Page 8 of 3 Secrets to Love (Romance Tales from the Quadrants #2)

Xacalla

The warmth and comfort after waking up in Phalon’s arms seemed far away as we trudged out of the cargo bay doors of the shuttle we’d hitched a ride in to get to Arodin.

I had no idea if the triplets had arrived before us, but we headed into the spaceport building to find out.

Though my eyes remained the only part of my body not covered, I immediately felt the sting and dryness from the cold.

Hearing about the frigid temperatures on a planet was one thing but experiencing them proved quite different.

Phalon pulled open the door to the spaceport for me.

“They are not automatic here. With the wind, they’d be opening all the time.”

I’d never thought about that, but it made sense to keep the cold and snow out.

As we waited in the vestibule for the first door to close so the second set would open, hot air blasted down on us from a vent in the ceiling.

Quite the change when I still wore my extreme-cold gear.

Phalon removed his hood then his mask.

And when I saw his lips, my body heated up even more, forgetting the cold completely.

We hadn’t kissed back on Yatak, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility and the way he’d held me so close while we slept in that shack.

The kiss at the club had felt so magical, even if it wasn’t real.

I worried any intimate moment in the shack would have ruined the enchantment I’d felt with the first press of his lips to mine, turned him into one of the many others I’d thought I was attracted to, only to learn we really had no connection between us.

Though part of me wondered if we had started kissing again, whether it would have led to something much more passionate.

I might never know, never get the chance to feel his lips on mine again.

But one look from him made my heart race.

His simple touch ignited a desire I’d never felt with anyone before.

Sure, my siblings had told me repeatedly to avoid hooking up with a space racer because it would never be permanent or about anything more than sex.

Yet, Phalon wasn’t a racer anymore.

And he hadn’t tried anything with me in that shack after I’d said no.

I never expected someone like him to show any attraction to me anyway.

I didn’t dress for attention like the racer groupies and always tried to blend into the background.

Yet, he’d wanted to kiss me.

A real one. Not just to blend in like the one in the club. It was the first time I’d regretted saying no to anyone.

“After you.”

I gasped, yanked from my thoughts of Phalon to see him holding open the second door.

“Th-thank you.”

I ducked inside, relieved I’d yet to remove my mask so he missed my flushed cheeks.

While I lowered my hood, removed my mask and mittens, and unzipped my parka, Phalon marched over to the desk. Only one counter in the entire building for arrivals and departures.

“Excuse me.”

He glanced over the counter at the dark-frilled, dark-skinned woman on the other side.

“We were supposed to meet another cargo ship here. Please tell me we’re not too late.”

“One arrived not long ago.”

She glanced down at her clipboard.

“Dropped off a large crate and sent it on behind a chantate to be taken to the people who live in the mining village. Said it was supplies, though not a shipment I had on my schedule. They left right after.”

“Coddleswap!”

Phalon winced and turned away from the counter.

I took his place; sure I assumed the same as him about that crate.

“Okay, we’re going to need something faster than a chantate to take us toward the same village.”

The woman shook her head.

“No can do. There’s a storm coming in. It doesn’t matter how fast your ride is. You’ll never make it to the village.”

“We don’t have to make it to the village.”

Phalon appeared beside me, his fists clenched, though his voice was pleading instead of angry.

“We just have to make it to that crate.”

The woman stood.

“I won’t allow you to steal the village’s supplies.”

“There are no supplies inside.”

I leaned closer to her, my voice soft to bring her to our side.

“It contains three children, abducted from Eurebly and brought here to die.”

Not the full truth but enough to get the reaction I wanted.

“Oh, no!”

She placed her hand on her chest.

“I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have sent them out there if I had. Our orbit is going to take us out of the quadrants soon, so unscheduled ships arrive all the time to get supplies here before that happens. I never expected something like that to happen here.”

“Well, it did.”

Phalon placed his hands on the counter.

“And we need something faster than a chantate so we can find them and bring them back.”

“I have a rowem that’s fast, but I don’t know if it will be fast enough to get you to them before the storm hits. Once the snow flies, you won’t be able to move.”

“We’ll take our chances.”

Phalon held out his wrist, ready to pay the rental fee.

I darted in front of him.

“They’re my responsibility.”

