“Do people ever do that anymore?” Alice asked.
Izzo laughed and shook his head. “Males do sometimes. On a dare, if they’re foolish or young. But they all get stung nowadays. Usually, they’re carted off to the medbay without so much as a pebble.”
“That’s interesting and all…” Vanessa squinted, scanning the water. “But how are we supposed to get around? Is there a boat?”
“You need a pass. Oh, look,” he said, pointing across the water, “there she is now. Metli will give you passes and escort you over.”
A woman wearing a bright purple coat emerged from the central building and walked to the edge of the floating green platform that surrounded the structure. Then, she stepped off. As one, Alice, Vanessa, Rita, and Daisy took a step forward, eyes straining to see what the woman was walking on. From this distance, it appeared as if she were stepping on the water itself. But that couldn’t be right.
Each foot closer Metli came, the more certain Alice was that there was a platform under her feet, but it seemed to be clear.
“I have to take Luka home now.” Izzo’s eyes lingered on Daisy. Motioning to Metli, only a short distance away now, he added, “She’ll take you to meet the Queen.”
“What Queen?”
“Is the whole world ruled by a queen?”
“What’s Metli’s job?”
Rita and Vanessa shot questions at Izzo while Daisy glanced between them all with raised brows, but all Alice could concentrate on was the fact that the only thing in this world that made her feel safe was about to be taken away from her.
“Maybe I should go with you, in case Luka wakes up.” She glanced past Izzo to the open door of the vehicle, visible through the archway.
Izzo glanced between her and Luka, slumped in the cab, finally noticing her interest in his brother. “I assumed you wouldn’t want to see him after…after the way I found you two together. Did you spend a lot of time with him in the facility?”
Alice decided it wouldn’t do any harm to answer honestly. “Yes. Helas was trying to get him to recognize me as his mate.”
Izzo’s jaw slackened, and his posture straightened even more. He squinted toward Luka, then did a double-take. He mouthed a few unintelligible words then finally focused back to Alice. “He recognized you? His marks appeared?”
She nodded, hoping he’d decide to bring her along.
The woman finally appeared next to them. She was shorter than Alice by a foot at least, but somehow still appeared willowy. It was as if someone had placed a model’s limbs on a petite woman’s body. She wore a magenta coat that ballooned out around her neck and shoulders, then cinched at her small waist and ended mid-thigh. On her legs, she wore one piece of matte-black material that acted as both her shoes and pants.
Although odd, the whole ensemble worked. Metli’s strange frame and coiffed gray-blue hair, along with the stiff geometric clothing, made her look like she’d stepped out of a high fashion spread from a science fiction magazine.
“Hello, human females. My name is Metli. Please take a token and two of these pads.” She raised her arms, hands outstretched, and Alice flinched. Metli’s long arms extended toward them just a little too far, and the subtle alien difference in anatomy scratched at Alice’s senses as if she’d just recalled the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
In one hand, Metli held four small purple tokens. In the other was a small stack of long, oval translucent pads.
Alice peered at the unfamiliar alien woman, then turned pleading eyes toward Izzo.
He crinkled his forehead and shook his head slowly. “It’d be dangerous for him to wake up in this state with you around. It makes sense now that he tried to attack me earlier. I thought it was just because he was drugged, but if he’s newly mated, he’ll be a little more vicious than normal. Stronger too. It’d be better if you stayed away.”
Alice had the urge to sprint to the cruiser and barricade herself inside like a stubborn child, but what Izzo said made sense. Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. There was no way to be sure how much he’d remember anyway. A sharp pain clenched in her gut. He may not even want her there.
Izzo walked over to Metli, who was waiting patiently. “Please let the Queen know Luka’s mating marks have appeared.”
Metli raised her delicate smoky-blue brows in surprise and followed Izzo’s nod toward Alice.
His eyes lingered on Daisy when he said, “I’ll see you all again very soon. Have a good night.”
Alice watched as Izzo walked away and disappeared into the cruiser. Blue markings on a battered wrist was her last glimpse of Luka before the cruiser door slid closed.
Vanessa approached and handed her a thin metallic purple token and a pair of squishy oval pads. “You’re going to have to tell me more about that later,” she whispered, glancing up at her knowingly.
“The token will register you in the Temple system and allow you to traverse the lake. Place it on your wrist.” Metli displayed her inner wrist, on which the token seemed to be stuck. “Then place the pads on the soles of your feet.” She lifted her foot, which was longer than it should’ve been, considering her frame, and pointed to her own translucent green pad. “Then follow me. Our Queen is very anxious to speak with you.”
Alice placed the ovals on the soles of her feet, the solid gel-like substance somehow sticking easily to her Converse, and then experimentally shifted her weight around. Vanessa and Rita both did the same, then Rita helped Daisy to attach hers.
Alice frowned as she watched Daisy; the dark-haired girl’s intelligent eyes were flashing around, taking in everything.
Apart from a few tears,
