Chapter Seven
“I’ll bet it was Jaxen.” Aelyx climbed into bed, nearer to Cara’s image. He wished he could pull her safely beneath the covers and wrap her in his arms. “It’s too convenient that he came to your rescue at the last minute. Why wasn’t he in the dining hall with the assembly?”
“I don’t know.” Cara sat cross-legged atop her own bed, finger-combing her loose red waves of hair. “But Jaxen likes humans. He doesn’t have a motive to hurt me. I mean, I don’t really trust him, but—”
“Good. You shouldn’t.” Jaxen wanted Cara for himself—Aelyx had felt it weeks ago when he’d engaged in Silent Speech with the bastard. What better way to win Cara’s affections than to become her savior? Aelyx wasn’t there to intervene, and no one would question a member of The Way. “I don’t know him well, but there’s something—”
“Different about him,” Cara finished. “Yeah, I get that, too.” She twisted her hair behind her head and pinned it in place. “Which Aegis did he grow up in? Nobody here knows.”
Aelyx shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about Jaxen anymore. “You need to recalibrate your keypad so only you and Elle can get inside.”
“I did.”
“Try again. And make sure you’re never alone.” Jaxen would certainly try to put Cara in his debt again. “You need a constant alibi—someone like Elle who can use Silent Speech to confirm your innocence.”
Cara began chewing her thumbnail. “I knew living here would be an adjustment, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this.” With a sigh, she pulled her pillow into her lap and curled around it. “I mean, a constant alibi? Is this my life now?”
“No.” Aelyx couldn’t let her think that way. His greatest fear was that she might change her mind and return to Earth. “This is only temporary. Once we’re on the colony, everything will change. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I understand how you feel,” he said. “I’m under constant guard. They don’t even let the L’annabes near me.” Not that he objected to that decision. “Every day it’s a new city, but I don’t get to see much. Syrine and I just sit in our hotel all night.”
A shadow passed over Cara’s face. “So you spend every spare minute together?”
Before he could answer, Syrine knocked twice and opened the bedroom door, bringing with her the smell of charred beef from the kitchen. She announced in their native language, “Our l’ina is ready,” before noticing Cara’s hologram and switching to English. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hello, Cah-ra. How are you enjoying L’eihr?”
“It’s fantastic,” Cara said tightly.
Syrine backed out of the room and told Aelyx she’d keep his plate warm until he was finished with his call. Once she left, Cara turned her glare on him.
“Syrine made l’ina for you?” she asked.
“If you can call it that,” he said. “She does the best she can with local ingredients…” He trailed off when he realized Cara had interpreted Syrine’s words. “Hey, your L’eihr is improving!”
“Since when?”
He didn’t understand. “Since when is your L’eihr improving?”
“Since when,” Cara said as if he were obtuse, “does she cook for you?”
“I don’t know.” Aelyx counted the nights since Syrine’s visit to the children’s hospital. “For the past two days, I suppose.” She’d insisted on serving him l’ina both nights in an obvious effort to “extend the olive branch,” as humans said. He’d forced himself to choke down her meals in the interest of rebuilding their friendship, but it wasn’t easy.
“Why does she do that?” Cara asked.
“It’s a peace offering. Either that, or she’s trying to kill me,” he teased. “Her cooking is only marginally better than yours.”
Cara sputtered, unable to speak, until her mouth dropped into a pink oval and held there.
What? Had he said something wrong? Cara loved to joke about her horrible culinary skills. “You said your flatbread could end life on Earth.”
She didn’t laugh as he’d expected. Redness rose in her cheeks, continuing all the way to her hairline. She clenched her jaw and ground out, “I’ve got to go,” then disconnected. He tried to summon her again, but she denied the transmission.
Great bleeding gods, what had he done?
Aelyx didn’t pretend to comprehend the workings of the human female mind. He closed his eyes and replayed their conversation, which seemed to have gone awry when Syrine announced dinner was ready. Could that be it? Was Cara threatened because another female had offered him a meal? That seemed ridiculous, even for a human, but what did he know?
He decided to ask David.
Aelyx found his bodyguard in the living area, sitting by an open window on a chair he’d dragged over from the dining room. An icy breeze swirled through the penthouse as David used a magazine to fan a light haze of smoke outside. Smiling, the boy nodded toward Syrine in the kitchen and whispered, “At least she didn’t set off the fire alarm this time.”
Syrine peeked her head through the doorway and caught Aelyx’s eye. I’ll bring your l’ina to the table. I think I finally got it right!
Aelyx smiled, to match her excitement, while his heart sank. Judging by the smell, she hadn’t “gotten it right” at all.
David tried to hide a chuckle. “I don’t know whether to pity you or hate you.”
“Hate me?” Aelyx asked as he took a seat in front of the coffee table. “I should share my supper with you. Then you’d know where to direct your loathing.”
“Yeah, last night’s dinner looked like charcoal briquettes,” David said. “But damn, man. Look how many chicks fall at your feet.” He listed them on his fingers. “You’ve got Cara waiting on L’eihr; Syrine busting her cute little butt in the kitchen; and on any given day, a hundred groupies sending you their panties.” He pointed to a postal delivery crate, piled high with envelopes and packages. “And I’d know—I screen the mail.”
“Really?” Underwear as a form of correspondence? Human behavior truly confounded him sometimes. “Thanks for reminding me why I don’t read fan letters.” Aelyx hooked a thumb toward the kitchen. “As for Syrine, we’re friends. And barely that.”
David stopped waving his magazine, his face brightening. “You sure?”
“Completely.” Aelyx tapped the side of his head. “We communicate from here, remember? She thinks of me as a brother. I’d sense it if she felt differently.”
“Huh. You don’t say…” David tipped his head, appraising Syrine as she crossed the room with a plate balanced on her forearm and utensils in both hands.
Aelyx recognized the glazed-over look in his friend’s eyes. “Save your efforts,” he whispered. “She hates humans.”
David continued watching her as a crooked grin tugged at his mouth. “That’s because she doesn’t know me yet. Just wait till I unleash my charm.”
The boy’s unfailing confidence reminded Aelyx of why he’d wandered out here. “Can I ask you something? You seem to know a lot about females.”
“Yeah,” David said with a smirk. “And the first thing I can tell you is they don’t like being called females. Just say girls.”
“Okay, then. Girls.” Aelyx took the plate Syrine offered and thanked her. “I think Cara’s angry with me, but I’m not sure why.” He used his fork to poke at a chunk of blackened meat. “She kept asking why Syrine was cooking for me. Could that be it?”