Chapter 2

The coruscant woman is unlike any I've ever seen. Her blonde hair falls in waves down her shoulders; so dark, near brown, but I watched it shimmer in shades of burnished gold as I carried her sleeping body from the desert waste. Her eyes are the clear blue of a flower that grows on the Westshear cliffs, fringed in dark lashes that still my heart every time she blinks. Finely wrought cheekbones taper to an infinitely kissable mouth, her lips thin, but in perfect proportion to her face.

She's stunning.

Even the way she speaks mesmerizes me, her accent strange and voice mellifluous. And when she cursed? My cock stood straight up. The things I'd do to that dirty mouth…

But it is her scent that makes me crazed, that made me forget my errand, that had me scooping her up in my arms and carrying her back to Westshear.

I swallow hard, forcing the desire down. She's still in my arms, and when I glance at her, her eyes are wide, yet unseeing. It is clear as crystal the coruscantknows nothing of Vraya, knows nothing of how she came to be here. My nostrils flare as I inhale deeply, my eyes closing as I breathe in the intoxicating perfume of her skin.

Her scent called to me, like only one ever will. A Starbound woman, a coruscant, and she was not alone. The Starbound women return. Things are changing.

And in my crazed state, I plucked her from the desiccated earth and left the other two women sleeping there, curled into themselves, even as I scented the scion of House Scorpio approaching.

I had to get her safe. Every fiber of my being insisted I take her away immediately.

The woman is my mate.

Guilt gnaws at me, and I tighten my grip on her, ignoring the nosy shopkeepers and the few out and about on the streets.

I left her sisters. The two adult women, one of whom was no doubt the mate of the scorpion I scented on the wind, are her sisters. And I left them.

My mate cried about it, and the tears nearly broke my heart. My teeth grind together. I did that. I could have taken all three, at least could have formed a plan to get them all safe… but my mind's not been the same since the blood drinkers cursed us, even with the slight protection given by the grace of the tattoos running down my arms.

Better than many of us Starbound made out, though. I wince as I think of the fate I left my mate's sister to, with Scorpio hot on her scent. That one's long been lost to the blood curse, I think.

The woman sniffs in my arms, but her breathing's evened out somewhat. My estate looms in the distance. Past the edge of town, where the waves are barely audible in the distance, the water beating relentlessly against the Westshear cliffs.

I want to shout my joy from them—I have found my woman, she is in my arms! I want to tell her she's mine, tell her how long I've been waiting for her.

"Are you well then, coruscant?" I ask instead. I say it for the simple pleasure of speaking to my woman. It's clear enough she's not well.

"I'll hate myself forever if something happens to them," she mutters.

A muscle twitches in my jaw.

"My sisters." Her whisper is punctuated by a sniffle. "If anything happens to them… I can't stand the thought of it." Her body shudders against me.

The ember of guilt roars to a blazing inferno inside me, and my throat tightens.

I cannot tell her I left her sisters there. She'll hate me forever.

"Let me make you safe," I tell her instead, my pace quickening as we leave the town behind. The word safe rings hollow in my ears.

Safe.

Cobblestones give way to clover, tall grasses swallowing up the sides of the path all around us. Several trees spread their branches to the sky, and I'm practically running towards the house in the distance. All my instincts roared at me to take my woman back to Westshear, and I obeyed, in a moment of insanity. My heart hammers against my chest, the enormity of what I've done sinking in, even as wildness coats my tongue, the pull of the blood curse strengthening thanks to my swinging emotions.

My mate will not be safe here.

Not with the attacks on our borders, the encroaching blood drinkers burning any unprotected homesteads, surging through greater Westshear. It was the whole reason I left, three days ago, to call for aid, to call on House Capricorn.

Instead, I brought home a woman from another world.

My teeth grind together.

What have I done?

The door to the house swings open, and Arietis steps out, running a hand across the horns that curl from his head, eyes wide with shock.

