by Vi Voxley
"Yes."
His fated looked at the bedroom with obvious fear in her eyes. That was not the emotion Kol-Eresh wanted her to associate him with.
"The other women," Jackie said seriously. "Where are they? Are they as... comfortable as I am?"
No.
The truth was that the travel to Luminos wasn't a great experience for most of the females. Logistically, there was no helping that. They were locked up in great halls, left mostly to their own devices, except for the lucky ones who had already been claimed by the warriors of the ship.
One of the most feared harbingers, Zar Kohora, had suggested something his own Terran fated had discovered for Nayanors. Kol-Eresh had enforced it on his ship as well, thinking that it was definitely worth trying even if there was no helping the terrible mood the females were in.
The idea was to send a Terran female who had already been to Luminos, who had a fated as well, to speak to them. The ambassador, or so the position was called, explained the most basic facts of their new lives and warned the females about the wormhole travel.
Over the years, it had gotten better and safer, but it wasn't uncommon for the ship to go through some warping during the journey through unspace.
"Don't think about them," Kol-Eresh told Jackie. "Come. Are you hungry?"
Jackie followed him silently into his living room. Unlike some other harbingers, Kol-Eresh preferred to keep that room as comfortable as possible. There wasn't any furniture there to speak of, other than a few sofas and a low table. The floors were covered with Fermanoli coats, the warmest fabric that could be found on Luminos.
It served the species well during the long night, a month-long storm that overtook the planet every year, killing untold numbers and threatening them with extinction.
Kol-Eresh was glad that Jackie would get to spend a few months on the planet before she had to deal with that.
It seemed Jackie was barely listening to him. There was clearly something bothering the female, something beyond the obvious.
"I asked if you wanted to eat?" he repeated himself, something that he would never have done with a warrior.
Jackie tried to put on a smile.
"Yes, thank you," she said, looking around. "Can I sit?"
The harbinger nodded, opening his comm link and ordering:
"Bring food and wine to my quarters. And a wardrobe for my new fated."
Jackie raised an eyebrow, sitting down on the floor and resting herself against the sofa. She stretched herself like an animal, looking divinely gorgeous while doing so. Kol-Eresh had never envied his floor more for getting to touch the bare skin of her long legs.
His fated was quiet for a moment, shifting uncomfortably before kicking off the odd shoes she had been wearing. Then she sat against the sofa, brought her legs up and folded her hands around them, looking up at him to see if he was going to join her. The expression on her face didn't shield her fear well.
Kol-Eresh was going to amend that, but for the time being he was simply dazzled by her. Nothing stood out about what she was doing, but all put together she was pushing his buttons in all the right ways. The way she sat there, trying to appear braver than she was actually feeling, the soft smile flickering in and out of existence... he had never seen anyone as gorgeous in his life.
Slowly, the harbinger put his massive sword away. Rested against the wall, it was still taller than Jackie and weighed more than her now that he had the comparison. The blade was as thick as her thighs.
It was a good sword. It had served Kol-Eresh most of his life and now it would continue to do so while he kept his fated safe.
He started removing his armor, with Jackie watching him, clearly unsure of what she was supposed to do.
"You said we were going to eat," she finally pointed out when Kol-Eresh stood in front of her in just the long black pants and a sleeveless shirt he wore underneath the armor.
"We are," he said, sitting down opposite of her, on the floor like she was, resting himself against another sofa. "The armor isn't exactly made for that."
He didn't miss how Jackie's eyes kept flickering to his biceps, bulging and thick after a lifetime spent in battles and hard training. The life of a Nayanor was as unforgiving in times of relative peace as it was in open war.
Unlike the warrior species in the Union, like the Brions or Corgans, Nayanors weren't known for valuing honor and duty. The concept of honor mostly referred to acts of cowardice being shunned. And there was no such thing as duty in a world where every man did as he wanted.
"You also said wardrobe," Jackie continued, relaxing a little when she saw that she wasn't in any immediate danger. "What does that mean? Please tell me it doesn't include bikinis or something humiliating like that. I won't be dressed like some concubine for your pleasure."
"You will wear my colors," Kol-Eresh said. "And there is a coat, made of the same material as these carpets are. You'll be grateful for it once the long night comes."
"What's that?" Jackie asked with interest.
His answer was cut short by the food arriving as well as people shuffling around in the quarters to lay out Jackie's new clothes in another room. The harbinger poured wine for them both, seeing the way Jackie looked at the clerks with unguarded interest.
"They're all Terrans," she said when the women left.
The anger was very audible in her voice although he could hear how much she tried to control it.
"So we are slaves to you," Jackie said angrily.
"Everyone works on Luminos," Kol-Eresh said, leaning back and regarding her seriously. "All the females you saw volunteered to be on the ship. It's an easy charge, compared to life in some harsher part of Luminos. Some of them have fateds aboard."
"I guess it makes sense," Jackie mused, observing the wine he'd offered her. "I think they're here in the hopes of escaping when you return to Union space."
"I'm sure that some harbor those hopes, yes," Kol-Eresh agreed. "I assure you that they are kept under the strictest watch during the raid. I told you. No one leaves Luminos."
