Page 84 of Tempting Fate

Shohari peered at her comm screen. “Is that the same chiyi?”

“Yes, this is Orbit. She’s laid eggs at Kri’s feet, can you believe?”

My sister barked out a laugh. “Did she indeed?”

The little flower lizard must have mated with one of the species native to Vadias. “Yes. I look forward to seeing them hatch. How is your decoy plan going?”

“Last I heard, the former owner of this pile of junk was leading a few hunters on a merry chase on the Dorimisa.” She sniffed. “So disguising ourselves is working for now. But the sooner we fix this, the sooner I—we—can buy something else.”

“I’m working on it. Thank you, Ohri.” I set the datapad down, joy filling me. A next step. A next step in building my new life.

The device chirped with a notification, and I swiped the screen.

Garrison

Hey. Look, if things are going where I think they could be going… I wish Sho had told me about the soul bond much earlier, it might have saved us a lot of heartache. Glad you’re feeling better, dude. Look after my friend.

The soul bond.

Ever since Bekatal had mentioned it, the idea hadn’t left me. If anyone could be my taamhia kizathi, my soulbound mate, it would be Imani. If the fates saw how good we were together, surely they would bless us and bind our souls together for the rest of our lives. Of course, with humans being such a new species, there was no information on the commnet about how they bonded. Nearly all species had some form of mate bond, and I wondered what theirs would be.

I would talk to her about it. And about progressing things during kalidi. Garrison had seemed protective about me mating with Imani, but Daiytak had said it was permitted.

“That’s relationships, not mating.” Daiytak had made the distinction, and I rubbed my horns. Perhaps speaking with Imani about our physical relationship was easier than jumping straight to soul bonds.

Regardless, I should reply to my sister’s mate. I did not know what a dude was, but perhaps he thought me a rake. “I would die before I hurt one hair on her head. Send comm.”

He had nothing to worry about. Mates or mating, relationship or friendship, whatever I had or would have with Imani, I would protect and cherish her at all costs.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Baby's First Real Boner

Imani

I TOUCHED MYSELF in front of him yesterday.

I still couldn’t quite believe it, but neither of us had mentioned it today, and things weren’t awkward, so… no regrets.

Airida and I ate lunch with the others in the central area. This was my favourite, spiced alien potato, today with a selection of vegetables in a sauce reminiscent of creamy carbonara crossed with a rich, spicy tagine.

I set my plate down with a sigh. “That was delicious.”

“Really? You liked it?” A hopeful smile played across Airida’s face. At my nod, his headspines gave a delightful ruffle. “I helped make it.”

Well, colour me surprised. “Well done, Airi. It’s good for you to get involved with village life.” When I eventually got back to town, he was going to be just fine. As would I. The geoscience guild had finally given me a task, write a report on the geological structure of Vadias, and I was eager to get stuck in.

He rubbed a hand over his horns. “It is that, and… I wanted to cook for you. They only let me cut the potato, but… I am glad you like it.”

Sweet, sweet man. Why was that utterly adorable? “Well, you did good. It’s my favourite.”

His face split in a wide smile. “Please wait there, I’ll be right back.” He stacked my plate with his and took them to the kitchen, and when he returned, he buzzed with a nervous, excited energy. “Will you come with me?”

I had planned to spend this afternoon writing my report, but I nodded and followed him to his hut.

As soon as we got in and the door closed, he spun, trapping me against it. “I want to ask you something, my moonlight.”

I willed my heart rate to calm. He’d let me escape if I wanted to, of course he would, but with the heat radiating off him and the deep melody of his voice… “Okay.”