New World--Stay with Me Read online

  Also available from Lily X

  and Carina Press

  New World: Made for Me

  New World: Own Me

  New World: Breathe with Me

  New World: Safe with Me

  Also available from Lily X

  Seventh Star Series (F/F Omegaverse)

  Let Me Be Yours (coming soon)

  Never Yours (coming soon)

  I’m Yours (coming soon)

  Forever Yours (coming soon)

  Truly Yours (coming soon)

  NEW WORLD:

  STAY WITH ME

  Lily X

  These books would still be sitting in a neglected file on my laptop if it wasn’t for the hard work, kind words and encouragement of my very first editor, Jodie Moone.

  Welcome to the New World! I promise the long journey was worth it. Let’s get you registered. Which type of mod did you get to help you acclimatize to our environment?

  My, my. Invisible, huh? We’ll refer to you as nonmod, since your modifications don’t have any physical alterations. That would’ve set you back a pretty penny, though. Which Star are you heading toward?

  Royal One, of course. The urban heart of our cluster of Stars. You’ll fit right in!

  If you have a minute, perhaps I could introduce you to some of the other modded groups in our New World? They’re fascinating!

  Fanger Hybrid

  In the modded hybrid family, Fangers are the most common. Among all the genetic-modification options available today, this was the first affordable option offered to the people of Earth to allow the human body to adapt to the New World.

  This group is characterized by their sharp incisors, heightened senses and ability to bond with their Mates through blood sharing. As the largest group of hybrids in the cluster, they have developed specific rituals for mating and finding their Blood Mates.

  Beast Hybrid

  Beast hybrids are renowned for their enhanced senses. They have admirable scenting abilities and a keen sense of hearing.

  Their mods are characterized by two curling ram’s horns on both of their temples, each with its own unique markings, equivalent to fingerprints.

  It is widely understood that Beast hybrids generally have surly attitudes due to the sensory overloads of everyday life.

  Felin Hybrid

  Felins are a dying race in the cluster, and some have adopted clan-like behavior to ensure the continuity of their kind. The Felin gene is a recessive one, meaning that in Beast, Fanger or nonmod pairings, the offspring will show no or few Felin traits.

  They are characterized by pointed ears, long, flowing tails, small incisors and diamond-shaped slits along their noses for enhanced scenting.

  As a group, they are known for being skittish and territorial.

  The New World

  A group of eight planets set in the Cancer Cluster, a two-week journey from Old Earth. Each planet has its own unique ecosystem and history.

  In the first book, we’re introduced to Star 3, a self-sustaining farming Star that has a mix of modded people.

  The Star is closed to foreigners as additional stress on the ecosystem could upset the delicate balance of their sustainability model.

  Maga (pronounced maha)

  The all-seeing Goddess worshipped by the people of Star 8. Maga worshippers believe in the concept of Fated Mates, where the Goddess selects your perfect person. Sacrifices are often offered to the Goddess to accrue her blessings.

  Contents

  Cedra

  Twyla

  Cedra

  Twyla

  Cedra

  Twyla

  Cedra

  Twyla

  Cedra

  Twyla

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  Twyla

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  Twyla

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  Cedra

  Twyla

  Cedra

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Made for Me by Lily X

  Cedra

  “About damn time!”

  Lulled into a daze by the monotonous chirping of cicadas, I bolted upright in my chair, my friend’s sudden outburst making my heartbeat gallop.

  I stared at Ana’id, seated in the old plasti-wood rocking chair across from mine. Her head was tilted to the light evening breeze on my front porch, furrows creasing her forehead as she concentrated on a noise in the distance.

  She was wearing her very best clothes in preparation of our community’s Harvest Feast—a cotton shirt that only had a few light stains and a pair of work trousers fashioned from recycled denim. At the corners of her temples, her curving horns were freshly buffed and polished, reflecting the waning sunlight.

  “Delivery droid incoming,” she reported, and I knew from experience that Ana’s forecast was always accurate. As a Beast hybrid, her senses were more keenly developed than my own Fanger abilities, and that meant she could sense things on the horizon before I could even see them.

  “Good,” I said, clearing the cobwebs in my throat. “We’ve been waiting forever for the damn package.”

  Leaning into the grooves of the chair, I sighed in appreciation for the way it molded to the contours of my sore, aching back. The plasti-wood creaked a little as I let it rock, the sound of swaying wood bringing back memories of my father, who had built it for his Mate.

  I ran my fingers along the armrest, caressing the smooth wood. It felt like just yesterday that I’d caught him in the barn, stressing out about finding just the right materials for the chair and dipping into his savings to purchase extra-strong plasti-wood that would last several lifetimes.

  Day after day, I’d return from school only to find him sanding away at different pieces he was working on, sweat dripping from his brows after a full shift of tending the cows.

