I once did.
“The males are just minutes away.” Ohni keeps talking, but Sky is hyperventilating like many other women. Some bounce in excitement. The railing blinks faster and faster.
“Sky.” I give her a pointed look, and she slows her breathing. “We’ve got this.”
She nods.
I’m the one who’s not ready.
Everything suddenly feels wrong, like I was ungrateful for what I had because I forgot the reason I started the life I did.
But I’m here. I have to deal with the consequences of my choices.
The railing stays solid green, and a horn goes off. Women pour over the railing and charge out across the field. I join them with less enthusiasm. But I don’t know who is going to pick me.
Maybe I’ll win the money because no one will want me.
Sky is fast. She looks back. “Come on, Brynna! Haven’t you ever run from a haywire droid before?”
I’ve run from Denarso and Novarks. A thorndog. And a scavenger squad at a spaceport.
Women shout and squeal as a thunderous drone of engines fills the envirodome. I look up to see the males transport entering the arena, the blue shield brightening around the vessel. A door opens, and someone jumps out. He falls tenstories, slams into the dirt, and straightens. Then he starts running.
“Holy fuck.” I sprint to catch up with Sky. I’ve seen some strong alien species, but that is never something I expected.
I shove Sky onward as I envision being tackled by that dude.More like obliterated!“Run!”
7: Jorusk
I have always felt different from my kind, even though I grew up among them, because I was the only one who was abandoned as an egg. I know now, I wasn’t left behind; I was sent as a message from a sister colony. I think about our conversations to keep my mind off the ABR bands squeezing my wings as I ride the transport to Earth’s moon with hundreds of other males.
“Jorusk, DIA. I am following the others from the males’ complex and will arrive at the Lunar compound in approximately ten minutes,” DIA says in my earcom. She is like a typical female Drath. She loves to talk abouteverything,except she’s much calmer.As we flew to Earth, I learned about Aura rescuing her from Talhuskin territory with the help of Rogues under the cover of night during one of our former masters’ drunken celebrations, a trick she says that he says he learned from me.
DIA has records of traditional foods, drum music, and mating rituals, which we have had to modify over the centuries due to our captivity. Now that we are free, I hope my kind can return home and rediscover our old ways again. And, apparently,myInferno must open the celestial gates. After Talhuskins broke the Drathis’ trust, my kind launched a Hellfire shield that only reacts to an originalDrathisInferno. It is part of why they sent me to seek out our lost colony.
DIA has the location of our system, but my impulsive Inferno is in no condition to lead anyone anywhere.
At least Eluni’s spark arrestor is helping.For now.
A passing Fenjuri with yellow-green scales and black eyes bares his fangs at me and softly hisses in his language, oneI’ve learned thanks to my time serving with Earth’s forces.We traded Talhuskins for Drath. You’re all the same trash.
I don’t respond, but I memorize his face. It is one among many who glare at me like I am a villain here. It is why I stick to the corner of the cargo bay. Many species feel the way these soldiers and royalty and delegates feel. I am the embodiment of death, of the fire they use to send the bodies of the lost to the afterlife. Some know what the Talhuskins did to my kind. Many only know we served Talhuskins.
A shimmering brown male in leather battle armor glares at me with lightless gold eyes and spits on the floor. My cheek twitches as I repress the urge to snarl back.Fuck you too.
I’m just glad they let us wear our traditional attire again, because I’m certain the ABR male race suit won’t last long with the heat rising to the surface of my skin. But I have to go topless because of my spark arrestor. ABR wants to monitor it for the initial race. And as the status bar rises in the center from my growing tension, a Nytheralian ABR guard looks over.
“Cool it, Drathious.” He adjusts his grip on the rifle across his chest. “It’s not worth it.”
He’s right, but I’m still defensive. I don’t like the prospect of any of these males catching Brynna. If they judge me, I cannot believe they will not find some reason to judge her for something, too. She has risked everything to help many survive in dangerous territory. She deserves a mate that will do anything to keep her safe.
“Jorusk, DIA. I am docked at the ABR race complex. But they won’t give me door access because my environment is incompatible.” DIA sounds frustrated as she communicates with me through my earcom. “How can that be?”
I tap my com. “Humans need more oxygen than we do. You’ll need to match the facility.”
“I’ll fix her,” a familiar voice cuts in.
DIA responds, “I await your arrival.”
