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Twyla
“I’ll kill her.”
The words were soft and clear. Menacing. I almost jumped when I heard them.
Ana pushed past us, a growl rumbling in her chest as she repeated, “I’ll fucking kill her.”
Cedra had briefly mentioned that Ana had been in the peacekeeping corps, and boy, in that moment, she looked every inch the Commander. Rage seeped from every fiber of her body and I could see each muscle tense as she walked past the crowd and up the front steps.
Her boots thudded loudly on the synthi-wood steps, faster than the thud of my heart.
“Ana, no! Stop!” Cedra called after her, giving my hand a light squeeze before taking off after her friend.
“I will not stop!”
Ana was furious and I was so, so glad none of it was directed at me. Standing on the top step, she seemed to grow visibly bigger, her chest heaving as she tried to get a decent breath.
I blinked. Was it me or had her horns grown slightly?
“You!” She pointed at the half-closed window. From the distance, I could only see a pale shadowy figure shifting around behind it. “Get the fuck out here. Now.”
I flinched, grateful I wasn’t on the receiving end of those words.
The front door opened and I craned my neck over the throng of people to get a good look at who it was—something I regretted in the next second.
She was stunning.
A gorgeous silky black dress reflected the waning sunlight as she stepped out of the front door. It seemed so out of place on this Star, but it was one that I would’ve probably lusted after had I been back on Royal One.
Her silky blond hair, just a few shades darker than Cedra’s, was swept up in an elegant updo—the best style to show off the studs in her ears. From the way they glittered, they looked like elusive silver.
“Who is that?” I asked Austy, who had taken off and jammed back on her cap twenty times in a row by now.
The poor girl’s throat worked audibly as she looked back and forth between me and the woman.
When she spoke, her voice was just a whisper.
“That’s Riane.”
It took two seconds for the name to hit home. My stomach roiled and I reached out blindly. Austy looped her arm through mine, steadying me, her voice calm in my ear.
“You’re all right, love. Don’t worry. She’s a thing of the past.”
Her words were kind and so was her tone, but both rolled over my overthinking brain without leaving an impact.
This impeccable being was Riane, Cedra’s former—Mate? Or rather, partner, I guess, since they’d never mated. I looked down at myself and back up at her, my mind whirling with the obvious comparison.
The trio looked over at me and I felt my spine straighten. I wasn’t going to fall apart, despite the onslaught of negativity in my brain. I tilted my chin a little. If my parents had taught me anything, it was how to hold myself with decorum, even when I was dressed in a borrowed shirt that was torn and stained in places.
I took a step forward, then another, and I found myself at the bottom of the front steps with Austy still plastered to my back.
“I don’t mean to break up the party,” I said, my voice belying how shaken I was. “But I think it’s best if we all sit down and talk about...whatever this is. Instead of giving everyone a show.”
I climbed the stairs and brushed past the trio. “How about some tea, huh? Sound good?”
I didn’t give them a choice, holding the front door open and ushering them inside. Austy remained on the porch, declining my invitation with a shake of her head.
It wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had. In a room with four walls, the tension was cloying. I could feel it even in the kitchen with a wall separating us, as I poured sweet tea into small glasses.
