Page 43 of Her Alien Delegate
A small shake of Violet's head confirmed my own suspicions, and then Evie puffed out her chest and took a deep breath. "I'llgive you some time. Don't worry, I'll be okay," she said while watching me. Of course, she knew I meant her no harm.
Then she glared, and there was a bite of irritation as she told me, "I already ate, but there is one more place the necia don't seem to show their 'honor' in, besides this room. Care to join me?"
How very diplomatic of her, I thought with interest. But I very much knew she was lying about having eaten, and did not wish for her to go hungry. This was not an ideal state to be trying to convince her to bond with me again.
"Wonderful," I kept my tone neutral, though I wished to express how excited I was to be alone with her. Were we to be alone? I turned to Violet, who had already moved to rejoin Commander Roe-el. "Violet, will you be joining us?"
"Actually, I'm famished," she said seductively to her mate.
Commander Roe-el spoke without taking his eyes from Violet to inform Evie that it was possible to see my ship from the observatory, and she's welcome to take a guard with her as an escort. It was his not-so-subtle way of reminding me that I would not be alone with Evie. And Chief Wren-Kal promptly stepped forward to offer his services.
As we exited, I prompted an inquiry into how much he's told my mate about himself. "It is an honor to be escorted by the Chief of Security," I nodded to him, my tone clear that it was unusual for a chief to be reduced to simple escort duty when there was a ship and crew to protect.
"You are lucky," he agreed. "The Mave He-el has two chiefs, as I am only temporarily assisting this ship until we reach Necias Prime."
She knows he will be returning to his previous title planet side, but does she know who he is?
He continued, seeing my curiosity, "Chief Ther-ol will remain on ship when we arrive, and I will stay with my mate as the second to my king."
His mate? "You are mated then?" I asked Evie with false pleasantry. It was difficult to keep my tone soft with her when I was feeling threatened by the warrior walking too close to her.
She huffed out with her own annoyance... at me?
"You're one to ask me that," she mumbled under her breath.
I had to speak carefully with Wren-Kal present. If he catches on to me wanting Evie instead of Violet, then it would be more difficult for me to do what Violet and Roe-el are currently doing to break our contract. Claiming tribal law was a tricky game. Though I didn't mind Violet ending our contract, but it wasn't something I could easily let go of without putting AsunGor's reputation at risk.
"I believe you'll feel more comfortable with my purpose for tracking this ship down once I tell you a story," I began.
"I thought the unGor didn't tell their own stories; they had to be earned," she said with a lift of her brow in challenge.
"Most correct, Evie of Earth." I made sure to have her association still be that of her home planet and watched as the chief's jaw twitched in irritation. To him, he would prefer to have her associated with Necias Prime, and if he were mated with her already, then he would have corrected me. This was good news. "The only stories I may tell are those of other honored warriors, and those of shared experiences. Often, an unGor will remind a mate of the scars they've earned to prove their devotion."
"Some scars will never be seen on your skin, Commissioner," she replied prettily enough, but there was a sharpness I felt dig deep.
I pressed on. "Mating scars are ones an unGor may boast to others without diminishing the experience—as many matingscars are not a public affair. I lifted my hand to show off the scraps of trill teeth around my wrist and fingers.
"This scar was earned saving my mate from a trill's poison. I dug my fist into the trill's mouth and pulled out its enzyme sack from behind its teeth. They use those enzymes to make their food safe to eat even after they poison their meat. Believe it or not, the trill may be resistant to their own poison, but it's more of a tolerance built up since their youth, and they still need the enzymes to break down the poison enough not to get sick themselves."
"I'd think the trill would want that information kept a secret," Evie said conspiratorially.
"It is not a widely known fact," I agreed. "Speaking of this around a trill would certainly give them reason to make you their next meal."
"This is not what I was told about how to cure trill poison," Chief interjected, relishing an opportunity to prove me wrong on something, but I was hoping he would try to make me look dishonorable in front of Evie.
"Ah, yes. You're probably referring to eating a trill's heart. If the sacks are damaged or have already been used up, then yes. The best you can do is eat their heart to absorb as much of their antibodies against the poison as you can. It's a rather lethal option, if you ask me."
The chief closed his mouth, not wishing to fall into another one of my traps, because I was enjoying the way Evie gave him a shocked look of disgust before she finally gave me the honor of her gaze. In those eyes I saw a kindness and understanding.
"You could have killed the trill by eating his heart to counteract the poison from your wound..." She added quickly after a moment of reflection, "In the story about saving your mate?"
"My mate did not wish for the trill to die," I explained. "I also have my belief that she did not wish for me to have more difficulties negotiating with the trill in the future either."
"You keep calling her your mate but left her to join the necia in your absence," she pointed out, and it was a clever statement that Chief Wren-Kal would not be certain wasn't about Violet. It was also very telling of why she had left me if she thought I had abandoned her first.
"Circumstances prevented me from claiming my mate earlier."
"Circumstances?" she questioned, wanting more information that I couldn't provide.
