It wasn’t uncommon to keep your inner fire secret, nor were we forced to disclose them when they manifested, usually before age of ten, but I’d kept it from most of my cousins until about three cycles ago. Only Hallonnixmin and Dontilvynsan had known previously. I hated when people looked at me as if I knew the secrets of the universe. I didn’t. I had no notion of what tomorrow would bring anymore than other people. I couldn’t tell someone their future or where their soul lay.
Stars, even my own path was a mystery I was desperate to unravel.
The only person who knew my every secret was my cousin Dontilvynsan; his inner fire allowed him to read minds. He would never tell anyone else, though. He was nothing if not discreet. His elder brother and heir to the throne, Hallonnixmin, was the one who knew the next most about me. The three of us had been inseparable since birth, and I counted myself lucky to have them, lucky to have all of my cousins.
A voice sounded in my ear, saying “Monqilcolnen,” and I pulled out my glowing blue touchstone. The center of the perfectly round stone pulsed. I alone could hear the person pinging me, though those around me would be able to hear me speaking perfectly fine.
“Captain Talvax, what can I do for you?”
“Has this wave boarded yet?” she asked.
I glanced at the crowd. A few stragglers remained, moving slowly because they were talking or carrying an inordinate amount of personal items. “Almost.”
“Excellent. When they have all boarded, report to my office. I would like to go over the crew roster before the next wave boards. We also need to meet with the head of security. I don’t anticipate many problems, as there will be a minimal crew and passengers on board, but it is better to be prepared.”
Very few people wanted to travel to the far reaches of space. Earth was on the fringe of space-faring territory. This wasn’t a short trip, at six to nine months one way, and the vveki were anticipating six to eight months to build the base as well as to wait for security ships to arrive. Then another six months to journey home.
TheAdmiral Venwas bringing two security teams as well as six shuttles to help protect Earth from the xoi or any others who would harm them, but larger ships would need to come for the planet to be truly safe. The Cohort had already discussed the possibility of building a permanent settlement on the next closest planet, but they hadn’t decided by the time I’d left and I’d heard nothing since from Hallonnixmin about the subject.
When the final stragglers left the docking ring, I signaled for the doors to be closed. We would remain docked to the station, but regulations stated that all connection points be sealed when not in use, in case a catastrophic failure occurred on the station or it was attacked. If they were depressurized, we wouldn’t be.
The lift was empty when I entered, but my mind unhelpfully replayed Wyn pressed against Camden. He’d been one of the humans Dontilvynsan had rescued from Xome a few months ago. The two of them had become close in a short time, and they were often in each other’s presence. I didn’t know if they were courting, fucking, or simply friends.
My tail flicked and my wings rustled, threatening to escape. I had no right to ask or be jealous. Or at least I told myself I didn’t, and I believed Wyn would agree.
Talvax’s office was on the first deck, near Command. I signaled I was outside, and she called out, “Enter.”
She was seated behind the metal desk opposite the door, her claws tapping on a screen. Her brown scales still gleamed with youth, though she was in her fifth decade, and her orange hair was cut in military fashion—short on the sides and longer on top. Her office was bland, with the usual blue moss on the ground and creeping vines on the ceiling; both helped supply oxygen for the entire ship. She had no personal effects, except for a small screen which cycled through images of her and her mate, Urgg.
“Sit,” Talvax ordered, and I complied, remaining silent as I waited for her to finish her current task. When she finally looked up, she asked, “Everything go well?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.” Without further ado, Talvax pulled out the roster and began to discuss the new crew members. While we would never know everyone well, both of us liked to familiarize ourselves with them to the point we knew all of their names and faces.
As we talked, my thoughts kept drifting to Wyn. His light pink hair, his equally light purple scales, and his delicate features. His svelte frame was unique among the drakcol, and I found it entrancing. Wyn was without doubt the loveliest being I’d ever seen, and I wasn’t alone in that sentiment.
But I was different. I knew to the depths of my soul Wyn was meant to be something special to me. What exactly, I didn’t know—mate, close friend, lover for a time, or something else entirely. It was a mystery I desperately wanted to solve.
I had known this for nine cycles, but whenever I thought to approach him to figure it out, another flash of my innerfire would tell me,Not yet.So I was waiting and waiting andwaiting. My instincts had never led me astray, and they wouldn’t now. But I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to close the distance between us and find out exactly what he was to me, and who we were meant to be together.
Chapter 2
Some things can't be avoided.
I’d successfully avoided Monqilcolnen for almost the entire time we were docked at the station, besides glimpses of him in the canteen or spotting him in the corridors before fleeing in the other direction, but Seth and the rest of the royals were boarding tomorrow to begin our journey to Earth. Before then, we had to take our skills tests and medical exam.
The Planetary navy required tests every three months on hand-to-hand combat, blaster proficiency, and a physical. The physical and grappling tests I wasn’t worried about; I was perfectly healthy and excellent in hand-to-hand combat. What I couldn’t do was fire a blaster to save my life.
Nine cycles after joining the navy, I still couldn’t hit the target with any skill. I’d enrolled in the academy at fifteen, once entering the first phase of adulthood, on the recommendation of my government-appointed guardian. It had been the best choice of my life, except for the star-begotten blasters. I’d gotten eye exams, reflex tests, and anything else I could think of to explain my bad scores, but I was physically fine. I was just the worst shot in the entire navy.
Even Seth was better than me, and he’d first held a blaster three cycles ago. Even Caleb, who said he didn’t believe in blasters—which made no sense to me as they existed, so how could you not believe in their mere existence?—could shoot better than me.
When I failed my upcoming test, and I would fail, I’d be required to take remedial classes. Who taught the class? Why, the commander of the ship, of course. Once a week for the entirety of the trip, I’d have to attend his class, because I would fail every retest. There would be no escaping him, no hiding from him.
Urgg clapped a hand on my shoulder, making my scales burn, but I remained standing, not even flinching.
The massive barbarus grinned at me, exposing the two tusks curling out of their mouth and over their top lip. Their bristly black hair stuck straight up from the amount of times they’d run their fingers through it. Urgg’s bulging arms were covered in the black swirling tattoos all barbarus had, though how the spirals curled depended on the clan as did the beaded leather armlet they wore.
