The halls are oppressive and muggy with the stink and crowd of bodies, and I try to breathe shallowly, keeping Kim close. She hasn't said a thing, hasn't protested, but I know this has to be terrifying for her. Luckily, we haven't seen any humans—or any lrulti for that matter. I don't want her to see one at all. I didn't even consider that when I planned this reunion with my parents, and now I realize that was a mistake. She panicked at the sight of a bug in my house—what will she do if we see a lrulti in this environment?
"You're squeezing my shoulder too tight," she says to me, her voice muffled under her head wrap. "Are you okay?"
"No." I won't be okay until we're home again.
She tucks her hand in mine, and I think once again how lucky I am to have her.
Bethiah disappears into the crowd at the junction, and I look around at the wide open space ahead of us. Booths are set up, ragged-looking stalls and vendors piled atop one another, selling wares that would be illegal in several systems. Impossibly, there seem to be even more people here, a low hum of voices and a cloud of stink incredibly offensive to my nose.
On Kim's other side, Kaspar points. "She's up ahead."
I follow where he's pointing, and Bethiah is there, waiting at the entrance to a double-doored cantina. She's talking with a burly szzt who stands guard, and as we approach, she slides him a few credits. "You'll find us a table?" she asks in a sweet voice.
"You'll find your own table," he says, glancing at our group.
Bethiah shrugs and glances over at us. "Come on, then."
"Wait," the bouncer says as we move forward. He points at Kim. "No pets allowed."
A snarl builds in my throat, and I don't know who I'm angrier at—Bethiah or this male. "This is my mate."
The bouncer puts his hands in the air, and I notice they're reinforced with electro-shock brass knuckles. "I don't mean to insult, but rules are rules. There's a side room where all purchases, pets, and the like, wait for their owners. You can't let these things run wild in a bar."
I stiffen with anger. "She is not a THING. She is my mate—"
Kim pats my hand. "It's okay, Nassakth. I've been to these sorts of rooms before. It'll be all right."
It's not all right. I want my mate at my side when I greet my parents. I want to introduce her to them, to show them how beautiful and strong she is. I want to hold her hand and feel her quiet approval for me, even as I confront the family who are now strangers to me. I need her at my side.
But Kim looks up at me with calm eyes, and she touches my hand. "We've come this far, Nassakth. Might as well see it through."
She knows me too well. Knows that her calm is just what I need. I glare at the guard, who is just doing his job—and yet I want to rip his head from his shoulders and fling it into the crowd. "You will show me this room and I will determine if it is safe for my female."
The guard opens one of the doors and gestures that we should enter. It's cooler inside, quieter. We step through, and the cantina atmosphere immediately feels different from the crowd outside. It's dimly lit, but the music is cheery and the booths and tables lining the walls private enough. They're about half full, and the people in here look to be better quality than the ones outside the doors. Best of all, the station stink dissipates to a low-level scent and is masked by cooked food.
The guard points at a side door immediately off to one side. "Through there. You can't take her into the main dining area. You can send food to your pets, but they can't order it."
I growl under my breath again at the word “pets” but Kim only pats my arm.
I open the door marked “PETS, LIVE CARGO, AND HUMANS” in six languages. Inside, the walls are plain and there's a battered table in the center of the small room. A human female with a miserable expression on her face and a shock collar on her neck sits there, and doesn't look up as we approach. In one corner, there is a cage with an exotic-looking lizard that was likely