by Kali Argent
Things had worked out differently with Cami and her father, but Tariq wasn’t as forgiving or understanding as his angel. Plus, his mother hadn’t just locked him away in an extravagant house. She’d given him the choice of death or dishonor in banishment for a crime he hadn’t knowingly committed. She hadn’t believed him or taken his accusations seriously. Then, when she’d been handed proof of his innocence, she’d sent his best friend after him under the same threat of banishment if Sion didn’t bring him home.
No, Tariq had nothing to say to his mother, and in his current mood, he’d only make the tension between them worse. He’d grown up as an outcast, an outsider, but he wasn’t that little boy anymore.
Looking across the room, his gaze fell on Cami, and everything else faded away as his heart swelled with love and adoration. She was his family, and with her, he was home.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Though not as sophisticated as the Alliance’s newest fleet of cruisers, the Dreamweaver proved to be much more luxurious than Station 4. Their quarters contained a real food console, and Cami didn’t miss the microwave at all. Her shower responded to her commands, and the bathroom even had a drying chamber.
The ship also smelled a hell of a lot nicer than the space station, and best of all, Cami could wander anywhere she wanted without Tariq losing his mind. Things didn’t constantly break down or fall apart. The pipes didn’t leak, the vents didn’t rattle, and the walls didn’t groan. If something did go wrong, Tariq had them back up and running in no time. Although, that rarely happened, and the poor guy mostly just monitored the mechanical systems and ran maintenance once a week.
In the nine weeks since they’d departed, Cami had seen a number of wondrous and amazing things. A planetoid covered in frozen rocks that sparkled like diamonds had been so beautiful, if not for the frigid temperatures, she might never have wanted to leave. Tariq had told her stories of carnivorous plants back on Helix, but even he had to admit that the six foot tall, man-eating plants on the planet Caph were beyond impressive.
She’d watched the sunset on the dwarf planet Almek and explored the caves on its rocky surface. She’d watched the moon rise on majestic waterfalls, and Tariq had even taken her swimming in one of the planets winding rivers.
They had yet to encounter any new, intelligent lifeforms, but that didn’t mean Cami hadn’t been useful. A few recently discovered races spoke languages that had yet to be programmed into the language converters—mostly because no one could translate the language.
So, for hours on end, Cami sat at a table in the observation deck, staring out through the curving wall of windows while she listened to and translated endless recordings. It never grew tiresome, though, and it never felt like actual work. She’d been born to do this, and finally, she had the opportunity to utilize her gifts.
“I want to hit something.” Sweeping across midnight blue carpet that covered the floor in the observation deck, Sion settled into the chair beside her and growled. “I’m bored.”
While Cami loved her new position within the crew, things hadn’t been quite the dream Sion had expected. They rarely encountered hostile lifeforms, neither plant nor animal based, so his activities aboard the Dreamweaver had been sorely limited. Like Tariq, Sion mostly monitored the ship’s security systems for approaching hostiles—which never happened.
“You could go to the gym.”
Sion glared. “I already did that.”
“You could go again,” she suggested, ducking her head to hide her smile. She found him kind of adorable when he pouted.
“You’re hilarious.” Leaning back in his chair, he continued to glower at her. “Where’s Tariq?”
“Repairing something mechanical.” He’d explained it to her, but she hadn’t understood any of it. “Has he still not talked to his mom?”
Tariq’s mother, Analia Navarra, had sent dozens of correspondences over the weeks since they’d launched, but each time she brought it up, Tariq just growled. Cami understood having a difficult relationship with parental figures, but she also felt he needed to speak with Analia to help him heal and put the past behind him.
“No, he won’t respond to her, and I don’t blame him.” The muscles in Sion’s jaw ticked, and his gaze hardened, creasing his eyes at the corners. “Have you read any of the correspondences she sent?”
Cami shook her head. The curiosity had been eating away at her, but she hadn’t wanted to pry. “What do they say?”
