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  She slid the shirt off her shoulders and turned to look at the place where a bruise should have been covering her skin. There was nothing. She couldn’t feel any hint of the damage that she knew she had suffered.

  Smiling, she stripped and stepped into her shower. Water was the one luxury she allowed herself on a regular basis. She had a solar shower, but water was what she wanted on her skin.

  Scrubbed and clean, she brushed her hair and braided it then got dressed and went to work.

  She had half a dozen canvases in progress, and it was time to get them finished.

  Rhoda waved farewell to the courier who dropped off the enormous box at her doorstep and had brought it inside to help her unpack it. The card on the box simply said, These are my favourites.

  Shrugging, she set the snacks in her chiller and cupboards. She was about to return to her work when her com alerted her to an incoming message. She turned the vid link on and smiled politely. “Your Highness. Good afternoon.”

  Prince Drehl smiled in return. “And good afternoon to you as well, artist. I was wondering if today would be a good day for the initial consult.”

  “Um, there are only two good hours left for this kind of work. I am not sure that you could make it here in time.”

  He chuckled. “I am outside your door.”

  The link cut off, and there was a knock at her door. Rhoda absently cut her side of the link down and moved to unlock the barrier to her guest.

  Etiquette kicked in. “Please, come in. Can I offer you a beverage?”

  He was laughing. “Please. May I help myself?”

  She stood aside and inclined her head. “My home is your home.”

  He lifted her right hand to his forehead and said, “You honour me with your trust.”

  His skin was warm to the touch, and as she retrieved her hand, she watched him move inside her home as if he was completely at home.

  “Thank you for the healing earlier. I was more injured than I thought.”

  “I am aware of it.” He walked into her kitchen, looking incongruous with his heavily embroidered clothing and regal bearing.

  “You sent your favourite snacks here. That is why all the questions earlier.”

  “My time here should not be a hardship on you.” He opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses.

  “Oh, I can’t. The wine here doesn’t get along with me.” Rhoda blushed.

  “Really? You seemed fine last night.”

  “That wasn’t wine. That was a cocktail of alcohol and fruit juice. It made me dizzy and probably pink, but it wasn’t the reaction I have to wine here.”

  He frowned. “Does it bother you if I drink?”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Please. Do you have a preference for your pose?”

  Prince Drehl tilted his head and sipped his wine. “No. Do you? You are the artist after all.”

  She chuckled. “I am an interpreter, nothing more. My talent kicks in and I let it roam free. When it recedes, I am left with the picture, but once I have begun the painting, you do not need to be here to finish it.”

  “You can recall the image?”

  “As many times as I need to.” She led the way to her studio. “Come along, we are losing the light.”

  He followed, carrying both glasses of wine. Inside her studio, he looked around at the covered canvases. “You were not kidding that you took confidentiality seriously.”

  She shook her head. “For the men, it isn’t such a big deal, but the women are often shocked by what is shown on the canvas. For them, they have little choice in who they mate with, and it shakes them.”

  She had a frame for those who wished to stand. It allowed them to appear more powerful, but in the end, she painted them as they would be at the moment that their destiny came upon them.

  “Have you chosen what you wish to see? Which aspect of your life you wish to be captured on the canvas?”

  He smiled, “As many do, I wish to see love. I have everything else I could need, including a career in the Guardians. Planet by planet, I have wrought my craft, and now, I am finally at home.”

  She lifted a canvas and set it on her easel, picking up her sketching tools and facing Prince Drehl head on. “Last chance. Do you want to see love?”

  He nodded. “Show me my true love.”

  Rhoda lifted her hands, stared into his red-on-black eyes, and she started to draw his destiny.

  She had tried to steer him away from that idea, but as the image started, she sketched Drehl’s destiny and her mind went blank.

  True love it would have to be.

  Chapter Six

  Two hours of good light turned into a sketch and some frenzied painting. Rhoda’s hands weren’t her own. She painted until Drehl came to her and removed the brush from her hands.

  She blinked up at him. “Why are we stopping?”

  He turned her gently toward her sink and helped her wash her hands. “Because you are exhausted, and I have seen all I need to know.”

  He dried her hands and pressed a glass into them. She gulped at it without examining the contents closely, and when the wash of the wine ran through her, she glared at him. “You just had to see what it would do.”

  His tattooed eyes were curious and honest. “I can heal you if you are allergic.”

  She put the glass down and staggered toward her kitchen, looking for something to slow the effect down.

  “If you had simply told me what the effect was, I would not have tried this.” He followed her as she scrambled for one of the arrangements that had been sent earlier.

  “It is freaking embarrassing. Humiliating actually.” Rhoda stood and leaned over the table as her nipples started tingling and her sex swelled and pulsed, slicking and ready for sex. Wine on Yacaro had an extreme aphrodisiac effect on her that didn’t wear off when the wine did.

  “What is?”

  “The wine is an aphrodisiac. For someone facing a scent-sensitive population, it is embarrassing. Everyone in the market can smell my heat.” She ate a few pieces off the tray and swallowed, “Sometimes, I can push it back with food, but I am not sure that it will be enough.”

