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1
SERAIAH
If Seraiah Vedure didn’t get some time away from the loving but smothering embrace of her family soon, she might very well lose her mind.
She loved the whole big, messy, loud lot of them with all her heart. She really did. But they were driving her mad with their talk of settling down. Lately, the conversation at every evening meal was the elders reminiscing about how, by her age, they were all married and popping out babies to snuggle and spoil, all while giving her pointed stares.
She snorted. Last time she checked, marriage required at least one other person for it to count legally. As for babies? Maybe some day. But not right now.
Picking up speed, she ran through Cywillada’s massive metal gates, waving hello to the guards posted there.
“Seraiah, your mother’s looking for you,” one of them called as she blew past them.
“Thanks,” she said over her shoulder, slapping a hand over her bare wrist. Oops, she thought. She’d been in such a hurry to get out of the house before anyone else woke up, she forgot the booster for her comm on the bedside table.
Hells bells. No doubt tonight’s communal meal would include a hefty helping of guilt plus a side of rebuke about the dangers of leaving the safety of the city walls, topped off with a lesson on how the booster supplemented the comm signal so she’d never be out of touch ever. Goddess forbid.
Her parents, aunties, and uncles seemed to forget that the Kalln Territory was no longer a dangerous place ruled by a greedy despot who cared for nothing except himself and the credits he squeezed out of the citizens. Yemebada was gone, overthrown by Tanl’n Maher, their current leader. Because of Tanl’n and his crew of former mercenaries, the city of Cywillana and its oasis had never been safer. Guards patrolled regularly. For the first time in years, she didn’t need a bodyguard to leave the walled city. She was free to check on her beloved trees any time she wanted without fear or repercussion.
Besides, she was a grown-assed adult, perfectly capable of living her own life and making her own decisions, including who, if, and when she would marry.
At the moment, she had no desire to settle down. In her experience, most men turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. Some day, she hoped someone would prove her wrong. But for now, that was her opinion, and she was sticking to it.
“And maybe I like being on my own. Did they ever think of that?” she asked the wind as her feet pounded over the compacted soil around the town’s high outer walls. She grimaced at the memory of last night’s date, arranged by her determined mother, who badgered her until she finally cracked and agreed to go. “I don’t care if he was polite to the family or that he’s a successful goat farmer with a big house.” Spurred on by the irritation flowing through her, she ran faster, her arms pumping, her high ponytail slapping against her back with each stride. “I. Don’t. Want. Him.” The words built upon each other until she was shouting so loud, she was surprised none of those motorcycle-riding warriors who patrolled the fields rode over to see what the fuss was.
The man had been nice enough, she supposed. A bit awkward and boring, if she was completely honest. But worse, there’d been no connection, no spark. At night’s end, it was all clammy hands and sloppy kisses before she put a very firm stop to his advances. No, thank you.
She wanted someone who made her heart beat faster, who sent sparks zinging through her entire body when he touched her. Someone who talked about things other than goats. And since she was asking for a galaxy’s worth of dreams, she also wanted someone tall with lovely, rippling muscles and soulful eyes that made her melt. Someone kind and loving who accepted her as she was. Someone who worshiped her above all others. Honestly, she wanted the magic of true love.
She accepted that no man could possibly live up to the ideal she’d built in her head, but she also wasn’t willing to settle.
True love existed. The Verdet, her people, didn’t have mates per se, but they did sense connections between souls. Her father said that when he saw her mother for the first time, he knew she was the one for him. He had to work to earn her mother but, in the end, their love shone true. And Sona, her eldest sister, found it with their fearless leader, Tanl’n. Seraiah wanted…no, she deserved nothing less than true love.
Her breath coming in sharp pants, she ran off the ache in her heart at the depressing thought of never finding her own connection. No, it’ll happen, she told herself. In the meantime, her trees would give her solace. They always did.
