Chapter 14 #2
A Virilian male with black hair and brilliant blue eyes stood beside the throne with a human woman.
Blond hair flowed over her shoulders in waves.
She wore a loose red tunic over snug gray pants.
They stopped talking and turned in unison.
Concern showed in the male’s eyes. Delight poured from the woman.
“They said you had arrived with a human female,” said the woman, smiling broadly. “I’m so glad the reports were true. I’m Madison. And this is my partner and king, Drex.”
Jessa smiled tentatively in return. Was she supposed to curtsy? She had no idea what the protocol was with royalty on Virilia.
Virak stepped toward them with a nod. “A pleasure to see both of you again,” he said smoothly. “Allow me to introduce Jessa, who was chosen for me by Ferias.” He glanced around. “I trust your great-aunt is well?”
“She is. She will be very sorry to have missed you, as she is off-planet at this time.” Drex turned a kind smile to her. “And Jessa. You are welcome here. I hope you and Virak will make yourselves at home while we find a solution to the crisis at Tagja City.”
Virak tensed. “What do you know?”
“Nothing.” Drex beckoned him close. “Only that something must be terribly wrong for you to arrive, wounded and unannounced, through the tunnel system.” He waved a finger at Virak’s bandages. “My physician will examine your wounds. I want to hear everything.”
The two males fell into conversation. They spoke so rapidly, Jessa’s translator missed every third word, making the device more annoying than helpful. She winced and pulled it off her ear, shaking her head in relief at the break from the confusing chatter.
“It’s nice to talk and be understood without it,” said Madison, who had been standing quietly nearby.
“Oh.” Jessa fiddled with the long, spiderlike prongs of the translator.
“Yes. I guess it is.” This woman did indeed look like a queen.
She carried herself with the confidence of someone very secure in her position.
Jessa hated feeling intimidated, but standing there, filthy from the day’s adventures, hungry, and exhausted, she wanted to find a crack in the wall—not that there were any—and crawl inside it.
Madison, who even had a fancy name, gave her a reassuring smile and nodded to the exit. “They’re going to be talking for a while. Why don’t I take you to your rooms? We can get you cleaned up and in some fresh clothes.” She cocked her head. “Are you hungry?”
That was the tipping point for Jessa. “God, yes,” she replied with a sag and a hand to her rumbling belly. “Starving.”
Madison laughed. It was a full-throated sound—not dainty or restrained or fake—and put Jessa at ease.
“Oh good. The food here is amazing. There are things I miss, though.” She leaned toward Jessa as they left the throne chamber and headed down the corridor.
“I taught the food replicator how to make a hamburger. It took two hours to get it right, but I just couldn’t take it. I was pregnant and had to have one.”
Jessa grinned back. “What was it made of?”
“Who knows?” Madison tossed back her blond hair. “It was close enough to a Big Mac to work for me, and healthier, not that that’s the priority with fast food. What are you hungry for?”
Anything, was Jessa’s immediate thought. “One of those burgers sounds great, if they can still be made.”
Madison beamed. “Of course! I saved all the settings. I’ll make a bunch for us to share.
I’d make fries, but I’m still working on them.
They’re missing something—I can’t tell what.
It’s been a long time since I had french fries.
” She glanced sideways at her. “It’s really nice to meet you. We don’t get a lot of humans out here.”
“It’s surprising that there aren’t more women out here. There are all these gorgeous, single males looking for mates.”
“Obviously, human governments don’t want all their females leaving Earth to come here. They only allow a dozen at a time, or something like that. I don’t know what they’re doing now.”
Jessa nodded. “That makes sense. Especially since a number of women are staying with their Virilian males.”
Madison’s eyes went keen. “Speaking of which, how are things with you and Virak? He’s got that hot, unattainable vibe down, but the way he looks at you—geez.” She fanned her face with an elegant hand. “Smoldering.”
There was no way Jessa couldn’t laugh at that. “He’s a complicated guy, but not nearly as unattainable as he looks. And yeah, we’re good. He’s…”
She had no idea how to describe their relationship.
She wasn’t even sure how to define it to herself, with all the jumbled emotions connected to Virak.
“We have chemistry. I guess that’s the important thing, considering why I’m here.
” Jessa nearly winced. She didn’t mean for that to come out sounding so cold and clinical, but Madison didn’t even blink.
After all, she’d come for the same reason.
“Chemistry is a required ingredient for sure.” Madison stopped before a set of metal doors.
She showed Jessa how to operate the locks and brought her inside.
The main chamber was large and minimal, like everywhere else, but elegant and refreshing.
The window above was large and emitted a soft, filtered light that warmly illuminated the whole room.
Madison showed her around quickly, then went to the food replicator. It looked like a clear flat screen with a handle beside it, but Jessa knew this unit was far more sophisticated than the ones in Tagja City. Those dispensed simple foods and snacks, while cooks still prepared the complex dishes.
“Ready for this?” Madison cracked her knuckles and grinned widely.
“You’re the first human, besides me, to eat these.
My sister-in-law hasn’t even tried them yet.
” She began tapping the clear screen. It turned blue and became covered in symbols, which scrolled down the screen.
