Page 88 of Courting Mayhem

“Wow, talk about karma. The betrayer gets betrayed. Will she face the Rite of Soma?”

“No, I will release Arya into the jungle. If she survives for a hundred years, she will be allowed to return to her sect.”

We both knew she wouldn’t last a week. “How did Qa’a’s interrogation of Opve go?”

“He discovered the locations of the clones, but Qa’a’s methods left Opve a mindless lump of flesh. Zarek’s warriors are now hunting the clones.”

I heaved a sigh of relief.“It’s not a total victory, but the Rodan Confederation agreed to surrender,”I said.

“Without your help the traitors would have succeeded.”

“We were in the right place, at the right time.”

To show our gratitude for all you have done, we are granting you a stay at our mating retreat.”

“Oh. That’s really not necessary.”Did they even sleep in beds?

“We insist.”Zosia’s tentacles became snake-like.

Was she suffering from postpartum depression? Did I want to find out? Hell, no. “We would be delighted to accept your offer.”

Derek wasn’t delighted. He wanted to hunt Mallox, but saying no to the Supreme Leader was a no-no.

Of course, the retreat was located five hundred miles from the sanctuary which meant I got to ride the vortex again. Oh yay.

The carved rock “honeymoon” suite reminded me a lot of the maternity ward. The cozy cave had a pool of seawater filled with piranha-like fish and a bed of warm sand.

Yellow goo pooled around my boots. I shook it off. “Huh. No toilet or shower.”

“They bathe in the pool.”

I watched the fish attack each other. “How about we just go back to the Warhammer.”

“How do you think your fathers will react when they find you in my bed?”

“They’ll throw you in the incinerator.” I fingered the sand. It was the kind that crawled into places you really didn’t want it. “What do we do for food?”

“They expect us to hunt for our food,” Derek replied.

“Oh, and do they expect us to eat it raw too?”

“They do.”

The boy wizard walked in and looked around. “I think you will find my quarters more to your liking.”

“Does it have a bed?”Derek inquired.

“It does.”

Something hot and primal moved in Derek’s eyes. “Lead the way.”

We followed Adan down the passageway.

Linking with Derek I asked, “Why does he have quarters in the mating retreat?”

“I don’t even want to ask.”

Adan’s cave reminded me of a luxury playboy’s pad from 1960 Earth. It had a king size bed complete with a velvet bedspread and overhead mirrors. The bathroom contained a marble shower and a real toilet. “I also installed a food replicator which is filled with all sorts of chocolate delights.”

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