“Look, buster.” She pointed a finger at him. “Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go. The only reason you’re alive is because I pulled you out of that.” She directed her thumb behind her, over her shoulder.
There, on the other side of the room, was an immobile… spaceship?
“I don’t need or want you to flirt with me.”
Flirt? The definition eluded him. Not wanting to look like a total ignoramus, he focused on where she pointed.
Despite the weak light, the ship’s sleek design was unmistakable. The vessel had a seamless blend of elegant curves and smooth surfaces. Covering the hull was an iridescent sheen of organic materials that pulsated in gentle waves as if it were alive. Scorch marks and deep gouges marred its surface, clear evidence of a recent battle. Vines and tendrils snaked around obvious wounds, slowly knitting and repairing the damage. The ship’s organic form had a preternatural vibe, even battered like it was. All in all, it gave off a sense of resilience and quiet power.
Out of nowhere, information about the ship spewed out of his mouth. “It is an organic 11-15 that was created by the WOL, the ‘Warriors of Light’, for the previous Chancellor of the Federation Consortium. Its designation isElemi.”
The woman’s eyebrows rose. “You can remember all that, but you can’t remember your own name?”
With a grunt, he stood on less-than-firm legs. He was tired of craning his neck to keep up with this weird conversation. He moved like an old man because his body screamed and ached in places he never knew existed. “What can I say?” He grimaced. “I’m a man of many talents, but knowing my name isn’t one of them.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms again.
Damn, he wished she’d stop doing that. The last thing he needed to do was ogle her tempting chest. He suspected that might be part of that flirting thing that irritated her before.
“Well, I guess I’ll just call you Ari. Okay?”
He almost shrugged, but stopped himself since the last time he did it made his headache worse. “Whatever.” He eyed her. Yeah, looking down at her was much easier for his aching head. Helped the pinch in his neck, too. “And what do I call you?”
Thankfully, she put her fists back on her hips. Too bad it didn’t stop the urge he had to watch her chest rise and fall with each breath she took.
“You can call me Morgan.” She waved an expressive hand around her. “I guess it’s up to me to welcome you to theNebula Viper,the supposed best smuggling ship this side of the galaxy.”
The Hidden City of Aethralis in Antarctica, two months ago
“I swear to God, Morgan, you go out of your way to piss him off.”
Morgan snorted. No, no, she didn’t. He was just a stubborn old coot who never took her seriously. “Look, Seren. I’m tired of the High Guardian and his minions thinking we shouldn’t get involved with anything outside the city. Especially when it concerns humans.” She stopped walking and glared at her friend. “We could’ve ended the Akurn invasion before they got close enough to do the damage they did. I only want to prevent something like that from happening again.”
She ground her back teeth at the memory of what those asshole aliens almost did to Earth. No matter how hard she and her small group of allies urged the ruling council to act against the invasion, their pleas were dismissed every time.
“We will not get involved,” High Guardian Rummeh had stated in a flat, no-nonsense tone. “Not only for the good of Earth, but for the entire galaxy. We don’t have the luxury of taking our attention off Tartarus, that holds the Titans, for even a minute.”
Then the man had the nerve to chuckle.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Inanna and her people have things under control.”
Take today. She’d gone to the council to tell them about the newest threat that had happened to her the previous night. As a reward for her efforts, the jerks gave her a hefty dose of humiliation, dismissing her without a second thought. As if they didn’t deem her smart enough to recognize a disastrous threat when it fell into her lap.
Well, didn’t that just sum up her whole life in one hard reality? Treated like an outsider in their psionic society. One who fell short because of her painfully limited psychic abilities. Her only claim to fame was having xenoglossy, the capacity to understand and speak a language after hearing a few words spoken. It took longer for her to read a foreign language, since her brain needed a little extra time to sort through and unravel the written word.
Seren chuckled. “Yeah, you’re lucky your grandfather, the High Guardian, didn’t put you into solitary for having the nerve to argue with him like that.” She nudged Morgan’s shoulder. “Good thing he’s fond of you.”
“He’s too old to be my grandfather,” Morgan automatically argued. While she couldn’t deny she was one of his direct descendants, she was too uncomfortable with the immense age gap between them to use such a common title. Since he was a pureblood Akurn who lived one year for every 3,600 years that passed on Earth, she always had a hard time wrapping her head around the man’s actual age. Not that he’d ever confessed how old he was to her or anyone else.
“You always say that.” Seren chuckled, closing the high collar of her long, elegant coat to activate the heating unit within it. The luminescent designs on the coat displayed her status within their community.
Even deep within the ice shelves of the city, the temperature tended to fluctuate at the oddest times.
Morgan did the same and breathed a sigh of relief when her similarly styled clothing and boots wrapped her in welcoming warmth. Tired of the same old argument, she changed the subject. “Well, I’m sick and tired of him not taking me seriously. Why can’t he see this as an additional threat from aliens outside our solar system like I do?”
Although she expected Seren’s deep sigh, it still hurt.
“Because, my dear friend, the only concern we have here in Aethralis is keeping the Titans under wraps. If they ever got out, we’d all be toast. And not just those of us on Earth.” Seren stopped and gripped Morgan’s upper arm, her clear, sky-blue eyes sure and steady. “Besides, I’m sure Queen Inanna and her crew have done their due diligence and made sure the alien Zerin running the exchange program made it more than safe.”
