Soul Ties

Chapter 16: Ocura

"How did it go?" Barlow nearly shouts at me once I return to the captains chamber. I sit down in the passenger seat, strapping the belt back around my waist. How had it gone? I thought for a moment. A mix of emotions floods me all at once, tossing the question around in my head. Seeing Thysus was everything I had imagined it being and nothing at all like I'd thought at the same time.

"It was an experience," I sigh. Barlow snorts while starting up the engine.

"Well that explains nothing," he mumbles. "You don't have to tell me exactly what happened, but could you at least tell me what she was like?"

I stare forward out the window picturing Thysus' face, her smile, and even her bare legs showing through her dress. Then I remember her violent shaking, the taste of fear I had when I thought she would hurt me.

I lean back in my chair. "She was unforgettable," I tell him.

"Tell me something I don't know." He flips the switch above him, closing the doors to the captains chamber we sat in, and starts up the ship. I should be a bit nervous once we start shaking, but my mind is in a million places.

"Ready to head to Ocura?"

"How did you know it was there?" I question, but I was barely listening.

"Once Thysus gives out the name and place of your soul tie, it automatically programs into the ships coordinates. It's part of the technology on Uthoria. Nothing can happen here without Thysus' say so."

If I wasn't so distracted by my own thoughts, I probably would've been more interested in what Barlow was telling me. I mean, was it really technology or magic? But my brain wouldn't let me focus on that now. I was no longer plagued with thoughts of Thysus or what had just happened back there. I wasn't even listening to Barlow while he spoke to me. The only thing that was at the front of my mind was the name of my mate.

Scorpius.

In a matter of hours I would be face to face with him. He obviously knew I was coming to greet him, and that made me wonder if he was thinking about me too. What did he think of my name? Was he upset when he found out I was a Lunoid?

I try to imagine his features and what his meeting with Thysus had been like. Because he came from such a dangerous planet, did he feel threatened and afraid of her like I had been? Or was he complacent? I then think of that weird attraction I felt when I'd wanted to kiss Thysus, and my stomach caves in on itself. Did Scorpius feel the same thing I had? Was he attracted to the Goddess in a way he couldn't explain? Or was he somewhat resistant to her charms?

Coming from a planet where there were threats around every corner, I was sure he had to have some kind of defense against a lot. Maybe even a Goddess. Unlike me, who apparently had been sheltered and unknowing of anything my entire life.

My cheeks start to burn. How could someone like him be tied to someone like me?

As we exit through the sky and into the vast galaxy, I shut my eyes not wanting to be here. I wonder what Seren is doing right now. Probably swimming through the water, making her way to our secret island. I picture her sitting along the shore, her tail getting splashed by the moving tide.

A memory of us playing in the water pops into my mind. Seren's laugh rings in my ears as I try to take her down, our tails whipping out at each other. I can almost feel her now. My tail jerks behind me.

"Are you nervous?" Barlow asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I mean, Ocura is pretty dangerous."

I open my eyes and glance at him. He's looking back at my tail, which is still flicking back and forth from the memory. I move it out of his line of sight to my side, facing forward, and watch the stars pass us by.