Leah Booker.

What a gorgeous specimen. So full of energy, so damn beautiful! The way she fidgeted with her tunic made me want to wrap my arms around her tightly and never let go, and the way she looked at me when I took my cloak off made me want to pin her down on the floor and have my way with her…

But what have I done!

With all my good intentions, I have wrestled her away from her family, her friends, everything she knows and loves, and in this time of crisis!

Her home is under attack, and all my tournament victories, my standing in the Sacred Order, it all means nothing if I can’t help Leah.

If I can’t help the person who means the most to me.

She feels it too. She must! This connection, so profound, so deep. It is still early, and we have had barely any time to talk about it, but I know she feels it too.

I cannot wait to make her mine.

These thoughts are running through my mind as I rush through the busy Ua halls of the temple. I brush against several elders who are on their way down to the underground lagoons, the air thick with Lovespores even up here. I race up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and arrive at the Sacred Mother’s private quarters out of breath and sweaty.

I don’t bother knocking and simply barge into the room.

Mother Dragica looks at me in surprise, her pink forehead all up in wrinkles. She lowers the paper she was reading and eyes me curiously over her spectacles.

“Davor,” she says, “I’d tell you to come in but you’ve already taken that liberty. How can I help you?”

Mother Dragica is one of the oldest Sacred Mother’s in the entire Kazimir Order. I’ve always admired her — I’ve found her to be strict but fair. If anyone can help me in this time of need, it’s her.

I hope.

“My Chosen,” I say, gasping for breath. “She is here, and we need your help.”

“Here? On New Exon you mean?”

“In my very room!”

“By the Mating Star,” she exclaims, her eyes growing wide. “Are you sure?”

I pull my sleeves and show her my brightly glowing symbols. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“How am I only just hearing of this?!” She says sternly. “You should have come to me right away!”

“My apologies, Mother,” I say. “I wanted to figure it out myself, first.”

She shakes her head. “Men,” she tuts under her breath. “Explain how this came to pass.”

“There is no time!” I say. “We must travel to the Trade Ports as soon as possible!”

“You will start at the beginning, young monk! The sooner you start, the sooner you can go on your foolish adventure!”

Despite the fact that I’m a tournament winner and accomplished warrior, no one can chide you quite like Mother Dragica. I swallow the urge to cuss her out and instead start at the beginning, rattling off everything that has happened to me at a record pace.

She leans back and pushes her spectacles up her nose.

“Remarkable,” she says. “Absolutely remarkable. You teleported her here? You’re absolute sure about that?”

“I’m positive, Mother,” I say. “But Garna is still under attack. We need to send a message to the Galactic Aid Corps as soon as possible. And I need your written approval to take an offworlder through the Thaboist jungles.”

“Hm,” she frowns.

Hm?! This is no time for hms!

“I wish I could help you, Davor, I really do, but your Chosen has arrived at a most inopportune time I’m afraid. In fact, I don’t think her timing could possibly be worse. Are you familiar with Theros?”

“The Thaboist warrior? One of their champions? What does he have to do with anything?”

“I’m afraid he has everything to do with your situation, young monk. Our Thaboist warrior has recently returned from Corlis Station — with a human mate. Well, she’s partial blooded, but visually human. They too are Chosen. Their public mating ceremony was held only yesterday, and this has caused some… tension, in the Warrior Regiments.”

“I don’t give a damn about tension!” I say, slamming my balled up fist down on her table in an unprecedented loss of control. “The lives of her friends and family are at stake!”

“I understand your frustration, believe me, Davor. However, I can’t risk another incident with the Regiments, not so soon Theros and Anaya’s Mating Ceremony. Garna is under Federation jurisdiction, so as far as the Zoran are concerned, it’s a human, internal affair.”

I am gobsmacked.

I had never expected Mother Dragica to be such a coward. I simply refuse to believe she’s shutting me down just to avoid ruffling some feathers.

“I’m not asking you to send the war fleet,” I grind through my teeth. “I’m asking for safe passage across the surface of our own damn planet. If you cannot give me that guarantee, then what kind of society do we even have?! Is New Exon a dictatorship, ruled by the whims of the Regiments?!”

“Of course not,” she bristles, “and I don’t appreciate your tone, young monk! Know your place.”

“No,” I say, barely resisting the urge to flip her table and trash her entire office. “You should know your place. You’re our damn leader, you should be looking out for us, and instead you bow down to the Thaboists purists like a scared dog.”

I stand up with anger smoldering inside of me and head for the door.

“Davor,” she says sharply. “In all my years I’ve never been spoken to that way.”

I turn, doorknob in hand, waiting for her to tell I’m expelled from the order. Instead, I find a bemused smile on her thin lips.

“It’s what I like about you. You are a breath of fresh air amongst all these stuffy robes. Very well, I will see what I can do, but you must wait for my approval before you venture into the jungle.”

“Mother,” I say. “I appreciate the effort, but there is simply no time to waste!”

“I understand, but it will take me at least a day regardless. Be patient, Davor.”

How am I ever going to explain that to Leah?

“And?!” The human female jumps to her feet as I close the door to my quarters behind me. “Can we go?”

I haven’t even spoken a word and already my heart is breaking. I’m supposed to be her protector, her savior, and instead I’m flailing aimlessly.

“We have to wait,” I say, forcing the words out. “The permit — it’s complicated. It’ll take a few hours. Maybe more.”

“What?” She says, tears forming in her eyes. “My people are dying! Who cares about some stupid permit?!”

“I know,” I try, but I can tell my words aren’t landing. She retreats into her shell, withdrawing from me… and I don’t blame her.

Even with all my strength, I feel absolutely powerless right now…