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Kaia squirmed in her seat, no doubt suspecting a trap, as she should. “Not exactly…”
“Good. I’ve arranged a placement at the pilot academy. The routine will help you get used to colony life. They’ll teach you the basics. And get you licenced while you’re at it. The training comes with a rigorous exercise regimen. Unlike some of the…more relaxedcolonies,Colossalpilots have stringent fitness thresholds. I’m sure Orion will be pleased.” Mother pursed her lips in a small smile.
“Thank you, Mrs. Halena,” Kaia gaped.
Orion scowled. Mother wouldn’t so much as let him set foot in a cockpit after the incident at Noranor. Hell, she sent him away for it. Yet here she was, offering the most prestigious training program at the colony to the scavenger he’d just dragged in.
And Kaia just took it, without even questioning his mother’s motives. It disgusted him to see her sucking up like this. Didn’t she realize Mare Halena was only doing this to spite him? Did she just not care?
* * *
“So you and my mother are best friends now, huh?” Orion spat hours later, back in Kaia’s cabin following a tense and wordless walk.
Kaia looked exhausted, having lifted the sides of her billowy skirt and slumped immediately on the edge of her bed. She kicked off her shoes and flexed her bare toes as she reached down to rub her ankles.
Now an air of vigilance returned as she straightened. “What do you mean?”
“Drop the act, princess. We both know going to fuckingschoolis the last thing you want to be doing.”
“Uh… pilot school. And maybe if you’d told me there was all this shit I was expected to do and know I would've suggested something like that myself. Or hell, not come here in the first place.” That last part trailed off in a low mutter, but the little bitch just couldn't help herself, apparently.
“You talk as if you give a damn. You came here to better your life, right? You’re terrified to even touch me, which I'd say is duty number fucking one.”
“I’m notterrified. And what about you, heir?” She spat, thrusting herself off the bed. “You’ve been whining about having to go back here since the night I met you. I know why you wanted me here. You told me, remember? Someone exciting, a little crazy. Right? Something to stick in your parents’ noses. And now you have a problem with me making the best of it? Learning more about this delusional cult ship you just dragged me into, maybe get in a cockpit again?”
“You agreed to this!” Orion bellowed.
Cult?He had no love lost for the colonies, but that was a little farfetched.
“So did you!”
They advanced step by step as their voices rose until they stood inches apart. The bunched fabric of Kaia’s skirt shook in her fists. This was the loud anger. Indignation more than anything else. The dangerous rage was quiet, and neither of them was there. Maybe this was all she had. Useless, heated flareups, like most people.
It only took a flick of his hand to grab the front of her skirt and drag her against his chest. She started to protest, but his mouth was already there, searing a crushing brand into her lips.
When she clawed her fingers into his shirt and tried to wrench herself away, Orion grabbed the back of her neck to keep her in her place. It wasn’t a kiss, and she should know that. It was a lesson. A blistering instruction in taking it when your fiancé—your damn commander—commanded it.
It only lasted a few seconds before they shoved each other back, flushed faces gulping for breaths.
“We both agreed to this, princess.”
Orion clasped the back of his neck, rubbing the spikes there to ease the itch drifting down his spine. He assessed the fragility of the body before him once again, taking quick stock of all the soft and hard parts, all the fragile parts. He pried his eyes away and tramped out of the cabin.
CHAPTER26
KAIA
Kaia sat at the chair next to the small desk in her cabin, the silver finger polish pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She was flicking the little bottle by its cap, twisting it up and down in her hand.
She’d chosen silver as a sign of neutrality. Kaia was perfectly aware that she was just a pawn on this board. A tool for Orion to disrupt his mother’s plans. She had no intention of getting in the middle of that whole mess.
Orion had been right. Getting another responsibility on her schedule wasn’t Kaia’s idea of a good time, even if it got her in a cockpit again. She loved flying, but she had bigger shit to worry about now. But she couldn’t exactly say no—not to the woman who had the power to throw her off her ship at any moment.
Of course, Mare Halena had only played nice to show Orion that his little games were inconsequential to her. Her admission about her terminal cancer was likely an attempt to disarm Kaia rather than any real display of vulnerability. The old woman’s extensive descriptions of Kaia’s “responsibilities” were a transparent strategy to scare her off, to make her second-guess her commitment. It might’ve even worked, if Kaia was planning to stick around for any of it. But she did need to play the part of someone whose intent was to do just that, so she smiled and nodded.
Kaia admitted that turning Orion’s vision for her relationship with his mother upside-down delivered a twisted sense of satisfaction. She knew she should stay neutral, keep a level head and play the act smart—it was what Loran would tell her to do. But Kaia sure as shit wasn’t Loran.
Being asked about her brother was difficult, and Kaia was lucky Mare Halena didn’t pry for more of the story. She wasn’t ready to discuss her part in it all.