“The only reason she wants him to return to Helix is because she intends for him to claim a female from a neighboring tribe as a companion.”
“Holy shit,” Cami breathed. “Does he know?” Clearly, that wouldn’t be happening, but she wondered if Tariq knew what his mother had planned.
Sion gave a noncommittal jerk of his shoulder. “I don’t think so, but it doesn’t matter. He’s not going back, and neither am I.”
“This has to stop.” She had the suspicion that Tariq had read at least some of the letters from his mother. It would certainly explain his surly attitude lately. “How close are we to Helix?”
An approving grin curled Sion’s lips. “Close enough for a vid comm. What do you have in mind?”
“Like I said, one way or another, this has to stop. I’m going to find Tariq.” Cami closed out the files she’d been translating on her tablet and passed the device to Sion. “My pockets aren’t big enough,” she explained when he arched an eyebrow at her.
“Female, I am not your damn handbag.”
“Oh, hush.” He wouldn’t even notice the tablet in the pocket of his loose jacket. “Now, can you get Analia on the comm and meet us in Conference Room 2 or not?”
Grinning, Sion tucked the tablet into his pocket. “My pleasure.”
That was why Cami liked him. Not only would he always have Tariq’s back, but he never turned down a chance at mischief.
“Computer, find chief mechanical engineer Navarra.”
“Searching,” the computer informed her in its pleasant, masculine voice. “Chief mechanical engineer Tariq Navarra located on the command bridge. Would you like me to connect you?”
“No. Thank you.”
Sion preceded her through the doors of the observation deck, and Cami followed him to the intersection in the brightly-lit hallway. Sion turned right, heading for the conference room, while Cami continued straight ahead until she’d reached the command bridge.
“Cami!” Commander Ivy Dalton greeted her with a bright smile and something else that looked suspiciously like relief. “Would you please take this savage out of here before I have him confined to his quarters?”
Uh oh. Sashaying over to her companion, Cami wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “What trouble have you been causing now?”
“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” he answered with a bit too much innocence in his tone to be believable.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I’m talking about.” Pushing out of her chair, Commander Dalton marched up to Tariq and pointed a finger in his face. “He sprayed my seat with the sap of a Cantabarion stinging nettle.”
Cami’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. “Tariq, you didn’t.”
Tariq and Ivy had formed an odd friendship since he’d been aboard the ship. It reminded her of the relationship he’d had with Scarlett, and surprisingly, it didn’t give her even a moment of jealousy. The two were at constant war, however, always trying to outdo the other, ever since Ivy had dared Tariq to eat a live snail.
The stinging nettle hurt. Cami remembered it all too well. The sap the plant secreted hurt even more, causing throbbing aches and intense swelling in the infected area. Luckily, the symptoms only lasted for a few hours, though that was little comfort to someone who’d been afflicted.
“Why would you do that?” she asked, guessing she probably didn’t want to know the answer.
“What the commander failed to mention is that she replaced the sugar in my coffee this morning with Rothaarnian pepper flakes. I st
ill can’t feel my fucking tongue.”
Just a few dried flakes from a Rothaarnian pepper burned so hot, it could induce temporary paralysis in humans. “Ivy!”
“Your tongue?” Ivy asked dangerously, ignoring Cami’s admonishment. “What about my ass?” She turned sideways, pointing at her rather swollen backside. “What about my ass, Tariq?”
Tariq tilted his head to the side and shrugged. “I don’t see any difference.”
Groaning, Cami grabbed her lover by the arm and dragged him off the bridge before things could escalate further. “You two are like a couple of toddlers.” She shook her head and frowned. “A couple of evil toddlers,” she amended.
“Hi, angel.” Tariq pulled her to a stop and wrapped her up in his arms.
Her annoyance didn’t stand a chance against his gorgeous smile and teasing tone. “Hello yourself.”
“Did you hear my distress and come to rescue me?” he asked, nuzzling against the side of her neck.
