EPILOGUE
Dakleth
Three months later, and my mate still took my breath away. She looked stunning in a bright pink confection Robnar had created for her. She looked like dessert. I wondered how soon I could steal her away and eat her.
The official purpose of this gala was to announce Kashtinela’s engagement.
It turns out the little minx had been having a secret affair with Devar, Lord Valenz’ son, for nearly two years.
Lord Valenz, who had been my father’s chief rival for my mother’s hand, had been sowing political unrest against my father for years.
Now that his grandchildren stood to inherit the throne, he had suddenly become a royalist. Imagine that.
My father had at first refused the match.
He detested Valenz, and for good reason.
But Kashtinela pointed out that mating Devar would unite the two strongest Ptexari dynasties and ensure peace for generations.
My father could not argue with that. She had become quite the master negotiator, my little sister.
Andie was beside herself. She adored Kashtinela and was thrilled she would get to mate the male of her choice and remain onplanet with us. She truly did love her as a sister.
Andie was also being honored, although she hated that.
I found that amusing. She loved to perform for an audience.
She never hesitated to sing or dance, or play an instrument for our entertainment.
She accepted the accolades for her artistic talents with grace.
But for some reason, she still felt uncomfortable when discussing her role as the Ptexari savior, or as one of the fabled Lumanela.
She said M’Pak loved the statue, though.
I’m not sure how she could tell, but I believed her.
Sometimes I would swear that Granthor could read her mind.
There was a buzz of excitement in the room that had nothing to do with either of the females in my life, however.
The Grays had sent a delegation to attend the Gala.
The Grays were a Tier 9 species. They were one step below the Creators, and it was largely believed they did the Creators’ work, although no one really knew what that was.
The Grays were not restricted by interstellar travel the same way we lower tiers were.
They could exist in multiple dimensions, or in multiple places within a single dimension, at once.
To us, it would look like they could teleport.
To them, they simply were wherever they wished to be.
They weren’t so much a police force as they were guides.
They nudged different species onto specific evolutionary paths.
Usually with no explanation, of course. No one really knew how, or even why, or what steps they were taking.
Sometimes they would tell you if something was going according to the Plan or if it had gotten Off Plan, and that was as much information as you could get from a Gray.
I was curious why they would attend an insignificant gala with a Tier 6 species like the Ptexari.
If Kashtinela had chosen a higher-tiered mate, perhaps that might impact their ineffable, unnamed Plan, but that was not the case.
I would observe, but in the end, it did not matter to me.
I had my mate by my side. She laughed as I whirled around her in one of the court dances we’d recently practiced with Malvonik.
I was planning to surprise her later tonight with the plans for our new estate.
I pictured our life together side by side, and I was content.
Andie
It was a perfect evening. Dakleth and I danced.
We drank, we ate, we caught up with friends we hadn’t seen in months, we toasted to Kashtinela and Devar dozens of times.
King Akapa gave a moving speech about his beautiful, intelligent daughter and his mostly adequate soon-to-be son-in-law (we all laughed) and wished them a happy life together.
They looked at each other with affection, although, of course, he did not touch her in any way.
I leaned further into Dakleth’s embrace, delighted that he was willing to buck Ptexari tradition for me.
The King wasn’t done, however. He called me to the dais and extolled my praises for saving the Ptexari people from the plague.
He conferred upon me a piece of land outside the village.
I suspected this was the land Dakleth had eyed for our new estate, and I thanked him.
He also inducted me into the Order of the Rising Moons, which he explained was an honor for people who had done exemplary service on behalf of all the Ptexari people.
In all honesty, my relationship with the King had been a bit strained since he suggested Dakleth put me aside. Still, I was touched, if a little embarrassed, as he placed a medallion around my neck. I gave him a polite nod as I stepped down from the dais.
I made my way back to Dakleth and was intercepted by two offworlders. They were tall and slender, with large heads and huge ovoid eyes. They were all gray, and it suddenly hit me. These were the infamous Grays that everyone - even earthlings - talked about.
“Blessings on your house,” I said politely.
“And yours, human female. We offer you greetings and gratitude,” one of them thought at me.
“Oh!” I thought back. “You’re telepathic.”
“We are,” the being thought at me. “And we are intrigued that you are as well. It is possible for humans, but not very common.”
“Just one more odd thing about me,” I quipped.
“Indeed,” the other being chimed in. “We come offering you a boon, Andrea Rivers of Earth.”
“A boon?” I asked.
“We understand that you were taken by another of our species. That is a crime, and he has been suitably punished. We apologize on behalf of our people for what has befallen you.”
“We are offering to return you to your home planet,” the other continued.
“But I heard you wouldn’t do that.” I was shocked.
“It is true, we do not offer to return humans to Earth once they have been taken off-planet. The information they could spread about us is too risky. Earth should remain ignorant about the rest of life in the universe until the time is right.”
