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?"

Cole heaves a deep breath. "Miranda, what are you doing?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Mitchell lifts his chin, his smug look etched into his features. How the hell did I ever sleep with this guy? "We're progressing history."

I cross my arms. "That's funny, because it looks like you're dropping Schovali woman to Earth."

"It is part of the treaty, Miranda Chase." My blood runs cold at the sound of Draek's voice.

I rotate slowly around and give him a tense smile. "I must have missed that part."

Draek waves a hand at the women. "The Schovali women have agreed to help the human race."

"Did you give them a choice to do that, or did you force them to?"

Draek blinks, and he looks way too close to an adorably confused George Clooney than I want to admit. "I don't understand."

Cole steps up to me and glances at Draek. "Draek, in our culture, woman typically have a choice in their decisions. They're not submissive to the men's wants."

Mitchell grunts. "At least not anymore"

I shoot him a glare. "Bite me."

Draek nods. "Ah yes, Miranda Chase told me about this. Sexism."

Mitchell finds this hilarious and my heart only races faster.

"Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Cole weaves his fingers together. "Miranda, the Schovali are a special race. They have a life-force that runs through their veins. They have the capability to restore life to our Earth. I seem to remember you were quite the climate activist before you came to space."

My shoulders dip, and I drop my arms to my side. I hate that this is awesome news. Adrenaline is still flooding my veins, ready for a fight.

Cole's expression softens. "I know this is hard for you to understand. But the Schovali women are happy about helping humans."

I lift a finger to correct him. "No, they're happy about obliging the orders of their male counterparts."

Mitchell groans. "Jesus Christ, do you ever stop?"

"Mitchell, you can go fu—"

Draek touches my arm, and my breath is whipped out my chest. His touch is freezing and his lavender fingers curl around my wrist, so long they overlap each other.

A human man gripping my wrist like this for no reason would be aggressive in this situation, but there's something about Draek's touch that warms my chest and slows my pulse. I've never touched an alien before, or had one touch me. His skin looks rough, but it's softer than mine.

I stare up at him, struck by this.

"Miranda Chase, accompany us at dinner tonight, will you?"

"Who is us?" Does my voice sound calmer too, or is that just me?

"All of us," Cole says, a cheeriness to his tone.

Mitchell furrows his brow. Of course he's annoyed that I would be invited to dinner. But then he nods. "Right. Almost forgot about dinner."

Draek removes his palm. "I will answer all the questions you have. Please?"

I look at Cole. "You'll be at dinner."

Cole smiles. "I'm actually headed to the Schovali ship now, but why don't you freshen up, and I'm sure Draek can have a Schovali woman escort you. Maybe you can even ask her questions too."

I glance up at Draek. "Fine. But only if you tell my escort that I would please like her to talk back."

***

An hour later, I'm dressed in crisp slacks and a blouse. At least no one asked me to wear that ridiculous evening gown again. When I reach the bridge, the Schovali woman is waiting for me. Her skin is lighter than then men, and her clothes are more modest than the men's, her floor-length dress resembling a potato sack.

I offer her a smile, and I'm surprised when she returns it. I haven't seen the Schovali smile yet, and it actually softens some of their features, lighting up her eyes and giving her dimples. "Hello Miranda. I hope that's okay to call you Miranda. I was told Miranda Chase was too proper."

This makes me laugh. At least Draek knows how to listen. "Miranda is fine. And you are?"

The woman blinks. "I'm here to show you to dinner."

I stifle a chuckle. "No, I mean, what's your name?"

"Oh," she nods. "Human language is very odd."

"I'm learning that."

"My name is Lisabel."

"Well thank you for escorting me to dinner, Lisabel."

Lisabel is quiet as we cross the bridge to the ship and as we enter through the door, we shuffle to a stop. This is a completely different hallway than the one I took to the bridge earlier.

"Is something wrong?" Lisabel asks.

I glance around. "Is your ship moving? I swear this looked different before."

Lisabel nods. "Oh yes, the outer layer rotates around the hull."

"Oh, well that explains why it took me a year to get off the ship."

Lisabel's eyes widen. "A year?" she gasps.

I need to get better at this. "It's an expression. It just means it took me a while to find the exit."

"I see," she nods, but she still looks confused. "You are very funny, Miranda."

I've been called a lot of things in space, and funny is definitely not one of them. Afraid this will confuse Lisabel even further, I return her smile. "Thank you."

Lisabel leads us left down a hall and as we walk, the ground seems to become a ramp, an incline that grows and lifts us onto the floor above us. It's disorienting, but intriguing. We step through another door and as she turns right, I pause at a large window that looks into an empty room.

Two dozen empty basinets are in the room. I'm surprised by how similar it looks to a human nursery. "Are there no babies?" I ask.

Lisabel pauses, her lips dipping. "The Schovali race is declining. Most of our children don't make it past this infant stage."

This is shocking, and I immediately regret asking. "I'm so sorry."

"Of all humans, you are the last to apologize."

I'm not sure what she means by that, so I stay quiet as I follow her the rest of the way. She pauses outside a set of double doors.

"Are you not coming?"

"Dinner tonight is only for the human women and the Schovali men. Have a nice evening, Miranda. And thank you for your service."

She walks away before I can even formulate my question. What is she talking about? I suddenly remember what Cole said to the Schovali women before they dropped to Earth. Thank you for your service. An unsettling feeling stirs in my stomach.

I inch open the door but don't enter. Their voices fill the room. Every single human woman who was at the signing is seated at a massive table, a Schovali man beside each of them. I spot Jenna near the center, and like the rest of the women, she's laughing and grinning, lost in conversation.

There is only one empty seat—the one beside Draek.

None of the girls see what I see.

My heart lurches into my throat as I look at Draek. His eyes are closed, his body tense. He looks exactly how he did after he signed the treaty...when he was using his power to control the ship.

Fuck.

I'm backing out down the hall, my heart racing. Spinning on my heel, I sprint as fast as I can, my shoes slipping on the pristine floor as I search for Lisabel—but she's already gone.

You're the last human to apologize. Those had been her words. Because she knew why the human women were brought here.

I fly by the empty nursery, and all I can think is that the Scholvai women can't reproduce...but the human women can. How can I have been so blind? I literally saw the Scholvai women dropping to the Earth.

I curve right, then left, but I'm already lost and I'm terrified of admitting the truth I already know.

I'm too late.

I throw myself through a set of double doors, and my body freezes like a bucket of ice has just been poured over it. Panic clenches my heart, and tears pool in my eyes.

The wall in front of me is one massive pane of glass. I peer out on the expanse of space before me, my eyes honing in on the ship moving away from us...my ship.

The human station is disconnecting from the Schovalis.

"No."

When I blink, it's gone. A tear slides down my cheek as I realize the hard truth.

The men traded us, and I have just witnessed my freedom disappear into space.