Like that, her annoyance returned, and Cami rolled her eyes. Pushing at his shoulders, she squirmed out of his embrace and straightened her tank top. “Come on, damsel in distress, I have a job for you.”
His glib tone dissipated, and he took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Why are we going to the conference room?”
“Because this has gone on long enough, and I can’t watch you hurt anymore.” Stopping outside the door of the conference room, Cami held both of his hands as she stared into his amber eyes. “We’re going to talk to your mom.”
“No.”
He tried to pull away, but Cami had anticipated his reaction and tightened her grip. “Tariq, please. I don’t expect anything, okay? I don’t want you to forgive her or even tolerate her for that matter. I just want you to talk to her.”
“Fine,” he bit out through gritted teeth. “If she threatens me, or you, or even Sion for that matter, I’m done. Understood?”
Cami bit her lip and nodded. “I would expect nothing less.”
Good to his word, Sion already had Analia on the vid comm by the time they entered the room. Seated at the far end of the table, he leaned back in the plush office chair with his arms over his chest and a look of murderous rage on his face.
“Can I go now?”
“Yes.” Cami winced in sympathy. “I’m sorry. Thank you, Si.”
“Good luck,” he said to Tariq as he rose from his seat and stomped out of the room.
Settling into a chair in the center of the table, Cami waited for Tariq to join her before she turned a bright smile to Analia. The Helios female paid her little attention, her golden, cat-like eyes sweeping over Tariq instead. It surprised Cami how little the two looked alike, other than the being Helios part. In her opinion, Tariq had definitely gotten his looks from his absent father, but maybe that was just her anger clouding her judgment.
“Hello, Tribes Leader Navarra. I’m Ca—”
“Yes, I know who you are. You can go now.” She flipped her long, strawberry blonde hair behind her shoulder and sniffed.
Growling, Tariq started to rise, but Cami stopped him with a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. She can’t hurt me.” She turned back to the screen. “I’m not going anywhere, not from this room and not from Tariq’s life, so maybe you can get over yourself and talk to your son.”
Hey, she’d tried to be polite, and that clearly hadn’t gotten her anywhere. She could be just as fierce as Tariq, with a temper just as a heated. She’d meant what she’d said. Tariq’s mother couldn’t hurt her, but she could hurt Tariq, and Cami wouldn’t allow that.
Analia snarled, but Cami just shrugged. With a curled lip of his own, Tariq linked his fingers together on the tabletop and leaned forward.
“What is it you want, Mother?”
Her steely gaze held none of a mother’s warmth, no familial sense of recognition, and certainly nothing as deep as love. “I need you to come home.”
Need. Not want. Cami didn’t miss the distinction and clearly neither did Tariq.
His upper lip curled higher over his fangs, but he remained calm when he spoke. “Why would I do that?”
“Allegiances are shifting. With the Alliance and the D’Aire on Helix, people are nervous, especially after we learned what happened to you on The Hunt.”
“I told you nine years ago what happened to me on The Hunt. You chose to condemn me rather than believe me.”
Yeah, have some of that! You tell her, Tariq. Cami didn’t project her thoughts, but she had a feeling Tariq had heard them anyway when the left corner of his lips twitched.
“That is neither here nor there.” Analia waved her hand in dismissal. “We have the truth now, and it’s time for you to return home. The tribe is weakened, and we need to form new alliances.”
Wow, what a bitch.
Came had never hated anyone in her entire life, not even her father, Derrek. She’d pitied him, felt sadness for what he’d taken from her, but not hatred.
She really hated Tariq’s mom.
“You mean you want him to shack up with some Helios chick and be part of her harem.” Anger darkened Cami’s vision, and her pulse throbbed as she glared back at Analia. She completely understood the look she’d seen on Sion’s face when she’d entered the room now. “Don’t you even care? You haven’t even apologized for banishing him. What is wrong with you?”
“This doesn’t concern you, human.”
“As I’m life-locked to your son, I would say it certainly does concern me.” She lifted her hair, turning her head to the side to show off the twin starburst scars.
