Page 86 of Dark Space
She’d skipped over one part, though.
‘And you got pregnant on the way?’ I asked quietly, when a natural silence settled over the room.
‘It was an accident,’ she said, a blush colouring her cheeks. ‘We thought we were being safe, but Aster …’ She chewed her lip and looked up at him.
Aster bent to kiss her brow, then looked across the room at his twin. ‘Cy built organic blockers across her fallopian tubes,’ he said. ‘But starling … body matter –’ he cleared his throat ‘– heals humans. Well, mine does Tessa, anyway. Even the parts of her that aren’t broken. So be careful,’ he continued, his eyes falling on me. ‘The human body seems to be quite … receptive … to other species.’
At this, the being with the fangs and the interesting tail – ‘Darnagh,’ Vesper whispered to me – sat up straighter in their seat. ‘Cross-species mating?’
Aster gave a half-shrug. ‘It’s not unheard of, obviously – your own species is the product of it, Rellyn. Cy ran some tests, which seemed to conclude that humans could bear the offspring of most known humanoid life forms. We’ve sent the results to a specialist lab in Sector Four, and they’re running more tests as we speak.’
Rellyn’s tail whipped back and forth behind their chair as they brought a projection of Earth up into the air before them, flicking through a stream of shimmering text. ‘I suppose that is why the Rothalsotook a human,’ they added, their voice coloured with disdain. ‘We know your kind is dying.’ They paused as they took in some of the information, a frown furrowing their brow; I wondered what they were reading, and what they’d found that made them frown.
‘This was not something we were aware of until this moment,’ Alcide said calmly. ‘And it is not a pressing concern. In fact, we have not discussed it.’
Rellyn’s tail gave an agitated jerk. ‘As if the Rothdiscuss,’ they hissed.
The green scaled being grunted in agreement.
‘They do now,’ Alcide said, unfazed. ‘Vesper took Anna home to Earth. She chose to return to us. She is loved by us,treasuredby us. And she will continue to be so, whether she chooses to have bairnlings or not.’
The Tirian Captain nodded. ‘You are a family,’ she said approvingly. She turned to regard Maeve. ‘This seems a good place for you to begin, Maeve McCarthy.’
‘I fucking hate public speaking,’ Maeve grumbled, but began.
Maeve spoke about her worry when Tessa went missing, and of her incredulity at the note Tessa left behind. She spoke of Tessa’s cousin, Rian, and how he’d tried to help, but she’d been so desperate that when a stranger – Elswyth – had told her a preposterous story aboutbeingsandpeace summits, she’d left Advena with her. She smiled like a cat when she recounted her bond with Elswyth, and meeting the two males, the doctor, Willow, and the warrior, Ashton.
‘I don’t think we needthatmuch detail,’ the cephalopod Queen interrupted, when Maeve began straying into her typical overshare.
Maeve grinned over her shoulder as the silver-haired Elswyth blushed bright green. ‘Need?No. Worth it, though.’
The Tirian Captain cleared her throat.
‘Right, the very important story I’m telling in the super-formal alien courtroom,’ Maeve said, and continued, unruffled, with how Willow was stolen from the peacekeeping ship.
Both Callan and Alcide straightened; I did, too, knowing they’d stolen him becauseIneeded help. The tension in the room rose as the big Tirian male began growling without pause for breath.
Maeve smacked him on the thigh with a dullthunk. ‘For fuck’s sake, Ash, give it a rest, would you? We all know you’re terrifyingly big and muscly and full of sperm or whatever the fuck it is that males are trying to say through all the bullshit posturing they do. They took Willow to saveAnna, you pillock,andthey gave him back. You slayed the dragon, got the magical maidenandher wifeandyour boyfriend, and the Captain is considering giving you a nice shiny medal for how stupid you were. Oops,’ she went on, sounding completely unrepentant as the Tirian Captain shot her a glare. ‘Sorry, ma’am. It just slipped out. I’d make a fucking awful spy.’
The Captain rolled her eyes. ‘Then let me finish up,’ she said, her voice full of a steely command that made even Maeve blink and pay attention. ‘You owe my First Guard a debt, Alcide King. While you were busy shooting at your father’s ship, he found a way on board and took out the old King’s shields for you.’
‘The Pod,’ Callan breathed in surprise. ‘That’s what the Pod was doing during the fight. That wasyou.’
‘That was me,’ the Tirian warrior growled.
Alcide stood. ‘Then we certainly owe you a debt,’ he said, and gave Ashton a deep bow. ‘You saved me, and my mates. You saved Scytha. You have my deepest thanks. What will you ask of me in return?’
The Tirian’s brows creased in confusion. ‘I –’ he began, staring at Alcide. His pupiless hazel eyes turned to his Captain. ‘Roth don’t saythank you.’
The Captain was staring at Alcide too, her expression calculating. ‘They certainly never have before,’ she muttered. ‘It seems this really is something else entirely.’ Her lips pursed. ‘What exactly have you come here for, Alcide King?’
I put my hand on the small of his back. He looked down at me, his eyes softening for a moment before they grew determined once more. He took my hand in his.
‘We’ve come to claim our future,’ he said.
‘I can’t believe we’re alive,’ I said blankly.
Alcide collapsed onto the edge of his bed. We’d come back up to the orb ship to wait on the Council’s decision after Alcide said politely that we wouldn’t trespass on the cephalopod Queen’s hospitality when we hadn’t technically been invited to the summit. The Queen had looked surprised – then pleased – by that, but had invited me to return, saying that Tessa would be glad of the extra human company. ‘I was sure that Tirian was going to riddle me with holes. He’s terrifying.Your friendis terrifying,’ he added, his eyes on me; I assumed he meant Maeve.
