by Aileen Erin
I nodded at Roan, who turned on some music to get them really moving.
Eshrin came to stand beside me. He was nearly a foot taller than me—and I wasn’t short—but he didn’t have the usual lanky frame of the Aunare. None of my guards did, especially Eshrin. My guards worked hard at keeping their bodies as strong as possible. They’d passed every test that the Aunare could come up with to prove their places as my guards. Since we’d found a traitor among them, they’d passed even more tests and interrogations to keep their positions.
I’d kicked some off the team and hired others, but having Komae turn against us bonded Eshrin and me. Our relationship was more than just guard-guarded. He’d become one of my closest friends.
“Make the rounds with me?” I asked Eshrin.
His answering grin was kind and sincere, but it was his stormy gray eyes that really showed what sweetness this man had in him. His dark skin covered thick layers of corded muscle, which meant he was strong enough to take down a room full of people without much effort, and yet the kindness in his eyes made him approachable. He could turn on the scary—I’d seen it in battle—but he wouldn’t scare any of my students. Not like my guard Ginu, who was quite possibly the most unfriendly person I’d ever met. That guard would be staying where he belonged—in the far corner—until we were done.
“Happy to.” Eshrin motioned me forward, and we started weaving through the class, making sure that everyone got some attention and encouragement.
The encouragement was the most important part. I’d found that if I didn’t give each student some when they were doing something so far out of their comfort zone, they probably wouldn’t keep coming to class. That wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted every person to feel comfortable and safe at the estate.
The motivation for coming here was different for the Aunare than it was on Earth. When I was teaching with the Crew, there had been desperation in the students. It kept them coming back for more. They knew if they couldn’t save themselves, they would die.
But here, there wasn’t that urgency. There wasn’t the desperation that the Earthers had. The Aunare had a level of safety and security that Earthers didn’t, but the attack on the estate affected them.
It had hurt everyone here who called this place their home. The estate housed hundreds of staff members—security, kitchen, event planners, all kinds of people. Not just Lorne and my parents. Not just me.
Without the life-or-death desperation to my teaching here, I had to make sure I kept everyone engaged and coming back. Because this was important for everyone.
Time flew by, and most of the class were still working on getting to the red level with their holo-targets. I knew I hadn’t answered any questions from the streaming crowd, and I had to. Which meant it was time for that now. I nodded to Roan, and he put up the stream on one of the gym walls so I could talk to the person.
I dove into answering questions from everyone in the queue, using my students in the gym to help me demonstrate.
I wasn’t sure how long it was before the gym door slammed, but I knew what it meant when Roan softly said “uh-oh” in that voice. I’d heard it before on Earth. Many times. We’d been caught doing something wrong.
I turned to see Fynea in the back of the room, tapping her wrist unit.
Oh shit. What time was it? How long had we been going?
I glanced at Roan, who was now standing beside me at the front of the class. His eyes were wide, and he had a familiar look on his face. One that said he’d screwed up big time.
Son of a spacebat.
I gave him a look. He had one job. “Where are we supposed to be right now?”
He did a few taps on his tablet and then looked up at me. He swiped a finger over his mouth, his signal to me that the feed was muted. The camera was aimed at the students. We were as safe as we could be in a room filled with workers from the estate. All of which had a high security clearance. It was a prerequisite for working here.
“A High Council meeting,” he said softly with a hint of wince in his voice.
“But it’s not Tuesday.” We met with the High Council every week on Tuesday.
“No. It’s a special one that got added to your schedule right before class.”
Which meant it was urgent.
Damn it. I was so screwed. Lorne was probably so mad at me right now. He liked that I was teaching, but he didn’t like when it ate into my duties. Duties that I too often wanted to blow off. He knew I was always looking for an excuse to ditch out on the High Council, but this time wasn’t my fault. Roan hadn’t even told me about it.
“How long ago were we supposed to be there?”
“An hour ago.” He sounded seriously annoyed.
To be fair, so was I. “An hour? Seriously?” I muttered softly to him. That wasn’t okay.
This day had been so nice. I’d trained. I’d taught. And now it’d gone from frosty to totally iced in seconds.
Because any time I had to rush off to meet with the High Council, it’d been a lesson in patience and restraint.
I had three plans on how to deal with them, and one of them was happening today. I’d had enough.
Chapter Two
AMIHANNA
The last thing I wanted to do today was deal with the High Council, but I couldn’t leave Lorne to deal with them alone. It was past time for things to change with the Council, and I wasn’t going to back down. Not anymore.
I took a breath to let go of all the frustration I had about the Council and leaving a class I was in the middle of teaching, and tapped a finger to my lips, signaling to Roan to unmute the feed that was broadcasting my class across the universe. A second later, the camera zipped back to hover in front of me.
I gave everyone my best smile but dropped it when Roan made a face.
Right. I sucked at faking a smile. “All right, you guys. It looks like I’m late for a meeting. Sorry to run out so quickly on you, but Roan will save the info for anyone left in the queue with a question. You’ll be first up next time. Until then, stay safe, everyone.” I gave Roan a nod to cut the feed. He had it set up to immediately play a cooldown routine we’d filmed at one of our first sessions.
