Drifting through the room, he noticed how the females and Preor warriors seemed scared to approach one another. All the Preor warriors flashed their wings and walked around with their chests puffed out while the women gathered in small groups, pointing and giggling to each other.
If anyone in here was meant to be, the Knowing would be all over this room. Preor would be clamoring and there would be screams of shaa kouva in the air.
He stopped in the middle of the room, turning in a slow circle to observe everything. He drew in long breaths of perfumed air, his dragon rumbling in his chest as he scented his surroundings. Dozens of aromas floated through the space, and if any had been remotely interesting to his beast, he would be experiencing the Knowing already.
You damned old fool, he cursed himself. You convinced yourself not to come and yet here you are. Falling for false hope.
He moved toward the exit, shaking his head to clear it as he left. The cool air from the swiftly falling night emptied his head of fantastical thoughts and he hurried back toward the dining hall to meet up with Chashan.
You need to take your own advice, he told himself crossly. I didn’t come here for a mate. There is nothing for me here.
His dragon growled, low and deep, so strongly that he was surprised to hear the rumble in his human throat. His beast was not appeased, and Whelon knew he would have no peace until he figured out what troubled his other half.
Chapter Five
Far more women were crammed into the small foyer than Sasha expected, the air warm and thick with perfume of every type. Each woman smelled like she had dunked herself in her favorite scent instead of skillfully dabbing her pulse points.
Sasha tried to take a deep breath, but her dress stifled her movements while what little air she inhaled burned her nose. People bumped into her left and right and, even though the space was full, more women were coming in the main doors. And every time new people arrived, the ladies at the front got closer to being squeezed against the entrance to the meeting room.
The warmth of so many bodies crammed together in a small space coupled with the artificial scents rising from the women’s pores made Sasha lightheaded and dizzy. She blinked a few times, hoping to clear her head, but the unsteadiness remained steadfast. A tight band of pain tightened around her temples, throbbing and aching with every heavy beat of her heart. Her vision blurred until all she saw were swaths of color, and she considered leaving the Choosing all together.
Mother will just send you right back in, she thought with defeat. She knew she couldn’t get out of this, no matter what happened.
Unless I run away… Maybe I’ll meet a nice Preor and fly, fly away.
She grinned at herself with that thought. She was still scared to get brainwashed by the aliens, but she was literally crammed between wall and a hard place. She might be willing to take any escape route that opened before her.
Flying sounds pretty nice right now, she considered wistfully, thinking of cold air and screaming winds free of the stench of so many different perfumes. Even though she was against the breeding program, she still thought the Preor were beautiful in the sky.
Sasha put a hand to her temple, the throbbing getting worse by the moment. Her throat was dry, and she would have begged for a glass of water if anyone were around to offer.
We’re stuck in here like cattle! she thought furiously. All of us jammed in here like beasts before the killing chute!
She had meant the thought to be flippant, but it affected her. What if they were just objects to the Preor? Empty wombs, ready to grow their half-breed babies. Sasha shuddered. She was getting sicker by the minute the more she thought about the situation.
She pressed her fingers against her purse, reassured by the feel of the hard edge of her phone deep inside. She wanted to take a few shots of the chaos in this room—it would be a good setup for their piece—but she resisted the impulse. Sure, seeing women pressed together and herded like animals was exactly what they needed. The trouble was, it looked like they weren’t allowed to use their phones and she didn’t want anyone to take the device from her.
Why no phones? Why no press? she thought suspiciously. If it’s all wonderful and harmless, why no records?
She scowled, looking around for some of the winged nightmares so she could direct her hatred at the appropriate parties. A flurry materialized somewhere near the front and she gripped her phone, ready to pull it out for a quick shot. The excitement settled once again and she realized they hadn’t yet opened the doors. Two women had simply scuffled over who got to go in first.
Even though this was good footage—the women in this room were certainly sacrificing their dignity—they were still here by their own free will. No Preor were in the area and she certainly couldn’t say the girls were being herded or harmed in any way.
How do I make Mother happy? she thought with some desperation. I need to get proof that this ‘Knowing’ thing is all bullshit, but how?
If some alien mind melding force was at work, she had no idea how to film the phenomenon.
The earpiece her mother insisted she wear suddenly crackled, making Sasha straighten as if it were an electric shock.
“Sasha,” her mother said eagerly. “I think they’ll start letting you in soon. There is movement outside. Get ready.”
Sasha sighed and tried not to cough when she got a mouthful of perfumed air. It was like Jenna’s voice was actually in her head and she doubted she would ever get it out of there.
“Don’t try anything too fancy,” her mother chattered. “Maybe just a shot or two of the big ugly bastards leaning over women. Anything we can spin to make it look like they’re being coerced.”
She tried to ignore her mother’s voice, the tinny sound leaking into her mind and making her headache worsen. This was not the kind of work she did—sneaky, undercover-type stuff. Sasha was used to being on the other side of the camera, laughing and joking and making her audience feel good while she reported the light news. She hated news that made people feel bad. Far too much of that was going around already.
Up ahead, the massive double doors swung open and the murmur of noise in the small space increased sharply as the women’s voices rose in excitement. As the mass of women moved, Sasha let herself be swept up and carried toward the meeting room.
When she spied two Preor standing just inside the doorway searching people as they entered, she panicked and tried to turn away.
Damn. I should have known there would be a media blackout.
She didn’t bother to try and contact her mother. She’d simply tell her later. Disappointment filled her as she realized they’d be able to say that something strange was going on—why else ban devices—but they wouldn’t get the big scoop the station manager hoped for.
When she reached the doors and the two Preor stopped her, she was frightened but fascinated by the vision before her. Their wings almost had a sparkle to them, not just a sheen but something that seemed to glitter in the meeting room’s lighting. The colors were deep and gorgeous, patterning over the membranes of their massive wings.
They easily detected her earpiece and took it as well as her bag with her phone inside. She tried to argue, but the Preor smiled politely and hung her bag with a bunch of others, explaining that such devices were disallowed. They didn’t question her about the earpiece, though, and for that she was grateful. How was she to explain that to them?