Forrest let out a breath and rubbed his thumb over the bare third finger on his left hand. He needed a ring. Or whatever was used on Karran to indicate he was married. Blue had hers; he needed his. He grinned to himself.
Next project. He’d ask Mo’ata about it. It could be a surprise.
BLUE
Blue tugged on Mo’ata’s hand, dragging him through the crowd, the cubs bounding along in their harnesses. Duri followed close behind. They’d stayed close to the university while Forrest had his interview. No one knew how long it would take, so she didn’t want to go far. Forrest had messaged just a minute ago that he was done. That was it. Done. He hadn’t said anything else. The anticipation was killing her.
Besides, they had a surprise for him, and she didn’t want to wait any longer to give it to him. Whether he’d gotten into the university or not, it was a great surprise. If he’d gotten the scholarship, the gift would be celebratory, and if he hadn’t, it would cheer him up. They’d gotten their hands on the supplies list for the term, as well as learned the best places to buy them. Most items were being delivered straight to the apartment, but a few Blue had stashed in her shopping bag, wrapped and with a big-ass ribbon.
She scanned the front of the main building, trying to spot his blond head. Whoever had designed the university must have borrowed from Greek architecture, or the Greeks had borrowed from the university. Thick columns spanned the length of the entrance, and more traveled beyond, creating deep colonnades that supported the carved stone entablatures and roof. Though shrouded in shadow, the open arches filled with glass that made up the front wall were just as gracefully executed.
People, clad in everything from suits and robes to scruffy jumpsuits and rumpled skirt-blouse combinations, hurried in and out, weaving through those columns. Some descended stone steps and joined the rivers of people on the street, blending in immediately, and others stepped onto paths that led through landscaped patches and off to other structures.
The effect was grand, imposing, and beautiful.
Then she spotted him. Forrest stood at the end of one of those colonnades, typing something in his comm. Mo’ata’s pinged.
“I see him,” Blue said and pulled the clansman forward. Then she stopped. A woman stood beside him, her hand on his arm.
Something sick and faint stirred in her middle, and she recognized it. It was the same feeling she’d had whenever she saw Forrest with Becca. Jealousy.
Blue watched as the woman, her dark hair flowing in easy waves, gestured to something off to the right and Forrest nodded as he smiled down at her.
But that was all he did. And Forrest, as she knew, was an affectionate person in general. He was a hugger and a smiler and, quite simply, kind. For all she knew, this girl was as well.
She looked back at Mo’ata, who raised a brow at her.
“Sorry.”
He shook his head. “The clans are different than those here in Tremmir, in the rest of Karran. No clanswoman would allow such an unsanctioned touch. But no clanswoman would touch another who was already joined.”
Blue turned her attention back to Forrest and the woman. “Huh.”
The woman smiled up at him again, then skimmed her hand up to his shoulder. He shrugged away, and the woman looked down. Blue couldn’t see their expressions clearly, but something eased in her at Forrest’s small rejection of the dark-haired woman’s touch. She grimaced. The hypocrisy was not lost on her, but it also didn’t change her instinctive reaction.
Blue pulled Mo’ata back into motion. Forrest went back to scanning the crowd, and she knew just when he spotted them. He grinned and hurried down the steps. As he drew nearer, Blue dropped Mo’ata’s hand and raced to Forrest, slamming herself to his front and hugging him tight.
He wouldn’t be smiling like that if he hadn’t gotten in.
“You did it, didn’t you? Oh, we have a surprise.” She twisted, trying to pull the package from her bag while still keeping one arm around him. “We got the university to send us the materials list and did some shopping while you were in your interview.” The words were muffled with her face pressed to his chest. She finally worked the gift free and waved it in the air with a flourish. “Ta-da! It’s not everything. The rest we had delivered to the apartment.” She craned her head back and met his blue, blue stare.
The grin hadn’t left his face. “Damn, you’re cute.”
