Meeting Voranians in person proved to be a surreal experience.
“...I trust your journey here was pleasant.”
I realized Representative Hecear was still talking to me.
“Oh yes, thank you,” I mumbled, trying hard not to stare at the Voranians in a way that would be rude, though I feared I’d gone past that point already. “The accommodation on the ship was very comfortable...”
Alcus Hecear introduced each of the Voranians accompanying him. Forcing my gaze up, I made eye contact, politely nodding and smiling at each man as Representative Hecear announced their names and positions.
I couldn’t help a glance at their horns, now and then. They sprouted from the sides of their foreheads, slightly curving back and rising about a foot and a half over their heads.
“...Um,” I ventured once we’d completed the introductions. “Is Colonel Kyradus not here?” I’d expected him to come to meet me upon my landing, but his name hadn’t come up during the introductions.
“The Colonel, unfortunately, is held up in a meeting with Governor Drustan, our Head of State,” Representative Hecear explained. “As the Leader of our Army, Colonel Kyradus has a lot of responsibilities—”
“Where is she?” A deep voice thundered suddenly from somewhere, then a large Voranian male energetically stomped from around an intricately shaped shrub and headed toward us.
I took a step back as he came closer. His intense energy seemed to roll ahead of him like a wave, filling in the entire space under the dome.
“Oh, Colonel...” The Representative stumbled out of the newcomer’s way as he approached. “The Governor said—”
“The Governor can go fuck himself and his ill-timed meetings.” The Colonel obviously held little regard for protocol. He stopped in front of me, giving me a once-over. “Is that her?”
My face burnt as if caught on fire under the intense stare of his flaming red eyes. Judging by how impossibly hot my skin felt, I must look embarrassingly flushed right now. Painfully self-conscious under his scrutiny, I fidgeted with the handles of my purse.
“Um...” I cleared my throat, scrambling for words. I couldn’t possibly introduce myself to him using his own name, could I? Screw the protocol. “I’m Daisy...” I said, staring back at him.
Unable to look straight into his eerie eyes, I slid my gaze down his face. His beard was neatly trimmed, shorter than in the picture I had. From this distance, I also noticed that what I’d first thought were painted designs on one of his horns—turned out to be carvings. They wound up in a continuous spiral from the base of his right horn for about two-thirds of its length.
I jerkily stretched my hand to him.
Instead of shaking it the way Representative Hecear had done, the Colonel grabbed my hand in one of his.
“Let’s go home.” He turned around, tugging me along.
“Oh, Colonel... Sir!” The Representative trotted after us, the clicking of his shiny hooves echoing under the dome. “There are still some formalities left to do...”
“What formalities?” The Colonel glared at him over his shoulder. “Did she get all her shots?”
The question made me feel like a stray being adopted from an animal shelter. My mouth felt too dry for me to protest, however, or even to say anything at all.
“Yes, but...”
The human delegation had congregated closer to us, too.
“Daisy, maybe you would like to spend tonight in our accommodations?” Nancy asked, with concern in her voice.
“We can arrange for a proper ceremony tomorrow morning,” Louis, a male representative from Earth, added.
“A ceremony?” The Colonel scowled, tossing him a glare. “What for?”
I kept moving my gaze from him to Nancy then back again, feeling overwhelmed.
“You had her on that ship for months,” the Colonel snarled at all of them. “That’s more than enough time for quarantine, shots, translator implant surgery or anything else you needed to subject her to.” He moved his burning gaze back to me. “As of now, she is mine.”
“Mine.”
The word sent a shiver down my body, only I couldn’t figure out whether it was from dread or thrill. No one had so blatantly claimed me before—in front of the delegations of two worlds, no less.
The unapologetic possessiveness of the Colonel seemed too intense for an employer. And why would I find anything thrilling about his growls?
“Daisy?” Nancy pinned me with a questioning stare.
It appeared they expected me to make the call.
The grip of the Colonel’s large, warm hand on mine tightened. He didn’t appear to be willing to give me up without a fight.
A fight would definitely cause some interplanetary tension. Wouldn’t it? I was not a fan of any type of tension. The last thing I wanted would be to become the reason for conflict between the two worlds.
“I’m fine,” I said brightly, eager to disperse the expectant silence hanging over us. “I’ll be fine,” I repeated the same thing I’d been telling myself since last night.
“Your first follow-up interview with the Committee is a week from now,” Alcus Hecear reminded.
I nodded silently.
“Call me tomorrow morning.” Nancy lowered her head, casting a warning glance the Colonel’s way. “Or any other time you need to talk.”
I nodded again before the Colonel whisked me away, dragging me to the exit.
Surely, it would be safe to spend a night in the house of my potential husband? Or future employer?
When did it all get so confusing again? It seemed so much clearer just this morning.
Anyway, what was the worst that could happen?
“VORAN IS A BEAUTIFUL city,” I said tentatively, sitting next to the Colonel in the two-person aircraft.
He grunted something in response, indistinct to my ear or my translator implant.
I clasped my hands tighter around the handles of the purse in my lap and stared straight ahead.
My mind wasn’t really processing the sights of the cityscape that floated past the glass of the aircraft. As we flew above the tallest buildings, the view of the city wasn’t much different from what I’d seen in the pictures and videos of Voran—a sprawling cluster of tall buildings topped with rounded glass contraptions. From this distance, the city looked like rows and circles of block towers covered in soap bubbles.
I stared at the view. However, my thoughts remained on my companion. An entire new world lay ahead of me, yet the Colonel had taken over my awareness.
He’d masterfully maneuvered the aircraft out of the parking hangar at the spaceport facility and now was steering it toward his house. At least, I assumed that was where we were going. The Colonel had said nothing about our destination. In fact, ever since he’d dragged me out of the glass dome at the spaceport, he hadn’t said a word, replying to all my questions with monosyllables, grunts or nothing at all.
Giving up on small talk for the time being, I slid my gaze sideways, to study the man whose home would be mine, at least for the next year.
One hand on the control panel, the other placed casually on his thigh, his posture seemed relaxed. Obviously, the Colonel wasn’t sharing my feelings of awkward tension.
I stared at his hand for a moment. Charcoal-gray fur covered his dark skin. Black claws tipped his fingers. The image of him tearing apart the living thing in the video flashed through my mind again. Thankfully, his claws were shorter and appeared blunt, as if they’d been filed down.