Chapter 1

Three months ago

Sage

I'm not sure the blood is ever going to come out.

I dab at the small stain that is setting in on my white blouse, but it only grows bigger. I swipe faster, but the blood continues to spread until my entire shirt is soaked.

I bolt upright on a gasp and suck in air as though I'm suffocating. My forehead is damp, and my clothes are sticky with sweat. I glance down, expecting to see blood, but it's only my plain blue shirt.

I sit within my pallet of blankets until my heartbeat returns to normal. God, I wish the nightmares would stop, but several times a week they visit me. Haunt me. Remind me of that night and what I did.

Every night, I go to bed thinking tomorrow's the day I'm found out. That Alice or Gary or Adam are going to realize that no one named Melody Sage Holden was on any passenger manifest bound for the planet Tavikh. Or the authorities will show up to haul me away. Whichever one it is, I'll be leaving here and heading back to Earth and prison.

There's no way I'm going to fall asleep again after this. I drag myself to my feet, splash some cool water on my face, and change. Once I've slipped on my shoes, I step outside. It's still nearly dark, but with the two moons in the sky, there's enough light to see with. From the position of the second moon, I'm going to guess it's about four or five. Within the next hour, the sun will rise and people will stir.

It's been weird trying to get used to much shorter nights and longer days. Just once since I got on this planet, I'd like to get more than five hours of sleep.

I grab my bucket from the ground and head for the side door of the settlement so I can get fresh water from the river just beyond it. It always freaks me out to be outside of the four walls, but there's no other choice. It doesn't matter that there are a shitload of dangers on Tavikh neither I nor Makayla considered when she helped me stowaway on the Exodus Voyager.

Almost two years ago,space explorers had discovered Tavikh was a habitable planet. It took them a year to organize the pioneer trip for a new settlement here.Every day, more and more people were leaving Earth for somewhere else.

Six months after that first group of passengers arrived on Tavikh, the ship I was on landed here. That was a month ago. A month filled with stress and nightmares.

Worry about predators sits heavy in my gut as I scan the area.

It's not just predators I have to worry about either. It's also the Krijese. Just thinking about the scary ass aliens who live on this planet makes a cold chill run across the back of my neck.

Everyone here should be grateful for the other alien tribe that inhabits this planet. If not for the Tavikhi, so many more of us humans would be killed by the Krijese. Does anyone care that they risk their lives to protect us? Not at all. Nearly everyone in the settlement treats them with antipathy.

Thankful my bucket's full, I rush back inside the walls that provide an illusion of safety. As soon as I secure the door, I encounter Gary.

"Morning, Sage. You're up early."

I raise my arms slightly to indicate my haul. "Getting some water for coffee before I head to the Tavikhi village with Rojtar."

He shakes his head. "I don't know how you can go off with one of those aliens. They could do anything to you."

It's the same every time. "I'm learning how to become a healer. Since we have a limited supply of medicine on hand until the next ship arrives, someone needs to be able to offer aid if something happens and we've run out. What if someone breaks a bone? Who's going to help with that? We don't even have a doctor in the settlement. Have you ever thought about why that is?"

Nobody here will admit that the government back on Earth doesn't care what happens to the people who have come to Tavikh. The fact that Gary won't meet my eyes is answer enough, because he knows why even if he or Adam—who appointed themselves the leaders of the settlement—refuse to see it.

"Don't come crying to us if something happens to you then," he says and exits out the side door.

"As if I would," I mumble under my breath as I head back to my tent.

It takes me a couple tries, but I finally get the fire going in the small pit. I set the bucket over it to heat, and while I wait, I grab my pitiful looking mug from inside. There are times when I miss the freshly brewed coffee from the office. On Tavikh, it's like drinking mud. At least it's something, I guess.

I'm nearly finished when commotion from the front of the settlement draws my attention. The gates are opened and one of the imposing Tavikhi warriors strides through. On our treks to and from their village, I've learned Rojtar is one of the younger warriors, although I haven't figured out his exact age. Despite his apparent youth, he's as tall as the rest of them, who have to top seven feet. While he doesn't have the hugely muscular build as their leader Zander—or Shefir as they call him—Rojtar could still do damage to someone. Especially with the sword attached to the belt around his waist.

