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“I’m good for now, but thanks.”

He dips his head. “You are most welcome. My name is Derik, and if you change your mind about needing any help, please comm me.”

With a final, brief glance my way, he leaves. Before I can close the door, another guy walks by from the direction of Olivia and Quinn’s places. He must have been dropping off their things.

Lindsey’s already waiting at the lift. She and I—along with Quinn and Olivia—worked at the same sanitation facility so we were acquainted before we got on the Bohnari spaceship. During the trip here, the four of us became the best of friends.

“It’s a little unreal, huh?” I lean against the railing without looking over the edge to the atrium level that’s eight floors down.

Lindsey’s gaze is focused over my shoulder, no doubt checking out the palace that sits halfway up the mountain that’s visible through the entire wall of windows opposite where our rooms are located. She blinks and shifts her gaze to me finally.

“My bedroom is bigger than my whole flat was back on Earth,” she says.

The sound of a door closing comes from the end of the hall. We glance that way to see Quinn and Olivia heading our way. I’m curious if they’re as in awe as Lindsey and I are.

“What did you think of your place?”

Olivia’s the one who answers. “It’s big. Nice. Could use some personality though.”

“Agreed. But it’s a far cry from the shithole I lived in back on Earth. I feel like I’m living in the upper tier here.” I press the button on the lift.

The second we step inside, Olivia clasps Quinn’s arm and the two lightly bicker back and forth about how Quinn is clearly expecting things to go to shit soon since everything appears to be going far too smoothly. Can’t say I blame her, but I keep my mouth closed. I tend to overthink things which leads to an anxiety spiral and word vomit, and I’d rather not do either of those things right now.

The lift comes to a jerky halt before the door slides open, and we spill out into the atrium where several other women loiter together, including a light-brown haired white woman I’ve never seen before wearing unusual clothes. Judging by the looks my friends share, neither have they. We approach the three women who turn at our arrival.

“Hi, there. I’m Johnna.” The unfamiliar woman sticks her hand out with a large smile and Olivia is the first to reach for it.

“Olivia. This is Quinn, Devon, and Lindsey,” she introduces us.

“It’s great to meet you all. Welcome to Bohna.” Johnna swings her arms out in a sweeping gesture. “Sorry I wasn’t able to greet you when you first landed, but I was helping my mate at the hospital.”

“Mate?”

“Husband, sorry.” Johnna chuckles. “The Bohnari don’t really understand the concept of marriage like we do on Earth, but it’s essentially the same thing. Except they mate for life.”

Whoa.

“Were you a lottery bride?” One of the other women standing with us asks. “I thought we were the first.”

Johnna shakes her head. “Oh, you are. I was part of a terraforming crew. We were on our way to a planet just beyond the outer rim when we were attacked. A few co-workers and I managed to get out using the escape pods before the main ship exploded. My pod suffered serious damage from the aftershocks and I crash landed here about eight months ago or so, believe it or not. My mate is the head healer and saved my life.”

Double whoa.

My gaze catches on the palace once more. I can’t tear my eyes away. At least until Lindsey nudges my arm, and I jolt back to the present. Oh, I guess we’re following Johnna and the other two women somewhere. I hang back with Lindsey while Olivia and Quinn walk behind the others.

Once we’re outside, I can’t help but take in our new home. Bohna is stunning. Living in the bottom tier means we lived with a constantly dreary presence over our heads. I’m not sure I’ve ever truly seen the sky.

The atmosphere is so clear, I have to shade my eyes from the brightness of the sun. It even smells clean. Not manufactured either. Just fresh, untainted air.

Johnna’s telling us something about her best friend and how she landed on a neighboring planet after their ship was attacked. I catch the last part of what she’s saying.

“I’m not sure how much news reaches Earth about the various planets the government has terraformed over the last decade.”

That almost makes me laugh. Those in the upper tier want to keep people in the bottom tier as ignorant as they can. “Not much.”

Johnna slowly nods. “I didn’t figure. I’ve spent the last five years traveling and don’t have any family back home, so I wasn’t really sure. Anyway, the Bohnari and Tavikhi are allies and have a close trade relationship. Not long after Vornak and I were mated, we made a trip to Tavikh, where I was unexpectedly—but happily—reunited with Eloise. After our last trip there, she and her Tavikhi mate Zedam came back with us to help Alik with the negotiations with the President.”

“Why us?” Quinn’s the one who asks the question.