Starlit Throne - Chapter 6: The Not-Fairy in the Geek Ship
English Version
Rating: M/E
Genres: Romantasy | Sci-Fi | Slow Burn | Space Opera | Fated Mates
Summary:
Cassia Harper thought her biggest struggles were making rent, keeping up with Brighton’s fashion scene, and selling enough handmade crafts to help her family. But when a mysterious, brooding soldier-for-hire with pointed ears crashes into her life, everything changes.
Her past isn’t what she thought. The father she barely remembers wasn’t just some distant traveler and the pin she wears every day? Not just an antique!
Now, with assassins on her trail and a protector who refuses to claim her (even though the tension between them is scorching), Cassia has to decide: will she run from her destiny or rise to it?
Expect:
🔥 Slow-burn with intense tension (and several many very hot payoffs 😏)
🐺 Cosmic pointed-eared protector (who knows she’s his mate but refuses to act on it... at first)
👑 Galactic politics
🌌 A space opera filled with action, smut & drama
🛸 Brighton, UK meets the stars
I know what you're thinking: Cassia, how could you possibly still trust the towering, stoic, pointed-eared man who just dragged you across Brighton, killed three people like it was Tuesday, and now wants you off-planet in his cloaked spaceship?
Fair question.
And yet, the moment I stepped onto Dain's ship, the part of me that usually screams "danger" just... shut up.
As we walked inside, the ramp hissed beneath my boots, the door sealing behind us with a quiet thrum that felt more like a heartbeat than a machine. The ship's interior was dimly lit with lines of soft blue light that pulsed like veins in the walls. And the tech—gods, the tech.
Touchscreens curved like glass petals. Holograms shimmered midair. Consoles glowed in alien languages that looked suspiciously like Elvish if you squinted.
"This..." I whispered, spinning slowly as we entered what I assumed was the main deck, "is a geek’s wet dream."
Dain shot me a look over his shoulder. "Don’t touch anything."
I touched a panel.
"Don’t touch that."
I poked another one just to see what would happen. A tiny drone zipped out of a wall slot and hovered inches from my nose, whirring indignantly.
"Seriously?" I whispered in delight. "You have space Roombas?"
"Step away from the console."
"Okay, but hear me out—"
"Cassia."
It wasn’t a shout. It was quiet, firm, but it had that command tone that made my stomach flip. Not out of fear, mind you. No, this had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that Dain looked like a warrior elf from space, and my inner nerd was having an absolute meltdown.
I backed up slowly, hands raised. "Alright, alright. Chill, Spock."
He blinked. "Spock?"
I bit back a grin. "You’re giving me Vulcan vibes. All serious, all broody. No emotions. Pointy ears. You’re basically a space fairy." I paused, studying him. "Wait, are you a fairy? That would explain a lot."
Dain stared at me for a long beat, then muttered something in a language I didn’t understand and walked to the control panel.
I followed. Because obviously.
He started tapping commands into the display—again, in alien. I leaned in.
"You’re not going to tell me what you just said, are you?"
He didn’t respond.
I watched him work for a moment, then asked, “So... this whole ‘off-planet’ thing? What does that mean exactly?”
He stilled for a second, then looked up at me. "It means Earth isn’t safe for you. Not anymore."
I let that sit between us. It wasn’t the words themselves—it was the way he said them. Like he’d already decided. Like my choices had expired somewhere between The Lanes and the beach.
And the weirdest part?
I didn’t feel afraid.
I should have. But there was something in my gut—a weight, a pull—that made me feel like I was meant to follow him. Trust him. Even if he was a grumpy space knight who had the emotional range of a teaspoon.
I looked down at his hand on the panel and, without thinking, reached to steady myself against the same edge. Our fingers brushed.
He went completely still.
Like I’d hit him with a stun blast.
His eyes met mine, wide for the first time since I’d met him.
Okay... definitely not great with women.
But then something changed. His pupils dilated. His breath caught.
I pulled my hand back. Fast.
He turned away sharply.
Right. Awkward.
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “You’re just… really jumpy. And hot. I mean, like you feel hot. You probably have a fever or something. From the wound.”
He didn’t respond.
I cleared my throat and paced a little, trying to focus on anything else.
“So,” I said, crossing my arms, “you’re not going to tell me what species you are, but I think I’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities: elf, fairy, or alien Vulcan. I’d add angel, but I haven’t seen any wings yet.”
Still nothing.
Gods, he was so weird.
But also kind of mesmerizing.
I sighed. "You know, I really wasn’t planning on being abducted by someone with the social skills of a toaster."
That made his mouth twitch. Barely. But I saw it.
Progress.
“Where are we going, anyway?”
He tapped a command into the console. A star chart appeared, and one of the stars pulsed.
“A transport hub,” he said. “Once we’re out of Earth’s orbit, I’ll send a coded signal. There’s a safehouse off-grid.”
“Wait. We’re just leaving Earth? Like that?”
He met my gaze. “Yes.”
“But… I have a job. And rent. And plants. Well, one cactus.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I can’t just disappear!”
“You already have.”
That shut me up.
He wasn’t wrong.
We stood in silence. I glanced around at the ship again. It was sleek, efficient, cold. Like him. But there were touches—tiny ones. A folded blanket over the seat. A half-drunk mug of something near a screen. A small figurine tucked beside the navigation screen that looked suspiciously like a knight from an old Earth holo-game.
“Wait…” I squinted. “Is that from Dragons of Dathkar IV?”
Dain shifted slightly. “No.”
“Oh my God, it is! You are a secret nerd!”
“It was a gift,” he said flatly.
“From who? Your emotionally repressed space friends?”
“I don’t have friends.”
The way he said it made my smile falter.
I didn’t know what had happened to him. But I felt the crack in his armor, the way he said it like it was a fact, not a complaint.
My hand itched to reach for his again.
I didn’t.
Instead, I said, “Well. You’ve got me now. For better or worse.”
He looked at me for a long second.
Then, very softly, he said, “Yeah.”
And just like that, my heart forgot it was supposed to be wary.
The ship rumbled beneath us, engines warming up. We were about to leave Earth, leave everything I knew. And I wasn’t screaming. I wasn’t running.
I was staring at Dain and wondering what it meant to belong to someone who looked at me like I was more than I’d ever believed I was.
Maybe I was delusional.
Or maybe… I was finally waking up.
Glossary – Chapter 6
Stoic – Showing little or no emotion. (Estoico, impasible.)
Thrum – A low, continuous humming sound. (Zumbido constante.)
Holograms – 3D images created by light projections. (Hologramas.)
Console – A control panel for operating equipment. (Panel de control.)
Broody/Brooding – Deep in thought, often serious or melancholic. (Pensativo, melancólico.)
Pupils dilated – When the black part of the eye expands, often from surprise or emotion. (Pupilas dilatadas.)
Orbit – The path an object takes around a planet or star. (Órbita.)
Safehouse – A secure place used for hiding or protection. (Escondite seguro.)