“You tried to hurt her more than once. My job is to protect her until she chooses a mate and the bond is agreed upon,” I whisper while others watch.
He saunters out. I return to my post, avoiding eye contact with Zariah. I can feel her looking at me, but I keep my head on a swivel away from her. I’m not sure I can hold my cover if I meet her eyes. Her scent is distracting enough.
“Just like that?” she asks.
“Yes,” I rasp so she can’t pick up my vocal tones.
Zariah finishes eating. It takes her longer than I expect. I want to ask what’s wrong and if there’s anything I can do. But as an experienced guard, I know that is not my place. I am here to stop external threats. Nothing more, nothing less.
When she is done, she busses in her tray and turns to me. “Can I go outside?”
I nod.
She studies me for a moment, then walks out of the lunch hall, up the stairs, and onto a balcony. I stay one pace behind her and off to the side.
A gentle breeze from the artificial environment curls through her hair, tousling dark tendrils in a way that I find agonizingly beautiful. And yet, I take my place behind her.
“Not fair,” a green-banded blonde remarks. “Why does she get a guard?”
“Ginarigon harassment,” I say quietly.
“Oh.” The woman walks to another corner and meets up with some friends and their new alien male interests.
“Where are you from?” Zariah asks as if she hasn’t heard our conversation. “On Earth?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. I’ve never been there. I was just wondering if you had recommendations.”
“I do not.” I’m unsure how long I can keep up the charade if she pesters me with questions. “Please ignore me, Miss Landing.”
“Kind of hard when you follow me everywhere.”
“That’s my job.”
She turns to look out across the race grounds and braces her arms on the broad, flat cement railing, looking depressed.
I ache to feel her against me, to comfort her, hug her, and tell her she isn’t alone. But now we’re on the holofeed. Everyone knows who she is and that something is more than human about me. I have to show restraint, or I might lose my ability to protect her.
“I’ve never been to the surface of Earth, despite being human,” she says. “Um, is that normal here?”
I walk closer and look where she points toward the sky, thinking she’s seeing a constellation.
A ribbon of red and orange light bleeds across the solar system like a tear in flesh. “Solar storm.”It was on the news, but this seems early.
She frowns and studies it intently. “My father told me to avoid them at all costs. They can leave a ship dead in the void, turning it into a casket.”
I hang my head when she looks at me, hoping she doesn’t see my face. A few other racers walk out onto the balcony, giving me a solid distraction.
“I think I’ve had enough for one night.”
I motion for her to lead and stay one pace back and to her right as I follow her to her room.
She scans her wristband and unlocks her door.
I’m not ready to say goodnight. “Can I bring you anything, Miss?”
“I’m sorry? I thought you were just a guard.”
