“I’ve never actually seen him, not even on the console screens. Maybe he’s just a figment of our collective imagination.”
“I’ve seen him. Once. When we escaped our burning ship.”
She swallowed. “Your ship…burned?”
He gave her a dubious look. “You can’t tell me the crew hasn’t talked about it.”
“Not to me.” She pursed her lips to one side. “I’ve been really preoccupied with this launch. Plus, I think they think that, being from a closed world, I’m too naïve to appreciate the complexitiesof extraterrestrial life.” She slanted her gaze back to him. “But ifyouwant to tell me about your last ship…”
Beneath the short fur, his jaw was tight. “Nay, I don’t. Other than to agree you should understand the dangers out here, not just the marvels.”
With that warning, the song came to an end, and the sun aligned perfectly with the closest moon, which seemed to explode into a million tiny bokeh glimmers, like a beautifully tangled ball of soft-focus Christmas lights.
Felicity gasped. Of course she’d read the cruise brochure—she’d helped write it, after all—but to be bathed in such a glow while held in the arms of an enthralling extraterrestrial… Oh, if she was a passenger, she’d be giving a fivemillionstar review. “No wonder they call it the Moon of a Thousand Suns.”
The captain released her, his tone diffident when he explained, “This moon is actually a captured comet composed of ice and aquari crystals. With solar radiation behind it, it appears to fracture and ignite.”
Around them, the passengers were equally entranced, their buttons shining with unified pleasure, as if they were all dancing together in some shared joy, held together like the gravitationally bound crystals. But Felicity found herself gazing only at the captain. In the scintillating glow, he looked even more compelling, not just golden but shining like a jewel that a primitive Earther like her might covet beyond reason.
He was right about the dangers.
Cautiously, she stepped back. “Thank you for the dance, Captain. It was very…enlightening.”
His lips stretched back, revealing sharp canines. “The pleasure was mine, Miss Felicity.”
He’d told her the Kufzasin didn’t smile, so what did that expression mean?
She had two more moons to find out.
Chapter 3
Leaving the captain behind, Felicity circled around the salon to find the heckler. Remy McCoy was standing alone at the viewport, gazing out at the sun which was revealed again as the ship swung around toward their second destination.
Felicity halted nearby. “Remy, wasn’t that amazing?”
The woman pressed one hand to the transparent plasteel. “I wish I could feel it.”
The light and heat, Felicity wondered, or the amazement? She held out a goblet partly filled with a pale purple vapor. “Maybe you can taste it. Ikaryo said this one is inspired by the second moon. He’s calling it Breath of Bliss.”
Remy arched one eyebrow, the opposite corner of her mouth quirking. “You don’t need to charm me, Director. I realize—too late, sadly—that I should never have submitted my IDA profile. But that’s my problem, nothing to do with you.”
“Please, call me Felicity. And it might not be my problem, exactly, but itismy purpose here.” She kept her focus on the sharp green eyes, but in the corner of her vision, the other woman’s feelings button was dull. “I’d be happy to reintroduce you to a couple potential matches here tonight.”
Remy shuddered. “No thank you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have wasted a ticket, but I really can’t do this.” She snatched the glass from Felicity’s hand and gulped it down, finishing with a faint gasp. “I just thought…”
Felicity waited a moment. “It’s a little daunting to jump into dating extraterrestrially. Once we step into the essentially infinite universe, it can seem like our chances at happiness should be unlimited too. But of coursewedon’t change at lightspeed.” She gently extricated the lolling empty goblet from the other woman’s hand. “I’m really only here for the drinks anddancing, but the IDA has wonderful, compassionate counselors who would be happy to converse with you about any personal concerns. Or at the end of this tour, if you’d rather, we can close your profile.”
“Quitting would probably be best.” Remy turned her face away, her many earrings flickering in the star-shaped fairy lights. “I was fooling myself to believe anything would be different out here. Like you said, I’m still the problem.”
That hadn’t been what she said, but Felicity figured pointing that out wouldn’t help Remy. “It doesn’t have to be quitting,” she said instead. “You can start again whenever you decide you want to find a match.”
Bird quick, Remy looked back at her. “So you’re surrounded by all these people—beings—in search of love, but you don’t have a mate.”
Was it so obvious? Felicity restrained a wince. “Not at the moment. I admit, once I found out about aliens and spaceships, I might’ve gotten a little sidetracked from romance.”
Remy let out an inelegant snort. “Right. Instead of a single planet of isolation, there’s a universe of loneliness.”
Felicity’s heart ached at the bitterness in her voice. With that attitude, Remy was probably right about quitting. As Captain Never-Smiles had said, no one could be ordered to love. “Would you prefer access to a quieter stateroom for the rest of the cruise? Not all the modules are open yet since this is only a three-sunset tour, but I can ask the captain about making an exception.”
