“You’re going to have to be nicer to the Maji,” she said, her voice husky with sleep. “They’ll probably leave you here if you don’t. They have thousands of willing women aboard. We all agreed to the terms for being rescue, you clearly did not so I’d watch my mouth if I was you. They’ll probably realise you’re more trouble than you’re worth and dump you back into the wastelands.”
Fear gripped me.
“Kol wouldn’t allow that,” I said, hoping my doubt didn’t reveal itself in my tone. “He wouldn’t.”
“From what I heard earlier, and how pissed he looked leaving this room, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
She got up from her bed, adjusted her clothing, and left the room without a backwards glance my way. Her words replayed in my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more worried I became. I hated how I came to be on the Ebony, and though I hadn’t shown it, I felt lucky I was aboard the spacecraft, instead of just looking at it from an outsider’s perspective. I thought of my conversations with Kol, Surkah, and even Mikoh, and I could only imagine the childish bitch they thought I was.
I didn’t want them to think that because, despite my behaviour, I wasn’t anything close to childish. The bitchy part was highly debatable, but I was a strong, mature—most of the time—adult female, and at that moment, I decided I had better start acting like it if I wanted not just a good future, but a future at all. I stood from my bed, adjusted my clothing, and left my room with the intention of mending my relationships with the Maji and doing what was expected of me. The first person on my list was the shipmaster.
I just hoped Kol hadn’t already washed his hands of me.
Chapter Seven
“Are you lost, female?”
I spun around when a deep, shiver inducing voice addressed me. When I saw two males walking towards me, I almost swallowed my tongue. Like every other Maji male I saw, they were suited up in the black armoured uniform that Mikoh and the shipmaster wore. They were big boys in both height and girth. I wondered if being muscular was a Maji gene trait because they were all in shape; even Surkah had a killer body with hips, thighs and a bum to die for.
“Hi.” I awkwardly waved to the males who stopped a metre or so away from me. “I am lost, actually. I’m looking for the bridge.”
The male with the dark brown hair raised a thick eyebrow. “Why do you want to go to the bridge, female?”
His head was shaved on both sides, and at the back, like Mikoh’s. The mass of long hair at the top of his head was braided and hung over his shoulder.
“To speak to the shipmaster,” I explained. “I kind of had a fight with him, and I need to apologise.”
The males shared a look before returning their gazes to me.
“You fought the shipmaster?” the younger looking male on the right asked as his eyes scanned me. “I don’t believe it. The shipmaster would never harm a female, not even if she attacked him.”
At that, I laughed.
“I don’t mean a physical fight. I mean a verbal one. We had an argument.”
The male with silver toned, shoulder length wavy hair and blue skin grinned. “That I believe. Females have a sharp tongue in every species.”
“What are your names?” I asked, chuckling.
The brown-haired male put his hand against his chest and said, “I am Dash.” He jabbed his thumb at his silver-haired friend. “And this is Vorah.”
Dash was clearly the older of the two. In human years, he looked around twenty-five years old while Vorah looked on the right side of eighteen.
“It’s lovely to meet you both,” I said and bowed my head a little. “I’m Nova.”
“That is a strange name,” Vorah commented.
Dash forcibly elbowed him in the ribs. “That is disheartening for a female to hear. How are you going to get an intended if you continue to insult every female we encounter?”
Vorah growled at Dash, but his cheeks did flare with a tinge of dark blue as he glanced at me through his silver eyelashes. His eyes were the lightest shade of blue I had ever seen, and when he was bashful, as he was now, they looked huge.
“Forgive me, Nova. I spoke out of turn.”
I eyed him. “It’s okay. I’m sure many human names are strange to Maji.”
“Are Maji names strange to you?” Vorah asked, still blushing.
“Very much so. Your name is very unusual.” Vorah frowned, so I quickly added, “But I like it a lot. It is a strong name. Vor-ah”
His chest puffed out, and he said, “I am a strong male who will produce very strong offspring and bring my intended great pleasure. I will care for her, feed her, and put my family above all else.”
Oooookay.
Dash seemed to be proud of Vorah’s declaration and looked at me, along with Vorah, as they awaited my response.
“Um, I’m sure you will. You seem like a very strong and capable male.”
Vorah’s eyes lit up. “May we see if we’re suitable?”
I froze because I instantly understood what he meant. He used different words, but the meaning was still the same. He wanted to see if we could have sex and, in turn, possibly become a mated couple. My instinct was to reject him, because there was no way I would ever have sex with a stranger just to see if we liked one another, but my conversation with Echo stopped me from doing so. I once wanted to be off the Ebony but remaining on the spacecraft was the only way I got to remain alive.
My escape plan had turned into a survival plan.
If I was to truly accept that being with the Maji was my life now, then I had to realise that eventually, I would have to take a husband. Kol himself said it was one of the conditions for rescue. The Maji seemed to be patient when it came to women, and Vorah was young. If I accepted his offer and did things in baby steps, he would surely not know any different as he was probably a virgin like me. We could make a deal about getting to know one another before we made a full commitment.
He wanted an intended, a mate, and I could offer that to him. He could be my safety net going into this unknown part of my life. I needed a safety net.
“You need to clarify that for me, Vorah,” I said, nervously. “Just to be sure, you want to see if we could be the other’s … intended, right?”
“Yes,” Vorah answered so fast it prompted Dash to slap him across the back of the head.
“Relax,” he murmured to his friend. “Females don’t want such eagerness.”
Vorah barely paid him any attention as his focus was entirely on me.
“Would you be willing to take things slow?” I asked Vorah, a wariness to my tone. “I can’t believe I’m considering this, let alone saying this two minutes after meeting you, but I know that eventually, all of my women must take a husband. I’ve been on my own for so long, though, that I don’t want to rush anything. Is that okay?”
Please say yes.
Vorah was almost bouncing with excitement, and I knew I could use his eagerness to my advantage. His age was already proving useful, I just had to play his strings right, and I could possibly have a really good arrangement with him.
“Nova, I will wait until you’re ready to seal our bond. I swear on my honour.”