Page 17

Quinn

There’s a knock on my door and I sigh at the same time I rise to go answer it. I’m not really up for visitors, but I’m almost positive it’s Olivia, and she won’t let me ignore her. She’s the best about giving me space, but I have to tell her I need it. Otherwise, she’ll just hound me until I confess whatever’s bugging me.

Right now, Horek is bugging me. Actually, that’s not true. I’m mad at myself. Well, maybe a little at him, too, for kissing me like I’ve never been kissed before. The worst part is knowing I’ll probably never be kissed like that again. I trigger the door to open. Sure enough, Olivia’s on the other side of it.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” she glides past me and makes herself at home on the sofa I’d just vacated.

I’d tell her nothing, but we’ve known each other too long for her to believe me. I sit at the other end. “Horek kissed me.”

She rattles her head and blinks rapidly. “Excuse me? When did this happen and why am I only now hearing about it? You’re holding out on me.”

I drop my head onto the cushion behind me. “You know when I went for a walk earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s this beautiful botanical garden not too far from here and I found a nice bench to sit on and relax. I swear I’ve never felt so at peace before.” I can almost feel the sun heating my face and the breeze drifting across it. “The scent of all the flowers and trees is incredible. Overwhelming, but also not. I never knew how calm being surrounded by greenery and blooms could be.”

“I’m sure it’s absolutely lovely and you’ll have to take me there soon, but right now there are far more important topics you should be talking about than flowers and trees,” she says with a fair amount of exasperation. “Get to the good stuff, please.”

I make a face, but comply. “I was sitting there when I felt like someone was watching me. It was Horek. Our eyes locked and there was nothing I could do to break whatever hold he had on me.”

Olivia sighs dramatically. “That is so hot.”

Ignoring her, I continue. “He prowled forward like a damn predator cornering its prey. The next thing I know, we’re kissing.”

“Like I said…hot.” She fans herself.

“Exactly. Hot. Like mating fever hot.” I point out. “The only reason he kissed me was because he’d been hit with it. All the Bohnari males are afflicted with it. That’s the other reason Alik negotiated for brides to come to Bohna. They don’t just need us to birth their children, but also because the mating fever eventually makes them go berserk or something. When that happens, they have to be killed before they hurt people.”

“Whoa, whoa whoa.” Olivia shakes her palms at me. “Back up a second. How the hell did we get from Horek kissing you to mating fever insanity?”

I confess everything Bannik told me during our stroll through the city in regards to the mating fever and its effects on the Bohnari.

“Wait one fucking minute. First off, we should have been having this conversation hours ago. Like, as soon as you got back from your date,” she scolds. “Second, this sure as shit is something Johnna conveniently left out.”

“That’s exactly what I said to myself when I found out.”

“I’m going to ignore, for now, the fact you didn’t tell me this earlier, but don’t think we won’t revisit it.” Olivia side eyes me and I wince. “The others deserve to know this little tidbit. Informed choices and all that.”

I agree. “You want to gather them all up now or wait until after dinner?”

“Since everyone’s kind of been doing there own thing, I have no idea if they’re all here. I’m going to start spreading the news that we need to have a meeting before the women all go to bed tonight.” She stands and heads over to the comm unit sitting on the table. “I’m calling Devon and Lindsey over now though.”

Considering they are our friends, they need to be brought up to speed. I nod and, while she comms the, I sit back and nibble at the nails I’d stopped biting last year. The familiarity of the old habit is soothing. I doubt five minutes pass before there’s another knock. Olivia goes over to let them in.

Devon walks in first with Lindsey right behind her. They glance between Liv and me. Devon is the first to speak up.

“You said it was important, but you didn’t say anything about things being tense. I can feel it in here. What’s going on?”

Olivia gestures toward the living space where I’ve remained. “Have a seat. You’re going to want to when you hear what Quinn and I have to tell you about our Bohnari guys.”

“Shit, that sounds ominous.” Lindsey winces.

Both she and Devon make themselves comfortable and Olivia comes back to the sofa.

“You wanna start?” She glances at me.

