“Nova?”
I lowered my hand from brushing my hair and smiled at Surkah as she entered my room… alone.
“Hey… where is Mikoh?” I asked, shocked that he wasn’t three steps behind her like he always was.
Surkah grinned. “Nero is outside; he escorted me. Mikoh has disembarked the Ebony to meet with his unit on the ground. He oversees making sure all females leave the craft safely.”
I hummed. “Kol is with him?”
“Of course,” Surkah replied. “His mission does not end until all the females are handed over to the Guard on the ground.”
I nodded in understanding then allowed my gaze to drop to Surkah’s body. She wasn’t wearing the med bay uniform I had been so used to seeing her in. Instead, she was wearing a sparkling golden wrap of some kind. I squinted my eyes, and the more I looked at it, the more I realised it wasn’t a wrap but two separate pieces of clothing.
The top of the outfit was a shell garment and was cut to fit the top half of Surkah’s body perfectly—the layered fabric hugged her breasts tightly. It had low-cut sleeves and a low V-neck. Surkah’s midriff was exposed, and a large thin white sparkling chain wrapped around it, resting above her belly button. It reminded me of necklaces I had seen wealthy women wear around their necks back on Earth, but this was designed as an accessory for the waist. The bottom half of Surkah’s outfit was a long skirt that almost touched the ground; it was pleated and had a slit on either side that exposed Surkah’s legs right up to her bare hips.
“Holy shit,” I exclaimed, gaping at her. “You look incredible.”
Surkah looked down at herself and flushed. The action brought my attention to her white hair. It hung loosely and fell in waves down to her waist. On top of her head were three braids in a row next to the other, keeping the hair from falling into her face while aiding in adding a touch of elegance to appearance. She had clips snagged between the braids that glistened like diamonds when they caught the light.
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes lifting to meet mine. “This is my typical day-to-day clothing. I wear much fancier ensembles when I have to attend Court.”
She looked pretty fancy to me.
“Court?” I questioned.
Surely, it wasn’t like the Court that used to exist on Earth.
“Court is a monthly event my mother holds in the palace ball room. It is a time for mothers to present their unmated sons to the unmated females of Royal City.”
Maji matchmakers?
I blinked. “That sounds… interesting.”
Surkah snorted. “It is boring for me because I can only sit and observe. I am not allowed to mingle. I am already promised to Mikoh, and being princess means no one can look at or speak to me.”
I frowned. “Well, you’ll have me to look at you and talk to you at the next Court thing… if I’m invited?”
Surkah clapped her hands together merrily. “I’m positive Kol will give you permission to attend. It is an event that females enjoy, so he will want you to fit in.”
I wasn’t going to lie. This Court thing sounded like it would have my anxiety levels rising, but logically, I knew I was in safe hands with the Maji, so I reminded myself of that and thought of something more miscellaneous… more female. I looked at Surkah’s stunning outfit and frowned down at my own.
I can’t wear this to Court.
“I’m grateful for these new clothes,” I said, hoping the sincerity I felt showed in my tone. “I promise I truly am. I don’t care that they’re all the same, but I will look silly next to you when you look like that.”
Surkah furrowed her brows. “What do you mean? You cannot wear Ebony attire on Ealra. I’m here to fit you for an ensemble of your own.”
I widened my eyes. “You are?”
Surkah nodded, closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then opened her eyes when the door to my quarters open. Nero walked in with a bundle of blue fabric and some black jewellery of some kind in his arms.
“Hi, Nero.” I awkwardly waved.
He winked at me. “I’ll be right outside. Just call me if either of you need my help… but please, don’t need my help.”
Surkah laughed when he fled the second she took the fabric from him.
“Males hate aiding females in a fitting.”
I chuckled. “Because it’s boring?”
Surkah grinned, a devilish glint in her eyes. “Because the female must be naked and the males can’t touch her even though they’re only a few steps away. It is torture for them, especially when a female is in heat.”
“Holy shit.” I choked. “Kol would kill him if he saw me naked, friend or not.”
One thing I knew about Kol was that he was extremely possessive of me. Extremely.
“Which is why he pleaded for us not to need his help.” She cackled.
I shook my head. “What’s the ‘in heat’ thing you mentioned?”
