Page 147 of Decadence

Sienna was used to the strange interiors of Kordolian ships by now, but she could understand how the surroundings could completely freak out any human.

“No, Eva. This is real,” she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible, because right now, Eva looked the most scared Sienna had ever seen her, and Eva was the most fearless human she knew. “You know me, Eva. You know I don’t put up with bullshit anymore. Do you think I’d really be able to sit here and lie to you about anything? Don’t you think you’d be able to tell?”

Eva’s face scrunched up. For a moment, she looked like she was going to burst into tears.

But then she took a deep breath and turned to Sienna, sticking her chin out in that typical stubborn way of hers. “I wondered where you’d disappeared to. Turns out you’ve just been hanging out in space with the same guys that want to invade Earth and freaking breed us.” Eva’s expression was one of pure disbelief. She let out a weak laugh. “And here I thought you were done with morally challenged insane guys.”

“They aren’t what you think,” Sienna said slowly, forcefully. “Didn’t you once tell me not to take anything at face value? That there’s no such thing as pure good or pure evil; only different shades of grey? That sometimes people do bad shit for good reasons?”

“You know, I probably did, but that was before we got invaded by alien death-elves. I don’t know anything anymore. Are you telling me we’re just going to go back down to Earth and continue on as if none of this ever happened? Like they’re just going to let you go back to the Whisk and start making caramel cronuts again?”

Sienna shrugged. “They sure are. You’ve been through a lot of shit. This isn’t the best place to recover from all that. Why don’t we just go home?”

Eva’s shoulders slumped. She shook her head. “W-what do you mean, go home? We’re prisoners now. They’re going to force us to…”

Sienna rose and put her hands on Eva’s shoulders. “Trust me, nobody’s going to force anyone to do anything. We’re going home.”

Her friend stared up at her, blinking in confusion. “Do you understand how insane all of this is? I feel like I’m going crazy. I just don’t…” She ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head. “If you can somehow convince them to let us go home, I swear I’ll publish that novel you’ve only been bugging me to put out like every day for the past two years.”

“Deal.” Unable to contain her excitement, Sienna grinned. “I’ll arrange a transport back to Earth. Just to warn you, we’re going to run into a lot of these guys on our way back. They look scary, but they’re totally harmless—to us, anyway.”

Eva let out an exasperated puff. “Sienna, you’re doing my head in right now. How do you get away with acting like you have any sort of authority around here, anyway?”

“Let’s just say I’ve got an amicable relationship with one of the big dogs around here.” She decided not to tell Eva about her relationship with Ikriss yet. Kordolians could be overwhelming. She got that.

Eva’s eyes narrowed. “The arrogant asshole that came to get us?”

“He’s not an asshole,” Sienna snapped without thinking. Nobody was going get away with badmouthing Ikriss on her watch; not even one of her closest friends.

“You’re defending him like that? Oh my god. You’re… you’re…”

“In an amicable relationship,” Sienna said calmly. “And we’re going home. Remember, I’m here with you. Nothing bad’s going to happen to us. And think twice about what you’ve been told. Nothing is what it seems. You can see it with your very own eyes.”

Lost for words for once in her life, Eva nodded mutely.

Okay, here goes.

Sienna glance toward the black tentacle-doors, which were sealed shut. “Um, Kail?” She raised her voice ever so slightly. “Eva’s awake. We’re ready to go back…” she gave Eva a pointed look. “But let’s eat something first. I’ll make cacio e pepe. Your favorite.” That was a code. Cacio e pepe—the deliciously moreish pasta with cheese and pepper sauce—and a glass of wine was what they did after a particularly shitty day at work.

Eva laughed weakly. “Like you’re just going to whip that up in their state-of-the-art kitchen? Does this alien doom-ship have a secret stash of pecorino cheese or something?”

“They have lots of things,” Sienna responded lightly. “Pure Ecuadorian cacao too, if you’re that way inclined.”

The doors unravelled. Kail strode through, looking like some lost guardsman of the underworld. Even though Sienna was one hundred percent sure that none of these Kordolians would ever harm her, she still found Riana’s mate freaking scary. Ikriss had asked the big warrior to keep an eye on things while he attended to some urgent business.

At first, she’d scoffed at the idea. Eva was not a threat to her in the slightest. But after everything that hand happened, she could also understand how they could be so hyper-protective.

It was going to take a while to adjust to this new normal, and Sienna predicted there would be a lot of push and pull between her and Ikriss over these security arrangements, but she could be very persuasive when she wanted, especially with him.

“You are ready,” Kail said softly, and it was more of a command than a question. His voice was colder than an arctic storm, and his hard, scar-marked face was like chiseled granite. He was utterly alien and impossible to read.

“After we eat,” Sienna replied firmly. “We’ll be heading straight back to Earth… back to New York. I take it everything’s under control now.”

Kail scrutinized them with a wintry gaze. “The security barrier is down. It will be business as usual.”

“Oh. That was quick.” She’d half expected he Kordolians’ secure lockdown area around her restaurant to be there forever.

“Ikriss’s orders,” Kail shrugged. “He wants you to feel comfortable.”

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