Plus, he had a whole jet to replace whenever we returned to Eurebly.

The woman scanned my wrist before we had a chance to argue.

“And so you know, your comm systems don’t work out there. I barely get reception from this pole when I’m facing your quadrants.”

“A risk we’re willing to take.”

I took the ticket from her and headed back outside.

In the short amount of time we’d been in the spaceport, the air had changed.

Even with my gear back on, I noticed the wind had increased, and instead of the bitter nip I had felt earlier, the air had warmed slightly and had a dampness to it.

I showed the man at the stable our ticket, his frill and snow-covered beard the only part of him visible under all his gear.

He saddled up the rowem for us.

With its springy and powerful back legs under thick, white fur, the creature could very well get us to the crate quickly.

But I didn’t know how the storm would affect our journey.

When the sled was hooked up behind the creature, the man handed us some extra blankets.

“Stay on the marked trail. This guy knows where he’s going, but he’ll veer off if you guide him the wrong way.”

“Okay.”

I slipped onto the sled with Phalon beside me.

I held the reins loosely, not wanting to end up lost in a storm.

If the rowem knew the way, I’d let him take us there and look for the woolly chantate hauling the crate along the way.

The rowem took off with a jolt.

Without thinking, I grabbed Phalon to steady myself.

Though I only saw his eyes, I was sure he chuckled at me.

And then he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in close as we rode into the freezing tundra.

If circumstances had been different, it could have been a date.

After all, he had asked to spend time with me after the meet and greet.

But our current situation didn’t allow for such enjoyment.

We didn’t get far before we could no longer see the spaceport.

But the storm caught up with us just as quick.

It started out as large, delicate flakes falling gently from the sky, but as the wind increased, the flakes progressed into cold, sharp pellets being whipped at us from every direction.

And the howl of the wind made the ride eerie.

The rowem chortled his objection to being out in the weather, but I didn’t know if turning around would make any difference.

We were surrounded by whiteness with no way to tell where we were going.

I hoped the creature kept us on the right course but had no way of knowing.

The storm didn’t let up.

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed or how fast we traveled.

I nuzzled into Phalon’s parka, shielding my eyes from the snow pellets.

“Wait.”

Phalon pulled the reins as I glanced up.

“I think I see something.”

Peering around, I tried to find what he saw but couldn’t spot anything other than snow and more snow.

“Maybe I was mistaken.”

He shook the reins to get the rowem moving again, but the creature reared up with a loud bellow before jolting forward.

The lurch launched the sled forward, smacking into the back of the creature.

It kicked behind, knocking me out of the sled.

I tried to grab its harness, but the material snapped, freeing the rowem to go its own direction and leaving us behind in the storm.

Glancing around me, I tried to spot Phalon in the sled, but I could barely see my hand when I held it in front of my face.

“Phalon!”

He couldn’t be too far away, though I didn’t know if he’d be able to hear me over the wind.

“Phalon, where are you?”

I started walking in the direction I thought the sled should have been, but I didn’t find it. After backtracking and going another direction, I was still alone in the storm.

“Phalon!”

I screamed, a sob escaping right after.

Maybe we should have waited.

Lost in the snow wasn’t helping us find the triplets.

I couldn’t even find Phalon.

And because of my urgency, I would freeze to death all by myself.

I sat in the snow and covered my eyes. Hopefully the weather would take me quick.

But it didn’t.

After an unknown amount of time and endless thoughts and regrets, like taking the chance to do more with a certain former racer, I opened my eyes.

A figure walked toward me.

At first, I thought it was Phalon, though the parka was different, and the being wore goggles.

I didn’t know whether to scream or jump for joy, but I did get to my feet to greet them.

Out of nowhere, I felt a blow to the side of my head.

I fell into the snow, blacking out as the cold wetness touched the skin at the corner of my eye.

When I came to, my head pounded with pain, but I was out of the blustery weather.

The outer layers of my clothing had been removed, leaving me in my borrowed flight suit, and I lay on the ground.

Light danced around me, illuminating shadows along the wall.

I dared a glance to my left and I gasped.

The Kalpierenes I had been searching for sat on a stone bench.

They smiled when they realized I looked at them.

“Miss Xacalla, you’re awake.”