Page 25 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Liria walked into the dining hall holding Thax's hand. A few people glanced at them, but not in a way that made her feel gawked at. Oddly enough, Rinna wasn't there. But the female chiefs sitting at their usual table waved, their eyes wide. Liria waved back.

Yup, nothing big happening here. Just Liria Drask with an Aethari, even though she doesn't date Aethari—especially not soldiers. Especially not hot Aethari soldiers.

Despite her worry, Liria didn't feel awkward walking down the buffet line with Thax.

They couldn't sit at the officers' table together, so they went to an empty table near the wall.

Liria sat down facing the room. Thax took the chair beside her, and then she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Thax had his wing curved around the back of her chair.

Liria glanced at the wing and then at him. Thax smirked at her. He didn't need to say anything. She could practically hear his voice in her head. You said yes. This is what being mine looks like.

It went both ways, Liria knew that, but it didn't feel like it right then.

Not with his wing around her. To everyone else, it would look like a man protecting a woman.

Guarding her. Keeping others away. And that didn't sit well with Liria.

She needed to remind him and herself that he was hers in return.

It was the only way she could allow this whole belonging-to Aethari thing.

But how could she stake her claim on him?

Liria thought back to all the Aethari couples she'd seen at the fortress.

But she'd never seen one of the Aethari do this with their lover.

Her next mental search went through the Aethari hollows she'd watched.

Sure, they were purely for entertainment—stories acted out, recorded, and projected into holotheaters to mimic real life.

But mimicry meant there were facts to mimic.

Had any of the Aethari men done this with their leading ladies?

Oh, yes! In A Wing and a Prayer, the main guy had put his wing around his lover.

What had she done? Let's see—they'd been eating, just as Thax and Liria were, and the woman had fed her man a piece of fruit.

Perfect! Nothing too showy. Cute and acceptable enough that a Medean might do it with their lover.

No big deal. And it would make things feel more equal to Liria—Thax could act all protective if he allowed her to feed him like a child.

So, Liria picked up a chunk of pastry from her plate and offered it to Thax.

His eyes went wide, and then his expression shifted through several emotions.

Liria thought she saw amazement, delight, and even a strange, almost fatalistic acceptance.

At last, he settled on staring at her with possessive heat as he deliberately opened his mouth, leaned in, and took the food from her hand.

Sucking the sugar from her finger, Thax's stare went molten.

“Whoa,” Liria whispered. “Watch it, Private Rennux. We're in public.”

Thax chewed slowly, savoring the bite. “You don't even know what you did, do you? Oh, Liri.” He chuckled and shook his head. “I thought you knew. Maybe sensed it somehow. It was such an Aethari thing to do.”

Liria blinked. “Uh, I saw it in a hollow once. Did I screw up?”

“No, baby. Not at all. You just laid your claim on me. Publicly. And I'm totally fine with it. In fact, do it again.” He licked his lips.

“Oh, you like being claimed in public?” Her chest felt as if it were opening wide. Maybe this mine thing wasn't so bad. “I just felt as if I had to do something in response to your wing going around me.” She stroked a finger down the top ridge of his wing.

Thax shuddered, even his eyes shaking as he whispered, “Now, that, Liri, is highly inappropriate behavior.”

“What—I can't touch your wings?”

“Not in public. Look around.”

Every Aethari in the room was staring at them. And not in a nice way.

“Oh, shit. How badly am I behaving—Aethari-wise?”

Thax laughed, leaning back as he did, and then nuzzled her cheek. “Not bad, just brazen. And I love it. Go on. Feed me again. Show them all you don't give a shit what they think.”

Liria offered him a piece of fruit next.

Thax took it with his teeth, chewed, swallowed, and then licked the juice from her fingers.

But she knew they couldn't spend all day there, and feeding him would make them late for work.

So, Liria returned to feeding herself, and Thax ate the rest of his breakfast without assistance.

Although she paused often to smile at him.

Couldn't be helped. He was practically purring, he was so damn pleased.

She loved seeing him like that. His joy was infectious.

They were almost finished with their meal when a large Aethari sat down across the table from them.

