It felt as though my blood had suddenly run cold.
As we sat there under the beautiful artificial stars, my mind began racing on why an alien species from another planet might be interested in me. Obviously it wasn't for my shining personality.
"W-why would they want me?" I all but stuttered. Kade frowned, looking at me with pain in his striking blue eyes. He sighed, shaking his head. I had an idea, but I wanted Kade to tell me himself.
"It's because you're tied to me, partly, and word has spread of our success with the program back to our home planet. We had instructed our people to remain quiet until we deemed it safe, but it seems that our words landed on deaf ears. They were excited and irresponsible... and those responsible will be punished accordingly. I'm sorry, Emily. I knew that having you linked to me would be dangerous, but I didn't think that the Selarians would come for you so quickly. I thought we would have more time to train you." His eyes were downcast as he looked away from me, refusing to meet my gaze. He looked distraught as he explained the dangers that I now faced.
Train me. To fight. Against aliens.
"Seriously?" Was the only word I could manage to make out. How would I possibly stand even a small chance against one of these otherworldly beings? My voice sounded high and squeaky to my own ears. I outwardly cringed, but couldn't help the deep shudder that went through me at the thought.
Kade's jaw tightened, "I wish we did not have to worry about this, but I don't want you to be put in a position where you are unable to defend yourself at all. Trust me when I say that you will not be out of my sight unless there are no other options. I will have guards posted at all times. We are taking no chances, Princess." His eyes sparkled with heated passion as he stared down at me. They warmed me from the inside out.
I merely nodded mutely, unable to really say anything in response to what he had just told me. Instead, I did my best to focus on the solar system above me. It wasn't the one I had learned about in school. No, this was the Naurian solar system. I stared, amazed and terrified at the sight. The universe was unfathomably large. Kade gazed thoughtfully at me in the dark.
"I can't wait for you to see the real thing," His voice was rough against my ear and I shivered, my eyes fluttering at the feelings that shot through me. I let out a frustrated sigh.
"You are going to be the death of me." I rolled my eyes. I couldn't constantly be in a state where I wanted him every second of the day for the rest of my life. Could I? I was a strong independent woman... who wanted his hands on me at all times.
Kade's brow furrowed in confusion. "I would never put you in harms way." His tone was angry as he moved way from me reluctantly. His jaw set stubbornly as he stared at me with pain clearly written on his handsome features.
I raised my eyebrow. "I was being sarcastic, you know. You pick up on things so quickly sometimes I forget you aren't from Earth. Don't be a mad," my lips quirked up as I nudged him playfully with my elbow. "how did you learn sarcasm and English so quickly, anyways?" I was suddenly curious.
Kade's posture relaxed slightly. "I do not find your death to be a subject of ironic humour." He responded flatly, narrowing his eyes at me. "but, to answer your question, we had vigorous lesson plans taught to us by human scientists the government assigned to us. They gave us movies to study, literature, and explained human life in extreme detail. We are fast learners." A slow, mischievous smile spread over his face.
I snorted. "Well, good for you. I'm glad that you're not a stick in the mud, or life would really suck." I smiled at Kade's expression; he clearly didn't understand what I meant.
He shook his head, bemused at my words. "Now, you said you wanted to see Nauria. Last time, I shared my memories with you while you slept. Today, we will try something a little different."
Kade brought his hand up, making a symbol with his fingers, and suddenly, the picture on the screen was moving. For the first time since being brought in to their space ship, I actually felt like I was in one. The screen above us moved at Kade's direction. We were flying through space and I hated to admit it... but it was better than any Disneyland ride I had ever been on.
"Wow," I breathed out in awe. "How are you doing this?" I watched as the screen suddenly took a sharp right, moving faster than my eyes could keep up with.
Kade gave me a sidelong glance, looking pleased with my reaction. "It's what I believe humans would call astral projection. These are my memories you're seeing of our last voyage home. In my world, it is common to travel our universe. We have been to nearly every star and planet. Coming to Earth was the farthest we have come yet. Into another galaxy all together." His eyes sparkled in the darkness from the stars that cast their light on top of us.
"Wow..." I breathed out. "How long would it take humans to get to Nauria?" I asked, somewhat scared of the answer.
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Unless your government is hiding some of your technological advancements, I would say that it is not currently possible to even reach the outer corners of our solar system."
I stared at him in awe. "How have the Naurians, and..." I cringed, "the Selarians managed to achieve the level of space exploration that you have?" I watched as the screen took another sharp left.
Kade concentrated on the screen. "We are a much older civilization and we have access to different materials that you do not have on Earth. Different energy sources, metals, right now what you have available to you would never work. It's partly why your government was so willing to work with us. They want to recreate the scientific breakthroughs that we have had."
I nodded slowly.
With the flick of his hand we had turned again and were hurtling towards a looming sphere that had a blue aura that floated around it. My eyes widened as we passed through the blue fog and went further down, and as shapes began to appear as we got closer I realized that this was Nauria. It looked similar to Earth yet incomprehensibly different.
I gasped out loud as I stared wide-eyed at the planet that my mate was from. As we flew lower cities emerged. I couldn't decide what to look at as I took in the sheer difference in our planets and the inhabitants.
Little ships darted around in some sort of chaotic looking synchronization, almost like traffic back on Earth. They moved at outrageous speeds and I briefly wondered how they managed not to collide. Their insurance rates must be so high.
The buildings were not all anchored to the ground, either. Some were floating, creating several different layers of buildings and bustling life. I knew my mouth was probably hanging open in shock because I heard Kade's deep laugh behind me. He rested his hand on the small of my back and began rubbing his thumb against my skin. I shivered, hardly able to focus on what I was seeing in front of me with the heat that suddenly swept me up in an inferno of need.
