Obsidian - Miranda Bridges Page 0,1

visibly relaxes. She takes a deep breath and gradually brings her gaze to mine. “I don’t know Jade personally, but we both lived at the compound.”

“What can you tell me about her? Is there anything that you think I should know?”

The female purses her lips, her forehead wrinkling. “She was relatively quiet, but not as much as me. I think it’s because the men were always trying to talk to her even though it was obvious she wasn’t interested. Anyway, based on the two times I spoke to her, she seems really nice.”

I dip my head briefly, already dismissing the useless information. “Thank you. I will be sure to keep that in mind.”

“It’s no problem,” she murmurs. Now that our conversation has reached its end, I catch her gaze sliding to the others. She stiffens, her shoulders locking in place, and the acceleration of her pulse is easily heard.

Well, it is with my hearing ability, which far supersedes a human’s.

“For the remainder of the voyage, would you like separate quarters from the others?” I ask, bringing her focus back to me. When she nods, I issue the command to a crew member, using the communication device on my wrist. “There, it’s settled.”

I escort her back to the others and sweep my gaze over them. “I must be off, but rest assured that you will be safe. My crew will see to it that you continue to be cared for in my absence. Until we meet again, ladies, be well.”

A tight grip on my flight suit has me turning in surprise to view the female whose audacity is becoming more than a mere annoyance. The blonde female locks her gaze onto my face, her eyes hard with determination. It would seem that this one is more tenacious than most and also more foolish.

“Do you need a send-off?” she asks, her voice a whisper. “I’d be more than happy to help.”

I may not be familiar with human phrases, but her invitation is abundantly clear. “No, thank you.”

I take her wrist between my index finger and thumb, plucking her hold from my clothing as if she is diseased. Then I spin on my heel, my long dark hair flying about my shoulders. Despite my aversion to profane language, I curse the entire way to the bridge, where my officers wait for me.

How is it that humans are the race destined to be mates for the Koraxians? They are comparable to us in appearance, but that’s where the similarities end. We are stronger and faster, and our senses are sharp, advanced in comparison. Yet I cannot deny that Xelias is mated to a human female. And he is not the only one. Even my own warrior, Nydris, found his chosen one, opting to stay on Earth in order to appease her. Logically, there is no reason I should’ve been the first Darkblood to be mated, but when that honor was bestowed on another, I found myself overrun with jealousy.

My response may not have been so austere if Blaze had not taunted me about finding his female. Or if I had not run my fingers over the skin of every human woman under Xelias’s care only to be met with disappointment when there was no reaction. This only compounded when I experienced the same results with the three refugees on my ship.

Now I have no illusions about this…Jade. She will be like the rest, easily dismissed and forgotten. Even now, I can hardly recall anything about her profile. To be fair, I all but glanced at it on my tablet. The only things I needed to know were a basic description and her location, the rest being irrelevant.

Once she has been retrieved and my mission complete, I will return to Koraxia and put this whole business of finding a mate behind me as if it never existed.

And that might be the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.

Lixis, a place of excitement and dreams for some while horror and nightmares for others.

I leisurely walk down the main streets of the pleasure district, the ends of my black trench coat hardly fluttering because of my unnaturally smooth gait. Even the silver buckles on my boots and clothing do not make a sound. Whether it’s due to my appearance or something else entirely, a number of people loitering in front of the various shops slide their gazes to me and my warriors on either side of me, no doubt seeing Koraxians for the first time.

If they even know