章 22: Together in the Ravenbrood

Within Aether's arms, Gen stared gobsmacked. How was this a star prince's vehicle?

The rickety Ravenbrood hovered before them, humming with jerking stutters. The lights of its underside flickered, unlike the steady glow of a Nightingale; and with each gust of wind, old flecks of paint chipped off and drifted downward. The chips floated into a lower airway, where they disappeared among a congested stream of vehicles. Because Ravenbroods possessed poor parking capabilities, a mechanical rope tethered Aether's vehicle to the dock.

A chauffeur stood beside the driver's door, and they entered a few numbers through their wrist bracelet. The loading door opened upward, and Aether embarked the Ravenbrood with Gen in his arms.

She nodded in approval at the luxurious sight that greeted her.

The inside, unlike the outside, exuded lavishness. Plush carpeting covered the floor, and someone had installed liquor cabinets below the loading door. The partition that separated a Ravenbrood's driver seat from the back seating area had been removed, causing the already large interior to feel larger.

In the center of it all was a silver healing pod with a glass dome oddly reminiscent of the Ravenbrood's own transparent roof. Its opaque parts, also like the vehicle, were painted black. Overall, Gen couldn't identify what was special about this new healing pod.

Aether stood tall beside it; Ravenbroods had roofs much higher than a Nightingale's, so he didn't need to crouch. He set Gen onto its soft, inner cushion.

"I want Ascending to be in the pod," she said, clambering over its side as soon as Aether's hands left her.

"He's healed." Aether grabbed her waist and lifted her as if she were some pet hamster. "You're bleeding."

"Am I?" Gen blinked, and his aura cooled. Was he preparing to throw another tantrum?

"You are," he said then plopped her inside and locked the pod.

Gen secretly assented to his actions, or else he wouldn't have been able to do so. She flared her nostrils and quivered her lips, acting as weak and delicate as she could. Mixed feelings bubbled within her: she still wanted to seduce him, but she also wanted to destroy the pod to prove she couldn't be tamed.

Umbra entered the Ravenbrood and laid Mind onto the seats beside the pod—the ones that stood opposite the loading door. Meeting eyes with her, he gesticulated at his pocket then signed for her to call him.

Gen nodded, hoping the action provoked Aether. She scrutinized him through her peripheral vision. What will you do? Take me out on a date? Become jealous? Let me seduce you?

Umbra blew her a kiss, and Aether aura broke, tossing Umbra out the vehicle by knocking him with an ice shard. He slammed the loading door then swiftly activated the Ravenbrood's AI. By itself, it departed the dock and entered an auto-drive airway where similar cars flew towards their destinations.

No Fenri, no Reya, no chauffeur, and locked into a healing pod... Anyone sane would think Aether had kidnapped her so that she could have her to himself. Gen's face reddened.

She pressed the button to activate the pod's microphone. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Rest," he said and flipped a switch. What did it do? The microphone's light still glowed.

"Aether?" Gen lied, "I'm claustrophobic."

No response.

"Can you hear me?"

"..."

"Are you able to turn off the mic?" Gen pressed the button a few times. The light went on and off and on again. If Mind was awake, she'd have him reveal the switch's purpose. What had Aether done?

Her eyes wandered towards her brother. His face was calm—Aether had removed his mask after the Ravenbrood departed the dock. Gen found his appearance more like her own than Law's. His eyes, though closed, were just as black as hers, maybe more so. His hair, of a similar ebony, framed his pallid face and made his already pale skin look a ghastly white. The inhabitants of planet Lukeen would find his fairness a mark of beauty, but Gen preferred a darker, more luscious skin tone—like Aether's.

She peered through the glass. Mr. Hot Jerk had removed his helmet, and he slumped in his seat. The word "exhausted" summed up his appearance: face pale, hair matted with sweat, and breath unsteady. Blood smeared his bottom lip, and she wanted to wipe it with her thumb. Or lick it clean.

Something about his armor excited her, and she imagined herself prying it off with a dagger, eventually tearing off his clothes and stripping him naked. Cheeks hot, she averted her gaze.

Not that thought again.

Her slowly drifting eyes returned to him, justifying themselves with needing to check on Mind. She lingered for a second on her brother and much longer on Aether. His bloody lip...

Gen knocked the healing pod's glass, and he opened his eyes. Their orange glow charmed her, and she questioned herself whether or not her earlier surge of adrenaline had ignited her horny instincts. She gestured at her own lips, brushing them with a finger.

Aether raised a brow.

Feeling devious, she stuck out her tongue and licked her bottom lip. He fidgeted uncomfortably.

Oh, this was fun. She rolled onto her stomach and kicked up her legs, showing off her calves and ankles.

Aether looked away; and she laughed. Being Dessy was the best, but it quickly grew boring. She sighed. Driving the Ravenbrood would be more fun or playing with Aether's armor. She slapped her forehead.

Bad. Don't think about it.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, to which he didn't respond. "You know, you have blood smeared on your bottom lip."

Taking off his gauntlets, he wiped his mouth and smudged the blood onto his fingers.

So he could hear her.

Aether then licked his lip, and Gen's face reddened.

So sexy, she thought—even though she knew he did so to check if the blood was a result of overdrawing aura. Blood, for some unknown reason, tasted sweeter and not as metallic if there was aura imbued into it.

