Page 28 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

TARA

F eldman gives me sad puppy eyes that look ridiculous on a man his age. “Are you sure you can’t take me with you?”

I wince and avoid his gaze. “I’m sorry, doctor, but there’s only one bed and Kairen says it’ll take a few days of travel.”

“I could sleep on the floor, I don’t care!” the astrophysicist says with exuberance.

“Well… There is a medical cot…”

Before I can finish my sentence, Patricia smacks Feldman upside the head.

“I’m not sleeping on the floor or a medical cot,” she hisses.

“And if you think I’m going to let you go alone, your brain is starting to sour.

” Our part-time medic and part-time minister crosses her arms and gives her partner a narrow-eyed look.

“You’ll be so enamored you’ll never want to come home to me again. ”

Feldman rushes to embrace her. “I could never forget you, my little lotus flower!”

And that’s my cue to get the hell out of Dodge.

“Assistive units don’t require a bed,” Kiko chimes in from beside me, his voice overly bright .

I lean down to help him climb up my arm and onto my shoulders. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’d never do intergalactic travel without you.”

I spot Kai near the Talon, talking with his men, Zane and Jorik, while Sorin loads some crates they brought down from the Sovereign.

“Are you sure you don’t want to check on your ship?

” I ask my malien as I wrap my arms around him from behind.

His hands immediately cover mine, like he too can’t go a moment without skin-to-skin contact when we’re near each other.

These last weeks with him have been incredible, despite the constant danger.

“I’m sure, my love,” he replies gently. “I discussed everything with Caden over comms, and it’s far from the first time that he takes command for an extended period.” He turns in my arms until we’re face to face. “Do you have everything you need?”

I rest my head on his chest and sigh happily, Kiko beeping a joyous little tune from behind my head. “I do now,” I say.

When I notice the silence around us, I open my eyes to see three Avaren soldiers staring at us with curiosity.

Zane’s ears turn red, and he clears his throat to speak.

“Your highnesses are very sweet together. It gives the rest of us hope we’ll find such a good match.

” Jorik and Sorin nod in agreement with their colleague, their neural filaments flickering with unhidden emotions.

They all want to find their person so badly.

“Well, I hope your ladies are on this planet and you find them soon.” I tilt my head and add: “And that they’re all awesome and treat you right.”

“It’s our job to treat them right,” Sorin says.

“And our honor,” Jorik adds.

“Hm.” I look at the three soldiers. They look so good together, with the matching uniforms, eyes like neighboring galaxies, and expressions that say they just want to please.

“What is it?” Kairen asks.

“Has there ever been more than one match for a person?” I inquire. I chew on my lower lip before continuing. “Like, two or more females for one male, or the opposite?”

“There have been records of Avaren finding a second match after losing their first one.” He nods at his soldier. “I know Kael is finding it difficult to be without one since Zane’s mother passed.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Zane,” I murmur.

Zane scratches the back of his head. “It has been many cycles. I want my father to be happy again.”

“Well, I want all of you to be happy,” I reply, looking at the three sexy aliens.

“Thank you, Princess.”

I blush at the title. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to being royalty to an alien people from an alien planet.

When I only make some weird noises, Kai comes to my rescue. “Are you ready to leave, love?”

I take a bracing inhale, still not completely at ease about this, even though I was above Earth and looking down at it a month ago.

Before I met Kairen, I thought I wouldn’t make it to my fortieth birthday. Nor did I think I’d make it outside of this state, let alone the continent. But outside of the solar system, the freaking galaxy ? No way.

Still, I nod at my commander, putting on a brave smile. “Kiko and I are ready,” I say, and feel the little robot bobbing in agreement. Before I can move, though, something small tries to tackle me.

“Stacy!” Melinda chastises, running over to our group.

“Hi, Pipsqueak,” I greet the little girl, running my fingers through her silky golden hair.

“Are you going to come back, Tara?” she asks me, my name coming out more like Tawa .

“Of course, I will,” I reassure her. I crouch down until I’m level with her.

Kiko leans forward until his head is right next to mine. “If Stacy had her own assistive unit, you could talk whenever you wanted to,” the robot says .

