Chapter Fifteen
Aelyx couldn’t stop thinking about the probe—and more specifically, who’d sent it. When the Voyagers had discovered Earth, they’d descended in a cloaked shuttle to explore the landscapes and urban centers. After determining a reasonably low safety risk, a crew of twelve had integrated with the human population, altering their eye color with medicated drops and wearing street clothes to observe human culture. Later, they’d reported their findings to The Way and received authorization to make official contact.
But that wasn’t happening on L’eihr.
The fact that an advanced race had launched a fleet of scouting devices meant one of two things: either the society lacked the capacity for interplanetary travel—which Aelyx doubted based on the probe’s extensive language database—or the senders didn’t wish to establish personal contact. If the latter were true, he had to consider the possibility of an invasion.
Had The Way kept the probes a secret for fear of alarming the citizens? Was L’eihr covertly preparing for war? No, that couldn’t be the case. The Aegis would train the clones for combat if an outside force posed a threat, and from what Cara had told him, the routine hadn’t changed.
Curse it all, what was going on?
He wanted to ask Stepha, but then Aelyx would have to explain how he knew of the probe’s existence. And Syrine was no help. Her mind was so clouded by infatuation that Aelyx had refused to engage in Silent Speech with her until she regained control of her libido. He wished she would simply bed David and be done with it. The tension inside the hotel penthouse was thick enough to spread on toast.
Aelyx leaned back in his leather armchair and watched Syrine, who in turn ogled David from her place on the sofa. Their bodyguard had taken Aelyx’s advice of giving Syrine space, and it had worked too well. She wanted David so badly she’d begun daydreaming torrid fantasies about him…which was a disturbing thing to glimpse through Silent Speech.
In the interest of figuring out what was going on, he needed to clear Syrine’s mind so they could work together. Which meant giving her “relationship” a little nudge. “David,” he said. When his friend glanced up from his magazine, Aelyx suggested, “You should show Syrine that card trick you did for the guards last night.”
David made a show of considering the request, then waved it off. “She doesn’t want to see that.”
“Yes, I do,” she said in a rush. Aelyx could practically hear Syrine mentally chiding herself for answering so quickly. She faked an unaffected shrug. “I mean, there’s nothing else to do while we’re trapped in here.”
David continued playing hard to get. “Nah. You’ll figure out the trick and call me a stupid human.”
“No, I won’t.”
“That’s what you say every time you beat me at backgammon.”
“Because you deserve it,” she criticized. “You make careless mistakes. Sometimes I think you’re losing to me on purpose.”
Aelyx rolled his eyes. “Let’s make it interesting,” he said. “Syrine, you pick a card, and if David guesses it correctly, you give him something. But if he can’t guess it—”
“A bet?” she interrupted.
“Exactly.”
She thought for a moment, then gave a decided nod and nudged David’s leg with her socked foot. “What shall we wager?”
Though David maintained a disinterested expression, his eyes brightened. “I don’t know. What do you want?”
Aelyx knew exactly what she wanted. “How about this,” he said. “The loser has to bring the winner supper in bed tonight.” If getting them alone in a bedroom while the ambassador was away didn’t set something in motion, nothing would.
Syrine smiled as if she’d already won. “Perfect. I’ll have a turkey club sandwich from the hotel deli—on freshly baked rye, no condiments and no tomatoes.”
“That’s what you think,” David said as he threw his magazine on the coffee table and pulled a pack of cards from his back pocket. “I’ll have a calzone from the deli, and then you’ll feed me grapes while I lounge on a stack of pillows.”
“You’ll feed me sliced pears,” Syrine countered. “Drizzled in cinnamon and honey.”
“Honey?” David’s throat bobbed. “I love honey, especially…drizzled on stuff.”
Sacred Mother. Aelyx was going to be sick. “Just do it already.”
“Patience, my friend.” David collected himself and shuffled the deck. “I don’t want to give Syrine a reason to accuse me of cheating when she loses.”
And she would lose. Aelyx had watched David stump his fellow soldiers a dozen times last night when he’d stepped into the hall to put out the recycling. Afterward, David had confided that the deck was marked. He’d bought it from a specialty store in New Jersey. The cards were decorated in an intricate—and deftly coded—design that only David could interpret.
He offered Syrine a chance to cut the deck and then fanned out the cards so she could choose one. When she made her selection, David told her to hold the card in front of her face and study it closely. The pretense was that he would try to read her thoughts, but in reality, it gave him a clear view of the encrypted symbols in the upper right-hand corner.
“Do you have it memorized?” David asked.
“Mmm-hmm.”
He handed her the stack. “Then put it back in the deck.”
Thinking she was clever, Syrine slipped her card on top of the pile and snatched the deck to shuffle it. “I know how this trick works,” she boasted. “You positioned a key card in the deck when I wasn’t looking. But now it’s out of order.” With a beaming smile, she handed him the stack. “You’ll never guess my card.”
Aelyx held back a laugh while David searched the deck, pretending to seek a card he’d already identified. David held one up and announced, “The jack of clubs.”
“No, it was the five of hearts!” Syrine bounced in her seat, clapping wildly. “I win!”
Flashing a wry grin, David wrapped a rubber band around the deck. “Yep, you beat me fair ’n’ square. Guess I’ll be feeding you pears and honey tonight.” He peeked up at her. “Hey, any chance you’re hungry? Dinner’s not for a while, but I spotted a fresh pear in the fridge. If you want, you can go get comfy and I’ll bring it to you.”
Aelyx hid a smile. He should be taking notes, because David was a damned genius.
Syrine was too busy gloating to realize she’d been played like a game of sticks. “Okay. Make sure you slice them extra thin, and don’t forget the cinnamon.” She practically skipped to her room and left the door open for David to follow her into paradise.
“And that, my friend,” David said, pointing at Aelyx, “is how it’s done.”