Page 33 of Alien Barbarian's Little Human
How powerful is this being in front of me, if just his voice alone can send an Odex running in terror?
He turns to face me, and I get a look a good look at him for the first time. His features are long, elegant, and handsome. But it’s the deep, visceral purple of his eyes that truly draws me in. I feel almost as if I’m staring into the twin maws of dueling black holes, pulling me inexorably into their depths.
A word/sound/concept comes to my lips.
“Verona.”
It’s not a question. It’s the name of the being before me. A being whose perfectly sculpted, winged body is humanoid in all respects. And I do mean all respects. He’s not wearing any clothing Not a stitch.
His eyes widen, and I feel myself released from their grasp, albeit temporarily.
“Chloe. I have waited for you for so long, Chloe.”
“Um, that’s nice, but we’ve never met.”
I take a reflexive step back as he comes closer. Part of me wants to run away screaming. But maybe a bigger part wants to jump into his arms and let him fly me away somewhere.
“Not in this lifetime,” he says as casually as if talking about the weather. “But we are soulmates. You are my jalshagar.”
Oh, fuck no! That’s pure fiction and I’m not here for it.
“I…I have to speak to the ambassador,” I stammer. “Thanks for the rescue. I have to go.”
“Chloe, wait,” he cries as I duck under his reaching hand and sprawled wing.
“I have to go!”
I run all the way to the tower and don’t stop until I’m safely through the doors. No way can he be my fated mate. Fated mates are just myth and legend.
Aren’t they?
CHAPTER 9
VARONA
Flashes of lightning on a sundered plain…eyes as blue as the everlasting sky…love so pure it makes my heart weep…
My mind reels with the aftershocks of eyes-meeting-eyes. After centuries of life, I have found my jalshagar, but in the place I least expected to find her.
Worse, the visions which plagued me for so long have only grown more intense. Dreams of fire, dreams of war. My hands wielding a tool designed only for killing. A thought that should fill me with revulsion.
Yet, I feel…nostalgia? I must meditate upon this further. Though I have seen seven centuries of life, I am considered barely an adult by Ishani standards.
The woman from Earth, who would hvae thought she would be my soulmate?
Further down the street, my fellow Ishani quell the unrest. The various sapient species disperse and return to their dwellings upon our command. Ureki, my oldest friend and mentor, is the closest of my kind, swooping between the canyons of the skyscrapers. His voice quells those who were out of earshot of the ground-based Ishani.
He twists about in the air, our gazes locking for a moment before he descends. Ureki’s eyes narrow as he approaches me.
“Are you feeling alright, brother?”
“Ureki, I think I have just found my jalshagar.”
He tilts his head to the side and snorts with derision.
“Come now, Varona. Surely you are mistaken. It’s been some time since you’ve unleashed the power of your Voice.”
“My Voice is unwavering as ever, Ureki. I tell you, with no ambiguity, she is my jalshagar.”