Her grip released. “Did we land?”
“Not quite,” he said. The sounds of metal hitting metal, a soft groaning and they came to a stop, the dampeners shifting as they depressurized. “Now we’re landed.”
“Thank goodness. Gotta say, don’t love space travel that much.” She looked out the window again and opened her mouth twice. “There we go.”
He glanced at her. “Are you well?”
“My ears popped.”
He looked her over. He didn’t see any evidence of her ears doing anything. “They look fine.”
She smiled. “The pressure equalizing, it makes our ears feel blocked, until the air pops.”
He noticed no such thing. “Interesting biology you have.”
“We’re a mess, I’m sure, compared to what you’re used to seeing,” she said. “You sure you wanna do this? Mate with a weird Earth girl?”
“I am sure.” And he was. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he’d made the right choice.
His time was limited. At some point, the Vorjan House would find him and return him for refusing his orders. It could be in a few days, or it could be years. They would not stop to find him.
The King’s Guard didn’t fail.
She picked up her carrier for the cat.
The cat howled.
“Get me out of here! I hate this thing!”
Karuk patted the box. “We are just getting back to the station. Be patient.”
“It’s okay, Mister Fluffikins. You’re going to get out soon enough,” Jenny cooed at him.
He hissed again.
Karuk glanced at her. “He hates his box.”
“Well, he’s not wandering on his own. At least not right now. When we get to our apartment, he can get out and explore,” Jenny said.
“Come on, time to off load,” the pilot said.
Karuk nodded and helped Jenny off the shuttle. They gathered their bags and headed onto the platform.
Karuk headed for the door, but only got a few steps when he realized Jenny wasn’t by his side.
Instead, she stood on the open part of the platform, just staring up at the force shield around the landing pad.
And at the snow and ice hitting the shield. She took a few steps toward the edge, her hand out.
Karuk sat down the bags and crossed to her.
“Jenny?”
“There’s no glass,” she said. “Nothing to mark the barrier, but I can see it. It’s like we’re inside a bubble that won’t pop.”
The droplets hit the shield, swirling up and down as the air currents moved them. Her eyes were wide, wonder filling her expression as she stared at the shielding and the weather’s impact on it.
Her beauty and curiosity moved him deeply. He wanted to hold time there, in that moment, with her staring in wonder and joy at the simpleness of a shield in a storm.
