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“Speak,” Baris said, lacking the patience for Des’ normal dithering.
“Councilor Raelle has sent you a number of messages since the funeral, all flagged as urgent. I don’t think we can ignore her for much longer.”
Meaning word had already reached her about the incident at the funeral and she was not pleased.
Baris woke his tablet with a tap and scrolled through the log of incoming messages. The councilor had sent both audio and text messages steadily since the funeral. “The ship is out of network range. She should understand why she did not receive an immediate reply.”
“We’ll be in range soon. If she calls again, should I…” Des’ voice trailed off, as if he were unwilling to ask for permission to ignore the councilor.
“I expect she has something more important to say than general pleasantries. It’ll be better to speak with her directly. Contact her as soon as the network allows,” Baris said. Generally, he liked Raelle. She was from a noble house almost as steeped in history as his own. She had been friends with his mother. More importantly, she was blunt. She wielded her experience and wisdom like a weapon, battering her advice into him until he relented. She would have opinions about the events that happened at the funeral.
It was done. Raelle and the other councilors could wring their hands and fret. The execution had been lawful.
Des nodded. “Connecting now.”
Baris waited. This far out, only audio would be supported, and even that would have a delay.
There was a click and a moment of static. “Your majesty—” Distance and aging speakers distorting the councilor’s voice.
“Let us skip the formalities. You are burning up my comm with messages, and poor Des doesn’t know how to tell you to fuck off. What cannot wait until my return to the palace?”
“You executed Kasim Starshade. It is all over the media.” Even with distortion, Baris could hear the anger in her voice.
He clenched his fist. The funeral was not even six hours ago. “Only after he threatened me. I was well within my rights.”
“I’m sure he deserved it, but you’ve made our lives very difficult. We need to issue a statement to clarify the matter,” Raelle said.
“Do that. Speak with Kenth,” he told Des, deferring the issue to the head of the royal guards. “I believe she made a recording. Insisted on it, in fact.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll start drafting a statement immediately,” Des said, practically vibrating with the need to start on his tasks.
Baris waved him away. The male left, a whirlwind of energy that Baris did not understand but appreciated.
“There is the matter of your consort?—”
“Absolutely not,” Baris said, cutting off the councilor.
“I would see the matter settled before I retire.”
The councilor had been making noises about retiring for ages now. He doubted she would ever remove herself entirely from public life, but the talk of retirement became more and more frequent. It would happen.
“Joie may not have been my queen for long, but I will observe the traditional period of mourning. No more talk of a replacement,” Baris said.
The communication was audio-only, but Baris did not need a video feed to know the older female pressed her lips together and wore a concerned expression. In the end, she said a very bland, “The way you treat her memory with dignity is admirable.”
This minor victory would buy him at least a year until the pressure to pick a mate returned. Baris wistfully thought it might be nice to be able to select his own mate, but that was out of the question. His crown was not secure enough to forgo the benefits of a political alliance. No doubt, in exactly a year, the council would present him with a list of suitable consorts with whom marriage would bring stability, wealth, trade agreements, or whatever the council determined that the crown needed. His feelings on the matter were irrelevant.
One served the crown, not the other way around. Vekele had understood. Baris ordered him to mate with the human Sarah to prevent her from becoming a political symbol to be used by their foes. As it happened, Vekele loved his mate and was very happy, but that was only luck. Baris would not hope for such good fortune himself.
“What of the human you recovered today?” Raelle asked.
“Your intelligence is suspiciously good, considering we’re only now in communication range,” Baris said, only moderately surprised that she had learned of the human. She had more eyes and ears than anyone else in the kingdom and had an informant in her grandson, Des. Likely he informed Raelle of the anomaly before they left the Starshades’ planet. “What of her?”
“Is she attractive?”
Baris was thankful that Raelle could not see the way he frowned. The female had been covered in red splotches and mud. Her eyes were the color of mud, as was her hair. A stagnant odor hung over her person, wet and pungent. Yet the offense to his nose was not the image his mind immediately recalled.
He carried her through the rainforest out of necessity. She was injured. Carrying the female was efficient, nothing else. Yet she hadn’t resisted him as he lifted her into his arms, despite likely being the first nonhuman she had ever encountered. She trusted him.
