Page 76 of Exiles on Earth
He answers more questions, and the next male is announced, a hulk with thick scales. And the next after that, a lean but muscled male with dark black markings on his chest and a rainbow oil slick of color everywhere else. The booze gives me a buzz but also makes me quite tired, and while the parade of masculine beauty is interesting, I can’t keep my eyes open.
“Next, the Gerverstock,” the announcer says, and I startle awake from my chair. Other women are apparently sleeping as well, but they all look up as Ilia steps slowly into the center light.
His scales shine blue and green, the light glinting off each edge. By now he’s dried from his run and swim, looking fresh as if he’d had a good night’s sleep. His deep blue eyes fix on me, intent.
My smile wobbles on my face. Even though he doesn’t want me,Ilia tried to rebuild my dreams; the least I can do is help him start his. I give him a thumbs up and mouth, “Just be yourself.”
He raises his chin, gaze steely blue as the bot comes closer to scan him, as if he would endure it rather than enjoy it. He remains still, breathing quietly, his wide shoulders and honed core showing his strength more than any preening or showing off on stage.
The information screen flashes next to me, and like a moth to a flame, I’m drawn to it. Ilia’s model spins slowly, showing his wide stance and thick thighs, his huge shoulder-span as long as my arm, his proud jawline. And two hearts, pumping away. Right, yes, he has two. He needs a lot of blood for his huge body and all that strength. The memory of them pumping, slow and strong yet quickening under my ear as I listened fills me with warmth.
My finger hovers over the “more information” dots. One of these is his cock. Or cocks: does he have more than one? My heart hammers. I never got the chance to find out. He took one taste of my human anatomy and booked it out of there, but my curiosity is definitely piqued.
“What can you offer a mate?” the announcer asks Ilia.
Ilia clears his throat, the low noise echoing through the quiet room. “I will always protect my mate,” he says, looking at me as he says it.
He’d protected me from the killer robots, but that wasn’t the only reason I’d let down my defenses and welcomed him into my heart. I make an encouraging motion to get him to elaborate.
His mouth opens and closes on nothing.
Oh, shit. Has he got stage fright?
“Hm.” With a glance at Shara, Imaya presses a button on her seat. A single dash mark floats out from her chair, the only one making its way toward Ilia. It pings over the top of his head and makes way too cheery a noise, bringing the low score to everyone’s attention.
This isn’t good at all.
TWENTY-TWO
ILIA
The light bathingmy skin is hot, too hot, like an incubation chamber. My skin prickles as the equally hot shame of the pity score flies above my head.Drok na, why did I ever think a Tuber like me would be of interest to a woman?
El-len sits a few paces away but might as well be on another planet. She looks well, sitting beside the All-Mother herself, wearing bulky translation earphones. I can hear her breathing, the nervous stutter as she watches me. Why is she apprehensive? Could she be worried for me?
Closing her eyes tight, El-len rockets to her feet. “Uh, hello everyone. I’m sorry if this is out of the ordinary, but I need to tell you something about this man. Male. Ilia.”
She balls her little hands into fists, her gesture when she faces insurmountable obstacles and braces to break through them.
She confronts the females surrounding us both. “Ilia’s a great leader. He cares about his crew and how his actions affect others. He’s honest, hardworking, and will risk his life for yours in a heartbeat.
“But most of all,” she says, facing me, “he will restore yourhopes and dreams, rebuilding what was broken inside of you. His belief in you will help you do amazing things!”
My chest swells, eyes stinging with tears for her fierce conviction. Oh, El-len. I can’t speak, my throat tight as her words wash away the doubt deep inside me, like the purest water.
The females look at one another, shadowy beyond the light. There’s only one female I wanted to see react to my words, and she’s already been moved to speak on my behalf. Marks start arriving above me, the counter singing as they tally up, but I don’t care.
All I cherish is El-len’s triumphant smile as she sits in her seat with a bump.
She fumbles at the controls, whispering something to the All-Mother, who leans over to point out one of the indication holospheres. El-len taps it, and a glorious golden ten zooms from her machine to swirl around the sevens and eights from the others. She raises her chin to me as if in challenge.
I rise to it.
“How would you cheer up your mate?” The Mating Games coordinator asks me.
“I would learn what made her smile and I would do it, whether that be feeding animals or rebuilding something broken. Such as a table, sized for her and the work she wanted to do so she’d be comfortable. Every day would be an opportunity to find a way to make her happy, and that would be my biggest joy.”
“Joy? From a Tuber?” One of the females says.
