All of this was rather unnerving.
If I could inadvertently put myself in this position—a position that would last for the rest of my life—with a simple kiss... What else might I accidentally risk as I explored my new world?
Thank the Stars for my shields. I wouldn’t need to worry about Xylo bringing me to my knees. One thing to be thankful to him for, at least.
But I did need to consider this new life. Was I ready to be tied to someone permanently? If it weren’t for how devastated Xylo was at the thought of me severing our bond, I’d have already asked how we could. Since he’d been so kind, I could at least wait and see where this went before hurting him that way. Regardless, my wellbeing was more important than someone I’d just met—even if I was the one inadvertently responsible for putting us in this position.
As the conversation continued and I got to know Xylo a little better, I found my attraction to him growing. I loved watching the vines shift around him as he moved about the room. He was a living canvas of nebulas and galaxies, something I had always yearned to explore. Despite spending much of my life aboard a ship in deep space, there’d been few windows on the Yaarkin ship. I found something comforting in the patterns on Xylo’s skin.
My constantly changing emotions confused me—I knew I shouldn’t feel so comfortable so soon. My attraction to Xylo and the instinctive trust I wanted to give him, though we’d just met, was insane. I’d already been burned once—by him—and it would be foolish to allow it to happen again.
Yet, I couldn’t help feeling drawn to Xylo.
Xylo wrapped his vines tightly around his torso before sitting down in the chair next to my bed. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and watched me eat for a few moments. Once he was sure I had gotten a little food in me and was comfortably settled, he began answering my earlier questions.
“Before you triggered the courting bond with me, we had planned to heal you, then hand you over to the Aldawi, who rule this territory. When we told them of you, they asked us to bring you to CEG HQ—the largest space station in the galaxy—which sits along the border between the Aldawi and Quaww territories. The Aldawi have not told us what they want with you or why, but I will discuss what has happened with the princes and see if we can find answers.” Xylo gave me an apologetic look.
“Are you planning to study me, treating me like an experiment before turning me over to the Aldawi?”
“I admit I would enjoy learning more about your species, but we would never do such a thing to any sentient being, no matter how primitive they might be.” He eyed me. “Why do you keep asking me such things? What happened to you? Where did you come from? I promise, you can trust me. The more I know, the more I can do to help you,” he begged.
To give myself a moment to gather my thoughts, I placed the empty tray on the table beside my bed, then closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the pillows behind me.
“I’m probably not the best person to answer that.” A sigh escaped my lips, and I locked my hands together on my lap. “What do you know about humans?”
“Humans are considered a very primitive species. Your planet Earth was on the ban list—meaning it was under CEG protection. It was illegal to land on or near the planet. Interacting with your species in any form was prohibited. CEG had agents studying and recording data on humans and Earth. But CEG had to pull back their agents when they went to war with the Yaarkins—”
“Those were my masters.”
“So, they did take humans before they exterminated all life on Earth,” Xylo murmured.
“The Yaarkins treated humans like animals and taught us humans are a disgusting species. I learned in my studies, humans destroyed their only planet, ruining the ecosystem with pollution, exploiting its natural resources without regard for the planet’s delicate balance. They are selfish, controlling, and hateful. A dictator rose to power and started a worldwide biological and nuclear war, decimating the population. I read the chemicals and radiation rendered almost all the arable land infertile and the water so polluted that waste and dead animals floated on the surface.”
“Yes, I read something similar. But that still doesn’t explain how you are here...”
“Well, not long after the dictator’s rise to power and the tragedy of the war, humans had first contact with aliens. It didn’t go well. They were welcomed, but a splinter faction of religious zealots claimed it was the end of the world and attacked the aliens—my former masters—the Yaarkins. The Yaarkins filled their ships with humans—most of them young females—then punished the remaining humans by cleansing the planet. I’m convinced they didn’t want any other species to have access to us, though I don’t know why.” I shrugged, not knowing what else to add.
Silence fell between us.
I was too nervous to continue, embarrassed about what and who I was. My hands fingered the blanket nervously as I refused to open my eyes.
“Selena. Look at me,” Xylo demanded.
Tears betrayed me; I turned my face away as I tried to hide them. I was ashamed—hated who I was—afraid of what would become of me and what he’d think after he learned precisely what the Yaarkins created me to be.
I heard Xylo move before the bed shifted with his weight. His smooth hand grasped my chin as he gently turned my face. I felt something cool wipe the tears away and opened my eyes in time to see a vine’s flowered tip retreating, its petals glistening with the wetness of my tears. My gaze trailed from the vine to his face, locking with his