"You're gonna kill me." Gen buried her head into her arms and lay obediently within the healing pod. After her wounds healed, including her eardrums, she asked, "Hey, Aether dear, what did you want to speak to me about? Our second date?"

His brows wrinkled.

"I'm all healed." Gen rubbed her fingers against the glass and smiled. "Won't you let me out?"

Aether closed his eyes.

"If you don't put Ascending into the healing pod, I'll tell Gen you don't know how to treat the wounded. Then, he wouldn't be your subordinate because he values his own life."

To her surprise, Aether swiftly released her then shoved Mind into the pod, plunking him down like some hapless pile of meat.

Gen glared at Aether's back, wishing she could shoot lasers like Umbra and pierce a hole through his spine.

"Don't tell Gen." He shut the healing pod.

"I won't tell her a thing." Jerk, she didn't need to. How dare he treat her brother like some bag of trash? Gen smiled sweetly and coquettishly raised a finger to her lips. "Ah, but one condition, please."

Aether narrowed his eyes. "No more dates."

"Actually, I'm hungry, and there's this store I love. They make delicious steamed buns."

"Eating together is a date."

Gen shook her head. "It's a chain store. Not a restaurant. Don't you know the difference?"

Aether sat then shut his eyes, as if scorning her words.

Dude, seriously. Why have you decided to be so tight-lipped?

Gen plopped beside him and rested her hands on his pauldron. She whispered into his ear and resisted the urge to puke, yet there was something stimulating about her words: "Wouldn't it be fun to shop for clothes with me? I'll try on whatever you want."

Of course, she would prefer shopping for weapons, but if she were shopping for clothes, it would be for men's clothing to make herself the sexiest man alive. But she was unfortunately Dessy. Maybe later she could drag Fenri out to shop? He'd understand fashion among men. A gay prince—he'd be perfect.

And he's an aura knight! They could swing by a weapon shop.

Aether retrieved his phone, which was hidden below the driver's seat. After a few presses and swipes, he showed Gen a picture. "What do you think of him?"

Gen wrinkled her brows. Drake was smiling at the camera, and behind him were trees found within the compounds of Aether's estate. "Should I know him?"

"What do you think of his looks?"

"Looks? I guess he's cute," she said, knowing full well she thought him sexy, but that would be a strange thing to tell Aether, especially considering how she labelled most masculine men with the sexy tag.

"And him?" Aether swiped his screen, showing her a similar picture of Joule.

She raised a brow. What was he doing?

"No?" he tossed his phone into the driver's seat. "We'll get steamed buns and in return you go on a date with Drake. He's the first man I had shown you."

What was he trying to do? And who had taught him to bribe girls into dating his subordinates?

Gen revealed none of her thoughts, and she nodded. "Sounds good. Let's get the buns from StarGroove. There's one in the Newton District not too far from here."

He raised a brow, possibly wondering why a clothing store would sell steamed buns.

"Have you never been inside?" she asked, baffled. The chain store could be found throughout the Puresoul Galaxy and within a few constellations of the Maelstrom Galaxy. It was one of the major leaders of fashion, and most had an inner dining area. The company's popularity also allowed the store outlets to use various decorations and utilities deemed otherwise contraband within the Compass Constellation, such as holographic directories, sliding doors, and levitation pads.

Why such things were illegal had a lot to do with a constellation's luck, the tastes of its elites, and the surrounding trade consortia. For every single planet capable of mass producing holograms, there were thousands more pushing for solid screens—the same could be said for wooden doors. And sometimes the law limitations were connected to a planet's total energy production and its native, natural resources.

The Star Lines had only legalized a few high technologies throughout the whole universe, such as identity codes, wrist bracelets, and language converters.

"Raven, take us to StarGroove, Newton District," Aether announced.

The central console flashed, and a male voice sounded, "There are three StarGroove stores within Evergreen City, Newton District. Would you—"

"Skyscraper G54, floor 230," Gen said. This particular high-rise was a few blocks from Gun Street and her apartment. She knew this due to the information conveyed within Mind's text message that pertained to Dessy's identity.

"Unidentified voice. Access denied."

Gen sighed. Why did she even try? This always happened, and it left her with a lonesome aftertaste.

"Skyscraper G54, floor 230," Aether repeated.

————

The Ravenbrood arrived at the StarGroove clothing store, and Aether stayed behind as Gen entered through the sliding doors.

Pristine.

Not a speck of grime covered the floors, and droids stood at the entrance of each aisle, ready to provide assistance. Above them holographic letters listed the brands found within each section. In both of the store's far corners, similar holographic signs marked the location of levitation pads, which ferried customers to different floors. StarGroove stores spanned anywhere between three to six levels and were one of the reasons for a high-rise's labyrinthine network of elevators—the company enjoyed destroying the shafts for the sake of aesthetics.

Gen walked to the small dining area beside the entrance. The droid greeted her, and ignoring it, she directly snapped a picture of the holographic menu and sent it to Aether with a message:

Dessy: I can't decide if I want pork, beef, or grown meat. What about berkan? But I hear it's a giant worm.

Swiftly leaving the dining area, she strode through the various aisles, heading towards the shoe section as she took random pictures of feminine clothes. Gen still hadn't forgotten Code 12—Aether had tried searching for Generation. Without Mind's support, it was best to disappear before the man remembered.