Chapter Four #2
The hysterical giggle that escaped with the single word sounded pathetic in the empty apartment, but I knew better. I’d likely be arrested, and since the summons were from the UEC, I doubted I’d be able to claim I had simply missed my flight.
Sucking in a shuddering breath, I grabbed my phone. There was only one thing left to try, as much as I hated the thought.
Uncle Hans answered on the third ring.
“Elaina.”
His calm voice nearly broke something inside me, and I had to cough to clear my throat before I could speak.
“I was chosen.”
There was a pause where all I could hear was the echo of my harsh breathing.
“You were.”
It wasn’t a question. He’d already known.
“They canceled my contract.”
Silence followed my statement, and my throat tightened until it felt as if I were being strangled.
“I don't want this.”
I hissed the words, fighting back the sobs threatening to break free. I refused to allow myself to crumble.
“I know.”
Hope flared, brief and fragile, but he destroyed it with his next breath.
“But you’ll come to accept it.”
The words landed like a physical blow, and I flinched, almost dropping my phone.
“What do you mean?”
I could almost see the way he’d look at me as if I were a child asking a question he found pointless.
“You were selected, Elaina.”
My fingers curled, nails biting into the palm of my free hand as my phone creaked against my ear. My jaw clenched so tight my teeth protested, and it was all I could do to push the words out.
“I’m going to refuse.”
There was no pause this time before he responded.
“No, you won’t.”
The certainty in his voice sent a fission of fear through me, but I still let out a harsh laugh.
“Why not? Why would I accept this?”
I heard the sigh he let out and pictured him rubbing his brow. Or perhaps he was glaring at the wall, trying to remind himself that others might hear whatever he said.
“Because the alliance requires cooperation. The future of humanity hangs in the balance.”
I closed my eyes as anger and bitterness swirled within me. I wanted to say I didn’t care, but it wasn’t true. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if my refusal caused a problem with the alliance and led to more people starving than already did each day.
“There has to be another.”
“Elaina—”
I cut him off with a sharp, “No.”
I laughed again. The sound bordered on hysterical, but it didn’t matter. I had every reason to be hysterical.
“No one has asked me if I wanted to do any of this. I was following orders, and now you expect me just to keep going along with it.”
His sigh crackled through the speaker.
“I didn’t expect you to be chosen, but since you were, you must go. Look at it as an assignment. You get to go to their world, learn their language and culture from the inside, in a way you never could from here.”
I must go.
Not should.
Not a request.
Another order.
“I want to stay. I need your help.”
Tears made my vision waver as the single, tiny shred of hope I had stretched in the silence that followed my request.
“I can't.”
The snap of that shred didn’t release the sobs like I’d expected. Instead, my mind cleared. The bead of liquid that streaked my cheek when I blinked was the only one, everything inside me going cold.
Of course he couldn't help me. Or wouldn't. The distinction hardly mattered anymore.
“Goodbye, Councilor.”
I disconnected the call without waiting for his response. My legs folded and I sank onto the edge of the couch, phone still clutched in my hand. For several minutes I didn't move, and then the phone rang again.
A Base number.
I nearly ignored it but was too wired to obey a summons to let it go to voicemail.
“Hello?”
“Lieutenant Voss? I’m calling to confirm your move-out inspection.”
My stomach rolled at the cheerful voice that delivered another blow. I hadn’t even received the injection yet, and they were already pushing me out of my home as if everything was set in stone.
“Hello?”
I cleared my throat, rebuilding the walls that had begun to crumble.
“Yes, I’m here.”
There was a hesitation before she continued.
“We have you down for tomorrow morning. Oh, eight-thirty.”
Tomorrow. I’d be kicked out of my home in less than twenty-hour hours, whether I went along with what they all expected of me or not. Even if I refused the injection, or it failed to work like the information had mentioned was possible, I had lost my career and my place to live.
My life was being dismantled around me.
I heard myself agreeing with the woman and thanking her before the call disconnected. I looked around the room I sat in, my mind blank even though my stomach still twisted.
There was so much to do.
I didn’t own much, but I couldn’t find the point in packing even the few things I had.
I no longer needed the uniforms that filled my closet, or the workout clothing in my drawers.
I wouldn’t be able to stream the gameshows I watched to put myself to sleep each night, so I didn’t need my TV.
It was unlikely they wanted to ship my furniture across the galaxy, and with the size of the Morrak, it wouldn’t fit whoever had chosen me anyway.
Looking down at the card in my hand, I read the name again.
Torvashek Drazien Korval.
I knew the first word was a title, even if I didn’t know the exact translation, and then their names followed the same conventions as many parts of Earth, with the family name last, and the individual’s name first.
Drazien.
He had to be the dark one from the gala. He’d been the only one without a Human at his side.
But why had he chosen me?
My eyes moved around the room again before landing on my tablet. If this was happening... If there was no stopping it...
Perhaps I could do as my uncle had suggested. I could look at it as an opportunity to learn the Morraki language and culture from the inside, but I needed more information.
I opened everything I had on the Morrak.
It wasn’t as much as I would have had access to at the office I’d worked in, but there were snippets here and there.
Rudimentary language studies I’d already read, and what claimed to be cultural reports that were more like guesses.
Military assessments delivered by Councilors convincing the people of Earth we needed the Morrak’s help.
An hour passed as I searched out every scrap I could, and what I was left with was pitiful. We’d allied ourselves with a species we knew very little about if what had been shared with the public was everything. We were trusting them to protect us, when what we did know showed a long history of war.
At some point my panic dulled and curiosity kicked in. I’d dreamed of being the person who discovered a new language or species, even if I’d tucked those dreams away as improbable.
I pushed my glasses up my nose as I stared at the wall.
I had no interest in being anyone’s wife or mate, but I had to admit that part of me was excited by the prospect of going to Morrakan.
The Morrak weren’t new, but they might as well have been based on the amount of information I could find about them.
If I was going to make it to the injection appointment I had to hurry to the shuttle, but I still hesitated. I’d read through the information they’d given me prior to the gala again, and I knew what agreeing to it meant.
The change was permanent. I wouldn’t be compatible with a Human if my body accepted the serum.
Bonding was supposed to be permanent as well, but that wouldn’t happen immediately. It could be a couple weeks before I went through what they called heat.
How much could I learn in just two weeks if I was exposed to it continually?
I might not have volunteered for the opportunity, but it was one I had a hard time saying no to.
While I wouldn’t be the first Human to go to Morrakan, I would be the first trained to observe and gather information.
Even though the trip there would lessen the amount of time I had on the planet before my heat came, I’d still be able to study the language during that time.
And then, before Drazien could bond me, I could say I had changed my mind. Their government would have to listen since it would look bad if I reported I’d been bonded against my will. They wouldn’t want a diplomatic incident between our people that might threaten the alliance.
Right?
Treat it like a mission.
Play along, learn what I could, and then come home and trade the information to get my place back.
I could do that.
I wasn't trapped.
Not yet.
Everything would be fine.