Page 16 of Stealing Samantha

9

“We havesix more performances here before we leave again. That’s four days—I assume that’s adequate time for you to prepare,” replied Lithi. Jaess watched as the Xithilene woman gave Sam an assessing glance. “Now that I have your comm ID, I’ll have one of the humans assigned to us contact you about arranging appropriate garments for you. I hope you have more of your music ready for us. My superiors were pleased with the idea of incorporating a human musician, and they’ll want to hear multiple options for the performance.”

Sam nodded her head vigorously, very unlike the way of his people. It seemed to denote agreement. “I have plenty of music, don’t worry, that won’t be a problem, and four days is plenty of time.” Then she smiled, exposing her blunt, white teeth, even as her body seemed to vibrate and tremble.

“What’s going on?” Sam’s sister grabbed her arm and leaned close to speak, but Jaess could still hear her. “Prepare for what, Sam?”

He held himself still. Jaess wanted to let his crown feathers ripple with pleasure and approval, but he knew she still reacted poorly to the sounds they made. He observed Sam’s face as he waited for her to answer. Maybe that’s why he missed T’xith’s approach. His cousin’s large hand clamped down around his wrist and squeezed.

“I’ll be accompanying the dance troupe.” Sam smiled again, but it’d gone shaky, as if it might slip at any moment. “I played this afternoon—for Jaess. My music was a good fit.” She lifted her shoulders and let them drop again.

The sister looked worried as she frowned sadly at the floor, and T’xith’s grip grew tighter. He was certain it’d bruise beneath the scales.

“Sam is very talented. We work well together,” he said, knowing it would probably only enflame his cousin’s irritation.

“Did you plan this?”

The sister sounded angry, but he didn’t understand her reaction.

“No. How could I? I wished to hear Sam play, but Lithi was the one who decided to offer your sister the position. You should be proud of her. Don’t you value musicians among your people?”

Kayla curled her red lips into a formidable scowl before she turned back towards Sam. She was preparing to say something, but Jaess shook his wrist free from T’xith’s fingers and stepped past him. Then he extended his arm and held out his hand to Sam, ignoring her sister.

“Welcome, Sam. I’m glad you’ll be joining us,” he told her, unable to resist pressing their arms together in a warrior’s clasp. Her hand was small and soft in his, and she didn’t pull away until he released her. He could feel T’xith radiating disapproval at his back, but he ignored it in favor of meeting Sam’s gaze.

“Me too,” she replied. “It’s going to be an adventure.”

Jaess felt the thud of his heart pound like a drum. She’d accepted Lithi’s offer.An adventure—that was one way to describe it. To him it sounded more like destiny. Two human moon cycles were left before they’d return to his planet. He’d been lucky to receive a single day in her presence. Jaess couldn’t help but feel as if it were truly the Lady’s hand which had guided him here to her home, to the woman who had the power to claim him.

* * *

Lithi slidfree from his arms as their dance ended, but Jaess didn’t look towards the gathered humans seated in the theater. Even so, he knew it the moment that Sam stepped onto the stage. A sudden breathy hush, as if the entire crowd had inhaled in unison, signaled the change. He didn’t let himself move, not yet. He held the final pose from the last dance. He needed to wait.

He and Sam hadn’t yet been able to replicate their first impromptu performance during rehearsals, but Lithi had been pleased enough with them. As those first notes of her song spun sweetly through the air, he knew that tonight would be different. He could feel that familiar, trembling joy descend as Sam’s music unfurled and pulsed within him, and he extended his wings, displaying in a way that was solely for her. She stood towards the front of the stage, slightly to his left, facing out to the audience. He wanted her eyes on him, but he knew that wasn’t the human way.

The notes swelled and ebbed, carrying him towards the first platform as he leapt. She wore a human garment, a dress that revealed the lines of her strong arms. It brushed the floor and accentuated the bold curve of her waist. He moved faster as her clever fingers flew, and Jaess danced higher and higher, taking the platforms as if they were truly just the wide branches of the home forest. He couldn’t think past the perfection of this moment. Only with Sam’s music did his movements become blessed, transcending his simple hunter’s tricks. Together, they gave the people watching a glimpse of the Lady’s face. He didn’t delude himself that his skill belonged to him alone.

He was diving towards the stage before he knew it, pulling up in anticipation of his landing as the last soaring notes hung in the air. His feet touched down, and he bowed his head. After a lingering moment of silence, the loud hand claps of the humans made his body go stiff with tension. He still hadn’t accustomed himself to the sound, and tonight it was louder than it’d ever been before. Sam bent in half from her hips, and the swell of human noise rose still higher. Other dancers flooded the stage, and he felt Vasith bump his elbow.

“Incline your head! Stop standing there like a mute keelis beast.”

Jaess glanced at the other man and took in the tight set of his jaw, the way his crown feathers rose spiky and disorderly above his face. Vasith had been there the night Lithi had watched him in the dance hall. He’d thought she’d made a mistake asking Jaess to dance with them then, and his opinion hadn’t changed in the interim.

Many of the humans were standing again, calling for them to add one last dance to the performance—an encore, they called it. They wanted more of Sam. Jaess knew it, and maybe for the first time since he’d begun to dance before these crowds, he felt borne up on the people’s pleasure, their exultation. Of course they wanted Sam to continue. He longed for the same thing.

“Aren’t you going to claim your spot above all of us?” Vasith’s whisper bit, and Jaess had to work hard to keep his arm still against the force of the rough shove of a wing.

“No. Claim it for yourself.” Jaess didn’t bother looking over at the other dancer again. He’d ask Sam to practice more of her music with him so that next time they’d be prepared. If in the future, she wanted them to take their place in front of the crowd and accept more of their praise, he would do it, but not tonight.

Vasith strode towards Lithi and snatched up her hand, pulling her past the others. Jaess watched as Sam stepped back, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the way was clear. Somehow he found his way to her side, and the butt of her flute nudged the side of his thigh. He could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the brightness that seemed to expand outwards from her smaller frame. Something pinched deep in his chest. Back in Vastiss, it had been a relief to see her fight; here on Earth, he was blessed to see the fierceness of her joy.

10

Sam rubbed her eyes.She could feel sunlight streaming past a gap in the blinds, but she didn’t want to move from her warm bed.

“How can there be so many places to go? Still almost two entire moon cycles until we go home!”

“Stop moaning, X’tha. I think perhaps I’ll stay.”

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