by S. E. Smith
The cry came again. This time, it sounded demanding.
“Okay, okay.” Calla threw a leg over the railing. She wasn’t going to let some poor animal stay stuck out there.
Her feet tangled in the vines growing on the ledge. She realized, belatedly, that her soft slippers weren’t exactly the best for climbing. Once her feet were firmly on the ledge—the very narrow ledge—she started moving along it. When her shirt snagged on a vine, she cursed and tugged it free.
She shuffled along, and a moment later, she spotted the cat.
Calla froze, staring at the creature. It was across a small gap, nestled on the ledge under the balcony of the room beside hers.
It was no ordinary cat. She’d glimpsed this animal around the House of Rone once or twice. The cat was a cyborg.
It looked like it had started life as a small hunting cat. Its strong body was built to stalk prey. It had dark, patterned fur, a cybernetic leg, several metal joints, and a metallic implant for one eye.
It stared at her, its cybernetic eye glowing neon green.
“Hi, there,” Calla said.
The cat cried again.
“Are you stuck?” She edged closer to the gap between them. It wasn’t too wide, and she reached over, moving her hand slowly. The cat let her pat it. “Wow, you’re soft, and so unique.”
Without warning, the animal backed up, just out of reach.
“You don’t like it here, do you? Let’s get you off this ledge.”
Calla leaned farther over the gap, stretching out to try and get her hands around the animal. He gave another feline cry and backed up again.
“Come on, dara. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Her toes were at the very edge of the ledge, her fingers brushed fur. Just a little more—
Calla swore the cat smiled at her. Then it shifted out from under her hand.
She overbalanced and cried out. She fell off the balcony ledge and plummeted.
By the Goddess, any second, she was going to hit the ground and break some bones. She squeezed her eyes closed.
But she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she was caught in a pair of strong arms.
Her eyes popped open, and she stared into the silver eyes that haunted her dreams.
Zaden wasn’t quite sure how he found himself with an armful of curvy female. He heard the woman’s breath hitch.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She had a mesmerizing cadence to her voice. Her accent from the planet she’d come from.
He set her down on her feet. “You should not hang off the balcony. You could have been hurt.”
And she’d already been hurt by the Edull and the Thraxians.
Zaden remembered every second of Calla’s rescue. He felt a spike against his emotional dampeners. She’d been hit by a high-velocity, ballistic projectile. It had shredded her heart and left her dying, her blood pumping out everywhere.
She had landed in his arms then too, her brown gaze locked with his. He’d held her, put pressure on her wound. Then he’d used his telekinetic abilities to staunch the blood loss and keep blood pumping around her body until they’d been able to get her to the healers.
Since returning to the House of Rone, the healers had replaced her heart. Zaden had sat beside her bed in Medical, still stained by her blood, until he’d known she was going to be okay. He’d watched her as she’d slept.
Until Jax, the second of the House of Rone, had forced him to rest.
She was so small. She barely reached his breastbone, and had a thick mass of black hair, with just a hint of curl. The wind liked to catch strands of her hair and dance it around her pretty face. Her skin was a bronze-brown, and she had a gold pattern that circled her face, from her forehead, down the sides of her face, to her chin.
“The cat was stuck on the ledge and afraid.” Calla pointed upward. “I was trying to help him in case he fell.”
Zaden narrowed his gaze. “What?”
“The cyborg cat. It was stuck—”
There was a quiet thump, and the cat in question landed beside them on the ground with perfect dexterity. The animal lifted one paw and delicately licked it.
Calla gasped. “He jumped off just fine!”
Zaden frowned at the creature. He was well aware it was highly intelligent, especially with all its enhancements, and fully capable of playing games. “She. This animal is a she, and she can scale these walls perfectly fine.”
The cat lifted its head, looking the epitome of innocence. It had been the bane of his existence since he’d saved it from an accident and nursed it back to health.
