The discomfort left him irritable, and only training helped.
A little.
Then Lily, as always, turned his life upside down once again.
Since the arm-wrestling incident, Khar avoided interacting with her whenever possible. He had learned that he could never predict what to expect from the tiny catastrophe.
Lily was like the radiation of Divani homeworld’s sun. You may try to protect yourself against it, but eventually the radiation will wear you down.
Perhaps it was better to accept that.
More than once, Khar amused himself with the thought of inviting the human girl to the Divani core worlds, just to witness the reaction of the elders when Lily effortlessly pinned one of them to the floor.
He also knew it would never happen.
The events of the past weeks made him understand why he had drifted so far from the Divani nesting galaxy. What happened with Lily severed the last and strongest tie to his past.
He was no longer Khar the Unbeatable.
He was simply Khar, free to shape his future however he wished.
He went to work humming.
Lily was already waiting on the bridge.
“I’m glad you’re here, Khar. Vegrun will arrive soon. I’ve prepared everything, but I’m nervous about meeting him.”
Khar dropped into the seat beside her and performed a cursory check of Vitro’s status.
Why bother nitpicking? Lily had done flawless work ever since he met her.
Not that he would ever tell her that.
“Why? He barely notices us. He enjoys the novelty of rare species working for him, but usually he brings a few business partners for short trips, or takes one of his lovers on a shopping excursion. We’ll greet him, and then we likely won’t see him again until the farewell.”
Khar knew he had become more talkative lately, but he did not mind. Lily, for her part, visibly brightened during their conversations.
What a sweet little creature.
Horos’s voice filled the speakers.
And this one is a disgusting little creature.
The fact that Horos was nearly his size did nothing to alter his opinion.
“Vegrun’s vessel has docked at bay two. After expedited customs clearance, we will proceed to the Vitromium. Remain on standby.”
Khar responded with a low grunt that could have meant anything.
Lily rolled her eyes at his reaction and replied politely.
“Yes, sir. We will be ready for your arrival.”
Whatever Lily had feared about Vegrun never came to pass. Just as Khar had predicted, their employer cheerfully introduced them to his lover as if they were old friends, then promptly forgot about them for chrono-cycles at a time.
Horos, who Lily later learned had been the one to interview her for the job, never even set foot aboard the ship.
Khar and Lily barely had any orders to execute.
