Page 30 of Fionn
"Outside. I asked for a moment of privacy because I wanted to speak to you."
A knowing glint appeared in her eye. "I take it you have questions. Before you start, I need you to know that your DNA test results have been added to the database - and there is a match. Usually, I'd pass on this news with more preparation and ceremony, but this case is different."
I froze. My throat was suddenly bone-dry. "Is it one of the finmen?" I croaked.
"Yes."
"Is it... Please tell me it's not Kelon."
She smiled and shook her head. "It is not. His details have been erased from the database and he has been permanently blocked. I have also taken steps to inform the Intergalactic Authority. He tried to abduct an Earth citizen. If you support this going to court, he could be tried as a pirate and people trafficker."
Thank goodness. The relief was like cold rain washing over me, draining away my anxiety.
"Who is it?" I asked.
But I already knew, deep in my heart.
15
Fionn
She was different when she came back. More radiant. More confident. And even more beautiful than before.
I couldn't take my eyes of her. She’d put on a simple flowy dress that accentuated her curves. I watched as she ate, listened as she explained the various dishes to me, laughed at her jokes. She was so perfect it hurt.
I was sure now. She was mine. My mate. All doubt had vanished.
Before the matriarchs had restricted normal dating, there had been a simple test for finmen to find their true mate. All you had to do was to hold your greenskin against hers. If you weren't mates, you'd get a slight tingle, almost uncomfortable. But if you were mates... I'd heard it described as an almost spiritual experience.
Nowadays, this rarely ever happened. Matches were made for genetic potential, for keeping our species alive, not for love. I was sure that some of the rich and powerful still got to choose their mates for themselves, but not us, not normal finfolk. Males had to stand before the Matriarchal Panel and females had to accept whoever they were assigned. It was no way to live. I hated that my kind had to resort to such methods in order to survive. In one way, I could understand why the matriarchs had designed this law. For the good of the species. But for a finman like me who, if they had their way, would never have a mate, never find love, never lie in the arms of a female - it was torture.
"What are you thinking of?" Elise suddenly asked.
"You." Always.
"Well, then we match because I was thinking about you as well." She smiled and pushed her plate away. "When you registered with the dating agency, what was your plan? Long-term, I mean. Did you want to return to your planet? Fin..."
"Finfolkaheem."
"Originally, we wanted to find some females and take them back home. To be honest, we hadn't thought much about it. When we set off, we half expected the story from our Archives to turn out to be a fairytale. We didn't dare to hope. Even when we made contact with the dating agency and got confirmation that Peritans did exist and that there might be a way to find mates for ourselves, it felt like a dream. I think I always assumed that I would return to Finfolkaheem, but that was not based on rational thought. I don't know what the matriarchs would do to us if we brought a group of Peritan females with us. Would they accept you? Would they want to know if our two species could have offspring together? Would they commission experiments on you?"
My greenskin tightened at the thought. I would never let that happen. Elise would always be safe with me. Even if I had to protect her from my own people.
"Maybe we should stay here."
Her words made my heart stop.
We.
Us.
Together.
Did she mean that? Or had it been just a slip of the tongue?
"Elise... are you saying that you could imagine being with me?"
Everything inside me froze. Time slowed into a sticky syrup that refused to flow faster. Her silence was an eternity, until-
