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  “So you’re saying that among the Tagith, that mating is solely for the purpose of reproduction?” she asked, feeling offended on behalf of her daughter.

  The infuriating male cut through the air with one wing. “That is not what I am saying. Males love their mates with fierce devotion. But one of the primary drives of forging the mating bond is to produce fledglings. Much of it is borne of biology and instinct. A mating bond may not form without that biological incentive.”

  “You say that it may not—that still doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”

  He shrugged his wings. With a malcontent grunt, he settled himself at the bar beside her when Sha’melor excused himself to take a comm from his nest. She wasn’t sure she wanted his company, but she didn’t want to validate his seeming poor opinion of her by rudely walking away.

  That didn’t mean she had to like sitting next to him, though.

  Eliza barely kept her lip from curling downward into a scowl at the Tagith and chose to instead raise her hand to summon the bartender to refresh her drink. After all, she’d come down for a drink, not to bicker with a grouchy alien. She’d had enough of that for two lifetimes. Zerik watched her with open curiosity weighed down by an ungodly amount of scorn.

  “Thinking of having a drink, are you?” he growled conversationally.

  With some effort, Eliza reined in her temper. She turned in her seat and politely regarded him with her best diplomatic smile. “Why, yes, I am. I have some decent Scottish Whiskey in my quarters but decided to come down and celebrate with something a little stronger.”

  “What are you celebrating?”

  “My divorce,” she stated shortly.

  His lips thinned. “Among the Tagith, mating bonds cannot be dissolved on a whim. I hope that your ala went into her mating aware of that, seeing how free your species is with such things.”

  Eliza felt the anger surge through her chest and up into her face, blooming with heat. “I will have you know,” she stated as she pronounced each word with a slow and crystal clarity, “that while, yes, humans can be a bit cavalier about marriage, many humans still take great pains to keep to their vows. I, myself, suffered a great deal of abuse at the hands of my ‘mate’ for twenty-five years. It wasn’t a decision that I came by lightly. Would you rather I suffer the rest of my life with a male who struck and tormented me regardless of any opportunity given to escape?”

  The male’s face twisted into an expression of abhorrent disgust. “Gods forbid. Be at peace—I am not suggesting that you are wrong in this. No, the males of your rookery should have taken him down and killed him the first time he laid hand upon you.”

  For a moment, she sat silent and unmoving, staring down at the bar. She hadn’t expected quite that turnaround from him.

  “Seeing how you seemed to have lacked males of your family willing to do so to safe-keep you, I can appreciate the sense of victory you feel severing yourself from him—even if it is in such an unsatisfactory honorless manner.”

  “So there’s no honor in divorce, but there is in tearing my mate limb from limb?” She was genuinely flummoxed by the strange logic of it.

  Zerik nodded his head, flexing his dark amber and red feathered wings. For a moment she was caught staring at them, absently admiring the silky glide of the feathers, before she shook herself out of it.

  “For certain. But it is an understandable solution to your problem.”

  “You do realize that on Earth, it’s illegal to murder someone for being a bad mate right, right? If I, or anyone else, had killed Charles, the end result would be prison time.”

  The heavy masculine lines of his face twisted into another grimace. “Prison is confinement, yes? Like the Intergalactic Prison Planet. You humans do seem to have strange priorities.” He scratched at the heavy plating and thick horns on his skull. “All the same, it does seem to merit a drink. If you would allow me the privilege, I have a suggestion if you are looking for something strong.”

  Eliza eyed him, weighing his offer with suspicion. She couldn’t understand why he would even bother. He made it no secret that he didn’t care for humans, including the company of human women, and had insulted her only a moment ago. Still, his offer roused her curiosity.

  Instead of her knee-jerk reaction, which demanded that she tell him to fuck off in the politest, most diplomatic terms possible, she surprised herself and said, “Sure, I’d be honored if you’d select something you think I might enjoy.”

