Cosmic Castaway (Cosmic Romances #3)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Abduction is never great.

Well, this wasn’t ideal. I stood in a minuscule room made of rough metal with at least a hundred other humans. We were packed into the cramped space like cattle on the way to slaughter. I had no idea how I’d gotten here. One moment, I was getting ready for bed, and the next, an alien with a watermelon-shaped head on a toothpick body was screeching at me and shocking me with some kind of baton that sparked with green electricity.

Now, I was in this tiny room.

The room was so full that it was impossible to sit unless I flopped on top of the other people. I’d had to do that, though, when my legs grew too weak to support me, and the other people stuck with me had done it as well.

We’d had no choice.

Someone vomited and drew me back to the present hell we were all living in. The stagnant air from everyone’s breathing was mixed with the stench of sewage, sweat, and general B.O. It was enough to burn my eyes and send my stomach lurching with every inhale. I might have puked if I’d had anything in my stomach, so that was one benefit, if I wanted to find the silver lining of this horror.

The toothpick aliens, which seemed anatomically impossible, hadn’t provided food, water, or somewhere to go to the bathroom. As a result, we were all coated in things I refused to think about.

While I didn’t know how long I’d been gone, as the hours blurred together, I had a sneaking suspicion we weren’t on Earth anymore. Aliens. Weird ship. Humans in a hold. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. We’d been abducted, and probably not for a good reason, since the aliens were treating us like shit.

But oddly enough, I didn’t care.

There was a disconnect between my emotions and my mind, like someone had snipped a thread connecting the two. I was frozen in place, unable to move. My heart was pounding and my breathing was shallow; all the while, a helpless feeling consumed me, but my body refused to move and my thoughts circled on the end of the journey.

Some of the people trapped with me cried, others chatted quietly, and some stared into the distance, rocking back and forth. Everyone was coping however possible. My method was not moving, I guessed. There was nowhere to go anyway, and perhaps being numb was better. There was no fear. No worries about what my family would think when they couldn’t get a hold of me. No cares about the people trapped with me. No panic about the end of this trip.

None of it mattered.

The ship shuddered, knocking me out of my frozen stance and allowing me to take a deep inhale and move. I thumped into the wall, which was growing hotter by the second, as the ship jerked hard once again right before a loud grinding sounded. People screamed, trying to scramble to their feet. I pressed against the warm wall, struggling to remain upright.

A guy toppled to the floor with a yelp, and someone stepped on him, making him cry out. Shaking, I yanked him up, and he clung to me. Together, we fought to remain upright while people tumbled around us, trying to stand, trying to get away, trying not to get trampled.

The floor jolted, sending more people to the ground, and then all vibration ceased, which was more terrifying than the constant rumble I’d grown used to.

“I think we landed,” the guy said.

I nodded.

“Vince,” he said.

“Bartholomew Reginald,” I replied.

His eyebrows lifted.

“My moms are weird. You can call me Teddy.”

Vince glanced at the door through the sea of filthy people. He didn’t act in a rush for me to let him go, and honestly, I wasn’t ready to release him. When the doors opened, I was fairly certain we were going to die. It was nice not to die alone, even if I didn’t really know the man beside me.

Panic, my first real emotion since this ordeal started, bolted through my veins and jump-started my pulse. I was going to die. This was it. My last moments, filled with terror and the smell of piss, awaited me as soon as those rough metal doors opened.

My companion squeezed me in a bruising grip and his heart thudded powerfully against my chest.

We were going to die.

I studied him, hoping his human face was the last thing I’d see in this world. It was a sight better than the watermelon-head aliens, or the metal room filled with screaming people. Vince was attractive, almost giving me romance villain vibes, with sharp features that were somehow delicate. While we were both white and had black hair, his hung to his shoulders, perfectly straight, and his skin was deathly pale. His dark brown eyes were almost black to my light brown, and they were wide with fear. The one thing holding him back from being a true villain in the romance novels I enjoyed was his height. Vince was short.

“What do you think is going to happen?” Vince asked, his voice soft, though deeper than his thin frame suggested.

“Death.”

