Esi’s skin, the same dark velvet as the space between the stars, glowed with an allure matched only by the curve of her lips. Her cheekbones and chin were graceful, her nose the perfect place for gentle kisses, and she had eyes the sugared brown of a honeycomb. It was like looking at Tsiora, but because it wasn’t actually his queen, Tau’s defenses were down, and the thought surfaced before he could stop it—she was beautiful. “Goddess wept,” Tau said.
