Mind was wrong. Aether returned in twenty seconds, not fifteen.

Gen rested her chin in her hand. “Hey, sorry man. Didn’t mean to touch you. So, want to tell me what’s up with the spider lilies?”

Aether wrinkled his brows.

“Are you going to tell me?” she asked, tapping her lips. His silence reminded her of annoying men who knew how to do nothing but judge her.

“The flowers were for you,” he said.

Gen sighed. “But what do they mean?”

“They’re flowers, for you.”

“You’ve said that.” The bedsheet crinkled as she slid off the bed and onto her feet. Putting on her shoes and straightening her uniform, she asked Aether, “Are we killing anyone? Poisoning anybody? What about framing?”

Aether’s brow soothed, and he placed his arms behind his back. “So you like the flowers?”

She tilted her head and squinted. “I asked you if we were killing someone.”

He nodded then paused and shook his head. “Not killing, spying.”

“I love spying!” She laughed. Specifically, she loved stealing secrets and disguising herself as someone else.

“I’m glad,” he said. “You’ll be the chauffeur and also a bodyguard. The job begins in a couple weeks.”

Chauffeur, bodyguard, and spy? A dream come true! Gen clenched her fist, and her body shivered with excitement. She saluted. “Yes, Boss! I love you!”

Aether’s aura warmed the room. “Love you, too.”

Gen stiffened and tried to laugh. An odd, scoff-like utterance escaped her. What else could she do against such heart-stirring words? She said, “Be careful of your jokes. Women will drop dead thinking you told the truth.”

He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “It’s true.”

“Sure, sure.” She strode past him and gestured a goodbye by waving her hand into the empty air.

Once outside the room, Gen’s willpower collapsed. She slammed her forehead against the wall in the hopes of droning out her thumping heart. Her quick pulse creaked her bones, and she clutched her chest, begging the beating to stop.

She froze. A shiver traveled the length of her spine.

The door, having just closed, clicked with a sound so soft yet so piercing that Gen wanted to demolish its frame.

“What are you doing?” Aether asked.

He saw! Her ears rang, sabotaging her thought process. “I-I ate something bad.”

“So you’re hitting your head?”

“It was a worm infested apple! I’m killing the spider.” She clasped her mouth. What gibberish did she just say?

Her feet suddenly lifted from the ground, and a pair of strong arms wrapped her into a steady embrace holding her against a firm torso. A tantalizing smell akin to a deadly aphrodisiac assaulted her mind. Her remaining thoughts fizzed, and a warm liquid seeped from her nose.

She covered the blood with her hands.

Too late.

Aether’s face paled, and he rushed her to the ship’s ward where the healing pods stood on standby. His muscles, worsening the situation, rubbed against her as he sprinted.

Her heart thumped louder and quicker and instigated her blood to flow through the gaps between her fingers. She shut her eyes, wishing everything to be over.

Eventually Aether halted. Peeking, Gen spied a cylindrical pod bearing a glass window, silver body, and black trim. She reached for it, arms waving and desperately begging the man to free her from his clutches.

“I’ll be here if you need me,” he said then set her into the pod before closing it.

She locked its door and closed her eyes, determined not to come out and face anyone until they had landed.

Fool, fool, fool, her mind screamed. She peeped through her lashes and regretted it. He stood beside her with a hand placed against the glass. She glowered.

Go away! I’ll never get better with you here!

——————

When they arrived at planet South Star, Gen was forced to leave her healing pod. Alighting the star ship, she held her head low and refused to make eye contact with Aether.

“Yours,” he said, causing her to glance across the stardock.

Her mouth dropped, and her body shook. “A beauty,” she gasped.

Her new vehicle, Sexy the Fifth, hovered at the edge of the dock where the metal landing overhung the verdant forest and where the sun touched the mountain’s summit. Reflecting rays of light, Sexy shone as bright as a haloed angel.

Gen tossed herself onto its hood, slightly swaying the vehicle with her own weight. She splayed her limbs and basked in glory, but then a pair of hands wrapped around her waist and separated her from the hood.

Aether was frowning, and his eyes gazed at the gap between Sexy and the dock.

“Afraid of heights?” Gen asked, restraining her hormones while she followed his gaze. It wasn’t a bad fall. One would be dead the instant one hit the ground. A quick death.

His arms tightened, and he rested his chin on her head. She felt his heartbeat quicken.

