Page 20 of Red Demon (Oria #1)

Asher unwrapped and set the machine down with a flourish.

He flipped a series of switches, and a low whirring sound filled the room.

The white lights on the device flickered to life, pulsing slow and repetitive.

“That’s all I can get the display to do.

” Ashmira grinned at the machine a moment, then got off the couch and threw her arms around my brother in a tight hug.

Asher stiffened momentarily before chuckling into her shoulder.

He closed his eyes as a faint blush crept up his neck.

I raised my eyebrow at this. Ash would hug everyone hello if he thought he could get away with it. Chaeten though, are usually more reserved with strangers—unless they want to fuck them.

“You were right to check the power supply first,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “Just a fried circuit. Do you have a manual so I can figure out what to do next?”

Ashmira stepped back, her smile undimmed. “It’s fine! I know what those blinks mean. It just needs a quick recalibration. I knew you could do it.” Her praise seemed to fluster Asher more.

She turned to me then, her eyes gleaming with gratitude. “And you, Jesse. I’m sure you helped too.”

“All Ash.” I shrugged with a smile.

She reached into a side drawer, pulling out a pouch of coin. The sum she offered was more than double our rate for a two-day-job. My eyebrows shot up.

Asher shifted in his seat, mumbled something under his breath about no charge.

“I insist you be paid for your time.” She handed him the money. He looked down as if he found it insulting.

“What is it?”

“It was a lot of fun to work on.” Asher’s eyes flashed with something I could not make sense of. “Will you let me watch you calibrate?”

“I’d love that.” Ashmira smiled, uncrossing her legs. She wore a loose-fitting purple something that looked like a dress until the bottom separated into pant legs. It looked like the sort of thing that would be fashionable.

“What are you doing the rest of today?” Asher gestured to the device on the short table. “Can we start now?”

“I have a few minutes before dance lessons.” She leaned forward. “You got a knife handy?”

Ash nodded to me. “Jesse’s always armed.”

Frowning, I dug into my pants for a pocket-knife. “Why?”

“I need a drop of blood to calibrate. I wasn’t going to order collection tubes until I knew I could get it working.” She reached for the knife. “May I please?”

I handed it over, but could not fix my face. “Does your dad know you have this thing?”

“He does, yes.” She shrugged as she pricked her finger with the tip of the knife. “He’s kin—my father—but it’s odd to think of him as ‘Dad’ like a child might say.” She closed the door, then went to dig around in a cabinet. “I hadn’t seen the governor in years until a few months ago.”

Asher watched her every move, taking a deep, sullen breath. “When did he send you away?”

She seemed struck by the question, pausing with a vial in her hand.

“I think he pledged me to the Academy when I was four, but I knew it was coming. My mother had been reading all about how early pledges make for stronger, more successful adults. I’m closer to my Academy Mother and friends than my kin. ”

I watched Asher’s heart break for her, but I knew better.

People rarely miss things they don’t know are missing.

This wasn’t even that uncommon. Apart from frontier villages like mine, most Chaeten ship their kids off to academies about six or seven, only seeing them on holidays and festivals from thereon out.

“Do you still speak with your mom?” Asher asked.

“Dead, I expect.” She set down an arrangement of vials on the table. “I last heard from her when I was eight. Governor Solonstrong hasn’t mentioned her since, and by now, I’m hesitant to bring it up.”

“Well, if you’d like, Ashmira, I can invite you to our Dead Moms club. It’s my turn to bring snacks next week,” I said.

Asher stared at me, agape.

Ashmira smiled. “I’d love that, assuming the point of that meeting is to do anything except talk about the dead.”

I leaned in. “Swimming? This weekend?”

She poured a clear liquid into one of the code sequencer’s compartments with a squint. “I’d love to.”

Asher just stared at me, confused. Voids, no, he looked betrayed.

“Are you in, Ash?” I said, never intending to leave him out.

They both looked up.

“Well, this will just get confusing,” she said, snapping the lid back down on the sequencer. “Perhaps you two should call me Mira.”

“My heart was set on Second-Ash, but I can live with Mira,” I said.

She huffed. “Is he always like this?” Mira asked Asher.

A blush crept up Asher’s neck under Mira’s gaze. He wrestled for a response.

Her smile grew wider the more he floundered to get words out of his face. She put a hand on his knee, which made it worse.

“He is harmless,” Asher finally said, a hesitant smile tugging at his lips. “Unless you get a sword in his hands. Glad you’re taking him swimming.”

My chest tightened, unsure if that was true.

Suddenly, the machine on the table let out a pleasant ding. Light pulsed as the display came to life, churning out a string of Chaeten chemistry terminology that was far beyond my limited education.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

Mira’s expression snapped and held to the device, a smile blooming on her face. She whipped out a small tablet from her pocket, its screen mirroring the symbols scrolling on the sequencer. Her eyes darted between the two, a triumphant grin splitting her face.

“It’s perfect! It’s actually perfect!” she exclaimed, her joy radiant. Before I could react, Asher was on his feet, a relieved laugh escaping his lips. He pulled Mira into a hug this time, his arms engulfing her.

She blinked, then hugged him back, holding tight. The gesture seemed innocent enough coming from Ash, but something about it felt—new. The way they fit together, that look on his face.

Asher broke the hug, a faint blush dusting his cheeks as he stepped back.

“Oh, it’s almost time for my dance lessons,” Mira said, glancing at the time on the wall. With some effort, Mira pulled her eyes away from the machine, tucking it in a drawer with a pat. She gestured toward the garden door. “Are you both free? You could join if you like.”

“Yes,” Asher said, and I echoed.

“Excellent. Do you two prefer to lead or follow?”