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smiled. “So, what I am guessing is that you don’t need this class.”
    She shrugged. “Apparently, my education was more thorough than I thought.”
    He grinned, “Your parents must be very proud.”
    Her polite smile froze. “I hope so. Excuse me.”
    Poppy rubbed against her hand as she lifted her to her shoulder. Her wrist com chirped, and she excused herself again to take the call.
    Kibor’s face was on the screen, and he scowled at her, but the look in his eyes said it wasn’t directed at her. “Specialist Minerva, I have had a request for your ship, and since you are the registered pilot, you will need to go with it.”
    “My ship?”
    “It was given to you by Fixer. You are the only authorized pilot for that equipment. Get your gear and get to your ship. You have a mission to go on.”
    “You are not in favour of this?”
    “You are in recovery and you have just bonded to your Yaluthu. I am not sure that you are in the most stable position to be going out on a mission.”
    “Thank you for your concern, Master Kibor, but if we wait for me to be stable, we are going to be waiting for a very long time.”
    “Right. Well, data has been sent to your ship. Your cargo will meet you there within the hour.”
    “Thank you, Master Kibor.” She nodded her head and turned off the active display.
    She started walking toward the Specialist tower at a brisk clip. “Well, Poppy, at least we are keeping busy.”
    Poppy chirped and hung on as Minerva went to her quarters, grabbed a bag, the travel pack for Poppy, then she sprinted to the shuttle port.
    Her ship was out and ready for action.
    With only a few adjustments to the cockpit, a shelf for Poppy was arranged next to the pilot’s seat.
    Minerva was in the middle of her preflight checks when her passenger arrived.
    “Hello, your berth is on the right, so feel free to stow your bags.”
    A familiar voice answered her. “This is a strange coincidence. If I didn’t know better, I would say that you were stalking me, but since I requested this trip, I don’t think it applies.”
    She cleared her throat and rallied. “Astien. Good afternoon. As I said earlier, stow it.”
    She heard the snort and focused on reading the location that she was flying him to. Her blood went cold when she saw that it was Jela.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    She held her distrust of Jela to herself and kept her focus on the flight. Poppy was enjoying the view as they lifted off Ohkhan and darted into the sky.
    “Are you going home for the holidays?” She said it as pleasantly as she could.
    “No. My brother is getting married, and he wished for me to be at the formal ceremony after the leap of faith.”
    Minerva clenched her teeth at the thought of the female having her wings tied before leaping off a cliff and trusting that her mate was going to catch her. Women died on their way down when their mates were not on time or were delayed by other means. Whether he was there or not, there were attendants to make sure that she went over the cliff.
    “I am sure you are eager to take part in the festivities. When will you need a ride back to Ohkhan? I am sure they can send someone for you.”
    He looked at her with surprise in his bright blue eyes. “Oh, no, you will be staying. Check your assignment. You are designated as my plus one to the celebration. It is a reminder to my family that I am no longer theirs for finding a match for.”
    “What?”
    “Haven’t you taken etiquette classes yet? I am sure you will be fine at the party.”
    She cleared her throat. “I only arrived at Ohkhan two days ago. Before that, I was in recovery at Morganti. I haven’t done anything but move from Novice to Specialist.”
    “You did that in two days?”
    She shrugged and plotted course for Jela. “Apparently. You have eighteen hours. What do I need to know?”
    Poppy gave her a chiding chirp as if telling her off for not being forthright with Astien.
    She stroked Poppy’s chest to calm