The Priestess and the Thief

This new view surprised Elli so much she stopped eating with a bite halfway to her mouth.

“I…never thought of it like that,” she admitted. “Every time I tried to tell someone back home how I can communicate with zorels, they just thought I was crazy. Even my brothers thought it sounded strange.”

“It sounds to me like you come from a fairly close-minded society,” Roke remarked. “When you’ve been around the galaxy and seen as many strange and wondrous things as I have, you tend to have a more open mind.”

“I guess so,” Elli murmured and finally got the bite to her mouth. As she chewed, she kept an eye on the big warrior. He was nothing like what she had expected him to be. She’d never admitted to anyone about her special communication with zorels without them getting a funny look in their eye and treating her like she was slightly crazy. It was nice to be believed for once and not thought of as “a little off.”

Maybe he’s not so bad after all, she thought, taking another bite of her honey cakes. Of course, that didn’t mean she ought to let down her guard around him. She’d done that once, at the Christmas party, and look where it had gotten her. But maybe she could consider the big warrior an ally—if not exactly a friend—in her quest.

Elli hoped so, since it seemed they were going to be working together until she got the piece of Healing Lattice and finally went home to the Mother Ship.

Thirteen

Roke watched with amusement at the quick, dainty bites Ellilah took.

She eats like a little bird, he thought, as he took another bite of the spicy honey cakes. The more he got to know the curvy little priestess, the more fascinating he found her.

For instance, what was it her stepmother had blackmailed Ellilah with in order to make her go into the priestess-hood? She had mentioned that one “indiscretion” had changed her life forever and then said a second one—the kissing and touching with him at the humans’ Christmas party—had changed it again. Did that mean that her first indiscretion had been sexual in nature too? If so, what male had she been with?

Roke found himself feeling jealous of whoever it was and made himself stop.

Don’t be foolish—you’re only here to help her with her quest. It’s not like you’d ever want to bond with her—or with anyone for that matter.

He could still remember the pain of losing his mother, but as bad as it had been for him, it had been ten times worse for his Sire. His mate’s death had gutted him—leaving him an empty shell of a male who could barely function. Roke had raised himself after that—his Sire had only been going through the motions until Roke was old enough to be out on his own. The moment he had seen his son off onto a ship at the start of Roke’s first job—

But Roke cut that line of thinking off. There was no use in reliving old hurts. No use in digging up the past and letting it give you pain all over again.

The main thing was, he didn’t intend to repeat his Sire’s mistakes. If you didn’t allow a female to worm her way into your heart, then you couldn’t be hurt when she died or left you. Far better to keep females at a distance—at least emotionally—than to let one in where she might devastate you, as his Sire had been devastated when Roke’s mother died.

But there was no denying that Ellilah was interesting and beautiful and honestly, fucking adorable. With her sweet, high voice and quick movements, she reminded Roke of a little bird who has only recently flown outside her cage. She was determined to fulfill the quest she had set for herself and yet innocent of the danger that lay in her way.

I’ll protect her, he thought, watching her as she ate. And not just because the Goddess told me to. Nobody is going to lay a hand on her unless they go through me first.

And in the meantime, just because he had sworn never to bond a female to him, didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her company. Which he was, very much, now that he was getting to know her.

I just want to spend more time with her, Roke thought, watching her lovely face as she sat across from him. There’s no harm in that. No harm at all.

Fourteen

“Oh no, Roke—I can’t get this! It’s much too expensive!” Elli looked uncertainly at the vivid crimson gown with its shimmering emerald and gold needlework. It reminded her of the humans’ Christmas colors—there had been a lot of red and green and gold decorations at their party.

“You’ll need something striking if you’re going to impress the Tenebrians,” the big warrior rumbled. “Go on—try it on.” He nodded to the fitting room at the back of the smart little shop, which was located down at the end of the Garment District.