Page 73 of I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy

She smiled. “I wouldn’t say no to an entourage.” She threw a leg over my own, and I let my hand fall to the small of her back to trace circles along the dip of her spine. “I sure hope the parents of your species are better than mine.”

“My father’s second wife killed him to put her son on the throne. I’m fairly certain it was my mother who killed my brother to subvert her plot.”

“…Holy shit.”

I nodded, smiling at her crass summation. “Holy shit indeed.”

“All right, I guess we are both bringing a little childhood trauma to the relationship. Wait, I thought Sankado couldn’t hurt their mates?”

“We can’t hurt our Zhali match. Neither Queen Pokatti nor my mother, Queen Sumire, were my father’s true match. Their marriages helped stabilize our empire, and over time, I like to think they at least grew to tolerate each other, but I don’t recall either queen particularly anguished over his loss.”

“Harsh,” Blair replied.

“That’s politics for you. Endless scheming, backstabbing, both literal and metaphorical. It’s the way things go.”

“What would have happened if any of them found their Zhali match? Would the marriage dissolve, or would it even matter if they didn’t come from a powerful political family?”

I thought about that for a moment. “You know, I’m not sure. True matches were so rare they only made up around 3 percent of the population. No one would ever try to separate the pair, as Zhali matches are a gift from the gods themselves, and to do so would be the same as spitting fire in their faces. More than likely, the new match would have just been added into the royal court. Either as a third queen for my father, or as a consort for either queen.”

Blair perked up at that. “Wait, queens are also allowed consorts? Oh, don’t glower. I’m not asking for me. That’s less common on my planet, so I’m just curious.”

“A little too curious—”

She flicked my horn. “Osid.”

Adorable menace. I made a mental note to find Subject B 94 and paint the ground red with his viscera.

“Fine. Yes, queens were also allowed to have consorts. When it was time to try for an heir, both parties were expected to abstain while the queen completed a full cycle. Once it’s ensured that she was not already pregnant from her consorts, the two would retire to a separate estate to conceive.” I cast a warning glance down at her. “You will not be afforded the same freedoms.”

She placed her thumb in the center of my brow and circled it, forcing the muscles in my face to relax. “For your sake, that rule better extend both ways.”

Desire pooled in my stomach at her casual possessiveness.

“Let’s make a pact, shall we? We’ll both abstain from all others, and I’ll give you a fleet of horncrest to choose from should you need to flee from me, but no more than a day or so. In exchange, never slowly poison me over time to instill our child on the throne.”

Blair snorted before laughing so fully that tears pricked her eyes. “It’s a deal.” Her soft fingers intertwined with mine. “Osid, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

Unable to deny myself any longer, I curled an arm beneath her back and brought her closer, kissing her neck, her cheek, her forehead. “I’m listening.”

Blair regaled me on what she had overheard the Biwban discussing the night before. How The Crucible was being audited, and the director’s complete misuse of funds. Together, we devised a plan to set trial six ablaze and force them to evacuate us. Then fight our way through to find the auditor.

“They won’t just let us waltz around outside. If the auditor is really in the tower tomorrow, they’re going to do anything they can to keep us out of sight,” Blair said.

“We’ll need to fight our way out if need be. This might be our only chance to get justice against them.”

She chewed on her bottom lip.

“What is it?” I urged.

Blair’s eyes were downcast. Whatever thought was on her mind must have been one she knew I wouldn’t like. But survival doesn’t give a damn about preferences. So I took her chin and met her gaze. “Tell me.”

“Well, there is someone we can call for help.”

“Call for—”

She pulled out the feather and held it between us. I should have known. My insides twisted as I stared down at the feather like it had suddenly grown fangs. It wasn’t difficult to guess who she meant by the look of hesitation in her eyes, but as much as I longed to deny it, she was right. There weren’t many people with the power or the influence to rally a last-minute attack against the Biwban. But even so…

“No.” The word came out more petulant than I intended.