Chapter 1

The streetlights lit the way as cars sped past, sending up waves of water. I pressed close to the grimy buildings in the hopes of getting a bit of coverage. Instead, I got slammed by the mini waterfalls coming off the rooftops. Arms crossed, shoulders hunched, head down, I returned to the dilapidated apartment building I lived in.

I dragged my exhausted limbs upstairs to the fifth floor, my shoes squishing on the steps and leaving trails of water. When I reached my door about halfway down the dimly lit hallway, most of the tension in my body drifted away. People, their problems, their expectations, their voices, all left when I entered the solitude of my apartment.

A quiet meow broke the silence as a sleek black cat with round yellow eyes raced toward me. She headbutted me with the whole weight of her body before she ran in the other direction.

Lucy wanted to be fed.

Our routine was simple. I’d come home, she’d say hello, and then I would feed her.

I followed her down the short hall, which opened into the one-room apartment with oppressively green shag carpet. Opening a can of food, I plopped it into the stainless steel dish and placed it on the ground. Lucy rushed forward to scarf down the food, her tail vibrating with the intensity of her happiness.

Food brought out her love in a way that nothing else could.

I yanked on a pair of sweats before opening the fridge. Bare shelves and cold air greeted me. I closed the door, then opened it again, hoping I’d been wrong the first time or something would’ve magically appeared. It hadn’t. Nothing but condiments and a sad, wrinkled apple sat on the shelves. I searched the cupboards, and they were not much better.

Payday was on Friday—four days from now.

The microwave lit up as the table turned, groaning in a way that spoke of its approaching demise while the ramen cooked. Once it was done, I settled into a comfortable position on the couch and flipped through my options before settling on a crime procedural I’d already seen several times.

In no time at all, my eyes started to droop. By the time Lucy joined me, curling into a ball on my chest, I was barely awake. I fought sleep so I could move to my bed, but it was impossible to resist.

“Are you sure he’s the one?” a high-pitched voice asked.

My gaze wandered over the sleeping man in the dwelling covered in grass. I took in every detail, trying to memorize every aspect—his round features, his short brown hair, and his husky body.

A pull started in my gut, and my soul pounded frantically in my chest, making my breath quicken. I needed to see him with my own eyes. I needed to touch him and hold him tight. The console beeped, confirming what I already knew. He was mine.

“I’m positive.”

“This man?” she asked, pointing at the screen with her thin finger, claw scraping the glass. “There can be no mistakes.”

“Yes, he’s the one.”

Beep. Beep. Beep. Groaning, I rolled over, and a weight shifted off my chest, followed by a growl. Lucy. She hated mornings as much as I did. Gray light streamed in from the window, rain sliding down the glass. Another fucking wet day. Perfect. I slapped the carpet as I reached for my phone to turn off the shrieking alarm.

Work. I had to get up for work.

The date stared at me from the screen, making me start. No notifications marked the day as different from any other, but it was.

“Happy birthday to me.” Twenty-nine. The last year in my twenties.

I pissed while Lucy sang me the song of her people. If I didn’t get her to be quiet soon, Mrs. Martins would complain, again, though she could sing show tunes at the top of her lungs and no one cared.

Lucy shoved her face into the bowl, making it slide across the laminate floor, as I inspected the bare cupboards. I toasted a couple of pieces of bread and quickly ate before getting dressed.

After petting Lucy, I stepped into the hall, umbrella in hand. I was not alone. A few of my neighbors nodded, saying hello. I forced a smile, ducked my head, and continued outside.

The rain came down in heavy sheets, and the wind gusted, making the umbrella utterly pointless. Fucking Washington. As much as I wanted to take a personal day, I couldn’t. I needed the money, and rain was not a good enough excuse. Lucy and I liked to eat. If we could survive on sunlight and never pay rent, I’d quit in a heartbeat. Until that illustrious day, I would continue at my crappy office job.

A car rushed past, and a swell of water crashed into my legs. Cold water seeped into my slacks and shoes, making me hiss. As I stepped forward, my shoes squelched with water. Wiggling my wet toes, I swallowed a swear. My feet would be damp all day. Perfect.

