“Of course. And thank you.”
He glanced at someone behind her, returned his gaze to hers and smiled before he stepped inside. “My pleasure.”
She turned. Darren had followed her out.
“I will escort you to the lounge,” he said, his brow crinkled.
The ship descended through Ohiri’s atmosphere with a low, vibrating roar. Aelanna gripped the armrests as the stabilizers engaged, but Darren’s solid presence beside her steadied her nerves. They were in the lounge, a room with a panoramic screen to show them Ohiri as the ship came in to land.
They weren’t allowed on the bridge, though Darren had been kind enough to ask, but Pilot Joel had given permission to use the lounge, a special privilege that was normally reserved for VIPs.
The other seven girls had joined them and were buckled into their seats, their eyes glued to the screen, but she didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to be friendly with them right now. She would greet the three she hadn’t met after they had landed.
Then the ship broke through the cloud layer —
— and Aelanna drew in a sharp, audible breath. Kora and Nayli, Lero and Blayze, turned their heads to her, giving her worried looks, and Darren’s concern was expressed in a frown.
Kora asked, “You all right, babe?”
Aelanna nodded furiously and tried to stop the sinking feeling inside her.
Ohiri was nothing like she’d imagined.
The city below was a sprawling blaze of color and movement — bright neon lights, towering structures of metal and glass, buzzing air traffic weaving between them like insects. The ground was a patchwork of harsh angles and glowing pathways. Nothing easy on the eye, nothing quiet, but overwhelming.
It was the opposite of the Dheltan ship’s ethereal, muted elegance.
The landing platform was in the military sector, a stark contrast to the color and bustle of the city. It rose to meet them, and the ship settled with a heavy thud. The engines powered down. They made their way from the lounge down to the airlock by which they first entered.
The ramp lowered and Aelanna squinted into the blinding daylight.
Ohirins were waiting.
Aelanna froze.
Lizards. Ohirins were lizards.
They were tall — taller than Darren and his brothers — with broad shoulders and long, sinuous tails that swayed behind them. Their skin was covered in scales that shimmered in the bright light, patterns of green, gold, and deep red. Their eyes were slit-pupiled, sharp and predatory. Some had crestsand they all had what she could only describe as fringes of flesh instead of hair on their heads; some had the fringes partway down their backs. Their smart military uniforms strained over powerful limbs, and when one shifted, he wasn’t wearing gloves and she glimpsed curved talons.
“Oh, fuck me sideways,” Kora breathed.
Nayli made a small, strangled sound.
Aelanna couldn’t speak at all. She stood there in shock.
This couldn’t be happening. Dapkey had promised them no reptiles.
The lizard men looked like something out of a nightmare — dignified and statuesque but terrifying all the same.
One stepped forward in the humid, heavy air, his tail flicking. “Welcome to Ohiri,” he said, voice deep and rasping.
Aelanna’s heart hammered. He shouldn’t have stood that close.An indefinable meaty smell reached her nose, though she could have imagined it.
Darren moved subtly in front of her, blocking part of her view. Instinctively protective. The brothers did the same for Nayli and Kora.
She clutched the strap of her bag, caught up to him and stood by his side. “Darren… are these—?”
“Ohirins,” he said through gritted teeth. “This is their world.”
