AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ketha lifted her chin.
“I choose my baby,” she said, glaring at her mother. “I’m not giving him up—I don’t care what you say!”
Mistress Morebutt drew herself up to her full height and her face went cold.
“Very well then,” she said. “You are no longer a Morebutt. I hereby disinherit and disown you. Leave now—get out of my house!”
“What?” Ketha stared at her. She hadn’t really believed that her mother wouldactuallydisown her! “Mother, please—” she began, reaching out a hand.
“Don’t call me that!” Mistress Morebutt snapped. “From now on, I have no daughter. Now leave! Or I’ll call the Peace Keepers to remove you!” she added threateningly.
“But…but…” Ketha began.
Her words fell on deaf ears. Her mother—or herformermother, she thought numbly—had turned her back and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Just go,” Mistress Morebutt said again. “I never want to see your face again! Youdisgustme.”
And those were the last words she spoke.
Ketha stared at her in disbelief.
This is it,she realized.It’s over—my life here is over.
Slowly, she rose from the bed and began packing a few things. She would have to leave Yonnie Six—she had no place here now. No name, no rank, no home, and no standing. She was an outcast—a pariah. She had to leave—but where could she go?
Ketha had no idea.
18
KETHA
The Ceinex Five Spaceport hadn’t changed much in the past four months, Ketha thought as she peered around warily. The walls were still grimy and cracked and the tile floors were still chipped. There was the same motley assortment of males—traders and vendors and crews from various ships—hanging around, drinking, gambling, laughing and boasting to each other.
But no matter where she looked, she didn’t see the one male she was looking for—Styx was nowhere to be found and she’d been all over the entire spaceporttwice.
She’d been trying to contact him through their mental link ever since she’d been kicked out of the house and flown away from Yonnie Six. (Thank goodness her mother hadn’t thought to lock her ship or Ketha would have been homeless on the streets of Opulex, which was extremely dangerous due to the roving gangs of cast-off bodyslaves and disaffected males!)
But though she had her ship and a few valuables, her mother had cut her line of credit completely. She could live for a little while by selling off pieces of jewelry to buy food and fuel, but her resources were limited—they wouldn’t last forever. They wouldn’t even last long enough for her to find a place to have the baby, Ketha thought. She needed help!
However, her calls for help were going unanswered. Styx hadn’t answered a single one—either he was so far away he couldn’t hear her, or he had found a way to build an impenetrable wall between them and he was ignoring her. Or worst of all, he might bedead.
Ketha tried to shove that idea out of her mind. Hecouldn’tbe dead, could he? Wouldn’t she have felt him die? What about the mystical connection between them? Wouldn’t it have alerted her to the fact that he was gone? And for that matter, wouldn’t it have let him know that his “Fated Mate” was alone and in trouble and in need of his help? Wouldn’t it?—
“Here now, dearie, why so sad?”
The soft, kindly voice came from behind her. Ketha whirled around to see a grandmotherly woman with faded blue eyes and wrinkled cheeks looking at her with concern.
“Who…who are you?” she asked, drawing her hooded cloak closer around herself. She’d been keeping an eye out for the Peace Keepers, not wanting to run into the ones she’d sprayed with the ES canister last time. Luckily, she hadn’t seen them but she was still being extremely careful.
“Why, I’m Nanny Grimshanks, dearie, but you can just call me ‘Nanny Grim.’ Been watching you for nigh on an hour—you seem to be looking for something but it’s clear you’re not finding it.”
“No, I’m not,” Ketha said shortly. “In fact, I’m just about to leave. Excuse me.”
“Oh come now, dearie!” The old woman laid a hand on her arm. “You look like you could use a friend. I’ve been around this spaceport for a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sad look on such a pretty face.”
“That’s kind of you, but I really should get going,” Ketha said. Though where she was going to go, she had no idea.
“Why not come and have a cup of tea with me first and pour out your troubles?” the old woman said, smiling. “Old Nanny Grim’s got a willing ear. Talking always helps you feel better. And who knows? I might even be able to help you find what you’re looking for.”
