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With mixed emotions, I watched Nomoru shrink as the spaceship blasted into outer space. While I bid a hearty good riddance to a planet where humans were regarded with contempt, I already missed my bestie. Holly Winter was my partner in crime, my BFF, my sister by another mister.
Holly was remaining on Nomoru. She’d bond-mated with Aeon, the former crown prince of Araset. Kat Whalen, Jessie Sayles, and I were returning to New Terra. The king of Araset hadn’t wasted any time getting rid of us. The bonding ceremony had occurred yesterday, and bright and early this morning, the League of Planets ship had arrived to take us home. There’d been scarcely enough time to say goodbye before being hustled aboard.
That Aeon, the king’s eldest son, had taken a human as a mate had done little to soften the king’s negative opinion of humans, so Holly wasn’t starting off on the best of terms with her alien-in-law. However, Aeon adored her, and his mother, the queen, had become fond of her. She would be okay.
But, we’ll never see each other again. I sighed.
“You don’t sound happy to be returning home,” said Nadir, the one individual who singlehandedly could make a bad situation worse. The king’s chief aide had been tasked with escorting us humans to New Terra—probably to ensure we left for good.
“Maybe I would be happier if you weren’t here.” The best defense was a good offense. Like the king he served, Nadir hadn’t hidden his contempt for us.
Few did. The disdain could be traced to one single event a couple of centuries ago. One little habitable planet was destroyed, and now the galaxy hates us. The Great Nuclear War that had annihilated life on Earth was no joke, but a horrific, dark catastrophe, all the more tragic because it could have been avoided. Two hundred years later, the descendants of the original colonists on New Terra were still dealing with the fallout—in a manner of speaking.
Nadir’s lip curled around a tusk. “I will endeavor to stay out of your way as much as possible.”
That would be a welcome first. I never knew when or where the jerk would pop up. The hulking, furry brute with ram-like horns moved like a cat. Our paths crossed way too often, and he seemed to go out of his way to annoy me.
“I would appreciate it,” I said. “How long is the trip to New Terra going to take?”
“About four days.”
Four days stuck with him? Hopefully, he would hold to his promise to stay away from me. “Don’t we go through the wormhole?” The space-time passage functioned like an express highway through outer space, allowing a ship to jump light-years ahead. Why weren’t we taking the shortcut?
“Yes, but we are stopping on Aurelia first.” He flicked an invisible speck off his cape. Intricately embroidered, the garment dropped from epaulets on his shoulders to dust the ankles of his polished boots. His cape had a lot to do with my impression of him as an overdressed, supercilious asshole. I mean, who wore such a formal garment all the time? Inside, outside. Morning, night. Palace, spaceship. I’d never seen him without it.
“Why?”
If he stuck his haughty nose into the air any higher, he’d fall over backward. “That matter is of no concern to you.”
I planted my hands on my hips and shook my head. “See? This is why people don’t like you. I was minding my own business, watching the blastoff, when you invaded my solitude. Being a polite person, I attempted to make conversation, and in response, you were snippy and rude.”
He wiped a four-fingered hand over his smirk.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“No,” he lied.
What nerve. If this guy cracked a genuine friendly smile, his face would shatter, but he had the gall to make fun of me? Even worse, his mocking grin imbued his stern alien features with handsomeness and ersatz congeniality. Something was out of kilter in the universe when someone so unpleasant could be so attractive. Assholes ought to be ugly.
I turned my back. Planet Nomoru had vanished into the blackness of outer space like it had been swallowed up. How fast were we traveling, I wondered. Speed of light? Faster than the speed of light? Nadir probably knew, but Earth would regenerate with life before I would ask him.
“Representing the king, Prince Lomax is attending a League of Planets Summit on alien trafficking,” he said.
“What?” I spun around.
“You asked why we were stopping. Since the summit will be held on Aurelia, which is not far off our travel route, we will drop off the prince before continuing on to New Terra.”
Prince Lomax was Aeon’s brother. I’d met all four brothers at the bond-mate ceremony.
“Aeon should have been the one to attend the LOP Summit, except he bond-mated with your friend. Rather than perform his duty, he is leaving for a honeymoon.”
There it was—the dig. This was why we couldn’t have a civil conversation.
“On New Terra, it is traditional for a couple to celebrate their marriage with a honeymoon,” I explained.
The newlymates were headed for Star Planet, a luxury vacation resort recommended by our friend Giselle Cartier. Giselle wasn’t returning to New Terra with Kat, Jessie, and me, either. She’d been recruited by the LOP for its anti-trafficking task force. Stars knew the galaxy needed human representation to clear up the misconceptions.
“Aeon is not a New Terran,” he said stiffly.
“Holly is, though.”
He shook his head. “She will always be human, but she is no longer a New Terran. She is Arasetan now.”
The only human Arasetan in the kingdom. On the entire planet of Nomoru.
A year older than Holly, I’d always tried to watch out for her since we met in foster care as teenagers. Some people might say I’d caused Holly more problems than I’d saved her from. My reputation as “Millie the Mouth” had gotten me into trouble in school, and occasionally, Holly had been found guilty by association.
“It sticks in your craw that we humans have invaded your world, doesn’t it?” I taunted him.
He stiffened. “A handful of humans does not qualify as an invasion. First and foremost, my duty is to serve my king and queen and execute their will. I have no opinion about humans one way or another.”
What a load of space junk. “Don’t lie. Your pecker will shrink.”
“You need not concern yourself with my sexual organs,” he said.
Ew. He was right about that. Eyes up! Idea planted, I had to force myself not to check what he had packed away in those thigh-hugging leggings. So I focused on his rack—the spiral horns curving from forehead to nape. Huge and polished, his light-bronze horns sat atop his skull like a majestic headdress, more impressive than the king’s bejeweled ones. Nadir’s horns had to be as heavy as an iron meteorite—but his excellent posture never slouched. Because he has a stick up his ass.
I wonder if horn size and penis size are related?
Hrrcck. Hrrcck. Snickering at my private, silent joke, I sounded like a cat hacking up a hairball.
“Is something wrong? Are you all right?”
“You don’t need to worry yourself about me,” I replied.
“Until you land on New Terra, your safety is my concern.”
“Hopefully, that time will be short.” The last thing I needed was Nadir interfering in my life. Why had he sought me out, anyway? He never did say.
“It will be four days,” he reiterated.
“You are so literal.” I jutted my chin out and met his gaze.
“If you need anything during the journey, let me know,” he said.
“All I need is for you to leave me alone.” I waved in dismissal.
“As you wish.” In a swirl of cape, he vacated the lounge.