I blow out a breath and then repeat everything I already laid out to her about the mating fever. Thankfully, Liv doesn’t out me when I keep the kiss with Horek to myself. It’s not pertinent to the conversation. Everything I learned about the mating fever came from Bannik anyway.

Lindsey snorts. “I knew this all sounded too good to be true.”

“Unpopular opinion here.” Devon raises her hand and we all turn to her. “Does this new development really make that much of a difference? I mean, we came here with the sole intention of finding a husband and having children. We knew when we entered the lottery what we were signing up for. Marriage. Kids.”

None of us have a response.Devon continues. “I entered my name because there was nothing I wanted more than to leave Earth. To escape the bottom tier and the shit life I had there. The President announcing my name was like every dream I ever had coming true. I didn’t—still don’t—care why I was getting out of that place. Only that I was.”

Her gaze bounces over us. “I didn’t sign up for the bridal lottery for love, although I’m not opposed to the idea of it. In fact, I’m hoping for it. But if what I get is a husband who treats me with kindness and respect and a life where I’m not working myself to an early grave for nothing more than scraps, then I’m perfectly content with that. It doesn’t matter if it’s because some mating fever makes him want me or not. And maybe that makes me desperate or I’m settling for less than what other people think I deserve. The truth is, I don’t care.”

I let her words sink in. All the things Devon mentioned were the very reasons my mom entered my name in the lottery. She wanted me to have a better life. To not spend my days surrounded by shit. To find my own happiness, even if I had to make it myself. To appreciate all the advantages that coming to Bohna offered me. Does it really matter what prompted Horek to kiss me? If his intentions are for something long-term, then why am I so upset?

“It’s clear Devon is the voice of reason amongst us,” Olivia says without a hint of sarcasm. “You’re right. We all came to Bohna to be wives and mothers. To leave our crappy lives behind and forge a new path for ourselves.”

Maybe I have been fooling myself all along, and it’s love I truly want. The same kind of love my parents had. Isn’t passion the closest thing to it? Could it not turn into a deeper emotion?

Olivia’s face comes into focus in front of mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

She squeezes my hand. Unlike mine, her parents hated each other. It’s one of the reasons we spent so much time together growing up. Liv had been at my house far more than her own. Also, unlike me, she’d desperately wanted to come to Bohna. To escape life back on Earth.

“Look,” Devon speaks up. “I know we all came from different situations back home so our expectations for our new life here are on Bohna are most likely different as well. Just because I feel a certain way doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t also valid.”

“She’s right. Again. It’s getting kind of annoying, in fact.” Lindsey laughs and nudges Devon with her elbow. “Never in a million years did I think my name would be called. Honestly, I sort of entered the lottery more as a joke than because I expected I’d be chosen. Deep down, though, I was terrified of coming here. Truth be told, I still am. I don’t know if it was the right decision, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. All I can do is hope I didn’t make a mistake.”

This might be the most honest conversation we’ve ever had with each other. Having Olivia with me as made it easier, but somehow, hearing what Lindsey just said makes me feel not so alone.

My gaze darts over the three of them. “You guys are the best. I hope you know that.”

Olivia scoffs. “Of course we do.”

We all laugh, which feels good. I haven’t done nearly enough of it in my life. Something tells me I’ll be doing a lot more of it with these women as my friends.

“Thank you.” I glance, and pause, at each of them. “All of you. I’m lucky to have you guys.”

“Why does this feel like a group hug moment?” Devon chuckles.

I roll my eyes but can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. Olivia looks right at me.

“You good now?”

“I think so.”

“What are you going to do about Horek?”

That’s a question I still don’t have an answer to. “I don’t know.”

Bannik is sweet and makes me laugh. I’ve enjoyed spending time with him. Not once while we were together—even alone—was he overcome with passion for me. Then again, maybe that’s just the plant they ingest doing what it’s supposed to.

Except, if it’s supposed to keep the Bohnari’s mating fever banked so they don’t go mad, then why did Horek have such an intense reaction?

I suppose I’ll have to ask him.