Page 26 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Later that day, as Liria made her way to the dining hall for lunch, she heard her name whispered over and over.

What should have been minor to everyone who wasn't Thax or Liria was evidently the most thrilling topic of conversation in the fortress.

She was not pleased. Every whisper drove her irritation higher.

There went the five years they should have had to ease into things.

Her conversation with Thax the night before returned to haunt her. A lasting relationship between them had been unlikely before. Now, it seemed impossible. Oddly enough, that made her even more determined to be with him.

It was probably wrong of her. If they ended up living together after Thax finished his term of service, his father might be forced to disown him.

Or maybe the Speaker would be shamed. Have to step down.

Liria simply didn't know enough about the Aethari culture to predict what would happen if she and Thax took things even further than their public claiming.

What if they got married? That would break Aethari law.

By the convergence! They'd be facing some harsh consequences.

Thax may never be able to return home. Or he could be imprisoned.

That thought had her stumbling to a stop.

The bulk of the repercussions would be on Thax.

Liria would stand beside him, of course, but he would be the one losing his family and home.

How could he risk that for a woman he had just met?

Why would he? But then, he'd already proven that he was willing to risk everything for what he believed in. And Thaxvarien believed in them.

“You fucking selfish Medean scum!” a female voice hissed. “You're going to destroy him and his whole family.”

Liria spun to see a group of Aethari women glowering at her.

They all wore soldier uniforms. That alone gave her confidence.

If they had confronted her out in Dubar, Liria might have walked away.

She was severely outnumbered. But there, in the fortress, rank meant everything.

She could even pull her pulser on them if she felt threatened.

With the confidence of status steadying her, Liria stormed up to the group.

Her abrupt and unexpected aggression sent them backpedaling despite their numbers.

Liria stared at the name sewn onto the jacket of the woman who stood in front and center, looking as if she were the leader.

Whether she was the one who had spoken or not, she was about to take responsibility for her team, as any leader must.

“Private Willon, is it?” Liria demanded. She didn't wait for an answer. Just immediately followed it up with, “Squat!”

“What?” Willon whispered.

“You heard me. Drop. I want your ass five inches from the ground. Now!” Liria shouted the last word in the woman's face, despite the fact that she towered over her.

Willon dropped into a squat. It's amazing what confidence and a loud voice can do. Oh, yeah, and a gold chief insignia on your uniform.

“Jump! Let's go. High as you can without hitting your head. The last thing you need is more brain damage. Go on. Give me twenty of those!”

The Aethari woman paused.

“Do you see this shield, Private?” Liria pointed at the insignia. “Gold for chief. A shield for security. I'm a security chief, and you just verbally assaulted me. So, I can either punish you with some exercise or I can have your wings pinned and get you thrown in the stocks. Which do you prefer?”

Willon's friends shrieked and ran off as she went pale. Then she jumped.

“Again!” Liria shouted.

Another group of Aethari came by, their eyes wide as they watched Willow do the squat and jump. Their stares went to Liria. One of them opened their mouth, but Liria beat them to it.

“Take a good look, assholes!” Liria pointed at them. “You disrespect an officer, and this is what you get. Pass that info along. And while you're at it, remind your friends that I outrank them all!”

It was true too. Well, mostly. Because none of them served willingly, all Aethari entered military service as soldiers.

The highest rank a soldier could earn was major.

Majors did outrank chiefs, but sergeants—one step below majors—did not.

And there were no majors at the fort. So, Liria outranked every Aethari in the fort.

Aethari eyes twitched, and Liria knew she'd made some serious enemies with her outburst, but it was necessary.

If she had let that woman speak to her like that in front of witnesses, the fallout would have been worse.

More and more of them would have come for her.

And the attacks would have escalated as well, going from verbal to physical.

Liria knew the procedure. She'd seen leaders fall before.

It starts small, with people testing you, and builds.

You can't lead if you can't keep the respect of those you outrank.

Respect needs to be earned, sure, but sometimes earning it takes balls and a little cruelty.

“Again, Private!” Liria pointed down.

The woman was red-faced and sweating by the time Liria was done with her. But when it was over, Liria helped Willon to her feet and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“We can't help who we care about, Private Willon.

You care about your people—in particular, Private Rennux.

I understand that. I also care about him, but in a deeper way.

I developed those feelings before I knew who his father was.

Not that it would have made a difference to me.

I just want you to know that as far as I'm concerned, this altercation between you and me is over.

I'll hold no grudges. But if you come at me again, I will fucking end you. You may be made of magic, but I converge it.” Liria motioned at Willon's pulser, connecting with the magic fueling it, and set it to vibrating.

No, Liria couldn't make it shoot without her hand on its trigger, but Willon didn't know that.

She narrowed her stare at Willon. “Understand?”

Private Willon's eyes went wide. “Yes, Chief.”

“Good.” Liria patted her shoulder. “Let's get some grub.”

Liria walked Willon to the dining hall. That really set the Aethari woman on edge.

She probably hoped to slink away and be done with the humiliation.

Nope. Liria strolled into the dining hall with Private Willon beside her as if they were best friends, smiling at her, knowing she'd have to explain that shit to her real friends.

“Enjoy your lunch.” Liria gave Willon's shoulder another pat and headed for the food.

Liria was halfway to the buffet when someone grabbed her hand. Balling up her free hand, she twisted, prepared to defend herself. And frankly, she was looking forward to the blood.

“Whoa, Liri, it's me.” Thax wrapped his hand around her fist and used it to pull her close. “What's happened? Great fuck, you nearly punched me.”

Liria winced. “Nothing. Sorry about that. Must be hunger.”

Thax glanced around the room, frowning. “Let's go into the city for lunch.”

“We don't have the time for that. At least, I don't.”

“All right. Can we at least take our lunch outside?”

“And hide from them? Fuck no, we're not doing that. We're not doing anything wrong.”

Thax burst into laughter. “Damn, woman. I'm falling fast.”

“Well, I don't want to ground you, Aethari.”

His smile softened. “I'm falling, but not toward the ground, Liri.” He bent over to bring their foreheads together. “I can't believe I'm about to say this, but being called for service was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Thax,” Liria whispered.

“Come on. Let's get our food and relish every bite.”

Liria opened her fist and took Thax's hand, letting him lead her to the buffet.

Outwardly, she smiled, but inside, she was worried.

This was one day. A single day and she'd already had to defend herself.

In the fucking fortress! What would the future bring?

They were supposed to have five years to ease into this.

But that opportunity had been crushed with the curve of a wing and a bite of pastry. Was being with Thax really worth it?

Liria looked at Thax, and her mind didn't hesitate to answer. Yes. He was absolutely worth it. But this also felt like the very thing she'd been avoiding her entire life. The ultimate price of being with a man so glorious was that he made nothing else matter. Falling fast indeed.

She just hoped they survived the impact.