I bit my lip. I wonder if they’d let me go into cryopreservation until I arrived wherever I was going. I tried to control my panic.
My sister squeezed my hand.
“Remember, Mya, we’re the lucky ones,” she whispered. “Billions would kill for this opportunity. Make the best of it, okay? Promise me?”
Her words broke me from my dark thoughts. Her blue eyes, bright and hopeful, stared into mine. I pulled back my shoulders and took a deep breath, putting on the strongest face I could muster. It actually made me feel better too.
I could do this. She was right.
“I’ll miss you, Lea. Love you,” I responded, pulling her into a tight hug. Her fingers held me tight, digging into my skin, but I didn’t care.
“Love you too, sis. See you soon,” she replied, trying to sound happy, but her voice shook with unshed tears just like mine.
“Yeah, see you soon,” I said, releasing her.
There were attendants waiting for me inside the medical wing. I turned toward them and they led the way. I looked back and waved at Lea and she grinned at me, waving goodbye herself.
Once I was inside, someone took me off into a small room with what looked like a hundred different medical devices. I was strapped to a gurney and they took scans
of my head and of my body, all things I’ve had done before, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. One of the attending doctors took a hold of my right ear and held a small device over top of it.
I shut my eyes as I felt a spray numb my ear. Small robotic arms moved against my skin and before I knew it, the language implant had been inserted deep in my ear cavity, where it would root and connect directly with the nerves of my brain. With it, I’d understand any language that I’d ever encounter, no matter where I ended up.
Finally, after being poked and prodded for a bit longer, including being completely lasered free of body hair, my skin treated for brightness and softness, and my hair deeply and permanently conditioned, it was all over.
It was time to see my match.
I was brought to another room with a huge screen, where only a few seconds were left on the counter. I watched it nervously, fidgeting with my fingers against the anxiety in my belly. The countdown seemed to last forever.
Three.
Two.
One.
“Match Process Complete.”
The monotone computerized female voice was soothing, and the monitor went black for a long moment before a red screen with the words ‘match results’ in white came up.
I’d been matched to a Drugan.
What? Really?
I blinked.
I’d heard that name before somewhere. That was some sort of dragon shifter alien species. They were humanoid in nature, with the ability to shift into dragons at will. But last I knew, they’d been invaded by the very same aliens Earth had, the Vakarrans, some twenty years ago or so. I didn’t think they’d recovered enough to be part of the Celestial Mates matching pool yet, but maybe I’d been wrong.
The attendants surrounding me began to whisper but I tried to ignore it.
A picture of him popped up on the right. His skin was the color of a ripe cherry and he had to pointed horns coming out of either side of his head, like a bull’s. His eyes were dark, his irises a gloomy gray. His gaze was intense and consuming, powerful. Just like the devil’s.
A man who was used to being obeyed.
His name was Prince Radock.
Fuck. He was royalty.
I sighed. It was then, I realized his picture wasn’t just a picture, but a live feed. We were seeing each other for the very first time.