Page 13 of Her Alien Prince
Widening my stance, liquid slipped down my thigh from my previous thoughts of Trent's cock finishing what we had started before, but I was prepared to fight Li-aq if I had to. I was more than ready to change gears and distract myself from a union that would never be mine. If anything, my frustration only amplified my irritation towards Commander Li-aq. My fists flexed at ready, and I gritted my teeth. I may not have been as large as the krelins, but I could certainly grab hold of the smaller joints of his wings and yank with all that I had. Concern about whether Trent would stop me didn't even cross my mind.
"Isn't your time better spent elsewhere?" Trent admonished. I was going to snap at him too, before I noticed his attention wasn't on me at all. Li-aq cracked his neck back and forth, calming himself while staring at Trent. Was he defending me? Or was he simply being the delegate he was, and directing us both towards more important things... like what the hell this krelin was doing without an estreld escort during a trade exchange?
Goosebumps traveled down my spine and into my toes.
"I'll resume the trade," Li-aq agreed, and pinpointed his gaze at me before turning to leave.
"Where is your escort?" I challenged. Something didn't add up.
He smiled ruefully. "Same as the escort on this ship, slumbering."
I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "You'll start a war..." If they were extorting us for more goods than what was agreed upon... this could be disastrous. The krelins had promised that was behind us, and Almder was willing to agree to a mating treaty. All of that would collapse if Li-aq was causing trouble. Where was Chief Ong?
"He will behave himself," Trent said more in warning towards Li-aq than actually addressing my worry.
Commander Li-aq squared off to stare Trent down. He was less reverent than when the conversation began, replaced with suspicion. "If you should succeed in your mating ploy, then I will happily hand over my command. Until then, know that if you fail, I will not hesitate to issue Rakin against you." His eyes darted to me, and I had no idea what kind of threat he was issuing. "No one wants a war. We only seek to have a thriving hive, as any estreld would seek for their clan. And time is running out for political negotiations for both our planets."
"I didn't take you for suicidal," Trent prodded, the only response was Li-aq's scoff before he exited. A hand squeezed my fist, that I hadn't noticed I was still clenching. "He will try to kill me before he attempts to undermine the treaty between our planets."
"He can't do this!" I wasn't a politician, but I had to get off this moon station and back to Estreldez immediately to warn the Almder. I tapped my comm to link up to the shuttle. Hazel would take control and secure the moon's transports at least. No one was leaving this trade satellite without her permission. Trent grabbed my shoulders to get my attention.
"You have no reason to trust me, but I promise you once I have Luan's commitment to Krelis, the hive will fall in line. The queen's influence is weakening, and I risk everything in telling you this. A krelin queen guides our warriors, calms their spirits, ignites their mating glands, blesses our spawn growth, and without a queen... we will die."
I stared at him for several minutes. Their whole species was dying, and he was pleading with me to not say anything to Hazel... to not say anything to my Almder. Could mating with estrelds really save their hive? Desperation for survival would make any species do unbelievable things, including invade. It was more important than ever that Almder knew about this, if she didn't already. Why was I even considering this? A tug within my chest ached watching the intensity of Trent's golden eyes, and that he needed an estreld that had control over their loh... like Luan.
"She won't agree to mate with you," I admitted, knowing how Luan felt about krelins.
"She doesn't have to," he said while straightening to his full height. Trent was like a large wall that I wanted to climb, but he didn't want me, he wanted Luan. "I need only prove to my hive that she is capable of doing the things we rely on our queen for. That a union between krelin and estreld will save both of our species. Krelins could freely mate without being reliant on the queen's blessing. This isn't simply about me. It's about the futures of generations to come."
He was right, this wasn't about either of us. And the way he said it so earnestly made me feel like a selfish hergslat to even think about my own needs versus those of my clan.
"So, what you're saying is you just want her to pick you for the ceremony?" That wouldn't prove anything, I thought. Sure, it could prove there was attraction, but I could prove that right now... if I wanted to. How would he prove anything before the rest of his hive decided to ignore him and invade Estreldez? The proof would be offspring, but the gleam in Commander Li-aq's eyes told me he wouldn't wait long enough for that, and Luan didn’t deserve to be used as a vessel for offspring, she was more than that.
"I need her to become my mate," he said plainly. I shook my head, unconsciously portraying my doubt of this plan of his. "But, she need not follow through with her commitment," he amended and still it made no sense to me.
"How long did you think on this plan of yours?" There were logical conclusions he wasn’t accounting for. She needs to mate with him, but not? It didn’t make any sense. And the way my stomach flipped between flutters of hope and aching spasms of irritation didn’t help the matter.
He groaned, but he was the one frustrating me. I needed more reason to not contact Almder right away than simply Luan would be his mate, and all would be well. My cheeks heated in aggravation towards the one friend that's always been kind to me. I'd never really been jealous of Luan before, she had a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, but the steadfastness of how certain Trent wanted her as his mate was maddening.
"She just needs to come to Krelis and use her loh on my hive, standing beside me as her mate in name only, and then she may leave. The evidence would be clear enough when the hive is capable of spawning without the queen's assistance. They would stop following her mindlessly, and—"
"And they would follow you?" I saw where this was heading now, and all the pity I had for the krelins evaporated.
"I wouldn't put it that way, but—"
"This is all so that you can become the leader of your planet... and how am I supposed to trust that you'd be any better than the queen, or Commander Li-aq for that matter?" It wasn't my place to decide any of those things for Estreldez, or for Krelis. I had to talk with Almder.
His brows narrowed. "I am not my mother!" he roared, and I could hear Gaven stirring awake behind us.
His mother? My eyes widened. Trent was more than some delegate... I've listened to Loric's advisor briefings with Almder on Krelis. If the queen was his mother, there was only one krelin that actually spawned from the queen's larva sacks. The Commander of the largest fleet of Krelis warships, and the one they called the Queen's Revenge because of his poisonous blood.
Stunned, I sat down in the closest seat and stared out the window.
Trent's tone was softer when he sat beside me. "I shouldn't have yelled."
I said nothing.
A heavy sigh expelled from him before he added, "I've been used by the queen my whole life. Warriors do not become more than an extension of her whims and desires. I cannot speak for my entire hive, but the queen's influence is strong, and the hostility between our species is as much of a manipulation as the peace I'm trying to secure. But like all things, consistency will form a new pattern for us to follow, whether it is me or your future Almder as leader of Krelis."
