When Bethany opened her eyes, her head was pounding. She blinked a few times until the room came into focus. She was lying in a huge bed – her bed, she remembered. There was a man in a green coat with gold stripes who was examining a T-screen, and Snia was asleep in a chair next to the bed.

“Snia?” Bethany’s voice came out hoarse and croaky. Snia jerked awake at once.

“Bethany! Doctor, she’s awake.”

“How are you feeling?” The man in green leaned over her, shining a light in her eyes and feeling for her pulse. Bethany flinched; she hurt everywhere.

“I’ll tell Klowix.” Snia leaped out of her chair and rushed from the room.

A few moments later, Klowix came striding in. Brushing the doctor aside, Klowix knelt next to the bed.

“Bethany, are you alright?”

She hesitated. “I think so.”

“Good. Then you can tell me why you weren’t tested before you came here.”

“Um. What?”

“Untri was under strict instructions to test every girl he brought. What happened?”

Bethany looked as Snia for help, who had come in behind Klowix.

Snia explained. “Some humans have a bad reaction to the sharing. Most die – you were lucky you survived. If Klowix hadn’t realized what was happening and reacted so fast, you would have. There is a medical test you can take to tell you if you’re susceptible to the reaction. Untri was supposed to test all humans before bringing them here.”

Bethany’s head was throbbing and she couldn’t think properly. “I… I don’t know.”

The doctor was firm now. “She needs rest. You can question her later. For now, no stress. She’s past the worst, but she still needs care if she’s to make a full recovery.”

“Fine. Snia, tell Trili to get Untri here, then stay with Bethany. Get her anything she needs and see to it that no one disturbs her.”

“Yes, Commander.” Snia quickly curtsied before hurrying off.

Bethany reached out, snagging Klowix’s hand. “Stay with me.”

Klowix’s expression softened. “I will return once I have resolved the reason for the threat to your life. Rest easy, now.”

He kissed her on the cheek and left. Bethany was stunned. What had just happened? She’d taken him by the hand and asked him to stay. She felt alone and abandoned with him suddenly gone. She barely knew him – how had such strange and confusing feelings wormed their way into her without her realizing?

Snia came back in and sat down beside her.

“Where’s Klowix?”

Snia sounded tentative. “Gone to kill Untri, I think. Don’t worry, he won’t really kill him. At least, I think he won’t.”

“I feel strange.” Bethany watched as the doctor made some notes on the T-screen

“You’re lucky to be alive.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Klowix…”

“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t know. That’s the sharing – it brings two people closer. I imagine Klowix is feeling more drawn to you as well at the moment.”

“It makes us closer?” Panic started to swell inside her. She was already in enough trouble as it was, she didn’t need feelings for Klowix injected into the situation. How was she going to keep distant from him now? She supposed she should have thought of all this before the sharing, but she’d wanted him so badly, she’d lost sight of her better judgement.

Snia reassured her. “Hey, relax. Klowix will throw a fit if he sees you upset. The doctor was serious, you need to take it easy for a while.”

Bethany nodded, trying to get her breathing under control. The sharing was done, and there wasn’t anything she could do about that now. Snia began humming a soothing tune, and before she knew it, Bethany was drifting off to sleep.

She woke up to the sound of shouting.

“You had strict orders! What were you thinking? Did you even think? Explain yourself!”

She heard a vaguely familiar voice stammering in the face of Klowix’s rage. “Her – her parents didn’t want it! It was – against their religion. I swear, I told them, but they were insistent. The girl knew nothing of it, I should have warned her of the possibility.”

“AND YOU DIDN’T THINK TO MENTION ANY OF THIS BEFORE NOW?”

Snia giggled. “Klowix is going to take Untri’s head off.”

Bethany opened her eyes and looked away, uncomfortable. It had just occurred to her that she should probably tell Klowix about Untri. The man was making illegal deals behind his back to earn extra gold. No doubt the test would also have cost him gold, which he pocketed when skipping that step.