“Corporal,” Thax said.

“Private.” Branseri nodded at Thax before settling his stare on Liria. “Chief Drask.”

“Hello, Corporal Branseri. We were just about to get going.”

“I see that.” He leaned in. “Did Private Rennux explain the implications of your actions, Chief?”

“I did, sir, and with all due respect, this isn't—”

“I'm talking to Chief Drask.” Branseri kept his sharp stare on her. “Do you understand what you've done?”

“I believe I've publicly declared that we're in a relationship.”

“Oh, it's a bit more than that.”

“Why don't you stop being cryptic and just spit it out, Corporal?”

“Has he told you who he is?”

Thax cursed under his breath.

“Who he is?” Liria looked at Thax. “What's he talking about, Thax?”

“Source damn you, Rennux!” Branseri growled. “You are proving to be an impulsive pain in the ass.”

“This isn't your business, sir.” Thax leveled a hard stare at the corporal.

“The fuck it isn't.” Branseri leaned closer. “Your father had you assigned to my unit and charged me with—”

“Don't you dare say he told you to look after me! I am not a child.”

“No, he charged me with monitoring you. I'm supposed to make sure you don't fuck up and tarnish his reputation. Again. And here you are, fucking up, right on schedule.”

Liria looked back and forth between the men, an uneasy feeling spreading through her gut. But she squashed it because after the night they spent together, she had faith in Thax. Maybe it was misplaced, but she wouldn't give it up so easily.

“This is not a fuck-up.” Thax leaned forward to meet the corporal halfway. “This is a public claiming. I'm serious about her.”

“Oh, yes, I got that. Every fucking Aethari in the room got it.” Branseri shook his head. “You haven't even been here a month. How long have you and she been seeing each other that you would declare yourselves like this?”

“Again, that's none of your business.”

“You've been down here before, haven't you? You're just the sort to jump city before you have to. You came down here, met her, and somehow, you got yourself assigned to her fortress.”

“No. This is my first time on the surface. Liria and I haven't been together for long, but when you know, you know.” Thax glanced at Liria. “Do you understand me, sir?”

Branseri's eyes went wide, but then they narrowed, and he slammed his fist down on the table. “Kid, you are fucking with my career right now. Do you understand that? I'm not just going to sit on my ass and watch you set it afire along with your father's reputation.”

“Hold on,” Liria said. “What does who he dates have to do with you and his father?”

Branseri leveled his stare at her. “Chief, you are in over your head, and you don't even know it.”

Thax shot to his feet and leaned onto the table to snarl in Branseri's face. “Don't talk to her like that!”

Branseri was up seconds later, mimicking Thax's pose, bringing them nose-to-nose. “Don't talk to me like that, Private!”

“Whoa!” Liria got up and put a hand between them. “Both of you settle down, right the fuck now! And that's an order!”

The men looked at her. Their expressions shivered. Thax looked worried while the Corporal looked as if he were fighting the urge to disobey a higher-ranking officer. As a chief, Liria was his superior. Branseri finally sat back down and stared at Thax.

Liria took Thax's wrist and tugged as she sat down. He sat last, still glaring at the corporal.

“All right, Corporal.” Liria took a breath, preparing herself for the worst while still ready to defend Thax.

“There's obviously more to this than I know.

I don't want to make trouble for you. But I'm not about to let you dictate who I date either. So, I need you to calmly and concisely explain to me why you came over here and verbally attacked us.”

“You have just publicly claimed an Aethari man, Chief Drask. And he has claimed you. In our culture, that is a serious thing. It is far beyond the usual type of relationship most Aethari have here.”

“You mean an inconsequential one?”

“A temporary one. That wing around you was bad enough, but then you fed him. And he accepted it. It was like telling every Aethari here to back off because he's yours and vice versa.”

Liria nodded. “That was rather my intent. So again I ask you, why come over here and berate us for behaving like a normal couple?”

“You just claimed the Speak—”

“Stop!” Thax snarled. “You don't get to tell her about me. That's my right.”

Liria looked at Thax. “And here I thought you had told me all the important stuff about yourself last night.”