“Then why do you offer it to me?” I asked.
“You have done us a great service by saving the Ptexari people as you did.” I protested, but he held up a hand.
“Do not minimize your actions. If you had not interceded, more than eighty-five percent of the Ptexari population would have died. War and famine would have broken out and taken out most of the rest. The Ptexari would have eventually died out. We have seen this.”
“We have seen it,” the other confirmed.
“This would have set back the Plan. For this service to us and the Creators, we are authorized to return you to your planet, so long as you promise to keep everything you have learned about the universe outside of Earth to yourself.”
I was speechless. I could see my parents again. My friends. Eat regular food. Pet my cat. I was overwhelmed. “I….don’t know.”
“You do not need to decide in this moment. Enjoy the Gala. You may give us your answer tomorrow morning,” the first declared, and then they turned and walked away.
Dakleth had observed this silent exchange with quiet intensity. “What was that about?” he asked.
I paused. “They said I did them a great service and kept everything on their Plan,” I said. I wasn’t ready to tell him the rest.
He tilted his head as he studied me. I wasn’t sure if he knew I was hiding something, or just contemplating what to say next. “Hmmm, they are always focused on their Plan, but they will not disclose what that is.”
“I don’t know either,” I replied.
“It seems no harm is done,” he smiled at me. “Shall we dance?”
I smiled back and led him to the dance floor.
That night, I told Dakleth I was too tired to do anything, which he took with grace. We were in his room at the palace, and I lay wide awake as he spooned me from behind
Two years ago, I was crying, alone. I’d been violated and was terrified, angry, depressed, and ultimately suicidal. If the Grays had offered to take me home in those early days, I would have kissed their feet.
But now. Now, there was Dakleth. Yes, I had made a life for myself here.
I loved my friends and my garden, and M’Pak and life on Ptekennan was good.
But I wouldn’t hesitate to leave all that behind to go back to Earth.
I would hug my parents fiercely. I’d go on auditions in New York.
I’d eat bagels and drink pumpkin spice lattes.
I would talk in English, and read books, and touch people without them thinking I was weird.
I would pet dogs in the park, and go shopping at Target, and roast marshmallows over a campfire.
I’d listen to all kinds of music, and go to art galleries, and eat a different brand of cereal every day.
I missed it. I did. But here, I had Dakleth. And I knew the truth. He was worth more to me than all the marshmallows, auditions, books, walks in the park, everything. Even, and this was hard to admit, my parents.
Dakleth was love. He was safety. He was friendship. He was support. He was intimacy. He was my everything. There was no going back for me. I wanted to move forward with him by my side, always.
Decision made, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The Grays found me in the receiving room the next day.
“I am grateful for your offer, truly,” I said. “But I cannot accept. My place is here.”
“With him?” The taller one asked.
“Yes,” I replied happily.
“We thought you might say that. We can see the bond.”
“You can see it?” I asked, surprised.
“Such things are visible to us,” the shorter one supplied.
“Could I possibly ask you for something else?” I asked.
“Such as?”
“There are other humans out there who have been trafficked by your kind. Many of them have been abused. I know you can’t take them back to Earth, but could you bring them here, if they want to come? We could offer them sanctuary.”
“That is an intriguing notion,” the taller one said.
“It does not go against the Plan,” said the other.
“It does not,” the taller one agreed.
“We shall consider how this might be done. You are an intriguing being, Andrea Rivers. We shall be in touch.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Safe travels.” I wasn’t sure if teleporting, multidimensional beings needed to worry about safety when travelling, but it seemed the right thing to say.
“Is everything alright, mate?” Dakleth asked, pulling me into his arms as the Grays simply vanished. I stared in awe at the space where they’d been. Then I looked at Dakleth. His eyes glowed with warmth, and I felt his love for me, strong and pure, through the bond.
“Yes, my love. Everything is perfect. Come on.” I led him by the hand out of the receiving room, down the corridor by the staircase.
I turned and looked at him. I smiled and said, “Translators off.”
Dakleth tilted his head and looked at me curiously. I turned him so that I was closer to the staircase, and he was facing me. “Stay,” I said in Ptexari.
He gave a low rumble of approval that reverberated through me.
I shifted my weight forward to the balls of my feet and bent my knees a tad.
Predator that he was, he clocked the shift immediately and backed away a step, snapping out his wings.
“What game are you playing, mate?” he asked, cautious.
His low voice speaking his native tongue made me shiver.
So much deeper than the filtered voice I got through the translator.
I gave him a coy smile. “I visited Lanicar this morning and took the antivenom serum,” I whispered. His eyes glowed bright, and I saw him shiver. I leaned forward and pushed both hands against his chest as hard as I could. “Ahelno!” I shouted at him, smiling as I turned and ran up the stairs.