Slowing her pace, she turned down the dusty road that looped the fields and groves ready for harvest to her experimental trees on the far side of the oasis. Gods, but she hated the process of running. Sweat dripped down her face and got into her eyes. Her thighs rubbed together where she’d missed with the anti-chafing lotion. Her large boobs, compressed to within an inch of their lives by her sports bra, still managed to bounce uncomfortably with each stride. Her long black hair plastered itself to her neck and the side of her face. Her golden copper skin turned an alarming shade of red.
What sucked most of all was that she felt healthy and strong after it was all said and done. It wasn’t fair. There were amazing scientific miracles happening all over the galaxy. Why hadn’t someone invented a pill or machine or something to replicate the benefits of consistent exercise without the pain and suffering of actual workouts? She should suggest that to Saadat. If anyone could find the right combination of plants and herbs and scientific-y stuff to save Seraiah from ever having to run another step, surely it was her genius youngest sister.
At the edge of the date palm grove, she slowed to a walk, her hands on her hips as she fought to replenish her oxygen and cool down. The morning suns dappled through the wide fronds overhead to the sandy soil beneath her feet. Though it was still early, the air felt heavy with the promise of a powerful afternoon storm, the kind that drove everyone indoors for safety’s sake. As her family learned when they first landed on Cinzia, you ignored the powerful storms that swept across the planet’s surface at your peril. Hells, unless they had a death wish, no one even flew during the height of autumn’s storm season, sticking to ground vehicles for transport despite the drastic increase in travel time. Not that she needed to worry about that, seeing how she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Heaving a sigh at this morning’s grumpy thoughts, she stared up at the canopy of leaves overhead. She might feel stuck and out of sorts at the moment, but she could always take solace in her trees.
Some measure of peace attained, she turned her attention to what needed to be done. Today’s plan had included checking all the orchards today and pruning an older olive grove she was rehabilitating, but getting to all that wouldn’t be possible with a storm looming. Those suckers popped up fast and hit hard. As she inspected a palm for any signs of the fungus that had plagued this stand of trees, she adjusted her checklist.
With a whimper, she crossed off a dip in the refreshing waters of the oasis, her usual reward for the morning’s torture session before changing into her work clothes. She looked down at what she had on: a tight baby blue tank top, short black running shorts, and a pair of ergonomic running shoes. Not the best protection for climbing trees, but it would have to. She had no time to spare. Before the storm hit, she needed to check that the olive trees they’d planted last week were properly staked, and there was an older tree that might not survive the high winds if it didn’t get some careful pruning first.
Giving the recovering date palm a gentle pat, she spun on her heel and crashed into a thick tree trunk that unexpectedly appeared in her path. She blinked hard and stumbled back.
Strong hands wrapped around her upper arms, catching her before she fell on her ass. She looked up to see a luscious tree of a man standing in front of her, his tight shirt emphasizing his ripped abs and broad chest, his long hair blowing in the wind, the sparkling rays of the rising suns bathing him in a radiant red glow. He looked like an advertisement for one of those fancy hotels on the pleasure planet. She almost expected a dramatic swell of music to fill the air.
“Hello, there,” he said in a deep, syrupy voice that made her knees wobble and sent a pulse of heat straight to her lady bits. “What a bit of luck, us running into each other here.” He flashed her a predatory grin filled with sharper-than-human teeth.
One of the Felida people, she thought, noting the cat-like ears poking up through his thick mane of hair. Snippets of information about the Felida flashed through her brain: ruthless in protection of their loved ones and territory, possessive, impulsive, aloof… much like their distant feline relations. As she sucked in a breath to ask him what he was doing here in her grove, someone behind her clapped a sweet-smelling cloth over her mouth.
Caught off-guard, she inhaled the fumes, her body going all loose and noodley. “Shit,” she slurred through the cloth, trying to aim a wobbly knee towards a blurry groin.
“Don’t worry, little tree nymph,” the cat-man said, dodging her weak attempt at self-defense and lifting her in his arms.