His long, yellow-blond hair swirls around his shoulders in the breeze as he approaches. I toss out the rest of my coffee in the fire making it sizzle and steam.

"Greetings, human Sage." He lays a fist over his heart in the Tavikhi sign of respect.

"Good morning."

"You are ready to leave?"

"Let me just put my mug away real quick." I dart over to my tent and stash it just inside the entrance. I'll wash it when I get back this afternoon.

When I join Rojtar again, he leads the way through the settlement. He's either oblivious to, or just ignores, the blatant stares from everyone. I avoid eye contact and don't release the tension in my neck and shoulders until we're through the gates and they close behind us.

"How is your apprenticeship with Kyler going?" he asks as we cross through the field of ankle high yellow grass that leads into the forest of fiku trees that are nothing like the few remaining trees on Earth. The leaves are purple, like the Tavikhi, although they're many shades darker, and the trunks and branches are coal black.

"I suppose it's going well."

Our settlement runs on a barter system, so everyone contributes in some way. I'd started out in the community garden, but quickly discovered I wasn't any good at it. When the opportunity had presented itself to go to the Tavikhi village and learn from their healer, I snapped it up. It felt like the perfect chance to do something good. Maybe to make up for the terrible thing I'd done. If I could learn how to save lives, the guilt that threatens to consume me every single day for taking one might ease. Even a little.

As though unaccustomed to speaking with either a human or a female, Rojtar doesn't make a lot of conversation, no matter how many times he escorts me on the twenty minute or so walk. It gives me time to study the planet I call home. At least until I'm taken from it.

The air within the dense forest of towering fiku trees is on the cooler side without the sun sneaking through the branches. They're so full and in bloom that only a few rays of light manage to get by the covering of leaves. Yellow birds called mellenje roost in nests high up in several of the tallest branches. Scattered around the ground are flowering bushes about chest high.

More than once, I've nicked my arm on the sharp-edged eggplant-colored leaves of the trendafili bush. Something that dangerous shouldn't be so beautiful. The smell of them reminds me of this sweet cactus blossom the florist near my condo imported from Baja, California. At least it's a small reminder of home.

From beneath a blue flowering nenuphar bush a small rodent with a bushy striped tail darts out but makes a sharp u-turn as we walk by.

And while I can enjoy the sights around me, the near-silence is something else altogether. The quiet walk gives me time to think. Still, I don't often engage Rojtar in conversation, because as much as I should get to know more about Tavikh and its people, I don't want to love it here. It will only make it that much harder if I'm forced to leave.

I skate past the next thick tree trunk and a second open field is in front of me. The sun casts a bright sheen over it making the grass shimmer like molten gold. It's such a beautiful sight and I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Rojtar releases a call of a mellenje that's echoed back to him. We step out of the forest, and I bask in the warmth of the sunshine. Up ahead is a second small copse of trees that hides the entrance to the Tavikhi village.

The first time I came to the village to study with Kyler, all the tribespeople had stared. To some of them, I'd been the first human they'd ever laid eyes on. I'd been a novelty. A curiosity. Now, I'm barely paid a passing glance. Rojtar stays at my side until we reach the healer's tent. Other than the one that belongs to Zander—the village chief—it's one of the biggest.

I turn to the warrior. "Thank you for the escort."

He places his fist over his chest. "Send one of the kits for me when you are ready to return."

With that, I swing back the hide flap that serves as the door. The herbal, earthy scent of the various plants used in various types of healing fills the inside of the large space. All three platforms with their layer of furs and which are used for the most seriously injured warriors are empty. Kyler, who's standing at the high table littered with all his supplies, glances over at my arrival and turns to greet me.

"Blessed morning, Sage. You are well?"

"I am, thank you."

"Come, I will show you how to make a tincture to ease an ache in someone's head."

I cross the distance to stand next to him. I'm ready to learn everything I can about healing in the hopes that by helping people, I somehow make things right for what I did.