Imminent Danger: And How to Fly Straight Into It (23 page)

“That’s no reason to be with a man,” Kraigoth said.

“There are extenuating circumstances.”

“Like what?” he challenged. “Does he have some hold over you?”

“Not a hold, exactly.”

“Then what?”

She looked toward Varrin again. He was still conversing with Noppi. Lowering her voice, Eris said, “He’s promised to take me and my friend to Psilos.”

Kraigoth furrowed his brow. “Well, I can’t say I’m personally headed in that direction, but I have several cargo ships that make the run every few days. You and your friend are welcome to hitch a ride.”

Eris’s eyes widened at his generosity. “That’s very kind of you, but I don’t want to impose—”

“You wouldn’t be,” Kraigoth said. He favored her with another friendly smile. “I dislike seeing women taken advantage of, Miss Mimi, regardless of their species.”

He certainly seems trustworthy,
Eris thought as they spun silently across the floor.
And three days ago I might have taken him up on his offer, but now—

Her train of thought was cut off when the song ended and the dancers stepped away from each other. “Care for another dance?” Kraigoth asked, extending his big hand.

Eris was about to accept when she felt someone grasp her other hand and pull her away from the Scalkan. She found herself face-to-face with Varrin.

“My turn,” the Rakorsian said.

“The lady and I weren’t finished,” Kraigoth rumbled.

Varrin arched an eyebrow. “Oh, I think you were.”

“Don’t cause a scene,” Eris hissed.

With a mischievous sparkle in his eye, Varrin released her and sank into an overdramatic bow that brought his nose down nearly to his knees. “Would my lady deign to be seen dancing with a lowly mortal such as myself?”

Unbelievable.
“Thank you for the dance,” Eris told Kraigoth. “But I should probably dance with Aedar before he injures himself.”

Kraigoth hesitated, looking at Eris questioningly. When she didn’t say anything further, he nodded to her and then left the dance floor.

Varrin pulled her into his arms, and they began to dance.
Despite having only one functioning arm, he’s even better than Kraigoth,
she thought.
Why does that not surprise me?

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“He’s an excellent dancer,” Eris retorted. “Why did you cut in?”

“In case you forgot,
Mimi
, you’re my mistress. I’d hardly be playing my role properly if I let you go off and dance with random men, now would I?”

“He asked me to dance,” she said shortly. “You didn’t.”

Varrin stared at her. “No,” he said. “I suppose you’re right.”

They waltzed in silence for a few minutes.
This is less awkward than I expected,
she thought
. In fact, it’s almost … fun. There’s something to be said about dancing with a man who looks like a modern-day Adonis and smells like a summer sun shower.

Then Varrin broke the spell. “What were you and Kraigoth talking about?”

“This and that,” Eris said evasively. “The ball, the hotel, stuff like that.”

“I was watching you,” he pressed. “You looked flustered.”

“I was no such thing. Well, I mean, he did offer Miguri and me a ride on one of his cargo ships bound for Psilos, but I—”

Varrin abruptly released her. He stepped away, frowning. “He what?”

“He was just being friendly,” Eris said. “I didn’t accept his offer or anything.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Varrin said tightly. “Because I’m taking you to Psilos.”

Eris rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t cheat you out of your precious finder’s fee. I mean, you fought off a jsgarn just to keep your cargo safe, so—”

Her attempts to appease Varrin only seemed to irritate him. “You don’t seriously think that’s why I saved you, do you?”

“Then why did you?” she asked.

“I—” He closed his mouth and shook his head. “Never mind. You’re right—I was just protecting my investment, nothing more.”

Annoyed and confused, Eris said, “Maybe I should accept Kraigoth’s offer. Then you won’t have to worry about keeping me alive all the time.”

Varrin laughed loudly. “Brilliant idea, terrestrial. Fly off into the sunset with some man you barely know. Let me know how that works out for you.”

