by L. A. Casey
“My father forbids my aunt-in-mate, his brother’s mate, and my mother from speaking to each other because they always argue no matter what the topic of conversation is. They even once fought, and when my father separated them, he had to roughly pull on my aunt’s arm to stop her from beating on my mother, and it sent my uncle straight to the edge at the sight of his brother not only handling his mate but also handling her roughly, so he attacked my father, and they fought viciously. Ten of my brothers were alive at that point, and it took seven of them to separate them. Since that day, my aunt and mother haven’t spoken. It’s been close to two hundred years, and they live in the same palace and see each other daily but act like the other doesn’t exist.”
I gasped. “Oh, my Almighty!”
Surkah smiled. “You seem shocked.”
“I am.” I nodded. “That is just unbelievable, and it’s just another thing for me to worry about with Kol.”
“Why is it a worry?”
I felt my own cheeks stain with heat.
“I don’t know if you noticed,” I murmured, “but I don’t follow orders all that well.”
Surkah smirked. “I think everyone has noticed.”
I playfully shoved her shoulder, making her giggle.
“I’m serious,” I continued. “What if I mess up all the time? I don’t know the Maji way, and now I’m promised to marry a prince. I don’t think you all understand how low ranked I am in Earth’s society. I just… I don’t want to be a disappointment to Kol or your people.”
“The people,” Surkah corrected. “The moment you agreed to be my brother’s intended, you became one of the people. You’re a Maji, Nova. The funniest looking one I have ever seen.”
Surkah’s teasing caused me to laugh loudly, and it drew the attention of the males on the bridge around us, though they never looked directly at us. I blushed deeper and tried to hide my face, but Surkah wouldn’t let me.
“Don’t be shy.” She chuckled. “Males won’t speak to you or look at you now that you have such a status. You’re going to be a princess of the people, you know?”
I felt like the ground fell away beneath me.
“A princess?” I questioned incredulously. “Me?”
I tried to imagine myself in the best of clothes, in the best of accommodation, spending time with the noblest of people, smiling, being bowed to and fawned over… and I felt sick at the very thought of it. Surkah nodded happily, oblivious to my internal meltdown.
“Kol is a prince,” she stated. “And as his intended, you will become a princess the moment your bond is sealed.”
I lifted my hands to my face and groaned into them.
“This is so much to absorb,” I grumbled. “It’s actually starting to hurt my head a bit.”
“The ache is just a side effect of warp that will pass soon,” Surkah assured me and patted my arm in a gesture of comfort. “You aren’t used to space travel, and though I’m not saying you’re weak, humans just aren’t as resilient as us Maji.”
“You can say that again,” I mumbled, rubbing my fingers in circular motions on my temples.
A few hours ago, after I agreed to be his intended, Kol gathered all the human women aboard and directed them to the sector of the Ebony called the concourse. A section of that room opened into a massive viewing pane that overlooked the Earth. He and the other Maji paid their respects to our soon-to-be fallen planet and the people on the surface that were doomed with it. Kol allowed us humans to grieve our planet with the comfort of other women and gifted us one last look at our home because we all knew we would never see if again.
Not long after that, we set off on course to Ealra, the planet that would soon become our new home world. When warp was activated, I got so lightheaded that I thought I would pass out for the hundredth time in a matter of days. Kol felt it was necessary for me to sit in his lap until I felt better enough to sit with Surkah. He overlooked the piloting from the shipmaster’s chair on the bridge of the Ebony, and when he wasn’t looking, I was overlooking him.
I felt like I was in a dream.
Days ago, I was wandering one of the many barren wastelands of Earth. Half starved and dirty to the bone. I was just trying my best to survive, and now I was under the care of a royal alien who had claimed me as his future wife. I had a tummy full of great food, and there wasn’t a speck of dirt in sight nor a hint of body odour. It was a dramatic upgrade, and despite my behaviour, I was indebted to the Maji for their care of my people and the future they offered us, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard to become accustomed to the many changes I was going through.
I suddenly had a family again; people who didn’t even really know me cared for me and treated me like I was someone special. I went from being on my own twenty-four seven and never trusting anyone to giggling with my future sister-in-law, and stealing glances at my future husband when I knew he was distracted. I didn’t know whether to feel incredibly lucky to be blessed with such a change in circumstances or like a complete idiot for considering fairy tales like this happened to a woman like me—a killer—and had a happy ending.
“You’re thinking hard, shiva.”
Goosebumps broke out over my skin the second his voice rolled over me.
“I do that a lot,” I told him.
I shivered when his hand curled around the nape of my neck. Surkah said goodbye to me as she stood, placed her hand on her chest, and bowed her head to her brother before she left with Mikoh as her escort. Everyone, barring Kol, gave her the same respectful bow she showed her brother as she left the bridge.
“Anything you want to ask me?” Kol asked, putting my focus back on him.
To amuse him, and his crew, I said, “Can I fly the craft?”
Everyone went silent around us.
Kol snorted. “No, you cannot pilot the craft.”
“Why not?” I quizzed. “I’d probably be great at it.”
“Or really bad at it.”
