Strange Magics 1.5: When the Stars Align- a M/F Demisexual/ Transgender romance

3- Identity

HESTIEL—

"Ameliel Roslyn Groban, you spoiled, rotten little brat. Get your skinny ass down these stairs, now!" I growled up the stairs, just loud enough I knew Mem could hear me.

"No!" she yelled back, not even deigning to twist herself around the corner to face me head on. "I won't do it, and you can fucking suck a dick, Hessie."

"Ugh," I groaned at the terrible nickname. When she was a baby learning to talk, Mem couldn't pronounce my or Amer's names. So she called him Re and me Hessie. Now she only used the name when she was trying to get under my skin because she knew how much it irritated me.

"Mem, the contingent from Redeb'ir will be here any minute. Please, this could be a great match for you— Redeb'ir is rich in—"

"— You promised Amer!" Mem nearly screamed, finally coming down the stairs, her face a thunderstorm of rage. I nearly took a step back when her eyes seemed to flash from her normal autumn yellow to a bright, flashing gold and back again. "You promised him you would never let me be forced into a marriage I didn't want, and now you're doing it yourself! No need to get help from Father, you're just as bad as he was!"

"You're being dramatic, Mem," I said calmly, proud when I didn't flinch at her words comparing me to our father, meant to hurt me in a way only a sister could. "Meet the damn boy, dine with him, get to know him. If you don't like him, fine, no harm no foul, they will go home. But give it a chance, Mem. Give something besides your damn books and your fantasies a chance."

It was only then I noticed she wore a bathrobe that hung to just above her knees and naught else.

"Dear gods, Mem, you're all but naked," I gasped with horror. "What if they come in—"

"Queen Hestiel," Dew called from behind me. "The Redeb'irins are here."

"Gods," I swore, glaring Mem down. "Get the hell upstairs, now, or I swear—"

A cough from a few feet away drew my attention back behind me and I nearly fell through the floor in embarrassment.

Two men stood staring me down, their eyes amused but their faces straight and blank, guarded. Holding back laughter, the younger visibly tried to keep his eyes on me rather than Mem's naked legs and the robe that dipped down her chest, covering her nippples and naught else of her full breasts. The elder seemed almost as if he hadn't noticed my nearly naked, gorgeous sister, bared to his sight.

The younger of the men was Mem's age, maybe a bit older, his skin just a shade darker than the taller man at his side. They shared their closely shorn black hair, straight, pointed, proud noses, and broad chests. The older one was at least a few inches taller than me, which was rare even in men, leanly muscled, with a large, plush mouth, and he had eyes the color of mud that had caught the light of a bright summer's day just right to sparkle with wet minerals.

I held my arms out, trying in vain to cover Mem with my own body.

"Welcome to Veil," I said, my voice, to my own shock, sounding confident and unbending. "If you will excuse us—"

"— Now, sister," Mem, the little snake, cooed from behind me, her eyes flashing at me, taunting, before she stepped, barefoot and nearly naked, towards the men. Her stride was sure, her hips swaying seductively. "We can't leave our visitors to fend for themselves! It's just rude, now isn't it, boys?"

I'm going to kill her, I vowed silently. Bloody. Going to kill her bloody. It's going to involve a dull shovel and a pair of rusty scissors.

The younger, shorter brother laughed and nodded, his eyes roving up my sister's legs before landing and focusing on her breasts.

"Most definitely," he answered, his own words teasing, flirtatious, but then he glanced up at the elder brother and his face fell.