He mentally cursed Jax for forcing the animal on him. Zaden remembered exactly what the cyborg had said. It will teach you how to deal with the emotions you like to pretend you don’t feel.
“Is it your cat?” Big, brown eyes looked up at him.
“I feed her.” Zaden didn’t mention that, despite a perfectly good bed, the cat crawled into his bed every night.
“So, she is yours.”
He stared at the cat. “No.”
Calla’s lips twitched. “Fine. What’s her name?”
“Cat,” he answered.
The woman gave a slow blink. “You called your cat, Cat?”
He felt the unfamiliar urge to shift his feet, but stifled it. “It appeared to be an appropriate moniker.”
Calla’s lips were definitely twitching. “Okay, Zaden.”
He stilled. “You know my name.”
Some emotion he couldn’t recognize moved over her face. “Yes. You saved me, Zaden. You kept me alive in the desert, and I won’t ever forget that. So yes, I know your name.”
He felt some sort of muscle stretching in his chest. He knew what it was—emotion. And feeling emotions was dangerous for him.
Unlike the other cyborgs at the House of Rone, who had implants to enhance and increase their abilities, Zaden had them to curb his lethal skills.
He stepped back from Calla. “I am glad that you are okay.”
“Calla,” she said. “Please, call me Calla.”
Another stretch in his chest. “Calla.”
She smiled. “Will you walk with me?”
He needed to get away from her. “I’m on security duty, and you should return to your room. I will walk you to the stairs.”
“All right.” As they fell into step, she glanced at him. “You’re on duty all night?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you need to sleep?”
“Yes, but I do not require much of it.” He kept some distance between them.
A second later, Cat wound through Calla’s feet, almost tripping her. She laughed and caught herself, her arm brushing his. They were standing much closer now.
This small female made him…uncomfortable. Being around her left him unsettled. Still, he allowed himself to soak up her presence as they walked.
She peppered him with questions about the training arena and security duty. Then she looked upward. “The moons are so beautiful. Oh, look, a nebula.” She pointed.
“It’s called the A’Taro Nebula. My homeworld is very close to it.”
“Oh?” She tilted her head, interest on her face.
Why had he told her that? He hadn’t thought of his homeworld for a very long time.
“It’s called Zaldi.”
“A pretty name.”
But in reality, the planet of Zaldi was far from pretty.
“How did you end up here, on Carthago?” she asked.
“My species is telekinetic. I was too…powerful.” For a second, memories of screams and blood drowned his mind.
“Zaden?” A brush of fingers on his arm.
He shook himself. “I needed implants to leash my strength. The ones that my people gave me were not successful, and eventually I was exiled.”
She gasped. “What?”
“Exile is a common practice for Zaldi’s criminals, and other people deemed too dangerous.” Like the small percentage of the population w
hose telekinesis reached exponential and uncontrollable levels.
“That’s horrible.”
Calla pressed a hand to his arm, and Zaden looked down at the slender fingers resting on his black shirt.
“It was a long time ago.”
Then she pulled back, and he realized they’d reached the bottom of the stairs.
“You should get back to your bedroom. Please do not fall off the balcony again.”
Calla smiled. “I’ll try my hardest. Good night, Zaden. Thanks for the catch.” She looked down. “And good night to you, Cat.”
Zaden watched her run up the stairs. Then he turned and saw that Cat was staring at him with a reproachful look.
“You are problematic,” he told the animal. “Be careful, or I’ll shut you down and run a full system reboot on you.”
Cat licked her paw, clearly unconcerned by the threat.
Chapter Two
Calla watched the deadly whirl of swords in the training arena and pressed her hands to her belly. Watching Quinn fight with Jax was an incredible display.
The woman was amazing.
Calla leaned against one of the stone columns that ringed the arena. The stone radiated warmth from the sun. Correction, suns. Rella had a much more temperate climate, so she still hadn’t adjusted to Carthago’s dry heat.
