Alien Soulmate (Paranormal Romance Aliens) by Cristina Grenier

were wide with horror, and she backed away from him. "You're losing yourself to your hate, Ithril," she murmured.
    "Get out!" Ithril shouted. "Get out right now!"
     
    E'lira fled.
    She hadn't anticipated him yelling at her or the conversation going quite that way, but it had done what it needed to do. For one, proved to her that her brother definitely did need Carver's intervention and soon. With the way Ithril's temper was running, it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up angering the Des'kos enough to have them declare war on the Sitheri. They would not survive that.
    For another, it had given her enough time to get one of the people she had convinced over to her side into the ship bay. With any luck, a ship would be heading for Carver's location in a matter of minutes.
    She closed her eyes and hoped that luck was on her side at the moment because they needed it. "Father, if only…" But no. That wasn't fair. Angen had been suffering, and he deserved his place in the stars. His children would have to figure this out on their own, and she was confident that they could if they could get Carver back. He had always been the voice of wisdom, and she didn't truly believe that Ithril had it in him to kill his brother, no matter what he said.
    Either way, she would warn him. Warn him what he was coming back to and what could possibly happen. Other than that, she was going to have to hope for the best.
    The woman she had sent to send the transporter walked past her, but she inclined her head slowly. The signal for the deed being done.
    At least something had gone right that day. E'lira mused and went to go call Carver and let him know.
     
     

Chapter 8: The First Taste
     
    "E'lira, you're a wonder," Carver said, sighing with relief. He'd been worried about his sister doing something like this, but he should have known that she could handle it. E'lira was smart and accomplished, and she had a very good head on her shoulders. Though Sitheri females were prized, not many of them had ever been leaders, and Carver understood that. Being a leader was a dangerous job, and most Sitheri didn't want their daughters put into such a position. But Carver couldn't help but think that E'lira would have been a very good leader.
    She smiled at him, pushing hair out of her face. "We need you here," she said. "I've been talking to the people, and you're the one they want. I think… I think Ithril has caught on to that, actually. He said…"
    Carver was sure that he didn't actually need her to finish that sentence. "Don't worry about it, E'lira. I can handle Ithril, and hopefully things with the Des'kos won't come to a head before I get back."
    E'lira worried her lower lip between her teeth. "I'm not sure how much longer we have before they retaliate in truth," she said. "They've been content to just kill the raiding parties so far, and Ithril's been trying to come up with some way to make it seem like the raiders are acting without his orders, but I don't think that's going to work."
    "He's blaming the people for this?" Carver demanded. How could he? When he was the one who was sending them to their deaths senselessly to start a war they couldn't win. It made him livid to think that not long after the death of their father who had worked so hard to make sure that the people would be safe, this was where they were. He sighed and rubbed at his forehead.
    "Yes," E'lira replied. "The Council is losing their faith in him and they all think that you've just abandoned your post as leader, and…" she shook her head. "I'm not sure how much longer we can continue like this."
    "Well, the ship should be here soon, and I will leave as soon as I've refueled it," Carver assured her. "Just hold on until then. Try to do some damage control if you can. The people love you, and if anyone can do it, it's you."
    She smiled at him, and it made Carver happy to see it. "I'll do what I can. I sent you some files and notes that I found when we were going through Father's