I glanced at Audrey in the second row. Her red hair was piled on top of her head, and she was sweating, but she looked completely at ease during class. She’d practiced these routines when I’d briefly taught on Abaddon, and she’d been coming to any class I’d taught on Sel’Ani. She knew how important it was to be able to defend herself. Around all these full-blooded Aunare, she was the only one who understood how hard it was to be a halfer, physically and mentally. She was one of my dearest friends, and she’d saved my life on Abaddon countless times. I owed her so much.
And now I was going to owe her a little more. “You mind leading the cooldown?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. Happy to.” She moved forward, giving me a little shove toward the exit of the gym. “Go. I got this.”
I made a face, and she laughed before facing the class. She started leading them in stretches, and I gave them a wave. Most of the class was still watching me as my guards moved in to follow me wherever I was going next, but they’d pay attention to the cooldown once I left. I was sure of it.
I turned to Fynea. “Okay. I’ll take a shower and then—”
“No.” She tucked her tablet under her arm and shook her head at me. “That’s impossible. There’s no time. You’re already beyond late.”
My mouth dropped open. If she—and Lorne—wanted me in the meeting, then I needed a shower. “Come on. I’m a sweaty mess. I did my usual training before teaching. I stink. Horribly. I can’t go like this. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“You should’ve been checking your schedule more and—” She took a breath, and I was glad she did. It sounded like she was about to say something that was really going to piss me off.
Fynea and I had become friends in the last few weeks since the interview with Himani. She was Lorne
’s best friend—his version of Roan. Which meant it wasn’t just important but vital that we got along. The more I got to know her, the more I understood why Lorne loved her like I loved Roan. She was honest, funny, and worked hard. Fynea had been one of the only female Royal guards for a long time and had kept that position until she’d gotten injured. She’d been healed, but something about how she got injured—she wouldn’t say what, and I didn’t want to push—forced her to quit. Now, she was Lorne’s assistant.
Fynea could be cold and businesslike when she was nervous. If she was being short with me, it meant something bigger was happening. I just had to give her a little space so that she’d tell me what was really going on.
“I’m sorry. The meeting is… going badly.” Fynea glanced behind me at all the students and lowered her voice. “He needed you with him an hour ago. He doesn’t have time for you to take a shower.”
If things were really that bad, I wasn’t sure how they thought I could help. The High Council didn’t care what I had to say. Most of them hated me. “I’m not sure what I can do if it’s really going that badly. He’s the High King. Can’t he just tell them all to shove it, or he’ll shove them out an airlock in deep space?”
Fynea gave a startled laugh. “As tempting as that is—and yes, I guess he could if—no. He won’t say anything of the sort. He has to play the game of politics.”
Did he, though? Did he really? Was it just me that thought the High Council needed to be dissolved? Permanently.
She ran her eyes over me. “You’ll have to do as is. Come on.”
No. I won’t do as is. I hadn’t looked in a mirror, but I knew what I usually looked like after a hard workout followed by teaching.
There was a strangled sound from behind me.
I turned to see Almya running toward me.
“No!” she shouted. “Please. You show up like that, and everyone will say I’m not doing my job. I’ll get fired. I can’t afford to get fired. Not now.” She turned and spoke a few orders in quick Aunare toward the bleachers. I didn’t have my translator in, but I didn’t need it to know she’d given orders. The tone was enough.
A woman and a man in the back row popped up, each carrying a bag. I hadn’t been paying attention to who was in the stands before, but I recognized them now. Her assistants. That tracked.
Almya turned back to me. “All right. Let’s see.” She grabbed the shoulder of my shirt in one hand and the sleeve in the other. The sound of fabric ripping along the seams filled the room.
“What the hell?” If she thought she was helping, she was wrong. I looked at the remnants of my shirt and couldn’t figure out what she thought she was doing.
Almya took a step back. “Better.”
Seriously? I was missing a sleeve. Strings were hanging loose from the tear. How could this be better? If anything, it was worse. Much worse. I looked dirty, sweaty, and insane now.
Before I could decide what to say, she ripped off my other sleeve.
Great. Because that was totally fixing things.
What the hell?
Her two assistants came with a bag of stuff. One ripped open a carton of water, dashed it on a towel, and started wiping down my sweat-dried face. The other walked around me with a brush, pulling out my sweaty ponytail and spraying it with something that smelled floral.
“What? No.” I couldn’t hide the whine and panic from my voice. “What is happening?”
Fynea started laughing hysterically, and the bitch didn’t even stop when I gave her the most evil eye I could summon. It just made her laugh harder.
Almya came at me with a pair of scissors, and I tried to take a step back. “No. What? No! Don’t cut my hair.” It was the only part of me that I really, truly loved.
“Calm down. I’m not going to cut your hair,” Almya said. “I’m making you presentable. Just give me two more minutes, and you’ll be ready for the meeting.”
She walked around me, and all of a sudden, she was cutting off the back of my shirt.
