The Pearl (Galactic Jewels Book 1) (9 page)

I drew myself up to my full height, embodying the power and prestige of what this position stood for. “Thank you for confirming my decision to date outside our species.” I turned and stormed out.

“I’m your date tonight,” he called after me. “I’d leave only if you’re willing to offend an entire galaxy and forfeit your final decision."

I stilled and a surge of adrenaline tripped my heart and clamped my lungs closed again. I fought to swim through the onslaught of emotions. I didn’t need this. Not now. I’d deal with the details of another human later, as the pearl, with the Hemperklu. We’d make a policy together. I inhaled through my mouth and out my nose. My back still to him, I asked for clarification, “What are you talking about?”

“According to Section 412.3.7zyl, if you refuse a representative, you relinquish your choice and the Ambassador controls the Union.”

“I know that.” I turned in a slow rotation. My hands trembled and I felt more nauseous than when I’d arrived. “I was referring to your ridiculous statement about being my date.”

“I am your date. The whole reason you’re here.” He spread his arms, indicating the room and explaining slowly, like I was an idiot.

“Thought you were human.” I bit out the words, throwing his stupid statement back at him, begging him to deny it even though I already knew it to be true. And disturbing.

Why hadn’t M called back to tell me where the Samarian was? Why wasn’t she here? I needed her here. Now. I needed anyone else here. Anyone but him. He brought out the absolute worst in me and I was powerless to stop the stem of ugliness that leaked from my pores, my mouth, my entire being.

“Yeah, guess they’re out of good ones.” He shrugged and dropped his arms to his sides, stuffing his hands in his pockets and lifting one corner of his mouth in a grin.

“Out. Of.
Good.
Ones? Did you really? Did—” I stuttered then glared, taking in every inch of his offensive stance.

 
“They gave me dual-citizenship. I’m who they sent.” He pulled a chair away from the table, offering it like he’d just explained away all my issues. “I’m the Samarian representative.” He winked. “Your date.”

His asinine comment about the Samarians running out of options had rendered me dumbstruck, but only for a moment, long enough for him to continue to spew useless commentary. Had he really insulted the species that had sent him? Was he really that obtuse that he didn’t know the Samarians were
all female.
There
wasn’t
a male to send, he couldn’t be the representative, at least not a real one. Tears of frustration burned my eyes and clogged my throat. Emotions like I hadn’t known since I’d been a girl standing in the hot Mercev sun staring at a departing ship that had held my entire family. Back then I hadn’t understood the roiling emotions inside me, battling for control. Now I knew that if I turned them loose they’d decimate everything in my path. Dirk’s meddling comments and ignorance inched me ever closer to the edge of the abyss that I feared I’d never find my way back from.

A Samarian.

A human.

One more plentiful than the stars beyond our outpost, one blissfully on the road to extinction. Until now. My fisted hands trembled at my sides and I could barely make out his humanness through my own human tears. I’d wanted this to be magical and wonderful and a perfect sendoff into my union with the Hemperklu. Instead, he’d insulted the very species he’d come to represent. The beautiful, stunning, brilliant, loving female galaxy had sent their antithesis, a male who’d forsaken all the universe’s wisdom so he could become an unschooled mechanic whore.

The intercommunicator buzzed. I exhaled in relief and raced to the panel, forgetting every single lesson about how to shake off emotions during a presentation. This guy had access to every button I owned and kept jamming them with his too-stubby fingers. At least I knew why my human responded to his in a barbaric face-off.

I couldn’t wait for the Samarian to get here—the
real
Samarian. She could explain the workings of their galaxy while I freshened up and reset my attitude for the date.

“Hello?” My voice cracked, succumbing to the pressure of the anger and frustration at Dirk’s preposterous comments. “Is the Samarian on the way?”

“Samaria confirmed that their representative is already present and accounted for.”

I refused to look at Dirk, refused to acknowledge that a single thing he’d said had been true. Tears stung my eyes and I blinked to keep them from falling. I would not allow him the satisfaction of seeing how much he affected me. They were all playing a trick on me because this was my last one. A horrible trick. “That’s not funny.”

