by S. E. Smith
Veda jumped up like a spring-puppet. “There’s work to do! This Republic needs mending!”
As Veda rushed out, Anahita Lee came in with a grim face and arms full of leaves and tendrils. “It was under a stairway.”
“Oh, no.” Shocked, Daya took the hugwort and cradled it. “Damn those soldiers!” Daya burst out. “When it tripped them they went at it with boots and beam rifles.”
“Looks like it held its own,” Rik said. “Is it still alive?”
It has lost parts of major tendrils. The fur on its root was matted, and the root had deep cuts. But the root was still warm. “I think so,” Daya said miserably. “But it’s never been hurt this badly.”
She bathed the hugwort in warm water, dried it and then put it in her living room chair, under a warm lamp, arranging its leaves to catch the light. She put get-well gifts onto the chair with it—Mattiz’s favorite stylus, one of Veda’s elegant small tools, a Wendisan yen coin from Romeo, and an earring of her own. She hoped for the best for it. Without the hugwort, the day would have taken a far worse turn for her and for Star Corner Station.
Late night found her in her guest chair, with her head in her hands.
Knock-knock, knock-knock.
“Enter.”
It was Rik. Somehow she knew it would be. He put his hands on her shoulders. “How is it?”
She sighed. “I did what I could.”
“So will I.” He easily picked her up, carried her to her own bed, and put her into her covers.
She took his hand. “Stay.” He did. The warmth of his closeness and her own exhaustion let her fall asleep.
In the dark middle of the night she woke up. Her mind flooded with sharp-edged memories—emberalm and Angels and shredded leaves—that drove sleep hopelessly far away. She stared at the ceiling with its softly glowing painting of a dark night sky above the Steppe. A sharp stir told her that Rik had come awake too. “Auditor,” she said, “You really do know how to ask the right question.”
He eagerly took her into his arms. She soon learned the kind of lover he was—by turns tender and demanding, always responsive. And then she learned how resilient a lover he was. Satisfied as never before, she slept again. So did he.
Early in the morning, when the daylights in her bedroom began to brighten, something woke her up. Rik was sound asleep with a slight furrow on his forehead. She wondered if it would awaken him if she smoothed away that furrow.
Suddenly she realized that the hugwort had come to join them—that was what had woken her up. When she placed her hand on its furry root, it faintly purred. Relief made her almost dizzy. She gently embraced the hugwort, and that woke Rik up too.
“It’s OK? I’m glad.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Had a dream I’ve never had before.” He looked at her bedroom wall and must have seen his dream replayed there. “Tall white mountains over a sea of grass under a bright blue sky. A landscape I’ve never seen in my life.”
“Someday you will,” she said. She embraced him and kissed him, not for the first time, and not for last time at all.
Also by Alexis Glynn Latner
The Aeon’s Legacy series:
Hurricane Moon
Downfall Tide
Star Crossing
Spike in Pets in Space
Helldive (late 2017)
About the Author
Alexis Glynn Latner writes fantasy and science fiction romantic adventure. She works at the Fondren Library at Rice University in Houston and teaches creative writing through Rice's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. For real life adventure and to enjoy the romance of flight, she is a sailplane pilot.
www.alexisglynnlatner.com/
Thank You
Veronica and Pauline would like to thank all the authors who joined this adventure with us, gleefully accepting the challenge of pairing pets with science fiction and romance. We are so grateful for the wonderful stories you wrote for this anthology and hope the readers have had as much fun reading the adventures as we all had in writing them.
Special thanks to Fiona Jayde for our wonderful cover art, Nyssa Juneau for our amazing pets sketches, and Narelle Todd for doing so much to make this anthology happen.
We’d also like to thank Hero-Dogs.org for what they do every day for our veterans and for allowing us to partner with them.
And last, but not least, a special thanks to all our readers and if you enjoyed these stories, we invite you to check out all the other wonderful books by the authors in this anthology.