Page 9 of Heart's Keeper

"I'm sure it was just some sort of misunderstanding," Xini said. "He said nothing to me and headed out to the jungle after."

Lana grew worried. "Maybe we should go looking for him?"

"If that is what you wish, I can gather a team to find him."

Lana thought it over seriously then shook her head. "Let him be for now. If he does not come back by midday, send someone to search. I wouldn't want it to look like I didn't think he could take care of himself out there." Because she didn't want to embarrass him like that. Xerus had always proven himself to be more than capable of holding his own. And the only threat in the jungle was a gris—the squid-like monsters that were equipped with poisonous barbs—but he was very unlikely to encounter one this close to the haven.

"So be it," Xini said. She bowed and moved to let Lana eat alone. She turned her head one last time to regard her. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Risa."

Lana nodded her head as Xini disappeared back inside, then turned her gaze over to the jungle far below and frowned. She sipped her tea and ate what she could from the meal Xini had placed out (as it was rude to waste) watching the sunrise. When she was ready to head back inside, she had a housekin call on Xilya to meet her once more in the central chamber. Before she rose, she eyed a small cup ofsivasbut knew she wouldn't be able to stomach the drink and so guiltily let it be. Usually, Xerus drank it for her as the first time she tried she was nearly sick but, as he was gone, it would have to be savored later. She placed the bowls in a neat line at the edge of the groundmat and gave her thanks to Veradis and Rikasha with a bow toward the sun, as was custom after the first meal, before leaving the mat and entering the house.

Once inside the central chamber, Lana found Xilya already there waiting for her. When they locked eyes, Xilya bowed her head, and Lana gestured for her to take a seat.

"Your predomis does not join us?" Xilya asked as she sat across from her.

Lana crossed her hands on her lap and tried to keep her expression blank. "He is away at the moment but should be back soon."

Xilya gave her an odd look. And rightly so. It was not normal for a queen to be without her predomis when discussing important matters, especially involving a mission together. But thankfully, she did not press the matter and instead kept silent as the lights dimmed and the fire brightened.

"Xerus and Ihave talked it over. We will begin assembling a team and a ship to take us to human territory. We will try to stop these hunters from Xolis if we can."

Xilya bent her head as she regarded her. "How soon can you assemble your forces?"

"I will have to let the council know of our decision first. Once I talk with them, I can start gathering a team as soon as tomorrow and be ready to leave within a couple of days."

Xilya scratched at her jaw and nodded, satisfied enough. "Good. The sooner the better."

"Because we have no way of knowing when these men from Xolis will show up, we will probably have to make camp on one of the bases or settle near one in space," Lana explained. "So we will need a lot more supplies. I can gather what we have here and call for more aid from the council if need be."

"That would be wise," Xilya said. "We should bring extra fuel as well. We may have to make several jumps in case my tracker detects them early on and we are forced to make chase. Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that I made a copy of the pulse tracker the hunters use to find and trace humans. It is merely a precaution in case we’re too late and they find women and decide to hide on some planet undetected. The women I brought back were generous enough to lend me their DNA signature in order to recreate it. I think it will be of good use if we are to fail. “

“It’s good that you’ve taken great care to plan this out,” Lana replied. “I wouldn’t worry about failure. I am fully confident Xerus and our soldiers will find them in time.”

“Let us hope,” Xilya said.

Lana studied her for a long moment, then said, "What brought you to want to help so much with this, just out of curiosity? You could have left the women at the base and never looked back. What made you want to save these humans?"

Xilya reclined in her seat as she stared down at the fire. "As I mentioned yesterday, I met them back on Xolis. One, in particular, I got closer to than the rest. Her name is Aly. When she told me about you and what happened with the parasite, I was highly intrigued. Especially learning you had been made queen." Xilya shrugged and flicked her tail lazily to one side. "I got to know her and became fond of her as a friend. When she was stolen away, I helped to save her and the others from the nillium. They were so very innocent, but they endured." Xilya's eyes narrowed, and her voice turned low. "It angered me to see what the nillium did to them." Her sharp eyes flicked upward to meet hers. "And for no reason except that they could give them children." She hissed and rubbed at her neck as if recalling a memory. "Also I want revenge on those Xolian bastards for entrapping me for so long. They don't get to have these women too. They can go extinct and rot away for all I care."

Lana's heart softened at Xilya's words, and she gave her a small, albeit sad, smile. "Thank you for caring about my kind and helping them."

Xilya dipped her head. "I will feel great pleasure in seeing our warriors rip the hides of these hunters when we find them."

"You are not alone in that," Lana said, thinking of Xerus' comment yesterday in the garden and his excitement for a fight.

"They will feel and know what a vrisha is capable of," Xilya said, swinging her tail around and flaunting the sharp, pointed tip.

Lana could imagine what such a fight with the vrisha would look like well enough. It would likely be a slaughter more than a fight, but Lana felt no mercy for the men who threatened her race. And as vicious as the vrisha were, Lana had grown used to their savagery over the years. She was just thankful they usually used it for the greater good and not to conquer and destroy anything and everything they encountered. Though they weren't completely without their faults (they had a few wars in the past to take control over certain territories, and some had gone rogue, attempting to assassinate their queens), most had a more open mindset than might be expected.

They talked over their plan once more and agreed that their best chance of confronting the Xolis ships was when they were closer to human territory. Better to wait for the hunters to come to them instead of them searching endlessly across a specific portion of space spanning from the Xolis systems to the humans’ in hopes of finding them. When they felt they had talked enough about it for the time, Xilya left to prepare and gather the necessary items from her ship, and Lana made her way to a callroom to join a meeting with the council which took place at certain intervals of the day.

The meeting didn’t last long, and Lana was able to get their approval for extra supplies. The queens of other havens even offered her extra aid should she need it, and Lana was exceedingly grateful for the gesture, saying she would consider it if need be. By the time she had left the meeting and exited the callroom, it was a little past midday, and Xerus still hadn't shown up.

Anxiety beginning to eat at her, Lana made her way to the front courtyard and was about to call on a few housekin to go in search of him when she spotted Xerus near the gates of their home. Letting out a short sigh of relief, she started toward him, then froze when she really took in the sight of him, and her heart dropped to her stomach.

He was covered nearly head to foot in dirt and blood. And there were gashes on his side and arms; what she could only assume were bite marks. Lana stood there dumbstruck for a few long seconds before slowly closing the distance between them.

She was about to ask what happened but was made silent by the look he gave her, a sort of sneer, and this time, she stopped a few feet away from him.

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