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  One of the men sneered, “Big words from the half breed.”

  Xan lifted his hand and sent a pulse of telekinetic energy into the man, catching Cyreen as she was dropped.

  Xan walked back to his parents and cradled Cyreen carefully.

  His father frowned. “It is unseemly to attack our men.”

  His mother hushed him. “This is your woman?”

  Xan nodded. “She volunteered to be with me and has a spirit that is unlike anything I have met in my lifetime.”

  The army kept pouring out. Xan looked at Cyreen. “I need to keep her safe. She didn’t know about this.”

  Xaru winced. “That is going to be difficult for you. She might resent it when we take over.”

  Xan looked down at her. He smiled. “If she does, I will know about it. She is not one to hide her feelings.”

  His mother nodded. “Leave her with me. My guards will keep her safe. I promise.”

  “I could just stand up, and you could tell me what the hell is going on.” Cyreen opened her eyes and looked at him.

  Xan chuckled. “Mechal is invading. Morcud will predominantly operate as normal, but our people will slowly shift over here. The sun of Mechal is unstable, and they need a new home.”

  She kicked her legs idly. “I am still not on the ground.”

  He sighed and slid her down his body, holding her hips. “I was going to tell you.”

  His father snorted and cleared his throat. “I am Xaru of Mechal. This is my wife, Terlina.”

  Cyreen craned herself around and said, “Pleased to meet you, and I thought you were dead.”

  “Nearly. They tried. That was why we had to leave. I am pleased to meet you.” Terlina laughed.

  Cyreen looked at Xan. “Just leave Darfan’s shop and the noodle place, or I will make your overlording miserable.”

  Xan grinned, kissed her, and disappeared in a flash. He could finally move the way he was born to.

  * * * *

  Cyreen staggered and turned to Xaru and Terlina. “So, you have been planning this for a while?”

  Terlina smiled. “A few years, but time doesn’t move the same on Mechal. It has only been ten years for me since I was wounded and taken through the portal.”

  Cyreen nodded and looked to Xaru. “And you?”

  “Out of all the worlds that we built portals to, this is the only one with compatible people and a favourable atmosphere. We needed a safe place and offered a treatise and technology that your people wanted. They took our offerings and tried to kill my mate. We launched a few attacks to retrieve our technology, but we were content to wait until Xan was able to bring us through again.”

  Cyreen looked at his face, and she understood one more thing. “You wanted our military so top-heavy that it was ineffective.”

  He raised his brows, his dark grey skin reminiscent of his son’s. “You are quite clever. No wonder he claimed you so quickly.”

  She blushed. “Uh, what?”

  Terlina chuckled. “Xan has stated that you are his. We are to protect you until the influx has settled.”

  “Influx?”

  “Today, the military shall sweep through the cities; tomorrow, the refugees arrive and will seek out unoccupied places to settle. We can form any soil to our purposes.” Terlina smiled.

  “We?”

  “The Mechal have given me more than my world ever did. They gave me a husband and a son and a purpose.” Terlina extended her arm. “Come with me and let the boys beat the hell out of each other. It will be better that way.”

  Cyreen looked around and took the other woman’s hand, walking next to her to a group of men who seemed very alert. Chairs were produced from somewhere, and Terlina urged her to sit down.

  “So, dear. What do you do?”

  “I am a workman. I usually design and create purpose-based mechanisms.” She grimaced. “I can also repair just about anything.”

  “Oh, is that how you met Xan?”

  “Um, no. When he was first heading to stasis, he demanded that a genetic match for his previous promised reward was found before he would put the armor on again. When you started to thin the barrier between worlds, they started waking him and went shopping for matches. I was one of three.”

  “You were the best match.” Terlina seemed positive.

  “I was not, am not, near the appearance or demeanor of the original. I think he chose me because I was checking him out and not sobbing in a corner.”

  Terlina was surprised, but she asked, “Checking him out?”

  “Well, he was naked. So, it was difficult not to look.”

  Xan’s mother paused and then smiled wide. “It is hard not to stare, isn’t it?”

  “I would say so. You are a very brave woman.”

  Terlina watched her husband organizing the incoming vehicles and the accompanying troops. “Once we got to know each other, everything seemed easy. How long have you been with Xan?”

  “Right now? Thirty-two hours.”

  Terlina paused and turned to one of the men surrounding them, speaking softly but rapidly. He nodded and left, returning in under a minute with a small object.

  “Cyreen, please extend your hand, with your wrist up.”

  Cyreen did as asked, pulling her suit cuff away from her wrist. The object was pressed to her wrist, there was a tiny prick, and soon, a cheerful song emitted.

  Terlina nodded. “Of course. You have Mechal genes in you. Tavonic. One of our first explorers. Are there generally folk in your father’s line who are stronger or faster than others?”

  Cyreen shrugged. “I have no idea. My father did not choose to be part of my life. If he was so disinterested in having a child, I am amazed that he didn’t get the shot.”

  Terlina paused. “The shot?”

  “Yes. It is common for men to get a sterilization shot when they are going to become sexually active. It can be reversed if they and their partner wish to have children.”