I ignored his teasing and the chuckles from his crew.
“We’ll never know until you let me fly it.”
“Then we’ll never know.”
I huffed and folded my arms across my chest.
“I’ll wear you down eventually.”
Kol laughed, and I saw some of his crew members shake their heads with smiles on their faces as they got back to work. I liked that. I liked that they just accepted me as Kol’s intended, and I liked that my teasing could amuse them. They were the people, and I really wanted them to like me.
“Are you ready to retire for the night?” he asked, his fingers softly brushing the sweet spot on my neck.
I gasped from both the action and his words.
“It’s night-time already?”
I was exhausted and had fought for hours to remain awake, but knowing I would be sleeping with Kol kept me on the edge of consciousness. We were going to share a room, and I knew that meant we’d share a bed.
“It is,” Kol replied, a hint of laughter in his tone.
“Oh.” I flushed from head to toe. “I am very tired, and I still have a bit of a headache.”
Kol raised a brow. “It sounds like you need a lot to rest, my little human.”
“Rest.” I repeatedly nodded my head. “So much rest.”
Kol extended his hand to me and waited. I clenched my hands a couple of times before I lifted my shaking hand and placed it in Kol’s steady one.
“Nova,” he murmured as he tugged me to my feet.
“Yes?” I whispered, placing my free hand on his armoured sleeve.
He brushed lose strands of hair from my face. “I won’t touch you intimately without consent. Please do not be afraid because we will share furs. I will be the perfect male. I won’t even sneak a peek when you’re undressing.”
I choked on air, and it caused laughter to rumble from Kol.
“I swear on my honour to not touch you,” he continued.
That’s interesting.
Vorah also swore on his honour
when I asked if we could go slow in our forbidden bonding. I was beginning to gather that it was the Maji way of giving your word to someone. On Earth, amongst humans, your word was only as good as the person who spoke it, but to the Maji, it seemed to be a real badge of honour. As if their self-worth was on the line if they went back on their word. I liked it. I liked how much pride was in Kol’s voice when he swore on his honour. I knew a Maji like him had plenty of honour and to swear on it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“Okay, Kol,” I said, softly. “I… I trust you.”
I hadn’t spoken those words to another being since my father was alive, and what was more shocking was that I meant them. In many ways, Kol was still a stranger to me. I knew next to nothing about him, but part of me felt safer with him than I ever had in my entire life. My gut told me I could trust him, and I always trusted my gut. It hadn’t steered me wrong yet.
“I value your trust, shiva.”
I smiled up at him, and an expression of shock and… longing crossed his face.
“What is it?” I asked, concerned.
He moved his hand from my neck to cup my cheek.
“You’re beautiful when scowling,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb over my skin. “But when you smile? Thanas. You take my breath away, shiva.”
Never in my entire life had I had the urge to kiss another person, but the need to kiss Kol at that moment flowed like blood through my veins.
“Kol,” I rasped.
He closed his eyes and growled.
“Do not say my name in that needy voice,” he said, his voice almost pleading. “I am only a male, shiva.”
I surprised us both when I giggled.
Kol opened his eyes and stared down at me. “Shall we retire?”
I exhaled a deep breath. “Yes, Shipmaster.”
Kol’s lips twitched. “I think this is the first time you have complied with my request.”
“The second,” I teased. “The first time I complied was when I agreed to be your intended.”
His smile was a thing of beauty.
“My intended,” he murmured.
I heard a noise behind me, and I almost instantly remembered we were on the bridge of the Ebony with the bridge crew all around us. I felt my body flush with embarrassment from head to toe.
Kol laughed. “Come.”
He spoke some last orders to his crew, and I jumped a little when, in unison, the males pressed their right arm to their chests and bowed their head in respect to their shipmaster and prince.
“I’ll never get used to that,” I whispered to myself.
“Trust me.” Kol chuckled as we left the bridge. “You will. I barely notice it anymore.”
I was very aware of him next to me as we walked and extremely aware of his arm around my shoulder. I was too short for Kol to walk comfortably with his arm around my waist, so he opted for slinging his arm around my shoulder, and it felt… natural. As if he’d done it a million times before. That was another thing for me to freak out about. Everything with Kol was brand new, yet things with him felt old as time. It was like I knew him.
I didn’t understand it.
“This is our quarters.”
I blinked when Kol spoke, and I quickly realised we were no longer walking. I glanced around the hallway and saw males patrolling. I hadn’t even noticed when we passed them as my thoughts were too consumed with a different male. I looked forward when the door to Kol’s room opened, and I felt my mouth drop when I stepped inside.
“Holy moly.” I whistled. “This is nice.”
It was at least ten times the size of the room I had shared with Echo and Envi. There was a gigantic round bed in the centre of the room, and it was dressed in golden coloured linen and thick white… furs. It had more pillows that what seemed necessary, and I knew I’d have a problem messing it up by sleeping on something that looked like it should remain untouched.
“The shipmaster’s quarters are always more luxurious than the crew’s quarters,” Kol said from behind me. “I’m personally against it, and until now, I haven’t stayed in here.”