Eris noticed some of the couples dancing nearby were staring at them. “Look,” she snapped quietly, “you have no right to be getting all sarcastic like that, not after what you put me through. At least Kraigoth treats me like a human being!”

“You
are
one!” Varrin exploded.

“Keep your voice down!”

The couples around them were starting to edge away. Several had stopped dancing entirely to watch the escalating fight.

“I think,” Varrin countered, “you just can’t handle that, aside from one legitimate business transaction—which I’ve already apologized for—I’ve treated you perfectly decently. You’re just laying all the blame on me because you’re light-years from home and miserable about it!”

Eris officially stopped caring what their growing audience thought. “You
never
apologized, and I wouldn’t
have
to be miserable if you would just take me home!” At a loss for what else she could say to him, she turned and fled the dance floor. The crowd parted before her.

As she raced up the carpeted stairs toward the exit, she heard footsteps behind her. A hand closed around her wrist, pulling her to a halt. She turned to see Varrin standing several steps below her. His eyes were stormy, and he looked like he was about to start shouting. But when he spotted the tears pooling in her eyes, he faltered.

Suddenly Kraigoth was there as well, interposing himself between the pair and forming a wall of protective muscle in front of Eris. He yanked her arm out of Varrin’s grip. Eris staggered back and had to grab the banister to keep her balance.

“Get out of my way,” the Rakorsian said to Kraigoth, but his gaze was fixed on Eris. She had never seen his gray eyes so inscrutable.

“The lady wants to leave,” Kraigoth said staunchly. When Varrin didn’t move, Kraigoth planted his hand on the Rakorsian’s chest and pushed, forcing him back down a step.

Having seen Varrin’s unmatched superiority in battle and fearing for the Scalkan’s well-being, Eris placed a hand on her protector’s shoulder and said, “Kraigoth, you really don’t have to—”

“It’s fine,” he said, glowering down at Varrin. “Mistress or not, he has no right to grab you like that.”

“You would do well not to interfere with matters that are none of your concern,” Varrin snapped. “Now, for the second time, get out of my way.”

“No!”

Before either Varrin or Kraigoth could move, Eris flung herself between them.

“What are you doing?” Varrin demanded.

“Stopping you from doing something extremely stupid,” Eris said, facing him down. “Why does it always have to end in violence with you? Haven’t you ever heard of discussing your problems like a normal person?”

“I’m not a normal person.”

Eris threw her hands in the air. “I give up! Do what you want, just like you always do! But don’t expect me to stick around for it.” She jabbed her finger toward the exit. “I’m leaving now. Don’t you dare try to stop me again.”

She stepped around Kraigoth and then ran up the golden steps and out of the ballroom.

24

E
ris awoke the next morning with a headache and a sensation of bouncing. Forcing her eyes open, she saw someone jumping on the bed. A very small, fluffy-haired someone. “Miguri!” she exclaimed. “You’re back!”

The Claktill pounced on her, and she flung her arms around him happily.

“Did you find your family?” she asked.

Miguri bowed his tufted head. “Sadly, no. There are hundreds of Claktilli refugee vessels, and I was only able to contact a handful. None of them knew the whereabouts of my family. But I sent out a general transmission—if anyone searches for my name, they will receive the message that I am alive and well.”

Eris hugged the Claktill again. “I’m sure you’ll find them.”

“That is my hope. I believe it is time for me to make amends. I know I may never be the Claktill they want me to be, but I am bound to them by love just the same.” Miguri glanced around the room. “Where is the Rakorsian?”

In her excitement over Miguri’s return, Eris had forgotten the events of the previous evening. “We had a bit of a fight,” she said glumly. “In front of the entire hotel. I haven’t seen him since.”

Miguri’s hair spiked in alarm. “He did not hurt you, did he?”

“Only my feelings,” Eris sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ll get over it.”

They heard a polite knock on the suite door. “I will see who it is,” Miguri said and scampered out of the bedroom.

