last one of them. But set a beautiful woman with soft brown hair and a fierce demeanor before him and he would lose to her every time.
Demons didn’t get to be loved like that. That was not how the universe worked.
Chapter 19
Violette wasn’t sure how she slept, but she did. For some reason when Dev told her she was safe, she felt safe. She half hoped she’d wake up to find him next to her, or even in the room silently watching over her. He wasn’t. She woke up alone.
When she had lay on the bed, the lights had dimmed. The way that the sensors were set made it impossible for her to tell how long she’d dozed. By the growling protests of her stomach, it had been a long time.
As she stretched, she glanced at the call button that would bring Dev to her. She wanted to see him, but purely for selfish reasons that had nothing to do with the practicality of her current situation. Instead, she opened the door and peeked out into the metal corridor. Since this ship model used to be Federation, she could determine the basic layout fairly easily. She needed to find communications. Even though she was hungry, she could put off eating. Work first, everything else later.
The communications room was easy to find. However, the control panel was far from Federation issue. Determining the frequency controls proved simple, but the rest of the unmarked switches were a challenge. She ran her finger over the scratched surface where the control’s labels should have been etched.
“Thing of beauty, isn’t it?” A man leaned against the doorframe, watching her.
It took Violette a moment to remember the name from the ship manifest she’d seen on Rifflen. “Viktor?”
“Lucien. I’m the more handsome brother,” Lucien corrected. He gave her a friendly smile. His eyes sparkled with flirtatious mischief. They were a curious mix of red and brown. “Trying to make a call?”
Violette didn’t bother to deny what she’d been caught doing. “That’s a pretty effectual way to keep people from using your equipment. Don’t suppose you’d want to dial for me?”
Lucien laughed. “Rick said you were witty.”
“I don’t know if I’d take Rick’s opinion on anything,” Violette replied.
“He also says you’re the one who is going to break Dev’s curse.” Lucien sat in his chair and smiled up at her. “So, are you fire? That’s the obvious choice because of Dev. Wood and frost doesn’t make sense. And metal is well, everyone is flying around in metal these days. Or are you earth because we first saw you on Rifflen under the sand?”
“Am I earth?” Violette arched a brow.
“The curse. Are you earth because of the sand?”
“Are you having some kind of episode? What exactly are you on?” She studied his eyes a little more carefully. Maybe they weren’t normal for his type of humanoid. “Have you been drinking Torganian rum? You do know that isn’t really liquor and causes hallucinations in most humanoids, don’t you? If you partook, we need to get you into a medical booth.”
“Oh, trust me, I know all about Torganian roome-ah. We found out that lesson the hard way when we accidentally kidnapped a cat prince and tried to, anyway, that’s a long story. Prince Falke is fine now and back with his people. Point being, I don’t touch the stuff.”
“Then, you actually want to know if I’m made of earth?” Violette arched a brow.
Lucien tilted his head. “Dev did tell you he’s cursed, didn’t he?”
“Cursed,” she repeated.
“Yeah, cursed. Like honest to whiteholes, predicted by a dead seer, cursed.”
“I don’t believe in superstitions. Dev isn’t cursed because he has Bevlon blood. It’s just blood, a collection of genetic anomalies prevalent in his people more than other alien races and…” Violette’s voice tapered off, and she realized she sounded like one of her father’s speeches.
“That’s all probably true, starlight, but I’m talking about an actual Lintianese spirit curse. Five of our crewmen have fallen victim to it. Five men will find or not find love according to the five Lintianese elements. Well, not Evan, his curse was broken by…” Lucien glanced away and pretended to adjust a couple of dials.
“By Josselyn,” Violette filled in, frowning. If Josselyn somehow fit into their superstitious belief system that could explain why they were so protective of the newest member of their crew, and would fight so hard to defend her.
Lucien nodded. “Anyway, rumor has it you’re breaking Dev’s curse.”
“And you believe I represent one of the five