Kurving great!What is it about these Earth females that seem to turn males into mush?
“Tenir,” I growl, moving as much of my body between them as possible. “She is akit.”
He blinks at me, then shakes his head. “A—she’s a kit?”
“I’mnota kid!” Skylar snaps at my back. “I’m sixteen!”
Tenir looks confused for a moment, then he leverages his blaster at me once more. “What does that mean?”
“It means she won’t be matured for at least two more revolutions.”
“I amnotimmature!” she whines and—she just stomped her foot.
“Skylar, shut up!” Ravi whispers. “You’re going to get us killed.”
“Two years?” Tenir runs a hand through the wriggling coils under his chin thoughtfully before his attention lands back on me. “Hands out where I can see them.”
I do as he says, and then his attention shifts behind me. “You, girl. Step back,Ashluh.”
Other than a huff under her breath, Skylar stays quiet, and then I hear her soft steps as she does as she’s told.
“Now, Treto.” Tenir trains the blaster on me once more. “If you want your precious humans to stay safe for a little longer, you’re going to do everything I say. And to start with, you’re going to come with me.”
* * *
Bela
I follow along behind Anna and Igid as Deja leads us down a hallway and into a small room. Despite its size, it’s furnished with plush rugs and overstuffed furniture. The walls are cluttered with a myriad of pictures, paintings and wall coverings that remind me of tapestries.
“Well,” Deja says as she drops into one of the plush chairs. She steeples the tips of her fingers in front of her, and her eyes settle on me. “Now that we have some privacy, what in all the stars is going on?”
Every head in the room swings to me, and I feel the blood rush into my cheeks. “Erm.”
“Wait,” Deja gives us a sly smile and turns to a small cabinet beside her chair, “I can already tell this conversation is going to require wine.”
She quickly passes out a long-stemmed flute to each of us before going back into her cabinet for a matte black bottle with gold alien script drawn prettily around the middle. With practiced ease, Deja uncorks the bottle and pours each of our glasses halfway with cerulean liquid.
“I’ve been hiding this bottle from Xan,” she says with a smirk before tipping her glass back for a sip.
Bringing my own glass to my nose, I inhale. It’s fruitier than any Earth wine I’ve had, not that I’m much of a drinker. When I do imbibe, I usually go for vodka or tequila. Tipping back the glass, I take the smallest sip. Just enough to taste.
It’s delicious!
So I take a much larger swallow, only to regret it immediately. It may not have the bitterness of an Earth wine, but the way it makes my head swim tells me it’s going to pack far more of a punch. More than happy to let the alcohol relax me, I slowly sink into the chair beside Anna.
“That’s much better. Now, where were we?” Deja asks, leaning back in her seat. “Oh, yes. I think introductions are in order, yes? I’m Deja. I live here with my mate, our children, and we’ve somehow turned our home into a safe haven for as many human refugees as we can find.”
At the mention of her mate and children, my mind jumps to the males I’d seen earlier. Without meaning to, my eyes wander to Igid, and I can’t help but wonder what the story is about the look one of Deja’s sons was giving her?
The silence stretches, and it takes me a moment to realize everyone is looking at me.
“Oh,” I guess it’s my turn. “Um, I’m Bela, and Treto rescued Skylar and me from Lux.”
Sprawled across a couch with her boots kicked up on the armrest and crossed at the ankles, Igid lets out a snort. “Treto hasn’t been able to focus on anything except you since Rovos sent him to follow the Xar’ads with the hopes of finding Earth.”
“Say that again?” I ask slowly, and my mind starts jumping to all sorts of conclusions. “Why would Rovos want to find Earth?”
“Because I asked him to,” Anna speaks up. “When Rovos first found me, he couldn’t send me home because no one knew where to find Earth and the Xar’ads wiped their system to keep it hidden. Then things… happened between us, and I no longer wanted to go home, but I still worried about the chance for more humans being abducted. Treto volunteered to follow them.”
