Chapter 3
Ishould have known things would go wrong.
“I wish for today to be a pleasure for you. Do not allow my agitation to take away from your moment of fun.” Lip curled, muscular frame dressed in a fresh uniform—shining ropes and glittering insignia leaving no doubt of his rank—the cold-blooded general marched me toward a waiting hover vehicle. “Yet I am finding removing you from our home more difficult than anticipated. I don’t want to share you, and the sensation is, frankly, painful.”
No different than he, I was willing to fight dirty if that’s what it took to gain my freedom and remain outside. Staring forward as his driver opened a door for me, I hissed through my teeth, “But you love me, so you will do this.”
And what was pain to those like us? Hybrids were designed to adapt to pain, suffer, and constantly knit ourselves back together.
Jerking us both to a standstill, Cyderial halted our march. All seriousness, reaching for where my hand rested in the nook of his elbow, he commanded, “Say it again.”
Confused, concerned I was about to be dragged back inside, I fumbled for words. “You love me?”
“Yes. Remember that.” Every bit the cruel taskmaster I had known, the softness he might have shared with me when we were alone evaporated, and the hard, scary man I suffered since I was a child took his place. “If at any time you want to return to our home, you let me know.”
Why would I do that? The city was remarkable, and I would not have to hide in the shadows to explore it. Adamant, I lifted my chin and gave him as good a stare as he gave me. “I want to see my mother.”
Leaning forward to set his nose to my hair, he drew in a deep breath. “Do you feel feverish?”
He was looking for excuses to deny me what he’d promised. And I had no pity for the beast within him. It already caused enough havoc in my life. Narrowing my eyes at his obvious ploy, I offered a smarmy smile. “No.”
“Please, put your hair up.” A muscle in his jaw jumped.
Agitated and embarrassed we had an audience in his driver, I snarled, “My mother is waiting for me. It’s too late for that now!”
“I’ll have her brought here.”
“Don’t you dare!” Miranda’s instructions were all I had to work with when it came to managing this man, and I was more than willing to bark at him if that ended this possessive insanity. “I want my mother, and she is waiting. You have kept me from her for long enough.” My voice dropped, vibrating with my thrum in a deep pitch I had not known myself capable of. “I order you to do what is best for me, not what is most comfortable for you.”
Fighting every impulse to serve himself, Cyderial struggled for control. I could almost see him wrestling with the beast—the twitching around his eyes and the unnatural lack of blinking unsettling.
But, with a few long minutes of tenuous silence, he won over the more primal parts of his brain. Silently, he handed me into the waiting vehicle, his every last glare threatening me a loss of all freedom should I disappoint him.
And he kept up the simmering temper the whole twenty minutes it took to descend from his high tower to the misty midlevel housing.
Unaware of the geography of the city, I spent my time marveling at the view from the window and ignoring his irritation as much as anyone trapped with a raging ogre might. Risa Colony lay at my feet, bustling and bursting at the seams. There were so many people moving in a lackadaisical dance. Like glittering insects crawling all over one another. Full of life, of color, all surrounded in high walls of fog that undulated as the filters forced the toxic air upward.
I gaped, whispering to myself, “There are so many of them.”
“Many more of them than us. Remember that, Lorieyn.” Cyderial’s warning was laced with something that forced a shiver up my nape.
Noted. But that didn’t make me like them any less. Glancing away from the window to take in the luxury of his transport—soft seats, the polished trim—I pursed my lips.
Cyderial’s hover car was something that would make even the wealthiest human envious. Growing up with hundreds of girls, I knew inciting envy was a foolish choice. And this vehicle was flagrantly ostentatious.
I didn’t like it at all.
Especially considering the hints of human unrest both Miranda and Cyderial had pointedly driven home. I had to wonder at his logic for choosing such a luxurious hover car.
Once again, it seemed he read my thoughts, his weighted glance at my confounded expression telling.
Wanting an explanation, I said, “You claimed the humans were overcrowded and provisions were monitored.”
