Alien Conquest (Fated Mates of Xaensskar #2) - Jude Gray Page 0,1

eye and a defeated attitude, and I’d taken him straight to Ilen.

“Where’s Myli?” Myli was his partner for the night, and she knew she wasn’t supposed to leave Vihn and go off on her own—but Myli often did things she wasn’t supposed to do. I was eager to see the girl reach sixteen so Ilen would send her away. Unfortunately, she had almost a year to go.

Vihn shrugged. “She took off. Saw some kids.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “She’s going to get her ass kicked again.”

He only nodded, unconcerned. Getting one’s ass kicked was a fact of life for a street kid. “So are we doing the house?”

“No. If Ilen didn’t approve it, it’s not safe.” It was almost impossible to break into houses—even unoccupied ones—in the upscale parts of town. Security was insane. When we targeted those homes, we had to work for weeks, sometimes months, establishing ourselves. Generally we got hired on as kitchen workers, gardeners, or maids and the like, and then we could plan the job from the inside.

It wasn’t hard to get hired on for certain jobs, because we worked for next to nothing and we knew which houses were looking for cheap labor.

“Just have a look at it,” Vihn urged.

“Which house?” I asked, curious despite myself.

“It’s the Dexx Tavin place—Eastmeadow. I was told he’d left yesterday and wasn’t coming back until next week.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “First, Dexx Tavin? No. He’s a wealthy Craeshen, Vihn. And his house is crawling with Povies and half-Khorks. Second, you’re stupid. You know better than that. Now come on and—”

“Kreia, my mo works there. She’s going to let us in.”

For a few seconds, I could only stare at him. He shuffled from foot to foot and avoided my gaze, his scaly cheeks darkening. Vihn was a Hgrir and though his body had been stunted and wasted by his early neglect and later street status, his iridescent scales were some of the prettiest I’d ever seen. His huge blue eyes shone with hope and the need to believe that despite proof to the contrary, his mother still loved him.

It broke my heart.

I sighed, then reached out to squeeze his arm. “Oh, Vihn. Sweetie…how long have you been talking to the cunt?”

“Don’t call her names,” he said, fiercely defensive. He wiped his nose, then, “For a while. I saw her on the street and…” He shrugged. “Anyway, she works for Tavin, and to make up for putting me out, she planned to let me in to take some stuff. We won’t take anything he’ll really miss, Kreia. Myli was supposed to help me but she ran off…”

I pulled him deeper into the dark alley. “Vihn, no. Absolutely not. What was your plan after you got in? It’s late. Guards will see you. They’re going to want to know what you—a stranger—are doing in Tavin’s house.”

“My mo already told them I was coming to visit,” he said, his smile proud. “She wants to see me all the time now. She planned it all.” He lifted his chin. “She wants to give me good things.”

“First of all,” I said dryly, “she’s not giving you shit. Whatever you take belongs to Dexx Tavin. Second of all, if she suddenly wants to take care of you, why isn’t she letting you come home?”

“Because he just left. She’s bringing me home soon.”

I kept my mouth shut. I wanted to wish death upon the bitch’s head, to kill her myself, but no matter how angry and disgusted I was with someone, I couldn’t bring myself to cause harm, unless it was in defense of another. And even then, it was difficult for me.

I didn’t know what I was. A little of this and that, or a mutt, as Ilen affectionately called me. I had a drop of Drimuti blood, just enough to give me the markings of wings, pale skin, and white hair.

Galen and I were just…mutts. As far as we knew, we had no people.

“I can’t let you go, Vihn. Sorry, kid. I don’t trust her, and I’m not letting you go.” I patted one of the many pockets of my long, frayed coat, then took his arm. “Come on. I had a good haul tonight and I’ll give you some of it to take to Ilen. He’ll be pleased.”

But he pulled away, a stubborn look in his eyes that I well recognized. “I’m going, Kreia. I promised her I’d be there. Come with me. I told my mo I’d be bringing a