Blue and Alluring (6 page)

“The station is busy with a recreation for the next week. No more visitors. Would you care to play dice?”

He grinned. “Where would a respectable girl like you learn dice?”

“The very respectable servants’ quarters. I may have looked five years old, but I was twenty. Folk tended to forget that.”

They spent the next few days learning about childhood mischief and favourite assignments. Olwick was fascinated by Yimeera and her transformation as well as her origin.

“Aren’t you curious where she came from?”

Illuma looked at the medical reports and smiled. “I looked into her eyes and saw haunted pain. I don’t care where she came from; I just want to help her get where she wants to go. Her past isn’t my concern. We all have a past; it is what we are now that matters.”

He nodded and looked over at the patient under the slow ministrations of the machines. “Her soul is steady. She has been bent but never broken. She will do well on the next phase of her life.”

Illuma linked arms with Olwick and whispered, “You read her personality and now her future?”

“I only see what I see.”

“What do you see when you look at me?” It was a dangerous question.

He stroked her cheek. “I see a strong mind and a wild future together.”

Illuma sighed and used her mist to elevate her to his height. “Good. Now, let me reclaim that bit of me that I sent with you.”

“I like it.”

She whispered against his lips. “I will put it back the next time.”

“I look forward to it.”

* * * *

Iara chuckled and contacted Guardian. “We have our team on Incognito Station.”

Guardian grinned. “Blue and Alluring are up for duty. Who’s going to tell them?”

Iara laughed. “I think I will let them know when it comes up. They have a week; let’s let them have it.”

Guardian was bemused. “Did she really redesign a Vorwing?”

“She really did. Three Enjel colonies have accepted the application. Our new bird just needs to choose.”

“Is it safe to hide her?”

“The option is to let them have her.”

“That we will never do. She deserves a life. Green is the perfect example of what a Vorwing can do if left to follow their own impulses. Well, the girls at least. The men are asses.”

“Spoken with the wisdom of the ages. Talk to you later, Guardian.”

“My love to the family, Iara.”

Iara sat back and looked up at the sky. The station was winking brightly in the darkness, doing the most miraculous things. Change was a tricky thing, but Illuma had already mastered it. Now, she simply needed to teach that mystery of the universe to her partner. It was the job of a lifetime, but Illuma was up to it.

Because of the death in the family, this book came a month late, and I lost the thread of the plot that I had created at the end of the previous book. Apologies.

Thanks to everyone for their kind words regarding my father’s unexpected passing. It meant a lot and still does.

Thanks for reading and realising I am an actual person,

Viola Grace

http://www.violagrace.com

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.