Luxirians stared at Kat as they passed.Vaxa’an had not met most of the men before, as they had not completed military training, but they inclined their heads as he passed.Word would travel fast.He would need to meet with his council.There was much to be said, much to be planned.
It was warm already on Luxiria.The twin suns were rising in the sky, bringing in a new span, spreading a golden light over Luxirian land.As they emerged through the docking port doors, Kat gasped and Vaxa’an felt a comforting heat spread through his bones at the sight of his home.
* * *
Kat blinked, trying to process everything at once.
They had just come through something that looked straight out ofStar Wars.They’d docked their ship into a massive room with walls of metal.Luxirians were everywhere, either working on other ships that were parked in the bay or hurrying to secure the ship they’d come in on.What Kat noticed first was the heat.It was sweltering and humid.It made her hair stick to the nape of her neck and it dewed her skin.
Vaxa talked to another Luxirian when they got off the ship but Kat was too busy looking around the dock to pay much attention.What she did notice was that everyone was looking at her while trying not to at the same time.She wondered if they’d ever seen a human before, whether she was the first to ever step foot on this planet.
Take that, Neil Armstrong, she thought, trying to trick herself out of her nervousness.Their stares prickled her skin more than the humidity.
But when Vaxa led her out of the dock, her breath left her and she forgot all about the discomfort.
Luxiria was beautiful.Breathtakingly beautiful.
Not in the usual sense, like majestic, snowy mountains and green valleys.No.Luxiria had a dark landscape.The ship dock was high up on a slope of land, but miles away she could see a city…literally carved into the side of a mountain.The land was black and grey.It reminded her of black sand, but when she saw forests of strange looking trees off in the distance, she knew that it was fertile.Sharp, jagged mountains rose out of the black sand, tinged pink with thetwosuns rising up from the horizon.The entire sky was a soft, golden peach.Kat had never seen anything more striking or lovelier…even though the scene laid out before her did look a little like Mordor fromLord of the Rings.Except, there was no Eye of Sauron watching or volcanos erupting.Only a calm sky with gothic looking mountain peaks.
Her eyes returned to the city she spotted.From this distance, it looked small, but on closer inspection she saw that the city was terraced.The lowest level nearest to the black sand had the widest base and she saw a myriad of home-like structures.As the city rose higher and higher, she saw a clearly defined path that led all the way up to the very top of the city.It looked like a bitch to climb and she hoped that she’d never have to do it.
So, it was a relief when Vaxa led her to a much smaller circular spacecraft with an open top.It was the size of a large car and Vaxa easily plucked her off the ground to set her inside.He didn’t speak at all and she didn’t say anything.The tension between them was starting to make her feel a little guilty for what happened the night before, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
He climbed inside after her and approached a very complicated looking console.He effortlessly started up the smaller spacecraft and she squeaked in surprise when it began tohoveroff the ground.A freakinghovercraft.
“Vaxa,” she said, uncertain, clutching the sides.Besides the solid railing that ran around the circumference of the hovercraft, there was nothing to prevent her from going over the sides.It wasn’t enclosed at all.“I don’t know about this.”
“Trust me,luxiva,” he said, punching in a code onto a familiar silver pad she’d seen through the spaceship they’d just exited.“I have been flyingxrellexaxalmost my entire life span.”
And with that, the hovercraft shot forward, hurtling towards the city.Kate was frozen in a crouch, gripping the sides until her knuckles turned white.Slowly, as if afraid a sudden movement would flip them over, she turned her head and saw the docking bay begin to shrink as they picked up speed.
They climbed a little higher before finally evening out.Vaxa looked behind him and his lips quirked when he saw her crouch.
“Come here, female,” he said, warmth infused into his tone.He was happy, she realized.He loved this planet, loved his home, and he was happy to return to it.“You will get a better view from up here.”
“I’m okay,” she rasped.
“Do you not like to fly?We were just on a spaceship for three span,” he pointed out to her.
“At least on a spaceship, there wasn’t a chance I’d fall out,” she said.
“You will not ‘fall out.’Now, come.”
Kat took a deep breath, willing her legs to move.Ever so slowly, she unfolded herself from her crouch.The hovercraft was smooth so she didn’t even feel the need to balance herself as she hesitantly approached the console.
Vaxa looked peaceful, at ease, and confident as he watched her.And, not surprisingly, she felt a tingle between her legs, looking at him.Vaxa was in his element and if she thought he was hot on the ship, he’d just been promoted toscorching.
He reached her her once she neared and he tucked her in front of him, her belly pressed against the console, her back against his strong, firm chest.As Vaxa wrapped his arms around her, instead of tensing up, she relaxed.Her nerves soothed a little, knowing that she wouldn’t be walking into an alien city all by herself.He would be there with her.
Even if he didn’t have a choice, a snide voice in her head reminded her.Kate frowned, shaking off the thought, not liking that side of her.She would be there for a month and then, if he held up his end of the deal, she’d be gone.There was nothing to be done except make the most of her time there.And if she wanted to be awkward and lonely, then she could continue giving him the cold shoulder.But she didn’t want that, she realized.Their stupid little fight—that wasn’t really a fight and more of her being stuck inside her own head—seemed silly to her now, in the light of this Luxirian day.
It didn’t matter that Vaxa said he had no choice in choosing her.It wouldn’t matter soon anyway.
“Our city,” he murmured, bending down to whisper in her ear.Warm wind brushed her cheeks as she stared out of the open hovercraft, straight at the carved mountain city they were steadily approaching.She closed her eyes for a brief moment.The air was fresh, nothing like the circulated air on the spaceship.Hell, she was just glad she hadn’t dropped dead stepping off the ship, she realized.Luxirians breathed the same oxygen she breathed on Earth.At least she would be able to survive there, something she hadn’t even thought of before now.
When Kate opened her eyes, she could see more of the city, small details focusing into view, sharpening.She saw Luxirians milling around throughout the terraces.The lower terrace, closest to the black sands, seemed like a marketplace of some sort.There were stalls set up, with brightly colored fabrics, shiny stones that sparkled brilliantly in the peachy sunlight, pieces of dark metal she couldn’t make sense of, cooked meat and spices.As their hovercraft raced over the terraces, necks craned up to look at them.A few cries of recognition raised in the air—‘ex-rive-ex-euh-on,’ they said, complete with that same rolling purr her tongue just would not do—which she figured was some sort of name for Vaxa.
It was only the bottom terrace that held the market, she realized.The top of the mountain were homes, carved into the rock face, airy homes with large windows and domed ceilings that opened up into the sky.
