Gen blinked; then she smiled to be polite. Who was this person who could summon a storm from Aether?
"Reya, what are you doing here?" Aether asked.
The woman, not once glancing at Gen, blushed and twirled. The white folds of her dress encircled her and highlighted the curvature of her hips and the elegance of her long legs. Verdant hair draped over her chest and back; its lushness complemented the smoothness of her skin and the charming redness of her cheeks. She touched a golden barrette rimmed with rubies.
Gaudy, thought Gen.
"Prince Aether, do you like it? Fenri bought it for me," Reya said, her eyelashes fluttering in expectation.
Gen grimaced. She had twirled for that? Her actions stabbed at Gen's soul. Even she wouldn't do that when dressed at Dessy. The level one would stoop to attract attention...ewe.
Aether held his silence, and Reya frowned. Her face scrunched into that of a pug.
As if sensing Gen's thoughts, she spoke with disgust: "And who's he?"
Ignoring her, Aether told Gen, "This is Fenri's sister, Reya."
Gen's eyes bulged. "Fenri's sister? Does Frenri have another sister?"
"Prince Aether." Reya pouted, grating Gen's nerves.
First Reya ignored her, then she spoke rudely, and now she whined. This was the type of woman Gen disliked. Was liking her a sick joke of Mind's?
Gen crossed her fingers and asked Aether, "So does she have a sister?"
"Just her," he said.
"Someone, kill me." Her shoulders slumped. How could Mind be attracted to such a creature? And compare her to it! The audacity!
Reya placed her hand over her own chest. "I feel insulted. I am Fenri's darling sister and Prince Aether's childhood friend. Who are you?"
The hall grew cold. Aether said, "Gen is my wife-to-be."
"His brother-in-law," Gen blurted. "I'm his wife-to-be's brother."
Reya's eyes traced her body, flying every which way as if anything relating to Gen must have been ugly. Her small nostrils flared as she did so.
Gen smiled, banishing whatever bad opinions Reya had of her like a programmer patching a buggy program. The woman's eyes shone with infatuation. She stuttered, and Gen chuckled, causing Reya to blush.
"So you are the beautiful lady I had heard so much about." Gen winked. "And I thought Fenri must have had another sister."
Reya nodded—then she shook her head. Her face reddened. "Must have a sister? Prince Aether, he's insulting me."
Gen shrugged. "Mere jest, madam."
"Madam? Do I look old to you?" Reya fumed.
"I was only being polite, madam." Gen cocked her head and blinked.
"Gen," Aether said, sending her a warning glance.
She cocked her head as if to say: I won't toy with her, she's too pompous. Gen then held out her hand and introduced herself. "I am Generation Rook. You may call me Gen."
"Generation Rook?" Reya's eyes narrowed. "As in S's sister?"
Gen took back her ignored hand. "S? Is that what Ascending now calls himself?"
"You know Reya?" Aether raised his brow.
Gen shook her head. It would've been best to have never met her.
"Of course we know each other." Reya fanned herself. Was that smugness? "Gen is dating Fenri."
Aether frowned. Aura seeped from his body, and ice covered the glass case containing the blades. He glowered at Gen. "Dating Fenri?"
Gen shivered at the coldness of his voice. The jerk must have hated his subordinates dating each other. "Not a date. A meeting. It lasted until I discovered he was homosexual, and he discovered I was a straight woman. A minute at most."
"Straight," Reya said with chin raised high. "My brother is straight."
"Hey, has anyone ever told you you're unbearable?" Gen fiddled with her sideburns. How could Mind like this creature? It must have been a lie. A sick lie.
Reya snorted then grabbed Aether's arm. His face darkened, and the two stood frozen like a picturesque ice sculpture. Their eyes gazed into each other's.
Gen sighed. Oh, what she had to do for Mind and her future Dessy scheme. To separate the pair of lovebirds, she strode to Reya then scooped her into her arms. The woman wasn't heavy, less than a magma-inforced crossbow spanning a meter's width. "Princess, where would you like me to carry you?"
Reya stuttered and her cheeks burned red. Faint aura escaped her body. Gen couldn't identify what ability it possessed, if any.
"Your aura is as lovely as you," Gen said with a charming smile. Reya nodded.
What could possibly be running through this woman's head? Not only pompous, but also empty-headed and somewhat narcissistic. How many times had Reya stuttered to her smiles?
Aether exerted pressure on Gen, and he yanked the woman from her arms. Reya was mine, Gen thought he'd say. He didn't.
