Chapter 2

Venus

Iwoke up with a start, the slow and steady beeping sound of medical machinery playing in the background. Not bothering to look at my surroundings, I lifted my hand before my face to examine my palm. Aside from a slight lingering redness where the puncture had occurred, I detected no clear sign of a prior wound.

Still shaken, I glanced around the room, my stomach dropping at the sight of the cocoon resting on a large hover stretcher, a few meters away from me.

Why the fuck would they bring that near me?

I jerked into a sitting position in the medical bed I was lying in, tempted to jump out and run away. But the sound of approaching voices stopped me. Seconds later, the door opened on two uniformed Enforcers—a male and a female—and Andrea, the ship's medical officer.

"Miss Bello! Good, you're awake," the male Enforcer said in an enthusiastic tone.

"Why the hell did you bring that thing here?" I exclaimed in lieu of a greeting. "It attacked me!"

He raised his palms in an appeasing fashion. "He didn't mean to harm you," he replied in a soothing tone before waving at Andrea. "As Nurse Raskin can confirm, you are in perfect health and totally safe. We will try to answer as many of your questions as we can. Unfortunately, we only know the basics. The higher ups will be able to fill the gaps once they get here. By the way, my name is Jordan Fisk, and this is my partner, Jessie Allard. I am a unit leader with the Enforcers. We received your call and were the closest team patrolling in the area."

"Hello, Agent Fisk, Agent Allard," I said, forcing myself to speak in a controlled tone, although my eyes kept glancing at the cocoon. "Thanks for coming so swiftly. What is that? And what did it do to me? Is it like an Atreall?"

He chuckled and shook his head.

"He is not an Atreall, although what he does shares some similarities," the agent conceded, a sliver of amusement sparkling in his green eyes. "He did not leave a mark on you like the Atreall Queen did to the Zamorian. But he did select you as a form of protector."

Two years ago, my sister's former enemy, Bayron, had been stung by an Atreall Queen who he had just saved from certain death. Heavily pregnant, and helpless until she could lay her eggs, it had been her way of appointing him as her royal guard until enough of her soldiers hatched to protect her new hive. But Bayron was one of the most formidable Hunters in existence. That this giant insect would choose him as her protector totally made sense. But who the heck would choose me?

"That's completely illogical!" I exclaimed, flabbergasted. "Do I look like a protector to you? I'm a politician. My weapons are sarcasm, using the law efficiently, and giving idiots the type of tongue lashing that requires stitches. So unless whatever this is expects me to verbally chew up someone or legally spank them, he made the wrong pick. And what is he, anyway?"

"He's a Promethean," Agent Fisk said matter-of-factly.

My jaw dropped, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head as I gaped at the cocoon. No wonder my scanner had been unable to identify the species it belonged to. The Prometheans fell under the strictest Prime Directive guidelines. Most of the galaxy—myself included—only found out about their existence a few months ago after the biggest drug bust on Shimli.

A few of them had been abducted by a Nazhral female running experiments on young Edocits—a dryad-like species. Edocit teenagers naturally produced special leaves in the vines adorning their hair, which acted like a wonderful recreational drug. The Nazhral female had hoped to integrate specific genetic traits from a few other species into those teenagers to transform their harmless leaves into the most addictive drug in the universe.

The Prometheans rescued during that mission allowed the rest of us to discover their existence. From what limited footage had been shared about them, they were a rather fascinating bipedal species aptly named in that they shared many similarities with the Promethea silk moth.

"Another kidnapping?" I asked, although it was more of a statement.

"Yes, and one that could have destroyed an entire species," Agent Allard replied in Fisk's stead, a somber expression on her face.

"An entire species?" I echoed, intrigued.

She nodded. "He is the rarest type of Promethean in existence. His people call him a Prism. Only one is born every three or four generations and plays a pivotal role in the survival of their world. Had you not detected his presence and enabled his rescue, there is a good chance their homeworld would be destroyed. An entire species owes you a debt of gratitude."

Once more, I found myself gaping in disbelief at the huge cocoon, the size of two large pumpkins side by side.

"Okay. That's kind of cool," I said carefully. "But I still don't understand why he stabbed me since the rescue was already almost completed. And why did you bring him here in my room?"

A terrible sense of unease washed over me when the two agents exchanged a hesitant look.

"As I stated earlier, people in higher positions are better suited to answer those questions," Agent Fisk said in a non-committal fashion. "All I can say is that he stung you to create a physical bond. The psychic waves he used to draw you to him could have damaged you over time. But you must remain near him to avoid any discomfort to you."

"For how long? Am I bound to him until he hatches?" I exclaimed, ready to lose my shit.

"If all goes well, you will be able to resume your journey home no later than tomorrow, and pretend like none of this ever happened," Agent Fisk said reassuringly.

My gut was screaming bullshit.

Still, they answered a couple more logistics questions before leaving me with the promise that a senior agent would be in contact with me within the hour. The agents left me with Nurse Andrea who ran another quick series of tests to make sure everything was fine. To my dismay, the agents were camping outside the Infirmary, ready to escort me back to my quarters, the cocoon on a hover platform cart in tow.

