Invaded (14 page)

Brandi needed therapy, all right. Anyone who would mate with Marcus Johnson was certifiably
insane. Aelyx spoke while he still had the chance. “Ask Marcus why he was patrolling
the woods
with a firearm. He and his fellow Patriots were hunting me.” Eric had tried saving
Cara, but he would never swear to it and face the Patriots’ retribution.

“So you admit to attacking Marcus?” Sharon said.

That’s when the head of PR stepped in, literally pulling the plug on the interview.
His nostrils flared as he jerked each power cord from the main extension. “Check your
footage at
the door and get out,” the man said to Sharon. “This isn’t what we agreed to. I don’t
know what you were thinking, but your career is over.”

Sharon ordered her crew to obey, and in twenty minutes they were gone without another
word. Aelyx sat back and drew a deep breath, puzzling at how quickly the interview
had spiraled out of
control. Thank the gods it hadn’t aired live.

He was still thinking about it later that night as he plotted ways to keep Stepha
from finding out. But in order to do that, he’d have to avoid using Silent Speech
with
the ambassador, which alone would be suspicious. Aelyx was tired of politics, public
relations, and lies.

He just wanted to go home to Cara.

“You’re thinking about
Cah
-ra, aren’t you?” Syrine peered through his open doorway to where he lay, stretched
out on his bed. “I can tell by the moronic
look in your eyes.”

Aelyx turned his head. “Oh? Like the way you looked at our bodyguard tonight at supper?”
He used a high-pitched voice to mimic her hilarious attempts at flirty banter. “I
made
iced tea, David, sweetened just the way you like it. Shall I pour you a glass, or
would you rather lick each drop from my naked flesh?”

She gasped, whipping her head to check over both shoulders. Not that David spoke L’eihr.
“Shut up, you
fasher
!”

Aelyx smiled. This was fun. He twirled a lock of hair around one finger and batted
his lashes. “Oh, David, you took that bomb right into your hands. Is there anything
else
you’d like to get your hands on?”

She rushed inside and proceeded to beat him with an extra pillow. He couldn’t help
laughing. “Guard my body, David,” he squeaked. “It’s all yours!”

“You idiot!” She pummeled him until feathers floated in the air, but she didn’t deny
her attraction to the boy. There was no point. Aelyx had sensed it during Silent Speech
the
morning after the bomb scare.

“I told you,” Aelyx chortled, scooting aside to dodge a knee to his ribs, “he feels
the same way. You should talk to him.” A tryst could be a good distraction for Syrine.
“Maybe you can lure him to the colony.” He was joking, though. He knew she’d never
take it that far.

Syrine made a disgusted noise from the back of her throat. “I’m not one of your hedonistic
humans. Perhaps I can’t help my body’s reaction to him, but I can control
whether I act on it—which I won’t!”

Aelyx used his pillow to whack her midsection. “Why fight it? You know you want him.”
All teasing halted when Aelyx’s com-sphere summoned him for his nightly call with
Cara. He
made a reach for his bedside table. “Okay, enough,” he told Syrine.

Understanding flashed in Syrine’s eyes and a maniacal smile uncurled across her lips.
She made a lightning grab at his sphere, beating him to it. “Is this what you want?”
With
an evil sneer, she dangled the sphere within his reach, then jerked it back. “To talk
to your
l’ihan
?” Now it was her turn to mock him in a low, breathy voice. “Oh,
Elire
, I love you so! I want to make a thousand half-breed babies with you, my fiery-haired
goddess!”

“Give it here,” he ordered, trying to take it by force. “This is the only time she
can talk.”

Syrine hit the mattress, giggling and making kissing noises. “When can we start practicing,
Caaaah
-ra?”

When he couldn’t pry the sphere from Syrine’s fingers, he shouted his password and
untangled himself from her limbs so Cara didn’t get the wrong idea. Cara’s image
appeared upside-down on the ceiling, the far wall, the floor, as she jerked across
the room with each of Syrine’s movements.

“What the hell?” Cara asked.

Syrine finally surrendered the sphere. “Hello,
Cah
-ra. Aelyx is simply dying to talk with you.”

