Page 11 of The Space Traveller's Lover

“Drink, Shaillah. It will energise your tired body,” Rothwen encourages her, placing a goblet between her hesitant hands.

She cautiously smells the bubbles popping up as she nervously holds the cold thin glass stem.

She sticks her tongue out, touching the frothy top.

As she tastes the refreshing liquid, a rush of energy flows through her body.

The taste and feel are so enticing that she tilts the goblet over her mouth and keeps it there until the last drop is gone.

As she places the empty glass back on the table, she looks at each man in defiance .

“Who are you? And why have you brought me here? Where is Sam? I want to go back home,” she demands, with such impetus that she is even taken aback by her bold move.

But the men hardly blink.

Kuzhma-Or leans forwards and clears his throat. Then he speaks calmly in perfect English while stressing his words. “Shaillah, you should know the Rom-Ghenshar world is your real home.”

She can’t tell whether Kuzhma-Or is threatening her or warning her, but she finds the tone of his voice very convincing. Still, she can’t bring herself to believe him.

“Rom … Ghenshar? What kind of world? And why do you keep calling me Shaillah?”

“Rom means power , Ghenshar, glory . Shaillah is your real name, the name given to you by your creators. We all come from our vast, beautiful, and indomitable Rom-Ghenshar world.” Kuzhma-Or continues unabated, completely disregarding Erin’s rebellious mood.

Rothwen is subtly smiling as he keeps scrutinising every gesture she makes.

“You have Rom-Ghenshar blood and cells now,” Kuzhma-Or declares, swaying one arm in the air. “Your transition will soon be complete. Nothing of your inferior human genes will remain. You will think as we think, act as we act, dare as we dare.”

Erin’s mind is racing as she strives to make sense of what she’s hearing. She promptly concludes that this must be another of her recurring dreams. She tries with all her inner strength to wake up and be in the comfort of her bedroom, even if that means hearing Mrs Lobart’s nagging voice again.

She attempts to stand up from her chair in a bid to run away, but her body hardly moves. Feeling powerless, she wants to scream in fear once more.

Noticing her despair, Rothwen uses his telepathic mind to calm her down. He induces his pervasive brainwave field on her mind, disconnecting her overexcited neurons and bringing her back into a relaxed state.

Rothwen offers her another goblet of the sweet, energising drink, and she feels a numb sensation overpowering her thoughts. This time, she doesn’t hesitate and gulps it down in one go .

“Rom-Ghenshar, eh? And from what continent is this?” She sarcastically asks as she puts the empty goblet back on the table.

“Shaillah,” Kuzhma-Or calmly replies while stroking his beard, “we come from no continent at all. We come not from this planet but from much, much farther away.”

“How f-far?” she stutters, trying to withhold her sarcasm.

“It’s thousands of light-years away, on the opposite side of our galaxy, our beautiful Senyeraikh” (Milky Way). “Humans’ feeble tools have not even found it yet.” Kuzhma-Or pauses as Erin dumbfoundedly stares at him.

“Then … it would take you thousands of years to get here,” Erin contests. “Even travelling at the speed of light … how could you possibly make it? Or do you use wormholes?”

The men burst into rapturous laughter while Erin shows her impatience by biting her lips, her face turning red in frustration.

“Impulsive!” Kuzhma-Or lifts one eyebrow as he glances at Rothwen, who can’t keep his eyes off Erin’s firm stance.

She catches a glimpse of Rothwen’s long-drawn, admiring gaze, and her entire body shivers.

“Daring!” Rothwen exclaims, his whole face beaming in unrepressed satisfaction.

“Shaillah, I would say not everyone would agree with your calculations,” Kuzhma-Or remarks in a dismissive tone.

She throws herself back onto her seat in a bout of resignation and dejection. Anyway, all nightmares must come to an end .

Athguer walks towards the table, ceremoniously folding his arms as he announces, “She is progressing so quickly. I can confirm she’s ready!”

“And about time too. Brilliant, Athguer!” Kuzhma-Or cheers, briskly standing up and gesturing for Rothwen to follow him.

“I can tell she’s ready, even without looking at the data,” Rothwen quips while walking towards Kuzhma-Or and Athguer.

The men animatedly converse while pointing at the bright pictures and symbols. Erin is attentively watching them out of the corner of her eye . Kuzhma-Or seems so dominant. How did I dare confront him? Athguer looks serious and aloof. But Rothwen—he is so handsome .

She straightens up in her seat as she sees Rothwen walking towards her. As he holds her dainty hands, the warmth of his palms makes her feel protected, and for that, she feels grateful. A gentle smile spreads across her face, her tense muscles slowly relaxing as she keeps gazing at him.

“Shaillah, I only ask for your patience,” Rothwen tells her in a soothing tone as he slowly lifts her off her seat. “Let me take you—”

“Where to?” She looks around the vast white-walled room, wondering where he would be taking her.

