Page 14 of We Own the Stars

Finally, I spot Kallista chatting it up with an Acara female dressed in a bold, golden gown that emphasizes the golden irises of her cat eyes. Her furry ears pin back when she notices my approach, and she mumbles her apologies before disappearing into the crowd.

Kallista’s eyes are daggers laced with poison as she stares up at me. “I see you managed to find me. Thought for sure you’d still be holding up the ceiling back there,” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm, and I smile, because it’s the longest sentence she’s ever said to me.

I raise my glass of water to her. “Just doing my job, princess,” I say, and her face drains of color. Not like she had much color in her face to lose.

“A pet name already. Cute. Don’t call me that again,” she says, then goes back to sipping on her glowing red drink. She’s kind of adorable when she’s angry, but maybe that’s just because I’ve always been drawn to people with a bit of fire in them. Makes them far more interesting to talk to.

“Whose birthday is it?” I shout. The noise in here is unbearable, especially for my sensitive ears. Terrans are not made for noise levels above seventy decibels, and this is skyrocketing somewhere around eighty-five.

“What?” she shouts back as her eyes scan the crowd. Looking for another excuse to escape.

“The party,” I try again, leaning down to talk directly into her ear.

Just then, another Terran bumps into me from behind, and I jostle forward, brushing my nose and lips against the shell of Kal’s ear. Her entire body stiffens. Her face falls—along with my heart.

Oh, shit.

The Terran mumbles a half-baked apology before disappearing into the crowd with three women attached to his arm. When I look back to apologize to Kallista, she’s already gone. Her soft blond hair bounces through the crowd toward the living room.

Great. Here we go again.

9KALLISTA

My new bodyguard is hot. So hot, in fact, I’m going to have to convince Margot to fire him.

I can’t work with someone I’m attracted to. And when his lips touched my ear? That just clinched my decision. That man is going to be trouble.

It’s bad enough that he’s here to begin with, watching every step I take, every person I talk to, every sip of my drink I imbibe. It’s bad enough that Margot already basically does that, but now there’s someone being paid to do that when she can’t.

I need a break. A long one.

Stepping outside for some fresh air, I decide to take a walk around the Olympic-sized pool. The gardens outside are as impressive as the house itself, with bushes full of night-blooming iridescent flowers I don’t recognize. Plush grass is everywhere out here, except for the stone walkways around the pool itself. A cyborg butler by the name of Anthony offers me hors d’oeuvres six times before finally giving up and going to bug someone else. I unstrap my silver sandals, kick them aside, and sit down at the edge of the pool to dip my toes into the warm water. Heated. Nice.

Latrixia’s skyline is surprisingly pretty from this angle, with its riot of neon pinks and purples blending together like a watercolor painting. Jammer jets fill the sky like fireflies flitting from one location to another. Everyone’s lives are so busy, even after work hours.

I smile to myself as I play in the water with my toes.

“Hey,” a familiar voice calls out behind me. My heart stops. “Get your grody feet out of my fucking pool.”

Though I keep my feet in the water, I turn my head to see Lacie Calbert staring straight at me. Two men and two women stand behind her, all glued to their terminal screens. Her entourage.

“Happy birthday, Lacie,” I say, lifting one of my shoulders in an apologetic shrug.

As much as it pains me to admit, Lacie looks stunning this evening. Her rainbow glitter dress barely covers her upper thigh, and her flowing blond hair falls to her butt. Not only does she look gorgeous, she looks vibrant. Healthy. When she crosses her bronzed arms in front of her chest, I notice her biceps flex. Oh, okay. So she also works out.

“Did you not hear me?” she sneers. “I said get your feet out of my pool. That pool has a strict PH level, and I can’t have anyone I haven’t vetted throw it off or else I’m going to have to call my pool guy to come out here tomorrow and fix it.”

Cringing, I pull my feet out of the pool and mutter, “Sorry, Lacie.” Maybe she’ll get bored soon and find another target to harass, like my bullies back in high school. But that’s unlikely. I still don’t know why, according to all the tabloids, Lacie is “beefing” with me. Whatever that means. We never talk.

An Acara female behind Lacie looks up from her terminal long enough to murmur something in her ear, then goes back to her screen.

Lacie scoffs. “I don’t believe I invited you, trailer trash.”

My blood turns to ice in my veins at the nickname. She’s taken to calling metrailer trashto the press ever since she found out I’m from one of Luna’s Human compounds. Lacie is one of those fortunate Humans whose ancestors weren’t forced onto the moon after the Terrans invaded Earth, turned it into Terra, and kicked the natives off. She’s from a rich Human settlement on one of Mars’s moons, I think. Everyone on that moon is doing well for themselves, so she wouldn’t know what it’s actually like to grow up with nothing.

I roll my eyes. “Come on, Lacie. We don’t have to do this. Margot said I was on the list. Do you want to take it up with Margot? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to set this straight.”

As I push myself up to stand, Lacie takes several predatory steps toward me, backing me closer to the pool so that I’m teetering precariously on the edge. I swallow thickly. Like most people, she’s a lot taller than I am, so when she stares down at me, I’m smart enough to be intimidated.

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