“What? No! I mean, uh, not yet.” Mia was blushing again. “He said I wasn’t ready, and honestly I agree with him. I mean, I’m not even technically divorced yet.”
“No, but after today you will be,” Kaylee informed her. “Talon and Commander Baird are going down to Earth today to make Hank sign the papers! You’ll be a free woman by nightfall.”
“Commander Baird is going?” Mia was shocked. “But…isn’t he really high-ranking? He’s Talon’s boss, right?”
“He’s the head of the whole Kindred fleet. And he’s also bonded to Dr. Liv—the one who fixed your orbital fracture the first night you were here,” Kaylee said. “Apparently she told him all about Hank hitting you and it made him so angry, he insisted on going with Talon when he asked for permission to go down to Earth.”
“Wow…I didn’t know they were married…er, bonded.” Mia said. She bit her lip. “But are you sure they’re going to be careful? Hank is always armed.”
“I told you—they’re wearing body armor and protective shielding.” Kaylee patted her arm comfortingly. “Don’t worry, sweetie—everything is going to be fine. All you have to worry about now is what you’re going to wear to the Chorus Halloween party at the end of the week.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Mia began, but Kaylee was already shaking her head.
“Nope—there’s no getting out of it, I’m afraid. You’re the accompanist—everyone is going to want to meet you! Besides, this is a great chance for you to finally have some fun for a change. I know Hank never let you get out and have a good time, so we need to make up for all those years of boredom!”
“Well…all right,” Mia agreed at last. “But I don’t want to wear anything crazy, all right?”
“Just leave the costumes to me.” There was a wicked glint in Kaylee’s eyes that Mia didn’t trust.
“Kaylee…” she began.
“Don’t worry—you and I are going to match,” Kaylee promised. “We’ll go together like peanut butter and jelly.”
Mia had a mental image of the two of them wearing big, goofy cardboard boxes painted to resemble jars of the aforementioned condiments and instantly felt better. At least it wouldn’t show too much skin if she went as a jelly jar.
Since when are you worried about showing skin, Ms. got halfway naked in a public park last night? whispered a little voice in her head. Why, anybody could have walked by and caught you!
Remembering her wild and reckless behavior, Mia had a momentary qualm. Was she acting like a slut? Hank had always been accusing her of that—saying she was making eyes at men or flaunting her body, while in the next breath he told her how ugly and fat she was and that no man would ever want her.
Well, Storn wants me and I never have to see Hank again! Mia told herself firmly. I refuse to let anything he told me make me unhappy ever again.
Lifting her chin with determination, she began playing her happy song once more—the joyful little tune that had been playing over and over in her head ever since she had moved to the Mother Ship. It sounded so cheerful, just playing it put a smile on her face. Though it was still missing something…
Suddenly the voice of a new instrument joined the tinkling of the piano keys. It was a high, reedy sound as though someone was playing a woodwind instrument—maybe some kind of flute—very skillfully.
“Oh!” Kaylee exclaimed and looked over Mia’s shoulder.
Mia turned as well and saw Storn standing there.
14
In Storn’s hands was an instrument that looked a little like a pan flute, with many tubes of different lengths lashed together. But it had a lot more finger holes than a regular pan flute, she thought, and instead of one row of tubes, there were two or three—it was hard to see which—all stacked on top of each other.
But it wasn’t his instrument that caught her eye—it was the big Satyr Kindred himself.
Seeing him in the daylight for the first time, she had to admit he took her breath away. His broad shoulders in the bronze uniform shirt and his powerful thighs in the tight black leather trousers were enough to make any woman’s mouth water. His thick black hair fell over his forehead, between his curving horns, and his face was every bit as handsome as she’d thought it was the night before.
“Oh,” she exclaimed, echoing Kaylee. And then, “Your eyes are brown!”
Storn stopped playing and smiled at her.
“What color did you think they were, my lovely one?”
“I…I didn’t know.” Mia could feel herself blushing as she looked up at him. “I…I thought…I mean they were, er, they seemed to be glowing green,” she got out at last.
“Ah, yes—Monstrum eyes do tend to glow in the dark,” he said, nodding. He waved at the piano. “But why did you stop playing? I brought my leelah especially to play with you and I liked that tune—what is it called?”