by Kali Argent
“Me, too,” Osian said, a stubborn set to his jaw. “These females he speaks of sound awful.”
Jael huffed at her siblings. “I agree with you, but that’s not the point!” She turned her stormy gaze back to Xi. “Did you even ask her what she wanted? Just because she’s your soulmate doesn’t give you the right to—”
“He didn’t kidnap me.” Cynda shrank back when all eyes turned on her, but she couldn’t let them think that about Xi. “He didn’t force me,” she continued in a slightly stronger voice. “I’m here because I want to be, because I chose to leave. If you don’t want me here—”
“You’re wanted.” Xi glared at his siblings as if daring them to argue.
“Of course,” Jael said at once, hopping off the barstool and crossing the room to take Cynda’s hands. “You’re Xi’s soulmate, and that makes us family.” Her expression softened, even as her grip tightened. “We take care of our family.”
“Then, there is no problem,” Xi stated, a definitive quality to his tone.
Cynda sighed. That wasn’t strictly true. “My mother might be a problem.”
It didn’t matter that she had left of her own free will. It didn’t matter that she was legally an adult and well within her rights to make her own choices. No matter what her mother had said about Cynda not being welcomed back, Marilyn Vargas-Hale would never let her be happy. After the way Xi had humiliated her, Cynda was surprised elites weren’t already beating down the door.
All the Moonmist siblings began talking at the same time. Syrie had questions. Jael expressed surprise at genuinely disliking someone she hadn’t even met. Osian had a ready list of colorful insults and creative threats. Xi mostly just growled a lot.
“Okay,” Commander Brighton called, “everyone just take a beat.”
Osian looked at Cynda and shook his head, a frown marring his otherwise handsome face. “I don’t see how beating her will help.”
Xi surged forward with a menacing snarl. “If you touch her, I will end you, little brother.”
“Whoa!” the commander stepped between the siblings, his arms outstretched. “No one is ending anyone.” He rolled his eyes at Osian. “I meant that everyone needs to calm down. I wasn’t suggesting we hit the female.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Pushing away from the counter, Syrie dropped her arms to her sides and mumbled something under her breath that sounded like humans.
The commander ignored her and turned his attention to Cynda. “How old are you?”
“Twenty, sir. Twenty-one in July.”
He gave her a relieved smile as he waved his hand airily. “You can just call me Luke.”
She nodded, but it felt wrong to address him in such a casual way.
“What’s your last name, Cynda?”
“Vargas.” She didn’t tack on the “sir,” but she couldn’t bring herself to call him “Luke,” either. “My fathers were Commanders Ray Vargas and Charles Hale.”
The commander shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize the names.”
“You wouldn’t. They died eleven years ago during a raid on Julio Marquez.”
“Marquez? The arms dealer?”
“Yes, sir.”
The commander bobbed his head slowly. “I’m sorry about your fathers.”
“Thank you.” Nothing had been the same since they’d died, and she missed them every single day. “So am I.”
“Okay, you’re definitely over eighteen. You clearly weren’t tied up and dragged out of the house in the middle of the night.” He glanced at the sunlight streaming through the kitchen windows to prove his point. “I don’t really see what your mother can do at this point.” Taking a step closer, he rested his hands on his hips and tilted his head. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Well, crap. It wasn’t some big secret, but she hated the way people looked at her when she told them. Unfortunately, in this case, it was unavoidable. “My grandfather is Marius Irati.”
The Xenons all stared at her blankly.
Dropping his head, Commander Brighton rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, shit.”
“Who?” Jael glanced between her siblings and her mate. “What’s wrong? I don’t understand.”
“Regent Marius Irati,” Luke explained. “Well, technically, he retired a couple of years ago, but he still has a lot of influence with the Council of Regents.”
“We’re not close,” Cynda blurted, in case that helped. “I mean, I only see him once or twice a year.”
The commander stared back at her. “You’re still his granddaughter. Do you think he’ll get involved?”