Stacy’s eyes light up at Kiko’s words. “Can I have one, Momma?” she asks Melinda in that irresistible child’s tone that’s hard to resist.

“Oh! Well…” Melinda stutters.

“The boys will bring down a spare AU,” Kairen decrees. I look at Zane, Jorik, and Sorin, but see they’re not paying attention to us at all. All three are staring at the little girl’s mom like she’s a fascinating alien creature. Which, fair enough.

Kai clears his throat. “Soldiers,” he prompts louder.

Zane shakes out of the spell first. “Yes, Commander,” he says, followed by Jorik and Sorin echoing the acknowledgment.

Melinda flushes under the attention and pulls her daughter against herself, almost like a shield. “T–thank you. Say bye, Stacy.”

“Bye!” the little girl shouts with a wave.

We watch them leave, the trio a little too long not to be suspicious.

“Does Melinda have a partner?” Jorik asks first.

Sorin throws him a narrow-eyed look. “She wasn’t looking at you, she was looking at me.”

“How about we have her tested for a match before you piss around her in a circle?” Zane asks through gritted teeth.

“Jeez, guys, calm down,” I say with my hands up placatingly. “No. Stacy’s dad isn’t in the picture. He left them when Stacy was born. We don’t even know if he’s still alive.”

“He doesn’t deserve to be,” Jorik growls, and the other Avaren males nod in agreement.

“Oh boy,” I say with a giggle. “I pity the man if you ever come across him.”

“Let’s liberate this planet of the Ghorvek before you organize a hunt,” Kai commands, though something about his tone tells me he’s eager to have some one-on-one time with the man who abandoned this child at birth.

I take one last look at the place I called home these last few years before I turn my back on it. Only in the physical sense, though. There’s still too much work to do here on Earth, and I’m not abandoning it or the hope of finding out what happened to my family.

“Good luck, Commander,” Zane says.

My prince throws him a look that could peel paint off the walls. “Why would I require luck, Zane?”

The soldier looks like he regrets being born. “Oh! I mean, with Zeriah, and your brother, and…” He gulps heavily and takes a deep breath. “I just meant, safe travels.”

“Right,” Kairen says in a very patronizing way.

I chew on the side of my thumbnail. “What did he mean with that, Kai?”

Zane’s neural filaments start flickering wildly, and his fellow soldiers abandon him mercilessly, walking off to their fighter jet with a final nod in our direction.

“I’ll tell you aboard,” my prince answers with a dry tone.

“Apologies, Commander,” Zane says with a wince.

Kairen sighs. “You’re dismissed, Zane. Take care of getting an AU to the child, and you may test her mother if she agrees to it.”

Zane bows deeply. “Thank you, my Prince.”

“Let’s go before Zane divulges my entire romantic history. I’d need a bottle of spirits for that.”

The soldier in question scrams with bright red ears and a lowered head. Curious and impatient, I follow Kai and Kiko up the ramp to the Talon. The ship has been a mobile home of sorts for weeks, even though we spent plenty of time in different fortified bases.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I murmur once the doors close behind us.

He turns and grins at me. “Yes, I’m sure you don’t want to know at all, and that is why you brought it up immediately.”

I feel my cheeks burning as we move to the cockpit, Kiko storing himself in his compartment without a word. That’s not a good sign.

“I told you how some Avaren wait for their matches, and some find partners outside of that guarantee, hoping that a miracle might occur?” Kai begins.

Wide-eyed, I nod at him, taking my seat blindly and thankfully not missing it with my ass.

“And I told you how in the past, females would… court me, thinking only of the status of bearing royal heirs would bring them.”

I purse my lips. “It’s hard to believe they’d look at you and not see what an amazing catch you are.”

He grabs my hand and brings it to his lips for a kiss. “Well,” he continues. “Zeriah attempted to gain that status first with me and then, when I began to spend more time away from Avaris, with my brother.”

“What a bitch,” I mutter, already hating the faceless bimbo.

“I don’t care,” he says empathetically. “But there is a complication now.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What kind of complication?”

“Well,” he says with a wince. “You killed her only brother a few moonfalls ago. And she will be at the palace with my family. I don’t know what her reaction to you will be.”

“Oh,” I gasp.

Oh… fuck.