Chapter 16
CORA
The transport vessel was homier than I would have expected.
The walls were all glass and metal, of course, but they were at least warm neutral colors, and there were lots of chairs and couches in every room I’d seen, all of them piled with soft throw pillows and blankets.
Far from my sterile space-age expectations, it looked like someone had raided a home decor store, and I appreciated the effort.
The techs loved Mr. Darcy, all of them taking the time to give him ear scritches, and gush over him in what seemed to be alien baby talk.
Mr. Darcy gave everyone side eye, but magnanimously accepted all offered affection.
It always helps to calm his nerves when he’s treated like a little king, so he didn’t complain at all as we were shown to our private quarters for the journey.
The room was bigger than I would have expected.
I went on a cruise with one of my exes once, and this was way bigger than the cabin on the cruise ship.
One wall of the room was nothing but glass, looking out onto the transport compound currently.
Bright sunlight filled the space, making it cozy.
A tech showed me how to make the glass opaque if I preferred, and then showed me how to work the shower, sink, and toilet in the bathroom.
It was all motion and voice-activated, but I appreciated the tour since I would probably have drenched my clothes in the shower if I didn’t know where to stand.
In the main room, there were closets for me to put away my belongings, a small couch with more pillows and blankets, and a modestly sized bed. It was very cozy.
Even the stasis pod, which I was told I wouldn’t get into until we were outside Earth’s orbit, looked comfortable. It was cushioned and even had a thin blanket folded up at the foot of the pod. Mr. Darcy approved and made the blanket his bread-loafing spot.
Next, the tech escorted me to a common area where he said other passengers usually congregated during takeoff for the best views.
It was another comfy space with lots of seating, a few tables, and what looked like a bar.
When the tech who’d been my guide left, another approached, offering me a menu of beverages to choose from, and I ordered a caramel latte while I waited to see who else might be joining me.
I was either the first to arrive, or no one else had ventured this far from their rooms yet.
I sent a few texts to Andy, sharing some photos of the vessel and my rooms, and then tried to settle in with my e-reader.
It was no good, though. I was about to leave the planet!
Everything I’d ever known was going to be out of reach, probably forever. What the hell was I doing?!
My phone blooped with an incoming call from Yiri.
“Um. Hey.”
“Aneah.” His eyes seemed to travel over my face through the cameras, technology, and so much space. “You’re nervous,” Yiri said.
“Yeah.” I swallowed. “It just sort of hit me, you know? This is big.”
He gave me a rare smile, and it made his sharply featured face painfully handsome. Sheesh. I hadn’t seen a bad-looking daernir, or even one who was just average on a human scale. Yiri, though? He was definitely the hottest.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, his deep voice playing havoc with my senses.
I chewed at the corner of my mouth for a moment before admitting, “I’m thinking you’re very sexy.”
His smile turned wicked in an instant. “Do I please you, wife?”
Mmm. I shifted on the plushly cushioned couch, nodding. “Yes.”
“Are you alone?” he asked.
I shook my head. “A few techs are milling around. I’m in a common area.”
“No other women there yet?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Although I heard someone being given the tour a minute ago. Maybe she’ll join me soon. I was told this is the best place to view Earth when we take off.”
Yiri nodded. “Are you ready?”
Drawing in a deep breath, I looked out the window. The compound wasn’t much to look at. A lot of concrete and metal buildings as far as the eye could see. It kind of reminded me of a big airport. But it was Earth. It was home, wasn’t it?
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m feeling a little sad, I guess. But....”
“But what, Aneah?” Yiri prompted gently.
Our eyes connected through the phone. “But I think I’m mostly sad that… that I don’t feel like I’m leaving much behind. It’s my whole life, but it isn’t much.”
“Cora. Don’t be sad. It isn’t your fault.”
Like his words were the last blow to a failing damn, my chest cracked and filled up with wretched, miserable emotion.
“It has to be, though,” I said, my voice wobbling with the threat of tears.
“My own parents don’t want me in their lives.
And my only friend is someone I’ve known for less than six months, who I met at work.
I had to look on another planet to find a boyfriend!
I can’t keep a job, the only creature who likes me is Mr. Darcy, and that’s just because I feed him!
He mostly just judges me, and I get it. I’d judge me too. ”
“Aneah.”
“I’m a mess. You don’t want a mess like me. What am I even doing? I can’t saddle you with all of this baggage just because you liked my high heels and eyeliner!”
“Aneah!”
The sudden sharpness of his tone broke through my panic enough to shut me up. I stared at his face on my phone screen, and it took me a moment to understand that Yiri was…mad?