“I honestly don’t know. If it was just me, I’d say no. I mean, he doesn’t care about me.” Hell, he barely even acknowledged her existence. “If my mother asks him, though…” Trailing off, she held her hands out in front of her, fingers splayed.
“You don’t have to worry about him or anyone else.” Moving so that he stood right in front of her, Xi cradled her face in both hands, then bent so that their eyes met. “You are mine, and I won’t let anyone take you away.”
“Of course, we won’t,” Osian agreed, and he looked downright thrilled at the prospect of a possible altercation. “You’re family.”
“And we protect our family,” Syrie added. She sounded bored.
Jael grinned. “You’re safe here, Cynda. I’m sorry to have worried you. My concern was only for your wellbeing.” She glared at her mate. “Luke is being—”
“Practical,” Commander Brighton said, wrapping an arm around Jael’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head. “However, no laws have been broken. Legally, no one can make her go back.”
“I will never let that happen,” Xi promised, his gray eyes shining with conviction as he held Cynda’s gaze. “I don’t care if I have to fight the entire Alliance. No one is going to lay a finger on you.”
The commander dipped his head. “I’ll have your back no matter what, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Steeling herself for rejection, Cynda took Xi’s wrists and arched up on her toes, stopping with her lips just a breath from his cheek. When he didn’t sneer or push her away, she closed the last inch and whispered a soft kiss against his skin. His rumble of satisfaction at that small act made her smile, so she did it again.
“Thank you.” With his hands still on her face, it made it difficult to look around him, but she eventually managed. “All of you. I’m grateful that you’ve agreed to let me stay, and I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble.”
Jael shook her head. “It’s no trouble. We’re glad you’re here, Cynda.” Tears welled in her lavender eyes, but her smile was absolutely dazzling. “Congratulations on your mating. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Where are your things?” Osian glanced around the room as if expecting a couple of suitcases to magically appear out of thin air. “Did you leave them in the shuttle? I’ll get them.”
He was halfway across the kitchen before Cynda found her voice to stop him. “They’re not in the shuttle. I didn’t bring anything with me. I, uh…”
“Her belongings were destroyed by her insolent sisters,” Xi finished for her, a touch of a growl in his voice.
She glared at him. That wasn’t exactly how she would have put it, but he wasn’t wrong. Still, not everyone needed to know her business. “It’s okay. Really, I can—”
“It is most certainly not okay,” Jael interrupted with a thread of indignation in her voice. Then, her face lit up like the fireworks they set off in the Capitol on Freedom Day. “I’m sorry your things were destroyed, but on the bright side, that means we get to go shopping now!” The elfin female actually clapped her hands together in her excitement. “Just let me go change. Syrie, you’re coming with us.”
“No,” her sister deadpanned. “I’m definitely not.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun. We can make it a girls’ day.”
&n
bsp; “I am female every day.”
Jael rolled her eyes. “It’s an expression, Sy. Don’t be so literal.”
“Whatever. I’m still not going.” With that, she turned and strode out of the room without so much as a backwards glance.
Xi sighed. “You’ll get used to her.”
To be honest, she probably liked Syrie best of all, after Xi, of course. They were all very kind, but their constant chatter was more than a little overwhelming. She appreciated that Syrie was direct and didn’t waste breath on unnecessary words.
Pressing her palm to her mate’s cheek, she peered up at him through her lashes. “Will you go with me?”
“Of course.” His tone made it clear he found that the only acceptable answer.
She didn’t feel comfortable letting Xi or anyone else spend credits on her, but for the moment, she didn’t have many other options. “I’ll pay you back.” She didn’t know when or how, but she’d find a way. “It might take me a little while, but I’ll pay back every credit.”
“Don’t even worry about that,” Jael insisted. “Today is going to be so much fun!”
“Who said you were invited?” Rising to his full height, Xi pulled Cynda to his side as he turned to face his sister.