  For a brief few seconds, his face wrinkled into a pleasant smile, and she could have almost imagined what he may have looked like in his youth. He leaned forward over the counter and said, “Bring us two duleks of nevarot.”

  Eliza’s eyebrows climbed up when the honey-gold liquor was set in front of her in what seemed to be an oversized shot glass. “I take it this is a dulek.”

  Zerik nodded. “It is the standard measure in which we enjoy nevarot.”

  Carefully, she brought it to her lips and sipped the amber contents. It went down honey-sweet, and then curled with a slow burn in her stomach, warming her blood. Eliza shivered in pleasure at the heat of it.

  Now that was some good stuff.

  Nevarot. She’d have to remember that.

  “Oh, that’s good,” she said, flagging the bartender for another dulek. The Tagith grinned at her and did likewise. They raised their second round in salute to each other’s health and tipped their duleks back.

  Zerik made a noise low in his throat and rustled his feathers, drawing her eye to the ones shot with gold and burgundy. She almost jumped when a few of the primary feathers licked with tiny flames before returning to their normal state.

  Like phoenix feathers, she observed.

  “Nothing beats a dulek of nevarot,” he said as he smiled down into his glass. “It is the water of life on Tagress, made from the sun-spark flowers that bloom only once a year at the height of the sun. Ignites the fire in the blood.”

  “I guess for your species that must be literal,” she observed with a pointed look at his wings.

  He blinked in surprise. “It can be, certainly. Though usually Tagiths do not display their fires in public. It is rare for anyone but their mate to see it—or a fool about to die. So much so that most do not know that about the Tagith. How did you know?”

  “Uh, your wings lit up a little bit there,” she offered a sympathetic smile, hoping it wouldn’t be too embarrassing for him.

  He frowned as he glanced back at his wings. “Truly? How odd. I have not flamed for many years.”

  “Well, the body does act strangely when one gets older,” Eliza suggested. She bit her lip as Zerik glared at her and tipped back another dulek.

  Chapter 4

  Zerik’s eyes scanned Vink’s establishment, looking for the familiar star-speckled dark head of Earth’s ambassador. He’d caught sight of her several times during the last few weeks, usually in passing as she walked at a fast clip with her daughter Melanie at her side.

  Despite his firmly held beliefs regarding mating, Zerik was surprised to find that he couldn’t get the female out of his mind. Even the sight of Melanie brought Eliza to the forefront of his thoughts.

  And into his lustful fantasies at night.

  He closed his eyes, savoring the memory of waking up that morning with his body raging with need, the likes of which he had not felt in a number of years. It surprised him just how good it felt to experience his body coming to life again in response to feminine pheromones.

  Sometimes he saw her from a distance enjoying a drink at Vink’s, and he had to admit to himself that when he’d ventured out from Dareth’s residence he’d hoped to find her there. He liked the female, no matter how skittish or ill tempered she could sometimes behave. She had an honest and good nature. He was a simple male; that was enough to rouse his interest.

  Zerik paused, his tongue glued to the top of his mouth as he saw Eliza sitting on a stool, leaning forward to look at an ongoing quirnik match. Her tongue peeked out slightly from between her lips in concentration as she attempted to follow the game. That alone heated his blood, but when his eyes trailed down and noticed the swell of her breast jutting out from her buttoned shirt visible at his higher angle, Zerik felt all blood surge immediately downward to his cock like an untried youth.

  With an iron will, Zerik wrestled back his desire before Eliza noticed his presence. Once he was sure that his body was calm, he approached her side, determined not surprise her with any sudden appearances on his part at her side. He did not want to scare the little female.

  As expected, as soon as she sensed his presence, Eliza froze, and her eyes drifted around with wary suspicion before settling on him. Uncertainty flashed in her gaze, but she managed a small smile that he knew was solely for his benefit.

  “Zerik,” she greeted him politely.

