Page 8 of Summer

Again, the family stands without word and without any acknowledgment of my existence. I follow them out of the carriage and toward a very large, very expensive ship. I take a moment to admire it – it’s an XLVVI, an older model but still respectable. Clearly second hand – the previous name of the ship is still visible beneath the hasty new layer of paint along the side.

A bark of noise catches my attention – the male alien is glaring at me, nearly on the ship. I’ve dawdled too much assessing the ship. I give a simple curtsy of apology, knowing speaking a human language to him was worthless. Aliens never bothered to learn any of them, and it would come off as disrespectful to speak without being asked.

I shuffle onto the ship behind them, surprised to see a younger male alien on the ship. He casts me a long look, slow and appraising, starting at my feet and ending on my face. His jaw ticks. He’s handsome – tall, thick arms with red skin that is lined with black and gold veins. The horns along his forehead are small, showing he’s still young. He shares the female alien’s look of absolute disgust as he regards me.

I settle into my seat, unable to understand the conversation around me. So, I do what I did in Protegre whenever I got in trouble or was stuck in a particularly awful lesson.

I went somewhere else.

In my mind, I’m on a ship along the Denebola system, watching the vastness of the galaxy. Each star, each system spreads before me in endless opportunities. I’ll turn away from what’s left of Earth and into the great unknown. Surely there’s a part of the galaxy that hasn’t been explored? Surely there’s a planet somewhere empty of life, not listed on any map or system.

I’ll chart them all.

I’ll step foot on every part of the known and unknown universe. I’ll make up for all the centuries humans were hidden away.

4

GENELLE

Aaoric is already in the ship when we return. At first, I think he means to ignore the human until she disappears, but he gives her a long glance. There is nothing of my brother in that gaze – just anger and hatred for our family and what they’ve done.

The human woman is too simple to understand. She was awed by the spacecraft and was nearly left behind while ogling at it. I’m loathe to think of her vapid stare taking in our ancestral home, walking through the fields that have supplied food and medicine to countless species across the universe.

The human sits, her hands folded in her lap, her face painted with an idiotic smile.

“Well, Aaoric, what do you think of your bride?” Father ribs.

Aaoric doesn’t respond. His jaw is set, his yellow orange eyes trained out the window.

“Answer me,” Father says, his tone no longer joking.

Aaoric glances to him, purposely avoiding looking at the human. “You bought her, you marry her,” Aaoric says.

I inhale sharply. Mother’s hand goes to her throat, her jaw dropping as she regards Aaoric.

It’s happened at long last – they’ve pushed my brother to the end of his limits. He allowed them so many liberties – going to the reformation school in his youth, countless balls and parties to try to present him to society as an eligible bachelor. What to wear, how to speak, where to go – every moment of his life dictated.

This is what snaps my brother’s careful composure.

They trained him not to growl, and now he bites without warning.

“What did you say to me?” Father asks, his voice low and dangerous. The human woman continues to stare out the window, oblivious to the conversation around her. Perhaps it’s for the best that she’s stupid.

“I will not marry her,” Aaoric replies.

“You will,” Father says. “In fact, when we get home we’ll begin the preparations immediately. Two months’ time should be plenty.”

“Two months?” Mother and I cry at the same time.

“That’s hardly enough time to properly plan and introduce her to society!” Mother adds. “If the wedding is not bigger than Adamaris’ last year then what is the point? We’ll be the laughingstock of the planet, and I refuse to be overshadowed by that upstart of a family.”

Aaoric is already back to staring out the window, watching the stars pass as the ship sails effortlessly through space to our home planet.

“Three months, then,” Father says.

“Six,” Mother corrects. Father is silent, eyeing up the human as he thinks. She hasn’t once turned to look at us as we speak, instead deeply interested in the scenery of space. I wonder how long she’d been at Protegre – does she remember her ride to the planet? Or was she one of the ones sold as a child, raised entirely in the school?

Why do I care so much about her past? I should be thinking of ways to get Aaoric out of this marriage. But it’s more than that – because if something happens to her, they’ll replace her with someone else. Would a human woman be the best option? A simple wife that obeys, regardless of his affections, who doesn’t care if he cares for her.