Page 21

Reality is a poorly mounted thruster that breaks free and swings like a pendulum into my body with blackout force.

A Prince. A hated prince. A soldier who clearly still loves his people. Aura is confusing as hell, hot as a purple Hades, and suddenly looks more broken than I feel. He’s had and lost far more than I can comprehend.

We clearly have something special between us, but I’m not sure I’m ready for a different kind of misery of this magnitude.

A whole fleet? Aura can’t go home? But his people are in danger. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to abandon them. Which means he wants to go back and do what he can. So he might be facing jail for fighting for his people? I pinch the space between my brows as a headache forms.

As much as I had hoped for an easier life, it’s not like I could reasonably expect it with the galactic war against the Nebs going on.

But I am bummed to find out the hunky, virile alien that I’m apparently meant to be with has experienced such rejection.

I know the feeling well. And my rule of no royalty doesn’t really apply.

He’s still just a soldier. But there’s a mess of Royal proportions that we might have to deal with.

Aura stares off into distant space. His eyes dim, and his electric charge wanes beside me. “I just want you to be happy. I understand now that isn’t with me. I’m sorry I’ve put you through this. I shouldn’t have come.”

When he gets up and starts for the complex, I can’t stand letting him go. The misery he has to be in makes me want to combat it with him. He’s defended me. He’s not a bad person. Not that I can see. And I don’t want him to lose anything else. “Aura.”

When he doesn’t stop, I catch his hand with force. “Please.”

He stills and looks back at me, dejection in his eyes.

“I promised myself no royals because I didn’t want an entitled ass that didn’t understand me. But you don’t strike me as that type. You just caught me off guard.”

“What about the other things?” he asks. “The war, the Denarso, being disowned?”

“Everyone is at war. I mean, I worked on military ships. There are people on Earth who steal like Denarso. And I know what it’s like to be rejected, Aura. By my sister, my ex, my mother, and my best friend, actually. They chose themselves over us .”

Aura cautiously faces me. “I would never do that. If you choose me, I will go to the ends of the universe to keep you safe.”

“Because of this energy?” I hover a hand near his chest and admire the pale green jagged lights that reach for my fingers.

“Do you not trust your instincts?” Aura studies me closely, his breath a feathery warmth against my face.

“I do, but my thoughts can get in the way. Are you sure you’re not just picking me because I’m easy?”

“I have refused Amphiran matches for over a decade and met many human females and those of countless other species,” Aura rumbles softly.

His chest heaves with a breath. “I have never felt this way for another. My Storm nearly tore me apart when I tried to walk away just moments ago.

“I have been searching for you since before my father tried to match me. He is desperate for an heir so he can feel validated in the public’s eye.

But I do not care for his rules or his way of life.

I want a mate who wants me back. I want my people not to have to hide their Storms like they are some form of inherent sin that makes us vile animals. Storms are power.”

And then it hits me. “Are Royal Storms as strong as Rogues?”

“They used to always be more powerful. Lately, it’s hard to tell since displays are banned. Only Royal guards can use them to keep kings and Elders safe. But Rogues often make use of them in the fields, during battle. Why?”

I covertly draw in the light scent of Aura, a blend of light cologne, clean skin, and that new thruster smell, no doubt from his tech and armor. “Just wonder if Royals are losing their edge, so they’re banning the power they can’t control.”

Aura guides a loose strand of hair from my eyes. “Gorgeous and smart. This is my concern, too, Jovie. It is why I still want to fight for my people despite everything.”

If I could get my sister back for what she’s done to me, I would too.

“Do you— Do you still want me now knowing what you do?” he asks like he’s afraid of my answer.

I summon the courage to look up into his vibrant green eyes. It takes me a moment to push through the vulnerability I feel in his strong embrace. My skin tingles beneath his touch. But my willingness to do anything he says is what scares me most. “I do. I just—”

“Have broken trust,” he offers.

“It’s not because of you. I just have a bad track record.”

Aura guides me back to the bench, where we sit again. “I think what we need is to give each other time. I am afraid my collapsing life will bring you misery instead of joy. I want you to be mine. But I understand that just because I need and want you doesn’t mean you will feel the same about me.

“And you need to know you can trust me. So I want to give you the time that you need while I prove that my word is binding. Would you consider me as a potential match for this week’s activities even if I must, at some point, leave to protect my people?”

I smile and knot my fingers together, wishing I had something to work with to steady my hands. “I would like that.”

“So you forgive me?”

“Nothing to forgive,” I say. “But I’m going to need things explained to me.”

“I’m happy to do that.” Aura sighs, rests an arm atop the backrest of the bench, and sweeps his nose over my shoulder. “Thank you.”

A zap zings through my shoulder. The tingle disburses over my skin. I can’t help but jolt from the contact.

“Sorry,” he chuckles. “I can’t seem to help it around you.”

I glare at Aura, but he looks up at the stars through the lunar shield, grinning.

That was not an accident, you twerp.

