Trial by Fire: Silverstar Mates (Intergalactic Dating Agency) (SILVERSTAR MATES SERIES Book 3)

by Lea Kirk

  A soft sob reached his ear. It seemed that not everything in this place was right. Such a shame to be sad in this beautiful setting. He pushed on, rounding the final bush. A short distance away, a long white runner was staked down to the grass, and white human perches with backs were set up in rows on either side.

  Off to the right was a pond…. A memory broke loose. He had been here before, that’s why it was familiar. The pond, the fountain, the tree with the drooping branches. But the chairs and runner were new this time. And so was the tall white arch, covered with the palest pink rosebuds imaginable, at the opposite end of the runner.

  Odd that everything beyond the arch was fuzzy. It appeared to be rows of some sort of tall-standing vines. A crop, perhaps?

  What is this place?

  It appeared like a very special event was set to happen here. But the only person he could see was an Earth female standing at the beginning of the white runner with her back to him. Same lacy dress, same silky brown hair, same tiny white flowers…she must be the same female from his dreamwalk.

  You are in another dreamwalk.

  And dreamwalks did not happen without a reason. It was up to him to ascertain that reason.

  The female drew in a ragged breath and her shoulders shook. It was her crying he had heard. An overwhelming urge to comfort her filled him. He stepped closer, reached out, and touched his fingers to her shoulder.

  The female drew in a sharp breath and turned toward him. “Who…wha…. Kai?”

  “Nixy?” But not the Nixy he knew.

  This wide-eyed woman was a younger version, and slimmer, though still full in all the right places. And tears streaked down her face.

  “You look…you look…different.” She shook her head. “Younger. Like you’re in your mid-forties.”

  He did? He raised both his hands and turned them back and forth. They did appear less wrinkled than normal. How odd.

  Nixy snorted. “Just figures.”

  He returned his attention to her. “What do you mean?”

  “That you’d invade the happiest day of my life.”

  He lowered his hands to his side. “Forgive me, but how can this be the happiest day of your life if you are crying?”

  She stared at him as if his wings had just fallen off, then huffed. “Oh, what the hell, why not? It’s just a dream, right?”

  “Aye.” He jutted his chin in the direction of the chairs. “Would you explain what is happening here?”

  “Yeah.” She sniffled. “This was my wedding day.”

  Disappointment clenched at his gut. “Wedding? You mean mating?”

  She had a mate? That knowledge should be a relief, yet he grappled with an emotion he had rarely encountered in his many sun migrations: jealousy.

  “Yep.” She turned her attention toward the archway. “And that’s my husband, Efrem.”

  Kai followed her line of vision. The chairs were now full of fuzzy images of humans, and under the arch stood two human males. One of them was a blur of black, but the other was clear. “The tall one, with the…facial silk?”

  “It’s called a beard.” Her smile was wistful as she stared at the slim male dressed in a black suit. Silver threaded through his curly hair and beard. “Yeah, that’s him.”

  There was undeniable sadness in her gaze, and Kai’s heart ached for her. The empath in him yearned to take her pain away so the lively sparkle would return to her eyes.

  “Tell me about him.” He waved his hand to include the gathered group. “About them.”

  She met his gaze, as though surprised by his offer to listen. Truthfully, it baffled him as well, but the gesture was natural—dream or not. Her dream, it must be. And he had been drawn into it, again.

  A thought niggled at him, as if he should know why this was happening, but it flitted away the moment he tried to grasp it. It would come back when the time was right. Thoughts like that always did.

  Nixy shrugged her lace-covered shoulders. “Guess I do need to talk about it, even if it isn’t for real. C’mon.”

  There was no choice but to follow her as she stepped onto the white runner and pointed to a weathered, but grinning, white-haired female dressed in vivid blue. “That’s Aunt Eden, she taught me how to cook. Then there’s my Uncle Ned, who was like my second father.”

  As she named them, each relation and friend became clear for a moment before fading back into the gathering. So, those who were most important to her were the only ones he would see, the ones she bore deep fondness toward.

