“How can I not feel guilty about that?”
“Do you think your brother is weak?” Alden demanded suddenly, his voice changing to an impatient snap. “That Lynx isn’t capable of ruling without your help? Then, stop making it sound like he doesn’t know which end of a sword to pick up without you there to show him. You can still help your people without being chained to the palace. As for Lynx, he is happiest when he is on the Southern Isle. It would have been torture for him if you had forced him to come with us on this trip, and he would have made us pay by complaining the entire time.”
“That’s true,” she admitted with a laugh. “I know you’re right, and he would be very angry with me for feeling guilty. Still, I can’t help feeling like I’m leaving him with the burden of all the responsibilities while I go have fun.”
“My idea of fun does not include flying through space inside a metal container.”
“You will be on solid ground again soon, my friend. In the end, I do hope this trip will benefit all of our people. I would like to learn more about the mating dynamics of all of the races to understand what it could mean for the Xenon.”
Alden let out a low groan. “By the gods, you are trying to do that mate-matching thing.”
“I think the term you are thinking of is matchmaking.”
“So, you admit it,” he accused. “You are trying to mate-match all Xenon.”
She didn’t bother correcting him again since she sort of liked his phrasing better. “Of course, not.”
At least, not at first, she silently amended. But he didn’t need to know that was her plan just yet.
“I do not believe you.”
“Several of the outsiders who have come to Xenthian have turned out to be soulmates to our people. And you have to admit it’s very interesting that two of the Moonmist siblings found their soulmates on Earth during their recent visit.”
“What I find interesting is that they didn’t start a war while they were there.”
Since she and Alden were good friends with the Moonmist family, that made her chuckle. “The humans wouldn’t have been able to develop the cure for their fertility issue if it wasn’t for Jael. And we should be grateful to the Moonmists. Without them, we wouldn’t have known we needed these for our magic to function properly on Earth.”
She lifted up the clear, glass pendant attached to a length of black chain she was wearing. A mazika leaf, the emblem of the Southern Isle, had been engraved into the glass. When the Moonmists had gifted the pendants to Lyrica and Alden, the emblem had pulsed with a soft green light. Shortly before they left, Elder Blue had done something to the glass, and now, the entire pendant glowed with a deep green and silver light.
Alden lifted his own necklace to study it. “I wish I knew what Elder Blue did to this, but I wasn’t about to question that male. I enjoy living too much.”
“Wise choice.”
“It’s going to be very strange visiting a world without magic. People fear what they don’t understand, which means we must be extra cautious while we are there. The treaty between our worlds is still fragile and new, and there is still potential for a lot to go wrong.”
“There is the optimistic, cheerful attitude I admire about you,” she teased as she reached up to pinch his arm.
“Ouch! Stop that. I’m just being honest.” There was a long pause before he asked, “Did you inform Vasili Blackthorn about your mission to mate more of our people to outsiders? He must have faith in your diplomatic abilities if he is allowing you to be an ambassador for our race on this crazy quest.”
“It is not crazy, and I did mention my plans to both Kai and Ivy,” she said, mentioning their king and his human mate. “They were both completely supportive of what I’d like to do.”
He simply grunted in response to that.
“If more of us continue to find soulmates from other worlds, we need more information about the other races,” she insisted. “We also need to educate their people about our customs.”
Alden was quiet for several long heartbeats before he asked, “Do you believe your soulmate is from another race?”
“I…” Startled, Lyrica realized she hadn’t even thought about that possibility.
She should have considered it, but truthfully, her own happiness hadn’t really been a factor in her immediate plans. She had been so focused on helping everyone back on Xenthian, especially those who had been waiting thousands of years to find their mates like Alden and Elder Blue. She had also been thinking about her brother, who she believed with all her heart deserved to find a soulmate who loved him above all else.
Answering honestly, she said, “I believe many of us have soulmates out in the universe just waiting for us to find them.”
Alden was quiet for a long moment before saying, “I think I might have missed my opportunity to find my mate.”
“Don’t say that,” she pleaded, turning to face him. “You should never give up hope.”
He shrugged. “We were defying our destinies by staying hidden for so long. Lifespans of other races are not all the same. Added to that, it’s hard enough to find one’s mate on a single world. Finding one unknown individual is virtually impossible when you factor in all of the other planets and space stations that exist now.”
“Perhaps if two people miss each other in one lifetime, they might be reborn to try again in the next,” she countered softly. “And fate is like a
