by Ann Aguirre
Best to save it for when we get home.
Home. What a lovely word.
She stepped a little closer to Helix, though, wanting to feel a whisper of their warmth, even passing through the museum. They were on their way out when an unwelcome voice greeted them.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time,” Gravitch said.
Why is he here again? Does he live in the museum? Or stalking me?
Qalu had never been less pleased to see one of Inatol’s rejected prospects. Gravitch had been devoted to importuning her since she’d declined to socialize with him a second time. He also enjoyed flexing his control over her career in obvious ways. Before, she had to tolerate it. Not anymore.
“Gravitch,” she said coldly.
“You vanished on me!” he said.
“I tried,” she muttered.
The odious bureaucrat continued as if she hadn’t spoken, as that was his way. “You haven’t submitted any materials for the awards nominations. I thought you were close to a breakthrough. Do you want to talk about it?” Unadulterated glee disguised as sympathy.
He’s hoping to gloat over my failure.
“No.” Her tone was curt for a reason.
“You missed the deadline to apply to extend your research period. I’m afraid the coalition has no choice but to cut your funding.” Gravitch appeared to enjoy that revelation far too much, like he expected her to grovel or beg him to intervene since he was so very important.
Before Qalu could respond, Helix did. “Do you know this person?”
Their memory was perfect, so they must be teaching Gravitch a lesson.
“Unfortunately,” she murmured.
“I see.” Helix addressed their next statement to Gravitch, icy as only a former AI could be. “Please refrain from speaking to us in the future. My mate doesn’t like you, and you’ve made a poor impression on me as well.”
“You can’t treat me like that! I’ll see you blacklisted. Your funding—”
“If it wasn’t clear, I’ll be funding her research from this point on. She has no need for you or any organization that thinks an unctuous helminth like you ought to occupy any important role. Now if you’ll excuse us, our Pherzul is waiting.”
Helix swept her away, leaving Gravitch to choke on his own outrage. Maybe she should try to explain why cutting connections in that way was impolitic, but mostly, she was too busy basking in the satisfaction of the moment to care.
“Was that too far?” Helix asked eventually, when they were in the pod heading home. “Should I not have said that?”
She considered. “If it had been anyone else, maybe so. But with Gravitch? No. It was perfect. I loved it.”
“Excellent, because I fear I’ve learned that I have a temper. I will have little patience or tolerance for anyone who mistreats you. I will crush them without mercy.”
“I love you,” she said, because the feeling bubbled up irresistibly.
“And I, you. You are my life,” Helix said.
The pod was private enough. She leaned in and let their head tendrils lace together, all heat and tingly nerves.
“I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing that.”
“Do you want to expand our love group?” they asked suddenly.
“Right this moment?”
“No, that would be difficult. The pod is rather small. But I’ve been thinking on it, and this body is fully capable of producing offspring. I wondered if you wanted them.”
“Eventually, I think. Do you?”
“Yes. It would give me great joy to create life with you, to nurture our little one and teach them, just as we do Aevi.”
Such a beautiful future. Qalu couldn’t wait to get started on living it with her other half. It could be argued that the ability to love was embedded in her DNA, and their love was etched in her genetic material, as her imprint could be found in the code that made Helix who they were.
Love code—her DNA and their data, beautifully intertwined like Tiralan head tendrils, the perfect pairing for Helix and Qalu to live happily ever after.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Interesting footnote, the Tiralan evolved from human DNA, but they ended up with head tendrils and scales instead of hair. I’m sure you’re wondering where I got my inspiration for the alien sex in this book. And it’s a combination of snakes (don’t Google, seriously, but if you must – ‘Snake sex is every bit as peculiar as you would expect’ or ‘snake breeding ball’) and worms (check out ‘A Worm With Three Sexes Has Been Discovered Thriving in a Nearly Lifeless Lake’.) Are you back? Good. Whew. I told you not to look.
Anyway! In LOVE CODE, I played with the Stargate premise of advanced aliens taking humans back in the day and seeding them through the galaxy as an experiment. I wanted to work it into the story, but the reveal didn’t fit the plot, so I’m putting the info here. Because I can. In this universe, there are five aliens that came from human stock, though they’ve diverged widely over the millennia.
I could say more, but spoilers! See, I can’t just write a duology. It’s against my credo. Which means there will be one more book, wrapping up the Galactic Love series. (Yes, it’s about Yara Duncan and Toth Krag.) Look for RENEGADE LOVE in January 2022, or you can subscribe to my newsletter on annaguirre.com to read it as a serial. (You can also keep up with my news, book releases, and enter exclusive giveaways.)
If you enjoyed LOVE CODE, peruse my other work. I’ve written in many genres, including urban fantasy and science fiction. Currently, I have a paranormal romance series that starts with THE LEOPARD KING.
Finally, please consider leaving a review on Amazon if you loved this book. Your feedback helps me a lot, and it guides other readers to stories they’ll adore too. Thanks so much for your time and support.