  His cheeks darkened. “I can see how that would be a problem.”

  “Can you? Good. I get couriers dropping off and picking up all day, not to mention the occasional client. Reeking of need is not exactly the way to keep their minds on the women that they will have in the future.” She stomped back into the studio and froze at the image that had almost been completed.

  “Oh lord.”

  Prince Drehl came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “I like it. It is worth every credit that I offered up for it. I have to say, your skills are not exaggerated. The likeness of me is perfect and the gown you are wearing is spectacular.”

  Rhoda was looking at an image of herself pinned to Drehl’s body, one leg exposed by the gown all the way up past her hip. Her hair was upswept in a style she had never worn, but it was definitely her. The exposed skin showed jewels, chains and was as pale as hers was now.

  He whispered. “This is why you wanted to destroy the sketch.”

  “I did destroy the sketch. My part of it anyway.”

  “And yet, I was able to charm the image off the page. You knew both of me and saw me equally in that moment, and yet you didn’t try to blackmail me or curry favour.” He ran his hands down her arms.

  She was in his embrace, and the feeling of him against her back was warm and strong, a heady bit of fuel to her body’s fire.

  “What would be the point? As Prince Drehl, you are beyond me, and as a Guardian, you are so far out of my league that it doesn’t bear thinking about. Destiny got it wrong.”

  He peered at the canvas. “Do you really have a birthmark in the shape of a star fall?”

  She snorted. “Yes. Can you tell where the picture is set?”

  “My home in the hills. It has been in the family for generations, but I am currently the only one in charge around there.”


  “It’s nice. Very spacious.” She sighed. “I will have the picture ready in three weeks, the paint needs to cure.”

  He turned her to face him. “You calmed down suddenly. Why is that?”

  “Because I do not own a dress like that, nor the jewels, nor the belly chains. It seems that I am safe until I upgrade my wardrobe, which won’t be any time soon. I just paid my last round of bribes.” She gave him a prim smile, which belied the heat of her body. Even she could smell her arousal.

  He leaned in and his nostrils flared. “I can’t believe you are so hot but acting so calm.”

  “Practice.”

  Drehl cupped her chin and kissed her, sending her heart pounding in her chest and increasing the pain of her arousal exponentially. He parted from her for a moment, his lips barely touching hers.

  She lifted her chin slightly and brought them together in what started as a few kisses and turned into her holding onto his vest as he crushed her against his chest.

  When she moaned, it was enough to snap her back to what she was doing. “Stop!”

  He blinked dazed eyes. “Why?”

  “I don’t want…this isn’t…I want to know the next guy I sleep with.”

  He stiffened. “You have slept with others?”

  “In my lifetime? Of course.”

  He looked at the portrait and scowled. “If you are destined to be mine, why wait?”

  She shoved against his chest. “Because I am destined to be with you…eventually. It doesn’t say today.”

  His eyes burned with heat. A sharp chirp sounded from a tiny unit on his belt. He groaned. “This isn’t over, Rhoda.”

  He released her and stalked out of her home. His suit emerged and encased him from somewhere unseen as he stomped out the front door.

  Rhoda watched, her body humming with the pulse of arousal as he took flight and his sleek transport lifted off and returned to its home.

  He disappeared, and she exhaled in regret. She hadn’t taken a lover since she arrived, and though she wanted him, she wasn’t going to do anything that tipped the balance of power in his favour. Flopping onto her back and spreading her legs was not the way to win the upper hand, or at least that is what she vaguely remembered.

  It was hard to keep her mind on the proprieties when the urge to light her house on fire to summon the Guardians was first and foremost in her mind.

  Snorting at her own fanciful nature, she returned to the studio and put Prince Drehl’s portrait aside. She had other commissions to finish and the light was almost gone.

  * * * *

  Charm landed next to Under and Hawk.

  Under gave him a sly look. “Why do I smell paint?”

  “I was getting a portrait done.”

  Hawk laughed as she brought up the mission specs. “I didn’t know that people wore the paint to get a portrait.”

  Charm winced and sent the nanites to remove the traces of pigment and oils. “It is a new technique the artist is trying out.”

  Under laughed as he led the way to his flier. “The same artist who smashed her way out of a cavern?”

  “The same.”

  Hawk snickered. “Excellent. Now, you can get back to her the moment that we finish with the wild fires.”

  They flew to their destination. Under made trenched firebreaks, Hawk concentrated on evacuation and Charm laid down a swath of fireproofing to stop the progress in its tracks.

  It took hours to get control of the flames, but they managed to work together and no lives were lost. Even the tiniest of forest creatures heeded Hawk’s call and made a run to safety.

  The moons were bright in the sky and Charm was filthy when they finished. “Home, I think.”

  Under laughed, “Your little artist won’t miss you tonight?”

  Charm looked at his commander. “She is the woman who is my destiny. She wants a courtship, and I am going to give her one.”

