by Kali Argent
Jael nodded at the female’s words, even as she stared at her proffered hand with a slight frown. It was a lovely appendage with long, elegant fingers and short, clean nails. She just didn’t have any idea why the female was showing it to her.
After a moment of hesitation, the officer dropped her hand back to her side. “I apologize. We don’t have much information about your customs yet. Maybe you could show me a traditional greeting on Xenthian.”
Understanding dawned, wiping away the scowl on Jael’s lips. With her hands folded together just below her navel, she dipped her head slightly. “Jael Moonmist of the Southern Isle.”
Immediately, Vada copied the pose and lowered her head a couple of inches. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Then, she angled her slender body toward Xi and repeated the gesture. “You must be Sentry Moonmist. Welcome to Earth.”
Xi made a sound in the back of his throat, part growl, part grunt, and lowered his head a fraction.
Embarrassed by her brother’s rudeness, Jael groaned under her breath. “Please forgive him. He’s unhappy to be so far from home.”
“I can understand that.” Vada’s smile never wavered. “I don’t travel much myself. I’m perfectly happy with my feet right here on the ground.” She tapped her booted foot on the stone pathway a couple of times for emphasis. “Now that introductions are out of the way, we should probably get moving.”
“Of course.” Jael narrowed her eyes at her brother. “You remember the rules?”
Before leaving Xenthian, Vasili Blackthorn had given them a list of protocols to follow while on Earth. Although humans weren’t completely ignorant of magic because of their alliance with the Dragon Warriors, the Xenon were, as of yet, an unknown. The king had warned them that any use of magic could be seen as a threat. Therefore, as representatives of their entire race, it was important that they conduct themselves with grace, dignity, and restraint.
So far, Xi was failing on all three counts.
“No magic against others unless absolutely necessary,” he recited. “No violence. No teleporting in public places.” Smoothing his long hair back from his face, he pierced her with his stormy gray eyes and added, “No fun.”
Jael lowered her head and sighed. She doubted her brother even knew the meaning of the word.
Vada, however, laughed, the sound loud and jubilant as it echoed down the street. “I like you, Xi.”
He didn’t respond verbally, but the hard lines of his face softened marginally, and a little warmth seeped into his expression when he nodded.
Vada looked as if she wanted to say more, but she shook her head and diverted her attention to an unpiloted shuttle that came to a stop on the curb beside them. “Okay,” she announced, waving her hand toward the transport with a flourish. “Let’s get you where you’re going.”
Despite the uninspired view of nothing more than towering buildings, the ride through the city was pleasant. Vada kept up a continuous stream of monologue, pausing only to point out various places of interest. There was something called a “museum” with circular columns made of white stone. Another place Vada referred to as a “bar.” A building which apparently grew plants. One where humans…designed hair? That one was particularly puzzling.
The last place they passed was a theater, a term Jael finally understood. It was a lot smaller than the amphitheaters on Xenthian, but still, she imagined they served the same purpose. She made a mental note to research “popcorn” later.
As the shuttle departed the gleaming urban areas and ventured out over a vast lake, Jael settled back in her seat and smiled. The water and sky might be a different color, but the view from the window was familiar. It was one she’d seen thousands of times back home, and she found the ripple of the waves and the glint of the sun oddly comforting.
Unfortunately, that part of their journey didn’t last long, and all too soon, they were flying through another city made of metal and glass.
Jael frowned. “Are we here already?”
“Welcome to Light City,” Vada answered.
Even as she spoke, the shuttle began to slow, coming to a full stop only seconds later in front of what could only be described as an ivory castle. Jael would have applauded the efficiency of Earth’s transportation systems, but she was too busy gaping at the spectacle beyond the port windows of the shuttle. There had to be a mistake. That couldn’t be the place she would call home for the next few weeks.
