Page 19 of Fionn (Starlight Mermen #1 | Starlight Alien Mail Order Brides #7)
Elise
M y body was torn apart, scattered in all directions, before I was put together again in a flash of light and pain.
I staggered, collapsed, landing in a heap on a cold metal floor. It took me a second to remember how to breathe.
"ELISE FARROW."
The voice boomed from all around me.
I looked up, blinking against the bright light surrounding me, and forgot how to breathe again.
I was in a spaceship, that much was clear.
Before meeting Fionn and the other finmen I would have questioned if this was real or just a dream - but I had learned a lot in the past few days. My horizon had expanded beyond belief.
The room was oval, as big as a house, with metallic walls that pulsed with an ethereal glow, and a floor that was shimmering like quicksilver.
I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd suddenly sunk through the metal.
The room was split in two halves by a giant glass wall.
On the other side stood a figure. With the way the light fell on him, I could only make out his silhouette, no details, but I recognised him right away.
Kelon.
I jumped to my feet, swaying at first as I found my balance, but anger at the alien who'd abducted me gave me new strength.
Kelon turned around slowly. His eyes found mine and he smiled. The malice in his gaze made my gooseflesh rise. I didn't want to be anywhere near this man. The glass separating us suddenly didn't feel like enough protection.
"What-" I snarled, but the disembodied voice interrupted me.
“THE HEARING OF THE INTERGALACTIC AUTHORITY IS CONVENED. SUBJECTS: KELON SHELL-CLUTCH OF ROUSSAY; ELISE FARROW OF PERITUS. WITNESSES ARE PRESENT.”
“I didn’t agree to—” Kelon began.
“YOU DO NOT CONTROL THESE PROCEEDINGS.”
He flinched. I breathed in slowly, steadying myself. He was not in charge here. This was neutral ground. I was safe.
"ELISE FARROW'S MEMORIES HAVE BEEN LAWFULLY ACQUIRED AND VERIFIED."
What the fuck?
The wall to my right flashed brightly, then turned into an image.
Underwater, bubbles floating through the murky sea.
Fast movement. Shadows flicking at the edge of the screen.
This could have been filmed anywhere, but I knew in my heart that this was what I'd seen when Kelon had dragged me through the water at a speed only his kind could achieve.
And yes, there was my hand, gripping the tube connecting the regulator to my oxygen tank.
More shadows. Kelon's body, huge and scary.
His hand clawing at the camera - at my face.
Breaking the surface, sunlight streaming down on us, water drops flying everywhere, and then his face, a mask of greed and delight.
He loved seeing me helpless like that. He enjoyed inflicting fear and pain.
But I didn’t want to watch this without commentary. I needed to make my voice heard.
“Kelon grabbed me,” I said loudly. “He didn’t check if I was breathing. He didn’t check anything .”
“THE RECORD REFLECTS THIS.”
I didn't want to see it. But when I turned my head away from the screen, the wall opposite flashed and began to show the same memory from Kelon’s perspective.
To Kelon, I had looked small and vulnerable.
He watched Maelis and me swimming down towards the cave entrance.
He waited for her to have a slight lead, then he rushed me, wrapping his arms around me, crushing me against his chest. And then he swam and swam, far away, never checking on my wellbeing.
I could have been unable to breathe and he wouldn't have noticed.
That by itself told me everything I needed to know.
Kelon smoothed his hair, trying to appear bored. “You are dramatizing a rescue.”
A rescue? What an arse.
“I would like to speak,” I said, louder. “I want to set the record straight.”
“PROCEED.”
I stepped closer to the glass so Kelon would have to look at me. “Kelon took me against my consent. He never asked. He didn’t give me any warning. He just took.”
Kelon leered at me. “You’re just saying that because I’m an alien. If I were Peritan, you would have accepted me.”
I scoffed. “It has nothing to do with your species and everything with your behaviour. Fionn… From the first moment, he asked before he touched me. He called the Hot Tatties agency instead of breaking rules. He put me first.”
My hands were shaking. I waited for the genderless voice to react. The silence felt like the held breath before a dive.
A new rectangle flickered into life— another window, this time a live feed. Fionn. His face filled the projection, jaw set, shoulders squared, the dark fall of his hair pulled back. Behind him: Captain Maggnus and two crew, tense but present.
“WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH EVIDENCE FROM A RELIABLE WITNESS.”
For a moment, I expected Fionn to appear in the room, but instead, a new screen flashed to life, showing another large finman.
“I am Captain Maggnus,” he said in a deep, polished voice. “This is an internal bridge log captured at 03:12 ship-time the sunpass before landfall.”
An audio recording played, echoing through the room. Kelon’s voice was loud and clear.