  He nodded down at her, attempting to maintain an illusion of distance and disinterest so that she would not notice his unexpected desire.

  “Eliza. How are you this day?”

  “I’m… well enough. Just decided to come down and try to do a bit of socializing. I was reminded very recently that it’s necessary.”

  He nodded. “This is what my olo is always telling me.” His lips curved in a small smile of commiseration.

  To his surprise, his observation was rewarded with a small chuckle from the little female. He twitched his wings with restrained enthusiasm and gestured to the quirnik players.

  “Do you play quirnik? It seems my partner went back to Edokora.”

  Eliza gave another small laugh. “Sha’melor never stays long, but I can’t blame him. Far better to be with a loving family than stuck in space all of the time.” She looked longingly at the board. “Unfortunately, I don’t. We do have a similar game on Earth called chess. My grandfather taught me how to play that. I’ve been curious about this game, but haven’t had the occasion to learn.”

  Zerik looked at her thoughtfully. It would be a good excuse for spending time in her company and get to know her. Perhaps she might eventually become as comfortable in his company as she was with Sha’melor. Decided, he gestured to an empty board.

  “I would be happy to teach you, Eliza.”

  Her pink lips quirked. “A game over nevarot?” she suggested.

  “Sounds like my ideal way to pass my evening,” he returned. He sent their order out and sat across from Eliza at the board.

  Zerik was delighted that Eliza was a quick study, picking up on the rules of the game with ease and remarkable speed. Hours later, she was winning almost as often as she lost. She kept him on his toes with the quick turn of her mind. Even more delightful, she was a wonderful conversationalist. They spoke of everything.

  He didn’t want the night to be over. But like all things must, it finally came to an end and they bid each other temporary farewells with the promise to meet again the next night.

  Before Zerik realized it, he was looking forward to their nightly meetings over Vick’s quirnik boards. Weeks passed far too quickly. The more time he spent in her company, the more comfortable she became and the easier she laughed. At times she got a spooked, almost uncertain look on her face, but he made a point to say something insulting or humorous enough to yank her out of her thoughts. She would then roll her eyes at him in exasperation.

  The worst, however, was when unreasonable fear would take hold of her. Zerik found himself on guard against careless males who bumped into her, some he suspected not unintentionally. Eliza was an attractive, mature female who he knew must garner a great deal of attraction from the males.

  On one occasion, as he leaned forward to study his pieces, he asked, “Since you are of the opinion that mating is for everyone, regardless of age and fertility, do you plan on searching for another mate now that you are free from your previous male?”

  Eliza sat in silence for so long that he thought perhaps she would not offer an answer. Watching him move, she studied the board and made her own move before she answered.

  “No, I don’t think so. I kind of failed at the whole love thing.”

  He frowned. “I do not understand.”

  Eliza shrugged. “I just mean that I don’t think I’m one of those people who’re easy to love and be with.”

  “You doubt that a male would want you?” he asked, the surprise plain in his voice. Surely, she must be blind if she did not notice the way so many males around them seemed to linger near her with attentive interest. It was only his fierce glares that kept them from engaging inappropriately while in his presence.

  “Oh, there may be one or two interested guys somewhere. But no, what I mean is more that I just don’t think I have someone out there for me,” she said, finishing her self-deprecation with a chuckle.

  Zerik frowned but did not reply. He couldn’t think of anything to say that would convey just how wrong he felt Eliza was. No, it was best to let her work out her own mind on the matter. So long as he was at the space station with his olo, he would be there to support her.

  ***

  Eliza couldn’t believe how fast six months flew by. Months without interference from Charles. She blocked all communication from his personal lines to her comm. The radio silence paired with her progressive therapy sessions were doing wonders for her.

  Tarqatrei, her therapist, incited her more than once to find a healthy way to express her pent-up anger. Whether it was battering a soft foam block or weeping into the thick pillows she had all around the room from where they sat together on the floor, she needed an outlet.

