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“I can.” Xeva smiled.
Reth was examining his stone. “This is pure.”
“Sure, it was from the centre of a crater. It didn’t blend or shatter.”
Jeron smiled. “I am going to settle you ladies at the restaurant and get Xeva’s dowry to the lab.”
Xeva smiled. “Good with me. Reth, see you for my session.”
“I am looking forward to it.” Reth put the mineral into a safe and sighed. “I am going to have to get more security.”
Ysma said, “Or you could distribute tiny nuggets to other artists in the islands. Just a thought.”
He grinned. “Right. I guess I could do that. By the way, if you want any more tattoos, you have a pass for my lifetime. Anything you want.”
“Cool. I am thinking about a frog with pixie wings.” She snickered.
“I can do that.”
He smiled, and she inclined her head.
Xeva laughed. “Well, I am hungry, so we should get going. We were behind this morning for... reasons, and I didn’t get breakfast.”
Jeron was chortling and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Ysma grinned, and together, they headed out to the restaurant.
Xeva was enjoying the activity of the town. Jeron nodded to a few people who called out to him as they passed, but he remained focused on her, and they arrived at the restaurant, where the staff was eagerly awaiting them.
They were led up to the second level, where she could watch the street activity. She looked at Ysma, and she was getting slightly more exotic with every passing second. Higher cheekbones, pointed ears, and feline eyes. She would get a second look anywhere she went.
Xeva looked at Jeron. He leaned in and kissed her thoroughly enough to make her fingers flex against the table. She was left with Ysma a moment later.
Ysma chuckled. “This is awkward, but hey, you have already seen me naked.”
Xeva laughed. “Right, that’s a point. What is the tattoo?”
Ysma smiled at the server, and when they had their drinks, she met Xeva’s curious gaze.
“It’s a Faraday cage. It’s a line of minerals that connect enough to create a field so my sister can’t jump my body and hurt it again.”
Xeva blinked at the mental image. “What?”
Xeva sat and listened to the tale of two siblings who clung together until they activated, and then one hid inside the other. This became a habit of the weaker sibling as she wouldn’t feel any injury done to the body of the stronger. When they were older, it began to happen when the younger one wanted to have sex with more powerful actives. They were being used as entertainment for government representatives negotiating with the Uraddan research arm to gain some information on their particular means of gaining stronger actives.
“So, you were...”
“She was a designated whore. I was just her life support. After the encounters, we separated, and she wandered off while I was left to deal with the damage. When we got to the capitol, she hooked up with another team member, and that was it. She encouraged him to be rough and then left me to fix myself. I couldn’t even feel enjoyment. Pleasure was strictly on her end. It was immediate. The pain was long-lasting and left for me. In the capitol, folks didn’t even know that I existed. She signed up for all her accounts under her name, got a com under her name, and got a single-bedroom apartment. She had been in me so long, she forgot I was there.”
Xeva sipped at her drink to calm her agitation. “How did you get away?”
“Her boyfriend banged her into unconsciousness. She was completely out, and I got away. I grabbed her suit, used our similarities to get to the shuttle storage, ripped out the trackers, and headed for the islands.”
“Why?”
Ysma smiled. “Because first, Zella is going to have to explain what I am, and second, they are going to have to track me here. This is my jumping-off point, but I had already worked out the protective cage, grabbed the minerals needed, and found a tattoo artist willing to do it. It’s been an eventful week.”
“It is so odd that you ended up here, of all places.”