His hands, unable to hold his childhood friend, slipped. The white dress and its occupant fell, followed by a cascade of green hair.
Thud!
"Ow!" Reya sniveled with faint tears, and her silky hair lay in a mess about her. She looked helplessly pathetic. The type of helplessly pathetic that urged men to help her.
Even Gen, a straight woman obsessed with masculine men, fell prey to it. She knelt beside Reya and caressed the woman's wayward locks of hair, gently tucking them behind reddened ears.
Then she wiped the woman's tears with the tip of her thumb.
The droplets froze, assaulted by Aether's aura. By touching Reya she had made the man jealous.
Gen laughed. "Hey man, calm down. It's not like I kidnapped her."
His pressure lessened.
"See? That wasn't too bad." She offered a hand and helped Reya to her feet.
"Thanks," the woman said; her gaze was blank.
"Anything for you." Gen patted the wrinkles from the white dress. Her opinion of Reya increased—empty-headed but the kind of woman who could be put into place.
Gen glanced at the barette and thought of Fenri's sexuality. If Reya didn't come with those other problems, Gen would've gladly handed her to Mind on a silver platter.
But she loved her childish brother. So for him, she would gift him whatever he wanted even if she didn't want to.
"Reya, retrieve Fenri," Aether said.
"What?"
His brows furrowed. "I said get your brother. Now."
"Yes! Your Highness!" Reya fled, her high-heels clicking against the marble floor and echoing throughout the hall. The height of them impressed Gen.
"Wow," she muttered. That was a skilled woman, and her strides stroked Gen's competitive nature.
I, as Dessy, can do that too, Gen told herself.
Aether pulled her from her reverie; he clutched her hand, grip tight.
She winced at the pain then raised a brow. What had she done to warrant his anger? Was he jealous of her carrying Reya? It blew away her mind why two men would like a woman so haughty. Were women like her in style?
But... A small part of her felt pained, as if she could be jealous of anyone close to Aether. She scoffed at herself.
"Gen, you'll be my date for the gala tonight."
"Actually, my sister lives on this planet. She's not busy, so I won't need to fill in for her."
Aether's grip tightened. "I don't want your sister. I want you."
"No really, it's not a problem for her. And I'll be busy, so I won't be able to make it even if I wanted."
He gazed at her, and his expression struck Gen as disappointed. He said, "Why don't you tell your sister, Dessy, I already have a date?"
"Bad idea." Gen shook her head. Her stomach lurched at the thought of him escaping from her clutches. "I've explained this to you. She will kill me if you ditch her. You'll lose your newest subordinate because I will be D-E-A-D. Dead."
Aether blinked, and Gen panicked.
"No, really, man," she said, clasping her hands together after freeing herself from his grip. "You gotta save me. If she knows I accepted a Nightingale without paying the price, she'll flay me alive. She's already angry that I might've...well...I kinda blackmailed her. Please help me!"
Aether frowned, and when Gen opened her mouth to give another half-baked excuse, he nodded and said, "Anything for you. You can pay me back by becoming my wife."
"Too hard. Can't do it," she said. Then, gloating in victory, she slicked back her hair. For a prince, Aether had very little backbone and followed whatever she said. It was no wonder he had lost his position of general.
And it was odd he repeatedly—and incessantly—asked her to be his wife. Did he inquire this of every woman he met? Or just his female subordinates? What a Playboy.
"Please," Aether said.
Gen sighed, losing to his saddened eyes. "What will make you happy?"
"I want you—" He cut himself short then frowned. "Let's get drinks."
"Oh, man, that would be fun." Gen beamed. "I haven't gone drinking in a long time. What about tomorrow or the day after?"
"Tomorrow," Aether said. His aura warmed the room.
"Great! I'll tell the guys." Gen teetered on her toes, reaching cloud nine. She drooled at the thought of sexy men surrounding her.
The hallway froze, marble floor turning to ice.
Gen slipped but caught herself by grabbing onto Aether.
The man tried holding her, and Gen, not wanting a hormone-clouded brain, slapped away his hands. She fled, placing one foot in front of the other, skating to the hall's end. "Hey, prince, you should stop being so fickle. Choose one temperature and stick to it."
He grunted, and his orange eyes flickered with a blue flame resembling a will-o'-wisp. The ice melted into liquid aura. It floated upward, cooling yet heating the hall as it scattered the rays of light that pierced it. The aura left shadows of rainbows—a strange phenomena.
Aether stiffened.
"Odd," Gen mumbled. Something felt familiar. Had this happened before? In a dream perhaps?