Page 34 of Meet Me in the Stars

“No, he’s not mad, but it looks like they’re trying to poison you,” Marsin teased.

“I think they brewed it with sugar syrup rather than water,” he said, running his hand over his tongue.

“That’s how Dad drinks it,” Teddy shrugged.

“How does it not turn to caramel inside of you?” Elio laughed and handed the coffee to me.

I sat both mugs down on the table and focused on Elio. Castor passed him a glass of water which he gulped down gratefully.

“I usually drink it black,” Elio said.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” I shook my head as we sat down.

I put my hand on his knee, and he blushed, but when I started to pull it away, he put his hand on top of it to keep it there.

“Uncle Hush says that our treaty with the Moonscale Flight was never resolved. The treaty allowed for safe passage in and out of both territories. So, while the ship is unconventional, it’s not trespassing and neither are you guys,” Marsin said, looking at me. “He’d appreciate anymore lovers’ spats being kept out of the landing field, but besides that he’s not really interested in any of it. He’s our leader, but he doesn’t think true-mates are part of the political landscape.”

“What about Other World gateways?” I asked.

“He and the leaders of Starscale 2 and 3 voted on that a decade ago,” Elio said. “They’re all for them if they pop up or someone else takes on the job of getting them set up. They just can’t be bothered to put in the work.”

“That was the first time the proposal was approved,” Marsin added on. “The first ten times it was brought up all before we were born it was shot down because they didn’t want the human governments of Earthside trying to come over. Our ancestors really loathed those fuckers. They had the most arcane and asinine laws.”

“Not to mention the warmongering and mass starvation of people they didn’t agree with. Hell, they didn’t even have to disagree with them. Sometimes they just wanted them out of the way,” Elio frowned, and I was glad I’d set the mugs down.

“They’re dead, Alpha,” Elio laughed. “Dead and gone. Every evil empire falls. You can’t go killing them now.”

“I’ll find a necromancer,” I winked at him.

“I bet you could, if anyone could,” Elio said and squeezed my hand.

“Are you two going to take your matingmoon here or at the house?” Marsin asked his brother.

Elio glanced at me.

“What do you think, Castor? Your ship and half your room,” I said to our fearless leader.

“You can take it aboard the ship, if you like. I can bunk down in the dining room. I don’t mind. It’ll make midnight snacks easier, anyway. Might be quieter for you all too. We’ve talked about it and outside of Sunny meeting with Hush or the other leaders we won’t venture into the world until everyone is ready to go. It seems quiet now, but I don’t trust the tides not to change.”

“They’ll get bored of you guys soon,” Marsin said.

“Yeah, we know how to mind our own business.”

“Mostly they’ll go quiet because you’re the only omega aboard,” Marsin said to Castor.

“And what does that have to do with the price of scales in London?” Castor arched a brow. “Either you’re insinuating a bunch of alphas want a mate or omegas aren’t as ballsy and won’t knock down the door to find out if they’re true-mates with one of these guys.”

Marsin shrugged and kept his mouth shut. Smart man. I didn’t even want to know which way he meant it.

“You don’t have to worry about anyone hurting Castor here not because they want to be his mate anyway,” Elio said over our mating link. “If he tries to fight someone then he’ll be as at risk as everyone else who tries that.”

A few minutes later, Elio hugged his brother goodbye for now and I finished both cups of perfectly sweetened coffee before heading back to the bedroom. Castor sprinted ahead of us and we waited in the hallway as he packed up all the stuff he’d need. I couldn’t imagine us taking weeks or months under the current circumstances, but stranger things had happened. All bets were off when it came to true-mate magic.

I double checked that Teddy had informed his siblings and Clarence that we had arrived safely and of our current unprecedented situation. He had. That egg brat could always be counted on to be on top of things. Castor grinned carrying his trunk out of the room.

“You two have fun. This is a good thing believe it or not,” he said, aiming the last part at me. “Marsin was talking about a Star Room and ---”

Castor fell quiet and glanced down at his trunk. I turned to Elio who shot him a dirty look.

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