One of the male judges placed matching silver space-themed bracelets around my wrists as the other gave me a credit card loaded with the grand prize money.
Nodding my head, I thanked them all as I gripped my card tightly.
The host calmed down the crowd once more before turning toward me with the microphone.
“Tori. How does it feel to win tonight’s costume contest?”
“Honestly?” I glanced at the crowd, shooting them a huge smile. “I can’t believe it. There were a lot of amazing outfits tonight. Right now, I feel like I’m dreaming.”
“I can promise you that you aren’t,” he chuckled. “What are your plans for the rest of the night?”
“Get a drink and then party! What else?”
The host pulled the mic away and turned toward the crowd. “You heard our Star Queen! Let’s get back to the reason we’re all here!”
Instantly, the music restarted as the crowd began dancing and enjoying themselves once more. The host left my side to head to the DJ booth, leaving me wondering what I should do.
Just as I was about to jump off the stage, a bright light beamed down, blinding me.
This was some celebration. It would have been polite to tell me that I was supposed to have my first dance as Star Queen under a spotlight.
When I started to dance by myself, the music stopped. Confused, I surveyed my surroundings, but couldn’t make out anything beyond the light.
Just as I was about to step out of the bright spotlight, I felt myself lifting off the stage.
“What the fuck?” I blurted as I looked up into the bright nothingness.
One moment I was floating. The next, darkness took me.
Two
AURO
Dread met me every time I woke to the same nightmare, reminding me how much I had failed them.
It was supposed to be a simple trade run, safe from pirates and slavers. Somehow, instead of purchasing rare goods to sell for an easy profit, we’d been the ones that were collected.
With every solar, we waited for our fate in this cold, dark metallic chamber, wondering what would happen to us. Would they sell us as slave labor? Use us for experiments? Or try to ransom us to our government?
I had lost track of how long we’d sat here, slowly losing hope with every solar that ticked by. We were too far from the Federation to warrant a rescue. Venturing outside its borders meant every being fended for themselves. I had been foolish enough to conduct business near the border, and now I had paid the price, along with my crew.
“Were you able to reach out to them?” Luwyn asked, his voice ringing with hope. Hope that was renewed at the dawn of every solar, only to be crushed when the news was sullen.
I turned toward Celyze, our blue and white healer. His ice-blue eyes found mine as his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I couldn’t reach anyone.”
“It’s okay, Celyze, you tried,” I comforted, not wanting the male to feel discouraged for a failure that wasn’t his own. “It’s not your fault. We’re out of their range.”
“Who knows if we’re even in the same galaxy,” Luwyn added. “With the galactic war still raging, it would be too dangerous for these pirates to travel through neutral territory and risk encountering ships on either side.”
“Sadly, I am starting to believe that you’re correct,” I sighed, reluctant to admit defeat. “But they’ll have to stop to refuel and resupply sometime soon.”
“And even when they do stop, what are we supposed to do?” Luwyn growled, pushing himself up off the floor. His green and golden wings fluttered in frustration as he paced the room. “We’ve been here for over twenty-nine solars, and that’s only the amount of time we’ve been able to keep track of while conscious. Who knows how long we’ve actually spent in confinement?”
“You’re right, Luwyn.” Celyze stared off into the distance. “I don’t know these stars.”
Luwyn shot me a wary glance as he stopped in his tracks. Pursing my lips, I shook my head.
Luwyn had been Weapons Master on my ship for as long as I could remember. During a delivery at a space station a few cycles ago, we found Celyze staring intently at our spacecraft. When I had introduced myself to him, he’d stated that he was on his Cosmic Soul journey, and the Stars had led him to us.
Though I may not have been a follower of the Cosmic Order, which taught that the Fates and the Stars bent us to their will and forced us to do their bidding, I was respectful of others' faith. Celyze had the traditional Swynemi coloring of a Cosmic Soul, those who possessed the ability to see and feel forces from the beyond. Their psychic powers enabled them to do incredible things, like communicating with other intelligent species at long distances and healing wounds rapidly. I had never asked Celyze about the full extent of his abilities, for I didn’t know if I was ready to believe in what he could do or to depend on his possibly unreliable talents.
I wasn’t foolish; a Cosmic Soul was a worthwhile addition to the ship, even if he lacked the skills needed to run it. Just his abilities to heal and communicate without technology made him a valuable part of the crew. So I had welcomed him and offered him a spot on my ship. He hadn’t left since, and up until the pirates caught us, I had never needed to hire anyone else. Even though the three of us had been a tight crew for over five cycles now, Luwyn and I had never gotten used to moments like this, when Celyze lost his connection to the present in a trance-like state.
I should’ve listened when he told us he had a bad feeling about our last mission. If I had taken heed of his warning, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Now that we were, I couldn’t be happier to have him with us. He was our only chance for rescue. I just hoped nothing would happen to any of us before then.
A moan escaped Celyze’s lips, instantly capturing both Luwyn’s and my attention. White speckles twinkled on his skin, along with his ombré blue wings—something that happened whenever he used his abilities—before they slowly dimmed again.
“What is it?” I asked, scooting closer to the male. Our prison’s wall barely held him up as he leaned against it for support. Every time he tried to see beyond the confinement of our cell, he returned completely drained of energy as if he had not slept the night before. “What did you see?”
Celyze’s icy gaze landed on me, his eyes glowing and swirling at a faster rate than normal. “We have entered an unknown planet’s atmosphere.”
“How can you be sure?” Luwyn asked warily.
I opened my mouth to answer but paused at a sudden change in the ship’s rumbling. Raising my hand, I silenced the others as I focused on the resonating sounds. We had been in confinement so long; it had been easy to get used to the spacecraft’s normal sounds of operation. Like most captains, I had my own ship’s unique song down to a science, aware whenever we hit a hard path in space or entered a gravitational pull without needing to consult the readings on the bridge.
“He’s right.” The floor jerked sharply, nearly knocking Luwyn over. “Something is definitely pulling the ship in, but I don’t know what. It could be a tractor beam.”
“What should we do if the ship docks?” Luwyn glanced between Celyze and me. His wings flared out in excitement. “Should we try to fight and hope to escape? Now may be the chance we’ve been waiting for!”