Free Dovetailed by Rashelle Workman

same color as hers.
    “What do you think?” he asked, facing her.
    She was half in, half out of her closet and had just pulled off her filthy shoes. It surprised her to see him wearing her makeup. Most male kels didn’t, but it didn’t look bad. Moving back into her closet, Amberlee laughed as she tugged off her pants. “I like it.” He did look cute, but then she thought he looked good no matter what.
    She took a clean pair of pants from a shelf and pulled them on. Stepping from the closet, she pulled on her regular boots and checked her reflection.
    “My turn.” She grabbed the liner from him and used it to line her eyes, then drew a star just under her left eye. “There.” She turned to face him. “What do you think?”
    “Beautiful,” he whispered.
    “Thanks.” She looked around her room. It’d always been one of her favorite places. The walls were painted light silver, the color of her eyes. Blood red curtains covered the window. The floor came from the Windmark Mountains; it was sleek white rocks with flecks of black diamond. A black and red chandelier hung from her ceiling. Lamps covered in black and red shapes sat on either side of her bed. Her bedding was made of a supple black material with red streaks.
    Palmo stood and brought her with him to her bed. He sat and pulled her onto his lap. His eyes flicked to her lips. She knew he was telling her what he wanted. She leaned closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Palmo,” she whispered, timidly pressing her lips against his.
    Palmo drew her closer. She turned so that she straddled him and pressed her body against his. He deepened the kiss, using his lips to open her mouth.
    She thought she would die; her epsis raced too rapidly in her chest. She wanted him, needed him.
    He pushed up her shirt and ran his hands along her back. The movement sent tingles all over her body. Her breathing increased and she inhaled the scent of him. He smelled like a meadow after a rainstorm. Clean. Fresh.
    She timidly stuck her tongue in his mouth. That set him off, and their sweet kissing turned passionate. He moved her shirt over her head and lowered her onto the bed. She watched as he took off his shirt, then leaned over and kissed her, pressing his body to hers.
    “Get off my sister!”
    Amberlee and Palmo froze. He looked into her eyes. A myriad of emotions ran through her. Relief. Mortification. Anger. Embarrassment.
    Palmo climbed off her and picked up his shirt.
    “Why are you in here? Get out.” Amberlee sat up, glaring at Venus. “You aren’t my sister. We aren’t family. You have no right to tell me…” Her voice trailed off and she stopped. There was such a look on Venus’s face, one that said I have every right . And Amberlee realized that whether she wanted Venus in her life or not, it didn’t matter. Venus had decided to be in her life and that was the end of it.
    “Cret, don’t you have some place to be? You’re a god now. Why don’t you act like it?”
    Venus bent over, picked up Amberlee’s shirt, and handed it to her. “I’m still me. As I said before, you’ll always be my sister. I’m always going to worry about you. You’re my family.”
    Amberlee huffed. “Whatever,” she mumbled, pulling the shirt over her head.
    “Maybe I’ll head to the war room. See if they need me,” Palmo said.
    “Good idea,” Venus said, glaring at the back of his head as he walked out.
    As soon as he was gone and the door was closed, she faced Amberlee.
    “What is your problem?” Amberlee stomped over to the vanity and sat in the chair. She watched Venus through the reflection in the mirror. The goddess sighed. Amberlee softened. She picked up a lip-gloss and dabbed it on. “We aren’t family.” She felt bad. The words, her words obviously hurt Venus, and she couldn’t understand why. “It isn’t like we were ever close.”
    Venus crushed her hands together, wringing them.
    Amberlee noticed Venus looked very god-like in her white,