Robin Owens - Protector of the Flight

But there were compensations. She walked from the bedroom to the den where she could see the Landing Field. A couple of volarans and riders were already out, lifting their wings and soaring. Her breath caught at the beauty.

That could be her…flying into the dawn. She watched until they diminished into specks and she became aware of standing naked in a strangely furnished den—with books and scrolls in an alphabet she couldn’t read.

Her breath came in short bursts and she felt the way she did just before a race, scared and excited and determined. She’d get through this day and the one after that…Back in the bedroom, she dressed near the windows. The only person who’d see her would be riding volaran-back and she’d see them first.

Lladrana. Fabulous flying horses. Horrible monsters. Nobody had talked much about the monsters she’d be expected to fight. Trying to keep the really bad downside of this life low key. Her stomach clenched. As if they could. As if she hadn’t seen wisps of them in Alexa’s mind, in Bastien’s and Jaquar’s and in Marian’s—a man with tentacles on his face reeking of evil power. Yeah, she had inklings. Enough that it made her pace, unready to open the door and explore on her own. Silly, but with a day full of such strange and magical experiences as the day before, she intended to be cautious.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…what would her dad be doing? Thinking she’d run somewhere, no doubt. He wouldn’t gloat. That would take too much emotion, show too much an investment in her, which he didn’t have.

The doorharp rippled, and Marian’s projected tones said, “Calli, ready for breakfast?”

Calli didn’t answer.

“Think she’ll drink a language potion this morning?” Marian asked.

“Not a chance. Besides, if she doesn’t back out of that Choosing and Bonding ceremony, she’ll get the language transfer in bed.” There was a lilt in Alexa’s voice.

Calli decided she didn’t like being talked about. The two women were probably not going away. She opened the door. Standing before her, looking perfectly fresh, were Alexa and Marian; near their feet were two small greyhounds.

Salutations, Calli, said one. Sinafinal.

Salutations, Calli, said the other. I am Tuckerinal.

“Tuck’s my ex-hamster,” said Marian. “He’s a feycoocu like that one.” She pointed to Sinafinal.

I have given her my name so she can call on me at any time, said Sinafinal, my mated name.

Marian grinned and kissed Calli on the cheek. “Good morning. You should know that only a few people know Sinafinal’s name. Only Alexa and Bastien of the Marshalls. Only Jaquar and I of the Circlets.”

“Huh,” Calli said. Two minutes on the threshold of her room and stuff was overwhelming her again. Magical hamsters. Sheesh.

“You really are in a different dimension.” Alexa looked sympathetic. “You slept. Let’s go eat.”

“Try not to drop too many more bombs on me, huh?” Calli said. Alexa opened her mouth, closed it, but Calli figured they were probably thinking the same thing. In circumstances like these she’d be getting hit with strange problems every hour.

She ate in the richly paneled Marshalls’ Dining Room, set up like one of the fanciest restaurants she’d ever seen—pastel tablecloths on round and rectangular tables, embroidered in rich colors, with matching napkins. Crystal. Fine china.

She had a great breakfast of a cheese omelette, bacon and fluffy croissants, and chuckled to herself. Something French she was addicted to, the cowgirl loved croissants, one of the ways she chose her restaurants on the rodeo circuit. She’d eaten everything from preprepared, frozen, grocery store-bought croissants to flaky ribbons of pastry steaming from the oven.

These were prime.

“I guess we should tell her about the men,” Alexa said to Marian.

“Thank you, but I’ve learned about men all by myself.” Calli didn’t look up from her meal.

“What about men?” Marian sounded puzzled.

Calli caught Alexa’s gesture from the edge of her vision. She could feel the Marshalls’ gazes boring into her, their curiosity surging around her. The chief honcho, Thealia Germaine, sat at the long table a few chairs down from them, watching, as if trying to puzzle out their conversation. Calli knew if she bolted, Thealia would be on her and have her hog-tied in an instant. The Marshalls took a deep interest in her, the Chevalier Exotique.

“Lladranan men, like Faucon and Luthan,” Alexa said.

As she recognized the handsome Chevalier’s name she’d seen before, Faucon, a thrill zipped down Calli’s spine. Would she be in bed with him by the time night fell? “And I think I’ll know a lot about Lladranan men by tomorrow morning.” Did she actually say that?

Alexa snickered. Marian touched Calli’s shoulder. “This is important. A certain proportion of the Lladranan population find you—us—Exotiques, instinctively repulsive or attractive.”

“Might be pheromones.” Alexa bit into a slice of toast.

“Interesting idea,” Marian said.

“With your coloring, blond hair and blue eyes, you’re even more Exotique than either of us,” Alexa said.

Calli didn’t think so. Alexa was little and had green eyes, Marian auburn hair and blue eyes. “Faucon and Luthan?” Now that she recalled her meeting with Faucon last night in the stables, she remembered odd fluctuations in his aura. Was that why Bastien had moved him along, because Faucon was more blinded by her “Exotiqueness” than interested in her as a person?

“Faucon is attracted to Exotiques. Luthan, Bastien’s brother, is repulsed. You’ll work with both of them. They should be here this morning to meet you.”

“They are,” Marian murmured. She waved to three men who stood and approached.

“Who’s the third?” Calli asked.

“My brother Koz.” Marian hesitated. “His mind and soul and emotions are my brother Andrew in a Lladranan body.”

Calli thought her mouth dropped wide open. She didn’t know that she liked the idea of different bodies and souls.

Marian said, “It’s a long story. We should have just given you our Lorebooks. The Lorebooks of Exotique Alexa and the Lorebook of Exotique Marian, where Alexa and I wrote down our experiences.”

“Thank you, and that might have worked best for you and Alexa, but I liked, like, having things explained personally.” Calli turned her gaze to Alexa. “Thank you for being here. It’s been a great help.”

Alexa pinkened.

At that moment the guy wearing pure white leathers stopped, held himself stiffly, shuddered, then drew a deep breath. His lips thinned as if in anger and disgust and Calli knew Alexa was right. The man didn’t like that he had this response to Exotiques. That he was less than perfect? Or that he saw himself less than a normal Lladranan?

Faucon pulled ahead of the other two, a twinkle in his eye. At least he didn’t have a dumb-ass stupid dazed and infatuated look on his face. So he controlled his “innate attraction” to some extent, too. Interesting.

Koz caught up with Faucon. Luthan drew near more slowly.

When he and Koz neared the table, Faucon stepped in front of the other man, bowed and said the same thing he had the night before. “Prie introd moi?”

Alexa shoved back her chair and stood. Calli figured breakfast was over and swallowed her last luscious bite of croissant. She’d have to make sure the Chevaliers’ Dining Room in Horseshoe Hall had the same quality. And that idea about stopped her heart. She was planning.

For a life on Lladrana.

A teeny plan, but it had risen to her mind naturally and that was a little scary.

She put her utensils down carefully, then stood herself.

“Callista Torcher, I’d like to present Faucon Creusse, an excellent volaran rider and Chevalier. A wealthy, noble landowner and all-around great guy,” Alexa said.