"We did not expect you back for another week at least…What is that?"

The woman sits up a little, and relief staggers me, because it's the first interest in the world she's shown since waking in my arms.

"It's a woman," I tell Arietis. His nostrils flare slightly as I wedge past him, careful not to knock her against the threshold.

"I can see that," he snorts. Over my shoulder, I see him sniff the air delicately, his eyes round as the sister moons. "That's a Starbound woman."

"Aye," I say, unexpected ire coloring the words. "It is."

"How?" he sputters.

Carefully, I place the woman on my favorite chair, then place a thick blanket over her legs. Her face is pale, bloodless, even with the roaring fire Arietis must have started.

"Are you cold, coruscant?"

She shakes her head but pulls the blanket up tight around her. I'm struck with how little attention I've paid to my estate in recent years. Everything in my house suddenly seems inadequate. It's clean, yes, but it's bare, and the lack of my care is glaringly obvious. I scratch the base of my horn… embarrassed.

I want her to like it here.

"Hyadum…" Arietis says slowly. "Did House Capricorn send her?"

"No," I answer bluntly.

"Did you take her from House Capricorn? Have they had a Starbound female this whole time?"

"No," I say, a sharp edge creeping into my voice. "I found her."

"You found her?" Arietis' voice is wary. "What do you mean?"

When I turn toward him, backing away from the woman I can't seem to let go of, my hands clench at my sides.

"Stars above and below," he breathes, amazement dawning in his eyes. "You mean to tell me she's…" A hungry look replaces the amazement. "Were there more? Tell me you found more. The Starbound women are returning?"

"Not now," I growl, a feral warning leaking out of me. The last thing I want her to hear is how I abandoned her sisters. Her family. The thought of it alone sickens me. Three Starbound women, and I gave into my baser instincts, taking off with the one whose scent called to me.

I turn to the woman in time to see her flinch at my tone, and I immediately regret it.

"Does everyone here have horns?" she asks, and I blink in surprise. She pats her forehead, then runs her fingers through the dark, golden fall of hair as though searching for budding horns of her own.

I cannot help the small smile tugging my lips up. Despite her clear fear, her shock at being in Vraya, her voice is even.

Pride fills me. This woman is brave.

The stars chose well.

Arietis chances a glance at me, then crosses to where the woman sits, huddled in my blanket. Crouching before her, he tilts his head.

"No, not everyone has horns. Where did you come from?" The question is full of wonder, and it sets my teeth on edge, as does his proximity to her.

"Back up," I snarl.

A look of contempt creases Arieties forehead, but he slowly stands, moving behind another chair.

"Earth," the woman says. "Why do you have horns?"

"Our appearances signify our House. House Taurus—" He jerks his head at me. "Hyadum has the aspect of the bull, the powers of Taurus. House Aries," he continues, bowing with a little flourish. "The ram. I am called Arietis."

"Hyadum," the woman breathes, glancing back at me.

My heart stutters. Hearing her say my name, in her strange accent, with her velvet voice… a shiver of need goes through me.

"What is your name, coruscant?" I ask, stepping closer to her. Needing to be near her. To hold her.

"I'm Mina." Her nose wrinkles. "House Taurus? Like the zodiac sign?"

"Do you know nothing of our world, then?" Arietis braces his hands on the back of the chair, clearly thinking through things.

"Nope. I fell asleep, thinking I was sick… and woke up here." She straightens slightly. "My sisters… is there any chance they're here, too?"

I run my tongue over my teeth, crossing my arms over my chest.

Arietis assesses me, his cunning expression telling me he suspects what I've done.

That I have only known my mate for the few hours she regained consciousness, and I've already betrayed her. I swallow hard, closing my eyes.

I need to make this right. I cannot keep this knowledge from her, that her sisters are here.

I know too well what it is to have guilt eat me alive.

I will not start my life with her with this hanging over my head.