Room service brought a fancy meal to my cabin as I couldn't expose the Prism to the general public, and my attempt to go to the dining hall without him had me feeling on the verge of choking after only a few meters outside the room.

Saying I was livid was the understatement of the century.

Thankfully, less than twenty minutes after I returned to my cabin, I received a highly secured encrypted vidcall from the United Planets Organization's Intergalactic Affairs office. Seeing the face of Linsea Voln appearing on screen instantly twisted my insides.

As beautiful and lovely as the Temern female was, Linsea was only ever assigned to the most high-profile and critical cases of the UPO and the Enforcers—the intergalactic peacekeeping force of the UPO. But more importantly, her husband ran the Prime Mating Agency. He specialized in finding mates for the most primitive aliens in the galaxy. After the unfortunate events that could have led to the execution of my sister on Trangor, he was the one who orchestrated her marriage to Szaro to save her life.

Thanks to his empathic abilities, Linsea's husband Kayog could say with perfect accuracy if two people were soulmates after only conversing with them for a few minutes. While their two careers were completely unrelated, I couldn't help the uneasy feeling that the wretched birdman would strike again.

Despite the stiffness of her beak, Linsea smiled with a warmth that immediately put people at ease. With her beautiful white feathers with a few dark specks on her chest, she reminded me of a snow owl, though her eyes weren't round like with those birds but oddly human in their shape.

"Hello, my dear Venus," Linsea said in her delightful voice. "We meet again."

"We do. As delightful as I find you, I wish our meetings would occur under more joyous circumstances. At least—and I mean no offense—I'm relieved to see your husband isn't around," I said only partially joking.

She burst out laughing, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement and mischief. "Ouch. I felt that for my poor beloved. But fear not, my friend. We're not trying to match you."

"I'm glad to hear it," I mumbled, genuine relief flooding through me.

Despite my earlier thoughts of how I wished I could find my happily ever after like Serena, I had no desire whatsoever of landing on some primitive, backwater planet, with a mate who had never seen a com system or heard of a holodeck.

Her smile broadened for a few seconds before she sobered. I didn't have to ask what she was looking at when she glimpsed over my shoulder.

"It seems like heroic rescues run in your family," Linsea said in a more serious tone.

"Serena is the hero. I just happened to get psychically manhandled by a chrysalis who randomly picked me. Then I called security to deal with it. Except, it seems he's not done with me yet," I said in a grumpy tone.

"You were not randomly chosen, Venus," she countered, the way in which she said it piquing my curiosity. "The fact that you know diplomacy better than anyone makes you the perfect candidate for this, in more ways than one. This child is a Promethean Prism. Only one is born every hundred years or so. To his people, he is like a god."

"Then how did that Tobin guy get his hands on him?" I asked, intrigued.

"Like Saydi—the Nazhral who kidnapped the adult Prometheans for her drug experiments—Tobin violated the Prime Directive. In his case, he got ‘lucky' and stumbled on something far more valuable than anything else he could have hoped for. The fool didn't even know what he had."

"Why kidnap that specific child if he didn't know how unique he was?" I argued.

"Promethean children grow the same way humans do. There is a live birth, and then they learn how to walk, talk, and fly while interacting with the rest of the world. Only a Prism transforms into a chrysalis," Linsea explained. "He realized that child was unique for that reason."

"Okay. But why did the kid pick me? What does he want from me? There are countless people on board, especially the security guards and now the Enforcers, who could do a much better job of keeping him safe."

"Like I said, he is god-like. He sensed something in you that convinced him you were the one that would keep him safe until he could be reunited with his people," she replied calmly.

"That's insane! I can't fight. When things went crazy with Bayron and the Atreall Queen, it made sense. But what do I have to offer that anyone else couldn't?" I insisted.

Linsea smiled. "He doesn't need you that way. You're basically his legal guardian. You will be his voice for now and get to make the decisions on his behalf until someone else among his people takes on that role."

"Like hell! I don't get to make any decisions. I can't even go to the bathroom without him choking me!" I exclaimed.

She gave me a sheepish expression, her majestic white wings shifting behind her. "That's only because he can sense your reluctance. The range will increase as soon as he feels confident you won't abandon him."

"I have a life of my own! I can't be stuck babysitting a chrysalis forever. How far is his planet even located? How long before I can go back to my own life? The way I understand it, whatever he injected me with cannot be taken out. I'm forced to stay with him until he lets go," I argued.

"If all goes as planned, as soon as the Prism is back on his homeworld Sylvar, he will release you," Linsea said in a reassuring tone.

"Well that's a good start," I grumbled. "How long before we get there?"

She gave me a mysterious look that got me genuinely intrigued. "The UPO and the Enforcers now enjoy some very quick transportation methods. They're not normally shared with civilians. An exception has been made in this instance since not only do you have a high security clearance, but we also want to quickly resolve this situation. We know too little about their species and cannot risk the Prism coming to harm by being away from his people."

"Okay, but tangibly what does that mean?"

"My goal is to have you on your way back home before the night is over," Linsea said smugly.

"I knew I liked you," I said with a broad grin.

She burst out laughing.