Page 20 of Her Alien Prince
Well played, I thought, but it didn't matter.
Luan dismissed herself with a curt bow of her head. "I'll be in the library for the meeting phase of the games."
Her hips swayed in her exit, but my eyes stayed on her wings that looked like ice and deadly daggers. She lived up to her reputation of beauty and power, the Jewel of Estreldez. I would have no trouble convincing my mother's sycophants to follow a new queen, especially if her loh could activate the mating glands of my warriors. It was a true blessing of the Goddess Lenkal for peace to have Luan be both the future leader of Estreldez, and my kansa mate.
In a daze, I left the arena filled with the potential mates of the ceremony. There was no point in remaining there when I had already been gifted with a tarnpul offering from my future queen, Luan. My thoughts wandered back to Mabel, and how wrong I'd been about what there was between us. Was it Luan the whole time, or my imagination?
Once I was out of the arena, wandering down the now empty corridors since everyone was at the ceremony, I rubbed my face with frustration. I could still remember the taste of her; the urge to claim Mabel with my swelling cock did not fade. In the tongue of the hive, bel meant warrior's cry. To be a Ma-bel was to be a warrior's rallying song, a song that spoke to a krelin's hearts and led them into great victories. It was one of the reasons why I found her so intriguing to be named in a way unlike an estreld at all, but that of a krelin warrior.
I could see myself crying out Mabel's name with her legs wrapped around me, and my cock buried deep inside her heat, but I had to give my kansa mate the chance to solidify our bond. For the sake of our planets, and in respect of krelin traditions, a kansa bond was not meant to be dismissed. Only should Luan reject me could I try to repair what I'd lost with Mabel. My opinions had not changed, even with seeing how Luan could shine, I could not rid Mabel from my mind.
Dark black hair, and bright green eyes that seemed to see right through me. My glands in my throat ached, and a hunger grew to taste her once more. I lifted my hand up to my mouth, and a string of both of our essence solidified. Forming the gel into the shape of a wing, I smiled to myself. This would be the first gift to our spawn, placed at the bottom of a kantos in offering. I should destroy it, crush the newly hardened trinket knowing that it would never be used, but I couldn’t. Instead I placed the start of a kantos I would never finish between my breast plate, and where my heart’s beat.
Had I ruined my chance to have a true kansa bond by being too hasty with my need to taste Mabel on the shuttle? I didn't think there would be any harm, and in my defense, I had hoped she was my true mate. With her juices inside of me, the proof of my glands preparing to create a kantos sack was sitting within my armor. How would I explain this to Luan?
Perhaps, I'd never have to?
Luan should have no need of a kantos.
Luan should have no need of me, I thought with annoyance. This kansa bond was not off to a good start, I was already feeling the distance my mind was putting between the bond and myself. It was faint and growing weaker. Just a small warmth at the back of my mind. I clucked my tongue, and the echo worked its way through the hall, bringing attention to a moving figure behind me. When I turned, I couldn't see anyone, but I knew they were there, my kan horns did not lie. It was obvious who it would be.
"I know you're there, you can join me," I called out.
Gaven, my escort, and apparently a well apt spy, moved away from the wall, and it was like he appeared out of thin air. Estrelds were remarkable when trained properly. Like my wings could reflect the light, and appear invisible, the estrelds could use their radiation to blur the surrounding space around themselves, like a heatwave. A large change in temperature over a small distance bends the light rays around the object like a mirage. Gaven was quite gifted with his loh to accomplish this so seamlessly, but my kan did not rely on my eyes to detect things. There was only one warrior with such a prominent stealth skill like this from Estreldez, my hive called him the Sky Bender, and he was known to have killed quite a few of my warriors, though it was unproven.
"They didn't exaggerate your skills, Black Prince."
So, he was using nicknames then? He must still be upset with me over Mabel. Since I was still craving her, I couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean I had to accept it. If he truly was Sky Bender, he would have some explaining to do, or I would be forced to apprehend him for trial by hive verdict. He'd discover why they called me the Black Prince, or even the Queen’s Revenge.
"Did you want me to act like the Black Prince, Sky Bender?" I baited. He need only confirm my suspicions.
"You know, if the Sky Bender was more than a mythological redirect for your own hive’s cleanup, then I'd say you should be thanking him."
"Should I, now?" I waited for him to explain. It'd been proven more information was always gained from one's enemies by playing along for a bit. So, I remained patient, while I seethed internally at the loss of any warrior at his hands.
"We couldn't very well take your word for the loss of your warriors, and the circumstances of their deaths, well, upon investigation, those warriors were undermining our peace treaty. You are lucky this Sky Bender decided to stop them from their pursuits, or our planets would have been at war many cycles ago."
"And I'm supposed to take your word for it?"
"Of course not," Gaven scoffed at the idea that either of us should trust the other. Despite the distasteful delivery of this fact, I respected him more for the temporary honesty of the matter. If he was Sky Bender, and I was to take him at his word, then he was supporting a continued peace between our species. It wasn't difficult to believe that the warriors killed were my queen's zealots, bent on invading and claiming what they believed was rightfully theirs and owed to them.
Nothing was owed to anyone, I thought ruefully. Least of all, the very life we were given in this universe. It was a gift, and though I had gained a reputation as the Black Prince for poisoning my enemies, I did not take death lightly. I have killed more krelins than the Sky Bender has, and that did not include the spies from King Sylve of the outlaw planet Necias Delta Fal. It wearied my soul, but I reasoned that these small deaths saved many lives. Small deaths become many over time. Each one more easy to dispose of than the last.
A sign of the degradation of my soul.
Perhaps, that was why my kansa bond was so weak. I was not worthy to accept it with the many wrongs I'd committed over the cycles.
Forever branded the Black Prince.
"You have a way to prove your words, I take it," I prompted. Otherwise, why tell me at all? If he were krelin, all I would have to do is force myself into his mind to see if he was lying, but without any hive bond, that was impossible. There were other tells to look for to gauge deceit, yet Gaven was displaying no sign of foul play. Even so, I couldn't trust my eyes when it came to someone of his skill level. My double eyelids cleared my vision hoping for new data to display itself. He was not one to give away his secrets so easily. His face a mask of disinterest, similar to my own.
"I don't like you," he stated matter of fact, a pointed scowl wrinkling the bridge of his nose. "My dislike of you and your hive doesn't change the reality that a war between planets as close as ours would be devastating to both our species. I want you to mate with Luan. I don't even care that you would be second in command to the future Almder, and one day be someone I take orders from. Not if it means the clan is safe.
"You may be the Black Prince, your reputation of death precedes you, but so does your reputation among the krelins for protecting your warriors, having the respect of the ones that follow you, and even now you show restraint, though I know you wish to harm me for speaking so blatantly about the death of your hive. Your power rivals that of the queen herself, and I know you seek to take control of Krelis with a new queen at your side."
Brazen, and so confident in his assessments, he wasn't wrong, but he'd given me more reason to believe he was the Sky Bender, or at the very least someone who had read reports by the spy. No one should know my plans to overthrow my mother, except my closest warriors, and apparently the Spy of Estreldez, Sky Bender. Was that why Almder was so amiable about allowing me to seek her only daughter as a mate? She knew I wished to replace Queen Kai.
Or this was Gaven's own attempt at confirming his own suspicions. Did it matter?
