Page 9 of Mane Attraction
Instead, the elevator plummeted.
Her stomach lurched as they dropped what felt like a thousand feet into the earth, the sensation so intense that she had to grip the handrail to steady herself.
What did I expect? Standard travel arrangements for interplanetary transport?
When the doors finally opened, they revealed a stark white hallway that stretched toward a single door at the far end. The space felt sterile, almost clinical, with fluorescent lighting that hummed softly overhead.
“Okay, now I’m officially excited,” Janice said, her earlier skepticism replaced by bubbling enthusiasm. “This is going to be fun.”
Xelene wasn’t sure “fun” was the right word. Challenging, certainly. Career-defining, possibly. But as they walked toward the door marked with an elegant bronze plaque reading “G. Wilder,” she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was stepping into something far more complex than a simple reputation management contract.
The door opened before they could knock, revealing Gerri Wilder seated behind a simple desk in an otherwise empty room. No decorations, no filing cabinets, no evidence of the sophisticated matchmaking operation Xelene had expected.
“This is just a transit point,” Gerri explained, as if reading Xelene’s thoughts. “My actual office is back in the city.”
Of course it is.
Gerri reached into her designer purse and withdrew what appeared to be a metal egg, its surface gleaming like polished silver. “Ladies, you’re about to witness the coolest thing of your lives. Well, the first of many today, actually.”
She whispered something into the egg—words too soft for Xelene to catch—and suddenly the object floated from her hands into the center of the room. Light began to emanate from its surface, growing brighter and more intense until it expanded into a perfect circle of brilliant blue energy.
Through the portal, Xelene could see a landscape that defied every law of nature she understood. Purple trees swayed in an alien breeze, their violet leaves catching light from two suns—one bright yellow, the other a deep blood orange. In the distance, she glimpsed pink waters lapping against pale yellow sand, while mountains the color of gold rose majestically against an azure sky.
“It’s a wormhole to Nova Aurora,” Gerri said matter-of-factly. “Step through one at a time. It might feel strange, but the sensation passes quickly.”
Janice moved forward without hesitation, her face glowing with excitement. “I’m going first.”
She stepped through the portal and simply... disappeared.
SIX
XELENE
Xelene took a deep breath, her analytical mind struggling to process what she was witnessing. Every rational thought screamed that this was impossible, but the evidence of her eyes couldn’t be denied.
She stepped forward and crossed the threshold.
The sensation defied description. Her body felt weightless, as if gravity had simply ceased to exist. Every nerve ending tingled with electricity, her skin buzzing with energy that felt like pure magic coursing through her veins. For a moment that lasted forever and no time at all, she existed in a space between worlds, suspended in possibility and wonder.
Then her feet touched solid ground, and she was standing on Nova Aurora.
Janice stood nearby, grinning with the kind of joy Xelene hadn’t seen on her friend’s face in years. The alien landscape stretched around them in impossible beauty—those purple forests rustling in a warm breeze that carried unfamiliar scents, the twin suns painting everything in gold and amber light.
“Welcome to Nova Aurora,” Gerri said as she materialized beside them, her white bob catching the alien sunlight. “Now we really must hurry. Your prince is waiting.”
Following Gerri’s brisk pace along the winding stone path, Xelene found herself breathing deeper than she had in months. The air here possessed a crystalline quality that seemed to cleanse her lungs with each inhale—no smog, no exhaust fumes, no industrial pollution that plagued every major city on Earth. The temperature wrapped around her like the perfect cashmere sweater, warm without being oppressive. Each step felt lighter, as if the very atmosphere of Nova Aurora was designed to restore rather than deplete.
I could get used to this,she thought, surprised by the immediate sense of peace washing over her despite the professional urgency thrumming beneath her skin.
“We’re running late,” Gerri called over her shoulder, her small frame moving with remarkable speed despite her designer heels. “I told King Rorick we’d arrive by now.”
Xelene shot a pointed look at Janice, who had the grace to appear sheepish. Her friend’s habitual tardiness might have just cost them a crucial first impression with alien royalty—exactly the kind of detail that could derail a reputation management campaign before it began.
Ten minutes of rapid walking brought them to a castle that defied every architectural expectation Xelene had cultivated during her years working with wealthy clients. The structure rose from the purple landscape like something from a fever dream—massive stone towers reaching toward the amber sky, intricate carvings that seemed to shift and dance in the unusual lighting, and battlements that spoke of both elegance and lethal defense.
“This makes billionaires’ estates look like garden sheds,” Janice whispered, her hazel eyes wide with wonder.
Gerri climbed the broad stone steps with the confidence of someone who belonged here and approached doors that couldhave accommodated a small aircraft. The knocker alone was larger than most Xelene had encountered.
