Page 27 of Bred By Sor'en

I don’t get a few steps to the threshold before I’m swarmed by darkness, inky and popping crackles of violet. A breathless giggle leaves me despite my somber mood as Melion further twists and knots my hair. “See you there, Melion,” I offer, assuming he’ll come as the creature reforms in front of me with a playful wiggle.

I’m not expecting it, though, when he surges upwards, making himself into—my god—the same shape of Sor’en’s lesser form. Melion crackles violently, facing the females who shy and shiftuncomfortably at his obvious threat. A quick, panicked glance at the male behind me shows he has no issue with his companion’s actions, his devout stare glued to me.

I offer him a lame little wave.

He nods and my heart sinks further as I step past Melion out of the door into a group of some of the most dangerous beings in our galaxy.

fifteen

Hue

The vehicle just outside the house is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on port. A wide oval with dark, glimmering handrails, much like what makes up the doors. It’s hovering; an antigravitational propulsion system is nothing new. It's infinitely more rare to see a wheel on anything aside from some random port carts in the maintenance halls. And like most things inside Sor’en’s home, it's too tall for me to board myself. The heady dose of nerves I’m sporting, though, prevents me from verbalizing the issue. Instead, I just stand there with my singular overworked brain cell and stare at the group of females atop it.

One from the back is the only one not content to stand and stare at me right back. She gracefully parts the group that seems a lot fuller than a group of five should be and extends a hand. “Here, human, we are not used to short species.”

I don’t miss the hushed murmurs and soft gasps as I offer her a watery smile, slapping my hand into hers. Her bare hand. Oddly enough, I hadn’t thought a thing about it at first, not until my eyes lingered on her kind skeletal face and landed on the surprised looks around us. “My name is Hue.”

“Go with balance, human Hue. I am Lyr’ael. We are going to prepare you today as the elder most females in our dome.”

I halt, losing grasp of my own words as the craft takes off, suddenly but smoothly zipping over the flat landscape. Lyr’ael reaches out to steady me. “You truly aren’t afraid of us?”

I try to glance back at her when I answer, never sure what can be considered disrespectful to other species, but I can’t take my eyes off the world around me. Can hardly choke the words past the sudden emotion clogging my throat. “Not really. I’ve seen scarier.”

One of them giggles at that. I can’t be sure which, because all around me again… there are flowers. “Did Sor’en plant all these?”

“Yes, human Hue. He is the most accomplished botanist of his age. He has done well for our dome.”

“What are they for, the flowers?”

Another voice pops up, her hair a very light shade of grayish purple. “Everything. From our food, medicine, rituals, and trade with other domes. Even some of our tech relies heavily on the Lyr’lumara flowers.”

“Lur’lumaerea…” I repeat, trying to mimic their soft, lilting voices.

Judging by their giggles, I wasn’t successful. I tense for a moment, forcing my attention back to them, ready for judgmental sneers and hateful glances, but I find none. Just five ridiculously, eerily stunning creatures staring back at me with open, pleased, milky eyes.

I take a deep breath, the florals that remind me so much of the male back at the house tickling my nose. As if the flowers themselves are trying to offer comfort, a lightness in an otherwise very dark, foreboding cloud of emotion. I’ve never been shy or concerned with my looks. Can’t remember a time I ever felt the need to compare my attractiveness to another species, but there's a hint of a needle deep in my chest. Poking and prodding. These females are the perfect matches for him; it's clear they understand and respect his position. They would be honored, no doubt, to have been his mate. Towering, graceful, thin, lithe bodies that knew exactly what to do with a male of their species. Their waist-long hair freely blowing in the wind like some kind of holo ad for haircare. The structured black dresses they wear are far more conforming to their bodies than mine.

But he got stuck with me. Human 74-B, who has done nothing but make his life harder since I got here.

A glimmering light trembles above us, making me frown as I point at it. Not thinking a thing about my actions as I shoot through them toward the back of the craft to get a better look. “What was that?”

“I am unsure, human Hue,” the one who said her name was Lyr’ael answers, staring curiously at me.

“Oh! There it is again!” I half-shout as a stronger wave-like glimmer cuts across the sky.

Another female, her voice far more sober than her friends’, answers. “The dome.”

I turn to face her on the platform, still zooming over the fields. “Oh, you mean we’re in aliteraldome? Why?”

“It protects us,” she offers gravely, reaching out to touch me before thinking better of it. “You must stay within the dome at all times.”

I frown. “You don’t leave it?”

They shake their heads, and maybe I would’ve laughed at the very human gesture if the serious look on their faces didn’t send a chill down my spine. “Sor’en didn’t tell me anything here was dangerous.”

Lyr’ael seems to weigh her options before speaking. “The botanist does not always agree with our ways. He is—"

“Go with balance, Lyr’ael,” another female chastises her.