Jael shot her brother a scathing glare. “You don’t have a wrist unit.” She held her wrist up and tapped the device strapped around her arm. “You’ll need one to make purchases.”
“We could get him one.” Commander Brighton held his hands up in surrender when his mate glared at him. “Never mind. Bad idea.”
She huffed a little but patted his cheek affectionately before addressing her brother again. “Admit it. You need me.”
“I’d be happy for your sister to go with us,” Cynda offered before another argument could start. “It would be nice to have another woman’s opinion.”
“Yes!” Jael did a little dance, then took off at a run. “Be back in ten minutes!”
Osian shook his head when all eyes in the room turned toward him. “I’d rather wrestle an ocelas than join you. Good luck, brother.”
The commander stared at the now empty space where his mate had been, his face a mask of worry. “Xi…”
“She won’t leave my sight.”
Commander Brighton didn’t look reassured, but after a long pause, he simply said, “Thank you.”
“My sister is pregnant,” Xi explained for Cynda’s benefit. “Her mate is a little overprotective.”
In Cynda’s opinion, there was no such thing. “I think it’s sweet. Congratulations, Commander.”
“Thanks, and I told you, just call me Luke.”
She couldn’t agree to what he wanted, so she offered the next best thing. “I’ll try.”
The commander chuckled. “Fair enough.”
As promised, Jael was back within the ten-minute timeframe she’d stated. After many assurances to her mate that she would be careful and not take any unnecessary risks, she kissed him soundly, linked her arm with Cynda’s, and hurried her out to the shuttle. Stars, the female talked more than anyone she’d ever met, and she wanted to know everything.
The entire ride into the city proper, she kept up a constant stream of questions. Had Cynda ever been to a theater? Did she like animals? Did she own a pet?
“You’ll love Daisy. She was down by the lake chasing ducks, but you’ll meet her when we return.”
Before Cynda could even form a thought, let alone speak it, Jael was off again with another rapid-fire round of questions. She wanted to know Cynda’s favorite color, what size shoes she wore, and what she thought about cosmetics.
“Personally, I don’t understand the appeal. Why would anyone want to paint their face like that?”
“Jael,” Xi said on a long sigh.
Cynda just laughed. “It’s okay. Really, I don’t mind.” Sure, it was a bit overwhelming, but it was nice, too. Like having a friend. “I don’t really know much about makeup. I’ve never worn it, but I think I’d like to try it.”
“Hmm,” Jael mused, her brow furrowed. “Maybe I will as well.”
So, they did.
Since none of them knew a thing about the various creams, shadows, and liners females used to enhance their appearance, Cynda recommended a place in Light City’s shopping center she knew her sisters frequented. The best part was that they offered samples and tutorials. Naturally, the technician immediately tried to up-sell them, and while Cynda would have been happy with a basic free makeover, Jael wanted the whole “experience.”
Two hours later, they had both been plucked, polished, and painted to within an inch of their lives. Cynda’s hair had been washed and trimmed, her face exfoliated and moisturized. Her fingernails had been airbrushed a pale pink. She’d even agreed to have her eyebrows tinted and shaped into a lovely arch.
She still didn’t know how she felt about the makeup. It certainly made her look…different.
Framed in a soft black liner, her already large eyes dominated her face. The golden-brown shadow that swept over her upper lids was nice, subtle, and she thought the pink shimmer on her lips looked pretty good. The tinted cream that had been smeared across her face, however, was heavy, and the mascara on her lashes made her eyes water.
“What do you think?” On the sidewalk outside the salon, she looked up at Xi and smiled. The poor guy had been so patient. Granted, he’d looked bored out of his mind, but he hadn’t complained once. “Do you like it?”
“I think you always look beautiful.”
It was a diplomatic answer, but the downward curve of his lips said it wasn’t the entire truth. “But?”
He sighed. “You don’t look like you.”
He made a fair point, and honestly, the whole process was far too much trouble to go through every day. “I think it’ll be nice for special occasions, but it’s probably not something I would wear all the time.”
