DangerouslyHis (7 page)

And just like that, an overwhelming sense of dread had ahold
of her once again.

There could be no flirting. No smiles from across the room
as she’d heard described on many occasions from people who had fallen in love.
Her fate belonged to someone else.

The show ended and the lights came on. The Alointe tribe
held the torches in their hands and bowed. Everyone, including Saia, clapped.
But while everyone’s eyes were on the Alointe, she and JB watched each other.

She finally pulled her gaze away. The direction of her life
was already set for her. Olo had seen to it.

She pushed her food around on her plate. Even as she did,
she could feel his eyes on her. But she wouldn’t look up. Even if her
fluttering heart wanted her to. There was no point.

She answered questions as people around her asked them. She
smiled when appropriate. But as the lights dimmed again, signaling the start of
the second act, she quietly excused herself and left.

JB strained to find her through the dimly lit hall. The
Alointe twirled their torches in his line of vision. Every time he tried to
look around them, another would step in his line of sight again.

He’d spent the greater part of the meal willing her to look
at him again. Instead, she’d looked everywhere but. He was desperate to know
what was wrong. Her beautiful smile had become vacant, her sparkling eyes
lifeless.

The lights came on.

She was gone.

Her seat empty.

His breath caught in his throat. He looked around the room
frantically. She was nowhere in sight.

As he stood, Lo’Ren tugged on his arm. “Sit down.”

“Let me go. I have to find her.”

But she held fast, her grip tight. “I wouldn’t be a good
friend if I let you leave.”

“Eva, you’ve done a wonderful job.”

Fainia turned in a tight circle, taking in all the
decorations strewn from the walls and ceiling of the ballroom.

Saia fidgeted nervously with the stitching that ran down the
side of her gown. “Yes, I love it.”

While everyone noticed the smile she wore on her face, she
was sure they didn’t see how her lips quivered. Or how she couldn’t keep her
hands still. Or the beads of sweat that dripped slowly down her neck to her back.

But she smiled on, rapidly blinking back tears, feigning
interest in an event that would be the end of all her dreams. She didn’t know
what she feared most, bonding with Ranuit Pi or having him refuse to bring
Fainia with them after the ceremony. What if he made her mother stay behind?
Fainia would have to go back to Olo, and if Saia wasn’t there to protect her
and take her to the healing tanks, then what?

Her knees knocked together. The room swam around her,
darkening. She reached out, grabbing a table for support. “Oh my.” She used her
free hand to wipe the mist from her forehead.

“Saia, are you feeling ill? Do you need to rest?” Her mother
snaked an arm around her waist and held her up.

Eva ran to her other side and offered support. “Whoa,
sweetie. What’s the matter? You’re shaking.”

While her mother could probably guess what was causing the
panic attack, Saia couldn’t let Eva know anything was amiss. She tried her best
to smile nonchalantly. “I’m fine. I think I became overwhelmed with everything.
This is all so wonderful.” She took a sweeping glance of the room. She hadn’t
lied. It
was
beautiful, and Eva had put a lot of work into making it so.

Females, human and Sonian alike, bustled around, putting the
finishing touches on an already elaborately decorated ballroom. She hadn’t seen
anything like it before.

Saia let go of the table and stood straight. “Eva, I
appreciate all you’ve done. But,” she looked around again, “what exactly is an
engagement party?” Saia hadn’t thought to ask before since they were only
planning the party as a way for Taio to meet with Ranuit Pi.

Eva chuckled. “Engagement parties are an Earth tradition. We
have them before the actual wedding ceremony so the bride’s and groom’s
families can come together and get to know each other.” She shrugged. “There’s
going to be so much activity, people talking, drinking and having a good time,
that no one will be the wiser when Taio and Ranuit Pi leave for a little
while.”

“Do you think it will work?” Saia asked.

“I hope so,” Eva replied. “I have a child, so I’ll do
anything I can to help avoid a war with King Xochis or Ranuit Pi.”

“I apologize for bringing your family into all of this,”
Fainia said.

“It’s my fault,” Saia said. “If it wasn’t for me, no one
would even be thinking about war.”

Eva rubbed a hand across Saia’s back. “Oh honey, don’t blame
yourself.”

“Eva’s right, it’s not your fault. You’re just the
unfortunate soul caught in Olo’s plans.”

“I wish there was a better way to solve this,” Eva said. “I
really do.”

Saia shook her head. “There isn’t. I’m not the first person
who must do something for the greater good of everyone involved.”

“Not everyone,” Eva muttered.

Saia gave a shaky smile. “It’ll work out, you’ll see. Taio
will talk with Ranuit Pi, and who knows? Ranuit Pi may actually be nice. He
might treat me with respect and honor. He might even grow to love me—someday.”

