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Kaelum shrugged, so human in ways the others weren’t, and then nodded. “Crux made this deal before Vorian was born, or when he was a small child. There’s no reason to assume he had anything to do with it. By the time Vorian was a warrior, the deal had long been broken.” He turned to Marex. “Did you deal with Vorian?”
Marex cringed but shook his head. “I am sorry to say I can provide no accomplices. We dealt directly with Crux and only Crux.”
“I think threatening Vorian’s existence is enough punishment for any role he’s played in this,” Kaelum said, calmly, meeting his father’s eye the same way Kenosi had. This time, though, the king didn’t seem angry. He seemed... thoughtful. “If he brings Crux to justice, then he is as innocent as the humans say. If not, he will be no more.”
Next to me, Jax shivered.
I didn’t know enough about Thorzi culture to know the specifics, but I got the picture. They lived on a planet where being kicked out of the village was pretty much a death sentence, and they were talking about shunning him.
Jesus. I leaned into Jax, needing the reassuring warmth and presence of him by my side.
Finally, the king sat back, nodding. “And the Zathki?”
“We owe them the price Crux promised,” Kaelum began, and his father frowned, so he held up a hand. “If Crux has run, then we will take his lab, and we will have the payment the Zathki already gave. And we already do have a generation of hybrid warriors, who are a boon to Thorzi society.”
Jax drew himself up next to me, grinning his biggest, goofiest grin. It was like I’d told him. He was a gift.
The king gave a thoughtful nod. “And we will need more of these supplies.”
Kaelum grinned too, if not quite as brilliantly as my man. “The Zathki have said that they will be happy to negotiate for further trades, thanks to Jax and Wesley opening that path.”
“Then Jax and Wesley have served Thorzan well, and we owe them our thanks,” the king answered, inclining his head to Jax.
“As do the Zathki,” Marex whispered to me, giving my arm a light squeeze before bowing to the king.
Since this whole thing was about the ability of the Thorzi people to make a future generation of hybrid children, I decided, someday, I was going to tell my kids this story. Jax’s and my kids. Huh.
CHAPTER38
JAX
None of the humans were inclined to visit Crux’s lab after we had taken it, save Wesley. He was not cowed here the way he might have been—the way Crux had wanted him to be. My Wesley had been the first human to exert his will on the place. When Crux had tried to lock them away, Wesley had figured out how to release Ree. He had set the stage for the rescue of his people and the bright future of all Thorzan.
My Wesley was bold, creative, and resilient. And now, he could claim mastery of this place that his brethren still feared.
What had once been a place for Crux, his lackeys, and humans was now filled with Zathki scientists. Many who had come with Marex had elected to stay, and those who returned to their barren moon brought more here.
They took resources to their home, and they gave us much in return. And Wesley was determined to learn all of it.
On Earth, he had worked with false worlds hidden in screens, he said. Some of the humans had the tools to show us. But he was clever with all sorts of technology, and he learned much at Marex’s side.
He took to it so fast that I was quite content to sit there and watch them. That, and I meant to see them safe. Crux had disappeared; Vorian had yet to find him, and I would not abandon the Zathki or any human to his mercies. Better I stayed here and kept an eye out, even if I was not particularly useful to these clever beings and my clever mage.
I would never be a scientist. My path was set, and Progenitor was not a title I would bear. But Wesley? Perhaps.
That morning, I had taken Pob to the terrace over the jungle outside the lab to spar with him, leaving the scientists to their work, but when Pob was called inside to assist with the instillation of new incubator tubes, I leaned on the wall, my elbows mounted on the stone wall and my head back. The light here was gentle, not like that of Lyr, and it warmed my eyelids.
Marex approached. I heard him before I opened my eyes, but his low cough gave him away.
“You have everything you need?” I asked.
He inclined his head but came to rest with me beside the wall. A long time passed in silence, but Zathki were not driven by their passions, and Marex clearly had something to tell me.
I glanced at him, and though he did not turn my way, his blue lips twitched. “I spoke to Wesley yesterday. He indicated you had some insecurities about his abilities.”
My brows drew down. I did not like that—having insecurities at all, much less sharing them with Marex. Perhaps he was no longer my enemy, but it was best if my weaknesses remained secret. At least for pride’s sake.
Before I could feel any more affront, he looked at me frankly. “He asked me to test his abilities, to see what he could do.”
