“Of course,” Gerri said, glancing in the mirror to press her lips together and refresh her lipstick.
Lexi had been joking. Now she was trying to wrap her head around the fact that there were shifter bears.What am I getting matched with?The question seemed vitally important, but for all she knew, Gerri didn’t even have a match for her yet.
The morning was warming up, the bright yellow sun pouring through the window. Lexi looked up at the blue sky and felt a moment of sheer excitement.
“The sky … the sun, what does it look like on Nova Aurora?”
“Ah,” Gerri replied. “There are two. One is big and bright yellow, the other is small, blood orange. The second one doesn’t give off much heat. Mostly, they are in the sky at the same time, but not always. The stars are incredibly beautiful, and there are parties held in honor of watching them.”
“These guys like to party?”
“My dear girl, shifters love to party. The buildings look like they are made of stone, but there is sophisticated technology involved in everything you see. The walls can change color, and you can summon items or people by talking to the room itself. They can produce masses of good food with little effort, play music that the entire city can hear, and there are bots to clean up the trash.”
“This place sounds amazing.”
“You have no idea,” Gerri said warmly. “Clothes made on Nova Aurora can change while you’re wearing them, and shoes can switch from flats to heels … even skates … as needed.”
“Wow,” Lexi shook her head a little before sitting back in the seat to rest her head.
She was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. She’d been nervous about going anywhere new for a month, especially by herself. The fact she was going to another planet really blew her mind. She hadn’t even known Gerri for twenty-four hours, and now she was going through a wormhole with her.
At least I can act any way I want there. No one will know me.
The limo slowed, and Lexi looked out the window, surprised to see they were pulling up at a power plant. The place was industrial and ugly, the big steel gates looming over them as they waited to pass through.
“Where are we?” Lexi asked, alarmed.
“Don’t worry. We can only teleport from a place with a lot of energy. We won’t upset the grid from here, and we’ll do it in one easy jump.”
“Okay,” Lexi answered, feeling her nerves birthing into butterflies inside her chest. Gerri reached out and squeezed her hand.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yes. But I figure I should just go and worry about having a good time. It could be a good thing that no one knows me.”
“I think that’s a great way of thinking about it,” Gerri said.
The gates screeched open, and Lexi looked out the window again. The limo pulled into a parking bay, and Gerri hopped out, waiting for Lexi before heading into the main building.
Gerri led her past the main desk, waving at a few of the workers. They cheerfully waved back. Obviously, they were very used to Gerri. As they got into the elevator, Lexi tried taking deep breaths to calm herself. The butterflies in her chest were fluttering even more furiously than before, and she didn’t know if it was excitement or fear.
Both were colliding in a mass explosion of anxiety.
The elevator went down a long, long way. Lexi watched the floors click by. Gerri hummed a little tune, giving Lexi a bright smile. Lexi grinned back, realizing that she still felt that connection to Gerri as if they were old friends.
Everything is going to be okay.
When the elevator finally stopped, Gerri guided Lexi down a dull, concrete corridor until they came to a door withG. Wilderprinted on it. With a small silver key, Gerri opened the door, and they went inside.
Lexi didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a big empty room. The floor was rough concrete, the walls dark and smooth. She looked around, wondering what the catch was.
Gerri pulled a small, silver egg-shaped device from her purse. Lexi watched in astonishment as Gerri held the egg up and whispered to it. Immediately, a bright blue glow began to emanate from it, and there was a humming sound as if the egg was charging up.
Suddenly, it floated to the middle of the room. There was a bright flash and a snap loud enough to hurt Lexi’s ears. When she looked up, she had to blink repeatedly to understand what she saw.
A huge rip in reality had appeared in the middle of the room. It was a wide, circular hole with glowing edges. Lexi approached it slowly. She could see an expanse of pale stone with purple-hued trees crowding at the edges of the courtyard. She took a little step closer, and she could see the hazy sky with its two suns.
“Come on, dear,” Gerri said, stepping through the portal.