He returned a minute later with a shiny green package. “It is addressed to Mimi,” he said, handing it to Eris.

“It’s for me? Who would be sending me something?”

She tore off the wrapping and pulled out a knee-length purple, cottony dress with flowing alien lettering embroidered all over in gold thread. Accompanying the beautiful dress was a pair of golden high-heels.

“These are beautiful,” Eris murmured.

“Who sent them?”

She rifled through the packaging. “I don’t know. There’s no card.” Eris looked down at the wrinkled, ivory ball gown she had been wearing since the night before. “But I guess I do need a change of clothes.”

Grabbing the dress and shoes, she hurried off to the cleanser to change.

After spending a few hours chatting with Miguri about his recent adventures, Eris decided she should probably go find Varrin.
He’d better not have gotten drunk and fallen off a cliff or been arrested,
she thought.
He’s our ride off this moon, after all. Besides, we need to talk about what happened last night.
She sighed.
Why are things always so complicated with him?

Leaving Miguri to his lunch, Eris made her way to the hotel’s reception desk. As she approached, the clerk said, “Good afternoon, madam. How may I help you?”

“I’m looking for Aedar Korlethi,” Eris said. “I don’t suppose you know where he is?”

“I am sorry. Hotel policy only allows me to release that sort of information to family members.”

“Oh, didn’t I mention that?” Eris said, batting her eyelashes. “He’s my husband. We just got married, you see. It’s all so new to me!”

The clerk smiled knowingly. “And what was the name of your husband, again?”

“Aedar Korlethi.”

He typed something on a hidden keyboard. “Master Korlethi is currently in the crystal blue steam pool. Seventh floor, take a right out of the main elevators.”

“Thanks a million,” she gushed. “You’re a life saver.”

Eris took an elevator to the seventh floor. When she stepped out into the hallway, she spotted steam billowing out from under a nearby door. Steeling herself for her upcoming confrontation with Varrin, she eased open the door and walked into the room.

A large square pool dominated the space, and the air was thick with steam. The walls were almost entirely windowed but tinted to prevent outside eyes from peering in. A narrow wooden walkway led to a small, square platform floating atop the bubbling water. She could vaguely see someone seated on the platform.

Eris stepped onto the walkway, wobbling in her high heels. As she carefully approached the platform, she could see that the figure was a dark-haired man, naked to the waist, sitting cross-legged with his back toward her. His right arm was encased in a black metal cast.
Found you
, she thought.

Moving closer, she could see that an intricate pattern of black lines covered his back and shoulders, forming a stylized image of an eye surrounded by a sun.
I never knew he had a tattoo. Then again, I’ve never seen him without his shirt on.
The rays of the sun stretched up over the muscles of his shoulders and down his back to the point where they were hidden beneath the waistband of his black trousers.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” Varrin said.

Startled, Eris stumbled back a step. Her heel got caught between the boards of the floating walkway, and she toppled sideways toward the water.

“Careful,” Varrin cautioned, suddenly at her side. He caught her flailing arm with his good hand and hauled her back upright. “Honestly, girl, you can’t go a minute without getting into some kind of trouble.”

Eris wished he would stop helping her. And she was confused, because he looked completely at ease, without even the faintest hint of anger in his gray eyes.
Did he get so drunk that he forgot about our fight entirely?
It seemed too much to hope for.

“I think you’d be safer sitting down,” he said.

Eris nodded.

Varrin led her out to the small wooden platform. Using his hand as leverage, she carefully sat down in the tight dress, tucking her knees to the side. As he sat down in front of her, she asked, “What’s with the tattoo?”

From the way his eyebrows shot up, Varrin had obviously been expecting a different question. “That’s what you came to talk to me about?” Shaking his head, he swiveled around so she could see his back. “The sun represents the eternal glory of Rakor,” he explained. “The eye represents the all-seeing Emperor, who guides and protects his people.”