Invaded (Alienated, #2)(43)
Cara pinched her finger and thumb together. “He came this close to kissing me, too.”
“What?” Aelyx’s vision went spotty, and he damned near fell off the bed. “Why didn’t you say that to begin with?”
“Oh, sure,” Cara said. “I tell you Jaxen can brainwash people and you don’t care. But I mention an almost-kiss and that’s what gets your attention?”
Precisely. Aelyx doubted Jaxen’s alleged mental powers, but he had no trouble believing the son of a motherless f’exa would try to seduce Cara. Aelyx wanted her by his side, far away from Jaxen’s influence. “Maybe you should come home with your brother.”
“And risk the alliance?” she said, reminding him of what was at stake. “Being here is one of the conditions, remember? I can’t come back until spring.” She chewed her bottom lip and fell silent awhile. When she spoke again, she kept her gaze fixed on her blanket. “Listen, what do you think about…maybe…”
“Maybe what?” he prompted.
“Defecting from L’eihr and living on Earth after the alliance is sealed.” She peeked through her lashes. “The colony isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I know Earth isn’t your favorite place right now, but you might grow to like it someday. Right?”
Aelyx tried not to betray the chill that gripped his stomach. If Cara refused to remain on the colony, they couldn’t be together. He supposed he could eke out a life on Earth, but humans would have to stop trying to murder him first. As much as they enjoyed killing one another, he imagined his odds weren’t very good. And breaking his vow to The Way would mean severing ties to his heritage. He’d never be permitted to return to L’eihr, not even to visit. He loved Cara, but he loved his people, too.
“It’s not that simple,” he said. “Can’t you…” What? Try harder? Lower your expectations? He didn’t know what to ask of her, or even if he had any right to.
She shook her head blankly, probably struggling to make similar requests of him. “They want to trap us there. We won’t be free to come and go as we please.”
“But you’re not free to come and go now,” he told her. “You can’t take a shuttle and fly it to the spaceport, then simply walk aboard an Earth-bound ship. You have to apply for passage and wait for approval. The colony will be no different.”
“You don’t understand.”
Elle’s head appeared again, upside down, from the top bunk. “You don’t know what you’re asking of him,” she said to Cara. “I can’t believe you’re willing to quit so easily. The Cah-ra Sweeney I’ve come to admire wouldn’t give up without a fight.”
In an act of surrender, Cara turned up her palms. “What am I supposed to do? Jaxen’s part of The Way. He’s like everyone’s boss—times ten. You should’ve seen how he snapped his fingers and suddenly I was off the hook for that poisoning incident. Nobody questions him.”
“But even he has a superior,” Elle said. “Why not appeal to Alona?”
“Wait.” Cara raised one orange brow. “I can do that?”
“Of course you can,” Aelyx told her. “It’s your right as a citizen.”
She speared him with a glare. “It’s not like they gave me a handbook at my Sh’ovah, you know.”
Despite the tension, Aelyx found himself smiling. Gods, he loved this girl—her humor and passion, her temper and heart. She filled empty spaces inside him he’d never known were vacant. He simply couldn’t lose her. With one finger, he reached out to trace the curve of her face. “Please keep fighting.”
She nodded but didn’t meet his gaze. “I’ll try.”
Aelyx left her with an extra-firm “I love you” and disconnected to dress for the day. He didn’t like the dejection in Cara’s voice, but he hoped the gift he’d sent would cheer her up. He tucked his com-sphere inside his back pocket before striding into the living room.
Ordinarily, now was the time he’d peel off his clothes and climb into bed, but Aelyx had special plans this evening. At his urging, the military had facilitated a meeting between him and the HALO leader, Isaac Richards—a heavily guarded meeting set in a public location, per Isaac’s paranoid request. Stepha had refused to attend and “acknowledge that cretin’s existence,” but Aelyx didn’t mind going alone. He’d finally secured permission to share the truth about Earth’s water crisis with Isaac. Once the lead Patriot understood the gravity of terminating the alliance, surely he’d cease the assassination attempts he continued to deny.
Or at least that’s what Aelyx hoped.
“Time to suit up,” David said, holding forward a Kevlar vest. He seemed ready to go in his camouflage jacket and matching hat, semiautomatic weapon slung across his shoulder. Maybe it was nothing, but David seemed more tired than usual, with dark circles shadowing his eyes. “Colonel Rutter’s not taking any chances with your precious alien hide.”
“What about you?” Syrine demanded from her spot on the sofa. “Are you wearing one?”
David pounded one fist against his chest, giving a hollow thunk. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” she snapped, as if irate with herself for caring. Which was probably the case. “It won’t protect against a head wound, though.” And with that, she snatched a magazine from the coffee table and pretended to read it. Aelyx decided not to tell her it was upside down in her grasp. More fun to let her discover that on her own.