She watched the swords clash, sunlight reflecting off the sharp blades. The security chief grinned at the cyborg and he grinned back. So much happiness radiated off the couple.
Jax showed much more emotion than the other cyborgs. He had a dash of silver metal along one cheekbone, and metal embedded on one shoulder. His right arm was covered in an intricate tattoo she knew he could use as a weapon. But despite the mechanical parts, he was still very much a man.
Suddenly, he knocked Quinn’s sword aside and moved in close. He grabbed Quinn with his other arm and pulled her in for a quick, passionate kiss.
Calla’s belly flooded with warmth and she smiled. It was so nice to watch, even though it made her miss sex and being close to someone.
Yes, Jax definitely felt more emotion. Definitely more than Zaden, that was for sure.
Her thoughts turned to the cool, remote cyborg who’d saved her life, and saved her from a broken bone or two last night.
She saw his face in her dreams. She nibbled on her bottom lip. He’d anchored her to life when she’d been bleeding out. She guessed that had forged some bond between them.
Or, at least it had for her.
She was grateful he’d saved her, but it was more than that. He made her belly coil and her new heart flutter.
A part of her had wanted to die out there in the desert, but those silver eyes had held her to life.
Calla shook her head. It was so silly to have feelings for a man who didn’t feel.
She’d never been in love. Oh, she’d had a few crushes, some decent lovers, and had her heart dented a few times, but she’d never had what she saw shining brightly between Quinn and Jax.
She heard footsteps, and turned to see Jayna coming out of one of the arched doorways. Along with Sage, the woman had helped nurse Calla back to health. The entire time, the woman had bombarded them with strange, amazing music from Earth. Mostly what Jayna called rock music.
Jayna had survived her own ordeal with the Edull, and was still healing. Usually, the woman’s huge, menacing cyborg wasn’t far away from her. Mace took intimidating to new levels, but there was no doubt that he was completely in love with Jayna.
“Hi, Jayna.”
“Calla.” The woman shot her a wide smile. She had a long mass of brown curls that Calla coveted. “How are you?”
“Great. Oh, I just remembered that I have something for you.”
“Oh?” Jayna’s eyebrows rose, curiosity on her face.
Calla reached into the pockets of her loose skirt. “It’s not much.” She held up a small pot. “I got some berries from the kitchen. I heard you say the other day how much you miss your mother’s homemade strawberry jam.” Calla shook the pot, the red jelly inside catching the light. “I made some jam for you. It isn’t strawberry, but Sage assured me the berries I used are the closest thing around here.”
Jayna gave her a stunned look, her smile wide. “Thank you, Calla. That’s amazing.”
Calla shrugged a shoulder. “It’s just jam. A small thank you for helping me and making me feel welcome here.”
The Earth woman pulled her in for a one-armed hug. “You’re doing fine, Calla.”
Calla smiled, wanting to tell Jayna that she still didn’t fit here. That she felt like an outsider compared to these brave women from Earth who charged ahead and forged a place for themselves. But the clank of metal distracted her, and made her look across the training arena.
Quinn leaped into the air, her sword striking Jax’s blade. Quinn had found a place here. And Jayna was a scientist, working with Ever in the House of Rone labs. Even Sage was starting to work with the House of Rone healers.
Calla had no special skills. Unlike these smart, talented women, she was just a burden.
A big man came out of a door and strode toward them. His shoulders were broad, and his leather-clad legs were like the trunks of the huge franid trees that grew on Rella. His gaze locked on Jayna. Calla stiffened.
Jayna spotted the man and her face came alive. “Don’t mind him.”
“He’s just so big,” Calla whispered.
“But he’s a teddy bear underneath the toughness.”
Calla knew that baby Asha had a small toy called a teddy bear. There was nothing toy-like about Mace. She shot the gruff-looking cyborg a doubtful look. If Mace was a teddy bear, he was only like that for Jayna.
Suddenly, the man stopped, turning to talk to someone. Calla saw Zaden appear.