  I’d always offer to help, but he’d decline, saying that this was a special gift for his beloved.

  And it had been a special surprise indeed. Mama had used the rocking chair every single day until her passing.

  The hours after dinner had belonged to my parents alone. They’d sit on the porch with a glass of fermented tea and an e-reader, watching the sunset while the chairs creaked away.

  Now I spent the evenings by myself, feeling the last embers of the day caress my skin before dusk approached.

  I glanced at Ana, noting her shoulders had tightened as she looked into the distance towards the town square.

  Before I could ask what was bothering her, the image in front of me began to shift.

  No, no, no, no, I bemoaned. Not again!

  Even the panicked reminder didn’t stop me from catching a fleeting glimpse of Riane, a memory I’d buried six feet deep in my subconscious, but sometimes... One or two stray moments clawed their way to the top with a subtle, stealthy chokehold.

  I blinked, trying to clear the image of my former partner seated on the chair across from me. But no matter how much I tried, I kept seeing her blond hair ruffled by the wind as she gazed out into the cornfields, promising me forever and a day.

  Dread tightened in my chest, clenching down like a fist.

  Who knew forever had a deadline?

  “Those kids are going to set themselves on fire!”

  Ana rose from the chair, leaving the rocker squeaking in her wake. The sudden move cleared the vision of Riane and I stared down at my boots, trying to tamp the crest of desperate sadness that was rising impossibly fast.

  “Are you seeing this?” Ana asked, crossing her arms as she squinted into the distance.

  I cleared my throat again, feeling every aching joint in my body protest when I got to my feet.

  The past few days had been fruitful ones, but tiring nonetheless.

  During Harvest season on the last days of fall, my only employee, Frowh, and I spent days clearing away acres of mature corn for sale or trade, making sure we injected nutrients back into the soil so the land would welcome the next planting at the end of winter.

  Even with the advanced tools my father had purchased all those years ago, it was backbreaking work, and I’d usually need a good soak in warm water to get the kinks out of my limbs.

  “I see it,” I confirmed, watching a familiar group of kids drag around a sack of corn husks to start the traditional bonfire that was the heart of all Harvest Feasts. “It’s a tragedy waiting to happen.”

  There were other adults standing a safe distance away, and I bet if I watched them long enough, I’d be able to figure out who they were even from this distance by their body language alone. It was a talent one acquired after living their whole life on a small Star.

  It was still early, but as the night progressed, most of the community would gather at the base of the hill, in the large expanse of common land we dubbed “the square.” It was lined with neat rows of houses made entirely out of reinforced earth. br />
  Almost a century ago, these houses had been a temporary solution to those who sought work in nearby farms or ranches like mine. Over the years, people had found a way to make the modest homes permanent by adding concrete to reinforce the earth. Many others had joined them, starting families in the quaint rows of houses that now stretched as far as the eye could see.

  What had initially started as a small town of sixty residents had quickly grown into sixty thousand, and small portions of land had been sold to different families to build larger homes or even factories.

  My neighbor to the north had set up a processing plant thirty years ago for our Star’s dairy products. And my closest neighbor to the west—Ana’id’s family—had purchased half an acre of land from my grandparents to start our only mechanic shop for miles.

  The Star had a natural split of five communities. Ours was a mixed one, meaning all starpeople—with any manner of modifications—could move about freely. But there were four other closed communities we coexisted with, and they only opened themselves to those with certain mods. Beast hybrids only mixed with their kind, and Fangers kept to themselves. Felins usually preferred their own company.

  It irked me a little that such a dichotomy still existed, but when all five communities came together for our largest annual gathering, Solstice, things remained seamlessly friendly despite our physical divide.

  Feasting and Solstice were silly traditions, especially since we didn’t get a traditional winter on the Star. Our ancestors from Old Earth had wanted to imbue some sense of normalcy into their new lives, and keeping the names of the seasons had been an integral part of creating a comfortable transition from overpolluted Earth to the untouched planets in the Cancer Cluster.

  There were other odd traditions, too. The soil here was nutrient-dense and we could harvest all year-round if we wanted to, but only did so four times a year to preserve its integrity.

  If I were being perfectly honest with myself, I’d admit that most of our lives were built around artificial narratives. What I called a “Star” was actually just a planetary body on the edge of the Cancer Cluster. In an effort to romanticize the forced move from Old Earth to the cleaner, livable outer planets, the founding fathers had chosen the word “Star” to describe eight planets of various sizes that could sustain human life.

  “Star” or planet, it was home either way.

  As I watched the kids in the distance mess around with the rapidly growing fire, the whirring sound of a delivery droid seemed to get closer. I looked up just in time to see the large silver machine flashing in the rapidly darkening sky.