That surprised me.
“Why not?” I asked, stepping farther into the room.
“Why should I stay in luxury while my crew got basic accommodations? I’m no better than they are.”
I turned to face him. “You’re the shipmaster.”
And a prince.
“More reason for me to stay in basic quarters. I already get more pay than my crew, and my job garners more respect, but without my crew, the Ebony does not fly.”
“That’s very noble of you, but surely your life has always been luxury… I mean, you’re a royal.”
Kol shrugged. “That’s another reason I like being on the Ebony. Less Maji means less of the people who treat me like I’m some sort of…”
“Prince?” I finished.
Kol’s lips twitched. “Yes.”
“You don’t like being royalty?”
“I never said that,” he mused. “It is a blessing from Thanas to be part of the head family of the people. I just like a break sometimes, and my craft gives me that escape.”
I nodded. “I can understand that.”
Kol glanced around the room. “I will stay in the best of accommodations on the Ebony, and off it. now that you’re my intended. I assure you.”
I raised my brow. “Kol, if you want to stay in basic quarters, we can stay there. I thought the medical bay was beautiful when I first saw it… anything will be an upgrade from what I was used to on Earth.”
“It is for that reason I want to show you all the beauty of Ealra and give you the best of everything. You will never know poverty by my side, Nova. I swear on my honour.”
A ghost of a smile graced my lips.
“So… we’re staying here then?”
“Yes.” Kol nodded.
I turned and stared at the bed in the centre of the room, and I was delighted that it was so large. I had to lie next to Kol while we slept, but the chance that I could scoot away and have any own space slightly calmed my spiked nerves.
“You’re scared?” Kol murmured from behind me. “Why?”
I closed my eyes. “I’m not exactly scared… just nervous.”
“Because you will lay with me?”
I tensed.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“You remember my oath?”
I do.
“Yes, you swore on your honour to not touch me.”
Unless I give consent.
“And you still feel fear? Why? An honour oath is everything to the people.”
I opened my eyes and turned to face Kol, not surprised to find him within arm’s reach.
“I don’t doubt your word,” I said softly. “I said I trust you, and I do. I haven’t trusted a person in a very long time. I know you have the best intentions for me, and I know you will keep your word, but I still can’t help but be nervous. I’ve never slept with a man before. I mean… you were my first kiss.”
Kol lifted his hand to my face and cupped my flaming red cheek.
“I’m not a man, Nova. I am a male, a Maji warrior, an Elite, a prince… but I am not human like you, and I never will be. Please separate Maji males from the bad human men you once knew. I will be the best mate to you. I will take away your nervousness, and in time, everything about me will feel natural to you, and you to me.”
A breath of air left me.
“Thank you, Kol.”
“If you want,” he continued as he stroked his thumb over my cheek. “I will sleep on the floor while you take the bed. I do not want to share furs and make you uncomfortable.”
I shivered, but not with cold or nervousness.
“No,” I said, touched by his offer. “We’re to be married, and I want to get past this embarrassment before we reach your home world.”
And meet your family.
“Our home world,” he corrected.
It was nice of him to try to make us humans feel incl
uded, but personally, I couldn’t call a planet I had no knowledge of days ago my home. I hoped in time that outlook would change.
“Where did you stay if tonight is your first night here?” I asked Kol, trying to focus on a normal conversation to set me more at ease.
Kol lowered his hand from my cheek, and I was surprised that the loss of his touch saddened me.
“I shared quarters with Mikoh, Nero, and Thane.”
Thane?
“I don’t think I’ve met Thane.”
“You haven’t,” Kol said, his eyes roaming over me. “He is rarely out of the engine hall.”
I gasped. “He is an engineer?”
Kol’s eyes flicked back to mine.
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “He is the Chief Engineer of the Ebony.”
“Can I meet him?” I asked, excitedly.
Kol’s expression turned dark.
“No, you’re mine.”
Goosebumps spread across my body at his show of dominance.
“I’m interested in his job, not him.”
I didn’t know if it was my words that surprised me, or if it was the fact that I meant them.
“Why?” Kol pressed, not convinced. “Why would you be interested is a male’s job?”
I rolled my eyes. “That is so damn sexist.”
Kol furrowed his thick eyebrows. “I do not understand that word.”
I snorted. “Of course, you don’t. That’s one word that won’t be in Maji vocabulary.”
Kol waited for me to continued speaking, so I did.
“Sexist means characterising a person based on their gender. This typically happens to women. You were sexist ‘cause you implied being an engineer is not a job a woman can do… but you’re wrong. Many women on Earth were engineers… before the war.”
“Were you an engineer?” Kol asked, and he looked as shocked as he sounded.
I would have been.
I snorted. “Not by trade, just by interest.”
“But you wanted to be one by trade?”
I shrugged. “I was too young to be certified, but if the war hadn’t happened, I’d have been well on my way to being one.”
“Really?” Kol asked, not any less shocked.
“Yes. My father was an engineer, and he taught me many things… which is why I’m interested in meeting Thane. An engine hall is a place I am familiar with. A place where I am comfortable. Engines… put me at ease.”