  “Are you still spending your evenings with Zerik?” Tarqatrei asked with a gentle smile.

  Eliza shifted in her seat, unable to get comfortable. “That almost sounds like we’re in some kind of relationship. But no, I don’t think that’s really what’s going on.”

  Tarqatrei cocked her head, the long webbing draping from her head brushing her shoulders as she blinked her large, overly round eyes. Visually, her therapist reminded her of illustrations of faeries and sprites she’d seen as a child in her storybooks—the same ones she read her to her children, many years later. She even possessed two pairs of fine gossamer wings.

  “Is it not?” she asked with a wispy voice.

  Eliza shrugged and flushed at the thought of the handsome male Tagith. “I don’t believe Zerik thinks of our meeting quite that way. I’m… honestly not sure what I would do if he did.”

  The pixie features of the female downturned into a delicate frown.

  “Do you think you are undeserving of love, Eliza?”

  Eliza snorted. “I don’t know. Sometimes, I think it might be nice, especially when I see how happy Mel is. Part of me yearns for that. But the bigger part of me doesn’t feel like I can have it. I failed my first marriage. If I got a second chance, who’s to say I won’t fail again? Or what if I do something that sets off the new man I’m with?”

  “Eliza, you know it is not you who failed your marriage. You did nothing to earn or deserve the abuse. You must let go of that mindset. Not all males are like your Charles. You do deserve a second chance, and at some point, you need to stop punishing yourself.”

  “Right now, that feels so far out of my reach that it would almost be a miracle.”

  Tarqatrei smiled indulgently. “Perhaps you ought to be open to the idea of the gods granting you that miracle, if that is something you truly want. More importantly, Eliza, love and let go of your anger at yourself. You do deserve that.”

  Eliza nodded her head, deep in thought. This was something they had discussed before. It had almost become a sort of mantra for her.

  Love yourself, Eliza. You deserve to be happy and feel loved.

  Chapter 5

  Three months passed quicker than Eliza had imagined they would. Months of arguing with Earth’s representatives over some new item they wanted to bring before the Council, half of which she thought were unnecessary, weekly therapy sessions, and nightly games with Zerik.

  Now she was in a starship with the male who had very much become her companion, her daughter, and her son-in-law. At long last, they would soon arrive on Tagess.

  Her first sight of Tagess was something of a wonder to Eliza. Despite spending all her time among other species on the Intergalactic Space Station, she had never been to another planet. Earth wasn’t inclined to allow their high-ranking officials to go to other planets, but Melanie had apparently found the right person to badger into giving them clearance. And that was why she was her assistant.

  Melanie was remarkably efficient at getting hard tasks done. In fact, she’d make a great politician. Not that her daughter wanted such a career. More than once, she told her mother that politics make her break out in hives. Now, in light of her daughter mating a Tagith male, Eliza knew her daughter’s decision had long been made. The citizens of Earth would be wary of electing a woman mated to an alien to a public service position.

  Not that it mattered. Her daughter seemed more than happy with the direction her life was heading. And now it was headed directly to the striking landscape of Tagess. Beside her, Melanie was bubbling with excitement, held tight in the arms of her mate. At her other side, Zerik was brooding, staring down at the landscape as they approached. The only sign of interest from him was the eager twitching of his wings.

  Although the space station was made to accommodate winged species, Eliza could imagine that Zerik missed flying in the free and open air.

  And below her, Tagess was a marvel.

  Everywhere she looked was a great expanse of a kind of thick savannah, dotted with trees so large they made California’s prized giant sequoias look like saplings. Rugged deep burgundy mountains and sheer cliffs could be seen easily in the distance. She imagined Zerik teaching a young Dareth how to fly over the pale orange grasses.

  Several Tagiths took to the air, their bright wings flashing under the sunlight as the starship approached a large expanse of smooth rock. It appeared to have been utilized by their species specifically for use as a landing pad for ships, as other ships sat unused nearby.

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