Page 5 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
“Nox.”
“Nox,” she repeated, because Tomas had to borrow money from the most notorious loan shark on the station. “I’m sorry. He ran off with all our savings.”
“Yes, and I will have my money. I don’t particularly care how or from who.”
“But I don’t…I can’t. I’m broke.” First the humiliation of having her brother pay the tab for her not-wedding, now this. If she ever saw Tomas again, she’d shove him out an airlock. “I was supposed to be married today,” she added, her voice small.
Nox made a sympathetic sound and patted her on the head. “I can’t help but feel this is my fault. Tomas enjoys spending money. Unfortunately, he has a nasty habit of running away and leaving his spouse with the bill. I knew that but still gave him my money.” He chuckled, a cold and brittle sound. “He’s done it three times, you know.”
The news of his three other wives rocked Mari. They had talked about past romantic relationships. He never mentioned being divorced, mainly because he wasn’t. He was a bigamist.
“I’m sure it’s nothing about you. That’s just hispattern,” Nox continued.
“I’m not sure if I feel better knowing I was one person taken for a ride or one of many.” The Interstellar Union had inclusive marriage regulations, but poly marriages were only legal if the parties knew about the other people and filed the correct form, and they hadn’t filed the proper paperwork.
Paperwork? Really? That’s what bothered her? Tomas did her a favor, running away before they were legally bound to each other.
“I believe it is best to be exclusive, but perhaps you can find some small comfort with the other wives.”
“Lucky me,” she said numbly, not believing that for one second.
“Shame he did a runner. There are few places he can hide from me.”
Corra. Tomas had wanted to move to Corra after the wedding. He had been talking about it nonstop.
Something like realization must have shown on her face because Nox perked with interest. “Oh,” he purred, “if you know where he ran, I’d suggest telling me now. It’ll go toward the debt.”
“I’m…he never said, but he talked about Corra a lot.”
The ears on top of Nox’s head twitched and fluttered. “Corra may be outside the IU, but it’s not outside my reach. Now, you do look delightful.” He placed a hand on either shoulder and gave her a long look, then tutted. “Humans are so strange. All this white when you’re barely beige. It’s so dull. Must be off. We’ll talk about the debt.”
“I’m not paying,” she said, knowing that if the notorious moneylender had her in his sights, she’d pay one way or the other.
The guests were polite enough to give her sympathetic looks but tactful enough not to mention how a con man charmed Mari out of her savings, left her holding debt to an unscrupulous man, and stomped all over her heart. Oh, and ran off with her former friend.
She asked the guest to take their gifts back, but a few insisted she keep the matching towel sets and new pots and pans. She ate cake, drank her fill of sweet, bubbly booze, and danced until her legs burned with exhaustion. No one questioned the glittery costume fairy wings she wore. Jilted brides were allowed to be eccentric.
In a week, she’d board a ship and head out for her honeymoon. Alone. She had already paid for the trip in full, and she intended to enjoy the luxury resort on a sunny island. Real life and untangling the mess Tomas left behind could wait a little longer.
After all, it couldn’t get worse.
Winter
“Almost there. We don’t want to miss the show.” Winter climbed onto the boulder and hauled himself to the top. The tinted glasses slid down his nose. They were a necessary hassle.
He and his kit, Zero, hiked through the forest all morning, slowly making their way to higher ground. Behind them, a bot trundled along, its all-terrain treads struggling with actual terrain. The bot navigated its way around obstacles easily enough, but its sensors seemed unable to distinguish the difference between mud and dry ground.
The bot bumped into the boulder, backed up, then bumped into it again. He’d have to recalibrate the sensors.
With minutes to spare, Winter and Zero made it to the overlook.
The island spread out below them, foliage and scrub on the mountain, the boxy structures of the village, and the thin band of pale gray sand beaches. Beyond that, the ocean surrounded them, an endless stretch of wavering gray. Sunlight gleamed off the water, the light diffusing into a bright glow that made him blink.
Winter turned away. Salty wind ruffled his hair and threatened to whisk the hat away. He clamped a hand to hold it in place. His legs ached wonderfully from exertion. From their perch, there was only birdsong, sun, and the wind.
His total color blindness—achromatopsia—left him in a world of varying shades of gray and sensitivity to light. Outdoor activities required planning and certain equipment—shaded contact lenses, tinted glasses, and a hat for very sunny days—or he risked being completely blinded by sunlight and suffering a debilitating headache. Overcast days were easier, but he refused to let a little sunshine spoil the show.
Winter naturally craved the solitude of life aboard his ship, but it was too easy to cocoon himself in that sterile environment, where he could control the lighting. He had spent years in his workshop, sitting in front of screens and hunched over prototypes. At some point, being in his ship felt like hiding, like letting his achromatopsia dictate his life. Now, he hungered for dirt, sun, and sweat. The soreness in his muscles reminded him he was alive.