“Understandably,” Jael huffed. “How do humans even breathe in this stuff?”
If Cynda looked different, Jael was completely unrecognizable. She was still absolutely stunning, of course, but nothing like the mischievous and sweet elf she was.
“At least we tried it.”
“Yes,” Jael allowed, “but I don’t think I like it very much.” With a few well-chosen words and a wave of her hand, all the expensive makeup that had been so painstakingly applied vanished. “Ah, much better. Where to now?”
Cynda hesitated. Spending time with Jael at the salon had been fun, even if the results hadn’t been exactly what she’d expected. It had also cost more credits than she’d thought to spend on their entire outing. Xi and his family had already given her so much. She couldn’t possibly ask for more.
Strong arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her back against a wall of hard muscle. “Anything you want, fayah.”
“I don’t know.”
“Look at how happy my sister is.” Jael did indeed look over the moon doing nothing more than just standing there. “Let her do this for you.” Xi dipped his head so that his lips brushed against the shell of her ear. “Please?”
A shiver raced along her spine, while her legs turned weak and wobbly. She couldn’t have resisted him if she tried. “Maybe just a couple of things.”
As it turned out, when Xi had said “anything,” he’d meant anything. If she even glanced at some trinket, he insisted she have it. They’d only been inside a couple of stores, but his arms were laden with enormous shopping bags in bold colors. Each one of them overflowed with clothes, scarves, sunglasses, shoes, jewelry, and no telling what else since she was pretty sure he’d snuck a few things in when she hadn’t been looking.
It was more than she’d ever had in her entire life, but just thinking about the number of credits they’d spent made her queasy. Her mind spun with numbers, namely the amount of time it would take to pay back such generosity. So, when Jael stopped in front of a storefront just as the sun was setting on the city, Cynda couldn’t hold back her protests.
“I rea
lly think this is more than enough. Besides, it’s getting late, and we should probably think about starting home.”
“Nonsense. You need something to wear to bed, do you not?” The door slid open, and Jael swept into the boutique with a tinkling laugh, beckoning Cynda and Xi to follow. “Oh, and this dress would look gorgeous on you,” she continued, not three steps inside the building. Plucking the garment off the floating rack, she pushed it into Cynda’s arms. “I’m sure there’s somewhere you can try it on.”
Stars, it was like being run over by the sweetest, bubbliest freighter in the universe. Xi was no help, either. Every time she tried appealing to him, he’d simply smiled and told her not to worry. When that didn’t work, he’d remind her that his sister was pregnant and highly emotional. They wouldn’t want to upset her, would they?
It was a dirty trick, but so far, one that had worked every time. So, she wasn’t surprised when Xi only shook his head and laughed this time as well.
“Probably best not to argue, fayah.”
Okay, fine. If it would make the siblings happy, she’d try it on. There wasn’t any rule saying she actually had to buy it. Besides, it really was beautiful. The lavender material complimented her skin tone, and the fabric flowed between her fingers like water. The tiny white flowers made it appear casual, while the plunging neckline gave it a hint of sensuality.
A few minutes later, as she stared at her reflection in the dressing room mirror, she’d completely changed her mind about the dress. Clearly, Jael had misjudged her size, because the damn thing clung to her in the most unflattering way, accentuating every flaw. The neckline she’d thought sexy actually dipped so low between her breasts it verged on indecent.
And if that wasn’t humiliating enough, the zipper was stuck. No matter how much she twisted and contorted, she couldn’t get it to budge. Pink-cheeked and breathing heavily from the exertion, she finally gave in with a wounded sigh and accepted that she’d have to ask for help.
Sliding the door open, she hid as much of herself behind it as she could, peeking around the fogged glass as she searched for Jael. Instead, she found Xi standing just a few feet away, his stance wide and his arms crossed over his chest. The moment he spotted her, he relaxed his posture and started toward her.
