I press my eyes closed and see her, her cheeks tinted purple, her silver eyes boring into mine, conveying her lust.
How could any of these weak women hope to compete with my Kasmina, a Great Princess of Tempest?
It is understandable why the other men would be enamored by them, being of lower blood.
But I have known the exquisite beauty of a most high princess, and nothing could hope to compete.
Yet, oddly, thinking of her now is not the same as it once was. My stomach no longer fills with butterflies, and the guilt I once had no longer needles me.
Instead of remorse, I feel bitter—angry even.
Which is nonsensical, because I have no one to blame for my exile but myself.
I close my eyes again, but instead of seeing the princess, I see Asha’s gold-spun hair and big blue eyes that are the same color as my flesh.
Her heart is racing—she is terrified.
And yet she does not back away.
Her scent invades my nostrils, and I almost groan.
I have truly lost myself.
When Brock and Haelden have disappeared, I turn to Grixis, lip sneered. “I do not understand why I must stay behind. I am the one who discovered their scouting. It should be me who is sent to find them.”
He places a hand on my shoulder. “Your eagerness is commendable, but you are needed in the village.”
“You seek to dishonor me!” I snarl.
“I do no such thing.”
“You force me to share my home with the weakest of the Penticari, and when there is reason for me to leave, you deny it to me.”
His eyes flicker with irritation, and I almost feel bad, because I know the weight of the burden he now carries.
Without another word, we head back to The Tomb.
“How is the terraformer performing?” Grixis asks Jacek.
Jacek turns, leaning back in his seat. “Since it was fixed, it has run smoothly, though the ribbons are coming out more frequently.”
Grixis frowns, asking, “What is the trajectory?”
“We have a one-hundred-ten percent increased output since Asha fixed the terraformer, putting us two years ahead of schedule.”
Two years ahead of schedule?
It may not seem like a long time, but the signal to Tempest gets sent years in advance, and if Tempest is pleased with our progress, they may send out settlers.
It is possible that with gaining two years, they could come in as little as ten.
I look over, seeing Grixis’s silver eyes panicked. “That seems too much,”
“The terraformer had not been working optimally for some time, so our trajectory was off.”
Grixis bows his head. “We must start readying the caves.”
“But with their heat, they are all but unbearable to us,” I remind him.