I waited with a group of people, trying to avoid touching anyone. A man in a suit shoved into my shoulder, and I flinched, drawing further away, heart in my throat. When the crosswalk signal changed, I stepped off the curb.

From one step to the next, the world shifted.

One second, I was standing in a water-logged street, glimmering in the streetlights, and the next, I was in a room full of odd beings and shiny machines with iridescent blue lights.

“Um, what?” I asked as every muscle tensed.

A flurry of words assaulted my ears. They were rough and guttural, sounding like growls and snarls. My mouth opened and closed as I backed up, bumping into a wall, which released a mind-numbing shriek. I leaped, ramming into the machine. Despite the ongoing noise, I pressed back to get away from the odd creatures.

A person or animal—I wasn’t quite sure from their appearance—stepped closer, hands raised. Maybe a woman if the fact she had breasts and softer features meant anything.

Her short purple hair hung around her long face, and tapered ears, like she was from a fantasy novel, poked through the strands. She was tall, taller than me, and broad with well-defined muscles. Her light purple arms weren”t entirely one color. Scattered crescent shapes of blues and pinks went up her arm, making me realize she had scales, not skin.

She said something and bared her teeth, revealing pointed canines. I yanked back, ramming into the hard wall. More shrill beeps sounded, but I didn’t move. She spoke again, staring at me like she expected some kind of response.

“I don’t understand.”

Another flurry of words came from her and the others resembling her, though they came in way more colors than humans did. I spied a gray person, bright pink, and green. Everywhere I looked there was a different color. The machines squawked, and lights flashed.

Black spots floated across my vision as my lungs refused to work. I tried to breathe, but no air would come in. My gut clenched, and my thoughts whirled. The woman started to speak again, but I couldn’t hear her over the white noise filling my ears. Knees trembling, I fell to the ground. Pain stung my palms and knees, but the throbbing was disconnected from my body.

The alien-snake-whatever woman came closer, and I tried to move. I didn’t shift in the slightest, like weights were tied to each of my limbs, anchoring them in place. Darkness encroached on my vision until a pinprick remained before nothing.

“Is he alright?” I asked Doctor Qinlin, studying the unconscious human. The first glimpse in person I’d had of him. Seeing him in the flesh versus on a screen was indescribable. Deep in my gut was a draw toward him—a powerful need. My very soul called to him, demanding he was mine.

“As far as I know, yes,” she said, purple-pink tail lashing. “I attempted to speak to him when he arrived, but he lost consciousness.”

“But he will recover?” My hand hovered over him. My fingers itched to touch his skin, to glide down the length of his arm in some small attempt to soothe the rapid beat of my soul. I needed him to be well. Despite the bone-deep longing, I did not give in to the desire.

Her deep brown eyes never deviated from her screen. “I don’t know much about human physiology, but yes. I’ve downloaded all the medical texts and documents NAID found, but it’s a sizable amount, and NAID cannot translate them yet. Not to mention, it will take me quite some time to get acquainted with his anatomy. I did a scan, and he is well by our standards. I imagine he’ll wake up soon.”

“You don’t know what’s wrong?”

“Psychic shock?” she offered, lifting her hands, palm up.

I growled at her, and Qinlin exposed her throat.

“Prince Kalvoxrencol, you’re not supposed to be in here, to see him yet,” she reminded me, her rough voice softening.

“I am aware,” I said, unmoving. “I thought he was injured.”

“And now, you know he’s not. Tradition must be honored.”

“Inform me when he wakes.”

I headed toward the exit, only to turn back to peek at him. An urge, almost overpowering, insisted I return to his side. Seth Harris was mine. I alone could keep him safe.

Tradition, I told myself.

I must honor the age-old tradition. I’d appealed to the Crystal, and it gave me Seth Harris. Now, I had to follow the path set ahead of me, even if it didn’t make sense. Eyes wandering over his inert form, I buried the urge to remain by him and strode from the room.