Read Online Wandering Star: A Zodiac Novel by Romina Russell - Free Book Online

enough pistols,” says Hysan, striding into the nose from the back of the ship. He’s barefoot and wearing only boxers, baring a more cut upper body than the one I knew a month ago.
    “Rho!”
    He freezes upon spotting me, his demeanor uncharacteristically frazzled. “I didn’t expect—it’s lovely to see you, my lady.” He pulls on the gray coveralls, which are dangling over a chair. “How may I be of service?”
    I realize my arms are crossed and unfold them. “I was just—I didn’t mean to intrude.” I look again at the blonde, who’s so stationary she might not be breathing. She’s still watching me.
    “You’re not—you never are.” His voice softens on the second half of the sentence. “Miss Trii and I were just going over supplies.”
    “Miss Trii?”
I stare at her in astounded disbelief. “You’re—I mean—
oh
, nice to meet you!”
    “Yes, I’m an android,” she says, her voice and expression exceptionally pleasant. She seems to have completed her examination of me, and I can’t help wondering how much of his face-reading talent Hysan programmed into her.
    “Would you like to sit a moment?” she asks, turning to him. “Your heart is beating unusually fast.”
    “I’m fine, Miss Trii,” he says quickly, his ears going pink. “Actually, if I could have a private moment with Lady Rho—”
    “Of course, but first, she has so many questions for me. They’re bubbling up all over her face. It would be rude to leave before answering some.” She flashes me a conspiratorial smile full of Libran charm. Turns out she’s even more clairvoyant than he is.
    “Hysan’s parents were Knights in the service of Lord Vaz’s Royal Guard,and they died on duty the very year Hysan was born.” I look at him when she says this, but he’s busied himself with one of the ship’s holographic screens, averting his face from my view.
    “His father was a very clever inventor.” Miss Trii moves closer to regain my attention, and I focus back on her. “He built me while his wife was pregnant, to have someone to watch over Hysan during their working hours, programming me with the lessons he wanted to pass on to his son. You see, Librans write their first will at age twelve and are legally obligated to review and update it every year. In theirs, Knights Horace and Helen Dax stipulated I would continue bringing up Hysan if they should pass.”
    Her quartz irises have a crystallized texture, and they reflect back a million fractured versions of myself. “He was lucky to have you,” I say.
    “I’ve always been the lucky one.” Her expression fills with so much warmth that I can’t believe she isn’t human. “As I began imparting his father’s lessons, Hysan quickly surpassed him. By then I was becoming an outdated model, so Hysan used me to test out his theories and ideas, making me one of the most advanced robots of our time.” She looks at him like a proud parent, and even though his face is still turned away, his ears are pink again.
    “When he was eleven, he and Lord Vaz finished building Lord Neith, and I asked Hysan to fashion me a human form from Kartex, like his. Not only did he do an exceptional job, but he even let me design myself.” She does a slow twirl to show off her enviable figure. “Nice, right?”
    “Stunning,” I say, resisting the sudden urge to laugh at her human-like pride.
    “I now have a question for you,” she tells me, and though her manner is still amiable, there’s something dangerous in her sharp expression. Even Hysan comes over to join us, looking more alert. “If you’re so afraid to give in to your feelings for my Hysan, why do you keep reaching out to him?”
    “Miss Trii,
please
,” says Hysan, his voice gentle but firm, “I would really like to speak with Rho alone.”
    “Hysan Dax, I’m the android who raised you; show some respect,” she chides him. “I have every right to get to know the woman you—”
    Something flashes from Hysan’s Scan,