Page 96 of Mated on Live

Hela was everything Korvii had extolled. She was just as tall as her mate, with even longer hair held back in a neat but complicated braid. Like him, she was dressed in camocloth that faded her into the background, with goggles over her three eyes. She was crouched down, doing an excellent impression of a rock, when Korvii and Serval jogged over to her location.

They were outside of the market, but not out of sight of it. There was nothing out here but rocks and long stretches of dirt spreading off into the distant horizon.

At their approach, Hela stood. She didn’t at all seem surprised by the sight of Serval. Didn’t even remark on it as she said immediately-

“I found a loading gate,” she gestured behind her.

Serval’s brow raised in surprise as he and Korvii came to a halt in front of her. Hela smiled at her mate as he looked at her like she was the sun shining down on him from on high. It was a doofy, stupid look of contentment and joy that filled Serval with twisting envy.

Not because he desired Hela, but because he missed his own female. He hadn’t even been separated from her for long, but seeing how Hela smiled at Korvii, not angry or hurt or disappointed, just made the ache of that short time apart strike that much harder.

“Where’s the entrance?” Korvii asked, oblivious to Serval’s thoughts.

It was a reminder of where they were. How he needed to focus. He checked the area, spotting what Hela had seen, even as she was pointing it out.

For transporting most people, they could use the door in the middle of the market. But for the animal trade, they’d need a different entrance as some beasts could get very big. Which meant, naturally, their payday for transporting them would be just as big. But they wouldn’t be able to get them through the door, and not all of them would be easily transported upstairs even if they did fit.

For that reason, they’d need some kind of loading area.

The place Hela had found was on a gentle slope of a hill. The stone and dirt was indistinguishable from any other area around. However, knowing what to look for, Serval could see that some of the stones were a bit too carefully placed. Two larger stones sat near the top of the hill, with no stones beneath them, until it hit the bottom of the hill where there was a groove. Not where the door was, but where something had trodden or been dragged towards the hill. It just suddenly stopped, marking where the entrance must be.

“Good eye,” Serval complimented. Knowing what to look for, it was easy to see, but he wasn’t sure he would have spotted it himself without being directed.

Hela smirked. “Thank you. Now, we just need to figure out how to get in.”

“I doubt there’s any mechanism from outside. The control panel is likely only accessible from inside,” Serval said. “We would need to wait until they open it.”

“We planned for that,” Korvii grinned. “I’ve got a contact who’s inquiring about transporting himself away from some money lenders.”

Serval cocked a brow. “Who do you know that can afford that kind of deal?”

“The proper authorities, of course.” Korvii chuckled. “I’ve already reported my findings to a friend of mine with the peacekeepers. They’ve set up a sting. I get shots of the people being transported; they get to bust a big smuggler. I release my news segment. My views surpass yours. You admit that I’m superior. We all go to sleep happy.”

“I feel like that story descended somewhere into the seas of fantasy towards the end there,” Serval said dully, making him laugh as Hela walked away, looking around for any sign of another entrance or maybe a way to move the door from the outside. Serval doubted an enterprise this sophisticated would have one, but people did stupid shit all the time, so who knew.

“What was your big idea then, hm?” Korvii asked.

“I was going to take out the guard and go through the front door. Get my shots and get out before he regained consciousness, then escape and report to the authorities with the images as well as the contents of the prince’s combot, then come back to get the entire bust on video.”

“Mm, bold,” Korvii hummed thoughtfully. “I like it.”

“And with the added benefit of not needing to wait until your contact is ready to move. Which is supposed to happen when, exactly?”

“Ah. I’m supposed to message him once we’re in place. And now that we’ve found the entrance, we’re ready. Right, Hela?”

He turned, looking for her confirmation.

But she wasn’t there.

Serval followed his gaze, then looked around, but the barren landscape remained empty. The distant, muted sounds of the market were unchanged. The hissing of wind over the dusty ground continued, but otherwise, there was nothing else.

“Hela?” Korvii called out again, a bit louder.

Nothing.

“Hel-”

“Hey!” Serval hissed, covering his mouth. “Are you trying to make sure that everyone is looking at us? Don’t yell.”

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