Page 41 of Her Alien Prince
"You're the second in command, and technically the Commander of Trent's ship in his absence, correct?" Gho-ran nodded and gave a wry smile while he led me farther down the corridor. "When you return to your ship, I assume after the party, what are your orders?"
He stopped at a door that was layered thicker than any door I'd passed so far. The membrane was designed with webbing that created a picture of wings, krelin wings that were black like the membrane had been burned, yet survived. Gho-ran touched the door and swiped. The membrane sucked up into the walls, opening into a large room. The furnishings were organic like the hive, but there were also bits of technology here and there, and even jewels from Estreldez that were used to create a piece of art on the wall next to a large bed with black silken sheets. It felt... lived in.
"The ship will wait for you and Commander Trent to join the rest of the fleet in their patrols of the sector. He believes it will be easier to find Luan, once he personally connects with Lord Zorn, and strikes a deal with King Sylve's biggest competitor on Necias Delta Fal. Plus, your spawn will be safer in the hive, than on a ship. I'm sure you'll return before they are ready to have your blessing into the hive."
Spawn... blessings... Lord Zorn? My brain had to process through the data dump he'd just chatted about like it was nothing to blink an eyelash at. I didn't want to come across as stupid for not knowing who Lord Zorn was, but whoever he was, he wasn't mentioned in meetings I had been part of. I only knew of King Sylve because Luan and Loric spoke of him in heated discussions in the library. My advisory job was specific to interviewing and correlating data about the mating cycle.
My mouth opened to ask, then closed once I thought better of it. Whoever he was, he was associated with King Sylve and that couldn't be a good thing. I decided to wander the room instead, and my eyes landed on the jugs sitting in the corner with tubes sticking out, and filtering into another jug. They were the same containers used to transport nectar, I had a few just like them in my room on Estreldez. I smiled to myself, feeling lucky that there should be some nectar waiting for me in the chambers here. If there was ever a time to have a bit of help relaxing it was now. Krelis nectar helped ease the tension in my muscles and take the edge off my worries so I could focus, or... not focus so I could sleep.
I looked around for a glass to pour the nectar into but didn't find anything near the jugs. How did they expect people to drink it with nothing to pour into?
"Allow me," Gho-ran offered while grabbing a disc from the table. He placed the disc on the tip of his finger, and lifted it to his mouth before he clucked, and hissed. A clear string snapped from between his teeth, attaching to the disk, and he spun it round, forming a bowl with his... saliva? He ground down with his back teeth, cutting the string once it was complete. Grabbing the tube from the nectar jug, he unstoppered it to fill the bowl while commending the maker of the nectar, "This is some of the best nectar in the hive."
He handed me the bowl, my hands automatically accepting it before I could object. Gho-ran was already making another bowl to serve himself. I wrinkled my nose. I was already a little grossed out that I had an affinity for nectar that included the blood of krelins to make, and now I was being offered the drink in a bowl made of some strange substance that came from Gho-ran's mouth. I poked at the bowl, expecting it to be sticky, but it was smooth, and felt like silk, yet hard like stone.
Gho-ran was already drinking from his bowl, before he glanced over, finally realizing my hesitation. "It's fermented long enough, I assure you. Many krelins would battle to drink this stuff, only a few batches are made every cycle, and most of them get shipped out in trade before they are even offered to the hive."
"Why would it get traded off world before being offered to the hive?"
"Ah," Gho-ran downed his nectar, and sighed, "the brewer of this nectar had a crush on an off-worlder that had a penchant for smuggling nectar. He liked knowing his batches were being enjoyed by someone who appreciated his efforts and was kind to his warriors when he was away."
"Oh," I thought, now feeling awkward about drinking the nectar if whoever brewed it preferred it to be given to someone else. I was about to place it down on the table, before Gho-ran tilted the disk back towards my lips.
"Don't waste it, it can't be put back into the gorn once it's tapped out. Plus, I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing his nectar with the queen of the hive, don't you think?"
"I'm not—" I started to object before he interrupted again.
"I'm not sure that I would want to accept such a job either, too much responsibility, but I'm glad that you're considering it. And just so you know," he tapped another bowl of the nectar for himself, "No matter what anyone in the hive tells you, our warriors live a long time, if they aren't stupid and get killed that is. What I'm trying to say is, you don't have to accept any of the mates at the party if you don't want to. You can just as easily bless other mates to do the work for you, instead of taking on the whole repopulating the hive on your own wings. That's what I would do," he said with a shrug.
