“I don’t know where else we would go,” she said, giving him a rueful smile. “Tell me more about Farlain.”

“What do you want to know? There’s one main continent where most of the Farlain live, plus some small islands inhabited by a different race, the Elvar. The climate is temperate and much of the land is unspoiled. It is somewhat… primitive,” he said slowly. “The previous king restricted the use of technology to the nobles, and only the ones he favored.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“It wasn’t, and from what I heard, it was the least of his sins. The present king, Conran, led a rebellion against him. The planet is at peace now,” he added. “And Conran is a good king. He was the one who hired me to track down the slavers.”

“That sounds more promising,” she said thoughtfully. The absence of advanced technology didn’t really bother her. That is… “Just how primitive do you mean? Do they have electricity? Indoor plumbing?”

He laughed.

“Yes, love. You would be comfortable there. We don’t have to decide right away,” he added. “We can take some time, explore our options.”

She considered the idea, then shook her head.

“I’ve enjoyed our time on the ship, but I’d like to be back on the ground. To have fresh air and sunshine and… a home. I want somewhere where we can put down roots.” She hesitated, then added, “And I’d like Malacar and Sooni to share that home with us.”

His expression softened, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Of course,” he said at once. “They’re family now.”

She gave a relieved sigh at how easily he accepted both the idea of settling down and of including Malacar and Sooni.

“Then… let’s continue on to Farlain,” she said decisively.

“Are you sure? There are many other planets we could choose from.”

She nodded, feeling more certain with each passing moment.

“I want to settle down,” she explained. “And I like the idea that there’s another human woman there. Someone I might be able to connect with.”

“Actually there are two of them, although the other one lives on the islands I mentioned with her mate. The former king… arranged for both of them to be taken.”

She shuddered, remembering what her captor had said.

“The male who took me - he said that I had been ‘ordered’ the same way someone would order food from a restaurant menu. This color eyes, this color hair, this type of b-body.”

Her voice shook at the memory and he tightened his arms around her.

“You’re safe now, my love.”

“I know.” She leaned in and gave him a quick soft kiss. “We should go talk to Malacar and Sooni now. They’re probably worried.”

He agreed, then helped her clean up and dress before they made their way to the common area. They found Malacar in the galley, stirring something in a pot. He was moving more slowly than usual and she immediately started to worry about him.

“You shouldn’t be up and about so soon,” she scolded.

The elderly Ssst waved off her worry. “I’m fine, child. A little sore, but nothing to fuss over.”

Before she could argue, a blur of green rushed towards her and Sooni threw her arms around her waist, burying her face against her.

“I was so scared!”.

‘I’m sure you were,” she said soothingly, holding her close. “I was scared too.”

Sooni’s mouth trembled.

“I should have done something when that bad male took you.”