She smiled back up at him and stayed pressed to his chest. Part of her was aware she was staking her claim, but most of her was simply enjoying the moment.
A throat cleared beside Forrest just as Garfield let out a softly menacing squeak. Vivi echoed him a moment later, but hers was more inquiring.
Forrest pressed a kiss to Blue’s lips and put a few inches between them, though he didn’t let her go. He tilted his head at the girl who’d followed him down the steps. “This is Mika. She’s the art director’s assistant and offered to show me—I mean us—around a little, including some of the best places to find supplies.” He gave Blue’s side a squeeze. “Though looks like you and the barbarian took care of that.”
“Barbarian. Hah. I have more civility in my left arm than you have in all of you.” Mo’ata’s expression was pleased. “Very well done on getting accepted. Of course, I knew you would.” Then he turned to Mika. “It is very nice to meet you. And your offer of friendship is very generous.”
Was that a slight emphasis on friendship in her First Priden’s tone? Blue twisted to the girl. She was pretty, in a subtle way. Her eyes were a clear blue-gray, her expression open and easy, and she kept her attention focused on Blue.
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” Blue held out a hand.
When Mika hesitated, she dropped it. “I apologize,” the other girl said. Then she held out her own hand, the edge of a tattoo on the back of her wrist revealed as the sleeve of her loose tunic fell away. “I forgot that was a traditional greeting for Earth.”
Blue gave her a smile, and they shook hands. It was strangely formal. When no one spoke, the moment turned awkward.
“Well,” Mika finally said. “Maybe the tour can wait?” A faint tension pulled the corners of her mouth down and then was gone. She looked up at Forrest, a sweet smile forming. “Since you have your supplies, you should be set for tomorrow. And I’ve already shown you the best routes from the university to the Academy.”
Forrest looked surprised. “I thought you were also going to show us around the campus?”
She shrugged, and her expression cooled as she shot a look at Blue and Mo’ata. “Another time, I promise. I’m… not sure now is the best time, in fact.”
“Oh, um, sure, that sounds fine.”
She gave them all a brief nod, then spun on her heel, heading back up the steps and making her way through the columns to the university entrance.
“That was weird,” Forrest said. He looked down at Blue. “I thought you’d like to make another friend, and she seemed nice.” His tone held a note she couldn’t place.
Should I tell him? She remembered their vow of honesty. She ducked her head against his chest. “I got jealous,” she whispered.
“What?” He didn’t sound as shocked as she thought he’d be. “Of Mika? There’s nothing there.” He frowned.
“I know it’s silly of me to be upset. I mean, all she really did was touch your arm. Plus, it’s not like I have a leg to stand on. It’s pretty hypocritical of me when I’ve got you and Mo’ata, and I want to add Levi and eventually Felix—if he ever opens up. So, who am I to get upset about a hand.”
“And yet you are.”
She nodded into his chest, refusing to look up at him. “Just like I hated it when you spent any time with Becca.” Her words were barely audible, even to her.
Forrest stiffened, and in a burst of courage, Blue looked up. There was something there— surprise and even a little shame. “I’ve only loved you, Blue,” he said.
“But…?” She could see there was a “but.” Did she want to know?
“But there was a time when Becca and I were together. It was over before you ever came to Austin, at least on my part. A couple times during senior year she made it clear she’d be okay with hooking up, but I didn’t want that. And I told her.”
At his words she calmed. Not so much at his reassurance that nothing had happened between him and Becca after he’d met Blue—she’d known that. And she did trust Forrest, despite her earlier outburst. It was more that she’d seen something. And what she’d seen was that Becca wanted there to be more between them.
Just like Mika did.
It was nice to know she wasn’t seeing something that wasn’t there.
“And…” Forrest said, hesitant. “And before I made it clear I was with you, Mika may have been flirting.”
Blue melted against him. The fact that he said that showed that he trusted her as well.
