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“Warden Tenn will be accompanying Tasha here. She is currently with him in his province. They will arrive here in a few short days. And I emphasizeshort,” he said with extra force, “because there will be no do-overs and there will be no second chances. We must be ready.”

This was not surprising. Second chances had never been an option in any facet of our lives. It was a lesson we had all learned as children when we’d been sent here in the first place.

“We will be,” Dorn vowed with brutal determination.

“Of course you will be,” Warden Hallum agreed. “I will accept nothing less.” He held up his data tab once more, but this time it displayed a wall of text. “Warden Tenn has sent me a document replete with knowledge on the human species, their cultures, and their various marital customs.”

“Too many words,” Xennet hissed, baring his fangs and recoiling. “And we do not even have our own screens to read from!”

“You will use mine,” Warden Hallum explained. “We will meet here after your chores are done, every night until the human liaison’s arrival. We will study the text together.” His grey gaze went dangerously narrow. “And I warn you now that Tasha will not be the only one with tests.”

Xennet looked suddenly depressed. Dorn looked grimly resolute.

What I looked like in comparison, I could not say. I could barely untangle the feelings rioting through me now. Anxiety and shock and, blast it all to Zabria and back, there it was again. The one thing I’d taught myself,forcedmyself, to never acknowledge. To never accept.

Hope.

12

TASHA

In the morning, I found a neat pile of clothing waiting for me outside the bedroom door. There was a sturdy-looking pair of brown pants, two more long-sleeved brown tops, and a broad-brimmed hat that looked like a smaller version of the warden’s.

After Warden Tenn had left the room last night, I’d crept out to hand wash my underwear and I’d hung them in the bedroom overnight. After hanging in the dry air, they were no longer damp. I put them on, fastened my bra, twisted my hair into a bun, and then tried on one of the new outfits from the warden.

The new clothes fit perfectly. So perfectly it was almost annoying. I found myself running my hands up and down the seams, admiring the quality of the garments and the obvious competence that had gone into making them.

I wonder where he slept last night.

Not that that mattered, of course. There was no reason for me to even think about such a thing.

But…

I was fairly certain I’d taken the only extra bed.

He hadn’t been in the kitchen or anything last night. Outside, maybe?

That’s where he was now. I saw him through a window, speaking with Fallon as he appeared to be readying his grey and white-spotted shuldu. Only then did it occur to me that Silar probably took his wagon home last night, and I’d be riding that alien horse.

Withhim.

“Got everything you need?” Darcy asked, pulling me from thoughts of being in such close proximity with the warden.

“Oh, yes! Thanks!” I held up my extra clothes, including the ones I’d been wearing yesterday.

“Let me get you a bag,” she said. She returned a minute later from her bedroom with a leather satchel. She held it open for me, and I dumped the clothes inside, followed by the toothbrush and toiletries.

“Thank you for all this,” I said, meaning it. “I’ll figure out a way to pay you back. Maybe the warden can help me coordinate something with Fallon’s account. Or I can do a transfer to you.”

“Oh, God, don’t worry about it,” Darcy said. “What kind of hostess would I be if I didn’t provide the bare minimum for my guests?”

I smiled, feeling a little less disoriented in this world now that I had some things with me that I could call my own.

And maybe some friends to call my own, too.

Together, we all ate a quick, simple breakfast of cheese, meat, and preserved fruit.

“You do not mind that it is not shaped as a square?” Warden Tenn asked as I finished my last bite.