I could hear the suppressed pain lacing every word. I turned to grab his hand before he could pull away and looked him straight in his teal eyes, willing him to believe me.
“Don’t you dare. I think you’re gorgeous. We’re kindred spirits, Xylo. I think we’ve both suffered the isolation that comes with being different. The Stars. Fate. Whatever you want to believe in must have brought us together, knowing we had a common bond. Don’t you dare think you aren’t good enough just because you don’t look like a common houseplant,”I scolded, giving him a broad smile.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then glanced at the group awaiting us. He squeezed my hand.
“Thank you. It is hard looking the way I do. Before you arrived, I never thought I would have a chance to bond with a nestqueen.”
“Xylo... you need to know I’m trying to absorb everything. It hasn’t even been a day, and my life has been turned upside-down. Please be patient with me.”
“I will. And Selena, I must tell you that you impressed everyone with your Galactic Common last night. I know you would rather mindspeak to me—and I am willing to relay for you—but I think you should practice speaking Common with others.”He paused and glanced over at the crowd. “We will continue this conversation when we have more time. Right now, you are needed.”
He relinked our arms and led me across the hangar bay.
As we neared, the group fell silent and parted to reveal a smaller cluster—three of who I recognized from the misunderstanding last night. Beside them stood two figures who were clearly neither Wudox nor Ulax.
One of the figures was clearly male, encased in a black bodysuit. A dark metallic visor wrapped around his head, disappearing into the blue-black shoulder-length hair that was tied back at his neck. A green cloth draped across his face, leaving his long, pointy, tan ears and a pair of curving black horns visible. A matching deep green cape flowed behind him.
The other was unlike anything I’d seen before, yet exotically beautiful—akin to the peacocks or tropical birds I’d read had once roamed Earth’s jungles.
Right down to the set of magnificent wings.
The arch of the wings was dark blue, fading to cyan at the tips. The coverts were green. The secondary and primary feathers were large and golden. Even folded, the wings were taller than I was, and they looked heavy. The top half of the body was covered with fine cyan feathers that graduated to larger and darker blue at the hips. Leathery avian feet with three golden talons and a large hind claw rested on the floor. I could just make out the tips of golden tail feathers behind them. Larger feathers cascaded from shoulder to chest in shades of blues, greens, and gold. The hands were surprisingly human but covered in downy teal feathers and tipped with wicked black claws. Blue and green feathers sprouted from the corners of the eyes to the top of their head in place of hair. An angular golden face and a sleek gold beak, framed by intelligent pale green eyes, completed the stunning picture.
What shocked me more than the exotic appearance of the alien was its clothing. A neon-green bandolier crisscrossed their chest—numerous pockets sealed with mirror-like buttons—and attached to a neon-blue loincloth. I’d never seen anyone dressed in such vibrant colors. On the Yaarkin ship, everyone who’d worn clothing had always worn black or dark colors.
Xylo’s voice pulled me away from my close examination ofthe two new aliens. “Prince Z’fir. Prince V’dim. I brought Selena as requested.”
Xylo bowed his head to two of the males I’d kicked from my room last night. They were princes! I was horror-struck. What would they do to me?
I shifted uneasily.
The last thing I needed was to have offended royalty. Perhaps I could convince my new escort to take me with them. At least I hadhisassurance I wouldn’t be harmed—they were there to protect me.
The Wudox Prince stepped toward me with a smile.
I examined him warily. His skin was dark brown, threaded with medium tan and rich green veins. Deadly-looking blades grew along the line of his thighs. The same vibrant green colored his mossy shoulders and the roots of his hair and vines, shading to a dark red at the petals and ends of his hair. Deep emerald eyes stared reassuringly into mine.
“I believe we—most unfortunately—met on bad terms last night. I am Prince Z’fir, third-ranking Prince of the Wudox. And this is the co-commander of theDestiny, Prince V’dim.”
The Ulax Prince stepped forward, nodding to Xylo before turning his gaze to me.
Unlike Prince Z’fir, Prince V’dim’s skin was cobalt, covered in a wide range of blue, turquoise, and indigo swirls. Unlike the Wudox, his blades grew from his forearms and hips. They were colored in graduating shades of blue with speckles in the same variety of turquoise and indigo as the rest of his body. His tentacles matched his skin but with turquoise tips. There was no nose, and he had a slit for a mouth. Deep indigo anemone-like hair, turquoise irises surrounded black pupils, and small fins folded against his head where ears would be completed the picture.
I glanced down and noticed the Ulax feet differed fromthe Wudox. They were like a human’s in shape, but with three longer, thicker, webbed toes—in Prince V’dim’s case, the webbing was dark teal.
“I am Prince V’dim, third-ranking Prince of the Ulax. These males claim they were sent by the Aldawi to guard you for the remainder of our trip to CEG HQ.”
Prince Z’fir turned toward the visored male. “This is Kaede—a special agent sent as your personal guard.”
Kaede stepped smoothly forward and knelt. He clasped my hand in a firm grip and lifted it to his face, kissing it beneath the cloth covering his face. As my hand fell back to my side, he bowed his head to his knee.
My cheeks warmed with embarrassment.
“I am Kaede. My life is yours.” His voice was melodious and echoed with his pride in this duty.
Shocked, not knowing how to react to the dramatic pronouncement, I gave him a small smile and tilted my head as I’d seen Xylo do.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Selena. I appreciate the offer, but I’m sure it’s not necessary. I’m nobody and certainly don’t want anyone sacrificing their life for my own.”