I could feel his amusement at my reaction beside me, so as much as it pained me, I ignored my body's demands and continued to stare in wonder at the planet that Kade and his people were from.
There were so many of them back there, it was shocking. Kade brought us closer to the Naurians that walked freely on the lower level and my eyes scanned their faces. They were all so beautiful.
However... I didn't see a single woman among them. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight.
I peeled my eyes away from the screen reluctantly to ask a question that had been bouncing around in my mind since I had first seen the beautiful cityscape. "The city looks untouched. I was picturing a war zone for some reason."
Kade's lips thinned and he nodded slowly. "We have mostly rebuilt since the last attacks. There are memorial sites around the city in places that lives were lost. We left some of the debris there to remind us who the enemy really is."
I nodded, feeling sick to my stomach. Kade turned the picture once more, heading west. The city began to thin out, however small and large buildings remained scattered around giving me the impression that we had hit the suburbs. We were moving too quickly for me to see any one thing, but the natural landscape looked quite similar to Earth.
It was then that I began to see tiny white dots below us. They went on for miles, nearly as far as my eyes could see. "What are tho-"
The horror that gripped me viciously cut off my words as Kade moved lower so that my eyes could adjust. They were tombstones.
There were hundreds of thousands of them.
"Oh my god." I whispered brokenly. These were their mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts... their loved ones.
I could feel the tension coming from Kade beside me. I turned to face him and his expression looked haunted as he stared at the picture in front of us. I could only imagine what was going through his mind as he stared at the memorial on his home planet probably millions of miles away.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. My voice wobbled but I managed to keep the broken sobs from escaping my lips. The sorrow that had overcome me was swift and it didn't feel ... all mine.
"Am I... am I feeling your emotions?" I managed to get out. I brushed my fingers along his cheekbone, trying to draw his gaze from the scene above us. At my touch, some of the anguish I had been feeling subsided and I was able to take a breath of air.
Kade's demeanor changed as he looked at me in surprise. "I do not know. Mates do have psychic connections so it is possible. This usually doesn't develop for decades." His voice had an undertone of awe within it.
His eyes widened. "I can feel your bewilderment." His voice soft, "and your terror. Emily, I will never let anything happen to you." His eyes searched mine, looking for some sort of understanding.
I nodded. "I know." I breathed out, leaning closer to him. I brushed my lips against his soft ones, feeling the stubble from his chin brush against me.
"Your trust... I can feel that also." Kade almost whispered. "It means more than you can understand Emily. I think... you may be my true mate. I think that our mating was star crossed." His expression conveyed the true shock that I could sense coming from him.
"Star-crossed..." I managed. "I don't understand." I kissed him again, suddenly unable to resist. A low growl erupted from Kade as he kissed me back, harder this time. I met him halfway, and felt his tongue slip in to my mouth as he pulled me on top of him. His hands cupped my butt as he pulled me close, kissing me roughly against my collarbone.
I painted against him as he pulled away to look me in the eyes. "Star-crossed mates do not happen anymore, Emily. If I'm right, then we were destined to meet from the moment we were born. You will learn more about it when you begin classes... but I have waited a millennia for you, Princess." Kade's voice was rough with emotion.
The amount of emotions that swirled in my chest at his words made me nearly melt into a puddle at his feet. The words I wanted to say in return caught in my throat. My fragile heart had worked a nearly impenetrable shield around it since my families death and I wasn't quite ready to tell him how I was truly feeling towards him. The thought of my parents and sister sent a painful jolt through my body. I really missed my home. I wondered if collections or my landlord had come to empty it out by now, or if it was even possible to go back for a day to gather my belongings.
I wasn't even sure that emotions worked the same way on their planet. Did they feel love the same way, did they say it in the same context as humans? The uncertainty tugged at me and I wanted to slap myself for overthinking every little thing.
"I never thought I would experience something this special with someone again." I responded quietly. "You mean a lot to me, Kade. Ever since my family died, I cut myself off to most of my relationships. Most people gave up on me because I gave them back nothing in return. I was numb to the world. You helped bring me back."
Kade's eyes softened at my words. His normal, hardened features looked taken aback at my words. "I am sorry for everything you have had to endure. I would have loved to meet your family. I am sure they were every bit as wonderful as you." He brought his lips to my forehead and I closed my eyes, sighing deeply. I could feel the tears tickling my eyelashes, but I blinked them away.
"Thank you," I smiled up at him. To feel cherished was something I had never experienced in a partner before. It was something truly powerful.
Kade brushed his warm lips against my own again and I relished every second of it.
He pulled back slowly. "My father told me this morning that Connor has started the serums. He asked for you today, would you like to see him?"
I had wondered when everything would begin. My heart dropped a little at the thought of Connor going through what I had, however I had been promised it would be nothing like the torture I had endured. The last I had heard, they had begun the blood tests they needed to clear him for the change.
I nodded, "Yes I would like to see how they are handling everything." My eyes flicked back up to the picture that had been frozen on the screen since we had gotten distracted. The gravestones seemed to stare back at me, expecting me to make a difference in both worlds.
I could do this. I told myself as Kade led me away from their haunting presence on the screen above.
I would not let them down.
——
Thank you so much for reading!<3
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Please remember that this is a rough draft and there are going to be mistakes and major editing when I'm done haha but I appreciate you sticking with me through it all <3
writers block still has me in its chokehold but I'm trying my best to fight through it! Big things are coming :)
Love you all!! Please comment especially and vote if you enjoyed it. It may not seem like it but without your encouragement this book would not have made it this far!
Love Kyla <3