Surkah looked thoughtful a moment then, with a snap of her fingers, she said, “Ovulation. In heat means ovulation. I remember Sera told me that was the human term for it. It means when a female’s body is ready to become pregnant, a female in heat gives of a scent to males that is almost irresistible. Usually, unmated females are required to stay inside their homestead when they’re in heat because too many fights have started in our villages within the city between unmated males who wish to claim them. Some females enjoy the attention, though, and do it anyway.”
“What bitches,” I said.
Surkah laughed. “I do not know what that means, but it sounds funny.”
I smiled. “Do you think human women go into heat?”
My friend nodded. “They have to; they can’t get pregnant otherwise.”
I flushed. “Sorry, I should know this kind of stuff. I mean, it happens to my body.”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Surkah said and patted my arm. “How could you know about this unless you were taught about it?”
I shrugged in response.
“Do you bleed every month?” I then asked.
“Not yet,” She said. “I will once my uva activates.”
The reminder that Surkah still hadn’t hit her version of puberty amazed me once more. She was close to forty years of age, but she looked like an eighteen-year-old girl. It amazed me how youthful the Maji remained throughout time.
“My father told me it was normal for girls to bleed when they reached puberty,” I said with a snort. “I remember the first time. I had just turned eleven when I got my period for the first time, and I thought I was dying. I cried for days… I still sometimes cry when the bleeding occurs. I don’t know why, though; the tears just start and are hard to stop. It’s a messy time. Literally.”
Surkah giggled. “That is adorable.”
“It is now because I expect it,” I mused. “At the time, it was terrifying and so embarrassing because I was the only girl in my family.”
“Even though my mother is present in my life, I am always surrounded by males, so I understand what you mean.”
I smiled. “That’s a huge factor on why we get along so well, you… you just get me.”
“We’re sisters-in-mate,” Surkah said with pride. “We get each other.”
I smiled.
“So,” I said with a gestured towards the fabric. “How are we going to do this?”
“You are going to remove your clothing, and I will show you how to correctly wrap your ensemble.”
I was hesitant.
“I’m a bit embarrassed,” I admitted.
“Why?” Surkah asked, her eyebrows raised.
Heat creeped up my neck.
“Your brother is the only other being who has seen me naked, and I’m still embarrassed about that.”
“I saw you naked when I bathed and changed your clothing when you arrived aboard the Ebony.”
I rolled my eyes. “I was unconscious then. That’s different.”
Surkah giggled. “You Earthers are funny. A few of your females that I have examined had the same fear of being seen without clothing.”
I glanced at her exposed skin. “I’m guessing Maji females don’t have a problem with nudity?”
“Not at all.” Surkah grinned.
I snorted. “I figured as much.”
“I can turn around if you wish?”
I sighed. “It’s okay. I have to start getting used to your customs sooner rather than later.”
Though much later would help my sudden anxiety.
“I’m proud of you for taking this step,” Surkah praised.
My lips twitched. “Thanks.”
With flushed cheeks, I stripped out of my clothes as fast as I could to get it over and done with.
“This is mortifying,” I said as I stood naked as the day I was born.
Surkah chuckled as she gathered my Ebony clothing and moved it aside.
“Your body is like mine, just smaller and not grey. You’re hairless like our females, too.”
I resisted the urge to cover myself. “My father won credits from gambling when I was sixteen, and he got me laser hair removal. At that point in time, we were sleeping outdoors, and couldn’t bathe very often. Not having to deal with excess body hair helped me.”
“The more you speak of your father, the more I adore him.”
I beamed. “He’d have loved you, and the rest of the Maji. He was such a space freak.”
Surkah giggled. “Are you ready to get started?”
I looked down at my naked body. “This is so embarrassing.”
“You’ll move past it in time. Trust me.”
“I believe you,” I said as I left my hands hanging awkwardly at my sides. “So… what now?”
“Now I dress you since I’m confident you would tie the fabric in knots.”
I snorted. “Go ahead.”
I tried to watch what piece of fabric went where, and how many times a certain section was wrapped around a limb, but I got confused and gave up early on. It took Surkah ten minutes until I was ready. She had to measure, cut away a lot of fabric, and sew new hems until it fit me perfectly.
“Where did you learn to sew like that, Surkah?” I asked in amazement. “You measured the fabric, cut it, and sewed it before I even knew what you were doing.”
Surkah blushed. “My mother taught me and so did my aunt-in-mate. We spend a lot of time together, and sewing is an activity females enjoy. You get pretty good at something when you’ve been doing it for so long.”
