“How did you get him up to the station?” I paused, my mind racing. “Oh. My wristcom.”
“I’m sorry I took it. I didn’t know what else to do.”
I wanted to tell her that she could have come to me at any point, but I wasn’t even sure that was true. If she had told me all of this in the beginning, would I have accepted it? Would the mate bond have been strong enough to overcome the fact that she was technically married to someone else?
Maybe.
But that didn’t matter. I knew now, and I did not care. “I will arrange for your friend to know that Josiah is safe with you.”
“And then what? My divorce isn’t final. I can’t marry you.”
Resolve hardened in my chest. “I’ll take care of that, as well. By the time our Bride Games are finished, you will not be married to him any longer. I swear it.”
With a sob, Mia fell into my arms, and I wrapped her in them, every cell of my being promising to keep her safe. I led her over to the chair and gathered her into my lap, rocking her as if she were the child.
After she had cried out all the tears she had in her for the moment, I picked her up and carried her to the bed, settling her in next to Josiah and tucking in the covers around her.
“You’ll be safe here,” I promised her. “No one knows where you are. I’ll be back soon—I’m going to see what I can do to sort this out for us. What’s your friend's name?”
“Rebecca Chilton,” she whispered sleepily.
I brushed her hair back from her face. “Rest now. I’ll be back soon.”
And then I left to do whatever it took to erase the fear from my mate’s heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mia
For the first time since I’d been transported up to Station 21, I woke up with a smile on my face. Josiah was still sleeping, snuggled in my arms, the gentle light the station used to indicate morning just beginning to shine across his cheeks.
As I stretched, I realized Eldron was in bed with us, too, his enormous bulk a comforting presence at my back.
I was safe, Josiah was safe, and I was absolutely certain Eldron would not let anything happen to us.
Quietly, I slipped out of bed. I had to get Thorvid in here to spend the day with Josiah—it would mean drawing the Poltien into our web of secrecy, but I had come to believe I could trust it with my life. Keeping Josiah’s presence secret might have been easier if I’d had two handlers—one to watch Josiah and the other to help me figure out what I needed to do—but working through what to wear on my own seemed a small enough price to pay for having Josiah with me.
I had managed to pull on my clothes from the night before, having slept wrapped in Eldron’s chavan—the uniform that looked so much like a kilt—when Josiah’s voice piped up from behind me. “Mama, there’s a giant red man in the bed with me.”
I laughed aloud and spun around. “I know it, baby. That is Commander Eldron Gendovi. He is a Khanavai warrior and is a very nice man. He’s going to take care of us today.”
Josiah frowned and leaned in close to examine Eldron’s sleeping face. “Are you sure? I think maybe he’s a giant.”
My heart lightened at the sound of his sweet voice, and I laughed again. “I’m absolutely certain.”
Eldron opened both eyes and gazed gravely at Josiah. “It’s nice to meet you.” Sleep graveled his voice.
“Yep,” Josiah confirmed. “He has a giant’s voice, too. I don’t think he’s a Kavan…Khana…”
“Khanavai.” Grinning, Eldron sat up, moving slowly as he got out of the bed.
Josiah’s eyes grew wide as he watched the alien warrior stand up. “Do things look different from up there?” he asked, wonder threading through his voice.
“Maybe you’d like to sit on my shoulder and find out?”
Josiah whipped his head around to stare at me. “Can I?”
“Yes, you can. Just be careful.”
“Mama says I can, but you have to be very careful with me. She doesn’t like it when I get hurt,” Josiah explained as he scrambled up to stand on the mattress and hold his arms out to Eldron.
“I can’t blame her for that,” Eldron laughed. He lifted Josiah carefully and placed him atop one broad shoulder. “I would not like it very much if you got hurt, either.”
“That’s really good,” Josiah confided. “Mama worries sometimes.”
“I’m sure she does.”
They paraded around the room for a few seconds before Josiah was clamoring to be let down again. “I want to see the rest of the station. Can we, Mama?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry. But not today. Maybe some other time.”
Josiah’s face fell. “Why not?”
“Commander Eldron and I have to go be on television today.”
Josiah’s eyes grew wide again. “On TV? Can I watch?”
“I am going to let Thorvid decide that.” I would leave it up to someone else’s judgment for once.
A few minutes later, the Poltien answered my call by showing up at the door.
“Technically, the two of you are not supposed to spend the night together before you have been officially matched and mated by the committee,” Thorvid was saying as it walked into the room. Its words stuttered to a halt when it caught sight of Josiah, and the lizard-like rill on the back of its neck fluttered.
Josiah seemed equally as awestruck by the sight of a humanoid creature not much bigger than he was. “What are you?” he asked.
Thorvid burst out laughing. “I’m a Poltien. My name is Thorvid, and I think your mother might have something to tell me.” The Poltien tossed an arch glance in my direction.
“This is Josiah. He’s my son—and he’s the reason I wanted to go back to Earth.”
“How did you get him up here?”
“I stole Commander Eldron’s codes,” I admitted.
“Well, this is going to