“It's no jest," M said. "Your final presentation is with the man himself.” He made it sound like this was fantastic luck on my part.

“I—I’m supposed to be with a Samarian tonight.”

“He
is
the Samarian.” Static echoed off the walls and shook the chandelier, then Fransín lowered her voice, trying to comfort me, knowing how much I’d been looking forward to tonight, “I don’t understand it, Lility, but M is telling the truth. I'm surprised Dirk didn't tell you he's a Samarian. Not that I'd have believed him. I guess they gave him some sort of special citizenship and the Mother Divine Herself anointed him.”

No. Nooooooo. The room spun and I sucked in air but it didn’t hold enough oxygen. This couldn’t be happening. He’d tricked me. They’d all tricked me. The real Samarian was going to show up any second. I glared over my shoulder, hating him with a new rush of human.

Dirk smirked and walked over, his chest puffed out in satisfaction at how he’d duped me, the front-and-center portion of this horrible joke. He paused beside me and offered his elbow to escort me back to the dining room. As if.

The Samarians' trickery was unprecedented, unheard of, and possibly against the rules. At a minimum, it was against the one, singular rule I could not break. Dirk had at least done a little homework and he’d been right that unless I wanted to give up my power to choose, walking away from this presentation was agasint the rules.

I notched my chin higher and blinked through the tears, swallowing repeatedly in a weak attempt to battle the human in me that he managed to tease to the surface with his every action. I laid my hand on his arm, my back stiff while my heart shattered in defeat and sorrow that the Samarians had done this to me, that the Mother Divine didn’t respect who I was as a person—let alone a pearl—to send her best.

She’d sent
him.

Him. A human who didn’t deserve to be a Samarian citizen.

And formality or not, I had no choice but to endure his presentation, a presentation the Ambassador’s scheduling department had time-blocked years ago, before he or I knew we'd be the two candidates standing here on the first moment of a final 642nd Union presentation.

One they'd set to last for a single Samarian hour—three human days.

END OF BOOK ONE

The Pearl: Defiance

Book 2 in the Galactic Jewels Series. Coming August 15, 2016.
 

Pre-order now.

Tricked by the Samarians—the one galaxy she trusted—Lility must endure the blind date of all blind dates.

With a man.

No problem except Samaria is an all-female galaxy. The galaxy where she grew up. The galaxy that taught her everything she knows about being a Pearl, the universe’s most prized possession and future ruler.

Betrayed, hurt, and forced to accept three days of hell or insult the galaxy she called home, Lility discovers Dirk is more than a rogue unschooled mechanic, he’s human.

Making him

…the only other one alive.

The Pearl
is a sci-fi romance adventure and the first book in a 5-part series releasing bi-monthly throughout 2016.

T
HANKS
FOR
READING
the first book in the Pearl series. I know this one is short and I promise to make up for it with the other four!

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@jengreyson
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GALACTIC JEWELS

The Pearl

The Pearl: Defiance

The Pearl: Decision

The Pearl: Defeated

The Pearl: Dark

ALTERATIONS SERIES

A fantastical NA time travel tale with one kickass chick and her hot Roman warrior.

Lightning Rider

Shadow Boxer

Storm Front

EVANGELINE HEART THRILLER ADVENTURE SERIES

A NA urban fantasy thriller with New York Times bestselling author A.K. Alexander.

The Archangel Agenda

The God Game

The Judas Relic

The Lucifer Legion

WUNDERLAND SERIES

Steamy, shmexy NA romance with fiery girls and hot guys.

Undertow

Snowed Under

Swept Under

The Days Between
-
A stand alone story about the one who got away.

COUGARS & COWBOYS SERIES

Sexy cowboys, fierce cowgirls, and tough competition.

Cowgrrl Up: Live

Cowgrrl Up: Isa

Copyright

The Pearl and The Galactic Jewels Series are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 Jen Greyson

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Alexander Cole Publishing Group.