Page 14 of Across the Stars (Cosmic Threads of Fate #1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

MAE

Mae couldn’t believe it.

All of her valuables were gone, taken somewhere else. She could only have her clothing returned to her, with her top sliced and mangled, leaving her wondering why they’d had to cut it off of her.

Mae touched her head gingerly, feeling a jagged mark where her skin was slightly raised and tender. She was surprised to discover that the wound on her head had already healed, and she wondered how long it had been since she had set foot on the moon.

From what she had seen and experienced, the dragon riders had limited technology. Their clothing was made of vines, leaves, wood, and animal byproducts, harkening back to the early days of human society.

Examining the wooden hut, she couldn’t find anything to prove the aliens were technologically advanced enough to even use her missing belongings.

The home had an open floor plan with shelves and hooks along all of its curved walls. A large web hammock hung on one side of the round wall and a leaf curtain on the other, forming a triangle from the hut’s entrance.

Mae approached the leafy curtain, curious as to why it was there and what was behind it.

She hadn’t noticed any dividers in the larger hut where she had awoken, but they did have walls and more structured rooms within their floor plan.

She might have missed them because she’d still been drowsy from waking up and trying to figure out what was going on around her.

When she rubbed one of the curtain’s leaves between her fingers, it felt rubbery and cool, almost like spandex. But it was the leaf’s size—larger than her hand—and its gorgeous coloring, which faded from purple to blue to green at the tips, that took her by surprise.

The black vines that held the leaves, which were elegantly layered upon themselves like scales, glistened the same teal color as the large tree. Her gaze followed the vines up to where they all wrapped around a beam as one solid thick vine the size of her wrist and snaked behind the curtain.

Her great-great-grandmother had always said, Curiosity killed the cat , whenever she’d found her alone in places she shouldn’t be.

She tried to persuade herself not to give in to her desire to investigate how things were made and how they worked.

But her great-great-grandmother’s words had fallen on deaf ears, just as they had every time she’d done something similar in the past. The itch beneath her skin demanded she make discoveries and absorb new knowledge.

“I can’t help myself, GGG-ma,” she muttered to herself. “You know this is like a big red button or a sign that says, ‘Do Not Touch.’ Those always get me. If I’m going to stay in this hut, I need to know what’s behind this curtain.”

Mae knew she should be spending this time getting dressed while the blue alien man was gone, but she hoped that a quick glance would be all she needed, and then she’d scramble to put on the clothes he’d left her before he arrived.

Mae took a deep breath and braced herself for the unknown, as a jolt of excitement, a sudden rush of adrenaline pumped through her.

She felt like she was flying through an asteroid field on a high-speed chase—though the only thing chasing her was the prospect of the dragon rider’s return and the possibility of anything more dangerous than his space dragon beyond the curtain.

She slowly drew back the vines, fearful of disturbing the plant.

The thick trailing vine wound to the corner, where the beam met the wall and curled down to the floor, becoming thicker as it got further away from the ceiling and stopping midway.

A large black mass surrounded a bright teal bell-shaped flower with the same color leaves as its vines, but thinner and longer.

It reminded her of a strange alien version of Earth’s pitcher plant—a carnivorous plant that trapped and ate bugs.

She was puzzled as to why there was no lid to cover the bell and what the purpose of the surrounding leaves was.

Mae knew enough about predator plants to know that they tended to project pollen or some sort of aroma into the air, attracting their prey to meet their demise.

Such characteristics were sought after by perfume and pharmaceutical companies looking to create an enticing product for their high-end clients.

They had collected carnivorous plants from both Gaia and Terra, hoping to be the first to market with a new and exotic variety.

The last thing she needed was to become a victim of such a plant. Who knew what it was capable of and why he kept it in his hut?

Mae drew back the curtain, unconcerned about how it fell, and dashed to where her clothes sat on the wall shelf.

Her hand hovered between the two piles of clothes, one consisting of the clothes he had obtained and the other what was left of what she’d worn when she first arrived on the moon.

Mae’s future was determined by how she presented herself from the start. Was she going to remain an outsider dressed in her space pilot uniform, or would she try to blend in with the natives by wearing what he had given her?

Given the struggles humans now faced with other aliens, she would be wise to adapt to her surroundings, accepting their differences while not drawing unnecessary attention to herself.

Her uniform wasn’t in great shape, and it wasn’t appropriate for the temperature.

Looking down at her pants, she knew she could keep wearing them because they would protect her lower half from the underbrush and would come in handy if she ever needed to ride a space dragon again.

