Page 23 of Unfinished

Sienna moved to one of the pull down chairs set into the wall alongside the other two women. Kendra took her hand as they sat, and they all exchanged tight, nervous smiles.

She couldn’t say exactly how long it took for them to land, but time seemed to stretch, each second ticking by at half time. Sienna closed her eyes. She wasn’t really the praying type, but she still sent one out to whoever might be out there in the universe watching over them all.Please, please let this work. Please let this be real.

Sienna was still clenching her eyelids shut when the captain’s voice filled the cabin again. “Welcome to Xithilene, human mates. May your journey be fruitful and your matehood prosper. Make your way to the front hatch with your belongings and prepare to disembark.”

Kendra released her hand and hopped up, practically bouncing on the toes of her shoes as she rushed to grab her bags. Sienna followed more slowly. What if she hurried out there and R’kash wasn’t waiting for her? Had that ever happened before? Would they just guide her back onto the ship and take her back to Earth?

She gathered her suitcases, activating the hover-tabs as she arranged them to float behind her. “You two go ahead,” she said.

She had far more luggage with her than the other women. The man she’d run into at the gate wasn’t the only prospective mate who’d come to Xithilene looking for a brighter future. Sienna had learned that the majority of her fellow humans aboard the ship came from the poorest areas of the North American Alliance, and for many of them, all of their important belongings could easily fit inside a single piece of luggage.

Hopefully R’kash wouldn’t notice the difference and judge her harshly for bringing so much. Most of it wasn’t even for her. She trudged behind the other women until they stopped in the long hall leading to the front of the ship. About ten other passengers were already standing ahead of them, lined up behind the main hatch where they’d boarded before.

K’avith, the head liaison, Kayla, their human contact, and T’xith, the captain of the ship, all waited by the door. Sienna swallowed and gripped the bundle of hover-tab leashes in her hand tighter. She could hear the remaining human passengers assembling behind her, their footfalls light yet distinct in the near silence.

“Welcome to Verkissat. Your mates will be waiting in the main yard outside the ship. Please move slowly as you descend the exit ramp to avoid any accidents. Remember, you can activate your emergency beacons at any time, otherwise you’ll see us in a moon cycle’s time.” K’avith bowed his head slightly after he finished speaking.

The captain entered something into the control panel beside the hatch, and it began to lower from the top, extending into a steep ramp. Sienna watched as the first woman stepped through the open hatchway. The woman’s eyes widened and a joyful smile spread across her face before she half ran down the ramp.

The next human wasn’t far behind. Sienna’s heart beat a mile a minute as her turn approached. Soon it’d be her gaze searching out R’kash, her moment of blinding happiness.

When she took that first step outside of the ship, she blinked away the bright sunlight and breathed in the thick, heavy air. It was warm and humid, so different from home this time of year. An exotic floral perfume drifting on the desultory breeze added to the impression of tropical paradise.

As soon as her eyes adjusted to the outside light, she saw several massive black ships lined up beside them. Beyond the spacecrafts was a tall stone wall, and behind that rose a mix of soaring white buildings and swaying, green-leafed trees. Much like back home, Sienna couldn’t see an end to the city, no matter which direction she looked. She hadn’t missed the crowd of Xithilene waiting down on the ground ahead either. Several were still embracing their human mates, but the others watched the ramp with hungry eyes.

Sienna didn’t see R’kash yet, and her feet moved faster towards the end of the ramp. Now that she was finally here, she couldn’t bear any further delay.

“R’kash,” she called as she hurried down.

Finally, she caught sight of him. Unsmiling, his expression almost grim, a tall man dressed all in blood red stepped past the first line of Xithilene waiting for their mates. His muscled calves and bare arms gleamed beneath the hot sun, his scales shining like hammered bronze. Swirling patterns in metallic threads accented the edges of his crimson garments. He wore a short kilt and a long, sleeveless robe that fell open at the front, trailing behind him and exposing his torso. Thick chains and a heavy pendant covered his chest, and he met her eyes with an intense, fiery gaze.

Her leg almost seized up as she lifted it to take the last step that would see her on Xithilene ground. He was so much more than she’d imagined—so imposing, so tall, the force of those eyes so electric. She sucked in a deep breath as she forced herself to keep moving forward. Her lips trembled slightly as they drew nearer. This was it. She’d be touching him soon, feeling his scales beneath her fingertips, his warmth against her skin.

When he was only about five feet away, he suddenly stopped, sliding one leg behind him and bending low on the other until he was almost kneeling. His head was bowed, and he extended an arm to sweep back his voluminous robes. They pooled beneath him like a river of crimson.

“Lady Sienna,” he said, and his voice rolled even deeper than the Xithilene captain’s had. He sounded deadly earnest, as if he’d never laughed a day in his life. Sienna’s breath caught and held as she waited for him to stand up and look at her again. She needed to see some warmth in his eyes, some sign that he was glad she’d come.

“R’kash,” she half whispered, willing him to rise. He lifted his head, and she held out her hand. “You’re here. You’re really here.”

She wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly her joints unlocked and she was rushing towards him, all the pent up energy of a flight across the galaxy releasing as she flowed towards the man who’d stolen her heart day by day with his words. He’d only half straightened from his bow when he caught her in his arms. Her hands clasped behind his neck, and she felt the brush of stiff, satiny feathers over the tops of her fingers.

“R’kash,” she breathed out, her exhale puffing against the scales covering his firm chest. He was real, solid and strong, his body pumping out heat like a furnace as a low rumble thrummed through from his chest to hers and his shaking arms tightened over her back.

“Lady,” he uttered, pained and low, lips brushing over her hair as he drew her even closer.

This, this was the moment she’d been waiting for. It’d all been worth it, she could feel it in the deepest part of her. Every sacrifice, everything and everyone she’d left behind—it’d led up to this perfect moment.

Sienna felt R’kash lift his head, and her face rose along with his, her eyes following his movements. “Lady Sienna,” he said, that rumbling hum growing in volume and distorting the sound of her name, “welcome to Xithilene.”

She smiled, just as wide and bright as that first woman who she’d watched exit the ship. “Thank you.” She still held her hands tightly behind his neck, but as he rose to his full height, they slid down to rest over his chest. “Take me home to Evathi,” she said, knowing at long last that the words were true. She no longer needed to dream, not when the reality stood right in front of her.

14

R’kash’s rattlevibrated so loudly that it seemed to rival the bustling noise of Verkissat. His arms were still wrapped around the small human woman, and he couldn’t seem to pull himself free. Sienna Prescott was even more captivating in person than she’d been through her messages, and he was powerless to resist her. All of his good intentions had seemed to vanish the moment his eyes met hers.

He should even now be telling her this was a mistake, that he wasn’t the man she thought he was. Instead he pulled her in close again, moving one hand to curve around her jaw as he urged her to rest her cheek over his chest. Could she hear the furious beat of his heart? Could she sense the way she affected him?

He couldn’t say anything now. He realized that the last of the humans had exited the massive Fleet ship. Other mated pairs were similarly entranced with one another as he was with Sienna, bodies pressed together as they spoke soft words into the space between their lips. His fingers twined within Sienna’s smooth, flexible hair, and he couldn’t imagine letting her go.

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