Nothing has ever excited Tylen Merodine more than being invited by the Regent himself to celebrate the first solar eclipse in his planet’s recorded history. It’s the party of the millennium, and if he has to restrain his normal exuberant instincts to fit in, that’s what he’ll do to be a part of it. His good intentions vanish, however, the moment he’s presented to the Regent. Because there, in a gilded cage, playing music unlike anything Tylen’s ever heard, is the most beautiful alien he could imagine. For more than twenty years, Dek has lived in captivity, performing at the whim of those who see him as an animal. The Regent is just the latest in a long line of owners, and while he’s kind, he’s still blind to Dek’s sentient nature. Only music gives Dek a voice, until Tylen breaks the rules and sneaks in to see and speak to him alone. The time they have together is stolen and precious, the minutes ticking away until the eclipse is past and they have to go back to the way their lives were before. But when the Regent shows an unexpected interest in Tylen’s future, they begin to wonder if their worlds need to remain so separate ...

Aria of the Eclipse

As unnerved as I was at getting caught out in what was really an innocuous exercise,I had to smile back.“You’re not busy with more tours today?”


“Oh,no,no,those are all done.”His suit today was a pale blue,trailing around his legs as he shook my hand.“Did you enjoy it?”


“Wonderful.It’s so hard for me to tell sometimes.Some of the Regent’s other guests were a tad…stiff in their response.”


I chuckled.“Don’t take it personally.Some of his guests are stiff all the time.”


He joined in my amusement,his gaze jumping around the immediate vicinity.“Your lovely companion yesterday was not one of those,thank goodness.Where is she?I’d love to say hello.”


“I’m sorry,she’s not here,”I said.“I’m on my own.”


“Nothing like that.We’re just acquaintances,actually.Yesterday was the first time I’d ever spent more than two minutes with her.”


Chapter 18