His eyes drank in Jaiya’s silhouette in a long, strapless gown that shimmered like the blue jewel that she was, its cutouts teasing all who gazed upon her. She’d pulled her long, flowing hair up in a bun, leaving delicate tendrils free to frame her face. A simple silver necklace dangled gracefully around her neck. His eyes never left her face as he reached for her cheek, only to be disappointed when his hand passed through the hologram, reminding him that she wasn’t real. The female he yearned for was not standing before him; it was only an image of her past.
Idris took a swig of his drink as he reclined in his chair, eyeing the display before him. The lock of her hair lay braided on his desk, with her letter folded neatly next to it.
Over the last few days, she had become his obsession.
Now that she’d returned to his base, under his protection, he dared to hope that she would swear herself to him.
Her Rear Wing Pilot and friend, Zaera, had gifted him a holodisk filled with Jaiya’s memories. She was able to copy the data off the original, which Jaiya had left behind in the locker on the moon base she’d called home. Zaera told him the memories would help him understand her captain’s actions.
Jaiya’s happiest moments were times when she was rewarded for her service. She worked so hard to make a name for herself, only to be betrayed by her own people.
The holodisk was filled with images and videos of Jaiya’s past—achievements, rewards, and rare slices of real-life captured in pictures taken of her unaware.
There was a common theme—she was always alone. The only two people who made consistent appearances were a male, who, by looks, had to be her twin brother and Zaera. Other random people made appearances here and there, but he couldn’t find anyone who looked like her father.
Why wasn’t he ever around?
Jaiya Lian had been the perfect soldier—up until the mission that had changed everything.
He stared at the hologram, picturing what she would look like with her long, black hair down around her shoulders. Gauging the length of the chunk of hair she left him, he could estimate it had been as long as his—if not longer.
Perhaps my sister was right about her carrying a warrior’s soul, born in the wrong body.
He tried to picture her standing by his side, helping him leadtheirpeople to victory.
“Are you going to keep staring at that all day? Or are you going to go get her?”
Idris effortlessly located his assistant—his brother, in all purposes—leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a look of disappointment on his face.
“What do you mean?” Idris asked, sipping his drink.
“Ever since she returned, you have become obsessed, tracking down any and every little thing you can learn about her,” he scoffed. “You won’t gain her affection by acting like some lovesick stalker and watching her from afar.” Erlyn pushed off the wall and strolled toward his desk, studying Jaiya’s hologram intently. “I am not the only one who has noticed this, and people are starting to talk. What is preventing you, Prince Idris of the Daextru, from talking to her? I have never seen you this tied up in knots before.”
“I pushed her away, and I don’t know how to fix it,” Idris confessed, placing his glass on his desk. “And it’s hard for me to reconcile the pilot I knew with the diplomat she became during our peace talks. In my heart, I know they are the same person, but my mind keeps wanting to separate them.” He ended the hologram and gathered up all the belongings that reminded him of her, placing them in his desk safe. “Did you know, at one point, I debated asking you if I could kiss you? I wanted to see if I was attracted to males or justher.”
“Yet now you know that you have been drawn to Jaiya Lian, the female human captain, all along,” Erlyn said pointedly. “If I were you, I would act on that knowledge.”
“What should I do?”
“You can start by talking to her. Telling me about your feelings—or whatever this is—is not going to clear the air between you and her.” He pulled up his tablet and made a few swipes. “It looks like she’s practicing alone in the arena. I’m betting Raizxl would enjoy a break from guard duty. Which reminds me, why have you assigned her a guard? I understand your decision to post guards around her wing and on the tributes’ floor, but I thought you trusted her.”
“I did—I do.” He growled, shaking his head in frustration. “I trust her enough to let her walk around with her beamblade. It’s notherI’m worried about. I don’t want anyone who bears ill will against humans to hurt her.”
“If their information helps Ushyaz win the war, she’ll practically be a war hero. As it is, she saved your life. No one should have a problem with her.”
“But I don’t want to take any chances,” he breathed. “She may bear my scales, but we aren’t starmates. And I can’t be with her all the time.”
“Then go be with her now, while you can,” Erlyn snorted. “Sitting in here isn’t going to solve anything.”
* * *
Idris carefully entered Jaiya’s practice room, trying not to disturb her sparring match. He stood in the corner and intently watched her gracefully dodge and attack an unfamiliar human male. It seemed that in her spare time, she had learned how to custom-build an AI projection model.
Her display was almost erotic as she moved fluidly around the glowing male.
“I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!”
Idris’ awareness instantly jumped to high alert, his body instinctively reacting to her sudden threat.