“What are you doing?” I said, but I was pretty sure no one heard me over Fynea’s cackling. I held my shirt to my front, scared of completely exposing myself to everyone in the room. At least the livestream was done or I would’ve been fully mortified.
I could stop her. I knew I could. I could tell her to quit it, but she was working so fast, and I didn’t have a better plan now that she’d ripped my clothes. I kept trying to think of something to say, but my mind was blank. By the time I’d figured out a polite way of telling her to stop without insulting her, she rose from where she’d been messing with the hems of my pants and stepped away from me.
Her skin was glowing, and her fao’ana were shining beacons of light, showing her master seamstress skills to everyone in the room. This was Almya doing what she did best. We’d gotten to a place in the last couple of weeks where I trusted her to dress me for both my work and my personal comfort. Even though the last couple of minutes had been completely insane as she ripped and sewed and tied things and who knew what else, I knew I could trust that whatever she’d done would help me look ready for the meeting. I hoped.
Her assistants were also glowing. One was still messing with my hair, pinning one of many coiled braids on my head. I felt something cold on my forehead and reached up. There was metal on my forehead. What was that?
Almya slapped my hand away. “Stop it. You’ll make it fall, and it looks nice there. Almost like a crown but not.”
I tried to look up at my own forehead, but my eyes crossed, and I gave up. “What is it?”
“My necklace. You now have a firedrake—Lorne’s firedrake—charm hanging there. The chain is hidden in your hair.”
I looked down at myself. The loose strings were gone, and she’d done something to my shirt. “What do I look like?”
“You’re definitely good enough for the meeting. Almya is a genius.” Fynea took out her tablet and flipped it around to me.
I saw myself moving on the screen. My hair was braided and pinned on my head like a crown. The chain of Almya’s necklace was mostly hidden underneath the braids, but the tiny firedrake hung down in the center of my forehead. The black tight active top had been transformed. It was now a halter that left most of my back exposed but laced on the small of my back. She’d cut off parts of my pants too, and the sides had some matching lacing along the outsides of my calves.
“The shoes are the problem,” Almya said. “She won’t fit in mine.”
“She doesn’t need them.” Fynea tucked the tablet under her arm. “She looks regal enough. She can go barefoot.”
Almya made a sound of discomfort.
“Wait.” Audrey came running. “We wear the same size. Take my sandals.”
Audrey had an amused smile on her face as she reached us. She usually smiled these days. It was nice. She’d found her happy place here on Sel’Ani, and I was so thankful I could help her resettle, especially after everything she’d been through on Earth and Abaddon.
“Thank you.” I took her sandals and slipped them on my feet.
Almya snapped her fingers. “Ring. Where’s the ring? You took it off?” The horror and scandal in her voice made me laugh. “You can’t go anywhere official without it.”
“Calm down,” I echoed the annoyed tone she’d given me just seconds ago. I unzipped the hidden pocket in my waistband, pulled out my engagement ring, and slipped it on my finger.
Rings weren’t customary for Aunare weddings, but everyone was used to seeing mine. Lorne’s mother had it made for me when I was a child because she knew I was destined to marry her son. The ring’s stones symbolized the Aunare home system. A huge, round opalescent glowing gem took up the center of the ring. That one represented Sel’Ani. My home.
Red and yellow gems represented the twin suns to the bottom left of the center stone. Two green gems were the other two planets in the system to the top right of the center stone. It was a beautiful representation of my now-home system. One that I was proud to wear, especi
ally since it was also a symbol of my relationship with Lorne.
Almya’s skin started to fade, and I guessed that meant she was done. I looked at Fynea, holding up my hands. “Good enough to go up against the High Council?”
There was a long whistle from the stands. I found Tyler standing up. His hulking frame and bright blond hair were pretty hard to miss. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “I wouldn’t kick you outta bed for eatin’ crackers,” he yelled.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but from his teasing tone and grin, I figured it was a good thing.
“Have I said yet how glad I am that you and Audrey are back?” I yelled back at him.
“Every day, baby girl. But I’m lovin’ the reminder.” Tyler’s grin was warm, and his eyes darted to the left of me. To Audrey.
“Let’s go,” Fynea said, drawing my attention.
One of Almya’s assistants sprayed me with something sweet-scented, and I looked over at her. She gave a little bow as if to ask for forgiveness, but whatever. I knew I smelled. Not as bad after the towel down, but not great. I really needed that shower, but the spray helped. Maybe. Probably not, but again—whatever. Because I didn’t have time for anything else.
“All right.” I motioned to Fynea. “Lead the way.”
I took a few steps and then turned to Roan. He wasn’t walking, and that wasn’t okay. He better be coming with me. I wasn’t showing up late, sweaty, smelly, and in this getup without him.
Roan winced and took a few jogging steps to catch up while the rest of my guards went into place. Some in front of us, some behind, all watching for anyone that might attack.
I used to have a deal with my father and Lorne that my guards didn’t need to hover so close when I was inside the estate. After the attack on the estate, that deal had been revoked. It was probably for the best, and I was pretty used to my guards now. I actually even liked having them around sometimes.