Perched atop a grassy hill, the structure stood sentry over another vast lake, its immensity casting a wide shadow across the sunlit waters. Stars, it was huge. The Emerald Palace—the Southern Isle’s royal residence—would fit inside the structure twice. Even the king’s citadel was only slightly larger than the building these humans called a house.
Exiting the shuttle behind Vada, she couldn’t help but ask, “How many people live here?”
“Full-time?” Vada looked over her shoulder and shrugged. “Just Commander Brighton, I believe. Maybe a few household staff members.”
“Is he royalty?” It hadn’t said so in her research, but it was the only reason she could think of that he’d need such an opulent residence.
Vada laughed at that. “No, not royalty. Far from it.”
Exiting the transport last, Xi rose to his full height and tilted his head back, staring up at the pinnacle of the building. He didn’t speak, but the disdain etched into his features said it all. This time, Jael couldn’t disagree with him. Such a large house for only one person felt so…wasteful.
Leading them up the steps and across the terrace, Vada stopped in front of the towering double doors with their intricate, stained-glass windows. With the heel of her hand, she pushed a button set into a chrome panel, then took a measured step back.
Jael followed suit, pulling Xi back with her by his elbow. The purpose of the move eluded her, but until she understood human customs better, she felt it best to mirror their behaviors.
As if sensing her confusion, Vada pointed to the upper corner of the doorway. “There’s a camera there, so Commander Brighton can see us.”
“Oh,” was all Jael could say. On Xenthian, they had attendants and sentries for such purposes, but she could see how it would be useful.
Apparently, Xi was thinking along similar lines, because with a curl of his upper lip, he added, “Humans and their technology.”
If Vada was offended by his comment, she didn’t show it. Smiling, she lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and chuckled. “Since we have no magic, it does make life a lot easier.”
Jael, on the other hand, was fed up with her brother’s attitude. Growling under her breath, she pulled her arm back to elbow him in the ribs and was immensely satisfied with the grunt she received in return.
“Why did you do that?” he demanded as he rubbed his side.
Stepping back so she could see him properly, she crossed her arms and glared. “You’re being a…a—” What did humans say? “—a whole ass!”
To her left, Vada snorted. “I think you mean asshole, but close enough.”
Jael nodded at the officer. “Yes. That. Thank you.” Then, she turned back to her brother and jabbed her index finger against his chest. “Stop being an asshole! I am so under it!”
“Over it,” Vada muttered.
“Over it!” Jael shouted. “I’m over it!”
To her utter annoyance, Xi smirked. “It’s difficult to take you seriously when you repeatedly misuse phrases you don’t understand.”
A red haze blurred her vision. Her pulse sped to dangerous speeds. She wasn’t normally prone to violence, but right then, she was seriously reconsidering her stance on it.
“Son of a fuck!”
“Bitch,” Vada supplied helpfully.
“Mother shit!”
“Fucker,” Vada corrected.
“You stupid, overgrown, colossal ass jacket!”
“Uh…jackass?” It was hard to understand the officer through her laughter. “Maybe asshat? I don’t know. I k
ind of like ass jacket.”
Xi rolled his eyes. “Stop cursing. It doesn’t suit you, and you sound ridiculous.”
Fury and frustration overwhelmed her, sizzling through her veins like an electrical current. Fine. If that was how he wanted it. She had no problem using a language he would have no problem understanding.
With a vicious grin, she held her hands out to her sides and chanted. Her words came quickly, tumbling one over the other, and the markings on her skin pulsed with translucent blue light as two, small whirlpools began to form in her palms.
“Jael,” Xi warned as he retreated toward the doors. “Stop overreacting. Remember, no violence.”
“Oh, this isn’t violent.” The water continued to gather in her palms, the pools growing larger, swirling faster. “Yet.”
“Don’t do it, little sister.” When she took a step toward him, he pulled his shoulders back and growled at her. “I swear to the ancestors—”
Jael threw her arms forward, ending his threat by hitting him directly in the chest with the tiny hurricanes she had created. He stumbled back, coughing and cursing as he slammed into the nearest door with enough force to rattle the colorful glass. Clear droplets clung to his eyelashes, dripped from the ends of his hair, and ran in rivulets down the sharp planes of his face.