Odd, thought Gen. The dive from Former Sexy hadn’t riled him, but a cliff would? Maybe he was ill.

She reached for his forehead then stopped herself from feeling his temperature. She flicked his brow.

“Spider,” she said, lying with a malfunctioning brain.

Flicking him was just as bad as touching him, she rebuked herself. Now she was in his grasp and vulnerable to punishment...

Her thoughts took a drastic turn. His body was warm, abs hard, grip tight. She wanted to touch him in ways indecent.

Then his smell struck her. Intoxicating. Earthly. Manly.

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Her brain shut off, and her face turned beet-red. Gen feared that if she performed no actions, her thoughts would lead to another nosebleed.

“I can’t breathe!” Ignoring shame, she pretended to struggle and felt his body with each turn of her own.

Aether distanced her from the gap then released her as if she were a wired bomb. He touched her wrist and chest and neck and then her forehead—all in a manner too quick for Gen to process.

She blinked.

Joule, reminding Gen of company, said, “She’s insane.”

Drake and Fenri nodded.

“What are you staring at?” Gen glared at them, and she straightened her clothes. Then she inspecting her aura gauntlet for dirt. Weapons calmed her nerves, and her heart yearned for rest. But her thoughts loved tangents...

Note to self: Aether was afraid of heights and had the softest of hands. And the most intoxicating hugs.

Her face reddened.

Aether reached for her forehead as if she was the ill person. He was the sick one!

She whacked his hand. “Dude, what’re you doing?”

He nodded then pointed at a large estate situated on the mountain opposite them. “We’ll be staying there.”

“Whatever you say.” She brushed her fingers across the Nightingale’s rim. It squeaked under her touch like all smooth things should. Calm yourself.

Aether’s unwanted voice aroused her, “Will you drive?”

Why did the words excite her? They were innocent; he didn’t want her to ride him. And how did “drive” leap to “ride”? Her mind was too lewd, possibly still suffering the aftermath of “love you, too.”

She glanced at Drake, Fenri, and Joule; and she hoped they’d misdirect her hormones. They didn’t. Aether was too powerful.

Drake and Fenri blinked while Joule’s face darkened. He said, “Stay away from her.”

“Sure, I’ll ride,” Gen said, pretending she hadn’t heard Joule’s slight.

Her fingers pressed a string of buttons on her wrist bracelet. Having entered the wrong sequence, she failed twice to open Sexy.

Should have bought a wrist watch, she thought. Those were clunky and needlessly complex but had large screens

Aether caressed her hand—his touch gentle and soft—and entered the code.

Sexy’s door slid open.

Second note to self: have Mind boost Sexy’s security, else she’d use it as an excuse to hold the jerk’s hand.

“Thanks, man,” she said.

“What’s its name?” Aether gestured at the vehicle.

“Sexy the Fifth, or just Sexy.” She puffed her chest in pride, as if she had bought the Nightingale after decades of hard labor.

Someone chuckled.

“It’s traditional,” she retorted. It was her baby, and she’d keep him safe from the assassins... She frowned. “Boss, you sure the assassins won’t follow you? Last time I checked, South Star is pretty close to North Star.”

“They won’t,” Aether said.

“You need to be careful.” Gen shook her head, not believing him. Assassins were pesky fellows who lurked every corner, almost as much as Mind. A few days distance was a barrier as strong as a sheet of paper.

She slid inside and found someone had placed potted spider lilies in the backseat. Their fragrance permeated the vehicle, tickling her nostrils.

She raised a brow. It was weird. Very weird. When had her baby become a nursery for such ill-omened flowers?

She had yet to uncover what they represented—of who to kill, how many to kill, and when to kill.

She began, “I don’t know—”

“They’re flowers. For you,” Aether said.

Bursting into laughter, Drake toppled to the ground and proved “rofl” was more than an expression. “Did you just? No way! OMG!”

The temperatures dropped, and Gen clutched Aether’s collar, yanking him into the vehicle. She would do anything to stop him from frosting Sexy’s paint and marring it.

His foot collided with the bottom ledge, tripping him. His shoulder slammed into her chest, his head smashed into her teeth, and his weight crushed her. Very unromantic.

“Ow!” Gen groaned; she couldn’t breathe. Her powers reacted to her distress and they hiccupped. A small, uncontrollable pulse flung Aether against Sexy’s roof. “It was an accident!”

She clambered to the side and reeled in her aura. He landed on the central console, and to Gen’s relief, didn’t break it.

