Chapter 10 Rotten
“Elana wants to stay,” I tell Wyn as we get ready to land in Lemargo.
We’re standing in our usual spot behind the control panel on the ship’s bridge. Falen is by our side, silently piloting us through Lemargo’s atmosphere towards the travel station.
“She wants to stay? Did she say so specifically?” Wyn pins me with a wry look.
“She did. There’s no room for misunderstanding at all.” I fold my arms, completely confident.
Elana was bursting with positive energy when we spoke earlier. And her mating signals were firing strongly in my direction. I’ve got everything exactly how I want it.
“Well, good for you. I’m sure the crew will enjoy having her around,” Wyn says.
“I agree,” Falen chimes in.
“I’m going to enjoy having her in my bed,” I say under my breath.
Falen groans, and Wyn turns to face me.
“Did she actually agree to sleep with you again or did she agree to stay on the ship?” he asks.
“We only discussed staying on the ship,” I mumble.
“So, you haven’t cleared things up at all.” Wyn taps on the control panel, probably checking the weather on Lemargo.
“I guess we haven’t clarified everything.” I bury my face in my hands. “Why are humans so difficult?”
“They’re not,” Falen says.
“You’re just bad at this,” Wyn continues.
I scowl at him.
“Well, at least she doesn’t hate being around me. That’s something I can work with.”
“Sure. And how do you feel about her?” Wyn raises his eyebrows.
“I’d give the world to her if I could. Lay myself at her feet and offer my hearts as tribute. If she said jump, I’d ask how high. I’d be her willing slave for the rest of my days.”
“Fabulous. That’s a totally reasonable response to someone you just met.” Wyn cracks.
“Love isn’t reasonable, it’s magic,” I say, then laugh when Wyn slaps the back of my head.
“Good lord,” Falen mutters.
“Better to focus on the tanks of fuel we need to unload. I, for one, will not miss travelling on this mobile powder keg anymore. And really, it looks bad to put your “love” at risk this way. I bet she wouldn’t like knowing you’re using her and the others as human shields.”
I hear a gasp from the doorway.
“That’s not what I’m doing," I whisper, turning to see who made the noise.
I see Justine slipping into the corridor. Great, the last thing I need is this human exposing my secrets to my crush, or more worryingly, the world. This will have to be dealt with.
I turn back to Wyn.
“They’re an insurance policy, not human shields. Honestly, I don’t know how you can be so heartless. I’m a man in love.”
Wyn rolls his eyes hard to let me know what he thinks of that. Before we can say anything more, the ship’s computer crackles to life.
“Beginning landing sequence. Take your stations and prepare for arrival.”
After it finishes, I turn on the ship’s intercom.
“Alright everybody, please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We’ll be landing in Lemargo in ten minutes.” I can hardly keep the excitement from my voice.
Once we land and I take care of business, I can focus on working with Elana and solving the mystery of the planet-eating ship. What an adventure!
***
My excitement comes crashing down around me when I arrive at the loading deck to see off the other passengers and find Elana with them.
It’s only been an hour since we spoke. Justine must have told her what she heard.
I’ve got to talk to Elana and explain before she exits my life forever.
Something close to panic ricochets through me.
I hustle towards the door, just reaching Elana before she steps over the threshold.
“Wait!” When I reach out to touch her arm, she pulls away.
“I thought maybe it was better for me to leave,” she says, avoiding my gaze.
“But why?” I need to be sure I understand what I’m fighting against, even though I have a pretty good idea.
“Did you really take us on board to be human shields?” she asks.
Drat. It’s just as I feared
“No! I wanted to do something good. I wanted to help. And sure, the thought occurred to me that the IES would be less likely to attack if we had special guests aboard, but I didn’t think of you as human shields.”
“But that’s what we were.” Elana looks disappointed and my hearts twist. I’ve got to do something to change how she feels, but I don’t want to lie either.
“It wasn’t my intention. Not exactly,” I hedge.
“I’ve heard enough,” Elana says.
Double drat. I’ve messed this up entirely.
“Elana, I did all that before I met you.”
“It was only one day ago.”
“I know. And everything has changed. I’m not the same person as I was way back when. Now, I have love a future to prepare for. I have a goal, a guidepost, and a direction for the future.”
“And what’s that?” she asks.
“You.”
She scrunches her face. I clearly haven’t won her over yet.
“I don’t know, Rotten. Is that even your real name?”
“Rotten is a traditional Xanxian name,” I hedge.
“But is it yours?”
“No,” I say quietly.
She sighs and closes her eyes. I feel nervous sweat prickle on the back of my neck.
“I need some time to think.” She strides past me and walks over the threshold.
“We’re taking off in 48 hours. I’ll be waiting for you,” I call after her.
She shakes her head and disappears into the travel hub. I watch her go, cursing the careless words that brought us here. It’s especially frustrating because we were so close to becoming true mates.
My mind whirls as I consider how I can fix things with Elana. It will take cool-headed consideration. Finesse. Too bad I have neither of those things. But what I lack in subtlety I make up for in bravado, and that’s what I’ll have to rely on to get myself out of this fix.