“At least you don’t sugarcoat it,” he said, his words dripping in sarcasm.

I shrugged.

The doors opened and worse than death happened.

I crossed the finish line marked by the lighted buoys, and a number flashed on the screens. Fifth. Not bad. Up from last cycle where I took seventh in the annual Coalition Charity Race. I slowed to drifting speed, then directed my racing shuttle to the docking ring of the station to begin my post-flight checks. Many racers had their teams handle shuttle maintenance, but I preferred to do everything myself. While I wasn’t an engineer, it was my ship and therefore my responsibility.

When I stepped onto the promenade, people cheered, and I waved, giving everyone a wide smile, but my eyes went to the terrace above. All four of my brothers and my sole cousin leaned against the railing. Kalvoxrencol, the youngest, cheered loudly, while his human mate, Seth, was bright red at his side, clapping in that human manner. Not to be outdone, Caleb shouted, jumping up and down, only to pause with a deep grimace. Zoltilvoxfyn, my next youngest brother, instantly checked on his mate.

Dontilvynsan, my directly older brother, politely lifted his hands in approval, as did my cousin, Monqilcolnen. Hallonnixmin, the eldest, yelled my name, and his mate, Gilvaxtin, matched him in volume, though she was significantly more animated, jumping and bouncing. They’d left their kids at home with Father and Mother; that was the requirement Father had given when all my siblings insisted on coming to watch me.

Father and Mother didn’t often allow us all off the planet at the same time. We were royalty, and with that came risks. Hallonnixmin, the heir to the throne, left as little as possible, as did Zoltilvoxfyn because of his mental health and rare inner fire. However, Caleb, his mate of three cycles, assisted with both, allowing him to leave more frequently.

I lifted my fist, and the crowd grew louder. I flicked my long white hair over my broad shoulder and smiled, giving a few people winks. They screamed in response. I was a fan favorite for many species, as I was exceedingly attractive or, as Caleb liked to say in English, “Hot as fuck.”

Monqilcolnen rolled his eyes while Kalvoxrencol pretended to fluff his hair. I laughed at their reactions. I didn’t mind them teasing me for my vanity. They did it in good humor and with love; besides, I poked at their flaws as often as they did mine.

I spoke to a few reporters about the race and how I felt about my ranking, then finally snuck to the quarters my family had claimed. We were all in one suite with separate rooms for each of us. It made security easier on the station master and Dontilvynsan, who oversaw our safety, but we hadn’t all been in the same crowded space like this many times in our lives, and it had gotten overwhelming fairly fast.

My family all beamed when I came inside; even Father, Mother, and my two nephews were on the large screen spanning the shared space. Everyone congratulated me, and I thanked them before slipping into my bedroom to change. I pulled off my racing jumpsuit and donned black trousers and a simple orange sleeveless shirt that showed off my muscular arms and contrasted excellently next to my purple scales.

Knees trembling, I sank to my bed and breathed deeply to calm the rapid beat of my soul. I loved racing. It was in my blood, but it sent my soul pounding like I’d been fighting for my life and made me exhausted afterward. I always had the urge to curl up and sleep, which my brothers understood, but today I wanted to party, so I took a single moment for myself, then rushed out.

Caleb was the first to greet me. He used to be a human spirit that wandered the stars, but the Crystal had placed him in a drakcol body, shocking everyone. His reddish-brown hair was cut short, no longer than his finger, and one side of his scalp had a massive scar showing his mottled gold and emerald skin devoid of light gray scales or hair—lingering evidence of what had happened to his body before he’d occupied it.

He squeezed me, making me grimace. Caleb didn’t know his own strength, and he was taller and broader than most drakcol. I carefully patted his back so as to not injure him. “Air.”

“Sorry, Mindy. I always forget. I used to be tiny, and now I’m huge. Fyn keeps trying to help me, but I swear I wake up and expect to be smaller. Three cycles later and it’s still weird being in a different body. I never meant to hurt you, but—”

“I’m fine.” I interrupted, smoothing my shirt. When Caleb started talking, he didn’t stop. Zoltilvoxfyn had assured me that was simply how Caleb was, whereas I thought it had resulted from him being a spirit for over twenty cycles and being unable to speak to anyone.

