Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,101

agreed to be our Lalla."

"And we won't," Jamis squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, "but we are going to get some answers before we bond." Jamis let his gaze return to Cali's floating body. "Why don't you go cleanse. Xanto should be back with the uniforms soon."

"What about you?" Taarig gestured to Jamis’s stained hands and splattered uniform. The Meddygs had given him a cleansing cloth once they'd realized he wasn't injured, but he hadn't gotten everything.

Jamis glanced down at himself. "I can just clean up in Cali's sink."

"Then you go first," Taarig told him, his gaze returning to the tank. "I don't want Cali left alone."

Jamis nodded, and after one last look at Cali, entered her cleansing room. Once inside, he got his first good look at himself and grimaced. He was a mess, not as bad as Taarig, but still unacceptable for a Star Base Commander.

Ripping off his jacket, he hurled it at the mirror. He dropped his head, and his knuckles whitened on the edge of the counter as he searched for that stellar control he supposedly had so he didn't punch his reflection in the face.

Gods, he'd nearly lost both of them. How could he have allowed that to happen? He'd been too wrapped up in convincing Cali to be their Lalla that he hadn't even sensed the Si male. He had to have been there before he and Taarig had arrived. But how had he known they'd be there?

Leaning back on his heels, he sucked in a ragged breath, then meeting his own eyes in the mirror, faced the truth. What happened was all his fault. It was his actions, his thoughtless, arrogant actions, that set into motion the events that endangered his mates in the first place. He'd never allow that to happen again if his mates forgave him.

Washing up, he returned to the resting chamber, ready to face whatever his future held.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Cali was floating, her mind like a kaleidoscope only filled with differing thoughts, feelings, and images.

She was in the dark, cold emptiness of space. It felt like home, and she wanted to stay, but something was tethering her. Two somethings. She saw flickering lights in the distance, and they called to her. Using her paws, she began running toward them.

What? WHAT?? Paws?

The kaleidoscope shifted, and suddenly she was straddling Taarig's body, reaching so deep with her power that she touched his soul and refused to let go.

The kaleidoscope exploded, and Cali jackknifed up, her heart pounding, as she frantically tried to figure out where she was and why.

"Do you always surface so violently?"

The unexpected voice had her surging to her feet, ready to defend herself. When she saw Jamis and Taarig rising from chairs placed near her tank, she lowered her fists. Until suddenly, it all came back to her, and her gaze flew over Taarig.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I'm fine," Taarig reassured her, his fingers caressing her cheek as he tucked several glowing strands of hair behind one of her ears. He was amazed at how soft, silky, and dry it was. "Thanks to you."

"Thank the Gods," she murmured, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"You never answered my question." Cali looked to Jamis, standing just to Taarig's left, and while he appeared as concerned as Taarig, he didn't touch her.

"Question?" she asked.

"Is that how we'll witness you surface for the rest of our life spans?" Jamis expanded his question.

Her eyebrows drew together slightly at how cold and reserved Jamis was being. "No, it's normally quite serene."

"Then why wasn't it this time?" Jamis asked.

"Because as I surfaced, I suddenly remembered what happened." Jamis grimaced, and her frown deepened. "What's going on, Jamis? Why are you acting like this? Is it because I didn't tell you I was Zagreus? Do you no longer want me as your Lalla?"

"No!" he denied. "I mean, yes! Of course, I want you to be our Lalla; you are, but…"

"But?" She frowned when Jamis seemed to stiffen as if preparing for a blow.

"But I would understand if you," his gaze shifted to Taarig, "both of you, preferred not to be mine."

Taarig gave Jamis a stunned look. "What are you talking about, J?"

"Everything that's happened is my fault: the transport, the problems here on the base, the vipers," his gaze shifted to Cali, "you ejected into space. It’s all because of my actions with Taini."

Cali's eyes stayed locked with Jamis’s as she stepped out of the tank and moved to stand in front of