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“Hmm.You’dbetter tell your guys to take wormholes on the way there and back again, then,”Kattold her. “Justto be on the safe side, you know?”
“Oh…okay.”Celianodded. “Soyou just want us to go toTwinMoonsand get a sample of this glowing moss and bring it back?”
“Andthen we’ll replicate it and decorate the wholeMotherShipwith it!Oh, and it’s called ‘jewel moss’ by the way,”Katsaid. “Ihope you don’t mind—I’dgo myself, butItry not to do overnight trips on school nights.Thingscan get pretty chaotic with three boys to take care of.”Sherolled her eyes again and laughed.
“Iunderstand.”Celianodded. “AndIdon’t mind as long asHoldandFiercewill take me.Actually, it sounds like an amazing adventure!”
“It’sgoing to be acoldadventure,”Kattold her seriously. “I’llhave to replicate you a warm suit so you don’t freeze over there.”
“Iactually love cold weather,”Celiatold her. “I’veoften wishedIcould move away fromFloridaand go someplace colder.”
“Yeah, the sunshine state isnotthe place to live if you like cold weather,”Katagreed. “Asa nativeFloridian,Ican definitely confirm that.Butyou’ll get as much cold weather as you want onTranqPrime.”
Celiaclapped her hands eagerly.
“Ican’t wait!”
Shejust hoped thatHoldandFiercewouldn’t mind going with her on this little decoration-finding mission.Butif they really wanted to spend time with her, they were going to have to be okay with it.
Itwas time to put their interest in her to the test.
12
CELIA
“Whatdo youmeanwe need to take wormholes because you can’t fold space?”Fierceasked, looking up from the instrument panel of the sleek silver ship to frown at her. “Areyou fuckingpregnant?”Hisnose wrinkled. “Ican still smell that fucking human’s stink on you soIguess you might be,” he added with a disgusted look.
“That’sa rude question!”Celiasnapped, glaring up at him.Despitehis apology that morning, theDarkTwinstill rubbed her the wrong way.
“Yes, it is,”Holdagreed, frowning over her head at his brother. “It’salsononeof our business.”
“Also,Itook a shower this morning, soIknowIdon’t stink,”Celiaadded, still offended.
“Nobodysaidyousmelled!”Fierceprotested. “It’sthat human you’re with—he stinks.Idon’t know what kind of artificial scent he wears, but it stings myGoddess-damned nose!Andunder that he just smells weak—like a male who’s never worked a day in his life.”
“But…how could you possibly still smellPeteron me whenI’vehad a shower?Notto mention the bath last night whenInearly drowned,”Celiaadded dryly.
“It’sa scent you acquire when you’re…intimate with another male that we smell,”Holdexplained delicately. “Kindredhave a much keener sense of smell than you humans do—Ibelieve we’ve been compared to theEarthanimal called a ‘bloodhound’ in that department.”
“Really?”Celialooked at him, wide-eyed. “Butwhy?Imean, why would you need to be able to smell if a woman has, er, been with another man?”
“Itlets us know which females are already taken so we can avoid them when we’re looking for a mate,”Fiercegrowled. “Lessfighting between unmated males that way.”
“Fierceis right,”Holdconfirmed. “Womenare always in short supply for us, since our species is 95% male.Ifwe didn’t have a way to identify the fact that a particular woman already belonged to another male, we’d constantly be getting into conflicts with each other.”
“Butif you two can smellPeteron me and that meansI’malready taken, then why come get me at all?”Celiaasked, feeling bewildered.
“Mylady, we couldn’tnotcome for you,”Holdtold her gently.Heheld her eyes with his own as he went on. “We’vebeenDream-Sharingwith you formonths.Iknow you don’t remember much of what we shared, butFierceandIdo.Whena warriorDream-Shareswith a female, it’s a clear sign that theGoddessmeans for them to be together.”
“So…you believe in theKindredGoddess?”Celiaasked, trying not to think of how the wayHoldwas looking into her eyes was making her heart pound faster.Whydid he andFierceboth have to be so handsome?
“Don’tyoubelieve in a deity?”Holdcountered. “I’veheard you call on him—you say, ‘Dios’ often.That’sSpanishfor ‘God’—right?”
“Yes, but it’s just a saying.”Celiashrugged and looked away. “I’vebeen disappointed too many times in my life to really believe there’s aGodor aGoddess.Orthat they give a damn about me, if there is one.”
“TheGoddesscares about all her children,”Holdsaid quietly. “Sheput the three of us together—she let us share each other’s dreams.That’swhyFierceandIcame for you, even though we knew you were already spoken for.”
“Oh, um…”Celiawasn’t sure what to say to that.TheLightTwinwas staring at her again, his hazel-green eyes intense with longing.Itmade her heart pound and her pulse race even though she knew she ought to be thinking aboutPeter—nottheKindredwarrior in front of her. “I, uh, guess we’d better get going,” she said lamely, looking away at last.