“ That’s why I want to keep our stay on Peritus as short as possible. Land, grab some females, test if we’re compatible, grab some more females, leave.”
“YOU ATTEMPTED TO ABDUCT A PROTECTED BEING,” the disembodied voice said tonelessly. “WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE INTERGALACTIC AUTHORITY NOR THE ASSOCIATED AGENCIES.”
“Protected… As if. She wants to be with a finman,” he scoffed. “Peritans don’t even-”
“Stop saying Peritans like we’re insects,” I snapped. “And I’m here because you dragged me under the water.”
His lip twitched. “You were intrigued enough by our world.”
“Not by you ,” I said. I didn’t raise my voice. “By Fionn.”
He didn’t reply, just glared.
I stared back at him, finally facing him without fear. “Why me, Kelon? Why choose the moment when I was diving? You could have asked to talk on land.”
He worked his jaw. “Because you were there, swimming where I was swimming. And asking takes time. ”
There it was. Not romance. Not fate. Logistics.
“And were there going to be others?” I pressed. “Maelis? Any woman on the island? Just items on a list? Are we just objects to you?”
He didn’t answer. His silence was answer enough.
"THE INTERGALACTIC AUTHORITY HAS EVALUATED THE MEMORIES AND WITNESS REPORTS. WE HAVE COME TO A DECISION."
My heart beat against my chest during their dramatic pause. Come on, tell me. What was going to happen?
Pam had mentioned that Intergalactic Authority. She'd said she'd reported Kelon's behaviour to them. I hadn't expected them to act this quickly, however? Had they been on Earth already? Or had I been transported into space?
I shuddered at the thought of how far from home I might be.
I hadn't been able to say goodbye to Fionn.
I'd just disappeared, no warning. He must be frantic with worry.
Maybe he'd assume that this was Kelon's doing.
My anger only increased when I imagined the pain Fionn would be going through. This was all Kelon's fault.
"KELON SHELL-CLUTCH OF ROUSSAY IS HEREBY BANNED FROM EVER COMING WITHIN TEN LIGHTYEARS OF PERITUS.
HE WILL BE BANNED FROM ALL PLEASURE PLANETS AND MOONS.
HE WILL BE REPORTED TO THE FINFOLKAHEEM AUTHORITIES WHO MAY INSTIGATE FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS AND PUNISHMENTS.
HE WILL ALSO PAY COMPENSATION TO ELISE FARROW IN THE AMOUNT OF A QUARTER OF HIS ACCUMULATED WEALTH AS WELL AS THE OWNERSHIP OF THE VESSEL 'TIDEBOUND'.
HE WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO FINFOLKAHEEM IMMEDIATELY. "
I needed a moment to process what had just happened. Kelon was being sent home like an unruly boy excluded from school. And I'd been given compensation. Credits had to be money, not that I had any idea how finfolk money translated to British Pounds. And... the spaceship? Was it really mine?
That couldn't be. I had no idea how to fly one. And where would I even park it?
Before I could ask the alien voice what all this meant, icy cold ran over my skin once more. I dissolved...
... and then I was on the beach, voices yelling all around me.
Strong arms lifted me from the sand and then I was cradled against his broad chest, his sea salt scent all around me. Fionn.
"Elise," he breathed. "Elise."
"I'm back. I'm okay."
He nuzzled my neck, burying his face in my hair. I heard him breathe in deep, as if he needed to smell me to reassure him that I was real. Poor guy.
"Are you hurt?" he asked with suppressed urgency.
"No, I'm fine. But you're about to break my ribs if you keep hugging me like this."
He instantly loosened his grip. As much as I wanted him to hug me, he also didn't know just how strong he was compared to me.
"It was the Intergalactic Authority," I explained, looking up at his puzzled face. "They put Kelon on trial. He's gone. They're sending him back to your planet. He's never going to return here. And... for some reason they gave me the Tidebound."
His eyes widened. "You got Kelon's spaceship?"
"Yes, along with a quarter of his money."
He stared at me for another long moment, then the lines on his forehead eased and he erupted into laughter.
"That's brilliant! You've just become one of the richest people on your planet!"
"I'm rich?" I felt numb. I didn't know what to say or do.
"Kelon himself didn't do much to accumulate wealth, but he is the sole heir to his adoptive mother's estate.
She has been transferring millions of credits to him over many mooncrossings to avoid taxes.
He boasted about it during our journey here.
Let's wait until the IA completes all the formalities, but if you're lucky, you might even own property on Finfolkaheem. "
"No way."
Fionn grinned. "Kelon is obsessed with living the luxury life. The IA made an informed decision. This will hurt him much more than being banned from Peritus."
"And all pleasure planets."