With a nod, he confirmed my statement. “It’s a failing capitalist society. Those who have much, flaunt what they will never share. They feed the poor the idea that if a person works hard enough, if they play the game just right, they too might own a car trimmed in vorec hide and polished to a high shine.”
No hybrid sister would have ever behaved in such a manner, flaunting anything above another. It was tasteless and cruel. “Why do you have this ugly car?”
Reaching for where my hand rested on the seat between us, Cyderial began toying with my fingers, the male softening the moment he touched me. “The president ordered all hybrids of a certain rank to travel in cars of this style. We are told it is a benefit of our dedication.”
And maybe to some hybrids, it was, but even I could see there was a hook in that bait. “Because he wants humans to dislike you? To set you apart?”
“I don’t think you want me to answer that at this moment.” Cracking his neck with a series of audible pops, so tense his jacket looked near to ripping at the seams, he let out a long, pained breath. And when the car landed with a gentle dip, Cyderial announced, “We’re here.”
His driver jumped out to open the door, the less savory midlevel air rushing in. Cyderial handed me out of the car, his posture overtly protective and somewhat ridiculous, yet still I beheld a wonder.
And a new sensory experience.
Humans closely packed together had an aroma that tickled the inside of my nose and left my eyes watering. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was absolutely alien.
When I’d explored the city with Maeve, we’d kept our distance from the crowds. To be in the crush… was a next-level experience.
I loved it!
Middling, the buildings nearby were dingy white, with street markers and faded lighting—so much grander than the academy would ever be. There were market stalls lining the streets, humans hawking everything from fabric to food. So much noise!
The landing was crowded with vendors, with businesspeople moving from place to place, with mothers and their children… all busy going about their lives until they saw who climbed out of the grand vehicle to stand at the center of their neighborhood landing port.
The hybrid humans. The novel female. The high-ranking male.
He gained their notice, loose jaws and confusion on the faces of many.
And I stared right back, rapt attention and a grin on my face.
My smile was not returned. Instead, suspicious stares ran over my pretty pink dress, eyes lingering on my hands.
The long, dangerous talons a dead giveaway that I was different. Inhuman.
And if I looked anything like Cyderial, the midday sun had set my occasional scales to glimmering.
Yet, hushed mutterings of excitement faded until a few hissed curses hit my ears. At least one human called us abominations.
As if talking to the farmers I’d known for years, I offered the stunned crowd a greeting, gesturing to a nearby food stall. “Hi there. I protect the Section 27 fields. It’s lovely to see your crops turned out so well.”
Silence.
Which was not going to alter, not with Cyderial practically growling at my side.
Despite whatever tensions festered between hybrids and humankind, the lingering hush in that moment was his fault. Dressed in his finest, he was unapproachable. Spine ramrod-straight and severe, surveying the crowd as if waiting for someone, anyone, to give him reason to act, he behaved like a walking threat.
And this would not do.
“You don’t have to be so intimidating,” I hissed under my breath, going so far as to stroke a touch down his arm. “If the point is to get people to like you, you’re going about this the wrong way.”
Where my hair had fallen over my shoulder, Cyderial took it in his fingers, delivering it to the mass hanging down my back, scowling all the while. “Which is why I declined an armed escort. Soldiers with drawn weapons patrolling the streets would cause trouble for your mother. But should anything go wrong, know that several of my people are here watching out of sight. You are safe.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit paranoid?” Aware this man’s reaction could be completely over the top, I added, “Would you act this way if I were not here?”
My question went unanswered, Cyderial overtly scanning the crowd. “Don’t let your guard down. We’re not in a bad area of town, but that doesn’t mean bad people do not live here. You will hear things. Do not engage with those who slander you.”
“Okay.” I could give him that.
“And you will stay with me at all times.”
What would be the point of running, if heat would drag me right back to him? And what of his reaction should I make such a foolish choice? I doubt I’d see the sky for a century. “Yes. I will stay with you.”
Appeased, there on that platform where random humans congregated to stare, General Cyderial interlaced his fingers with mine.
Just like I had seen lovers do in the city.
