Page 98 of Ahelno
Three months later, and my mate still took my breath away. She looked stunning in a bright pink confection Robnar had created for her. She looked like dessert. I wondered how soon I could steal her away and eat her.
The official purpose of this gala was to announce Kashtinela’s engagement. It turns out the little minx had been having a secret affair with Devar, Lord Valenz’ son, for nearly two years. Lord Valenz, who had been my father’s chief rival for my mother’s hand, had been sowing political unrest against my father for years. Now that his grandchildren stood to inherit the throne, he had suddenly become a royalist. Imagine that.
My father had at first refused the match. He detested Valenz, and for good reason. But Kashtinela pointed out that mating Devar would unite the two strongest Ptexari dynasties and ensure peace for generations. My father could not argue with that. She had become quite the master negotiator, my little sister.
Andie was beside herself. She adored Kashtinela and was thrilled she would get to mate the male of her choice and remain onplanet with us. She truly did love her as a sister.
Andie was also being honored, although she hated that. I found that amusing. She loved to perform for an audience. She never hesitated to sing or dance, or play an instrument for our entertainment. She accepted the accolades for her artistic talents with grace. But for some reason, she still felt uncomfortable when discussing her role as the Ptexari savior, or as one of the fabled Lumanela. She said M’Pak loved the statue, though. I’m not sure how she could tell, but I believed her. Sometimes I would swear that Granthor could read her mind.
There was a buzz of excitement in the room that had nothing to do with either of the females in my life, however. The Grays had sent a delegation to attend the Gala. The Grays were a Tier 9 species. They were one step below the Creators, and it was largely believed they did the Creators’ work, although no one really knew what that was. The Grays were not restricted by interstellar travel the same way we lower tiers were. They could exist in multiple dimensions, or in multiple places within a single dimension, at once. To us, it would look like they could teleport. To them, they simply were wherever they wished to be.
They weren’t so much a police force as they were guides. They nudged different species onto specific evolutionary paths. Usually with no explanation, of course. No one really knew how, or even why, or what steps they were taking. Sometimes they would tell you if something was going according to the Plan or if it had gotten Off Plan, and that was as much information as you could get from a Gray.
I was curious why they would attend an insignificant gala with a Tier 6 species like the Ptexari. If Kashtinela had chosen a higher-tiered mate, perhaps that might impact theirineffable, unnamed Plan, but that was not the case. I would observe, but in the end, it did not matter to me. I had my mate by my side. She laughed as I whirled around her in one of the court dances we’d recently practiced with Malvonik. I was planning to surprise her later tonight with the plans for our new estate. I pictured our life together side by side, and I was content.
Andie
It was a perfect evening. Dakleth and I danced. We drank, we ate, we caught up with friends we hadn’t seen in months, we toasted to Kashtinela and Devar dozens of times. King Akapa gave a moving speech about his beautiful, intelligent daughter and his mostly adequate soon-to-be son-in-law (we all laughed) and wished them a happy life together. They looked at each other with affection, although, of course, he did not touch her in any way. I leaned further into Dakleth’s embrace, delighted that he was willing to buck Ptexari tradition for me.
The King wasn’t done, however. He called me to the dais and extolled my praises for saving the Ptexari people from the plague. He conferred upon me a piece of land outside the village. I suspected this was the land Dakleth had eyed for our new estate, and I thanked him. He also inducted me into the Order of the Rising Moons, which he explained was an honor for people who had done exemplary service on behalf of all the Ptexari people.
In all honesty, my relationship with the King had been a bit strained since he suggested Dakleth put me aside. Still, I was touched, if a little embarrassed, as he placed a medallion around my neck. I gave him a polite nod as I stepped down from the dais.
I made my way back to Dakleth and was intercepted by two offworlders. They were tall and slender, with large heads and huge ovoid eyes. They were all gray, and it suddenly hit me. These were the infamous Grays that everyone - even earthlings - talked about.
“Blessings on your house,” I said politely.
“And yours, human female. We offer you greetings and gratitude,” one of them thought at me.
“Oh!” I thought back. “You’re telepathic.”
“We are,” the being thought at me. “And we are intrigued that you are as well. It is possible for humans, but not very common.”
“Just one more odd thing about me,” I quipped.
“Indeed,”the other being chimed in.“We come offering you a boon, Andrea Rivers of Earth.”
“A boon?” I asked.
“We understand that you were taken by another of our species. That is a crime, and he has been suitably punished. We apologize on behalf of our people for what has befallen you.”
“We are offering to return you to your home planet,” the other continued.
“But I heard you wouldn’t do that.” I was shocked.
“It is true, we do not offer to return humans to Earth once they have been taken off-planet. The information they could spread about us is too risky. Earth should remain ignorant about the rest of life in the universe until the time is right.”
“Then why do you offer it to me?” I asked.
“You have done us a great service by saving the Ptexari people as you did.” I protested, but he held up a hand. “Do not minimize your actions. If you had not interceded, more than eighty-five percent of the Ptexari population would have died.War and famine would have broken out and taken out most of the rest. The Ptexari would have eventually died out. We have seen this.”
“We have seen it,” the other confirmed.
“This would have set back the Plan. For this service to us and the Creators, we are authorized to return you to your planet, so long as you promise to keep everything you have learned about the universe outside of Earth to yourself.”
I was speechless. I could see my parents again. My friends. Eat regular food. Pet my cat. I was overwhelmed.“I….don’t know.”
“You do not need to decide in this moment. Enjoy the Gala. You may give us your answer tomorrow morning,” the first declared, and then they turned and walked away.