“I love you,” she said. She pushed away and finally met his gaze. “And if you think she will be a good friend, I will try. But as Mo’ata put it, no ‘unsanctioned touches.’”
“Wait.” A teasing light entered his eyes. “There are sanctioned touches?”
“Hah.” She slapped his shoulder. “Only from me.”
He pulled her close and rested his chin on her head. “To clarify, that’s not what I meant earlier, about the weird. I thought she might make a good friend and she seemed nice, but she turned weird at the end. Like once you were here, she wasn’t interested anymore.”
“Well, not everyone you’re friends with has to like me.”
“But no touches, I got it.”
“That makes me feel weird, like I’m being a territorial bitch.”
“I kind of like it. It’s hot. And I love that you want me all to yourself.” He took a deep breath. “It’s good for this man’s ego.”
“Shopa.”
Right. They were in the middle of a busy street. She was grateful Mo’ata had let her and Forrest have their moment, though. She reached up and pulled Forrest down for another kiss before stepping back. Hooking one arm through his and grabbing the clansman’s hand with the other, she set off in a random direction. “Anyone want to explore? I propose we deliberately get lost for a while. You can find the best things that way. And then we can go home and teach me to cook something.”
Chapter 14
BLUE
Blue had just gotten the last of the pucho meat into the wave-cooker and was cutting up a large root vegetable called opi when Levi returned home. He wore his official Order uniform, black armor, similar to that worn by the mercenaries, incorporated into a sleek, charcoal suit trimmed in silver. It outlined his broad shoulders and highlighted the smoothness of his movements even more than his traditional Prizzoli garb did.
Then he smiled at her, his golden-hazel eyes bright against his skin, and she stared, the knife partially embedded in the vegetable. Part of her wanted nothing more than to run to him. She smiled instead and finished slicing the opi in half. “How was your first day?” she asked.
How effing homey is this? Me here, trying to cook something, and Levi coming home from a hard day of work.
“It was good. Mostly I was put on sorting through surveillance data. I have learned much, but I am not sure if any of it applies to the Miyari case.” He pushed the door closed, and Blue half expected him to pull out a briefcase and toss it on the sofa before grabbing a beer and putting his feet up after a hard day’s work.
She giggled. Had her life become a very strange and twisted sit-com?
Levi raised his brows. “I will return in a moment. I am getting used to this uniform, but it is not as comfortable as what I am accustomed to. Then I will help.”
Blue reined in her giddiness and nodded. An impulse to stretch up and plant a kiss on his cheek gripped her, and she once more held herself back, though she didn’t want to. Maybe this would be the perfect time to broach the idea of him joining the prida in truth.
Forrest was in his room sorting through his materials and the class schedule he’d received, getting everything together for tomorrow. Duri had disappeared. And after showing her how to use the cooker, Mo’ata had taken the cubs and gone down to the stables to feed and give some attention to the mounts. Essentially, she was alone with the Prizzoli.
She pulled in a breath. She could do this. It was no different from when she’d proposed to Mo’ata and Forrest. In fact, this wasn’t nearly as bad. All she was doing was asking Levi to make their pretend trial period—the one they’d used for a cover in Firik—real.
The wave-cooker sent out a low ping, and Blue’s head jerked up. Crap. She was supposed to have the opi cut, seasoned, and ready to go. She left the meat where it was and got to work chopping. The opi was thick, about the size of a large baking potato, and bright orange. They had a slightly sweet flavor that, along with a salt from the lower plains, was supposed to pair well with the pucho. There was also a bin of leafy greens and other fresh vegetables that could be turned into a salad. They still sat in the fridge—cooling unit—waiting to be prepped. She was running behind.
“Blue.”
She spun around. Levi now wore a pair of loose pants and a shirt he’d brought with him from Padilra. These were a bright red. When they’d shopped for bedding, she’d noticed he gravitated to the brighter, jewel-toned colors. She thought maybe they helped him feel closer to home.