  “And this is Efrem.” She came to a stop in front of the male, her gaze full of love.

  Efrem smiled down at her and cupped his hand over her cheek. “I love you, Nixy.”

  A twinge of pain poked at Kai’s heart and he drew in a sharp breath. What was this jealousy toward a male he had never met?

  This is not the first time you have felt this way toward a stranger.

  But, this time it was different than his resentment of Fia’s mate. This time there was a possessive edge to it he could not explain.

  “Are you okay, Kai?”

  “Fine.” He rubbed his hand over his chest, which did nothing to relieve the ache. “How long have you been mated?”

  “Together for three years, married for two.” She returned her attention to Efrem. “Then he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I lost him four months later.”

  “He is….”

  “Dead.” She met his gaze. “It’s been ten years.”

  Waves of sadness rolled over him. Her sadness. Her loss. Her sorrow. And he opened himself to it, took it, accepted it as if it were his own.

  Nixy’s gasp cut through the emotional tidal wave. “What’s happening to me?”

  She took a jerking step toward him, and he reached out and drew her into his embrace. There was no logic about his action other than that this was what an empath did if they chose. Taking her emotions, giving her a respite, was as natural as breathing for him. Even though this was a dream.

  The urge to fold his wings around her was strong, but that might scare her. And it would shut out Efrem. He raised his gaze, and Nixy’s mate met it as if he could see Kai. But that was not possible, was it? This was a dreamwalk. Yet there was no denying the intense awareness in the other male’s brown eyes.

  Efrem’s mouth curled into a small smile and he nodded as he faded, then dissipated like a morning mist.

  Something profound had just occurred that defied explanation.

  Nixy tipped her head back and he met her gaze. “I…I don’t understand, but I suddenly feel at peace. Like everything just clicked into place.”

  “An undeniable rightness.” With a female who was his rival in the waking world.

  One who would never let him hold her like this outside of a dream. Ah, but what was a dream other than a wish? And at this moment, he wished desperately to kiss her—something he would never do in reality.

  He lowered his head and breathed out her name. “Nixy.”

  Her lips parted, and her soft brown eyes reflected his desire. It was the approval he had hoped for. He brushed his lips over hers gently, in case she changed her mind, then sealed his mouth to hers, taking her sweet breath and stroking her tongue with his.

  Fire raced through his veins, just as it had the first time he had seen her. It consumed him, consumed his soul—crack!

  He spun into absolute blackness like an out-of-control fledgling in a storm.

  Nixy startled awake with a shout of surprise. Her heart slammed like it would burst out of her chest any moment as the flaming heat that scorched her insides cooled by slow degrees. The sound of her ragged panting filled the pre-dawn semi-darkness of her room.

  Same old dream, but this time….

  “What…the hell?”

  Kai had been there. How had…no, why had she dreamed of him? She pressed her fingertips to her lips. It’d felt so…real. That kiss had done things to her, given her feelings that st
ill resonated even though she was now awake.

  Feelings for Kai. Feelings she liked.

  She swallowed hard against a knot of uncertainty lodged in her throat. “It was a dream. Just a dream.”

  But, holy moly, what a dream. Talking to Kai, telling him about her marriage, the gentle nudge from behind that had sent her stumbling into his arms….

  “Efrem!” She scrabbled sideways, reaching for the lamp switch and giving it a twist. A soft white light filled her room, enough to see the framed photo of her and Efrem in Yosemite. “You pushed me. Why did you push me? I mean, it’d be one thing if he was Chris Evans or…or…what’s his name—Axill Lund, the guy from the Cosmos Warriors movies. Sexy guys who haven’t been jerks toward me. But Kai Firehouse, or whatever his name is? Efrem, really.”

  Aaaand she was shouting at a photograph. A long groan escaped her and she flopped back against her pillows. “Geez, Nix, get it together.”

  Adam would laugh at her, if he knew. Which he wouldn’t ever, because she wasn’t sharing this with anyone.

