Page 5

FIVE

T he crisp night air hit Bess’s face as she stepped out of the restaurant with Gerri. Her stomach was full of incredible food, but her mind was spinning faster than a tornado.

“What the hell am I doing?” Bess whispered under her breath, tugging at the hem of her sensible blouse. “I just quit my job. In an email. To go to... another planet? With a stranger?”

Gerri glanced over her shoulder with a knowing smile that crinkled the corners of her bright eyes. “Having second thoughts already, dear? Most people do. It’s completely normal.”

“Normal? There’s nothing normal about this!” Bess’s voice pitched higher than intended. “Aliens? Shifters? Wormholes? Thirty minutes ago, I thought all these things only existed in movies!”

“Life is certainly full of surprises.” Gerri’s petite form seemed to glide rather than walk as she led them away from the restaurant, her designer heels clicking with renewed purpose against the pavement. “But trust me when I say, the universe has much more in store for you than processing insurance claims for a man who doesn’t appreciate you.”

Bess followed obediently as her mind raced through all the responsibilities she had just abandoned. “My apartment... my plants... my phone payments...”

“Details we can sort out later.” Gerri waved her manicured hand dismissively. “First adventure, then logistics.”

They soon arrived at the city power plant, a hulking concrete structure that hummed with electricity. Gerri approached a side entrance with unexpected familiarity, punching a security code into a keypad with practiced ease.

“You have access to a power plant?” Bess hissed, looking over her shoulder as if expecting security to descend upon them.

“I have access to many things, dear.” Gerri winked, holding the door open. “Harold! We’re here!”

A lanky man with thinning hair and thick glasses rushed forward. “Ms. Wilder! Right on schedule.” He glanced at Bess with undisguised curiosity. “This is the one?”

“This is she.” Gerri placed a warm hand on Bess’s elbow, guiding her toward an industrial elevator. “Harold manages this power grid and helps me with my little transportation needs.”

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a steel cage that looked like it had been installed when the plant was built decades ago.

“We’re going down in that?” Bess’s knees felt weak.

“Don’t worry,” Harold assured her with a gap-toothed smile. “I serviced it myself just last week.”

Somehow, that didn’t make Bess feel any better.

The descent was longer than Bess expected, giving her ample time to question every life choice she had ever made. The elevator finally shuddered to a halt, opening to reveal a long concrete corridor with a single door at the end. The nameplate read “G. Wilder” in elegant script.

“You have an office 1000 feet below a power plant?” Bess asked, following Gerri down the corridor.

“Not an office, darling. A gateway.”

The room beyond the door was surprisingly sparse—just concrete walls, floor, and ceiling, with no furniture or decorations. Gerri reached into her designer handbag and pulled out what looked like a small metal egg.

“Watch closely now.” She brought the egg to her lips and whispered something Bess couldn’t hear.

The egg began to hover, floating away from Gerri’s palm to the center of the room. A soft blue glow emanated from within it, growing stronger and brighter until Bess had to shield her eyes. The light expanded outward, forming a perfect circle in the air big enough to walk through.

And then, impossibly, the circle filled with an image—a landscape unlike anything Bess had ever seen. Purple forests stretched beneath a blue sky. In the distance, yellow mountains rose majestically, their peaks capped with what looked like blue snow.

“Welcome to Nova Aurora,” Gerri said, her voice filled with satisfaction at Bess’s slack-jawed amazement. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s... it’s real?” Bess whispered, her hand reaching out involuntarily toward the shimmering portal.

“As real as you and me. Shall we?”

Before Bess could answer, Gerri took her hand and stepped forward. One moment they were in the concrete room; the next, Bess felt a rush of wind, a disorienting swirl of light, and then?—

Her feet touched solid ground. Warm air caressed her skin, carrying scents both familiar and foreign—something like lavender but sharper and sweeter.

“I can’t believe it,” Bess breathed, turning in a slow circle. “I’m really on another planet.”

Bess’s head still whirled from the wormhole travel as she followed Gerri along a cobblestone path gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Her body tingled with a peculiar energy that made her skin feel electrically charged and her mind fully awake despite her lack of sleep.

“That’s the Sapphire Sea,” Gerri pointed toward the gleaming expanse of water that shimmered with an impossible pink that shifted to yellow near the shoreline. “The color comes from microscopic crystals suspended in the water.”

“It looks like someone dumped cotton candy into it,” Bess murmured, unable to tear her gaze away. Her fingers itched to touch it, to know if it felt as magical as it looked.

They soon passed through a marketplace where vendors with decidedly non-human features haggled good-naturedly with customers. One merchant, his skin a beautiful copper tone with subtle scales along his neck, offered Bess a fruit that resembled a star-shaped peach.

“Go on,” Gerri encouraged with a mischievous smile. “Food here is compatible with human digestion. Mostly.”

Bess took a cautious bite and nearly moaned as flavors exploded across her tongue—honey, citrus, and something spicy that lingered pleasantly at the back of her throat.

“Oh my,” she whispered, wiping juice from her chin. “This makes Earth food taste like cardboard.”

The merchant beamed, his amber eyes crinkling with pleasure. Gerri flipped him a coin and he caught it with clawed hands.

They continued through winding streets where the buildings seemed to be grown rather than built, their organic curves flowing into one another. Bess noticed how people—beings?—nodded respectfully to Gerri. Some even bowed.

“You’re kind of a big deal here, aren’t you?” Bess asked, hurrying to keep up with Gerri’s surprisingly quick pace.

“Let’s just say my services are highly valued.” Gerri’s eyes twinkled with secrets. “Speaking of which—look ahead.”

Rising above the tree line stood a castle that defied earthly architecture. Massive stone towers spiraled upward, connected by bridges that seemed to float without support. The stone itself appeared alive, shimmering with veins of gold and silver that pulsed like heartbeats under the two suns.

“The Mavac Castle,” Gerri announced proudly. “Home to the Mavac bear shifter royal family and your prince date.”

Bess’s stomach flipped with sudden nerves. “You know, twelve hours ago I was filing insurance claims. Now I’m about to meet an alien bear prince?” She tugged at her blouse. “I’m not dressed for this, Gerri.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Gerri patted her arm reassuringly. “Prince Charov isn’t interested in your clothes.”

“That’s not as comforting as you might think,” Bess muttered, earning a laugh from the older woman.

They approached the massive entrance gate where two guards stood at attention. Both were at least seven feet tall with shoulders broad enough to fill a doorway. Their faces remained impassive, but their eyes tracked every subtle movement with predatory focus.

“Gerri Wilder,” one announced, his voice a rumbling bass that Bess felt in her chest. “Queen Zyre and Prince Charov are expecting you.”

The enormous gates swung open without a sound revealing a courtyard paved with stones that subtly glowed underfoot. A fountain at the center featured a massive bear rearing on its hind legs, water cascading from its open jaws.

Bess’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. This was really happening.

“Remember,” Gerri whispered, squeezing Bess’s hand, “just be yourself.”

“My boring, insurance clerk self?” Bess hissed back.

“There’s nothing boring about you, dear. You just haven’t had the chance to discover that yet.”

Once they made it inside the castle foyer, Bess’s practical heels sank slightly into plush carpets that seemed to shift colors with each step. The stone walls soared upward, inlaid with what looked like actual gemstones forming intricate patterns that told stories she couldn’t decipher.

A man of medium height with silver-streaked hair and a face lined with experience rather than age approached them with measured steps. He bowed slightly to Gerri.

“Ms. Wilder, what an honor.” His voice was crisp and formal. “I am Torborn, assistant to the royal family.”