I have a feeling I’m going to need a shield if I have any hope of surviving much more time with him without needing a replacement bodyweb.

“Isn’t your colony pretty big? I mean, it must be with as long as you’ve been in space.

So isn’t there someone else you could talk to besides your father?

I just can’t see why they wouldn’t want you.

You’re in prime condition. You care about your people. It doesn’t make sense.”

He hums a sad note and leans back. “My Storm took control during a recent conflict. It was effective at getting the involved parties to stop fighting. But because I broke our rules, if I go home, they will arrest me.”

“How long is the jail time?”

“Arrest does not mean the same thing in our world.” Aura presses a hand to his chest. “With Amphirans, it means they will lock me up in a cell and put me to sleep, slowly draining my Storm from my body. They will siphon my power and use it for their ships. They will arrest my Spark, which ignites my Vybrance nodes and therefore my Storm.”

“Until when?”

“I die. It’s usually a couple of years. I have never agreed with the procedure.” Aura stretches out his legs and crosses one boot over the other. “Can we just forget about all that? I’d like to just enjoy this time with you.”

But I have so many more questions. Yet I think Aura feels betrayed by his people like I do with mine. So I let it go and hope I can find a way to comfort him soon.

“I’ve left a life behind me, too. I wish that wasn’t how things had to work out, but it is. And here we are.” I hold up a fist to him. “I’m ready to move on to something new.”

Aura bumps my fist with a zap .

I shake out my hand. “Ow, dick.”

He chuckles and nips at my ear. “Stars, you smell good.”

“Pretty sure that’s just the flower.”

He nuzzles against my neck and inhales. “Nope. All you, my prin— Beautiful.”

Aura gets quiet.

“I think I like that better anyway. Beautiful,” I admit, trying to smooth over his faux pa. “I haven’t heard anyone say that about me since I was little.”

“Well, you are.”

“So tell me, what is the most amazing thing about space in your experience?”

He looks up at the sky. “That’s a tough one.

Most people would describe it as challenging between the cold, the vacuum, and the physics of general travel through it.

But there are so many star systems with life, Jovie.

We can portal to one galaxy, meet a hundred new species, then travel to another and meet a hundred more.

“Every system has new elements, anomalies, and curiosities. And the nebulae are stunning. Even the Cicarron cluster, which is like flying through liquid metal, was terrifying and deadly but impressive to witness.”

“So you like exploring?”

“It’s safer if done with my friend, Elix.

But I’ve gone on exploratory missions with our Rogues to all sorts of new worlds.

I worked for the Sol Federation, too, for a while.

A lot of princes do as a gesture of good faith for our peace treaty and membership to the Federation.

But I stayed for a long time. I enjoyed it more than most.”

“And you have a portal?”

“Every Amphiran ship does. Allele too. Hers is just instinctual. She can open it for others close by. The rest of our fleet needs grav-beams for tag-a-longs.”

“Seems like people would try to take her from you.”

He nods. “They have. But she only lets certain Storms near her. The unworthy are not allowed. I don’t know how she picks them.”

“What about me? What if she…”

“Allele knows about you. She has not told me to avoid you. Quite the opposite.” Aura looks away.

“What is it?”

“Allele. She’s talking with me about the enemy sightings not far from Mars.”

I sit quietly, enjoying his protective arm around me. The excitement of the day has me growing sleepy and makes me want to give in to the comfort of his rigid, electric body. Resting my head on his shoulder sounds like a nice idea, but I’m not sure what his social customs are.

“Jovie?”

I force my eyes open. “Yes?”

Aura scoops me up and settles me into his lap. “All you need to do is tell me what you need. I will find a way to give it to you.”

“You’re sweet.” I lean my head against his chest.

He chuckles. “Sorry if I get hard. I have waited a long time for this.”

I snort a laugh. “I’ll just take it as a compliment.”

“Good.”

As I drift off, I wonder if we’re really meant to be together because of some mysterious energy, some wavelength we seem to share.

“Everything I have ever been taught says it’s true,” Aura whispers to me.

Ah, crap. I said it out loud!

“We can fight it.” Aura tightens his arms around me like he can’t believe I’m finally with him, and he’s afraid I’ll be ripped away. “We could go separate ways, or we could listen to the universe and encourage the power of our affinity.”

Something soft graces my forehead. As I sink into a restful state, I think about Aura, how sad his voice sounds, and how I want to learn everything I can about his species and him. But I’m just so very tired. Too tired. I feel cold.

My muscles tremble, and a sick feeling grips me. I try to fight through it, pretend it’s just a figment of my imagination concocted from paranoia about being locked in an intergalactic facility with so many other species. But it just isn’t going away.

“Aura?”

He tenses. “Yes?”

My fingers tremble as I brace the warm arm across my front. Please don’t shy away. Please don’t dump me on the floor.

Please don’t be like Elwin.

“I hate to do this to you, Aura. But I don’t feel so good.”