Rebirth: Mecha Mates (A Slowburn SciFi Space Opera Romance) by Ember Hollis

Author:Ember Hollis [Hollis, Ember]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ember Hollis
Published: 2022-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MAIA

I can’t help but grin when I see Ansel finally give into his frustration and punch Ryker on the shoulder. As the two fall into an enthusiastic yet harmless fistfight, Xavier raises his eyes to the sky with a long-suffering sigh, then walks calmly towards the waiting instructors and me.

“Don’t mind them,” he says, reaching out to Hades to open a passageway. “This happens every other day.”

“I guessed as much,” I reply with a laugh.

I don’t think I had brothers while growing up, but I imagine if I had, that they’d behave like these two—bickering and fighting over every single thing. Xavier, on the other hand, is like an older brother or father figure.

“More like a mother hen…” Caspian whispers, startling me into stumbling as I follow after Xavier. “Fusses over things like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Back again, are you?” I send to him. “Aren’t you afraid Xavier will discover you hanging around?”

“It’s always a risk,” Caspian admits. “But your devious little experiment yesterday demonstrated just how decent my little cousin is. He’s not going to eavesdrop on your mind, so I might as well take advantage of it.”

I frown. Xavier had indeed proved that he takes my privacy seriously—except for during an emergency, that is. But though I’m still a bit astounded by the fact that he discovered I’m a… what was it again? A techtalker? Yup. That’s what he said. The thought that he’d discovered that while diving into my mind to stop me from freaking out is extremely disturbing. And yet, I can’t help but feel relieved and… almost impressed by how he’d taken control of the conversation and smoothed the issue over with Ansel and Ryker. Thanks to him, the secret talent I’d been so worried and guarded about had been revealed like it was no big deal. Like it was just another part of who I was. A part that was rare and strange and yet… completely acceptable.

“Seriously? You’re mooning over Xavier, now?”

I jump, then clamp down on my thoughts. “Will you stop reading my mind?”

“I’m not reading your mind, per se. I’m just noticing how intensely you’re staring at my handsome young cousin.”

My cheeks immediately start burning as I whip my gaze away from Xavier. “Keep pissing me off and I’ll give your presence on our neuralink away.”

“Ooh, so it’s our neuralink now, is it? I see how this is going.”

I bite my lip, but before I can protest, Caspian continues speaking. “But let’s be honest. You won’t give me away because you need me,” he says smugly. “To be your back-up plan and whisk you out in case of emergency. And to help you fail your tests in a way that’s convincing enough that the AIA will let you be when you decide to leave.”

I freeze in the passageway, causing Ryker to yelp when he nearly runs into me, then Ansel to swear when he actually does run into Ryker.

“Maia? Is everything all right?”

“Sorry, I thought I saw a bug,” I say by way of explanation, blocking Caspian as much as possible.

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