Page 17 of Aria's Desire

“No clue. Rellik?” Aria prompted.

He frowned thoughtfully. “My people have been living in seclusion since my birth. I know there were attempts at creating alliances between different Queendoms in the past, in an effort to join forces and take back our world from the slavers, but those fell apart swiftly once they realized the enemies’ capabilities. None of the Queens wanted to send scores of their people to slaughter against a foe so well equipped.” Relaxing back in his chair, he absently reached up to play with one of his lip rings, a habit she found irritatingly sexy, and continued, “The records I could access detailed alliance talks that could last weeks.” He met her gaze with a grimace. “Some took years.”

“So, we’ll hope to be gone a couple of days, but it may end up being a week. If she tries to stretch it out any more than that, I’ll have to assume she’s keeping us there for a different reason.”

Spar nodded then sent her a wicked look. “If she tries to gift you some hot, well-trained, skimpily clad, alien dudes as some kind of alliance signing bonus, accept. I’ll take ‘em off your hands.”

That startled a laugh out of her, but Spar’s teammates just rolled their eyes—or the alien equivalent—and shook their heads as though they were used to her rowdiness.

“Anyway! We’ll handle the last arena. You go charm the pants off this Queen. Vee and Thegan are going to be in charge while you all are gone, I assume?”

Still smiling, Aria replied, “Yep. And Vi’kail’s got security. We’ll have comms if you need us.”

When Spar and her team left, Aria asked Rellik to bring Sidhir back in. After telling him she accepted the invitation and that they’d arrive the following day, she let him leave. A nod from Rellik told her he’d done as she wanted and put a tracker on Sidhir without his knowledge.

She was hoping for the best with this meeting, but she was also doing everything she could to prepare for the worst.

The rest of the day was spent making arrangements, packing, meeting with her Generals, and ensuring the complex was set up for her and her mates to be gone for an extended period.

Chapter 11

Tirox watched on in the early light of morning as Sin pushed off the ground, his massive wings kicking up clouds of sand as he beat them to rise into the air.

“Look back,” he murmured under his breath, watching Aria where she was seated on Sin’s back, just in front of Rellik.

A moment before they went invisible, she leaned to the side and met his gaze.

Grinning, he elbowed Kix at his side and announced smugly, “Ahh, she adores me.”

Kix huffed, but his voice was amused as he countered, “How do you know it was not me she was looking at?”

Patting his brother-mate on the back commiseratingly, he sighed, “No need to be jealous, my hideous friend. She loves you, as well.” Taking a couple of casual steps forward until he was out of striking distance, Tirox glanced back with a provoking grin and added, “She just loves me more.”

Leaping out of the way when Kix threw a rock at his head, Tirox chuckled, echoed by some of the gladiators who’d be following behind them and setting up near the Queendom in case they were needed, then started for one of the runners waiting close by. Provoking the entirely too-serious Kix had quickly become one of his favorite entertainments.

That it helped to distract him from worrying about his fierce little Aria, and his intense aversion to being parted from her, even if only for a small time, was an added boon.

Of course, then Kix had to go and ruin it when he joined him in the cockpit by murmuring softly, “She will be fine, Demon. Stop worrying. Your mind sounds like that of an anxiousjierwlsquawking for its mother.”

Cutting him narrowed eyes, Tirox pulled a face. “Does not.”

Irritating male that he was, Kix only smiled.

Tirox settled back in the too-small seat while Kix piloted the runner, smoothly lifting it off the sands. Once they’d soared over the retaining wall surrounding the arena, Kix dropped to hover a short distance above the ground and shot forward. The landscape around them moved so fast it made Tirox dizzy to look at. So, instead, he stared at Kix’s profile.

Finally, Kix sighed and glanced over at him. “What?”

Surprised, Tirox blinked. He was not being quiet in his mind. Much the opposite, actually. “Are you blocking my thoughts? Last we spoke, you still struggled with that.”

“It is easy when there are few people around me. It is only when there are many that I struggle.”

“Good, then, that we do not live in a complex with many, many people,” he teased, but under his play was seriousness. Living around so many beings was very hard on his friend. Worryingly so. But he did not yet see a way around it. Their mate needed to be close to her people to lead them. “Did she speak with you?”

“Yes.” Kix’s voice was quiet when he added, “Though, not about what I was hoping.”

Tirox cocked his head. “What is that?”

Instead of answering, Kix sent him an assessing glance. Accustomed to the male’s habit of contemplating his words, often for entirely too long, Tirox waved his hand impatiently.

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