“You did awesome,” he said, switching to English. The ship’s NAID—Network of Artificial Intelligence for Drakcol—didn’t understand Caleb when he spoke in English, because of his rough accent, but he spoke Drakconese fluently, so it wasn’t much of a problem for him.

Currently, I am attempting to perfect my English. Seth and Caleb were teaching me, as well as our friend Edith. I loved learning languages, rather than relying on a translator. This was my seventh language, and, according to them, I was basically fluent. Not surprising. I was that amazing.

“Thank you.”

Seth moved to Caleb’s side, and I greeted him with a smile.

Humans were odd creatures. Seth had round pupils, round ears like they had been docked—Kalvoxrencol had assured me they were natural—pinkish white skin, no tail, no wings, no sharp canines, and no claws. He was also short. Seth had told me he was the average height and frame for human males. His shoulders were far narrower than a drakcol’s, and his stomach was pudgy. He was soft all over. I didn’t think he was unattractive, just different in an overly squishable way.

Kalvoxrencol loved his little mate, and that was all that mattered.

I hugged Seth, and he squeaked. I released him instantly. I must have startled him. When I’d first met Seth, it had taken months to discuss permissions with him, because each time I’d brought it up, he became distinctly uncomfortable. But I’d wrangled him into a conversation eventually. He allowed me to hug and touch him occasionally, as long as I didn’t suddenly grab him. All in all, Seth didn’t like being touched by anyone except Kalvoxrencol, and sparingly by his close friends Urgg and Wyn.

He went bright red and buried his hands into his thick jacket pockets. “Good race, Mindy.”

I fought a frown at the endearment, or nickname as my mate-brothers called it. I wasn’t particularly fond of it, but Seth struggled with our long names. Also, humans shortened names with alarming frequency. I’d accepted it as inevitable and as a sign of affection. Not to mention, I would much rather have received one than be left out as the only person in my family without a human endearment.

“Thank you,” I told him.

Kalvoxrencol wrapped his blue arms around Seth, tail winding up his calf. “Fifth.” His silvery-blue hair fell over his mate’s shoulder.

“Two better than last cycle, though this outlying location leaves much to be desired,” I commented.

“The Coalition was trying to entice the Maykian Papacy by having the race near their territory,” Hallonnixmin said as he moved to stand beside Kalvoxrencol. “It was discussed in the last Cohort meeting, which you missed. Father was hoping to send you to Voyk to discuss the proposal with them. He had to send Fynlincoxmin instead.”

I was a diplomat, which I loved, but I hadn’t wanted to go to Voyk so I’d skipped the Cohort meeting.

“I’m impressed with your ranking,” Monqilcolnen interrupted, giving me an indulgent smile.

“Indeed,” Dontilvynsan said. “It was well done, Speedy.”

I beamed, tail writhing and wings shuffling.

Caleb, face scrunched, brought me a glass of graugg with his inner fire—telekinesis. The glass wobbled and spilled some of the maroon liquid onto the moss floor. He bit out a swear, and Zoltilvoxfyn dragged his tail over the back of Caleb’s leg. Gripping his cane, Caleb grunted as the glass began to move again. He was still struggling to master his gift, but Wyn, a close friend of Seth’s, had been teaching him.

I accepted the maroon liquid, tousling Caleb’s hair, and took a deep drink, relishing the bitter tang. All of my brothers and my cousin, who was basically a brother, followed suit, and I grinned. I loved them more than anything.

The similarities between us were beyond obvious. All of us brothers, besides Kalvoxrencol, had deep green eyes like our mother. My white hair matched Zoltilvoxfyn’s, though he had black scales as did Dontilvynsan. Kalvoxrencol and Hallonixmin both had blue scales, though Hallonnixmin was a shade darker. His purple hair matched Dontilvynsan’s. I was the lone man out with purple scales, as was Monqilcolnen with dark green scales and silver hair. But we all shared the same wide foreheads, long noses, and strong chins.

With a grin, I basked in the glow of my family’s attention. What more could I need?