Page 1 of Tavarr's Mate
Chapter One
The crowd in the rooftop café buzzes with excitement, and even though my stomach is twisted in a thousand knots, I can’t help but smile as the blinking lights of theStargazergrow larger and brighter amidst the stars. The night is warm and clear with a faint breeze. Perfect weather for a landing.
Home. I’m finally going home.
I’m sitting at a table near the café’s exit, two bulging suitcases at my feet. The only belongings I’d brought to Tallia two years ago are stuffed inside, hastily packed after I managed to snag a return ticket to Earth at the last minute. By the time Harry notices the credits missing from our account, I’ll already be long gone.
On the other side of the Anders-Perkins Wormhole.
My heart pounds and hope rises in my chest.
As a child, I’d marveled at the creation of the wormhole and the pristine tropical planet that had been found on the other side, only to learn from Harry years later that the wormhole hadn’t actually been created by humans, but rather it was a naturally occurring passage that humans simply made larger in order to send ships through.
In order to profit and conquer.
But right now, the details and the government cover-ups don’t matter, because I’m finally going home.
Like everyone around me, my gaze remains glued to the night sky. When a ship is due to arrive on Tallia, all of Capital Acres ventures outside to watch it land.
Tonight, the blinking white lights moving away from the blue wormhole represent my freedom, and I can’t wait for theStargazerto descend to the nearby platform. After the passengers disembark, I plan to be the first Earth-bound traveler in line for boarding.
Though my tea has grown cold, I take a sip and attempt to will my nerves to settle, but my hands won’t stop shaking. Space travel scares me, and it doesn’t help that I’m traveling alone.
But I must get away from Tallia. There’s nothing but heartache left for me here.
A sudden wave of fury heats my blood, though I’m not sure who I’m angrier with—my soon-to-be ex-fiancé, Harry, or myself for falling for the sadistic asshole. I’d thought it sweet when he proposed marriage and asked me to accompany him to Tallia only a month after first meeting, but that impulsive and over-the-top romantic gesture had been just one of many red flags.
I swallow past the burning in my throat and peer at the two orange moons sitting high in the sky, watching over the planet like two strong guardians.
How many nights have I slept outside on a bench in Capital Acres after Harry kicked me out during a heated argument, the moons as my only companion? I stopped counting after a dozen.
Two years has felt like an eternity. If only I’d stayed on Earth. I would still have a good job and a place of my own. I wouldn’t be running away, and I wouldn’t feel like an utter failure.
I’d always prided myself on being independent, but Harry’s temporary charm had won me over, seduced me to take a risk for the first time in my life.
It didn’t take long for that risk to blow up in my face.
In my stubbornness and pride, I had clung to hope that everything would somehow work out on Tallia, that Harry’s frequent mood swings would cease and we’d finally set the date for our wedding.
Now I’m about to return to Earth broke and homeless.
I’m sure my parents will take me in once my mother finishes sayingI told you sofor the hundredth time, but I cringe at the thought of showing up on their doorstep, jobless and penniless and no longer engaged to the renowned scientist they admired.
I’m confident I’ll find another teaching job eventually, but until I’m back on my feet, working and living in a place of my own, I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold my head very high. The prospect of enduring the disapproval of my entire family, especially my mother, weighs heavy on my heart.
When I announced my engagement to Harry—an emerging xenobiologist—I’d never seen my mother so delighted, as if snagging a super smart and successful man was my greatest achievement, and she finally had a reason to be proud of me.
Until I became engaged to Harry, I was jokingly referred to as the “free spirit” and even the “black sheep” of the family. I’ve long been considered the least successful individual in a family full of overachievers, and a family function isn’t complete without at least a handful of snide comments directed my way. Of course, I never find the jibes very funny.
My older sister is a renowned surgeon who’s married to a wealthy businessman, and my younger brother is a successful engineer who has graced the cover of many tech magazines. Both my parents are lawyers who frequently represent high-profile clients, and it’s not unusual to turn on the television and see them giving interviews on late night news programs.
To top it all off, I have a huge extended family, with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, each one of them as equally successful and admired in their professions as my siblings and parents.
My family has always looked down their nose at me, making hurtfuljust a teachercomments. It didn’t matter that I’d loved my job, or that I’d been nominated for numerous teaching awards. In my family’s eyes, I was always little more than a glorified babysitter.
You could have been so much more, my mother used to say, shaking her head in disappointment.
I hope the two-year gap on my resume doesn’t make finding a job quickly too difficult. I fight down a wave of panic as I imagine facing my parents with nothing but the meager contents of my suitcases. What little savings I had went directly into a shared account with Harry. I should have emptied it and called it even for all the shit he’s put me through, but the return ticket home cost more than I originally added to our joint funds, leaving me feeling guilty over the prospect—as well as dirty.