Jackie sniffed the wine, wincing and pulling back from the sharp smell. The harbinger laughed, shaking his head.
"It's not poisoned," he said. "Drink. You should get used to it. During the long night, the brew is precious to us. The temperatures drop so damnably fast even in the best fortresses."
Jackie took a small sip, coughing then, a broken bark of laughter escaping her lips.
"Unbelievable," she said. "It tastes even worse than it smells."
Kol-Eresh took a sip of his own drink, unable to tear his eyes away from his fated. She was truly an amazing creature. The way she didn't seem too bothered with her new condition other than some very natural fear delighted him. It would make conquering her easier, even if he didn't mind a tough fight.
"You were telling me what the long night is," Jackie reminded him, her eyes wandering over the food laid out on the low table.
"It's a storm," Kol-Eresh said. "It covers the entire planet for a whole month. All the population escapes into reinforced fortresses, staying there until it passes. Nothing moves during the long night. All the ships are grounded and every step outside is a death sentence. The temperature drops so fast you can feel the air freezing in your lungs. And the storm has other tricks in case you survive that."
"I definitely see why you would just not find a new home world," Jackie deadpanned, the smile creeping back on her lips.
"There are no others," Kol-Eresh said, leaning back and admiring her simple, effortless beauty. "The same cluster of stars that hides us from the sight of the Union scanners makes life impossible anywhere else in the section."
His fated nodded, reaching for more food. Kol-Eresh didn't miss the way she gathered up the items that she liked on her plate and then pulled back, legs raised up like in defense from him. She rested her plate on her propped-up knees and regarded him.
"Could you tell me something?" she asked seriously.
"Go ahead and ask and w
e'll see."
Jackie glared, but the need to get answers won out.
"How did you catch Terra off guard?" she inquired. "The Palians have systems for that. Alarms, proximity warnings. It shouldn't have been possible for us to be so blind to you. They are the smartest species in the galaxy. How did you outwit them?"
The harbinger shrugged.
"It was unfortunate for us when the Union found out about the wormholes," he admitted. "We merely adapted as well. I won't explain to you how. I'm not entirely sure I could. But my species doesn't just have brawn. The scientists came up with the wormhole travel. They have invented a lot more. Gadgets, weapons, medicine..."
"Medicine?" Jackie asked all of a sudden, her eyes wide.
"Yes," Kol-Eresh replied, unsure of what had triggered such a response. "The diadons all warriors wear counter all the known diseases. The only threat to us is being killed in battle, which happens often, but for all other intents and purposes we might as well live forever. It's a pity they can't be fitted to Terrans."
The look in Jackie's eyes was indescribable. The plate was almost shaking in her hands before she caught herself and forced her body to relent.
"What's a diadon?" she asked.
Kol-Eresh set his wine chalice down with a smirk and pulled up his shirt. In the middle of his chest, the diadon glowed. The mechanical frame protruded just slightly from his powerful body, for the purpose of connecting other devices to it. The sapphire mineral inside that was the source of the healing flashed as his body adjusted to being at leisure.
Jackie crawled closer, her eyes nailed to the device. She reached out her hand, then seemed to realize what she was doing.
"Go on," Kol-Eresh said, watching her without blinking.
It was too hard to resist her first touch, even if it was the device in his chest instead of his flesh. Jackie reached out her fingers, gently running them over the sapphire diamond. The harbinger chose not to point out that her hand slipped just for a moment to run over his chiseled, firm abs. There was such an emotion in her eyes that it took Kol-Eresh's breath away.
Then she drew back and all the walls that had come down for a second were up again. Jackie returned to her seat, curling up like before. The smile on her lips wasn't as brave as it had been a moment ago.
She lifted more food onto her plate.
"Tell me more about Luminos," she said, her voice shaking just a little. "I would like to know the world I'll be spending the rest of my life on."
Six
Jackie
It hurt.
It hurt almost too much to bear. She had to sit there, listen to Kol-Eresh speak of Luminos and Nayanors. It was all necessary information to her and she should have paid more attention, but it was hard. All she could focus on was the diadon in the harbinger's chest and what it did to him.
The Union had figured out the Nayanors had long lifespans a while ago, but Jackie had always taken it with a healthy dosage of skepticism. It was hard to imagine someone could live forever, yet there they were.
The man who could live forever and the woman who wouldn't see the end of the year.
She had no doubt in her heart that Kol-Eresh would have gladly given his years to her if she'd asked, but there had been nothing in his words that could have been up for interpretation. They didn't fit the diadons to humans.
She drifted through the day in a daze. The bitter pain of her mortality stayed even when Kol-Eresh finally rose from the floor and walked over to her. He held out a hand for her and Jackie took it, pulled up with ease. That left her face to face with her fated, the most gorgeous man in the galaxy.
"Come with me," the harbinger said, pulling her along and leading her into the bedroom.
As soon as she saw that, Jackie snapped back to reality. She eyed the huge bed, wondering if there was anything about their living arrangements that was up for debate.
"Don't make me do this," she said at last, unable to come up with a better argument.
Kol-Eresh didn't stop undressing and she had a hard time looking away. The body revealed to her piece by piece was obviously a final punishment of the gods that hated her enough already.
