Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Khex takes it all in good stride. He pats Rhonda’s hand that’s clinging to his arm. “I’m mated, and you don’t have to perform for us here. You’re safe.”
“I don’t care if you’re mated, and who’s performing?” She gives him a sweet smile and leans even closer.
He grins over at us even as he detangles himself from Rhonda’s grasp. “You brought us a fun one, huh?”
“The funnest,” Bethiah says in a flat voice. “And she’s now all yours.”
“Risda will take good care of her,” he declares, emphasizing the Risda part. “Now, let me show you the lodgings where you’ll be staying until you’re assigned your farm.”
Bethiah keeps her tail twined with mine as we walk, her casual expression hiding the tension I can feel in her body. It’s evident in the way her tail clamps down on mine. She’s watching Dora carefully—as am I—to see how she reacts to Port and Risda itself. Every little smile that Dora makes at the sight of the medic in town, or the general store, or even the custodial office makes me worry that Dora’s going to change her mind about staying with us. That she doesn’t want to be in space after all. She doesn’t want to travel. That she wants to stay right here with the smell of grass and the annoying flies. I flick at the one buzzing around my head again, irritated.
Because if Dora wants to stay here, how can we refuse her? It’s simple. We can’t. This would be the safest place for a human, and so if she wants to stay, Bethiah and I will stay with her. We haven’t discussed it aloud, but I can tell from the tension in Bethiah’s tail that we’re thinking the same thing.
“Oh look, it’s a cow,” Dora says brightly, pointing at an animal coming down the street. “How neat! I haven’t seen one of those in, ah, forever.” She casts a glance over to us.
“It looks sick.” Rhonda sounds disgusted, moving to the far side of the street as one of the locals leads the animal down the street.
“I would imagine that’s why it’s in town,” Simone says with an amused look at the creature. She watches as the woman walks it past, her smile growing broader. “I thought there were just crops here. There’s animals, too? Do we get to pick which one we want to do?”
“When you get a farm, if your land permits it, you can have meat-stock, yes. Some of our farmers elect to only grow vegetables, or flowers, if meat-stock offends their sensibilities. We try to give you all the tools you’ll need,” Khex says. “It’s important to Lord va’Rin and to us that you’re comfortable with your home. My mate,” he continues, and pries Rhonda’s hand off his sleeve again without missing a beat, “grows flowers every other year and has a large herd of meat-stock.”
“How thrilling,” Rhonda murmurs, a look of distaste on her face as the creature bleats when it passes by.
“What about cats? Or dogs? I would love a pet.” Simone’s eyes sparkle with enthusiasm.
“Nothing yet, unfortunately.” When Simone’s look immediately turns crestfallen, Khex is quick to add, “We have to be cautious that we’re not introducing a lot of animals that could be an invasive species.”
Simone nods, but it’s clear to see that she’s disappointed. Dora turns and looks at us meaningfully, but I can’t tell what she’s asking.
“Here we are,” Khex says as our group strolls toward an otherwise unremarkable building. He turns to Simone and Rhonda. “This is the custodial office for Port. You can come here any time of day or night, and someone will be here to assist you. For now, we’ll go inside and get the authorizations filed and get you settled.”
Simone immediately looks panicky, turning toward Dora. I watch my mate’s face, but she gives Simone a nod of reassurance and reaches out to squeeze her arm. “You’ve got this,” she whispers. “We’ll come and check on you before we leave, I promise.”
With a nod, Simone turns to Khex, who gives her a reassuring smile and gestures that she should go inside. “Once we’ve updated your records, I’ll introduce you to Bee. She helps all the humans that come in get settled.”
Rhonda doesn’t look back. With an elegant toss of her hair, she saunters inside the building as if she owns it. Simone trails after her, giving us an awkward wave goodbye.
Khex pauses again, watching Dora and then myself and Bethiah. “Just the two?”
I hold my breath.
“Just the two,” Dora says. “We can visit, right?”
“Of course. They’re not prisoners.” Khex grins. “I’ll make sure you get a copy of their contact information before you head out. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Yeah,” Bethiah says, speaking up for the first time in a while. “Can you get Rhonda a farm far, far away from everyone else? Is there a deserted island you could stick her on, possibly?”