“You listen to me, wife. I am not your boyfriend. I am your mate. I’ll be your husband, your protector, your provider, your lover, your slave, because I am your Ibar chosen mate. Do you understand me?”
“No,” I blinked. “I mean… Some of that, yeah. But….”
“You’re sad that you don’t have much of a life to leave behind on Earth,” he said. “You blame yourself for not having a loving family, or friends, or purpose in your work.”
“Yeah….”
“It’s because you were never meant to stay there, Cora. You didn’t find a human male to be all that you need, because the male you are fated to be bound to is not human. He isn’t on Earth.”
“Oh.” A new emotion was slowly taking over the flood of panic. A warmer wash of something good.
“Against all the odds, we found each other on that app. You lost your job the very same day I was told to find a mate or be bound to someone I hate. Ibar made you for me, Cora. It just put you somewhere I never expected.”
I let that sink in for a minute, all the warmth turning gooey and nice in my belly. It sounded pretty good, I had to give it to him.
“You really believe that?” I asked.
“Yes, I do,” Yiri said, still stern. “Now be my good little wife and promise me you won’t be sad anymore.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said, but I couldn’t help the smile pulling at my lips.
“That’s better,” he purred. “Call me if you’re feeling sad again,” he said seriously.
I snorted. “And get myself in trouble?”
“You’ll be in real trouble if I find out you suffered and didn’t call me,” he warned. “So you’ll do what you’re told, won’t you, Aneah?”
“Yes, sir.”
He nodded. “Be good, wife.”
Someone plopped heavily onto the couch beside me as soon as Yiri disconnected.
“Daaaamnnn, girl,” said a petite blonde about my age. “I thought my guy was a smooth talker. Do they send these boys to school to make our panties dissolve?”
I laughed. “If so, Yiri was top of his class.”
“I’ll say,” she agreed. “I’m Brynna. What’s your name?”
“Cora,” I said, extending my hand to shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“This is wild, right?” Brynna asked. “I mean, a few years ago, what would you have done if someone said you’d leave the solar system and marry an alien?”
“Laughed my ass off,” I said.
“Right?” She shook her head in amazement. “But here we are. About to jettison ourselves across space and time to be housewives to a couple of blue guys. Well, Thrin’s blue, at least. Maybe yours isn’t. But he’s probably gorgeous, right? Unless we’re being catfished.”
“Please don’t say that,” I said. “I’m already nervous.”
“Yeah, I heard.” She patted my arm gently. “I can sympathize. I don’t have much going for me here, either. But that’s why this is great, right? We get a do-over in a place where we’re a hot commodity.”
“Yeah,” I said, Yiri’s words still echoing in my mind. “It’s a good thing.”
“Damn straight it is,” Brynna said, brightly. “Now show me this sweet talker of yours. I need to put a face with that voice.”
I pulled a picture of Yiri up on my phone and showed her, feeling an odd little pang of jealousy when she was extra appreciative.
“Okay, I’d love to be in trouble with him,” she said. “I’ve been such a bad girl. Punish me!”
“Show me your guy,” I said, pulling my phone back and tucking it away. “Thrin?”
“Yeah,” she said, searching her phone for a picture. “His family owns a bunch of resorts in Bion. He says we’ll travel like all the time. A new planet or moon every week. What a life, right? Oh, here he is.”
She showed me a handsome, blue-skinned daernir with green-blue hair. He was built leaner than Yiri, and had no visible tattoos, but there was no denying his attractiveness. “Handsome,” I said. “We picked a couple of hotties.”
“Yep,” Brynna said. “It’s all rainbows and sunshine from here on out, kid. Don’t worry about a thing.”
Brynna was good company as more and more women arrived.
She did all the talking, so I didn’t have to, making sure everyone was introduced and excitedly oohing and ahhing over everyone’s future husbands.
By the time takeoff was announced, she had us all chatting and giggling uncontrollably.
The liftoff was so smooth and silent that we didn’t even notice we were moving until the compound had shrunk away, the buildings looking like a model train scene beneath us.
We gathered at the window, me and a few others sitting on the floor because the height and motion made us dizzy. It only took a few moments to leave the Earth’s atmosphere completely, and we all sat silent through that final departure. And then… Earth was a dot. Almost like a star in the distance.
“I think I’m going to go to my room and vomit,” one of the girls said. A few others agreed, and I excused myself to call Yiri because with Earth disappearing into the void of space, I was feeling a little sad again. But also, a little hopeful.