Page 93 of Shadows of Stardust

Zan’s brow furrows, eyes going distant in a look I can already read as a mistranslation in progress, and the corners of my lips twitch.

“Not the temperature. I just mean… we’re alright. With each other. With all of this.”

“Ah,” Zan says with understanding tugging at the corners of his own lips. “Yes. We’recool.”

“Good,” I murmur, laying my head back down.

“And it would also be cool with me if you ever needed to… how did you phrase it? Blow off some steam? If there’s anything I could do to help with that, please do let me know.”

A hot blush climbs my cheeks. “Noted.”

It’s another thing I could lie to myself about. I could try to make myself believe I won’t take him up on the offer, but some part of me knows it would be just that. A lie.

Even now, the teasing promise in his voice makes my flush deepen and a shiver of awareness race up my spine.

In fact, we might still have some time before we need to get our asses out on the beach and start performing.

Maybe even enough time for me to pull him back inside and—

“Well, don’t you two look cozy?”

Both our heads snap up to see a figure approaching the bungalow.

Marva isn’t trailed by any associate producers or cameras today, but she does have her ever-present comms screen in hand as she walks up, eying us both keenly.

“Marva,” Zan rumbles, tone immediately hardening into formality. “Good morning. What can we help you with?”

She quirks a brow. “I can’t just come by and say hello to my two favorite contestants?”

Zan grumbles a non-reply, but I try for a smile as Marva stops and rests her elbows on the railing.

One of us has to at leastattemptcivility.

“I also wanted to check in and see how you both were doing. I hear there was a bit of a scuffle at last night’s bonfire."

Alright. Well. I still get credit, even if the attempt lasted all of five seconds.

“Did Ansalla say that?” I prop myself up on Zan’s chest. “Because, if you’ll recall, she nearly knocked me onto my ass about five minutes after we landed here, and I barely—”

“You’re not in trouble,” Marva interrupts with a chuckle. “On the contrary, Sella was in my office this morning singing your praises and gloating about how well the footage they captured is going to play for our audience.”

“Oh.”

“We’re both doing fine,” Zandrel cuts in before I can stick my foot any further into my mouth.

As he speaks, he tightens the arm he has wrapped around my back and it’s… nice. Better than nice, actually, to feel anchored by him, here with him, a united front.

And it seems to appease Marva as well as she looks back and forth between us with a wry, knowing smile on her face. “Good, I’m glad to hear it. And that’s not the only reason I came by. Zandrel, I have a comm here you might be interested in.”

She flicks through a couple of screens on her device before passing it over the railing.

Zan takes it and stares hard at the message for a few long, inscrutable seconds.

“This is legitimate?” he asks, and Marva nods.

“From Chairman Riddik himself. You’ve got a full reinstatement waiting for you when the season wraps filming.”

Zan’s mouth falls open, and if I wasn’t so damn startled by the look on his face, I might laugh.

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