His complexion mottled with anger, and the vein near his temple throbbed visibly as his hands clenched at his sides. Roaring her name, he took a menacing step forward, but Jael was ready for him. A twist of her wrist and a few murmured words sent a magical gust of wind sweeping across the terrace to lift him off his feet, then drop him on his ass with a heavy thud.
“Wow,” Vada said casually, “you guys take sibling rivalry to a whole new level.”
Jael was still trying to decide what else she could hit Xi with when the double doors swung inward, seemingly of their own accord. Struck with panic, she quickly used another spell to dry her brother from head to toe, then grabbed his elbow and jerked hard.
“Get up!” she hissed. “Hurry.” Digging her fingers into his arm, she pulled more insistently. “Get up, Xi. Please!”
Rage still burned in his eyes with the intensity of a thousand suns, but thankfully, he did as she demanded and climbed to his feet. Smoothing his hair back, he took his place by her side, then cleared the puddles of water from the porch just as the commander stepped into the doorway.
“Hey.” If he found anything amiss, it didn’t show in his expression. “I’m Commander Lucas Brighton, but you can call me Luke.”
Jael inhaled sharply. Ancestors save me.
The male’s dark locks stuck out in disarray, and the short hair that covered his jaw made her want to reach out and stroke his face. She’d thought him handsome in his photograph, but the image had been a dismal comparison to seeing the real thing.
No picture could capture the warmth in his smile or the tiny flecks of green in his sapphire eyes. Stars above, those eyes were even more dazzling in person, and when he turned them on her, she suddenly forgot how to breathe.
“I…are you…” Crossing the threshold, Luke took a few tentative steps toward her, then stopped and tilted his head. “I’m sorry, but I feel like I know you. Jael, right?”
The way he said her name made it sound more like “jail,” but she couldn’t have cared less. Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs. Her mouth turned as dry as the deserts on the Western Isle. A soft flutter started in her stomach, then spread until her entire body vibrated with energy.
“Jai-elle,” she croaked, emphasizing the correct pronunciation. “Jael Moonmist.”
“Jael,” he repeated as he moved closer, extending his hand toward her.
The world around her blurred and dimmed, bringing only the commander into focus, and she took a step or two of her own, meeting him in the middle of the porch. Their gazes met, held, and in that moment, nothing else existed.
“You’re sure we haven’t met before?” he asked, and the cadence of that deep baritone only pulled her deeper under his spell. “You seem so familiar.”
“We haven’t met.” Trembling, she reached out, placing her hand in his upturned palm. “Not in this life.”
The instant their hands touched, Jael gasped and stiffened as every nerve ending in her body came alive. Pure, intoxicating magic coursed through her, and the raw power of it had her struggling to remain on her feet.
Threads of fate wound together, twisting and twirling, binding them, connecting them in ways that went beyond mere physical contact. There were so many things she wanted to say. So many questions she wanted to ask. When she opened her mouth to speak, however, only one word felt important enough to be said aloud.
“Mine.”
Then reality came crashing back in vivid clarity when Luke’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the terrace with a heavy thud.
CHAPTER THREE
Of all the ways Jael had pictured meeting her soulmate, watching him crumple into an unconscious heap hadn’t been one of them.
“Luke?” Dropping to her knees, she touched his pale face and neck, checking for signs of life. “Luke!” A sigh of relief spilled through her lips when he groaned and turned into her hand. “Thank the ancestors.” She glanced from Xi to Vada, then nodded. “He’s okay.”
Xi said nothing.
Vada, however, loosed a string of expletives as she began frantically tapping at the device wrapped around her forearm. “He needs a medic.”
Deftly, Xi reached over and covered both her hand and the device. “That won’t be necessary. He doesn’t need medical attention.”