Fainia ran a hand over Saia’s hair, picking up a shiny lock.
“Ranuit Pi would be a fool to harm such a delicate flower.”

Saia looked away, not wanting her mother to see her eyes misting
over. “Olo has.”

Fainia turned to Eva. “Thank you for all the effort you’ve
put into planning this. I am sure Taio appreciates it as well.”

Eva frowned and rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t know.
He hasn’t really said a lot about it. He won’t talk to me about the party or
the bonding ceremony. I don’t even know what he plans to say to Ranuit Pi.”

“He hasn’t talked to me much either,” Saia said solemnly.
“We used to talk a lot, but now when I call him, he’s either not available or
he can’t stay on the line for very long.”

Eva rubbed Saia’s arm. “Give him some time, he’ll come
around. He’s just really upset with your father right now and you know your
brother—he has a hard time dealing with his emotions.”

Saia nodded. “I understand. I’m trying my best to pretend
that I’m happy in front of him. If he thought otherwise, I know it would be
hard to convince him not to invade Drazlan.”

“I wish there was more that I could do.”

“You’ve already done enough,” Fainia said. “You’re helping
in our plan to ensure Saia will be treated well on Syntorian.”

“How is Kiehle taking it?” Eva asked.

Saia wasn’t able to see Kiehle as much as she saw Taio. When
Taio settled down on Sonis, he asked Kiehle to oversee the operation of his
business, Sonis Mercenary. Now Kiehle had complete control over the company,
which often kept him in distant parts of the galaxy on the first vessel Taio
ever bought,
The Saia
. Sometimes Kiehle was so far out of reach, Saia
couldn’t even get him by long-range communication.

“He wants to kill Olo,” Saia said.

“Oh, he’s taking it better than Taio, huh?” Eva smirked.

“How is that ‘taking it better’?” Fainia asked.

“Kiehle just wants to kill
Olo
. Taio wants to kill
Ranuit Pi, Olo and anyone involved in the bonding.” Eva’s hand trailed down to
Saia’s. “He doesn’t want to give up his precious little sister.”

Precious.

Saia almost laughed.

She’d been kicked, hit, slapped, pushed, punched and spit
on. There was nothing precious about her.

“He can’t ignore the inevitable. Even if Saia didn’t bond
with Ranuit Pi, she would eventually bond with someone. She’s no longer a
child.” Her mother took a deep breath. “You are doing an excellent job, Eva.
You and Saia should be able to handle the rest of the arrangements, yes?”

“We’ll be fine,” Eva replied, letting go of Saia’s hand.

“Very well.” Fainia turned to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Eva asked.

“To speak with my son. If he wants to come to an agreement
with Ranuit Pi, he’ll need my help. I’m beginning to think Taio’s idea of
negotiations
may include a very sharp weapon.”

“Let’s pray she can talk some sense into him,” Eva murmured
as they watched Fainia leave the room with a royal guard on her heals.

“Before Taio met you, I would have doubted that was even
possible. But now, he is much more open to listening to what others have to
say.”

“Ha! Don’t get fooled honey. Your brother is just as
bullheaded as ever. He’s only different with me.” Eva looped arms with Saia and
led her through the large room. “In that regard, Taio has learned to negotiate,
which is a major plus in any relationship.”

“Negotiate? Is that why you and he appear so happy with each
other?”

Eva nodded. “Negotiating and compromising is the key to any
marriage. Luckily, your brother is learning to do both quiet well. I’ve
changed. I’m not the same woman I was when he rescued me from Xenaris. He’s not
the same male who I first met. We’ve grown for the better. It took a lot to
learn to trust and rely on him. I’m still very much independent, but my soul
belongs to Taio.”

They walked around a couple who were busy setting up
decorations on a table.

“Did it take you long to change his ways? Warriors are not
trained to negotiate or compromise with their mates.”

Eva tilted her head. “It was hard at first. But I didn’t set
out to change him and he didn’t set out to change me. We wanted to be together
and in order to do so, we both had to learn how to compromise.”

Eva stopped in front of a table that spilled over with blue,
green and yellow flowers.

“What about human males? Are they taught to negotiate and
compromise?” She bit her lower lip, hoping it was true.

Eva plucked a blue flower from the arrangement, rose on her
toes and curled the stem behind Saia’s ear. “They are. Making others happy is
ingrained in us. In order to get along with each other, we practice tolerance
and acceptance. There were so many different cultures and religions on Earth.”

Making others happy is ingrained in us.

Jaybee would make her happy. She was sure of it.

Eva hummed and fixed the arrangement so the missing flower
was replaced by another.

Saia decided to pry a little more. “If you had a choice,
would you have picked a human mate over my brother?”

Eva stopped and looked up to her. “Why would you ask? I love
your brother.”

