AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hisroom, then.
“We’ll try to talk some sense into Kalla,” Viro assures me. “I promise you that the king will be on your side in this matter. But you have to understand that Kalla is a warrior with many enemies. Think of how the king himself would worry for a mate if he had one— that is how you should consider it. He wants to protect you.”
“But if he’s not royalty, I don’t see why—”
Frowning, I can’t help but think of superheroes from a comic book. Is that what this means? He’s some kind of Spiderman hiding his Mary Jane from the many criminals he’s pissed off in the past? A couple brain synapses weakly start to fire, despite my exhausted mind. I walk over to the hairbrush and pick it up. Viro and Ruka wait curiously for me to say something after I cut off mid-sentence.
Silver hair. Giant stature. A terrifying aura. Dressed all in black and answering to no one, seemingly above the law?
It does sound like a children’s story. The kind a young boy would be obsessed with.
“He’s the Ashbringer?” I ask them, keeping my voice low.
Ruka groans. “You’ve heard about that?”
“Captain Rossa’s brother told me all about it.”
“He is, and he isn’t,” Viro says. “Ask him about it, but don’t speak of it to anyone else.”
“Who else am I going to talk to around here?” I grumble.
“You look exhausted,” Ruka adds. “I think you should get some rest.”
“No, you’re right,” I agree. “If there’s no turning around, then I think I need time to think and process this.”
Viro and Ruka exchange another anxious look before nodding and bidding me goodbye, reminding me that they’re available to me. When they leave, I let out an animalistic groan of frustration. My nerves were already threadbare when I woke up this morning. My body was already exhausted when I stopped at the gangplank to talk to Kalla. I collapse on the edge of the bed, and all I can think about is Frankie and Raffa. Where could he have gotten to? Is he safe? I meant to say goodbye to Frankie, even if she might not hear a word I’ve said. I can’t take care of either of them from here, and I’m not even certain when I’ll see them again.
I rest my eyes. I’ll take a look around the room in a minute, try to get a feel for the man who wants to claim me. Just a moment’s reprieve, and then I’ll find a way to convince him…
But in a few breaths, I’m falling asleep.
CHAPTERELEVEN
KALLA
I slapthe comm disconnect button with Mak’s words still ringing in my ears. The bridge goes silent. Yulla, and Kira have ended their own calls, and they prudently say nothing about the shouting match they overheard. I won the fight by the skin of my teeth, but only because Mak is preoccupied with the plans to retake Kar’Kal to do anything to stop me.
“Do what you will, then,” he bit out at me. “Why call me your king if you refuse to respect me? Shall I return your tithes?”
It made my blood boil. But then, Mak has always known how to get under anyone’s skin.
“Niko says his mate will bleed you slowly for this, and I won’t stand in her way. Do you mean to turn everyone into an enemy, hm? How about your precious mate? Is she your enemy now, too?”
“Better my enemy than dead,” I snapped.
I stare at the readout as if new notifications will suddenly appear to distract me from the tense silence. When Ruka and Viro return, they report that Kaye is in my quarters and needs time to think.
Ruka tells me that my mate is “displeased,” which I’d guess is an understatement.
That’s fine, I’ll see to other things in the meantime. The team Mak assigned me to consists of a top pilot, Yulla, a hacker and tech junkie named Kira, and of course, Ruka and Viro. I can’t decide whether they’ve really been assigned here to provide assistance or simply tattle on me to Mak. They are two of his most trusted warriors, but I suppose neither of them are the best at piloting fighter ships, hence less useful for the campaign to secure the planet. They’re better in a physical fight, and Viro can be used for situations that require charm. Does Mak believe they can beat me in combat if he decides he needs to put me in a timeout?
Yulla confirms we’re on schedule to arrive in the heart of Alliance territory in a few days, in time to monitor the reaction to our bold move. We’ll need to get a feel for how they’ll respond to our decision to take Sector 5 without their support. The bureaucrats, the military leaders, and their many political mouths will be scurrying to and fro when they hear we’re landing on Kar’Kal and helming the planetary defense. Everyone across the civilized galaxies knows they saw the tragedy of the genocide as an opportunity to wrestle sovereignty from the hands of the survivors.
Mak needs our eyes on their comm systems.
So I sit down with Kira, and we exchange notes. He’s been working on hacking their authorities’ systems mostly for the purposes of finding leads for Captain Rossa on criminals and sex-trafficking rings. I’ve been following their central intelligence projects closely for passings now, and I have contacts within the offices who feed me information on Azza agents they can’t reach without my help. Together, we decide which avenues will squeeze the most accurate intel out of the mess of various organizations that turn the Alliance’s head one way or the other.
My mind darts back to my mate no matter what I distract myself with.
