Page 20 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

TARA

“ T his area is beautiful,” Kairen says softly as we fly above the Alps early next morning.

I yawn into my hand, regretting partying late into the night with the Dutch and Belgians. They softened surprisingly fast once their homebrewed beer started flowing. Priorities.

“I can’t look,” I complain, squinting despite the light protection of the Talon’s glass. It’s crystal clear even though we probably hit every type of flying bug, and it dims when illuminated directly.

SUBOPTIMAL PHYSICAL STATE DUE TO ETHANOL INTOXICATION.

Yeah, I know, I know.

I feel like I’m arguing with a split personality.

“Human tolerance to spirits is somewhat lacking,” the prince teases with a smug-looking expression. When his eyes flash, I know he’s speaking to his nanites. I guess my eyes do the same now?

“I created a nutrient drink specifically for your current ailment. It’s waiting for you at the synth module,” he tells me, and suddenly I’m not mad at his superiority anymore .

I lean over and kiss his cheek. His neural filaments flicker in response, making my heart sing.

As I walk to the nutrient station, I think about my relationship with the prince.

We’ve been sleeping in the same bed for days now, and nothing has happened besides some passionate make-out sessions.

I’m on the wrong side of my thirties, for heaven’s sake, yet we’re moving at a snail’s pace.

Maybe Avaren don’t take sex as lightly as humans do?

Jesus, what if they only have sex for procreation?

I know they’re built similarly , I think to myself as I stir the alien smoothie with a straw. Though I still haven’t forgotten about those bumps and ridges I saw when he… expressed his interest.

As I return to the cockpit, Kairen takes one look at me before his smile fades.

“What’s wrong? Your breathing is elevated. Are you going to be sick?” he asks.

I blush so hard I feel like I have a fever. “I just need to sit down and I’ll be fine,” I lie.

“Hmm,” he muses before his eyes flash. “Oh.” He smirks, making my blush spread down my neck and chest.

Freaking tattling nanites.

“We should spend a couple of days resting once we find your family and get them to safety,” he says. The change of topic surprises me until I look at him and see him biting his lower lip.

“Oh,” I gasp. “Right. Resting.”

“Exactly.”

“Sounds good.”

“I thought so.”

“And…” I hesitate. “How do Avaren… rest?”

When his eyes flash again, I know he’s comparing human and Avaren sex, and I want the Talon’s floor to open up and drop me onto the mountain peaks.

“It appears that humans and Avaren mostly rest the same way. Although Avaren males are better equipped to ensure a… more pleasurable rest for the female. ”

I squeeze my thighs together. Yeah, I bet they are.

“And how often do Avaren rest?” I inquire, going along with the charade.

“Oh, we believe that one should rest as often as possible to ensure optimal well-being.”

I swallow back a moan. “I’m looking forward to resting with you,” I tell him, unsure of where this boldness is coming from. It’s just so easy with him.

“So am I,” he reassures me in a low voice. “I’ve been thinking of little else but resting with you since we met.”

Kiko’s head swivels from one to the other, and I wonder if he’s getting the subtext. He tends to chime in with facts by now, so he must know something other than resting is up.

Something ribbed for my pleasure , I think to myself with a smirk.

The Talon’s consoles beep, interrupting the lustful thoughts swirling in my head.

“What is it?” I ask Kairen.

“We’ve arrived at the border village where you said your family might have gone if they left their home,” he explains, no longer looking amused and playful. It doesn’t take me long to see why.

“Those aren’t normal people, are they?” I murmur, watching the figures below swarm.

“They’re infected,” Kairen confirms my suspicion.

“My grandparents could be there,” I say sadly. I thought maybe this remote area would be safe. Hope really is a bitch.

Kairen stands up and calls his exoskeleton in one motion.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I will ease their suffering,” he answers grimly. “Which is your grandparents' house?”

I point at the roof of the house where I spent so much of my childhood playing in and around.

He gives me a clipped nod and says, “Stay here.”

“I could help?” I offer. Though I can’t imagine having to… “No,” I answer myself before he does .

“No,” he agrees as his visor lowers, blocking out the incredible eyes I had gotten so used to these days. With a final squeeze of my shoulders, he walks out of the cockpit.

I hear the hydraulic hiss of a door opening and closing, and then it’s not long until I see him out of the large window, descending right into the thickest of the infected.

I briefly contemplate the fact that I, too, could fly now, if I wanted to, but can’t entertain the diverting thoughts for long.

I know what he’s about to do, and my grandparents are probably among those whom he’s going to do it to.

Rather than watch him do it from up here, I pick up my hangover smoothie and take it to the sleeping area, telling Kiko to wait for me.

I take a long draw of the drink, enjoying the refreshing coolness despite the lack of flavor.

Then I pull off my clothes and step into the small bathroom and toilet combination area.

Pushing the buttons Kai showed me, I call up a mist designed to chase the last of the clouds from my brain.

By the time I pull on a fresh T-shirt and finish off the drink, the prince is back.

He's still wearing his exoskeleton, though the visor is up, and he’s holding a picture frame in his hands.

Numbly, I extend mine to take it from him.

It’s a picture of our family, posing in front of the Christmas tree.

I’m in my late teens, so my parents look a lot younger than when I last saw them before the invasion.

My sisters are just innocent kids, barely starting high school at that point.

And my mom’s parents are grinning widely, happy to be spending such an important holiday with their daughter and grandkids.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Did you have to put them down?” I ask Kairen hoarsely.

He shakes his head. “Their remains are in the house, in their bed. It seems that they fell asleep before the infected could get to them. Medicine nearby suggests it was aided.

I nod jerkily. “That’s probably the best outcome,” I remark, my voice sounding cold and detached, though that’s far from how I’m feeling .

Kairen takes me into his arms, holding me tight, the frame trapped between our bodies. “I’m sorry, Princess,” he whispers.

“Yeah…” My voice breaks, and I cough to clear my throat. “Yeah, me too. Did you take care of those poor people down there?” I ask, diverting my thoughts before I can begin ruminating.

I can feel him nodding. “I did. There are no human life forms within fifty of your kilometers.”

“This place is remote,” I murmur into his chest. “That’s why I had hopes it would be safe for my family.”

“No place is truly safe until the Ghorvek are defeated,” he replies, not unkindly. He holds me at arm’s length, wordlessly asking for my eyes. “And that’s the future we will bring about for the survivors. Their children and grandchildren will never go through this.”

As tears flow down my cheeks, I lift my hands to pull his face close to mine, then press my lips against his. The kiss tastes like salty grief, but as his tongue meets mine in a dance that transcends galaxies, I briefly forget about my loss.

“Come on,” I say once I pull away. “There’s somewhere I want to take you.”

His eyebrow pops up, but he doesn’t resist when I take his hand and walk back to the cockpit. I guide him to the pilot’s seat and ask him to pull up a map of the surrounding area.

“There.” I point to twin lakes on the border of Italy and Slovenia. “I want us to spend the rest of the day and the night there. We can sunbathe and stargaze.”

His eyes soften as I speak, the last of the confusion leaving his features. “That sounds wonderful. But what about finding your family?”

I shrug, then pick at my nails. “It’s been four years since I could say I know where they are. One day of me catching up to everything emotionally isn’t going to make a difference.”

He tugs on my arm until I fall onto his lap, then brings my palm to his lips. “I’ll require my copilot’s assistance,” he says with a wink, making me melt into him.

“Reporting for duty, Captain,” I tease with a smirk.

“That’s Commander to you, Princess.”