“But…”
Xi shook his head, his expression pinched. “Trust me, female. There is nothing your human healers can do for him.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she practically screeched, her high-pitched tone startling a flock of birds into flight from nearby tree. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Luke, what’s taking so long?” Footsteps from within the house grew louder and more hurried until a petite female with flowing raven hair appeared in the open doorway. “Luke! Oh, my stars!” Falling to the wooden porch beside Jael, she patted the male’s face, then grabbed his shoulders to shake him. “What happened? What’s wrong with him?”
Jealousy, swift and hot, came over Jael, and it took every ounce of restraint she possessed not to use her magic to knock the female back. “Who are you?” she demanded. “How do you know Luke?”
“Cami,” the female answered distractedly as she continued to fuss over the commander. “Luke is my brother.” Finally, she lifted her head, her gray eyes big and searching. “What happened to him?”
Jael’s anger cooled and dissipated as quickly as it had come, and she lowered her head in contrition. “I’m not sure. We touched hands, and he just collapsed.” Sitting back on her heels, she took Luke’s hand and cradled it between both of her own. “I’m sorry.”
More footsteps came from inside the home, these heavy and purposeful. As they neared, Jael felt a ripple of magic in the air. It was faint, barely detectable and not nearly as powerful as her or her brother, but there, nonetheless.
Xi tensed, his hand going to the dagger on his belt.
“Cami? Angel, what’s going—oh.” Standing inside the doorway, another male, this one with honeyed hair and pointed fangs, stared down at them. “Well, it’s never boring around here.” His strange, amber eyes darted to Xi, to the hand on the hilt of his dagger, and he arched one, golden brow. “I wouldn’t do that, friend. It won’t end well.”
“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!” Vada yelled, and she looked in danger of ending up on the ground next to the commander.
Jael shook her head sadly. “I think I’ve broken him. I broke my soulmate.”
She just hoped she hadn’t caused irreparable harm. Humans were so…fragile.
“Your…” With a quiet sigh, Cami sat back on her heels, all the tension leeching from her tiny frame. “Well, that would explain it.”
“They’re mates.” Rising to her feet, Cami patted the officer’s arm. “Just like the D’Aire or the Dragon Warriors.”
Vada seemed to breathe a little easier, but she shook her head as she stared down at Luke’s prone body. “I’ve never met a Dragon Warrior, and I’ve never seen a D’Aire pass out from meeting their keeper.” Her eyes squinted, and she pressed three fingers against the middle of her forehead as if the information pained her. “Are you sure this is supposed to happen?”
“Supposed to?” Cami shrugged. “No clue, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, either.” Then, she turned to the male in the doorway and smiled sweetly. “Tariq, love, help me get him into the den. I have a feeling he’s going to be out for a while.”
“Why me?” The male—Tariq, apparently—waved a massive hand in a vague motion that somehow managed to encompass both Xi and Jael. “Have them magic him there.”
Thankful to finally be of use, Jael rose at once and nodded. “I can do that.”
Before she could begin, Xi caught her by the chin, tilting her head back so she was forced to look at him. There was wariness in his eyes, but when he spoke, his tone was gentle.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” She’d never been more positive of anything. “He is mine.”
He searched her face for another heartbeat, then nodded. Easing her behind him, he extended a hand toward Luke, using a simple levitation spell to lift him from the painted boards.
“Tariq, is it?” he asked the Helios.
“Tariq Navarra.” Once he realized Xi’s intentions, the shifter backed away from the threshold and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “This way. I’ll show you.”
Elation and uncertainty warred inside Jael, and she hated how useless and helpless she felt. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Worse, she couldn’t fix it, because she had no idea what had gone wrong.
“I don’t understand.”
“Jael, right?” At her nod, Cami wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed affectionately. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be okay. We non-magical beings seem to have a more intense reaction to the mating connection, especially the males.” She laughed, the sound soft and musical. “Do you know Sion?”