I had no doubt.
“Could you maybe, if you wanted to, teach me?” I asked, shyly. “I’d love to know how to make my own clothing. I could barely sew on a patch while mending my clothing back on Earth. If I’m being honest, it was a real pain in the ass.”
Surkah smiled so wide, and her eyes lit up with joy.
“I would love to teach you. It would be my pleasure.”
“Great.” I smiled back. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I watched as Surkah picked up the black sparkled body jewellery and held still as she adjusted it over my neck and around my waist and hips. When she was done, she moved behind me and got to work on my hair. She liked the colour of my hair and wanted to leave most of it down, so she braided the top section of my hair back and used a small black device that automatically tangled itself around my hair when placed on my head.
“What the fuck is that on my head?” I asked in a panic.
Surkah blinked. “There is no direct translation, but it is a small device that wraps around your hair, gets hot then after few seconds it untangles, and your hair falls in nice big waves. The longer you leave it on, the curler your hair gets.”
“What in God’s name can do such a thing?” I demanded, terrified of the object on my head.
Surkah was amused. “You didn’t have devices on Earth for your hair?”
“None that I could afford,” I said as Surkah reached for the device and lifted it from my head.
I waited for pain, but none came.
“It didn’t hurt,” I said, surprised.
“Of course, it doesn’t hurt. Why would we use something that would hurt?”
I shrugged. Surkah snorted.
“Sera says your Earthly haircare products are not as advanced as ours.”
I shrugged again. “I can’t say if she is right or not. I’ve never had anything put on my hair other than cheap scissors to control the length. I lived in poverty on a war ridded world, remember?”
Surkah frowned. “I didn’t forget. I just can’t imagine how awful things were for you.”
I didn’t mean for the happy atmosphere to turn sour, so I gestured to my body with a smile.
“Am I ready?”
Surkah instantly perked up. “Yes, and you’re even more beautiful.”
Before I could reply, she called for Nero, who entered the room with his hands over his eyes not a second later.
“My Princess,” he began. “Kol will cut my eyes from my head if I see his mate naked.”
I smiled. Surkah giggled.
“All is well, Nero,” she assured him.
He didn’t move a muscle. “Is this a test, Princess? I am not very good with tests.”
At that, I laughed. “I’m fully clothed, Nero. I promise.”
He slowly lowered his hands and opened one eye to a slit. When he saw I was clothed, he lowered his hands fully and opened his eyes. Then he surprised me by placing his fist over his chest and bowing.
“You’re a sight to behold, Princess Nova.”
When he stood right and smiled at me, I couldn’t help but blush.
“That is very sweet of you, Nero. Thank you.”
He nodded once. “Are you both ready to be escorted from the Ebony? The humans have nearly fully disembarked, and festivities are already underway.”
“Festivities?” I questioned. “What kind of festivities?”
“A grand welcoming feast followed by song and dance, of course,” Surkah answered me. “Tables will line the streets with mountains of food for Maji and our new human citizens. The people are very excited about our new additions. The feast will not be until dusk, but the people are all very excited.”
That seemed a little too much too soon to me, but I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Instead, I smiled and brought the attention back to my outfit.
“Do you think Kol will like the clothing?”
Nero snorted. “You could be covered in tree leaves, and he would still find you the most attractive being in the cosmos. You’re his mate, so he will only every see beauty in you, Princess.”
I placed my hand on my chest. “Nero, that’s so sweet of you to say.”
He shrugged, but his lips twitched.
“Nero’s future mate is lucky to have a male that has a way with words,” Surkah commented.
“I agree.” I nodded. “You’re quite the catch, Nero.”
He scuffed his boot against the floor. “Princesses, I have no interest in a mate. My duty is to the Guard.”
Surkah rolled her eyes. “You can be mated and still have a duty to the Guard.”
Nero scowled at her, and it made me laugh.
I watched the exchange. “You’re the only male, besides Mikoh and Kol, who backtalks Surkah.”
Nero smiled wide. “I am her kinsperson, so I can get away with annoying her.”
Kinsperson?
I looked at Surkah. “He is your what?”
She was silent for a moment as she thought then she said, “It is another way to say blood relative. Nero is my cousin. Like the cousins that you once had.”
I nodded in understanding. “Whose son is he?”
