Series: Zandian Brides Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
As soon as they see me, they flock forward with cries of admiration.
“What’s in your ear?”
“Is that a mating crystal?”
I touch my ear, still loving the feel of the crystal. “It is. Daven mated me.” My face warms at the memories.
Flora reaches forward to touch it but pulls back. “Can I?”
I nod, shyly. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. It feels nice. Go ahead.”
“It’s gorgeous! And you’re glowing. Just so happy. It shows.” She gently touches my crystal. “I’d love one myself, someday.” Her voice is longing, but she still smiles.
Katia nods. “Oh, Sia, you’re a role model for us all. We can all have this someday.” She waves her hand at me. “A relationship, a mate, all of it.” But suddenly her smile twists into a grimace. She cries out and grabs her head, then topples over, as if made of rags. As she lies on the ground, she twitches a little and goes still.
“Katia! What happened?” I cry out, bending down to touch her face.
Flora hovers over her in a panic. “Katia!” She grabs Katia’s hand.
But our friend doesn’t answer–she just clutches her forehead, and her eyes squeeze shut. Small moaning sounds and gasps seem torn from her throat and a fine sheen of sweat coats her neck and cheeks. A tiny pink insect buzzes close to her nose, then darts away.
“Sia, it’s the chip.” Flora’s face is pale despite the warm day. Her wide gaze blazes with both anger and fear. It’s an expression I’ve seen on her before.
On a planet rotation burned into all of our memories for an eternity.
“What happened?”
“You know what it is. Same as Neera.” Flora kneels beside Katie, holding her hand. “Remember? She called out that her chip activated, and then she collapsed.”
“It’s the chip? Are you sure?” I drop down, too, and touch Katia’s shoulder. She’s still alive–so it’s not like Neela. That’s good. “I thought we all figured out how to make it stop.”
Flora’s expression is a grim panic. “I don’t know! I guess she never got that good at it. Maybe she was lying when she said she could do it.” She looks away from me. “I didn’t want to tell you because I worried you’d say something. And we wanted more time. I should have told you.”
I nudge Katia again, once, then harder. “Wake up. It’s us, you’re okay, Katia, please!”
She cries out, “My chip! I think it’s activating!” Then she shudders, pulling away from me, trying to curl into a ball. Pollen from the trees mixes into her hair. I brush it aside, then flinch as my fingers touch her skin.
“Mother Earth, she’s so hot.” I pull my hand away from her face. “Did you feel her?”
Flora doesn’t seem to hear me. Her gaze darts around like a cornered animal, but there’s nothing unusual in sight. “Is there an Ocretion ship up there?” She looks to the sky, but it’s empty except for the bright Zandian star. Not that we could see into orbit, anyway. “Are they coming for us after all this time?” Her voice is so trembly, I can barely understand her. “I was so sure we were safe!”
“I don’t know!” I whirl my head in frustration. All we see are the Zandian trees around the recreation area, and the flowers, and in the near distance, the square. I can’t even see Daven although I can summon him with my wrist holo. He’s always nearby when I interact with my human friends.
Flora looks like she's ready for battle. “We have to do something. We're not letting them kill her.”
I shake Katia harder. “Wake up. Katia, please, tell us what’s happening.”
But she can’t. Her whole body goes still, then floppy, and her breathing is labored. Then raspy. Her face begins to turn a bluish-gray.
“We need help.” I stand, my heart racing. “I need to–we need to tell someone what’s going on.”
“No. There has to be another way. Remember what they’ll do!” Flora grabs at me, her nails sharp on my arm.
“We’re past that!” Anger at her, at myself, at the whole situation well up. “They’re already doing it! She’s dying,” I shout. “And it’s our fault because we decided to keep our past a total secret. And if they’re up there,” I point wildly to the sky, “and get close enough, then yes, they can maybe wipe us all. Or get the info that’s on our chips, whatever got recorded before we figured out how to block it.”
“Maybe we should just let her recover by herself.” Flora’s voice is low. “Maybe it’s not the chip after all.” She pulls my arm. “Maybe she’s just feeling sick! Our heads hurt all the time and buzz and do weird things. It doesn’t mean the chip is really activating! She’s just panicking.”
For one microsecond, I contemplate this. Could we say she fell and hit her head? Hope that everything works out for the best? But when I look at Katia’s face, I know she needs help immediately.