Lily swatted his shoulder, outraged.
“Khar, how can you say that? They risked their lives to save me. I’m grateful they’re here!”
Through the cracked doorway, Aros’s head appeared as he peeked inside.
“And we are grateful to meet you. Truly impressive little ship you have, Lily!”
Ikar shoved Aros fully into the room and then approached Lily with steps so light it was almost a dance.
“Lily, it is an honor for us that you have become part of our family. We thought no one would ever take pity on this grumpy mountain of muscle, but miracles exist after all.”
Khar knew exactly what they were doing.
They were trying to get under his skin.
And no amount of Legion training had prepared him for patience where his brothers were concerned. It was as if the two fools were speaking directly to the primitive part of his brain, the part designed for ripping enemies apart on the battlefield and utterly useless for civilized conversation.
So he resorted to staring at them with growing menace, hoping they had enough survival instinct to run once the last thread in him snapped.
Aros clearly preferred to live dangerously. He stepped beside Lily and draped an arm around her shoulders.
“Lily, whatever you did with your mouth when you saw me on the Vitro the first time… you can greet me like that anytime. Really. I would not mind.”
Khar could not believe what he was hearing. The sentence got worse with every word. Lily’s deepening blush confirmed he had not imagined it, and that he was right to be concerned. Aros even had the audacity to give Khar a challenging look.
“Lily,” Khar said, voice flat with warning, “what is this half-wit talking about?”
Lily looked everywhere except at the three Divani.
“Well… um… so… when I ran into him on the Vitro, I may have thought he was you and… I might have… maybe… kind of… kissed him. A little.”
Ikar burst into laughter so loudly it sounded like he hadn’t enjoyed anything more in his entire life.
Khar’s claws clicked out, fully unsheathed. Time for him to have some fun too.
But Lily flung herself at him, clutching his forearm before he could grab the retreating Aros by the scruff.
“Khar, please, don’t. It was a misunderstanding. I bumped into him and I was so happy, and nobody can say you two don’t look alike.”
The air froze.
Ikar stopped laughing. Aros stopped trying to flee. Khar remained as tense as before.
All three Divani stared at Lily with sudden, undivided attention. Lily froze under the crossfire of their gazes.
It was Ikar who finally spoke, his voice so flat and controlled it could only belong to someone fighting very hard not to lose composure. “You think we look alike?”
Lily stared at them as if they had just asked whether a burning star emitted heat.
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
The astonishment on her face was almost comical. When she finally found her voice, it came after a brief hesitation.
“Maybe the differences are obvious to you, but I don’t see them.”
A heavy silence stretched between the three Divani males as they exchanged glances, then turned back to Lily.