I didn’t know why the simple gesture surprised me so much, but I caught myself looking down at our joined palms, confused by how intimate it felt… how warm his hand was surrounding mine. My hand was much smaller, the webbing between my fingers stretching to accommodate his grip. Yet, still we fit.
Fluttering my fingers, I tolerated the sensation, then settled, knowing he had done this because I had mentioned watching lovers hold hands when I had toured the city.
Because he knew it was something that had caught my attention enough to mention.
“I can give you so much more than this, if you would let me.” Tucking away a bit of my hair that had been caught up in the wind, he added, “Tell me other things you desire from your mate, and see the mountains I will move for you.”
There was something inside me that felt unsteady with such words, a part of me that was uncomfortable walking uncharted territory with such a male.
Nervous, I sucked my lower lip into my mouth, glancing away and knowing my face had grown far too warm. “I don’t know what to ask for.”
Charmed, Cyderial let the evil melt right off his face, a soft smile on his lips as he said, “Let’s start small. If you see anything at the market stalls that catches your eye, let me know.”
“To buy?” I didn’t have any money or even access to an account. I literally owned nothing, not even the sword I used for years at the academy. Not to say I was not a bit of a magpie; sparkly things were something I very much enjoyed.
If he was going to let me buy something, I was not going to refuse.
With an innocuous smirk, he gave me a nod. “Anything you want.”
This was going to be so much more fun!
Grinning at all the possibilities before me, I warned, “Don’t give your enemy a weapon of that caliber. I might tell you to buy me everything out of spite.”
Raising our joined hands to his lips, he laid a kiss on my glittering skin. “You are not my enemy; you are my beloved mate. And I trust you will not abuse the privilege of my driving need to give you things—unless, of course, you’re looking forward to a lesson on self-discipline. I could think of some creative ways to leave you far more frustrated than you were in the shower this morning.”
Suddenly scarlet to my roots, I hissed lowly, “People can hear you.”
Bending down to nip my ear, he whispered, “Imagine what they would think if you had begged for my knot. You’d be round and full of me for all of them to see.”
Shivering off the sensation of another bite, I pulled away from his teasing to glare. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“It’s adorable.” The austere general had softened somewhat, his thoughts clearly carnal. “And I promise you this. Next time I escort you into the city, you will have a belly so huge every single person will know just how hard I fucked you.”
His words inspired a fast-spreading warmth under my skin that made me instantly panicked that he taunted me right into heat. That I had ruined my chance for fun by not begging in the shower.
That he was going to cart me off before I might know a taste of freedom, or do something horrible, like use me right there so everyone watching would know I was his.
“Lorieyn, whatever wicked thing you are thinking”—he dared to pull me close and put those wicked lips right back to my ear—“I can do so much worse. Remember that.”
“Stop. You win, okay?” I did not have the stamina or the experience to think clearly when he could outmaneuver me so easily. “Please don’t make my body do something that will ruin my chance to see my mother.”
“My dear, that’s not?—”
The heat, the blush, the nerve of the man. Arousal turned to anger, my overloaded nervous system leaving me to grind my teeth together. “Let it be known, I was going to ask for a knot after we returned to your home, but now I think I might hold out on principle. I’d rather suffer than be bullied in front of a bunch of strangers. I bet I can outlast the heat to the point it drives you slowly insane. I can make you watch me suffer.”
Dumbfounded.
The general was actually dumbfounded.
“You were intending to submit, hmm?” Leaning back to measure my expression, he narrowed his eyes. “I do not believe you.”
“I’ve never been a fan of pointless masochism.” Hissing, I gladly countered his attack and delivered the death blow with a sardonic smirk. “And maybe I enjoyed the way you touched me last night. But you should know better than to make me beg.”
Preening from so simple a compliment, he began to purr, right there, out in the open. Pointedly ignoring the rest of what I snarled, he put his free arm around me. “I’ve only just begun exploring how I might pleasure you. But I will respect your modesty and save that conversation for later.”
Cyderial acknowledged his surrender with another kiss to the back of my hand.
But I was not fully appeased. “Are you done glaring at the humans and groping your mate? You’re not winning points with either party right now.”