The only problem was that the material didn’t come from this moon, or at least they hadn’t figured out how to make it, as evidenced by everything she’d seen.

Wearing it would draw attention to her, especially since she lacked a tail and horns.

She took the fine black leather skirt, with its simple triangle shape and a cut-out at the back for where her tail would go if she had one. The material was as fine as silk but much thicker. She wondered if the blanket that was wrapped around her was made from the same animal.

“Who knows when and how I’ll be able to get the rest of my belongings back, so I might as well preserve what I have left in case I need to use it in the future,” she muttered as she released the blanket from her shoulders and gently placed it on the vine hammock.

The most important thing was gaining their trust so that she could persuade them to give her the bracer back.

Without it, she wouldn’t be able to board the Atlantis .

She refused to be responsible for this moon becoming another puppet colony for the human government, especially since it was home to so much life.

She was not embarrassed or shy about being naked.

She had shared quarters with other trainees for many years before becoming a pilot, so getting dressed in front of others was second nature to her.

There was no time to be self-conscious when a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.

Pleasant purring noises erupted from the other side of the wall, startling Mae into action.

Just because she wasn’t shy about her nudity didn’t mean the natives on the moon weren’t, even if they were dressed in beachwear. Mae refused to give her host any more reason to think she was different when she needed to work on earning their trust and fitting in.

Mae hurriedly put on the dark bikini bottom, enjoying the feel of the material on her skin as she tightened the strings on both sides.

She slipped on the leafy skirt and frowned at where the bottom of the kilt ended, right below the knees.

It was much longer on her than on the other tribe members, whose skirts ended mid-thigh.

While she was grateful to be given a pair, the realization of just how much smaller she was compared to the natives was beginning to sink in.

It was annoying enough to be shorter than the average human’s height, but every time she encountered an alien during her missions and had to peer up at them, she felt inadequate.

Being towered over made her feel insignificant, even when she outranked others.

She tried not to let it interfere with her work, but whenever someone got cocky with her, she made sure they never mentioned her height again.

She decided the cords of her leaf kilt were tight enough, so she peered down as she twirled, observing how the skirt fluttered and swayed. The light that emanated from the glowing stones suspended from the ceiling caused the dark green leaves to shimmer in a variety of colors from the rainbow.

It wasn’t something she would choose to wear herself, but she could get used to it.

Grabbing the bikini top, Mae threw the strap over her head and frowned as she placed the triangular cups over her breasts.

They were too small, barely covering her nipples, and she was afraid that in a strong enough gust of wind—like on the back of a space dragon—her ladies would pop right out, like she was serving two chocolate- covered snow cones for all to see.

Grabbing the top’s securing straps, she pulled them behind her back and attempted to tie them, growling when she failed.

“This is why I never wear string bikinis,” she snarled, frustrated at her inability to do something so simple. “I don’t understand how people can put them on by themselves. I swear they’re designed to require a second pair of hands.”

“ Xa’me nyi’xyayn. Ekyn zyun? ”

Mae froze, then slowly stood up, her hands still entangled in the vine strap behind her back.

Her cheeks burned at being caught in such an embarrassing situation—unable to dress herself.

Something that a mature adult should be able to do on their own, especially when attempting to impress a previously undiscovered alien species.

She gazed over her shoulder to see her host holding his space dragon’s saddle in one arm and a netted bag full of bright objects that looked like fruit in the other.

They stared at each other in silence, unsure what to do next and afraid to be the first to make a move.

Before she could open her mouth to ask him for assistance, a series of loud bugles echoed outside their hut, and the sounds of wings flapping filled the air.

Her eyes widened at the incoming noise and what it could mean.

The blue rider hung his bag on a peg on the wall and dropped his saddle next to the door. He moved quickly across the room, taking her straps from her hands and tugging the top tighter against her breasts before tying it securely.

He gently tapped her shoulders, as if to indicate that he was finished. As she turned to thank him, she was surprised to find him facing the door with his back to her.

Mae peered around him to see what was causing all the commotion, gasping when she noticed two figures in the doorway. Both wore fine jewelry and intricate details in their outfits, and their postures projected importance.

Mae noticed the first person to enter was someone she had already met—the older female she assumed to be his mother. The other figure wasn’t someone she’d seen before, but based on his appearance, he had to be her host’s father, or at least related in some way.

Underneath the elaborate headdress of vine and dragon scales was a male with the same long, braided fuchsia hair, though his had more beads. Glowing teal eyes that pierced her soul as he locked his gaze on her.

She wondered why she felt like she was a teenager again, about to meet the parents of a guy she had started dating.

And all she’d wanted to do was to save their moon from discovery.