The mouth-watering muscles bulged whenever Kol-Eresh moved, his rock-hard abs looked like they were solid as rock. The deep, dark eyes that never left her didn't help either. Jackie couldn't remember ever being that turned on in her life.
"Strip," the harbinger said, removing his pants, standing in front of her in nothing more than a pair of black boxers.
Jackie had an urgent desire to check her eyesight, because the bulge in the harbinger's boxers had to be some sort of an optical illusion. She was aware that she was staring, but under the circumstances she thought that was fair. Kol-Eresh's cock had to be huge, bigger than any she'd ever seen.
If he fucked me, he'd split me in half.
She didn't move.
"Strip," the harbinger repeated. "I told you that you'd be sleeping in my bed."
Was that a lifeline for her? Jackie had no idea, but it was obvious that there was no arguing with a Nayanor warlord. Slowly, carefully, she began undressing, aware that Kol-Eresh was watching her every move like a hawk. When he came closer, Jackie backed away, but the harbinger caught her.
The hoodie fell to the floor, followed by her shirt. The harbinger knelt on the ground, pulling her pants down, pressing hard kisses on her naked thighs. The goosebumps on her skin and the shudder that shot through her had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.
Left standing there in her underwear, Jackie gasped when Kol-Eresh stood, running his hands up her sides appreciatively. The desire in his eyes was powerful and potent, but all he did was pull her along toward the bed with a smirk on his lips.
Her legs touched the side of the bed and she climbed on, slipping under the covers before the harbinger could get a better look at her.
"You may try to hide, but I will make every inch of you belong to me," Kol-Eresh said, following her, climbing next to her and bringing Jackie into his strong embrace.
The harbinger traced a patternless path on her skin under the covers, holding her tightly against him. It felt nice and safe and warm in a way that ascended the physical level. Jackie didn't struggle away. All her effort went into trying not to burst into tears – and she didn't even know whether they would have been joyous or sad.
It was all over for her. That hadn't changed. No matter what, Jackie was still ticking like a timebomb, but at least she wasn't alone. A Nayanor warlord hadn't been anywhere near the top of the list of people she would have wanted to spend the last days of her life with, but it was someone.
The dark, cold touch of death that kept creeping closer was less scary with a body next to her, even if it was the man who'd just kidnapped her.
And nothing could have made Jackie pull back when the harbinger leaned down to capture her lips with his own.
"Sleep," Kol-Eresh ordered when he pulled back.
Yet dreams didn't come to Jackie that easily. She lay awake for almost an hour after the harbinger had fallen asleep, looking at the gently glowing diadon in his chest.
The dark, late hours of the artificial night on the ship brought waking nightmares to Jackie.
That had happened to her a lot on Terra. Isolated, sad people avoided loneliness like the plague and lying there next to her fated, Jackie grew increasingly lonely.
Lies, she told herself. I'm trying to live lies.
No matter what angle she looked at her life from, there was nothing but lies there. The frail cords that were keeping her dignity together, that kept the smile on her lips when she wanted to fall to pieces were slipping. She was coming apart at the seams and telling herself that it was okay to share her misery with another living being didn't look as good anymore.
The ship began rocking around them and Jackie winced, looking at the darkness. She thought she saw the wall of the bedroom bend inwards, which was impossible by every known law of physics she was aware of.
If tha
t was how she was going to spend the rest of her life, Jackie didn't want it.
Home, she thought. I want home.
She slipped out of the bed after making sure that the harbinger was truly sleeping. The wild, creaking rocking muffled her careful footsteps across the floor. Jackie had no idea how Kol-Eresh could sleep through that, but the harbinger was probably used to that. He'd warned her about the wormhole travel before, but Jackie had had no idea she'd have the door itself trying to bar her way.
Biting her lip, she forced herself to be brave. If she pulled it off, she could go back to Terra. The Ellora Resort was gone, but there were others.
I will go and – and – and...
The answer she was looking for was "Pretend that it's better, pretend that it's all okay", but it was too painful to utter, even in her mind alone.
Searching by hand, Jackie somehow located the living room again. When her bare feet touched the amazing carpet on the floor, she nearly smiled. It felt nice in a way nothing else on that damn ship did. She wondered if she could take one of the carpets with her.
Kol-Eresh's armor and weapons were where he'd left them. Jackie crouched down. She was sure she'd seen a dagger somewhere. The harbinger had used it to cut some – admittedly rather delicious – meat for her.
There!
Jackie almost cut herself when her fingers touched the razor-sharp blade. She had to bite her tongue not to cry out, even if she was sure that Kol-Eresh couldn't hear her over the sound of the ship apparently breaking apart.
It said plenty about her that she considered that a trivial concern. Nayanors had used wormhole travel for a long time, she trusted the ship much more than its commander.
Sneaking back was the scariest thing she'd ever done in her life.
If Kol-Eresh was to wake up before she got in position, see the dagger in her hands... Jackie didn't even want to think about that. She thought of the clerks who'd brought them food before. Would she become one of them? Locked up whenever her fated couldn't keep an eye on her.
That would have been unbearable.
