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“Good.” Ashrael reached up and removed his glasses, revealing his true form.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Arin. “Ash…”
“It’s fine,” he said quietly.
The piano woman blinked several times. She didn’t scream, or recoil in horror. That was a promising sign.
“You’re an alien.” Her voice was steady and even, even though her aura trembled with fear.
“Indeed.”
“And you?” Her eyes flicked sharply toward Arin.
“Nothing to worry about from me,” she said lightly. “I’m very much human, and if it’s reassuring at all, he’s one of the good guys.”
“Righto.” Brown eyes narrowed. “I’m afraid I’d need to know who your client is before I can release one of these pianos to you.”
Ashrael reached out with hiska’quiand dissected her intent. Still, he detected nothing untoward. “My client is known to humans as a performer. If I bring my client here to sample the instruments, I expect the utmost respect and discretion.” He released just a hint of a threat into his aura, letting her know that the consequences for any transgression would be severe.
“Of course. If this person is a performer, I might even know of them.”
“And you will understand that I amverymuch on this human’s side…” He dropped that fact intentionally.I will hurt anyone that compromises her wellbeing.
“Look, mister. I don’t care which galaxy you’re from. I really don’t give a shit about intergalactic politics, and I’m not going to go screaming to the authorities. If I think you’re a suitable buyer, then I’ll do business with you. I don’t discriminate like that.”
“My client may wish to preserve their anonymity. Do not be surprised if I require you to make yourself scarce during the testing period.”
Caity gave him a long hard look and sighed. “If you pay me a deposit equal to the sum of the highest-priced instrument here, I’ll give you a maximum of thirty minutes of private shopping time. But if you do anything to mess up any of my instruments, I’ll kill you.”
The corner of Ashrael’s mouth quirked. She was only half-serious.
Humans could be funny like that.
“I’ll check with my client. Arin will make contact with you again.” He ignored Arin’s cool, pointed stare. Obviously, the human didn’t agree with his way of doing things, but this was his mission, and he would conduct it as he saw fit.
“Huh.You said your client was human, right? What kind of human…” The woman shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll wait to hear from you. As long as you understand my conditions.”
“I understand perfectly.” Ashrael nodded in acknowledgement. The human had conducted herself respectably.
Theoldhim might have gone about things differently. He could have just infiltrated this place and held a dagger to her neck and assured her death if she didn’t comply with his bidding.
But Noa wouldn’t like that.
There were rules he had to abide by now; checks and balances.
And as long as his mate was content, he would do just that.
SIX
Noa lookedout the window as the stealth cruiser descended to Earth. It was night on this side of the planet, and the glittering lights formed golden outlines on the dark landmasses. She could make out the familiar shape of the European continent.
Was that where they were headed?
It was strange. Earth felt so familiar yet so distant. She’d traveled to the center of the Nine Galaxies themselves—to Kythia and back.
She’d found Ash, and then she’d known the horror of almost losing him.
She’d would never be the same again, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, was it?
