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Khiara doesn’t hesitate any longer, he puts his arm over my shoulder and turns me around to face him. The kindness on his face makes it impossible to hold back my tears. He pulls me into a hug, and I let them go, soaking his chest as he holds me tight.
“He will be okay,” he says, his own voice tight.
“How do you know? We can’t be sure,” I say, talking into his chest.
“Because,” he says, pausing before finishing the thought, “Tajss provides. You are dragoste. Tajss would not tear that apart so soon.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say.
My tears have run their course. There is no time for sitting around feeling sorry for myself. We have to get the Urr’ki Queen to safety, somehow, and hopefully save Dilacs along the way. If I think about it like Rosalind would, and what better role model do I have to use, this is the priority.
The door opens and a hulking Urr’ki with a hood low to cover his face slips inside. He shuts the door, strides up to Rani, and drops to his knees, bowing his head to the ground.
“My Queen,” he says.
“Rise, General,” Rani says.
He does and the two of them stare at each other for a long moment of rising tension. I’m not sure what is happening but then he grabs Rani and sweeps her off her feet. He spins her around laughing and whooping.
“My Queen, you are alive,” he says. “I feared the worst.”
“I am,” she says, “though somewhat worse for wear now.”
She laughs with him, and he sets her back down. He looks around the room.
“How long do we have?” he asks, but I’m not sure who he is speaking to.
“Two hands, no more,” one of the Urr’ki answers.
He nods then looks at each person present in turn until he sees me. A slow smile spreads over his face.
“I do not know you,” he says, walking over with Rani staying at his side.
“I’m, uhm, Gweneth,” I say.
“Yes, Gweneth,” he nods, rubbing his hands over his tunic before holding one of them out to me.
I take his much bigger hand in mine, and he slips past my hand to grip my wrist. I mimic the action the best I can, though my fingers barely reach around the thick cords of his. We shake and he lets go.
“You know the Star People?” Rani asks.
“Not in person,” he says. “But, unless my information is wrong, she is our best hope.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “What information?”
“Your leader is trying to negotiate peace between the Urr’ki and the Zmaj.”
My mouth is instantly dry. Someone has told him the truth of our mission. How much trouble am I in? I look around but no one seems as surprised by the information as I am. I swallow, trying to force moisture into my mouth.
“I—”
“It is fine. The look on your face tells me all I need to know,” he says. “You are not in trouble, and I am not working for the Shaman.”
“Can we trust them?” Rani asks.
“My Queen, I can only advise, but I do not see we have a choice.”
Rani steps closer to me. She reaches out and takes my hands into hers, holding them gently while staring into my eyes with her own soulful ones.