  Hawk tilted her head. “Do Genarans do courtship?”

  He shook his head. “No, but it is what she wants, and I have to convince her otherwise.”

  Hawk grinned as they flew back to Charm’s home in the mountains. “She seems pretty tough.”

  “She can be, and I am glad for it. Life with a Guardian is not for the faint of heart.”

  His companion asked, “Where are you going to start the courtship?”

  “I think a call to a seamstress is the best place to start.” He laughed as the armour took his exhausted body home.

  He had things to do in the morning, and if he didn’t write them all down, he just might miss a step on his way to courting his alien.

  Chapter Seven

  Rhoda put her hands on her hips and stared around her workroom. Three more canvases were complete, and she had gotten to sleep far after the moons had reached their zenith.

  Sealing her pictures was always a key step. When she first started, one of her clients had another artist paint in the image of her preferred mate. It had caused a lawsuit that was only ratified when Rhoda hired a Reader to examine the original painting to expose the tampering.

  The noble had been shamed, Rhoda had spent her savings and she had to work non-stop on a selection of clients that she normally would not have allowed anywhere near her home just to keep her bribery fund healthy.

  Now, she was struggling as each demand for funds increased the amount that the officers, magistrates and governors were ordering her to pay.

  Rhoda looked up at the sky via the window and wondered if she would ever earn enough to get her off the surface and onto a friendlier world in the Nyal Imperium. Drehl or not, destiny would have to wait. She was being bled dry.

  She finished sealing the portraits and set them aside to dry, leaving the image of Drehl centred in her studio.

  Her stomach growled, and she entered her kitchen, rummaging through the snacks that his highness had provided until she found the fruit that had been her staple since she arrived.

  Bell fruit had the texture of a pear and the peculiar combination of apple and chicken in the flavour. It had enough nutrients to keep her alive, and it satisfied most cravings at a reasonable price. It was free. The tree outside provided a steady supply during the four-month harvest season.

  As she often did, she looked around her small home and the incredible view offered by the windows. It was amazing that none of the locals wanted to live on the windy hilltop, but she felt a sense of relieved awe as she looked out over the endless vistas every time she went outside.

  Sure, the entire house shuddered every time the wind blew. It was still better than being in a dim, cramped apartment in the city. Studio space was hard to find.

  “I think a walk is in order.” She checked her body for paint and took a shower before she changed her clothing.

  Her hair dried as she walked down the path that took her through the public park and into the suburbs of the nearest city. The farmer’s market was always a fun place to explore new foods and examine the locals. Despite the fact that her portraits paid for everything and her lifestyle, she really enjoyed painting scenes of ancient cities as she imagined they had been. It was a hobby that she rarely got to indulge in.

  She met a few vendors, smiled at some of the children who came to ask her what she was and she picked up some necessities before she turned toward home.

  Prince Drehl was walking down the street toward her, and he had a scowl on his handsome face.

  Rhoda sighed and lifted the bag with her purchases on one hip. “Good afternoon, Your Highness.”

  “Rhoda. Are you here alone?”

  She smiled. “Of course. What brings you here?”

  “I thought that you might enjoy having me sit for a second session.”

  She looked into his red and black eyes. “Once was enough. I was just heading home if you would like to come with me.”

  “Certainly. Where is your vehicle?”

  “I walked. I don’t have a vehicle. I had to give it up three months ago.”

  He
took the bag from her and walked beside her. “How can you live so far from the city without having a vehicle?”

  “I had one until I had to sell it. The bribes are growing exponentially. I am guessing that someone out there wants me off this world.” She shrugged. “They will eventually be successful. I can’t keep this up indefinitely.”

  His lips tightened as they walked. Finally, he said, “That is unacceptable. We are destined to be together. I will not have us parted before that comes to pass.”

  Rhoda laughed. “Destiny and fate rarely work together.”

  They started the climb to her home, and she noted the ease with which he kept pace with her. He moved easily across the uneven ground with the grace of a dancer.

  She tried to distract him. “No one will give me an answer. What are the Genarans?”

  He laughed. “Few bother to ask. It is a public matter, but it makes folk uncomfortable.”

  They walked a few more steps, and she asked. “Well?”

  “We are the original inhabitants of Yacaro. During a period of unstable tectonic activity, a mutation entered our population, and a distress call was put out to find a cure or treatment. An ancient Avari scientist name Genar came and introduced his cure to our people, changing our physiology and restricting our families to Yacaro.” He shrugged. “That is about it.”

  “What was the mutation?”

  “It was a reaction to the ash in the air, a lung problem. Our population was reduced to five percent of the original inhabitants in the space of ten years.”

  She thought of the rampant spread of asthma in children and made the connection in her mind.

  He broke through her thoughts, “How often do you make this trip?”

  “Once, twice a week. I do it more for the exercise than the shopping.” She chuckled. “And I like to see faces that aren’t staring into mine with fixed eyes and desperation. They may stare at me, but they leave me alone to do my thing and go.”