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Keon cocks his head, his eyes flashing emerald green for a second as he takes me in. It reminds me of sitting in the hover car when he first took me to the compound on Solis, when one of my first thoughts about him was how good he’d be at eating me out.
Regardless of how exhausted I am, that’s the first thing on my mind when I see that flash of green on his face. “I wasn’t worried about you,” Keon says. “I knew you had this well in hand. You always do.”
I laugh too. “I’m glad you have all this faith in me,” I say. “But yeah. Of course. What did you expect?”
Keon smiles, but Atlas doesn’t seem nearly as impressed. “I know you know what you’re doing, but it would be my preference if you didn’t put yourself in danger.”
The way his voice shakes makes me feel a bit emotional.
“Don’t worry,” Layla says, her hand on my shoulder. “I won’t let her do anything stupid. Well, too stupid. I can’t promise you any miracles.”
Atlas’ expression softens when he looks at her. “You must be Layla.”
“Yes,” she says. “And who are you?”
“I’m Atlas. Her future husband.”
“Whoa,” Layla says, her eyes widening. “And I thought I was keeping secrets from her.”
I laugh at her joke, but Atlas doesn’t seem to think it’s that funny.
“You must be exhausted,” Keon says to Layla. “We have a room prepared for you and Zaire. There’s a party tonight, but you should have some time to get some rest and get ready. Of course, you don’t need to join if you don’t have to. It’s an invitation. I want you to know that you’re not a prisoner and you’re welcome to come and go as you please. We’ll make sure to furnish you with a ship, too; one that can take you off world if necessary.”
Layla’s eyes widen. “What?”
“You don’t have to stay on Aelydon if you don’t want to,” he says. “Like I said, you’re not a prisoner. I assume, since Penn is here, you have many people back on Earth worried about you.”
Her eyes fill with tears. I watch as she grabs Zaire’s hand, her left hand wrapping around my bicep and tightening.
“They’re right next to your room,” Keon says. “You can walk them there. I’ll take Corvus to the infirmary.”
I don’t miss the smile on Keon’s lips or the way the air seemed charged with sexual tension when the two of them look at each other. I guess I should’ve expected that, but I still want to ask Keon about it. I’m not jealous–I’m just curious.
They don’t seem to mind that I don’t want to choose, so maybe they won’t mind sharing me.
Hopefully at the same time.
But that’s a conversation for later. Keon is right, Layla must be exhausted, and I’m still feeling tired and sore from the rescue mission. I’m also dirty, blood still on my clothes from when the Diavolo guards went on the ship.
I wouldreallylike to have a bath.
And there’s still so much to catch up with Layla.
“You two go ahead,” Zaire says. “I need to speak to Keon and Corvus about some things.”
It’s clearly an excuse and I’m grateful for it.
We walk into the villa, toward the living room, into the luxurious open space. Layla looks behind her to make sure we’re out of earshot. Well, at least human earshot. We still don’t know how good their hearing is. There’s so much we don’t know about them. “I guess you could do worse for yourself than a literal king,” she says.
“He’s a mafia king,” I say. “I don’t think my parents are going to be proud.”
“They’re definitely going to be proud when they see the real estate he owns,” she says, laughter in her voice. “If you ever bring them to Aelydon.”
“Gosh, imagine,” I say. “What about your mom? She’s going to freak out when she realizes you’re pregnant. Especially, you know, this pregnant.”
“Bitch, I’m freaking out on how pregnant I am myself,” she says. “The Diavolos had this doctor–this woman, she was really nice and she wouldn’t let anyone touch me–and she kept reassuring me that Aelyd fetuses just grow at a way faster rate than humans’. She let me use her comms, she’s probably the reason you came here.”
“Yeah,” I say. I want to ask more about it. She probably has a lot to say. She must be exhausted, though.
