Page 30 of Scars & Starlight
His eyes catch mine when I look up. “Excuse me?”
“My family calls me Kai,” he elaborates with a serious, yet gentle tone. “You’re family now, Tara.”
I can’t hold my tears back any longer, and they escape the confines of my eyes, along with a quiet sob from my throat.
When the Talon touches the grass of the sprawling estate underneath which Margaret Elmsleigh operates, the prince’s arms pull me in, and he murmurs soothing words into my hair as Kiko beeps sadly from our side.
16
KAIREN
Elmsleigh’s base of operations is significantly more utilitarian than Besson’s modern luxury. Apparently, Besson and Elmsleigh set up communication buoys in the ocean between their two landmasses, and the latter was waiting for us with open arms.
“Do you know what the situation is like in Europe, then?” Tara asks her as we prepare the nanites for the leader.
Margaret gives my match an evaluating look. “I’m occasionally forced to talk with the old farts who are pretending to be in control of the continent,” she says and extends her arm to me when prompted.
We had Kiko give her the condensed version of the Ghorvek’s history and our mission. While the AU was speaking, Elmsleigh’s blue eyes were narrowed and calculating. Orien can’t come here soon enough.
“And what do the old farts say?” My princess’s voice is rough, either from the impatience she’s feeling now or the emotions that ravaged her while we were still on the Talon.
Margaret can’t completely hide the wariness she feels from thenanite’s progression up her arm and to her head. “Germany is mostly gone,” she breathes after a shudder. “I reckon the urban clusters were too tempting for these alien bastards. What they didn’t take care of, the infected did.”
Tara chews on her bottom lip for a moment. “What about the southeast?”
Sympathy bleeds into Elmsleigh’s eyes. “Croatia, is it?” she asks, her voice not unkind.
“Slovenia, actually,” my match replies, her shoulders up and back like she’s bracing herself. “I’m wondering about the capital and the Alpine border with Austria.”
“Can’t tell you much more than your handsome alien friends have, I’m afraid. I understand you, though,” she adds, placing a hand on Tara’s shoulder. “My parents retired to the Croatian coast before the invasion, and I haven’t been able to locate them yet.”
Giving them a moment of privacy in their shared pain, I observe the armed humans guarding the entrances. Elmsleigh didn’t lead us far into the tunnels underneath the palace above, and our intelligence hasn’t confirmed the exact size and layout of this base. But it appears that her soldiers are sufficient and well-armed… by human standards, at least.
“How many able-bodied humans are under your command, Margaret Elmsleigh?” I ask as the silence drags on. I’m eager to complete our tasks so that I may devote more attention to conquering my match’s heart.
The human faces me and waves her hand dismissively. “Maggie, please. There are two thousand men and women ready to fight here, in London. Twice as many on the island, and three times as many if you count the surrounding islands.” When she leans back, the backrest squeaks under the added weight. “It proved impossible to house and feed more than a couple of hundred at a time, so they rotate in and out of various strategic locations.” She finishes speaking and blinks her large blue eyes at me. “Bloody hell, I understood you!”
I smirk at the way her enthusiasm momentarily breaks the icy barrier that seems to keep her emotions in check.
“That is out of this world,” she murmurs, then grins to herself. “Pun very much not intended.”
Kiko chirps three times, alerting me at the same time as my nanites. Orien has landed. A moment later, Elmsleigh’s people stir, and I see one pressing on his ear.
“What is it?” Margaret asks him, her tone now no-nonsense.
The soldier doesn’t hesitate to respond. “Another alien ship has landed, ma’am. It looks to be identical to the one they arrived in.”
“That will be one of my officers, Orien,” I explain once she faces me. “I summoned him as we landed. He will coordinate Avaren efforts against the Ghorvek in this area.”
Maggie purses her lips. “So, he will work for me.”
I barely hold back a snort. This will be amusing.
“He will work… with you,” I say neutrally. It’s more likely he’ll make her feel like she’s calling the shots while he pulls the strings.
The ground trembles, and we stand up simultaneously, the humans with varying degrees of alarm on their faces.
“What’s going on?” Tara whispers, like she’s afraid of being overheard by whatever made the ground shake.
