Page 51 of Devin
Devin exited command to see a group of females formed around the eating tables. Meadow, Humility and Charlette, strangely enough, all seemed to be chatting congenially with his mother. Charlette laughed at something Grena said and Devin recognized it immediately. It was that fawning laugh that people tended to get around his mother, the one that was later chased by the requesting of a royal favor.
As he walked closer, Devin knew his first suspicion was correct. Someone had told Charlette that his mother was royalty and that had gone straight to her head.
“Of course, your highness. Really, your daughter-in-law didn’t explain that to you?” Charlette said, letting off a little fake laugh. “No, it’s very common on Terra.”
Meadow noticed his approach first, and smiled quickly at him.
“Devin! We were just telling your mom about Terra.”
“Mother, I would speak with you. Alone.”
“Anything you can say to Her Highness, you can say to us,” Charlette prompted.
Meadow and Humility exchanged a look. They stood up and practically pulled Charlette away from the table while babbling some incoherent responses.
“Oh, you do have to have a sense of drama about you, don’t you?” Grena asked. He could say the same for her, but he was going to have to keep her in a good mood if he intended to survive the next three weeks with his sanity intact.
“Our warlord has requested that you extend your stay, as the Adrastian is leaving immediately.”
“I’m sure he can spare another week. I paid him enough.”
“You will be much more comfortable on an Etlonian ship. And he has expressed a desire to have Charlette removed as soon as possible,” Devin explained.
“You mean you have told him that you don’t want me on that ship. That’s nice, dear, but I’m perfectly safe.”
“The Adrastian is leaving today. The warlord has ordered it. If you want to leave today, then I shall say my goodbyes to you now.” Devin tried not to hold his breath while waiting to see if his mother would call his bluff.
Grena sat still for a long moment, then let out a huff. “I’m going to need better quarters if I’m going to prolong my stay.”
“You may have whatever quarters you desire. Except for mine, of course.”
“Terrans are a little shy in the procreation department, I have gathered. They are not fond of an audience. I should loathe to get in the way of you providing me with a grandchild.”
Devin remained silent and tried not to think about that particular scenario. Having his mother watching and critiquing would definitely be a mood killer.
With that particular conversation behind him, Devin could let Kave handle the rest and went back to the control centers to monitor the city as the bots put more finishing touches into place.
He ignored the screeching as Charlette was told that she would be leaving, and sighed with relief when the engines roared to life and the Adrastian left the planet.
It wasa few hours later that when Devin realized he’d let time get away from him. His mate would have eaten and his mother should have gotten bored. Neither one of them had bothered him, and that set him a bit on edge. His mother could be difficult to bear for a long period of time, especially when she was working on a new scheme, and with three weeks of empty time stretching before her, she was probably going to be up to something.
Devin left the command center and walked the short distance to the nearest lift. It was the fastest way to get back to his quarters, now that the bots had connected all the swiftly moving tunnels. His mind churned through several possibilities and excuses he might have to give his mate for leaving her alone for such an extended time. Perhaps talking wasn’t the answer. Just get rid of his mother quickly, and employ his tongue in other ways. Yes, that thought had quite an appeal.
The door slid open and Devin stepped into his quarters. It was silent. That was not what he expected at all.
“Mate? “Mother?” He checked the shower just to be sure. No, they were not here. Then they must be with Jane and the other mates. Devin should have checked there first. After all, while he was careless, Jane and Humility were generally more cognizant of Terran social structures and would have helped out sooner if his mate was in distress.
Devin strode out of the city and was relieved to see a group at the tables, but as he got closer, that knot in his gut grew tenfold.There were only six at the tables: Meadow, Goru, Jane, Zenik, Humility and the warlord. They were in quite high spirits, which suggested that the warlord had broken out his secret stash of alcohol.
The warlord was the first to notice his approach.
“Welcome to the party! We are at last free of screeching and conniving, and all that general bad behavior!” Have a glass! And a piece of roasted bread?” He looked back at the table.
“A toast!” Meadow said, giggling. “We’re having a toast!”
“Yes! That? Where is your mate? And your mother? They should join. Absolutely, because these three have flatly refused to drink any of this fine-”
“I thought they were here with you. They are not in my quarters.”