Cara settled in cross-legged miniature atop Aelyx’s bedspread, taking them both in—Syrine
sprawled out beside him and shaking with laughter, a few feathers in her hair, pillows
strewn about. But this game wasn’t funny anymore. Syrine didn’t understand human jealousy
or how easily seeds of doubt could take root in Cara’s mind.

“It’s true.” Aelyx addressed Cara but threw a sharp look at Syrine. “I can’t wait
to tell you about Syrine’s new lover.”

Syrine pushed upright. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“But you started it!”

“And I’ll finish it.”

Syrine heeded his warning and left the room without another word. She did, however,
sneak in a dirty glare at him before pulling the door shut.

“Did I interrupt something?” Cara brushed off a bit of lint from her tunic in a carefree
gesture, but she couldn’t disguise the irritation in her voice. “Because I can
call back tomorrow if you’d rather finish your pillow fight.”

“It’s not like that.” Aelyx swept the feathers to the floor and hid the evidence,
though he’d done nothing wrong.

“I don’t know,” Cara said, staring into her lap. “Syrine seems to spend a lot of time
in your bedroom…when she’s not cooking for you.”

“I cook for myself now.” Though he chose not to tell her why. The government had gone
to great lengths to cover up news of the bombing, and if Cara knew about the constant
attempts
on his life, it would only add to her worry. “Syrine and I were roommates in the Aegis,
remember? We’re just starting to mend our friendship. I wish you’d trust me.”

Cara didn’t reply, but the color staining her cheeks betrayed embarrassment or shame,
he couldn’t tell which.

“
Elire
,” he said softly, “look at me.”

She peeked at him through her lashes.

“You’re the only one I love. I’ve shown you. You’ve felt my emotions, the way I care
for you so deeply it hurts. Do you remember that feeling—how strong it
was?” When she nodded, he asked, “Do you think that’s changed in the last few weeks?”

She shook her head. “You’re right. Syrine’s just a friend, and logically, I get that.
But I’m in a weird place right now. I feel like an egg with a crack in my shell, and
I don’t know how to hold it together.”

He wasn’t sure he understood, so he told her, “I miss you.”

That seemed to get through to her. Her face broke into a sad smile. “Me, too. More
than you know. When something weird or funny happens, I look for you because you’re
the first
person I want to tell. But then I remember you’re not here, and it stings.” She rubbed
her chest to show him. “Every single time.”

“I miss touching you,” he said, extending a finger as if to caress her cheek. “It’s
strange to think the feel of your skin ever made me uncomfortable. Now it’s all
I want.”

Her smile brightened. “Know what I miss most about you?” In her excitement, she didn’t
wait for his answer. “Your smell.”

“My what?” That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He’d hoped she missed touching him,
too. “That doesn’t say much about my kissing skills, does it?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You’ve got skills.” She bit her lip, then added,
“Mad skills.”

That was better. Aelyx felt himself sitting a bit taller. “But still, my scent? Of
all the things to miss about me…”

“It’s amazing. Sweet and spicy with a dash of something else, like the way the woods
smell after a long rain.” She closed her eyes and inhaled, going dreamy. Her door
hissed
open, but she paid no heed to whoever entered her room. “I used to wonder if all L’eihrs
smelled like that, but it’s just you. I wish I had one of your shirts to sleep in.
Then I
could pretend you were with me.”

“Oh, God,” groaned a male voice from her room. “Excuse me while I puke and die.” When
the male strode into view, it took Aelyx a moment to identify him as Cara’s
brother. Troy had practically shaved his head. He shot Aelyx a glare and sneered,
“Hey,
Alex
.”

Aelyx ignored the jab. “Did you really miss your transport?”

Instead of responding, Troy shoved half the contents of a nutrient pack into his mouth.

“Um,” Cara said, “he sort of missed it accidentally on purpose.”

Of course he did.
Humans
. “Well, I suggest you don’t miss it again. The Patriots think you’re being detained
against your will, and my crisis communications specialist
wants you to set the record straight.”

“Your crisis communications specialist?” Cara said.

“Don’t ask.”

“No worries,” Troy said. “If I miss my ship again, I might as well stay here, because
my CO will put his boot down my throat.”

“Then I’ll make sure you forget,” Cara said, poking her brother in the arm.