“My uncle and aunt-in-mate,” she answered. “Nero is a very special member of our family. He is the only son born to my uncle and aunt-in-mate.”
I blinked. “The only one? But I thought a female’s uva—”
“My aunt-in-mate became very sick not long after she birthed Nero.” Surkah cut me off. “It is a miracle she did not die, Father says. She recovered, thank Thanas, but the mysterious sickness affected her body… her reproductive system to be exact. Her uva never contracted after the sickness; she never had another monthly bleed, and she never bore another young one. Nero is greatly spoiled because of this. His mother and father love him very much.”
“By love me very much, she means they suffocate me with emotion and question me at every turn to see when I will take a mate and make them grand-offspring,” Nero said with a teasing grin.
I raised a brow. “What kind of son are you to keep them waiting?”
“Ha!” Surkah giggled. “Nova agrees with the family. You should take a mate and produce little ones!”
Nero groaned. “You females always stick together.”
I snickered and bumped my fist with Surkah, but she looked down at her hand, then to mine, with furrowed brows.
“Why did you hit me?” she asked, baffled.
I laughed. “I didn’t hit you; I bumped you.”
She stared at me blankly, and so did Nero. I laughed harder.
“I can’t believe I’m going to have to explain what a fist bump is.” I smiled as I shook my head. “It’s kind of like a high five.”
I was met with more blank stares.
“Oh, my Almighty.” I giggled.
Surkah looked at Nero. “She is amused at us not knowing what she is talking about.”
Nero smirked. “I can tell.”
“A fist bump, what I did to you, Surkah,” I said, regaining her attention, “is just a gesture of greeting or affirmation.”
Surkah nodded slowly. “And the highest of fives that you mentioned?”
I cackled. “Just ‘high five’, not highest of fives.”
“Okay,” Surkah said, her lips twitching. “What is a high five?”
I lifted my hand in the air with my palm facing Surkah.
“Mirror my action,” I asked. “Then clap your hand against mine.”
After our hands had clapped together, I said, “That’s a high five. I used to do them with my father, uncle, and cousins whenever one of us brought down a nicely sized buck or caught some juicy fish. It kind of a celebratory gesture.”
“Is my hand supposed to sting?” Surkah questioned, staring at her palm.
“Sometimes.” I grinned.
“And this is a custom with all humans?” Nero asked.
I shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it, but yeah, I guess so.”
Nero looked like he made a mental note of that information, and I made a note myself to talk to him about it just so he didn’t scare a human woman half to death by shoving his big hand in her face waiting for a high five.
“Are you both ready to go?” he asked. “Kol is requesting our presence.”
“Tell him a few more minutes. Nova has to see herself first in the viewing glass.”
“Females,” Nero said with a playful shake of his head. “I will wait outside. Please, do not take long.”
Surkah waved Nero on, earning another scowl from him before he left the room. I laughed when Surkah took my arm and tugged me across the room until we stood in front of a blank section of the wall. I blinked and looked at my sister-in-mate.
“It’s a wall,” I commented.
“Everything is not what it seems to be, Nova,” Surkah said before she leaned forward and placed her hand against the wall. When she removed her hand, the wall slid upwards, and it revealed a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.
“Wow!” I gasped. “That is gigantic.”
Surkah smiled wide as my shock became evident when my eyes landed on myself.
“Holy fuck,” I exhaled as I stared at the woman in the mirror. “Surkah, how is that me?”
I had on the same wrap/dress thingy that Surkah had on, only mine was blue, and my body jewellery was black. My neck, arms, lower back, waist, and hips were exposed, but it looked… good. My skin was a beautiful porcelain white and clear with not a speck of dirt in sight. It almost looked as if it gleamed. I used to think I had a shapeless, average body but not in the ensemble I was wearing. It showcased just how feminine I was. There was a curve to my hips, a narrowing at my waist, and then slight fullness to my chest. My legs looked very long with the slits in the skirt going right up above my exposed hips.
“You’re a beauty,” Surkah beamed.
I smiled back at her. “You’re very sweet.”
Surkah’s brows shot up to her hairline. “Sweet? You know what I taste like?”
I burst into surprised laughter.
“No!” I choked. “I mean, your words are kind. Saying you’re sweet is just another way of saying you’re being kind.”
Surkah sighed. “Your human words do confuse me at times.”
