He turned back to study me. ‘Are you sure?’
I nodded, unable to speak.
‘Then I give it two more of your Earth hours before the man I swiped the card from realises it’s gone; he’d consumed rather a lot of that alcoholic red water, but I assume he can’t keep drinking it forever. We should be ready to leave at short notice. I didn’t know what kind of clothing you wanted, so I got a few different choices.’
I uncurled my legs and crossed the room, rising on my tip-toes to press a kiss to his cheek. ‘Thank you, Vesper.’
The air around him heated as he cleared his throat. ‘I’d steal the sun from the sky if you asked for it.’
I smiled. ‘I’d prefer to keep the star I have.’
I didn’t think Vesper could blush, but he could certainly be rendered momentarily speechless. I enjoyed it for a moment before I picked up the bags and went into the bedroom to change.
The sizes he’d chosen varied wildly; I didn’t know whether to be offended that he didn’t grasp the size of my body, or pleased that he hadn’t seemed to notice it. The things he’d chosen were lovely regardless; I settled on a rose-pink shift dress and a cream sweater so soft I couldn’t resist rubbing it on my cheek. He’d remembered shoes, too, and after discarding a few pairstwo times too large for me, I found a pair of supple tan leather ballerina flats that fit perfectly.
He raked his hands through his hair when I walked back out. ‘You look …’ he began, then trailed off. His clothing had changed, too: he’d clearly noticed what some of the human men had been wearing and made himself something new to mimic it. I silently thanked whoever he’d modelled from; he looked like an indie musician in tight black jeans and black collared shirt, matching black leather boots laced half-way up his calf.
‘You look nice, too,’ I said shyly.
‘I’m not sureniceis the word I’d use for you,’ he said, and took a step towards me, his eyes burning. ‘You lookedible.’
I flushed as I remembered the way his mouth had felt between my legs. ‘Vesper –’
There was a knock on the door. ‘Room service,’ a voice called.
When Vesper said he ordered the chef’s recommendations, it turned out he meantallof them. There were four entrées, six mains, and four desserts, along with paired wines and a charcuterie board piled with meats, local cheeses, pâté, and fruit. It was the kind of food that cost a fortune, and I wished that Alcide and Callan could have been with us so I could show them what human food should be. As it was, Vesper watched me eat curiously, accepting small bites from my fork only when I pushed him to try it, and I lamented that it could be a long time before I’d have such an excellent meal again.
‘I’m going to vomit this straight up when you take me back, aren’t I?’ I said glumly.
Vesper picked up a grape and examined it. ‘Very probably. But I’m glad you got to eat it, anyway.’
I paced back andforth before my bed, tugging on handfuls of my hair.
‘I’ll kill him,’ I burst out passionately. ‘I’ll find him andkillhim.’
You would have done exactly the same thing in his place.
I ignored my inner voice of reason, though I had a sneaking suspicion it was right. My formal jacket pulled tight across my shoulders; I rolled them, trying to get comfortable and ignoring the pain in my chest.
‘Calm down, Cide,’ Callan said levelly. ‘You’re not killing anyone, today at least. Stop and re-evaluate. What do we do now?’
I stopped still and rubbed my temples. ‘We’re lacking our Queen. The Queen our planneeds. Quite apart from …’ I trailed off, unable to put into words how unsettled I felt without Annaon the ship, and how my need to find her and bring her back here – bring her back tous– was all but overshadowing my concern about our home planet. ‘Quite apart from everything else.’
‘The Queen wethinkour plan needs,’ Callan corrected. ‘What do we do now? Ignoring …everything else. Just for the moment.’
I thought for a second. ‘Bryn’s idea is still the better one, Queen or no Queen,’ I said reluctantly. ‘If we go home to Scytha right now, we’ll very definitely die. If we go to the peace summit on Natare, we onlymightdie.’
‘The peace summit, then.’ Callan stood from where he’d been perched on the side of my mattress, and stretched his arms above his head. Desire thrilled through me as his uniform went tight over all the right places. I pushed it aside; if Anna was still on the ship, I’d be in the middle of a claiming ceremony right now. I had no right to be staring slack-jawed at my pilot.
‘The peace summit,’ I agreed. ‘Will you set a course for –’
The light in my bedroom swirled in an all-too familiar way; the corners darkened, then burst with brightness.
‘Anna!’ Callan shouted hoarsely.
Anna, dressed in human clothing that looked impeccably clean, her hair floating like a fair cloud around her shoulders, fell to her knees.
I stepped towards Vesper, with every intention of my fists connecting with his perfect cheekbones.
