Page 23 of Scars & Starlight
Not long after we find our seats at their round table, Tara walks in with Kiko on her heels. The effect she has on me is instantaneous. My shoulders drop. My breathing evens out. My lips curl up into a smile. My pants grow tighter.
She takes the seat opposite me, and I wish I could kick my cousin or engineer out of their seats by my side without looking like a desperate Nekkar.
“Good… firstlight, Kairen,” she greets me, her voice husky. Just like that, I’m enchanted. I’m lost in her warm tawny eyes, so different than Avaren orbs, but no less enticing. Rather than galaxies or nebulas, her eyes hold striations and shade nuances, like an alien planet’s topography.
Orien clears his throat, none too subtly.
“Good morning, Tara,” he says, mimicking their custom and making her gaze slip from mine. My gun-hand twitches.
“Ah, good morning, Orien,” my match replies with pinkened cheeks. She then turns to the rest of my crew. “Lirael.” Her voice is warm when addressing my cousin, and for whatever reason, it warms me too. “Kael and… Cyrel?”
The engineer and science officer both grin at her, thrilled that their princess remembers their names. I wonder if I’m close enough to kick them under the table – they need to tone it down somewhat.
“Have you guys really come to help us?” my match asks, Kiko providing a background noise of excited bleeps. The two are almost becoming symbiotic.
“Kael and I have brought nanites for anyone wanting to understand us without the need for translation,” Cyrel explains. “Lirael came to check on your injured. And, well, Orien came to give your females long, brooding stares.”
When Tara bursts into laughter, Potts’s frown deepens. “What are they saying?” he asks my female.
She shakes her head. “The last part was a dumb joke, but the important thing is that they have more of those nano robots with them, so you could talk to them yourself, if you wanted to. Which Iwouldn’t mind,” she adds, leaning back. “I feel like I’ve just been in one week-long meeting.”
I look down and bite my lip. Meetings are an inextricable part of my everyday life, but I must admit that I find myself eager to set out into this world with Tara, get to know her… To enamor and seduce her.
Potts rubs his chin. “How many of these nanites did you bring? How many of my people could use them?”
“They’re self-replicating,” Kael explains with the help of Tara, who’s now rubbing a smudge off Kiko’s shiny head. It looks like some of her breakfast found its home there.
“We’ll augment as many of your people as you need,” Cyrel reassures him by proxy of translation.
When the other humans begin to file in, I let my officers and Kiko do the diplomatic talking. Instead, I let my senses rest on my new match. Every few moments, her eyes cut to mine, then she looks away quickly when she catches me staring, her cheeks warming under the yellow lights. I lean forward, and she follows as if my gravity pulled her in. Or perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.
“While my staff is here, assisting your humans, I’d like us to proceed with our plan,” I tell her for her ears only. She takes a deep, bracing breath and nods. She’s so brave. I resist the urge to snort. And I’m entirely in her thrall.
“Are we traveling by ground?” The sound of her voice, pitched low, sends a shiver down my spine. I shake my head, both to dispel the feeling and in answer to her question.
“We’re taking the Talon. I want to avoid the Ghorvek and their drones as much as possible with you in tow.”
Tara bites her lip and looks at me from underneath her long, dark lashes. Is she trying to be seductive?
“Kiko’s joining us, right?” she asks in a lilting tone.
I smile and bite my lower lip.So that’s the agenda.
“I would not dream of separating you two, Princess,” I purr.
Orien clears his throat with a noise that sounds suspiciously like ‘Nekkar’, but when my eyes cut to him, he’s patiently looking at Sergeant Potts, now asking endless questions about what it means to have nanites, Kiko translating the answers.
“Kairen?” A sweet voice calls my name, drawing my attention back to her. Where it should be.
“Yes?”
“Where will we sleep? I don’t imagine the Talon is big enough to have bedrooms.”
Tara’s question warms the tips of my ears. “There is actually a sleeping area, just large enough for two.” When her eyes widen, I quickly continue: “But I can sleep on the medical emergency table,” I hasten to reassure her. It would be mighty uncomfortable, but nothing I wouldn’t endure to make my match feel safer.
“Oh.” She looks around, maybe to see if anyone else is paying attention to our conversation. It looks like everyone is focused on Cyrel and Potts, but I’ll bet the Talon that the Avaren have at least one ear on our words.
“No, that’s okay. I like… um, I trust you. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.” She bites her knuckles, then looks away. “It’s f–fine.”
