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allowed him to see the landing area where she and Devnin had arrived. It seemed he was waiting for someone.
    “Rowen is due back from work soon. When he isn’t on assignment, he worries that she will wreck her riot runner.”
    “Oh, that sounds like fun. What is a riot runner?”
    Devnin looked wary. “It is a personal conveyance. The flying around Irudan is strictly controlled. She had to get a personal license to make it to and from the Guardian base, no matter where she is working.”
    She smiled as she used the dispenser to get a cup of caf. “It sounds like you fear that I will make the same request.”
    “No. It seems that I know you will make the same request. You will not always be with me and you will need to fly yourself to and from assignments.”
    Rox scowled and sipped at her caf. He watched her as she gulped at the hot beverage. “Doesn’t that burn?”
    She snorted. “It cools the moment it touches my mouth. I haven’t had a hot meal since I was a child.”
    Pleska leaned back and frowned. “That sounds horrible.”
    Rox shrugged. “It makes you pick your meals carefully. Some foods do not adapt well to being served cold.”
    She served herself a second cup of caf and made her way into the common area. Devnin was right behind her, and he sat beside her on one of the couches. His calm broadcast of heat kept her temperature close to normal.
    Pleska leaned forward. “Is it true that you froze a chunk of the tarmac?”
    Rox sipped at her rapidly cooling drink. “Probably. I was in a sealed capsule at the time.”
    “Your talent worked through it?”
    “Because of it. On the moon base, I found that I have been working against my talent my entire life. Instead of trying to insulate my body to preserve what little heat I had, I needed to expose as much of my skin as possible so that I could absorb heat from passive sources like the sun and the ground beneath me. Even rocks that have been heated in daylight give off warmth for a while. The tighter I seal myself, the more aggressive the cold becomes.”
    “Do you feel up to a demonstration?” Uadon asked calmly.
    Rox grinned and flicked her cup upward, sending her caf toward the ceiling. She pulled the heat out of it on the way up and caught the icicle with her hand. “Ta-da.”
    Skorin, Uadon and Pleska applauded, and she bit the ice and started to crunch her caf.
    Devnin whispered in her ear. “Put it back in the cup.”
    She placed the icicle back in the cup and it melted and steamed in a moment. She smiled brightly. No one had ever heated anything up for her before. “Thank you.”
    Having a hot cup of caf in her hand made her blush. She sipped it and looked at him shyly. “Thank you again.”
    She smiled and settled back on the couch, cradling the cup that did not seem to cool. It was such a small thing but it meant so much.
    A low whine announced a new arrival. Skorin’s shoulders shifted with relief as the small, encapsulated vehicle came to rest on the tarmac.
    The woman who opened the dome and stepped out was very obviously human. Skorin rose to his feet and headed outside to meet his wife.
    Uadon lifted Pleska’s hand to his lips. “He goes out to meet her every day. Our dear leader is not suited to sit at home and wait, so I think it makes him a little less carefree on our assignments. If he comes home with an injury, she gives him hell. We have the benefit of going out together and going home together. It is a joy that I am certain you and Devnin will share.”
    Pleska leaned forward conspiratorially. “It isn’t that great some days, but that is when I go for a walk or offer to take Rowen shopping. If I offer to take Devnin or Skorin shopping, you will know I have had a really bad day.”
    Uadon rolled his eyes and sighed.
    Skorin returned with one arm around his wife and made the introductions. “Lady Rowen Nakkua, this is Lady Roxelena Niil, the newest Guardian of Irudan.”
    Rox got to her feet and Rowen came toward her for a