  She glanced at the clock. Four thirty-nine, and she had to get up at six. No point in trying to go back to sleep now, especially since there was a chance Kai would show up in her dreams again. She wasn’t ready to deal with him again just yet.

  She reached for the photo and ran her fingertip over Efrem’s smiling face. “God, I miss you.”

  There should be a stabbing sorrow in her heart right now, but it was suspiciously absent. Instead, there was something new there that she couldn’t name. But it wasn’t negative, or painful.

  The sensation of Kai’s strong arms around her, the skin of his warm, bare chest under her cheek, surrounded her as if the dream hadn’t completely faded.

  She gave her head a sharp shake of denial. “I don’t have time for this.”

  More like, she didn’t want to examine the new emotion too closely. She pressed her lips to the cool glass covering the photograph, then set the frame back on her nightstand.

  Time to stop thinking about that and get ready for the day.

  Chapter 6

  After assuring Fyad he was feeling much better, and would not explode into flames this morning or anytime soon, Kai retreated to his room and pulled the portable deep-space communicator out of the dresser drawer. Contacting Uri with an update now could be disastrous, but the most esteemed expected to hear from him daily.

  You do not have to mention the dream.

  But, he should. Uri had the uncanny ability to detect untruths. Possibly even from lightyears away over a communicator, although Kai had no personal experience with that.

  He set the flat white box on top of the desk. It did not take up much space, considering it was as long as his forearm and just a bit thicker than his thumb. Alliance tech had come far in the last three hundred sun migrations.

  Now was the best time to make contact. Fyad was out by the hotel’s swimming pool, brooding over not having seen that human reporter love mate of his for a few days. Why the two of them could not seem to see their bond for what it was, was mind boggling. Had to be because one of them was not Bezchian.

  Ping.

  Kai’s gut tensed. Uri had beat him to requesting the call. Time to bury his unsettling feelings for Nixy and make his report. He waved his hand over the surface of the device, and Uri’s miniature image flickered into existence atop the communicator.

  “Greetings, Most Esteemed Elder.”

  “Greetings, Elder Kai.” The projection and the audio were clear and interference-free. There would be no cutting this call short due to a poor connection. “I await your report. What progress have you made?”

  Keep as close to the truth as possible.

  “Progress is slow. Yesterday, Ms. Vogel forcibly removed me from her office.” Please do not ask how.

  “It sounds like slow does not convey the true extent of the situation. Nonexistent might be a better word, yes?”

  Probably so. But, if Uri believed that, he might cut the mission short and order him home. The image of Nixy’s fiercely determined expression rose up, then was quickly replaced by the haunted, sorrowful younger version from her dream. Fulfilling his duty was not the only reason he wished to stay on Earth—for a little longer at least.

  “No, not in this case.” He ran his tongue over his lips then swallowed. “I have reason to believe my persistence is wearing her down.”

  “This is good.” Uri did sound approving. “It would be best to have her unwitting cooperation soon. Monarch Kyzel and…Monarch Robyn have arrived, and many are lauding their relationship as the strongest match ever witnessed.”

  How quickly Uri’s approval had turned to a grimace of disgust.

  “I am sorry for allowing the situation to get out of wing, Most Esteemed. There is a tradition here on Earth of giving flowers when attempting to solicit a female’s favor. I will start with that to soothe Ms. Vogel’s emotions and win her trust.”

  “They give plants to each other?” There was an edge of surprised disbelief in Uri’s tone.

  “Not the plants, just the flowers cut from the plants.” It was a strange custom. “Then they gather them into a grouping called a bouquet.”

  “But, the flowers will die.”

  “Yes, I know, but—”

  “Kai.” Uri’s impatient tone cut Kai’s words off.

  All the muscles between his wings tensed, and he braced for the words sure to follow. “Aye?”

  “Just see it done.” Uri’s projection disappeared, the communication disconnected from the Most Esteemed’s end.

  Uri had not ordered him home. He must still trust him enough to get the job done.