Rothwen sharply nods at Kuzhma-Or, and to Erin’s astonishment, the sturdy commander starts disintegrating in front of her eyes.

In a flash, he has completely gone. But before she can recover from her shock, she next sees Athguer vanishing in front of her eyes.

She tightly holds Rothwen’s hands, thinking he would disappear too.

“They were only body copies, Shaillah. You’ll soon meet them in the flesh when we reach our domain. And that’s where I’m taking you.”

“Will we come back?”

“Ensheren” (Definitely)!

“Wait!” Erin pleads, clutching Rothwen’s hands as firmly as she can. “Where’s Sam? How long have I been here?”

“We’ve been taking good care of you for a few days. As for your friend … he’s safe. He’ll return to his family very soon.”

Erin shudders as the impressive sight of Diablo’s waterfall bursts into view right in front of her, its thundering roar reverberating through the whole chamber.

She covers her mouth with her hands, holding her breath as she notices Sam’s boat wedged in the side alley.

As she sees Sam lying on the deck, peacefully sleeping, she smiles with relief, but then she worries.

She reaches out, trying to touch him, but her hand goes through a sheath of gleaming particles.

“Why have you done this?” she mouths in despair. All the memories of her last minutes with Sam flash through her mind, and she fears for his life.

As Rothwen turns the vivid images off with a thought-command, her anguish grows. She confronts him with a reproaching glare.

“How long since you brought me here?”

“Exactly eight Earth days,” Rothwen calmly replies. “But don’t worry. He’s been kept in hibernation. He’ll be all right until they find him.”

“Promise me he’ll be okay. ”

“I promise …”

She looks at Rothwen warily as he pulls her against his broad chest and embraces her in a bear hug. His electrifying grasp makes her feel as if her blood is evaporating away.

“Shaillah … trust me!” He stresses his words while running his thick fingers over her cheeks.

“You kidnapped me. You’re holding my friend against his will. How can I ever trust you?” she protests while wrestling within his arms.

But Rothwen holds her steady while intensely gazing at her. “Look at me! Look at me!” he demands while pulling her face closer to him until their noses touch. “You must trust me!” He keeps a firm hold until she timidly looks back at him.

She fakes a complacent smile as she tries to stay collected. But deep inside, she feels frail and overpowered by his presence. Her skin is covered in goosebumps. Her trembling body betrays her fragile state, even though she tries to appear defiant.

Rothwen keeps tightening his grip, his pupils widening around a brightening glow.

She repeatedly blinks, trying to withstand the burning sensation at the back of her eyes, until she has to close them tightly.

Blinded and confused, she concentrates on her breathing.

Every time she feels the air rushing through her lungs, every time she smells him, she is relieved to know she’s still alive.

Any moment now, my heart will stop beating , she fears. But soon, she is overcome with such ecstasy that she finds herself wishing the enthralling embrace would never end.

“You see?” Rothwen speaks in a mellow voice as he loosens his grip. “You cannot escape from my embrace. You see? But I’d never harm you. You can open your eyes now.”

Erin slowly opens her trembling eyelids as she breathes in and out, resting her hands on Rothwen’s chest while he keeps looking at her with a proud smile.

“Good!” Rothwen smugly says. “Be patient and listen to me. This is as hard for me as it is for you. We’re both out of our comfort zones. But I had to bring you here. It all started when you moved to the island. I couldn’t stop watching you—”

“How did you watch me? ”

“I can see every single point of this planet from anywhere, every place, at any time. I used to watch you while you were asleep or even when you were out and about,” Rothwen says while softly caressing her forehead.

“I saw you in my dreams.” She gazes at him, delving into his unmistakably chiselled features as he continues talking to her.

“For a while, I thought Zula could be right. I might’ve been going through an ‘irrational phase’, but I felt so torn as you grew up.

You would be swimming alone, and you’d be looking at me but without seeing me, and I’d be caressing your hair but without touching you.

You were in that forbidden boundary I should’ve never crossed.

But in all this time, there hasn’t been a moment when I’ve stopped thinking about you. ”

Erin’s pupils sparkle under the copious tears flooding her eyelids and spilling over her cheeks. “I never stopped thinking about you either. I couldn’t wait to close my eyes at night to see you in my dreams. Why didn’t you just turn up?”

“I was denying it to myself every time. I thought this feeling would end as suddenly as it had started. But instead, it got stronger!”

“It got stronger for me too—”

“That much I knew. That’s why I made your friend bring you to me—the night of your sixteenth birthday and not a second later, when your body was ready to bring you into my world.”

“You could have taken me from anywhere, anytime. Why did you do it when I was with him?”

“He happened to be in my path. Shaillah. You’ll find out when you get to know me. I do things my way.”

“Who are you?” she demands while expectantly gazing at him.

Rothwen gently wipes away her tears, his eyes glinting with unashamed desire. “Right now, Shaillah, I’m nothing more than your humble servant.”