Page 18 of 3 Secrets to Love
Phalon didn’t wait for me to respond but moved off me and back to my side. “I won’t push you or make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
With that, my heart felt like it would burst, and tears streamed down my cheeks. I wanted more but was relievedhe’d stopped. Desire still coursed through my veins, yet I felt something more. Something very unfamiliar and strange.
“Coddleswap.” With furrowed brows and wide eyes, Phalon wiped a tissue along the sides of my face to catch my tears. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I thought… I didn’t want to push you. You mean too much to me.”
Stars, had he really just said that? Did he mean because I was Zander’s youngest sister, or did he feel something more? Regardless of what he meant, I grabbed him and pulled him against me as more tears fell. He’d made me feel things that I’d never experienced with anyone else. What was it about him? I wanted to trust him, to experience things with him I had never even considered before meeting him, things that honestly repulsed me before. He’d already ignited a spark I didn’t know was even possible. But I wanted more with Phalon. More time, especially. Time to go on more adventures. Ones where we weren’t trying to rescue three children and being shot at. And time to explore the new and growing attraction I had for him. One that seemed strange but natural, as if meant to be. Yet, I knew we didn’t have any chance together that was guaranteed beyond that hotel room.
Holding me all through the night, he didn’t let go of me until the guards knocked on the door the next morning, looking for me. It was time for my debriefing, and time to say goodbye to Phalon until the next time I ran into him.
Chapter Twelve
Phalon
Sitting in a boardroom was not how I’d wanted to spend my day. I thought I would get more time in bed with Xacalla before meeting with someone from the Council of the Quadrants to give my account of what happened. And, hopefully, Xacalla and I would be sent back to Eurebly together where we could finally have dinner. I didn’t look forward to having to explain to Nate that I got his SDF-16 blown up, but I didn’t expect that future encounter to pale in comparison to the day ahead of me.
I woke up to banging on the door before two Gaunbian guards barged into the suite, holding their small hand plazers at the ready. With barely any time to enjoy how well Xacalla fit tucked into me, I scrambled to a sitting position at the same time as her and held the covers in front of her almost-bare body. “Coddleswap! What do you want?”
I’m certain I didn’t sound friendly, but their entrance hadn’t been peaceful in any way, and the plazers seemed highly unnecessary.
“Where’s Xacalla?” one of the guards demanded with his weapon trained on me.
“I’m right here.” She lowered the blankets to reveal her face. “I’m fine. Why do you have plazers?”
“You’re fine, sir?” he asked, and I realized the weapon was aimed at Xacalla, not me.
“Yes, for star’s sake.” I slid closer to her to block their aim as best I could. “Put the plazers down.”
“Sorry,” the other guard said as they both holstered their weapons.
“Now, is there a reason you woke us up like that? Or can we go back to what we were doing?” They didn’t need to know we’d been sleeping, only that they’d rudely interrupted us.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I have been assigned to escort Xacalla to meet with the task force for her debriefing.” He stared straight ahead instead of at either one of us, and with his feet shoulder-width apart, he held his hands behind his back. “And Senrab here is to escort you to see Minister Taleron.”
I didn’t understand why we were being debriefed in two very different ways, but I held in my argument, not wanting to risk either one of them aiming their plazers at Xacalla again. “Okay, give us a few moments to get freshened up and dressed, and then we’ll go with you.”
The taller guard nodded as they stepped out to the entranceway and turned around. Yet, neither of them left the suite.
Xacalla didn’t wait anyway, grabbing her clothes off the floor and racing to the bathroom while holding them in front of her. I had no time to talk to her, no chance to give her a quick kiss before she was escorted away from me. Had I done something wrong? I’d asked for permission every step of the way and stopped when she couldn’t give me a definitive yes. Pushing her further would have gone against every part of me and gotten me in trouble with her family.
Though maybe it was the plazers pointed at her that had made her run from me. I had no idea why the guards had believed them necessary.
After dressing and gathering the few belongings I had with me, I met Senrab in the foyer. “Ready.” Though I wasn’t happy about any of it.
He nodded before opening the door for me and leading me down the hall to the tube. It opened right away, as if it had been waiting for us. Back in my apartment on Eurebly, it could takeup to five minutes for a tube car to arrive, even if I only wanted to go to the ground floor. Some beings were known to have special remotes that called the closest tube car to their location, taking priority over everyone else. Usually, the remotes were reserved for politicians and a few others of notoriety. Perhaps it was my upcoming meeting with Minster Taleron that gave me the privilege.
The ride was smooth and shorter than I’d expected, meaning, the minister had stayed in a nearby building. The boardroom where we met reminded me of the training room my old space racing team used when we prepared for our upcoming races. Only without the flight simulators.
On one side of the table, the triplets sat with contended smiles and their bodies almost vibrating in anticipation. Minister Taleron sat at the head of the table, several hover vehicles seen zooming behind her through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the room.
She stood when she saw me. “Phalon, I’m glad you’re here. I trust you slept well?”
“I did until two guards burst into my room.” Glancing around, I tried to focus the blame on one of the offending parties, but Senrab seemed to have disappeared.
Chuckling as if it wasn’t a big deal, Minister Taleron gestured to the chair across from the triplets. “From what these three Kalpierenes tell me, you are an esteemed guest, and the guards needed to be sure nothing had befallen you when there was no answer to their knocks.”
I didn’t remember hearing any knocking, but I had slept through much worse according to my former teammates.
After I took the empty seat, the man we’d met on Yatak who’d claimed he was a family friend, darted inside and pressed the button to close the door behind him.