Saia shrugged, suddenly feeling silly. “Taio is so different
from what you have probably been accustomed to.”

Eva’s gaze warmed. “I would choose Taio over and over again.
Yes, the courtship probably would have been smoother if I was dealing with a
human, but that would have taken all the fun out of it. Taio is a warrior.” She
smiled. “
I’m
a warrior, and we deserve each other.”

Saia sat in the closest chair she could reach. “I don’t want
to bond with a warrior.” She hugged her knees together. “I’d rather have
someone who would compromise and negotiate with me.”

“Oh hon, I know you must be so scared.”

“Scared” didn’t describe it. “I’m terrified. If I had a
choice, I wouldn’t mate with Ranuit Pi.”

“Hey, where did all your optimism go? Don’t let it slip
away. Let’s meet him and then draw our own conclusions. You never know. He may
be like Taio, hard on the outside but all gooey on the inside.”

Saia snorted. “I hardly doubt Taio is gooey on the inside.”

“Oh, he would never admit it, but have you seen the way he
looks at Josanis?” Eva raised Saia’s chin. “The way he looks at you?”

She thought about the look that Jaybee had given her. “Do
you think Ranuit Pi will ever look at me like that?”

“Oh no, Taio looks at you like he loves you,
brother-and-sister love. Hopefully Ranuit Pi will look at you with a little
more hunger in his eyes.”

Saia picked at her nails. “I’ve had someone look at me like
that before.”

Eva pulled back and frowned. “Really? On Drazlan? He must
have balls of steel. I wouldn’t think anyone would give you a second look with
your father around.”

“Um…not on Drazlan.”

Eva tilted her head in thought. “Where else have you been
besides here? Wait. Was it
here
?” She scrunched her brows together. “Who
would be that stupid—”

“Hey, Eva.”

Saia whipped around and caught her breath.
Jaybee.

“What are you thinking about so hard? Your face is all
screwed up,” he said.

“JB.” Eva said his name slowly.

“Ee-va.” Jaybee repeated her name just as slowly.

Saia couldn’t help but giggle. Eva turned to her and
groaned.

He smiled at Saia and she smiled back, suddenly too aware
that the room had become hot and stuffy.

“Eva, are you going to formally introduce us?”

Eva peered at Jaybee through the slits of her eyes. “Jaybee,
this is Saia—as in Princess Saia Xochis, Taio’s little sister.”

Jaybee dipped his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,
Princess.”

I want to touch him.
Saia stuck out her hand. “Isn’t
it customary for us to shake hands?”

Jaybee smiled and grasped her hand in his. Even as he shook
it up and down, she felt her skin melt into his. Every nerve in her body was
aflame. Her heart beat so fast and erratic that it felt as though it would
explode out of her chest. She struggled to catch her breath and even out its
pace.

“You can call me Saia.”

“Uh,
no
, he can’t. He’ll call you Princess Saia, like
everyone else.”

“But Eva, friends call me Saia. It’s quite all right.”

Eva shook her head. “No, no, no. He’s not your friend and
I’d really appreciate it if the two of you would let go of each other’s hands
now.”

“Right,” Jaybee said, slowly releasing her hand.

Saia clasped hers together to stop the shaking that had
begun.

“I’ll call you Princess Saia, but you may call me Jaybee.”

“Jaybee,” she said, elongating the word.

“No, just J and B. They’re two letters of the English
alphabet.”

“JB,” she repeated, mimicking him.

“Can I help you with something, JB?” Eva asked, raising a
brow.

“No, I was bored. I came to see if
you
needed help
with anything.”

“Uh huh, really,” Eva said.

“Sure,” he said to Eva, but his eyes were on Saia. “You know
me. I’m always trying to help out where needed.” He winked at Saia and another
giggle erupted.

I sound like a naïve idiot.

Eva stepped in front of her, trying to block her view of JB.
“How nice of you. We were actually overseeing the finishing touches on the
decorations for her engagement party. She’s bonding to Lord Ranuit Pi of the
warring nation Zumagala in three days.”

“I may have heard that a time or two.”

Eva rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but no thanks. We don’t need
your help. Come on, Saia, let’s check on the menu.” Eva pulled Saia to her
feet.

As she passed JB, she took one last look and tripped over
her own footing. Before she hit the ground, JB was there, cradling her in his
arms. “Watch your step,” he whispered.

Words wouldn’t leave her mouth. She didn’t need to talk. She
just enjoyed the feel of his arms around her waist, holding her. His face was
so close to hers that she could hear the erratic pace of his breathing that
matched her own.

“Not on my watch!” Eva yelled, pulling on her arm.

Saia’s gaze flicked to Eva.

“Get your hands off her now,” Eva ground out. “Do you know
what Taio would do to you if he saw you touching his sister? I don’t want to
scrape pieces of you off the floor.”