CHAPTER 4
Just looking at Vanessa sends alarm bells ringing.
She’s exactly the kind of person I was afraid of running into. I can see it in her cold blue eyes and the fake smile plastered on her face. I can tell she’s smart because she’s measured us and, from the glimmer in her expression, we have been found lacking. I expected nothing else for myself, but I feel a bit bad for Nereus.
I don’t think he’s used to not being wanted.
“Gentlemen,” she says, cocking her head a little. I can detect a chill in her voice, but it’s subtle. If I wasn’t paying attention--if I hadn’t encountered so many women like her before--I might not be able to tell.
But I served under a woman like this for years, and they scare the shit out of me.
Nereus can sense that something is wrong. I can tell, because he edges closer to me, his hand inches away from mine. He splays his fingers as if he was going to touch me, but he doesn’t.
He knows better. I can’t even look down at his fingers, only aware of what’s happening because I can see it from the corner of my eyes. With Fiona’s entrance, we’ve already called too much attention to ourselves.
“Let’s get a drink.”
I take a step away from Nereus so that she can walk past us, and she looks me up and down slowly, her blue eyes narrow and her mouth pressed together in an almost imperceptible scowl. When she meets my gaze, she flashes me a tight smile. I let her walk ahead of us. Nereus follows my lead, matching my pace as we trail around a foot behind her.
She slows her pace so that we can catch up. Nereus is obviously annoyed by this, but I don’t mind following her lead. We walk behind her, past French double doors, toward a festively lit pool area. I barely have time to look at the pool because I’m trying to figure out where Fiona’s stepmother is going. A few people--those who missed the excitement inside--lounge around a bar.
Right. A drink.
It’s only one night, and Fiona obviously needs to have time to catch up with her father. Keeping this white lady happy shouldn’t be too hard, as long as she doesn’t ask too many questions, and as long as Nereus doesn’t talk.
“Where do you know my... where do you know Fiona from?” she asks, dropping her voice as if we were about to share a secret. We weren’t.
“We met at work,” I reply, shrugging my shoulders. Because I had been at work. It was just on a spaceship. And my task was to kidnap her. Her stepmother doesn't need to know any of that.
Vanessa turns her head a little, brushing a strand of red hair behind her bare shoulder, all while she stops walking. She sets her gaze on me, her eyes cold and hard, and I feel a little sick at how much she reminds me of Nereus’ stepmother. She’s not exactly like Lamia--she’s not as imposing, or as objectively terrifying, but this cool, polite veneer can turn toxic at any moment for Nereus or for me, and I can’t think of any plan Bs, any escape routes.
Not that we would escape. I don’t think Nereus would leave before speaking to Fiona’s father.
“And what do you do, young man?” Vanessa asks, her voice lilted as we reach the bar. I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but the last two words in that sentence feel a little like a test.
“I’m a pilot,” I say.
“A pilot, huh?” she echoes, disbelief in her tone. Her gaze darts to Nereus and a knot forms at the pit of my stomach. “What about you?”
Nereus looks up at her, his eyes wide.
I clear my throat before he can speak, but I’m not thinking this through quickly enough. I can’t exactly tell Vanessa that Nereus is a prince. “He’s in the military,” I answer before he can. We have a cover story, but my mind is suddenly blank, and I can’t think of it. These people make me nervous. Being back on earth scares me enough to throw me off balance.
Vanessa cocks her head, her eyes narrow, and I immediately realize I’ve made a mistake. Nereus glares at me, but he doesn’t say anything. I’m kind of hoping he’s going to jump in and save this conversation, but we told him to remain quiet, and he wants to make a good impression on Fiona’s family. Very clearly, and very much to our detriment.
“What branch?” she asks, taking a step toward him so she can rake her gaze over his face. She lingers on his hair, but then her gaze searches his, and he looks up at her boldly.
He’s making it clear that he isn’t afraid of her, and my heart skips a beat.
“It’s not the American military,” I say. “He’s not from...”
Nereus breaks into a practiced smile. I know him well, so I can see that it’s fake, but there’s no way Vanessa would be able to tell.
“My pilot has only recently been in my employ” Nereus says, the smile on his face never fading. “He’s not exactly at liberty to say what my title is. I’m....”
He hesitates for a second, his gaze darting toward me, but it doesn’t look like uncertainty. I can see the confidence in his eyes, and I’m surprised at how calming it is.
“A diplomat of sorts,” he says, finally. He’s not wrong, I guess. “Sometimes my services are needed for military missions, but not always.”
Vanessa tilts her head a little, blinking in confusion. “Aren’t you a little young to be a diplomat?”
Nereus laughs too. “I think you’d be surprised if I told you how old I was,” he says. They’re being polite to each other, but I know a rich people standoff when I see one. “Let’s get that drink.”
Her smile widens as her eyes narrow, the resulting expression somehow even more sinister than an outright glare, and they both walk next to each other, leaving me a few steps behind.
He doesn’t turn around to acknowledge me. I know that he can’t, but it still hurts, and for a second, I wonder why we have to be on earth at all.
Then my gaze darts down to his hand by his side, his fingers flared and bent slightly toward me, an almost imperceptible signal. And suddenly I feel like I can breathe again as I race to catch up to them.