“Really?” I infused my voice with amazement, arching a skeptical eyebrow in Diarvet’s direction, fighting back a smile.
“Lilibet was absolutely instrumental in bringing us safely to ground,” Diarvet confirmed with the utmost gravity, his deep voice carrying not even a hint of condescension.
“So we’re on Zarpazia?” I asked, stepping closer to peer through the viewport where dawn was just beginning to chase away the night, though darkness still obscured our surroundings.
“Not quite,” Diarvet admitted, something unreadable flickering across his features. He slipped his large hands around Lilibet’s tiny waist, gently lifting her from his lap as he rose. He settled her into the pilot’s seat, where she looked impossibly small in the oversized chair, before handing her the teddy bear that had watched the proceedings from a perch nearby. “Princess, can you stay here and make sure our landing stays secure?” The question was utterly unnecessary from a practical standpoint, but he delivered it with such earnestness that Lilibet’s entire face lit with pride.
Her chubby little hand snapped up in a crisp salute that would have made any military officer proud, her green eyes shining.
Diarvet gestured for me to follow him back toward the galley. He began clearing the remnants of the breakfast feast from the table while I settled into one of the chairs, watching him.
“So we’re not on Zarpazia?” The question emerged, and to my surprise, I felt no flutter of fear. My earlier wariness had subsided, replaced now by curiosity.
“No,” Diarvet’s responded as he deposited the breakfast dishes into the recycler. He turned to face me, his hip settling against the counter while his muscular arms folded across his chest. Gone was the formal uniform, replaced by form-fitting trousers and a supple leather vest that only emphasized the raw strength beneath his scaled skin. “We are on a planet my queen calls Eden.”
“Like your ship?” The connection sparked immediate interest.
“She named the ship in honor of the planet. This place holds special significance for her. It’s where our king Vraxxan brought her when they were hiding from the queen.” His voice carried a reverent undertone, as if speaking of something sacred.
“Hiding from the queen?” This time, skepticism crept into my tone, my eyebrows arching with curiosity. “Were they having an affair?”
Diarvet’s head tilted back as rich, rolling laughter erupted from his throat, a sound so deep and resonant it seemed to shiver across my skin. “Hardly. The former queen was Vraxxan’s mother.” An involuntary shudder rippled through his powerful frame. “A hateful, cruel female who had exiled Vraxxan’s father, King Vysar, to this very planet many years before.” His posture relaxed marginally, though shadows of old pain flickered in his dark eyes. “What do you know about the Zarpazian people?”
“Not much,” I admitted with a helpless shrug. “Qurbaga kept the harem completely isolated from the outside universe.”Other than to dole us out to others as party favors occasionally, but I didn’t mention that.
Diarvet nodded, his expression twisting with unmistakable distaste. “For far too long, the universe feared the Zarpazian people. Some of us possess a gift—the ability to shift the color of our scales.” As if summoned by his words, the scales along his left shoulder rippled and transformed, shifting from the natural, vibrant blue, gold, and fuchsia to obsidian, just as they had when confronting the Wojonik. “A Zarpazian who can shift all the scales on their body to black possesses increased strength and the ability to shift into other beings. Once, my people considered this ability a sacred gift, given only by the gods, but the queen perverted that blessing. She and others learned to shift their scales through sheer force of will, twisting what should have been precious into something dark. The queen’s younger son, Vreses, possessed this power and wielded it for evil.”
“Vreses,” I whispered the name, the syllables feeling strangely familiar on my tongue. Somewhere in the recesses of my memory, I’d heard Qurbaga utter that name before, though I couldn’t recall when or why.
“Vreses took part in a plot to assassinate Duke Ako, but a human female stopped the scheme and killed him. Initially, the queen placed a bounty on the female’s head, but the Alliance Prime intervened. Instead, the queen devised a more twisted plan. She intended to abduct an innocent human female to torture and kill in sacrificial vengeance.” His voice dropped to a darker register.
This time, it was my turn to shudder.
“Vraxxan rescued the female and brought her here for safekeeping,” Diarvet continued, his tone softening.
“And I assume, since Vraxxan now wears the crown, that the evil queen met her end?” I asked, though already knowing the answer.
A complex array of emotions flickered across Diarvet’s handsome features—relief warring with something much darker and more troubling. “Killed by the very human she intended to sacrifice.”
“Don’t mess with us human girls,” I quipped, desperate to chase away the shadows that had settled over his expression. Thankfully, my attempt at levity worked, and his face brightened with a smile.
“Obviously.”
“So, can you shift your scales to all black?” I asked, watching with fascination as the obsidian scales on his shoulder rippled back to their natural, vibrant hue.
“No,” he admitted with a rueful smile that held just a hint of regret. “And now that Vraxxan rules as king, he has outlawed the practice of shifting scales through will alone.”
“And we will be safe here?” I pressed, though I knew deep down that Diarvet wouldn’t have brought us here if we weren’t.
“Absolutely,” Diarvet said, his voice reassuring. “Eden is one of the most remote planets in this sector. Most Alliance star charts show that it is barely habitable, and the beings living there are not technologically advanced enough to pose any threat or attract unwanted attention.
“There’s a treehouse,” Lilibet announced, bouncing into the galley, apparently having decided that the landing was secure enough to abandon her post.
“Yes, there is,” Diarvet grinned, reaching out to boop the end of her nose with one scaled finger, the gesture making my ovaries spasm. “That’s where we’ll be staying.”
“We can’t stay on the shuttle?” I glanced around the compact but comfortable space. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was perfectly adequate for a brief stay.
“I’d rather not,” Diarvet said, his expression growing more serious as he pondered his words. “I needed....” he glanced meaningfully at Lilibet, then reframed his explanation more diplomatically. “Weneeded to land the shuttle in an area where the canopy was thick enough that the shuttle can’t be spotted by aerial reconnaissance scans. And unfortunately, on Eden, the thicker the jungle, the more predators abound. The area around the treehouse offers much better natural camouflage and defensive positioning.”
