I humored them anyway.
“A small rocky planet called Earth.”
“Earth…” Fram said, nodding his head as if this wasn’t the first time he’d heard of it. “If I remember correctly, Earth is in Quadrant 23, is that right?”
The Quadrant 23 he was referring to wasn’t the same in my time.
The Shadow Empire expanded exponentially since conquering Qyah and the quadrants stretched in size along with it.
Even if I knew the answer to his question, I wouldn’t tell him.
“Quadrant 24, I think,” I said, making it up on the spot.
“Twenty-four. Of course. Of course. And, um, does she have any friends…?”
The others erupted into laughter and slapped Fram on the back.
His pretense of trying to quietly gather intelligence had failed.
“What?” Fram said. “I’m just trying to learn more about his… friend.”
“You’re trying to learn something, all right,” Yoath said. “Come over here and tell me more about your pebble collection.”
Yoath rolled his eyes and led the tall alien away.
I peered over at Ava.
By now, some of the other females were prodding at her dress.
She looked at me and grinned sheepishly.
She turned to the women and attempted to answer their questions.
It was no surprise she was so popular.
I knew the moment I saw her she had that gift.
She was new, exciting, and unknown, nothing like anyone around here.
My aunt, whose name was Plat, prodded at Ava’s head where her horns should have been.
“Never?” she said. “By now, you should have magnificent horns like mine. Sometimes a little massage can coax them out…”
Ava ducked away from her grasping hands.
“Actually, my species doesn’t have horns.”
Aunt Plat frowned as if she didn’t understand what Ava was saying.
“No horns?”
Yes, Ava was special.
The tug buried deep in my chest was powerful, a deep thump I couldn’t ignore.
Although I did my best to conceal it as well as I could.
Fated mates were nothing but empty shells only good for breeding, that was what they taught us.
But that wasn’t true for Ava
She had a depth I never suspected, a depth I very much wished to plumb.
I wanted to learn more about her, both inside and out.
And that bond we shared only grew stronger as the hours and days leaked past.
I found it harder and harder to imagine her being with someone else, much less the idea of me letting someone else use her.
If love couldn’t be felt by a Shadow, then how did you explain the crushed feeling in my heart every time I imagined her with someone else?
I shut down that line of thinking and turned back to the other males.
I engaged in conversation but never contributed much.
My mind was too closely focused on the gorgeous creature over my shoulder.
The piglet wearing a red paper hat squealed and squawked, struggling in my younger self’s hands.
It was usually a very quiet beast, used to being handled.
But it wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many creatures.
No doubt the smell of freshly cooked pork from the remains of dinner didn’t help either.
The children gathered around, enthralled by the piglet.
They reached out to touch it but that only made the piglet squeal louder.
“All right everybody,” Yoath boomed. “Children, gather round. The rules are very simple. Whoever catches the piglet and brings it back first gets a very special prize. On my mark. One, two—”
The piglet leaped from the boy’s arms and took off like a shot.
The children ran after it, screaming with excitement.
They rushed around the barn and into the nearby forest.
“Well, that’s the children gone for an hour or two!” Yoath said triumphantly.
“Let’s chase it!” Ava said, beaming at me joyfully and latching onto my hand.
“I’m not sure we should—”
She took off at a run—surprisingly fast for such a small creature.
She’d already removed her heels, making her lose at least three inches.
Every male eye followed her, the same way every child trailed that little piglet.
Only for much less savory reasons.
We rounded the barn and caught sight of the children at the bottom of the hill.
They hit the forest and veered left.
Ava didn’t head in the same direction and instead sprinted right.
“This way!” she said.
I paused and turned in the direction the kids had gone.
“I think they went that way!”
“No, it’s this way!”
Ava yanked my arm and I followed after her.
We ran for a good five minutes, which was a long time when you were running as fast as your legs could carry you.
“Ava, I don’t think the piglet went this way—”
“It did. Just a little further…”
We continued for another five minutes before Ava came to a stop beside a narrow stream.
The clear water trailed over tiny pebbles and rocks, making a soft sibilating trickle.
To one side, huddled within the protective arms of an elder wood’s roots, sat a cave’s open mouth.
“In here!” Ava said. “I think it went in here!”
“Ava… I’m not sure you understand how this game works…”
She disappeared inside.
“I have to catch the thing I want, right?” she said, voice bouncing off the craggy walls.
“That’s pretty much it, yes.”
I stepped into the darkness after her.
It was so dark I could hardly see.
It took a moment for my golden eyes to acclimatize.
There was a flash of light and a candle was lit.
Ava picked it up and moved around the room to light a dozen others until it illuminated a small corner of the tiny cavern.
Ava sauntered up to me.
“Then consider him caught.”
She pressed herself against me and pressed her lips to mine.
It took me by surprise and I pulled back.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Ava said.
“I’m not afraid.”
“Then why is your heart beating so fast?”
She could feel my pulse beneath her palm.
I liked her touching me but pulled away.
She reached up and turned my face toward hers.
“Don’t fight it. I know you want me. The same way I want you.”
She leaned forward and licked my lips.
My breaths turned heavy and all I could see was her.
She went up onto her tiptoes to kiss me.
The kiss felt incredible.
It stung my nerves and made me want to scoop her up in my arms.
But war raged inside
