Traded to the Alien Prince

Chapter Nine: The Truth

MIRANDA

I don't start to panic until I realize that every door on the Schovali ship looks the same. There are no markings, no signs to give me directions of how to get back to my station.

A fork appears before me, and I'm certain I was just here. I'm pretty sure I chose left before, so now I turn right.

What feels like an hour later, but it is probably only five minutes, I curve around the hallway and arrive at another identical fork.

"You have to be kidding me."

Did I just do a fucking circle? Do the Schovalis have some map built into their head too? How does anyone not get lost here?

Deciding I no longer want to walk, I start trying doors. The first two are locked, and the third one feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.

My heart starts to race. Am I stuck here? Then I spot a button to the right of the door. I press it, and the door immediately slides open, revealing the entrance to the bridge that is connecting our two ships.

"Of course."

The bridge is empty, and my stride is quick, fueled by my frustration toward Draek. I should be grateful that he granted me the opportunity to see his ship, but all I can think about is his smug attitude.

Never heard the word "sexist." Please. What a joke. If the Schovalis have done even an ounce of research on the human species, they would probably know what that word means...unless men like Mitchell plucked the oldest textbook in history to share our culture.

I wouldn't be totally surprised by that.

The door to the human station slides open, and I emerge into the deserted meeting room. It's still odd to me that the Schovalis invited all the women. Maybe it's them trying to understand our culture. Who knows?

I head toward the lift, eager for a shower and some food...but as I pass the podium where Draek and Cole signed the treaty, I pause. The door behind the stage is closed. Cole and the Schovali women had disappeared through there, but had they come back?

Not much time has passed since the tour with Draek. I probably would have crossed paths with them. So if they haven't come back, then what are they doing back there?

The door behind the stage has no lock, and with no one left in the meeting room, who's to stop me from "getting lost?"

Sure, it'd be an easier excuse if I hadn't had a part in designing this ship, but I've been believed for stupider lies. My body knows me better than my mind, and before I even consider all the possible consequences, my hands yank the door open, and I'm slipping into the hallway.

I'm aware of every curve and turn of this ship, but it takes me a second to recognize where this area leads. Voices float down the hall, all men. No surprise there. For a second I think the Schovali women have probably left but then I remember that they act like they have no tongues.

My pace picks up as a familiar sound strikes my eardrums. Is that...the metal click of the loading docks?

I'm practically jogging and as I round the corner, my feet skid to a halt.

The Schovali women are being loaded into escape pods, and a group of human men are standing in a line watching, Mitchell and Cole among them.

"Thank you for your service," Cole says, and he slams his open palm on a button that drops the first pod from the ship. The Schovali woman doesn't even blink. I usually vomit when I take those pods.

I use the advantage of my human female rights to voice what the Schovali woman are not allowed to. "What the fuck?"

Mitchell spins around, his shoulder tense. "Seriously, Miranda? Can you, for once, stop going where you're not supposed to?"