She couldn’t tell him, though. Her parents’ lives depended on it.

Snia got up and quietly closed the door, muffling the sound of the shouts somewhat. Bethany closed her eyes, trying to think of what to do. She needed to stay away from Klowix. When he came back, she’d just have to act cold, that was all. She could do that.

She thought she’d fallen asleep again, because when she opened her eyes, the light was coming through the window from a different angle. Klowix was sitting next to her, watching her sleep. As soon as she woke, he met her gaze with an intensity that took her breath away.

His gaze remained steady. “I did not know. I promise you, I had no idea. If I’d known you had not been tested, I never would have…”

“It’s ok. I believe you. It’s not your fault.”

“Untri was my agent, acting on my behalf. I am responsible for his actions towards you.”

“What did you do with him?”

A ghost of a smile crossed Klowix’s face. “He’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Not that he deserves it. Whether anyone in the galaxy will dare to hire him now remains to be seen.”

Bethany privately thought that Untri would be just fine, what with all the money he’d stolen from Klowix, but she didn’t say anything.

Klowix continued and pulled her out of her own thoughts. “The doctor has given strict instructions that you are to rest. He said the bad reaction to the sharing is only an initial reaction; now that your body has survived it, you will be able to try again with no ill effects, should you want to. You have my word on that. Of course, after your experience, it would be understandable if you never wanted to do it again.”

Bethany wanted to take his hand and tell him that she did want to do it again, that she wanted to be close to him like that again.

She wanted him to stay at her bedside until she was well, then take her in his arms and kiss her, but she couldn’t – not if she wanted to get home. Besides, those weren’t her thoughts anyway. It was the side effects of the sharing talking.

“I think I need to be alone for a while,” she forced herself to say.

A flash of hurt crossed Klowix’s face, but it was gone quickly. “Of course. I will have one of the girls come in and sit with you. The doctor says you need to be monitored, just in case.”

Bethany nodded and turned onto her side. She’d pretend to be asleep so that she didn’t need to talk to whomever came to watch her. She didn’t want to talk; she wanted to wallow in her misery in peace.

* * *

Bethany subtly chose the place at the table farthest from Klowix, pretending not to see him looking at her. She was getting good at eating Evion food now; she didn’t drop anything this time.

“How was your day, Commander?”

He replied warmly to Ruth. Bethany tried not to listen. Ever since the doctor had given her the go-ahead to be up and about again, Klowix had been showing the utmost respect for her wish to have some time alone. When he wanted something from one of the others, he simply ordered it, but he left her to do what she pleased.

Bethany was miserable. She could see how he wanted to be close to her, the same way she wanted to be close to him. She forced herself not to respond to his signals, and he took the hint and stayed away.

After dinner, Klowix followed Ruth to her room. They shared everything, and Bethany knew that he hadn’t so much as kissed any of the others yet, but it still made her jealous.

She could just hear them talking through the closed door. She wanted to throw something. Culip wanted to do some more shopping, and Bethany reasoned it couldn’t hurt to try to take her mind off things, so she acquiesced to another session of acquiring the many things her new friends thought she needed.

It wasn’t all bad; curled up on the bed together in front of the T-screen, Bethany couldn’t help but get drawn into it. She hadn’t been a fan of such excessive shopping at first, but Culip was converting her.

“So Bethany, when do you think you’ll be feeling better?”

She looked at Trili, who had a concerned expression. “I’m feeling fine. The doctor cleared me; I’m fully recovered.”

“Clearly not. You’re still avoiding Klowix. What’s going on?”

Bethany sighed. She should have expected this sooner or later. They didn’t know that she wasn’t here by choice; they’d be wondering why she was squandering her chances with Klowix. Every time she lied to them, she felt worse. In this case, she settled for the truth, or at least part of it.

“I don’t like the way the sharing made me feel. I mean, not while it was happening, that was amazing. I mean afterward. If I’m going to feel closer to Klowix, I want it to be because of me, not because of some strange Evion ritual.”