Chuckling, he squeezed my fingers and gave me one final stroke down my back. “I will behave, and you will do the same.”
Coaxing me forward, he had the magic of forcing the crowd to part and make way, asking, “Where would you like to start?”
Tense, stiff in his care, I muttered, “You’re old; you know things. You choose the stall.”
On we walked, a decorated general and his inexperienced mate, passing market carts, beautiful woven carpets, jewelry, and food stuffs. Wherever we went, the bustle made room for us, the general watching me carefully for any sign I might have found a treasure.
But I had no idea what most of the items were, what their intended use might be, nor what to do with them.
I didn’t need a handwoven rug—the general’s home was already fully furnished.
As for skills or hobbies, I’d never been given much opportunity to develop any.
The musical instruments were beautiful, but I couldn’t even guess what sounds each might produce.
The pretty dresses were fun to look at, but also strangely intimidating to consider with a grown male staring at me the whole time.
Feeling like a bug in a jar, being watched closely by the humans, my every last breath being scrutinized by Cyderial, the novelty of the marketplace wore off. But he drew me to a stand full of colorful ribbons and small metal contraptions.
The woman behind the shaded tables gave a friendly grin at our approach. Crooked teeth and a beautiful smile, she was delightful in her greeting. “Welcome!”
And, shocked down to my toes, it seemed Cyderial knew how to be delightful as well. “What do you have for her hair? I would prefer it up, off her neck—” He gave me a smoldering stare. “—before she gets too hot.”
Only too happy to pick out something to show him, the woman began displaying her finest wares. Selecting a brass disk with elegant engraving, she looked to Cyderial, showing him the quality of the piece, before asking, “May I touch your mate to show you how it will look?”
“No,” he answered with no shame. Jerking his chin to the old woman’s younger companion, he demanded, “Demonstrate on this one. Should we like what we see, I will do what is required to attend to my female.”
“Hybrid men and their mates,” she said as if his possessive behavior was charming and ordinary, smiling as she summoned her assistant and pressed the bobble to the crown of her head. “You place it here, you see? Activate the machine, and allow it to twine in the strands until it clicks.”
Astonished, I watched as the disk melted, almost like liquid, into the hair of the woman before me, weaving itself into her tresses as it created a complex series of twists, all interlocking until the mechanism was no longer visible and the hair was coiffed in an elaborate style.
Fascinated, because I wanted to try it, annoyed that Cyderial found a loophole to get his way, I waited as the device was recovered and offered to my mate. Motionless under his hands, I shivered from the tingles of the little robot working its way through my much longer and far thicker hair. Mirror held up so I might watch, I failed to disguise my delight.
How strange it felt running through my tresses, the entire program taking less than a minute before I had a style that could rival anything I had seen in my forbidden magazines.
So that was how humans created such intricate styles!
“It looks just lovely on you, dear.” Crooked teeth beautiful in their asymmetry, smile seemingly genuine, the aging human offered a price.
Inexperienced in economics, having never handled money, I had no idea if it was fair or ludicrous.
Cyderial didn’t so much as barter. He simply agreed.
Completely taken with the novel bit of machinery, I listened intently as the old woman explained what I might need to know. “When you’re ready to retire for the evening, all you do is press the button tucked under here, and the arms will release.”
While I indulged in more vanity, the general toyed with the short tendrils of hair at my nape, petting me in ways that made me shiver. “Is that not better, sweet mate?”
I had been expertly outplayed, but I couldn’t care less. “Your tactics are ridiculous, but I like it very much, so I can’t complain.”
The shopkeeper was so pleased. “There are other items I might show you, General Cyderial. Trinkets your new bride might enjoy.”
“You are very kind, but we have an appointment.” He transferred payment to the woman and bid her good day.
My fingers were caught up again, the male leading me back into the bustle of the street.
Positively proud of himself, he asked, “Are you going to thank me?”
“No.” But my smile was genuine. “The entire act was self-serving.”
He laughed. An honest, genuine show of amusement that frightened the gawking crowd.