  Kai relaxed his wings. “Yes, Most Esteemed.”

  Nixy slapped her hands against the surface of her desk. Dear God in heaven, why was she still thinking about Kai’s dream kiss last night? The guy was a grade-A jerk, and it was unbelievable that she had actually dreamed about him.

  It was also unbelievable that Efrem had nudged her into Kai’s arms. And that kiss—because, of course she couldn’t string together two thoughts without going back to that—if he could kiss in real life the way he dream kissed, then whoa, Nelly, she was in trouble.

  But that wasn’t going to happen again, no sir. Not in her dreams, and definitely not in real life. What she needed was a good distraction.

  Ring.

  Her cell phone trilled from its charging post next to her wedding picture.

  “Ask and ye shall receive.”

  She peered at the screen. Jordan Jones, her supervisor. A hard, tight knot formed in Nixy’s chest and she cast a guilty glance at the computer. Jordan knew. And now she was calling to bust her butt.

  Ring.

  Argh, she had to pick it up—get it over with. Deep breath, in through the nose…she sucked in a deep breath…and out through the mouth. She released it in a measured gust through her pursed lips.

  Ring.

  There’s no escaping the inevitable.

  She gave the speaker a finger tap. “Nixy Vogel.”

  Please don’t let Jordan hear that little quaver in my voice.

  “Hi, Nixy.” Jordan’s tone was brisk and businesslike. “A small issue has come to my attention. I’ll be in town on Tuesday, and would like to stop by to discuss it with you.”

  “Um, okay. Anything I should know beforehand?” Even a hint would be helpful.

  “No, and it’s not urgent. We just need to talk.”

  Not urgent could be good. Or it could mean that Jordan didn’t want to fire her today and ruin her weekend.

  “All right, what time?”

  “I have meetings most of the day, so sometime in the afternoon. Would four work for you?”

  Nixy brought up her calendar. “Yes, four works.”

  “Good. See you then.” The phone made the short ping of a disconnected call.

  Tuesday. Four days—three and a half, actually—before she might lose her job. She lea
ned back in her chair. “I wish I’d learned how to be an IT guru.”

  Beep.

  Now what? She gave her phone a sidelong look. Whew, it was just Adam.

  She gave the phone a finger tap. “Yes, Adam?”

  “Batten down the hatches, we have an incoming Bezchian.”

  “Elder Kai?” There went her heart again, beating a little faster.

  “Yep. He just entered the elevator on the ground floor. Should I send him packing?”

  Say yes. “No.”

  Ooh, what was she doing?

  “No?” Even Adam sounded surprised.

  She released a small sigh. “No. I’ll see him.”

  Because really, could her day get any worse?

  Kai clutched the bouquet in front of his chest. It was useless protection against Adam’s narrow-eyed glare, but having it between him and Nixy’s tenacious assistant did give him a sense of comfort.

  Adam waved his fine-boned hand in the direction of Nixy’s office door. “She says you can go in.”

  Cautious relief seeped in. Her approval was no guarantee she would be receptive to his words, but it was a start. “Thank you.”

  Adam made a noncommittal grunt and returned his attention to the computer monitor on his desk. A disdainful dismissal in any language.

  Kai approached the doors and they slid open.

  “Hey.”

  He turned back to Adam and gave the male a questioning look.

  “Fire extinguisher,” Adam murmured, and raised his eyebrows pointedly. “Behave.”

  Kai dipped his chin in acknowledgement. The future of his world depended upon him getting on her good side. So, no more antagonizing the pretty Silverstar agent.

  The swish of the door closing behind him cut off Adam’s scowl, and Kai turned his attention to the female standing behind the desk.

  Nixy. Real Nixy, not the younger dream Nixy. The familiar feeling of his blood turning molten blasted through him at the sight of this more mature, beautiful version. Or maybe it was an incredibly intense pre-rebirth hot flash.

  “Hello, Elder Kai.” Her tone was as cool as a high mountain breeze just before the first snowfall.