“I can see,” I said, with a playful shake of my head. “I hope the Maji off the Ebony don’t have as hard a time with language barriers as you seem to have.”
Surkah snorted. “Our smartest Maji will shadow a lot of your females to learn your way and words, and they will document that information and make it available to the rest of our society to help us understand humans more.”
“Wow, who came up with that idea?”
“The Elders, of course.”
I raised a brow. “Who are the Elders?”
“The oldest and wisest of the people,” Surkah explained. “They’re my father’s Council and hugely respected amongst the people. Four of them were alive when we had to flee our original home world. They were only youngsters, barely twenty years of age, but they had to quickly become grown males and help the people find a new planet and establish a home there. They helped find Ealra and aided in the people starting our life here.”
“Wow,” I said, dumbstruck. “That is incredible. How old are they?”
“Very old,” Surkah replied. “Five hundred centuries.”
“Five hundred?”
“It still shocks you that our lifespan is so long?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Surkah giggled. “You’ll adjust. Eventually.”
“How many Maji were saved when your planet died?” I quizzed.
Surkah frowned. “Only 1900. It happened so suddenly; there was no warning when our planet began to break apart, so getting off the planet was a scrambled effort. Many of those rescued were females. Our males caring for females so greatly is what led to our race being endangered.”
“I don’t understand.”
Surkah sighed. “Many of the females who were rescued were mated, and their mates died back on our original home world. That means a few days after…”
“The females died,” I finished. “Their mates died, so their essence did, too.”
“Yes.” Surkah nodded, glumly. “My father and uncle, whom are from the same pregnancy and were just a few days old at the time, were saved. Their remaining brothers were not as they were on a hunt and too far away to make it to the crafts to flee. My father was not the firstborn, but he was older than my uncle, so when all his brothers died, he became the oldest living son and the new Revered Father. My grandmother was saved also, but my grandfather was not, so she died six days after they escaped. She stayed awake the entire time and extracted milk from her breast for her sons to drink after she died. She produced a lot of milk that would last weeks once stored in freezers on the craft they escaped on. Females can overproduce when they choose to.”
I was wide-eyed.
“How did your father and uncle survive?” I asked, astonished. “Surely, the milk would have run out before Ealra was found.”
Surkah nodded. “It did run out, but as I said, a breastfeeding mother can overproduce milk if she chooses to do so. Many females who were saved with their mates had infants and overproduced to help feed the Revered Father and prince.”
I nodded in understanding.
“Did it take long to find Ealra?”
Surkah nodded. “Our race took refuge on Vaneer, Vada’s home world, and along with the Vaneer, they searched for a suitable planet we could survive on. Ealra was discovered three years later, and a few months after its discovery, our entire race moved there.”
“Kol said Maji weren’t the only inhabitants on Ealra. What other species live there?”
“Many creatures live there, but only one other intelligent species like us call Ealra home, the Eedam. They’re tribespeople. Very primal and not advanced like Maji at all. We don’t bother them, and they don’t bother us.”
I nodded.
“What else did Kol tell you?” Surkah asked, an eyebrow raised.
“A lot.” I sighed, my shoulders slumping. “He told me about Terra, about the humans there, and about the deal your people made with Earth’s Officials.”
Surkah swallowed. “I urged him to inform you of Terra and its rulers, but he was scared you’d want to us to go to the new human planet.”
“He told me as much,” I said with a shrug. “He got what he wanted, though. We’re mated, and I’m by his side instead of on my way to Terra.”
“You… You feel betrayed, though?” Surkah pressed. “By Kol?”
I did. I felt like my options were once again taken away from me. I wouldn’t have chosen Terra over Kol, or the Maji in general, but he never gave me the choice. He made it for me, and that is what bothered me.
“I do,” I admitted. “I hate lies, Surkah, and he has lied to me. Something he has done more than once.”
“It pains him, Nova,” Surkah assured me. “He would never lie to you unless he was in fear of something.”
To me, that still wasn’t a good enough reason to lie about something that involved my very way of life.
I inhaled and exhaled, trying to force him from my mind.
“Let’s just go with Nero so we can get the introductions to your planet underway,” I said, locking eyes with Surkah’s through the mirror. “My argument with Kol is the least of my worries right now.”
“You need not worry about Ealra and the people, dear sister. Your arrival is a celebration… You’ll see.”