Free Bride of Midnight by Viola Grace Page B

makers and their wives walked in.
    Sobi smiled as the couples welcomed the candidates. She knew two of the women from the first landing, and they greeted her warmly.
    “I am so glad you made it, Sobi. We were getting worried that you had been lost to the light.” Dori grinned and hugged her before she made introductions. “This is my mate, Driz.”
    Driz inclined his head. Anvin were careful not to touch Prothean women. It was something learned a decade ago when the first Prothean woman ran into a match on an Anvin warship. It had started a cascade of interest in getting Protheans near the genetically altered Anvin. Sobi and Dori had been in cryo tubes until the Anvin could dig them out. It had taken them five years to work into the depths of the wreck where half the available females were. It hadn’t been deliberate; no one expected them to crash.
    “Pleased to meet you formally, Driz. I hope that Dori hasn’t been too hard to get used to.” Sobi inclined her head.
    “It has been a pleasure to learn about the habits of Prothean women. A little odd at times but a genuine pleasure.” He put his arm around Dori’s waist and she blushed.
    Sobi grinned, and they continued on to the next candidate while she greeted the couples and they took their position on the far end of the receiving line after they greeted all the candidates.
    Sobi suddenly realised that she was going to be the first one to greet the visitor, and she winced. She really should have had a snack when she got home.
    There was a murmur in the crowded building outside the door and Sobi stood straight, her skirt swinging.
    A moving shadow glided through the doorway and across the floor of the hall. Sobi stiffened. She knew that smooth pace. She had seen this man before.
    As he approached to a distance of four feet, she curtseyed as she had been taught. “Welcome to Shadow City.”
    “Thank you for your welcome.” There was a smile in his voice. The shadows surrounding him dipped for a moment.
    He moved on to the next woman in line, and the same scene was enacted.
    Once he had completed his round on the receiving line, the signal was given and the invited crowd of Anvin shadow makers and Prothean couples were allowed to enter.
    The hall filled, tables full of snacks were brought out and Sobi surreptitiously eased away from the other candidates and headed for the food.
    It wasn’t proper to leave the other ladies, but she was hungry, and besides, who would notice?
    She was on her third tidbit when she heard a voice beside her.
    “You just won’t follow the rules, will you, Sobi?”
    Sobi froze mid-chew and turned around with her cheeks puffed. She swallowed with haste. “I thought that was you.”
    A shadow maker of truly spectacular proportions stood near her. He wasn’t wearing his shadows anymore. In his Anvin uniform with his dark hair braided tightly against his head, Captain Aloss Wikiar was a very dashing figure. His shoulders were twice the width of hers, the muscles of his arms straining the fabric of his uniform. Yup, he was just the way she remembered him when he hauled her out of her cryo tube and ran with her ahead of the fireball that should have consumed her.
    He smiled. “You are much improved since I last saw you.”
    “Well, I am not frozen, in shock or requiring oxygen, so I would have to agree with you.” She inclined her head and swallowed.
    “I understand you have been out of the city, running through the sands.”
    “You understand correctly, Captain.” She offered him her small plate. “Hungry?”
    He reached out and took a tiny sandwich. It looked ridiculous in his huge hand, but he handled it with grace. When he popped it into his mouth, he raised his eyebrows. “This is quite good.”
    She laughed. “We have come a long way since you were last in the city.”
    “Indeed. The Prothean ability to adapt and thrive makes the Anvin’s growth through the stars look miniscule.”
    To her amusement, he began to graze off