Page 131 of Fractured Souls

A small elderly woman with a cane squeezed through, and Alexis swore she actually elbowed one of the Kordolians as she passed.

“Why is it so dark in here?” she muttered, her grey-green eyes narrowing as she peered around. Mama had been slowly losing her sight for years. Alexis had offered to pay for an eye transplant, but Mama wasn’t having it. In her own words: “I don’t want to walk around with eyes from a laboratory. I am not a Frankenstein.”

Still, she tapped the ramp with her cane and began to make her way down, brushing off the Kordolian who came to her side to offer assistance.

Alexis didn’t try and help her either. Mama would only get annoyed.

Tasha and Lodan appeared at the top of the ramp. Tasha stood off to one side, aloof and prickly. Lodan looked relaxed, almost indulgent.

For a moment, they all just stared at the small human woman as she made her way down the dark ramp. Mama didn’t try and hurry; she didn’t apologize. She did things in her own time, just like she always did, holding the entire Kordolian squadron hostage.

A smile tugged at Alexis’s lips. The woman was impossible. Her she was, a dab of bright color amongst the dire Kordolian blackness, an impressionist painting in human form. She wore a mauve cardigan over a frilly white blouse. A bright pleated floral skirt and a necklace made of hundreds of colorful blue and green beads completed her outfit.

She was ray of island sunshine on this dark Kordolian ship.

Bless her.

Tap, tap, tap, went her cane on the obsidian floor. She came to a stop in front of Alexis and Nythian. For a moment, Alexis couldn’t speak—she was too overcome with emotion.

Then Mama grasped her cool hands, holding them tightly, bringing Alexis toward her. She was small and frail looking, but her grip was as strong as Alexis remembered it, her hands gnarled and tough from years of working in the garden.

For a moment, she just held Alexis, tears welling in her eyes. “My daughter. Now all my prayers have been answered.”

If she noticed Alexis’s obsidian hand or the scales on her face, she didn’t show it. But her attention quickly turned to Nythian, who was had moved a small distance apart from them, giving them space.

“Virginie Descalles,” he said gently, and his tone was oddly respectful and formal; Alexis had never seen him act this way toward anyone. It was rather cute, the way he tried to pronounce her name correctly despite his typically Kordolian accent. “I am Nythian.” He tipped his head slightly, a sign of respect. “It is my honor.”

Really, she had never seen him like this before.

Mama gave him a long, steady look, her eyes traveling up and down his big frame. Her understanding of Universal was limited, but she knew a few basic words, enough to understand the gist of things.

“He is good to you?” She asked Alexis, speaking in creole. “He doesn’t put you down or try and force you against your will or beat you?”

“He’s beyond honorable.” Alexis frowned, feeling defensive of Nythian all of a sudden. “Mama, you know I have enough sense not to tolerate a man who would do any of those things.”

As if sensing what was being said, Nythian moved to her side, possessively putting his arm around Alexis’s shoulders. “Understand this, human. Alexis is my mate. For me, she is above all other things. I would trade my soul to protect her.”

How easily he admitted these things, even in front of his fellow warriors. Nythian didn’t care. He was a blunt, brutal force of nature, and she loved him for it.

How easily he made Alexis go weak at the knees, made her heart race at a thousand light years per second, made her blush like crazy. It was as if he was saying it more for her benefit than for anyone else’s.

Mama wouldn’t understand his words, but the tone of his voice made the meaning obvious.

Suddenly, Mama smiled, a full, brilliant smile that transformed her weathered face. “Good. Very good. It is about time. I have been waiting for you to bring a good man home to me for too long.”

Something made Alexis glance up. In the shadows of the ship’s hatch, Tasha was watching them with a strange expression on her face.

Something about that sent a sliver of unease through her.

“We’ll handle her,” Nythian whispered in her ear. “Don’t forget where you are, my love. Nothing can touch you here… except me.”

Now he was just being naughty.

“Later,” she replied in a mock-warning tone, twining her fingers with his, sending a sliver of her power into him, just enough to show him that she could bring him to his knees if she wanted to.

But only because he let her. Oh, he loved it when she did that.

Mama raised her eyebrows.

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