Troy flicked the side of her head, but something poignant and bittersweet passed between
them. It only lasted an instant, but Aelyx noticed. Until now, he hadn’t realized
the intensity of
their sibling bond, and he suddenly understood why Troy had “accidentally on purpose”
missed his transport home. Cara must have been struggling to adjust to Aegis life
more than
she’d let on during her nightly calls. She was keeping things from him, just like
he’d hidden the latest attacks from her.

The knowledge put a damper on the rest of their conversation, and after they disconnected,
Aelyx felt the need to do more. He kept imagining how Cara would feel when her brother
left on the next
transport. Aelyx couldn’t be there to comfort her, but if he hurried, he might be
able to send her a package on the same ship that would carry Troy to Earth. That way,
she’d have
something from home to soften the blow.

But what? Flowers wouldn’t make it past customs and Cara’s nutrition adviser wouldn’t
let her have chocolate. Human females loved faceted rocks set into jewelry, but the
practice was so absurd that Aelyx hated to patronize it. He needed a gift that would
speak to the heart. Unfortunately, he had no experience in that area.

Once again, he decided to ask David for advice.

He stepped into the hall, finding the penthouse still and silent with nothing illuminating
the darkness but a sliver of light leaking beneath the door to David’s room. Avoiding
the
creakiest floorboards, Aelyx crept down the hallway and knocked softly on David’s
door. When he didn’t respond, Aelyx knocked again.

Nothing.

“David?” Aelyx whispered, turning the knob and slowly stepping inside. “Are you awake?”
He scanned the room, taking in the neatly made bed, wooden dresser covered in
sports magazines and loose change, and a small pile of dirty laundry on the floor.
But no David.

Aelyx was about to leave when a
clink
sounded from the far end of the room, drawing his eye to the bathroom door, which
stood slightly ajar. Through the few inches of open space, Aelyx
could see part of David’s reflection in the bathroom mirror. Under any other circumstance,
Aelyx would have respected the boy’s privacy and left, but what he saw in the mirror
made his
eyes widen and rooted his feet to the floor.

Below the hem of David’s T-shirt sleeve, a blue elastic band tightly encircled his
bicep. Lower, in the bend of his arm, David sank a hypodermic needle into his vein
and pressed the
plunger with his thumb. Milky fluid disappeared from the vial into his arm, and David
tightened his fist, giving a hiss of pain.

Aelyx was no stranger to injectables—he’d used nutrition supplements many times on
Earth before he’d learned to tolerate the local food. The act of self-administering
medication didn’t shock him in the least. What Aelyx found alarming was the fact that
David had used a L’eihr injectable. There was no mistaking the short, sleek design,
nor the symbols
printed in gray on the vial.

Why was David using L’eihr medication, and where had he gotten it?

When David finished, he removed the blue elastic band and rubbed his arm to restore
circulation. Then he opened the door and met Aelyx with the unmistakable open-mouthed
expression of a person
caught doing something wrong. They both stood there for a moment, staring at the other,
David clearly calculating how much Aelyx had seen and grappling for a way to explain
it.

Aelyx didn’t know why, but he felt the need to disclaim, “I knocked twice, but you
didn’t answer.”

“Uh, yeah.” David kneaded his arm, his gaze flicking up and down in a warning that
a lie would follow. “Sorry about that. I should’ve warned you…I’ve got
diabetes, so, you know…injections and stuff. It sucks.” He quirked a smile and laughed
without humor. “I’ve got track marks, but I promise I’m not a junkie.”

David might’ve had diabetes, but humans dispensed their own medicines for that. He
wouldn’t need a L’eihr syringe to inject insulin. Aelyx liked David—had come to think
of him as a friend—but he couldn’t risk his or Syrine’s safety by turning a blind
eye to what he’d discovered.

“I’m going to give you one chance to explain,” Aelyx said. “Because I owe you my life.
But if you lie to me again, the next person I talk to will be Colonel
Rutter.” He tried to sound nonthreatening, but he meant every word. “Do you understand?”

David blanched. It was the first time Aelyx had seen him show weakness. A few seconds
passed before he nodded. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Depends on the secret.”

“This job,” David said as he moved past Aelyx to shut the bedroom door, “of protecting
L’eihrs? It comes with perks. But no one can find out, especially not my CO or
Colonel Rutter. At best, they’d stick me behind a desk. At worst, they’d give me a
medical discharge.”