-made. There were some of those retro disk chairs from my great-grandmother’s childhood, but much larger and tilted up like a nest.
What amazed me was how open everything was.
A long stone wall covered one entire side of the room, with a doorway leading into a tunnel and a high-tech fireplace built into the wall itself. A pair of stairways near the stone wall vanished into what I assumed was another floor or a hidden part of the house.
The rest of the walls were marble pillars that framed floor-to-ceiling windows. Three sets of double doors led to what appeared to be a wraparound balcony.
My mouth dropped open at the open view of bright skies over a calm ocean that greeted me.
A cool ocean breeze welcomed me as I stepped out onto a balcony, blowing the fabric of my dress against my body as the sounds of gentle crashing waves filled the air.
Looking over the tall railing, I realized the villa was perched on the edge of a cliff, with a sheer drop to the ocean below.
As I gazed out at the endless violet water, I felt a sense of awe and wonder. A bright orange sun shone down on the water, making the lavender waves sparkle against the vibrant depths.
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and I placed a hand on my forehead and took a deep breath to try to center myself as I backed up, not wanting to fall over.
None of this made sense.
The last thing I remembered was having fun working behind the bar on theStardancer, and then we were attacked by—what I assumed were aliens—and had to evacuate. And then, I led the wedding party of the winning contest couple to the emergency escape pods and boarded one with one of the bridesmaids.
Where had Soraya gone? Unless something happened to our vessel, she should’ve been with me when we were rescued.
I came to a halt, covering my mouth as dread washed over me as I tried to remember any detail of what had happened to me. The only thing I remembered was an army of dark spacecrafts launching a barrage of missiles atStardancer, causing it to explode as the gas filled the cabin and knocked me unconscious.
I couldn’t think of anything else from that night. We didn’t even know where we’d landed or who had picked us up.
Why was I here and she wasn’t?
My eyes welled up with tears as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened. Everything felt off.
I dashed along the balcony toward what appeared to be the side yard, the rest of the land on the ledge where the villa sat, hoping she had woken up in this place like I had and had decided to explore our surroundings.
One thing was certain: This wasn’t Earth.