Oh. He was so handsome. The straight slash of his nose, the strong line of his jaw. Even the metal visible on his neck was sexy. Her hands itched to touch it. Explore him.
“Mmm.”
The noise Jayna made had Calla’s head jerking. She wrenched her attention off Zaden. “What?”
“I saw you looking at him.”
She fought back a blush. “Mace?”
“Don’t play coy with me. No, the young, sexy Zaden.”
Calla shifted on her sandals. “He’s…very cyborg.”
“They all are, Calla.” Jayna glanced across the training arena where Jax was teasing Quinn. “Magnus, most of all.”
True, and yet, the imperator loved Ever and their daughter.
“They’ve never had reason to show their emotion or explore it.” Jayna smiled. “I think they just need the right person to teach them.”
Calla felt a flutter in her belly and looked at Zaden again. He was striding alongside Mace toward her and Jayna.
“Jayna.” Mace lowered his head, brushing his lips over his woman’s. “I’m headed to the underground market to get some materials for Maxon.”
Maxon was the head weapons master for the House of Rone. The House was well known for crafting superior weapons, and Maxon was the best. Calla hadn’t met the man, but once, she’d heard him bellowing down the corridor. His temper was legendary.
Jayna leaned into her man. “Can you get that new comp screen for the lab? I need it for a project I’m working on.”
Mace stroked a hand down her hair. “Anything you want. Zaden is coming with me to help bring the goods back.”
Calla felt something brush her ankles, and looked down to see that Cat had appeared. The animal’s neon eye glowed.
“Oh, I bet Calla would love to see the markets.” Jayna’s voice was filled with enthusiasm.
Calla jerked. “Oh, I—”
“Take her,” Jayna insisted. “It’ll do her good to get out.” The woman gave Calla a little shove toward Zaden.
Both men’s expressions didn’t change, but Calla got the impression that neither of them were thrilled with this development. Dropping her gaze, she saw the tiniest curl of Zaden’s fingers.
“Perha
ps not today—” Calla began.
Suddenly, Cat wound through her legs and tripped her. She stumbled forward, and face-planted into Zaden’s chest. He grabbed her to stop her from falling.
The silver in his eyes shimmered. “Do you want to see the market?”
“I would love to see it, but I don’t want to get in your way.”
Mace just shrugged, then Zaden gave her one curt nod. “Very well. You may join us.”
It wasn’t exactly the warmest invitation, but she did want to go. And any chance to spend some time with Zaden was one she wanted to take.
Zaden couldn’t stop staring at Calla’s face as they walked toward the underground markets.
Pure delight was etched on her features. She absorbed everything, taking in every aspect of the city. Even the dirty sidewalk they were walking along.
Meanwhile, he didn’t like her being out of the House of Rone. She was exposed.
He forced himself to regulate the spike of emotion. She wasn’t in any danger. The Edull stuck to the scrap cities in the desert, and as far as the House of Rone could tell, there was no reason for them to come after Calla.
They’d rescued Calla and Sage from an outpost of the Edull city of Bari Batu. The House of Rone was still busy searching for the main city’s location, but it was proving a difficult mission. The Edull had been hiding for a very long time, and were good at it. Sage and Calla only remembered cell walls, ugly labs, and had been blindfolded when they’d been moved.
Calla tilted her head back, twirling to look up at the buildings. It made the silky fabric of her green skirt flare around her. She smiled at the people who passed them.
Zaden wondered how it felt to feel like that. To be free to let any emotion fill you, to be immersed in it all, and enjoy such simple things.
For him, emotion equaled danger. He required constant discipline to control his power. Joy was something he knew nothing about.
Calla turned and bumped into him.
“Sorry, Cat seems to like my feet for some reason.”
Zaden looked down at the cyborg cat. It was proving to be a nuisance. The animal had wanted to come to the markets, and no matter how he’d tried to keep her back at the House of Rone, the cat had been determined to accompany them.