  “So, your time with Xan was not your first.”

  Cyreen blinked. “Um, no. Frankly, I don’t think I would have had the nerve if it was my first. I certainly wouldn’t have had much clue what I was doing or looking at.”

  Terlina blushed. “Ah. Right. Sorry. A mother’s instinct takes strange roads.”

  “Xan knows. He knows all about my history. A friend of mine told him, very frankly, I have no doubt.”

  “I see. Well, if he had no objections, then I have no standing.”

  Cyreen sighed. “You do. I can just leave after all this is settled. There are a dozen places on this world that I could go, and he could start his life over again with a cheerful and pristine woman of your choosing.”

  She leaned back in her chair and stared at the flow of fighters coming to make room for themselves on her world.

  After a few hours, she stood up and stretched. Xaru was getting communication from somewhere, and he was scowling. Cyreen knew that frown. “What’s wrong?”

  “One of the troop carriers has broken down. The men can move on, but we need to fix it.”

  Terlina smiled. “Cyreen can repair it. Can’t you?”

  There was a bit of challenge in her tone, but Cyreen nodded. “I can figure it out if I can get there.”

  Xaru diverted a troop carrier, gave them directions, and lifted her onto the edge of the machine. “Go and fix it.”

  She blinked at the astonishing situation of her suddenly being dropped into a position where she could get away and become one with the masses.

  The troop carrier was only a mile away. She was dropped off, and the grumpy men glared at her while she opened the unit with the strange glyphs that she couldn’t read. She followed the patterns of construction, found the loose connection, and fired the machine up again, standing aside as the troops piled on and continued their path to crushing the military of her home world.

  Cyreen looked from the left to the right, picked the right, and started walking through the field until she reached the road. The smooth pa
vement was nice, and the nearest town was an hour away. She would be able to find a vehicle and head off into the population while Xan was free to find the kind of woman that his mother would approve of. Cyreen had had it with disappointing mothers. She didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

  * * * *

  Xaru frowned. “Where is she?”

  “Who, dear?” Terlina looked up from her tea.

  “Cyreen. The report was that she managed to fix the vehicle and get it running again.”

  “I am sure that I don’t know, dear. Now, we have to find the right woman for Xan.”

  Xaru looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean? Xan chose. He told us that he chose. Cyreen is his; he is hers.”

  Terlina waved her hand. “He can do far better than a promiscuous workman.”

  “What did you do?” Xaru got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  “She isn’t good enough for him. She knows it. So, she’s gone. She will disappear into the past, and he can make a new future with another, more appropriate woman.”

  Xaru throttled his irritation with his mate. “Terlina, do you remember how I said that when I met you, I knew?”

  She smiled beatifically at him. “Yes, it was the same for me.”

  “When I said there would never be another for me, there can never be another. Mechal know when we have found our match. We know it in our bones. No one else will do.”

  Terlina paled. “You never said that.”

  “I did. I have said it a thousand times. You just giggled and took it as flattery. Xan chose Cyreen. He saw something in her that he was missing, that he needed. He chose her. She chose him, and because your people don’t have traditions for it, she didn’t know what she had done.”

  He drew in a deep breath. “If Xan comes back and asks for her, what will you tell him?”

  “You are the one who sent her away.”

  “She is bonded to my son; I thought that draw would be strong enough to bring her back. I didn’t know that you poisoned her affection.”

  Terlina swallowed. “What do we do?”

  Xan spoke from behind Xaru. “You fucking find her.”

  Chapter Eight

  Cyreen was at a repair shop, working on a runner that the owner had given up for dead. She put the last piece together, wiped off her hands, and started the power. The beast roared to life under her, and she got onto the seat and throttled her way out of the shop.

  The Mechal were already in the village, but she avoided them and headed toward the coastline road. She sped up and was driving with the wind ricocheting off the helmet she had stolen. She was able to dodge the Mechal because she knew what the trails of their transports looked like.

  She focused on keeping out of their way.

  A dark blur passed her, and she braked hard to avoid hitting the man standing in the middle of the road. The runner shuddered as she skidded to a halt, and she saw another blur, and the vehicle was turned off with the key missing.

  “What the hell, Xan?” She took off her helmet and glared at him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I am getting out of the way. I am not what your parents had in mind, and I don’t have the strength to spend the rest of my life fighting that.”

  There was a slight glow in his eyes. “So, you acknowledge our connection.”

  She bounced the helmet on the road. “Of course, I do! Jackass!”

  “My mother is working off sensibilities that are five hundred years old by this world’s reckoning. My father has set her straight. He is all in favour of you, by the way.”

  She paused and sniffled. “He is?”

  “He is. Now, will you get off that thing and come to me?”

  She got off the runner and walked into his arms. “So, I don’t have to deal with your mother?”

  “No. Never. If she doesn’t apologize, we don’t have to speak to her again.” He hugged her carefully.

  She exhaled softly. “Okay.”

  “Will you stop trying to get away from me?” He rubbed his chin on her head.