Lizzy nodded. “I guess that makes sense. None of us is really qualified to judge; we’ve never partaken in the sharing. Have you talked to Klowix about it?”

“No, I just need some space.”

Beoli spoke up. “He’s giving you that. He must really like you. If it was anyone else ignoring him, he’d just dismiss them.”

Bethany looked up. “Does that happen often? People being dismissed?”

Trili shifted in her seat. “Not that often. He likes to get to know us thoroughly so that he can be sure we’re not his secrena before dismissing us. I’ve been here the longest, about eight months. You’re the newest, and Beoli was about two months before you.”

“I’m still in contact with Alexa,” Lizzy put in. “She was dismissed maybe four months ago, right? Anyway, she’s booked onto one of those explorer ship tours. She messages me whenever she has signal.”

“I think I may join her, when the time comes.” Trili brushed the hair from her face. “I’ve had the time of my life here, but I think if Klowix was going to choose me as his secrena, he would have done it by now.”

Anna shook her head. “He likes you, just not like that. I think he sees you as someone who could become a friend, in time.”

“I hope so. He’s a good man. Maybe we’ll stay in contact once I’ve left.”

Bethany tried not to let her relief show on her face. Klowix had been spending more hours with Trili than anyone else. She knew he hadn’t done anything other than talk to her, but she’d worried that once he gave up waiting for her, he’d turn to Trili’s charms. The fact that Klowix saw her as a friend soothed the hot lump of jealousy in Bethany’s throat – not that she had anything to feel jealous about. She was the one avoiding him, after all.

“What’s an explorer ship tour?” Bethany needed something to take her mind off thoughts of Klowix.

“Oh yes, you wouldn’t know about that – I doubt they come to the backlands on earth. It’s like a gigantic tour of the galaxy. People go to see the sights, to experience everything the universe has to offer. The testimonials are amazing, so many people have found their passion and happiness from something they did on a tour.”

“It’s really expensive, though, most people can’t afford it. We can, of course, once we’re done here.”

“Is he going to be able to find more women, without Untri?” Bethany was beginning to wonder if the arrival of someone new would take Klowix’s attention away from her.

Snia absent-mindedly played with Bethany’s hair. “He’ll find someone else, but I don’t think he’s worried about that right now.”

“Why not?”

“After you arrived, he told Untri not to bring anyone else for now. We think he’s waiting to see how things develop with you. He’s never gone so far with anyone else.”

Bethany looked away. She needed to find a way to make Klowix move on, to find someone else to focus on. It didn’t help that some part of her didn’t want him to.

Beoli was looking shrewdly at her. “You know, if you think you made a mistake coming here, you can tell him that.”

Bethany’s head snapped up. “I can?”

“Of course. Grela did that. She stayed for a few weeks, but decided she wanted to go home.”

“Doesn’t that… doesn’t that violate the agreement?” Bethany suddenly felt daring.

Trili shook her head. “I still don’t think you understand the concept of a secrena. It’s hard for humans, who haven’t grown up knowing what it means. The fact that she wanted to leave meant that she wasn’t his secrena. She did what he intended her to do – met him and spent some time with him. He knew it wasn’t her when she wanted to leave, and so did she. He wished her well.”

Culip didn’t look up. “Any of us could leave at any time. Personally, I stay because I’m still not sure whether Klowix is the one, but that’s just me.”

Anna chimed in now. “I don’t think he’s my secrena. I like it here, though. I’ll have to leave eventually, but for now, I’m happy here.”

“I don’t think he’ll be dismissing you any time soon. I suspect he may ask you to join his staff to give him massages full-time.” Beoli smiled at her.

Lizzy agreed. “You do give great massages.”

Bethany was struck dumb. She could leave? At any time?

What was she waiting for, then? She should go – now – and tell Klowix that she wanted to go home. Her parents would be worried sick about her. She wouldn’t have to tell him that she’d been taken by slavers, and her family would remain safe.

She could go home.