The mask of rage that descended over Analia’s face was priceless, and Cami watched her intently, computing the expression to memory.
“Angel, I don’t think she likes you very much.”
Cami grinned without warmth or humor. “Good.”
“Tariq, you will stop this nonsense. You’ve had your time to rebel, and it is—”
“Mother, I’m not coming back to Helix,” he said, interrupting her diatribe.
“This is your home,” Analia insisted.
“No!” Tariq roared, slamming his fist down on the table. “Helix is not my home and you are not my family. If you gave a damn about me at all, I might consider it, but you clearly don’t care about anyone except yourself.” His tense muscles relaxed, and sadness seeped into his eyes. “I guess some things never change.”
“That is your decision then?”
Her acceptance felt too easy, like she’d expected his response. Or perhaps because she hadn’t really wanted him to come home in the first place.
“That is my decision,” Tariq replied calmly. “I truly wish you the best, Mother.” Then he ended the call and slumped back in his chair.
“Tariq, I’m so sorry.” Swiveling his seat to face her, Cami crawled into his lap and stroked his cheeks. “I didn’t realize how very unpleasant your mother was.”
Chuckling, Tariq pulled her to him for a deep, lingering kiss. “You were right, angel. It might not have been pleasant, but I needed to talk to her, to get some closure. I need to let go of my past.”
“Are you sure?” she teased, trying to lighten the mood and his spirits. “I mean, I bet the companion she chose for you is very beautiful.”
“Brat.” Tariq poked her ribs and nipped at her lips. “You know I don’t share.” Then he tapped her hip, indicated for her to stand. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Okay.” Cami fell into step beside him as he led her through the sparkling white corridors. “But where are we going?”
Tariq laughed again and kissed the top of her head. “I promise you’ll like it.”
“Mmm,” Cami purred, leaning against his side. “I always do.”
* * * *
One of the major perks of the Dreamweaver, for Tariq at least, was the holo room. It provided him with the escape he needed when living within such close quarters of the other
crew members became too much. He could go anywhere he wanted, create any dreamscape he desired, and for an hour or so, he didn’t have to worry about anything else.
“Computer, run Sequence Charlie, Alpha, Mike, India.”
“Sequence initiated,” the computer answered as the doors of the holo room slid open.
“Tariq, what are we doing here? What on—oh, holy smokes.” Cami’s mouth fell open, and the shimmer of tears welled in her dark gray eyes. “You did this?”
“Ivy helped…before she poisoned me.” The stinging nettle sap had been a fine retaliation, but he wasn’t done with the commander. Right now, though, he had more important things to focus on. “You said you’ve never been to a ball before.”
Washed in the glittering light from the crystal chandelier above them, the reds and golds of the room offered a warm, inviting ambience. Tables draped in flowing, ivory linens created an aisle, leading to a large dance floor near the floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond the windows, a full, golden moon, hung low in the holographic sky, surrounded by thousands of twinkling stars.
“This is better than anything I could have imagined.” Clasping her hands together, Cami held them to her lips while tears streaked down her cheeks. “Thank you, Tariq. Thank you so much.”
“That’s not all.” Taking her hands, he pulled them away from her mouth, and held them out to her sides. “You look stunning.”
Her simple tank top and basic, black slacks had transformed into a dress similar to the one she’d worn to their mating ceremony. Made from the same soft saedea material, it shimmered in the low lighting, transitioning from a bright silver on top to a deep burgundy halfway down the skirt. The neckline plunged between her breasts, all the way to her navel while the strapless gown clung to her slender frame, highlighting all of Tariq’s favorite curves.
“I love it,” Cami breathed, turning in a half circle as she pressed a hand over her heart. “I want to keep it.”
“We’ll have one made for you the next time we dock. How does that sound?”
“Tariq, I don’t know what to say.”
“Then don’t say anything.” Taking her hand, he led her to the dancefloor at the front of the room and swept her into his arms. “Dance with me.”