"I can do that?" I found myself sipping from the bowl on instinct, once the intoxicating smell reached my nose. Ignoring that the bowl was made from some biomatter from the back of Gho-ran’s mouth, my eyes lit up at the sweet and tangy nectar warming down my throat.
He smiled his agreement and then eyed the nectar in my hands as I greedily took another gulp. "What do you think of the subtler notes of the brew?"
"It's delicious," I admitted. It tasted just like my favorite nectar at home, except better, if that were possible. "All the nectar I've had on Estreldez doesn't even compare."
He lifted a brow, before he slapped his knee, and placed his bowl down on the table. "Right! I have the same problem with nectar we bring with us on the ship. As soon as you bring the stuff into orbit the flavor alters slightly, like it isn't quite as fresh as drinking it from the gorn in the hive. It loses a bit of something in the transport. Perhaps the pressure does something to it. I can have the same nectar on the ship as in the hive, and it's just not the same. You have a discerning palate, My Queen."
"You don't have to call me that," I said, finishing off the bowl. "What do they call this nectar, so I know what to ask for next time?"
"I will call you whatever you wish, Queeny, just name it. As for the nectar, the hive calls this batch the Black Vein Nectar. Anyone who's tried it says that it gives them the strength of many warriors and swear by its aphrodisiac abilities in charming potential mates." He gave a brow wiggle and added, "Do I seem more appealing?"
"Uh, no," I let slip without thinking about being diplomatic, and he merely spluttered a laugh at my blunt honesty. “The Black Vein,” I repeated before I scrambled to turn the jug around and look for the signature that was on every batch of nectar I traded for on Estreldez. Gho-ran watched with amusement as I patted the jug down like a lunatic, then my hand snagged on what I was looking for. Every jug of nectar of the homebrew I bought whenever it was available had a distinct emblem etched into the surface, and I recalled it was usually a black lace-like branding, like a krelin wing with black veins...
"I've had this before," I mumbled to myself. This was the home brew I was given a sample of and had a difficult time repurchasing. No wonder, I thought, if this nectar was so popular that there was a whole story behind it on Krelis. Why hadn't the trader, Ong, told me about this story? I turned to Gho-ran. "How is that possible?" I suddenly felt sick that I had stolen this nectar from it’s intended recipient countless times over the last cycle.
He rolled his eyes at me, but waved his hand dismissively. "Lots of things can happen during transport, perhaps you were the recipient of black-market goods, or," he snorted in bemusement, "an infamous krelin has a crush on you, but either way, as Queen of Krelis, you can have whatever hivebrew you want. I'm sure any warriors you ask will happily learn the art of nectar brewing and offer it to you. There's a dive brewery in the canopy of the Helmer Woods with a wide selection of nectar, called the Ki-Hive, you can try an array and find a favorite, but it attracts all kinds of krelin..."
"I've tried quite a few different brews," I said, staring longingly at the Black Vein nectar jug. I didn't want to drink more, knowing it was so rare, and secretly thinking about how I would smuggle it out with me when I left the hive.
"Well, I won't keep you, you'll probably want to rest before the party in your honor. I'll be back to escort you, if you don't find a better offer. And don't forget what I told you, Queeny, there are many ways to serve the hive, and I'm happy to lure your potential mates in my direction should you need a distraction. Happy to assist." He winked at me, and I couldn't help smiling at his charm as he offered to take the heat of other people's interest on to himself. It was laughable, and yet welcomed.
"I'm sure you would be," I joked.
"It will be most inconvenient, of course," he mocked with a flourished bow. "But I am nothing if not devoted to the hive, and if the queen has need of my body to take care of her mate prospects, then I must do my part."
"For the good of the hive, naturally." I smirked, watching him back away and exit from the room. It was comforting to know I wouldn't be going to this party without someone running interference, but I doubted one krelin would be enough to distract all the mates attending. My smile fell, and the warmth of the nectar was taking effect, making my body melt in a lovely way that had me crawling into the bed. Even the sheets smelled divine, and welcoming.
I closed my eyes, seeing Trent in my dreams. A single tear slipped down my cheek, absorbing into the pillow that conformed to my head like a cloud made of foam and silk. I needed him to tell me what Gho-ran had said so simply moments before, that I didn't need to mate with others, and if I wanted to bond with him at Kai Mountain then that's what we would do. But that isn't what he said. He wasn't at my side, merely the illusion of him in my mind.