Then, the slot turned white, and a tray slid out with four double cheeseburgers on it.
“My God,” Jessa breathed. “That is beautiful.”
“Right?” Madison grinned and pulled the tray out. She carried it a few steps away to a low, curved sofa and placed it on a round, metal table in front of it. They sat down as the scents of burgers wafted through the air. Jessa’s mouth watered.
“Let me know what you think of the cheese,” said Madison. “I’m not sure about the texture.”
Jessa barely heard her over the lure of the burgers, which drew her like a magnet. “You can make as many as you want?”
“Yes.” Madison picked one up and took a bite. “So don’t hold back,” she said around a mouthful.
Jessa didn’t have to be invited twice. She picked up a burger and took a big bite.
It smelled heavenly. It tasted…not like a hamburger.
There was an earthiness to it that reminded her of mushrooms, and the texture was more sponge cake than beef patty, but it still tasted pretty good.
The last thing she was going to do was criticize her hostess’s burger.
The cheese was actually the most authentic thing on it.
So, she smiled and gave Madison’s questioning gaze a thumbs up. When she was done, she had no trouble reaching for the second burger on the tray.
“The cheese is really great,” Jessa said, holding her belly after her second “burger.” “I’m stuffed.”
Madison looked incredibly pleased with herself. “It’s like being home.”
No, it wasn’t, thought Jessa, who had consumed fast food more recently than Madison had. “You make a mean burger, Your Highness.”
“Oh, please don’t call me that,” said Madison with a wrinkled nose.
“I’m just Madison. That’s it. No one calls anyone ‘Your Highness’ around here.
It’s just that there’s no other equivalent for our position in the cities, which are run like countries.
” She nodded to Jessa. “You know. What do they call you in Tagja City?”
“I’m not Virak’s queen,” said Jessa, suddenly fidgety. “I’m just here temporarily.”
“Mmm. Okay.”
Jessa had caught Madison’s smirk. “What does that mean?”
“It means I have eyes, and I saw how Virak looked at you,” said Madison. “And I saw the way you looked at him. You both clearly care for each other and it’s difficult to leave someone you’re in love with.”
The words took the air out of Jessa’s lungs.
“I’m not in love with him.” But she said it too fast, and too urgently, and both of them knew her statement was a reaction and not the truth.
Jessa closed her eyes and rubbed a hand over her face.
“I like him. I’m absurdly attracted to him.
But I don’t know if I am in love with him. ”
Madison nodded. “That’s fair. And honest.”
Jessa paused, then spat out the question that had been sitting on her tongue since she met this woman. “How did you know you wanted to stay with Drex?”
“I came here to escape something,” Madison replied.
“I believed nothing could be worse than being the obsession of a powerful and controlling man, and I would endure whatever Virilia threw at me. I wanted a child so I could have the option to stay. But what happened over time was that my reason for coming to Virilia changed.”
Jessa was captivated. “How?”
“I began wanting to be here and stopped just focusing on escape. I stopped thinking about what I was running from and began loving what I had found.” She raised a brow. “Drex was not easy. He was a knucklehead, to be blunt.”
Jessa smiled. “It looks like it worked out, though. You have a daughter?”
“Yes.” Madison beamed. “She’s sleeping now; otherwise I’d have you meet her.” She tilted her blond head. “Do you like children?”
“Sure.” Jessa was not immune to cute baby videos posted online. She genuinely enjoyed seeing photos of her friends’ children. That didn’t mean she considered herself mother material. “They’re great. Don’t know if I’d be the best parent. I didn’t have any of my own to learn by.”
“Neither did my sister-in-law, Anna. She had a very difficult upbringing and had the same view of motherhood that you did, before she settled in with Trak.”
“Let me guess…” Jessa sat back with a sigh. “She’s settled in with a bunch of delightful children of her own, knits little fuzzy hats, and makes craft projects every weekend.”
“God, no. Not Anna.” Madison laughed. “My imagination doesn’t stretch far enough to picture her knitting. She’s a total badass. I’ve never met anyone so comfortable in bustiers and leather pants in my life.”
“So she doesn’t have kids?”
“She has two so far.” Madison raised a brow. “She and Trak are amazing parents. They do things their own way and their children are wonderful. So, if you aren’t a fuzzy hat maker and don’t like crafting, you can still be a great mother.”
Jessa grunted, shifting on her chair. “My plan is to return to Earth. Buy some property and start a little farm. Nothing complicated. At least, it hadn’t been. Nothing feels simple anymore.”
“I get it, really. Let me tell you this—it’s only as complicated as you make it.” Madison clapped her hands together. “Now. Would you like to try my ice cream?”
Jessa’s head snapped up. “You replicated ice cream?”
“Yup. Chocolate or mint chip?”
She groaned. “Must I choose?”
Madison chuckled. “Of course not.”
The ice cream probably wouldn’t taste like ice cream, but Jessa didn’t care.
An awful lot of her choices, which had been rock solid not long ago, were falling into question.
Madison’s words were already haunting her: I stopped thinking about what I was running from and began loving what I had found.
Was Jessa running from something? She hadn’t looked at it that way before, but perhaps it was time she did.