“You don’t have to thank me, Linette. I will always come for you and any of the men and women of the Vanguard,” I said, relieved that my voice didn’t betray how choked I felt. “You welcomed us with the Dragons when every other world would have shunned us because of how we were born. We have pledged our allegiance to the Vanguard. Don’t ever doubt that I will gladly lay down my life to keep you safe.”
“Thank you. I believe you, and I would do the same for you. I may not know you well, and you Scelks may be quite intimidating at times, but I trust you,” Linette said with a conviction that had me melting from the inside. “I didn’t know what to think after Janaur, but I’ve fully trusted you ever since Zekuro. Wrath is more than a brother to me, and so are most of the Xian Warriors I interact with. They’re my family. He’s alive today, and so am I, thanks to you and the Dragons. I will never forget that. I wanted you to know that, whatever those Coalition dumbasses may think, we of the Vanguard—and I, in particular—feel blessed to have you and the Scelks on our side. Don’t ever doubt that you are very much a part of the Vanguard.”
Unable to resist, I cupped her cheek in my hand and gently caressed the silkiness of her skin. She slightly stiffened at the unexpected gesture that took even me by surprise, but she didn’t shy away from my touch. My gaze plunged into the dark-blue ocean of her eyes, and I held back nothing of the gratitude I felt in that instant.
“Thanks, Linette,” I said, my voice filled with emotion. “Your words mean more to me than you can ever know. And forgive me for my boldness. I hadn’t meant to touch you without your consent,” I clumsily added, dropping my hand.
She snorted, looking gently at me, although a slight blush had crept up on her milky cheeks. “Considering I’ve been pawing at you for the past few minutes, I can hardly play the offended virgin. That said, your skin is freaking amazing,” Linette said, abruptly changing the subject. She raised her right hand to touch my shoulder then stopped herself, her eyes jerking up to mine, slightly worried. “I’m still allowed to touch, right?”
I burst out laughing, and she grinned at me sheepishly.
“Touch away, Linette,” I said with a nod. “Until I state otherwise, you are free to do so whenever you want.”
“Remember you offered,” she said before boldly running her hand over part of my chest, over my clavicle, to my shoulder covered with some scattered chitin scales, and then down the length of my arm. “Of all the species I’ve ever encountered, you guys have definitely the coolest blend of skin and scales. You shouldn’t hide this under a hood,” she added pensively.
“People are skittish,” I said with a dismissive shrug. “They will—”
“Fuck skittish people,” Linette snarled. “Since when does the diplomatically challenged Varnog care about what people think? Not people, I believe ‘pussies’ was the term you so eloquently used during that presentation.”
I burst out laughing again and slowly nodded my head. “Which earned me a long and stern talking to by Chaos regarding the proper ways to address an audience, and the expected behavior from leadership in setting examples and whatnot.”
It was Linette’s turn to burst out laughing.
“That’s not surprising at all. You can’t get anyone more by the book than our dear old Chaos,” she said affectionately. “Just so you know, he means well.”
“I know,” I said in all sincerity. “He’s a good man.”
A good man who had earned my eternal loyalty for the love he showed Sabra. Where Tabitha had earned my respect and loyalty as Queen to Bane, Sabra had won my heart as a sister.
“In all seriousness though, I hope you and your brothers will consider not wearing those hoods anymore,” Linette said, sobering. “Mystery tends to feed into people’s worst paranoias and nightmares. I’ll be honest, until this instant, what was hiding beneath your clothes always kind of frightened me, too. Now, I just think you’re magnificent. And I love finally knowing who you actually are instead of the weird puppet master assumptions that were swirling around in my head.”
“I will take your suggestion under consideration,” I said, fighting the urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her in gratitude.
Magnificent… I can’t believe she finds me magnificent!
Feeling awkward, I looked around us, embarrassed that we’d been standing next to the bench this whole time.
“Well, if you are still interested in going over your issues with the current training scenarios, may I invite you to take a seat and share with me how we could improve?” I asked, gesturing at the bench.
An adorable blush crept up Linette’s cheeks. “Sheesh! Sorry about that. I’m usually the quiet, stick-to-business type. And yes, I would still like to discuss training.”
She took a seat on the bench and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“No need to apologize,” I said again while settling next to her as close as propriety allowed without touching. “While I like the serious and professional Linette I’m used to interacting with, it is nice to see this laidback, more open side of you. And to be fair, I did most of the babbling.”
“Good, because I intend for us to be doing more of that in the future,” Linette said. “We’re three years overdue.”
I smiled but said nothing, not trusting my voice not to reveal just how elated I felt that she wanted to get to know me better.
“So, regarding training,” she continued, “it is way too easy. Or rather, absurdly easy for me and not challenging enough for the others. I would like to do a couple of simulations with you, just the two of us, and for you to throw everything at me until I crash.”
“You want me to make you crash? I asked, my brows shooting up.
She nodded with a big grin on her face. “That day we helped rescue the Dragons’ mothers and we crashed on that moon was the most freaking amazing scare I’ve ever had. That challenged me beyond words. In a way, it almost scared me more than when we escaped the clutches of the General.”
She smiled when I slightly recoiled at the comment and further explained.
“On the Dragonfly, it was a team effort. But when we crashed, every single life on board was in my hands, and mine alone, until I could stabilize that ship. I want to be challenged again and again in every possible way so that the next time we are facing such a dire situation, saving my girls will not be a Hail Mary, but a Linette kicking ass and taking names moment.”
“That time, too, you kicked ass and took names,” I said in a gentle voice. “You always do. But by all means, let’s see if we can give you the adrenaline rush you’re after.”
Chapter 4
Linette
The Scelk leader was nothing like I had believed him to be this whole time—quite the opposite in fact. It was rather disturbing to find myself actually attracted to him. He didn’t meet any of what I’d always believed to be my must-haves. I mean, he was tall and muscular, with chiseled abs and broad shoulders. However, he was lithe where I’d always been attracted by the bulkier type of men like the Warriors and the Dragons. His face also didn’t have the classic beauty that usually called to me.