Page 32 of Meteor Storm

“You don’t need to know anything,” he said before abruptly marching out of the yard and disappearing back inside.

Not long after that, the guards ushered whoever was remaining back to their cells, but I was hardly feeling refreshed. There was no real sunlight on the station. No air that wasn’t filtered through vents. Even on the Nexus, they emulated Earth’s light and landscapes in most wings. Everything on this rock was artificial and even in the short time I’d been there, it was starting to get to me.

13: Thilar

I sat in my cell on the edge of my bed, elbows perched on my knees as I awaited Sunhai. Some rich shikari politician had requested her company and since they weren’t known for their stamina, she was likely to be returned to her cell soon.

Just out of my line of sight was Penny, sitting quietly in her strange, mossy biome. I wondered if it was even similar to her home at all. What information I found on her cuff indicated that Earth was more-or-less a cityscape with little natural terrain left, but at some point, it was lush with plant life. She seemed more comfortable in her cell than she had been in mine and that was what mattered most.

When the door at the end of the hall hissed open, my eyes shifted, watching the corridor. I did not want to draw attention to myself, but I was more than eager to know if it was Sunhai. Not surprisingly, it was her and she looked less than bored as she was escorted back into her chamber. She slouched onto her bed with a sigh like she was ready to fall right to sleep, but as soon as the guard disappeared, her head whipped toward me and a crooked smirk moved over her thin lips. She lifted her hand, wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb before she turned her wrist toward me, showing me that a small object was hidden in the tight sleeve hem of her blouse.

I withheld any indicative expression. There was surveillance in that hall after all, not that Pek-Tol monitored it closely. We couldn’t be too careful. One thought lingered above all the others. The next time we found a moment alone in the yard, my khof kaar would be mine.

I didn’t have long to dwell on it. A second guard appeared outside my cell while another entered the hall beyond my line of sight. Suspicion wove its way through me, and I narrowed my eyes.

Then the guard approached with Penny in tow.

She looked every bit as bewildered as I felt. My cell door slid open, and the guard shoved her inside with enough force to send her stumbling forward on her bad ankle. She crashed straight into my arms.

“What is this?” I snarled.

“Incentive,” one guard said. “Pek-Tol wants a good show next game, without rutia. It’s expensive.”

The barrier slid closed and the guards slowly walked away, mockingly laughing as they disappeared. I looked down at Penny, who was already starting to shiver in my unsuitable environment.

“What did they say?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I exhaled. “You are spending the night with me.”

“Why?”

I walked to my bed and sat down with a loud sigh. “It does not matter.”

I knew exactly what Pek-Tol was doing. He saw the possibility of a bond where none existed, a spectacle his patrons would eagerly seize upon. They loved pairing contestants together, inventing romances and rivalries alike so they had someone to cheer for.

Monrians didn’t mate. Humans were still new to this side of the galaxy.

It was a forbidden pairing.

And forbidden things always attracted attention.

Penny’s teeth were starting to chatter, distracting me from my thoughts. I peered up at her while she began to pace, rubbing her arms with her hands.

“Penny,” I said, standing with the furs from my bedding. “Come.”

She looked at the blankets like she was suddenly suspicious of them. “Don’t you need any kind of coverage yourself?”

I grumbled lightly. She was wasting time. I slung the furs around her body and pulled it snuggly closed in the front.

“Monrians, for many generations, have been bred in space colonies. Space is cold. Our moon is cold, too. We are adapted to it. But if I truly wanted, I could change my body temperature to suit any environment.”

“Seriously?”

“It takes effort. The cold is more natural.”

Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Conversation seemed to help in that regard. I wondered if that was a human trait or something specific to her.

“We have cold places on Earth, but most humans don’t live there. The ones that do use furs like this. A lot thicker ones. We have creatures that live in the cold. Most sea mammals have no fur at all. They have this layer of fat called blubber that keeps them warm.” Her eyes roamed over me. “You… don’t have that.”