Branseri snorted.

Thax glared at him. “Leave this table now, Branseri. Go, or I swear to the magic above, I will fucking down you right here. I don't care what punishment I have to take for it. I will lay you out flat and pull a flight feather in front of all these witnesses.”

Branseri narrowed his stare at Thax, but then, to Liria's great surprise, he inclined his head. She gaped at him as he stood up and left the table. Then she gaped at Thax.

“Son of Nethren,” he cursed.

“Who are you?” Liria whispered. “How the fuck did you just get away with talking to your corporal like that?”

Thax pushed a breath out of his nose, grimaced, and said, “I'm no one special, but my father is the Speaker of Icara.”

Liria leaned back in her chair and processed. “Your father is the Speaker? The one through whom the Source of Magic supposedly talks to the Aethari?”

“He's the Speaker for Icara, yes. Each city has its own.”

“Speakers usually pass their talent and position to their children, don't they?”

“Often. Not always.”

“Oh, fuck,” Liria muttered. “So, you're like the next in line to be the great religious figure of your city?”

“The Speaker isn't a religious figure. Not exactly. He or she just conveys the wishes of Source.”

“Sounds religious to me. Down here, we don't believe the Source of Magic is a deity. Gods are in the past.”

“We don't believe in gods either. But we respect the Source and its wishes. It may not have created us, but it transformed us into what we are.”

“And the wishes of the Source of Magic are like law, aren't they?”

Thax was slowly hunching in on himself. He shrugged.

“Your father's word, in essence, is law.”

“It's the word of Source, not his. It's not taken as law, but when he speaks, people listen, and he often has the final say on important matters.

“And you were a protester?”

Thax went still. Then he lifted his chin. “Yes.”

“Of the laws he supports?”

“Yes.”

Liria snorted, her relief making her want to laugh and cry all at once.

Thax wasn't a jerk, just a son with an important father.

A rebellious son, sure, but that didn't make him a bad guy.

It made him normal. And, from what she'd heard of their laws, she supported his rebellion. “Good for you, darling.”

He blinked. “What?”

“Good. For. You.” She took his hand. “It must have taken a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in despite the fact that it meant going against your own father.

The fucking Speaker. And from what you've told me, you love him. That would make it even harder.” Liria shook her head.

“I can't imagine how you must have struggled.”

“But now I know I was wrong. We need to be here. We are just as responsible for defending the surface as Medeans are. I shouldn't have protested.”

“I'm not so sure about that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, yes, your people need to help us defend Para, but I don't think anyone should be forced into this kind of service. They need to be told the truth so they can volunteer.”

Thax blinked. Stared at her. “You're right. Choice makes all the difference.”

“Of course, it does. But none of that matters.”

“What?”

“The intricacies of why the law is wrong have no bearing on what you did.

The important part is that you believed in your cause.

You fought for your beliefs. That's what's impressive.

Whether you were right or wrong doesn't matter.

In fact, I find you even more admirable for accepting and admitting that you were wrong so quickly, despite all you've done to oppose mandatory service.

You saw the proof of your mistake and you changed your mind.

In a fucking heartbeat. That's astonishing, Thax. Very few people would do that.”

Thax leaned closer. “What would they do?”

“Most people would at least take some time to process.

Search for a way to hold on to what they thought was true.

Make themselves feel better. Some people get even angrier when shown proof that they're wrong. They dig in. Fight harder. It takes a sharp mind, an open heart, and a shitload of self-confidence to simply accept the truth, even when it goes against you. I just have one question for you.”

“What is it, Liri?” His wing curved around her again.

“Is this—you and me—real? Or is it another rebellion?”

His wing sagged. “I didn't lie to you about anything. I told you my truths. I accepted yours in return. Do you think this is real?”

Liria leaned in and kissed him.

This time, Thax pulled her up, out of her chair, and wrapped his arms and his wings around her as he kissed her back. Liria didn't care that they were making a spectacle of themselves. Let them all look. All that mattered was the man in her arms and his honorable, courageous heart.

Yes, this, whatever was between them, was real. And getting more real by the moment.