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“Are you afraid of the water?” Zenix asked, concerned.
“Not really. But I don’t particularly like the idea of being stuck on a boat all night with a bunch of people I don’t know.”
Brielle nodded. “Agreed. Besides, someone always ends up getting seasick during these things. A cruise isn’t fun if some of the people are miserable.”
“Have you done one of these here before?” Ayla inquired. She gestured toward the bioluminescent waves. “The water on this planetoid is beautiful.”
“But we don’t know enough about what lives in it,” Zenix reminded.
“Most of it is harmless,” Magnus insisted.
“That we know of,” Zenix countered. “Which isn’t much.”
Brielle sighed. “Thanks for that, buzzkill. Now, if the boat capsizes, I’m totally going to blame you for jinxing us.”
“Ayla and I would be able to fly ourselves to safety if that were to occur,” Artem pointed out blandly, making the rest of them stare at him incredulously. “What? It’s true.”
“Don’t worry,” Ayla whispered. “I’d save you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Zenix replied dryly.
Magnus muttered something to Brielle that made her giggle.
Artem glanced back down at his tablet. “We agreed to the cruise with the understanding that the vessel would remain close to the shoreline. At least within viewing distance. The cruise will not last for more than two hours before docking again, where the party may continue. Again, so we aren’t stuck on the vessel all night with a bunch of strangers. Our attendance on the cruise will also keep the sponsors from bothering you backstage at the concert.”
As Zenix listened to Ayla’s brother rattle on, he thought the male sounded even more robotic than Evo did. As if somehow sensing the insult thrown his way, Artem turned to frown at him.
“It would have been better if you had waited to deal with all of this mating business until after the concert—”
“Brother…” Ayla warned.
“—but it is useless to worry about that now. I assume you will be backstage with Ayla during the concert?”
“I will.”
“Then, try not to get in the way.”
Both Magnus and Brielle coughed to cover their laughter, while Zenix tried to decide just how upset Ayla would be if he knocked her brother the fuck out.
“Very,”she answered through their mind connection.“He’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but I love him. He also loves me and has dedicated his life to helping me.”
Startled, Zenix turned to gape at her.“I can hear you in my head.”
“We are fully bonded now. That means our minds are now connected.”
“I forgot about this part of being bonded,”he admitted, smiling at her.“Communicating this way is pretty handy.”
Artem leaned closer and snapped his fingers in front of his face, making Zenix scowl at him. Surprisingly, the pain in the ass finally smiled. “Congratulations, brother. Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks,” Zenix said, a little thrown off by the sudden change in attitude.
“We brought over some of your things from the guest villa,” Artem said to his sister. “So, you should be set for tonight.”
“Some?” Magnus choked out in surprise. “Those bags weighed a ton.”
“They are just the necessities she brought to the guest villa,” Lina announced as she came back outside. “She has a lot more on our space cruiser. I placed all of your things in the main bedroom since I’m assuming you will be sharing with your keeper.”
“You assumed right,” Ayla confirmed. “Thanks, Lina.”
