Zikas had been right. Last night she’d stayed up for long hours pondering her situation. She recalled her journey to the city after landing in the pod. It’d been grueling.
When she’d finally relaxed and inspected her room, she’d found food waiting for her. She’d been hoping for fresh ingredients she could identify—that way, if she did escape, she could pick out at least one thing she could eat without getting food poisoning. The green goo she’d been served by the reptile aliens greeted her instead.
Jade hated to admit it but she’d have no way of fending for herself out there. She was delusional to think she could. Even the small, comfortable room in which Zikas had left her had been difficult to navigate.
The round toilet bowl had been simple enough to figure out, but the cleansing unit hadn’t been as straightforward. Peering into the shining white enclosure, she hadn’t spotted any knobs, buttons, or controls of any kind. After wandering around the small room and searching for any hint of a control for the unit, she’d decided maybe the controls were located on the inside of the enclosure’s door.
The door had slid open automatically when she’d approached, but when she’d stepped into the unit and the door had slid closed, foam had spurted from the ceiling, covering her. Apparently, merely being inside the enclosure was enough to activate it.
She’d waited until all the fluffy cleanser had vanished and then once again donned the ugly, but very clean, sack dress. What she wouldn’t give to be back in her small home in a hot bath. The cleansing foam did the job alright, but it was nowhere near as relaxing as hot water.
Her night had been altogether disappointing, and her temper had been made worse when Nedas had entered her room uninvited this morning and dragged her here.
Jade studied the women she saw milling about. All of them had human qualities, but they also had strange features that made it clear they were aliens. What Jade didn’t understand was whether they were all different species or different races of the same species.
Some of the women had pale skin with thin, shining markings running all over their skin. Some had horns or tails. One hypnotizing woman in the corner had midnight-blue skin that was almost translucent and glowed from within. Her golden eyes met Jade’s, and Jade quickly glanced away, feeling a flush of embarrassment that she’d been caught staring.
Jade peered down at the flowing purple jumpsuit Nedas had thrown at her that morning before ushering her here. It fit her well, but after beholding the otherworldly beauty of the alien women gathered in the room, she still felt plain. Maybe no one will want to marry me! she thought hopefully.
Once again, Jade glanced to the door. She felt so frustrated she could scream. This couldn’t be her only option.
Just because Jade had decided not to run away didn’t mean she should have to get married. Maybe she could convince them to let her stay in a room here for three months, before finding some small shack in the woods where she’d be left alone for the rest of the year. This building seemed pretty secure, and she could stay out of everyone’s way.
The next time she saw Zikas, she’d try and convince him of this.
Suddenly the lights in the room dimmed and the other side of the glass was illuminated. All chatter ceased, and everyone turned to look at the plain gray hallway on the other side of the glass. Jade could now see that the hallway continued out of sight in either direction.
The other women in the room were all peering into the left side of the hallway expectantly. Curiosity burning in her, she examined the hallway as well. She’d just managed to spot a door a few feet down the hall when it opened.
A tall, handsome man walked out of the door and stood almost directly in front of her. Instinctively, she took a step back but then she noticed the man wasn’t looking at her. In fact, it didn’t seem like his eyes were focused on anything. Tentatively, she waved her hand in front of the glass. He didn’t react. With a low chuckle, Jade realized this must be some kind of one-way viewing room.
The Viewing, indeed.
Zikas had explained she’d be viewing a group of males, but she hadn’t thought he’d meant that hunky aliens would be paraded in front of her like beauty pageant contestants. Apparently, on this planet women chose their partners by anonymously ogling them. After a second’s deliberation, Jade found that she was for it.
Just because she didn’t intend on becoming anyone’s bride didn’t mean she couldn’t objectify a few fine aliens. When in Rome!
The man standing before her was beautiful. He was about six feet tall, lean and muscular. His pale blond hair was short, streaked with silver, and tousled a little too perfectly. The loose, sleeveless white shirt he wore appeared almost gauzy and glittered in the dim light. Flowing white pants added to his “naturally gorgeous without trying” look. His icy-blue eyes stared fixedly in front of him, and while he seemed relaxed, Jade noticed he was clenching and unclenching his jaw.
If this guy were on Earth, he’d be a heartthrob, but she could swear he was…nervous?
Stepping closer to the glass, Jade noticed that the light shimmering markings she’d seen on a few of the aliens were also on this man. The luminescent markings twisted and curved all along his arms, hands and neck. It was like someone had tattooed his whole body using ink made from crushed opals. His skin was so pale that, if he were standing far away and the room was dim, she doubted whether she would even be able to see the markings.
Just as she was