  Royal One Post

  Without this automated service, outer Stars like mine wouldn’t receive mail at all.

  Ten years ago, I would’ve had to pick up my purchases from a drop box in Royal One, the heart of our cluster of Stars and a three-hour hovercraft ride away. Technology had come a long way since then, even for closed Stars like ours.

  The delivery droid swooped down to eye level, setting the large rectangular package in front of me with a light thud. When Ana reached out to secure the human-sized box, the droid retracted its large metal claws and extended a blinking digital surface.

  “Two prints needed for credit charge,” the mechanical voice beeped.

  I raised my fingers to the biometric scanner, wincing as I placed my thumb and forefinger against the shockingly cold surface.

  “Payment made by...” There was a whirring pause. “Cedra Holloway. 200 credits have been deducted from your account.”

  I grimaced at the large amount as a big “thank you” filled the screen in front of me.

  With a joyous little tune, the droid retracted the payment device, pulling away back to the mother cart that hovered twenty feet from the ground at the end of the path.

  “That’s a lot to pay for a bot,” Ana commented, eyeing the package. “Where did you order this from again?”

  “HumanoidGadgets—it was the number one recommendation on most tech sites.”

  “Well, I’m excited to see what it looks like...” She trailed off, something in the distance catching her attention. I watched as her dark eyes widened in surprise.

  “Maybe not tonight,” she said brusquely, holding the top of the box. “Grab the other end. Let’s get into the house.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, just as a streak of blinding red light flashed through the sky.

  A curse tumbled from my lips as I turned to see the bonfire rise over twenty feet in the air, fueled by too much kerosene and too little common sense.

  Ana was already pulling the box into the house and I reached for the other end, taking the few steps into the living room.

  “You stay,” she said, wiping her hands on her work trousers. “Check to make sure the bot works. I’ll nag some sense into those kids.”

  With a friendly cuff to my shoulder, she was gone, striding swiftly out the door and breaking into a sprint when another huge burst of fire lit the sky.

  I watched her for a moment, admiring her athleticism as she jumped over leftover sacks of corn material, yelling out to the kids to back off.

  Oh, to be young, fearless and reckless...

  I shook my head, turning back to the package, letting the front door shut behind me with a click.

  Despite the high price I’d paid, my fingers tingled with anticipation like a kid with a new toy.

  I’d usually let the moonlight guide me in my own home—one had to do all they could to save precious electricity these days—but I called out for the lights to turn on at the dimmest setting just for this occasion. After all, I had to inspect the package for faults after spending more than a month’s savings on it.

  I’d chosen this company in particular because they issued a warranty on all their products for up to two years. That was what I needed most, a guarantee that this bot could keep my home tidy and do essential chores while Ella, the young housekeeper who’d had my home in order for years, took some time off to rest before the birth of her child.

  If Ella had her way, she’d be baking pies for me until the moment her twins came into this world. Instead, her husband, Frowh, and I had strong-armed her into taking some time off to prepare for the birth. Otherwise, she’d still be here now, rattling around the house looking for something to dust while eight months pregnant.

  With a sigh, I knelt by the large box, letting my fingers smooth over the synthi-wood packaging, tracing the grooves of the white lettering.

  It was truly beautiful. A sleek black box with my name carved into the surface in stark white penmanship. A personalized touch.

  At the back of my mind, I knew the packaging was mass-produced, but the quality of the synthi-wood seemed far superior to any purchase I’d made in the past ten years or so.

  This was luxury like I’d never seen before.

  Near the top of the box, there was a small, shiny gold button that said “Press Me,” and my index finger did as instructed.

  The lid of the box popped up slightly, releasing a burst of perfumed air. Perfectly polished manicured fingers curled around the side of the box, slowly pushing the lid aside.

  I moved back to watch the bot work, curiosity getting the better of me.

  The e-catalog I’d ordered from was one of the most widely used in the Star cluster, mostly because they were physically customizable and had multi-functions, unlike many other bot providers.

  The price tag wasn’t out of my range either. Sure, it had taken a couple months of saving and researching to finally purchase one, but what choice did I have? Each individual in the community already had a fixed schedule of duties to keep the place running and it wouldn’t have been fair to ask any of them to take over my household chores as well.

  I certainly didn’t have the time to keep up with an old farmhouse when I worked from dawn till dusk every day. My back twinged in protest for even considering the additional tasks.

  The catalog claimed that the Servana 200 bot could perform domestic as well as personal tasks, and could even carry on a conversation—whether or not that was true was yet to be seen.

  I’d be lying if I said the reason I purchased this model wasn’t to test out that last claim. It seemed unbelievable that a bot could be programmed to respond like a human, and the instructional videos made it seem a little too good to be true.