“Hey.”
He gave her a sweet smile. “Do you want help?” He gestured to the opi, still only half prepared.
“Thank you. I had wanted to get this done myself—it’s my turn to cook—but I won’t say no. Maybe you could help with the salad?”
“I can do that. And you can help when it is my night.”
“It’s a deal.”
Neither moved. Her gaze dropped to his lips, and he sucked in a breath.
Woman up, Blue. Time to find your brave.
“I—” they started together.
She laughed and waved her hand, telling Levi to go ahead.
“I was wondering if you could help me with my list. I remember what you said back on Padilra about writing down all the things I should try to find out what I like. I am having trouble thinking up things to put on it.” He shifted his weight and looked down.
Blue closed the distance between them. “I can do that.” She swallowed. “And I think the first thing on the list,” she started, raising her hand to cradle his cheek, “should be for you to kiss me.”
Those gorgeous eyes of his went wide, and his lips parted in shock. Blue grinned. It wasn’t often anyone was able to throw this Prizzoli off.
“I also think you should put becoming a member of a prida on there. Maybe even mine.” She searched his face, waiting for a reaction. When none came, her stomach clenched. It hadn’t been the most romantic of proposals, true, but surely it hadn’t been that bad? “I mean, you’re practically family anyways. And we did do the pretend thing for a little bit. I just thought that maybe we could move it from that to real because there is something real between us, and—”
He clasped her hand, pressing it harder to his cheek. Then he bent, meeting her lips with his and cutting off her ramble. Heat stirred in her as she parted her lips to taste him. Mint and something else, something with a hint of citrus, was what he tasted like.
His other hand settled on the small of her back, the touch light, almost hesitant, even as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled, and she pressed into his heat.
Reserved on the outside, party on the inside. The errant thought startled a gasping laugh from her, and Blue pulled her head back, though she made no move to put distance between their bodies. His chest rose and fell in a fast rhythm, and his gaze bore into her.
“Do you mean this?” The hand pressed to her back flattened out, then curled, repeating the movement in a slight, kneading gesture.
“Yes.” There was n
o hesitation in her answer. “I’ve spoken to Mo’ata already as the First Priden. There is supposed to be a period of time where we get to know each other more… intimately and see if we mesh. Then you come before the full prida, which is Forrest and Mo’ata, and we all vote.”
Movement beyond Levi’s shoulder caught her attention. Forrest stood in the doorway leading from the bedroom hall to the living area. He scanned the scene, gave her a thumbs up, mouthed, “I’ll come back later,” and disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.
She trailed her hand from Levi’s cheek down his neck and watched him shiver. “And I can guarantee they will not vote no. We just need to be sure this is what we want. I think—” Her fingers trembled. “No, I know that we could have something incredibly special. You’re my protector, my savior, my cool-headed partner-in-logic. And I know I should allow you time to explore your new life and discover what you love, but—”
His eyes went from light hazel to molten gold, and he cut her off with another kiss. By the time this one ended, they were both breathing hard.
“I think that this has been a very successful first item for my list. And that I would savor the opportunity to explore this life with you. As you once told me, I am afraid I would always regret it if I did not try.” His hand slid from her back and up to cup the back of her neck. “But I am not sure how to do this.”
“Well, those kisses were a pretty good start.”
He flashed her a gentle smile. “That is not what I mean.” He stroked a thumb along her jaw. “There is a bird to the south, in the Forant tribe’s lands, which makes its nest in the fraki tree. The illi blends into the leaves and grasses and branches and is a plain thing. Except for here.” His free hand pressed to Blue’s chest. “It is plain until it takes to the skies and hunts. It spreads its wings, and for a moment it reveals the vibrant lavenders of its flight feathers. And it is beautiful. Then it launches into flight and fades into the sky, the perfect hunter.”
A Blue Star Rising Page 13