He gazed at her, tie messy, hair dishevelled. She blushed.

“You’re sick,” he said. His hand loomed, and oh, how she wished he would trap her against the window. During her distraction, his palm touched her forehead.

“You’re hot,” he said, and she stuttered.

“Hey! Open up.” Drake knocked, but to Gen it sounded of abuse.

How dare he touch her baby? She has had enough emotional fluctuation for the day.

“You have legs.” She flicked Aether’s hand then shut the driver’s door. She clutched the console orb and activated the vehicle, leaving behind Drake, Fenri, and Joule.

The pair, who hadn’t spoken a word, arrived at his estate’s parking dock.

“Hey man, I didn’t mean it.” Gen scratched her head. Her words were for everything she had done, from touching his body to ditching his subordinates.

“Don’t worry.” He alighted the vehicle then held out a hand.

Gen’s face twitched. Any more contact and her brain would die. She opted to hand him a spider lily.

Aether frowned at the plant as if it were some seven-legged creature.

She pretended not to notice. “What do the flowers represent?”

“My feelings,” he said.

“Someone to kill? The flowers are related to death, right?”

He tossed the plant over his shoulder. It smashed into the wall, splaying dirt and shards of hardened clay onto the red carpeting. Cold air seeped from his body.

“Forget it,” he said. “Come along.”

Gen shrugged then followed. He asked her a few questions, small talk mostly; and she thought nothing of it. He brought her into various rooms as if to show off his vast wealth; the action further decreased her opinion of him.

As they strode, Gen’s brain churned, memorizing the layout of the estate and the locations of windows, doors, and rooms. It was a habit she had for longer than she could remember.

Dimensions surfaced: the measurements of walls and the distances between them.

There were many secret passages, and she wanted to explore each of them. Everything else--the marble floor, the fancy rugs, the ornate paintings, the old statues, the expensive antiques--all escaped her notice unless they hid a camera.

A safe, Gen thought as she gazed at a large portrait of a woman. It, being neither too far nor too close to Aether’s office and his bedroom, allowed him easy access. The surrounding areas, which were heavily surveillanced, secured this particular hallway; and the only windows embedded into the walls all faced the inner courtyard.

She spied a guard patrolling the garden, and she nodded in approval at the safe’s placement and securities. There was only one problem, which many people overlooked.

“My mother,” Aether said. “She was a loving woman but was jealous of my father’s previous wife. She was paranoid and risked too much to gain his attention. She died when I was young, and I became a general because of her. It was her wish.”

Gen nodded, tugging at her sideburns. Learning something so intimate disturbed her. It wouldn’t take long for Aether’s cousin to discover her, and then she—and her fake self, Dessy—would need to leave. Her goal was to teach him a lesson, not grow attached.

“Curious about anything?” His orange eyes met hers. They were deep and desirous of something.

Gen grasped for what it could be. Information and trust, most likely. What else would a star prince want from a new subordinate?

She shrugged. If it was trust he wanted... She said, “You should move that safe.”

Aether raised a brow. She had mentioned it because she wanted to be a loyal aura knight during the brief time she would be his subordinate.

She explained, “It’s a good location, but it makes it obvious. Any professional thief paired with a hacker will be able to pinpoint its general location, crack it open, and steal your goods before your security team realizes your camera feeds were hijacked. Either the safe needs to be rock solid--which it isn’t due to the thinness of the safe’s walls--or you need to hide it better so that they waste time searching for it. And if you have a spy in your estate, well, that’s your problem.”

“How do you know it has thin walls?”

She shrugged. “I guessed because the wall gap isn’t wide, so either the safe has thin walls or it’s shallow. But who would want a shallow safe unless to hide something small like a thumb drive? Man, in that case, there are thousands of better locations. I will judge you for sticking it here.”

Aether smiled then punched a few buttons on his wrist bracelet. The painting sunk into the ground and a part of the wall slid to the side.

It wasn’t a safe but a glass exhibit filled with various daggers and knives. The blades gleamed; some emitted aura while others pulsed with plasma energy.

“So beautiful.” Gen’s mouth fell agape, and she groped the glass, her fingers smudging it with fingerprints.

The hallway warmed, touching her heart as of this was her home.

“Your Highness Prince Aether!” a woman’s voice disturbed the moment.

The warmth vanished, transforming into a chill that stabbed into one’s skin. A frown replaced Aether's smile.