  “Yes. When it comes to rejection, I take it at face value. It is easier that way.” She sniffed and held his armored body.

  “I know. We will work on that. If I have to tell you every day that I choose you, I will.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Great. Now, where do we go from here?”

  “Well, I reassure you and make sure that you know you are wanted.”

  She giggled and looked up at him. “Geographically, where do we go from here?”

  He smiled in understanding. “Well, three-quarters of the military has surrendered and sworn fealty to the Mechal, the rest are under arrest. So, I thought we could go home.”

  She nodded. “But, after that, we are going to need someplace with a bit more room, light, and air. Something at the shore or in the country or something.”

  He chuckled. “We will discuss it. Can we go now?”

  She agreed. “Fine, but don’t let those fingers stray.”

  He winked and picked her up, heading toward the capital at a speed that made her eyes water. She turned her head toward his chest and felt the heat running through his suit. That was it. The Mechal dispersed friction via their armor. Clever.

  The central building was now guarded by Mechal warriors, and before they went inside, Cyreen smacked Xan’s chest. “Wait.”

  He paused. “What?”

  “Would you like some noodles?”

  He grinned. “Which way?”

  She pointed down the block, and he moved at a normal walk. She giggled. “You can put me down if you are just walking.”

  He set her on her feet and took her hand. They walked to the shop, and a slightly wild-eyed Kinoss greeted them.

  He paused and then said, “Cyreen? Oh, my gods!”

  He ran around the counter and hugged her, lifting her in the air. “I heard that they sacrificed you to the Hero of Morcud.”

  When he set her down, she made the introductions. “Kinoss, this is Xan, the Hero of Morcud. Xan, this is Kinoss, and he is the one that makes the noodles.”

  Kinoss looked at the man in armor as if he hadn’t seen him the first time. “I am pleased to meet you, sir. Any friend of Cyreen is a friend of mine.”

  “I am beginning to see that being her friend is the key to many fascinating businesses.”

  “If there is equipment involved, Cyreen has probably been in there. Now, what can I get for you?”

  Xan said, “Four double orders of noodles.”

  Kinoss grinned. “That I can do. Did your army really take the capital over?”

  Xan nodded. “Yes. We just wish to replace the military with something more effective and bring in the two million survivors of Mechal. We won’t get in the way, but we will help elevate the tech level here considerably.”

  Kinoss nodded. “Well, I can get behind that. Now, four double orders, coming up.”

  Xan looked around the small shop and looked at Cyreen. “Is it not busy?”

  “It just opened. It would be crowded on a normal day. I don’t think today qualifies as a normal day.” She sighed. “At least, not in my book.”

  “You have a book? Like an instruction manual? Can I borrow it?” Xan muttered it.

  She would have elbowed him, but she remembered the armor at the last minute. “Oh, you just wait until I get you out of that can.”

  She jumped slightly as he cupped her butt.

  “Can’t wait.”

  She blushed and watched Kinoss use the shaping and cutting machine she had created. He gathered the noodles, put them into separated baskets, and when he had four pans going, he plunged the baskets into water. It took three minutes for the noodles to start entering the sizzling pans where chopped meat and spicy peppers were waiting. There was the shriek of water vapour, the bright tossing of the noodles, and in less than six minutes from ordering, they were walking out with the noodles, and Kinoss was cackling over the tip she had left him.

  “Why di
d you overpay him?”

  “Because the invasion is going to decrease his income until folk here get used to it.”

  “Ah. I see.”

  She grinned. “I am glad, now why am I carrying the bags?”

  “Because I need to give directions to the men at the door for how to find the noodle shop. They do get breaks, you know.”

  “Don’t forget to have them bring local currency or credits.”

  “Of course. You go ahead. I will meet you at the apartment.” He smiled and went to speak to the captain of the men guarding the main floor.

  She shrugged and headed for the lift. He would show up soon. There were noodles at stake.

  The lift took her all the way up, and she sighed when she got to Xan’s level. She tried her palm on the scanner, and it lit up, displaying her name. The mechanism turned, and she was able to push the door open.

  She set the boxes down on the table in the lounge space. She got beverages from the dispenser and set the table. She flopped on the couch and waited. Xan came through the door a few minutes later, and he immediately pulled his helmet off.

  “Thank goodness this day is nearly over. I have not looked forward to it.”

  He looked at her hopefully. “Will you help me with the armor?”

  She fought herself out of the couch. “Fine. But you owe me.”

  “I accept that.”

  She followed him into the bedroom, and she disassembled him in the opposite order. When the suit was lying on the bed again, he stretched with a happy expression.

  “You don’t look like someone who conquered a world today.”

  He paused. “What does that look like?”

  She was stumped. “Huh. Okay. Fair point.”

  He peeled off his suit and looked at her. “You might want to get more comfortable. We are going to have to talk some stuff out tonight.”

  She looked around and found one of the lounge outfits that he had gotten for her. They did look comfortable and would certainly be distracting.

  Cyreen removed her bodysuit and pulled one of the outfits over her head. The panels were just tight enough to keep the fabric in place.