Page 39 of May the Stars Have Mercy
Xexis broke the silent bubble first. “My mate, are you happy here?”
“I am with you, of course I’m happy.” She sat up, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Well, will you be happy staying here? As Kannatch, I will be kept here at court for some time after we handle the Council with Xnasis. I promised we could travel if you liked, and we will also be required to hunt together for requests that require our skill, but I wish to know my mate is fulfilled here.” He cupped her face in his hands, gazing over her face.
She wanted to scoff and joke that being in a massive space station where she was revered as a space princess and she hadn’t even seen the library Reevar spoke of, let alone their tech workspace, it would besuch a massive strain on her. But there was a flicker of vulnerability in his face. He was genuinely asking. She smiled softly, cupping his jaw in her palms. “As long as we do it together, I’m happy.”
His shoulders eased as he pulled their foreheads together.Whatever brought up his worry, I won’t let it get to him.She meant it. Hunts, seeing the stars, staying here in the capital, she hadn’t thought much about it since she became his mate. For a long time, she wasliving it one moment at a time.But a life of being a space warrior/emergency service princess with endless access to knowledge and a lifetime with Xexis?She liked it.
Who wouldn’t?
She draped herself around him and clung to him as he rose from the water. The tub began to drain as he stepped out. He took towels off a shelf in the wall before the air vents above them went off. Her hair was dry before she’d touched her ankles with a towel. Xexis left her to brush her hair and relieve herself of the pressure in her bladder. She could see him through the door opening the closet. Curiosity got the best of her, and she tiptoed out of the bathroom, fingers breaking up any last few tangles.She was going to have to make herself a hairbrush.Xexis was pulling on similar pants to the ones he already wore, but a different wrap around top, this one was less formal. He slipped the crystal rings up his arms before turning to her.
“Very handsome,” she purred.
“I have had many more outfits made for you to wear here. I would encourage you find something comfy as we will be traveling in it.” His pincers unhappily writhed before he strode to the bed. He gathered her data pad and Buddy who chirped. Aphrodite turned to the closet. Walking into a closet full of stylish fabrics and dresses, as the child of two engineers and technicians was in shock. She’d never had more than working overalls, flight suits, and one pair of decent pajamas in her drawer at the station. Yet, she ran her hands over silky fabrics of varying shapes and styles. The choices were almost too overwhelming.
She pulled a matching set of top and bottoms. Xexis said pick comfy. So, a stiff dress was out of the question. The top was a cropped wrap top with bell sleeves. It clipped into place above her breathers. Stepping into the pants was easy, figuring out how touse the built in belt was not. Thankfully, she finished strapping it to her waist before Xexis stepped in. She felt like a pop music dancer with how much of her belly button and hips were showing, but it was comfortable and stretchy. The fabric didn’t bunch or pinch.
He offered her the data pad, Buddy already hovering over her mate’s head. She strapped it to her forearm. “Is there anything I should know before going with you? Any special handshakes, any weird words not to use?”
“On Quagmor or the Council?” Xexis chuckled.
“Both?” She squinted at him suspiciously.
“Quagmor will be fascinated by you no matter what. The Council? Ehhhh,” He cocked his head from one side to the other, as if physically rattling his brain. “Maybe ask Xnasis.”
“But don’t you deal with the Council a lot, answer the calls?” She crossed her arms under her chest but above her breathers.
“The calls come directly to me,” He pulled a smaller cell phone shaped data pad from his pocket before strapping it to his belt. “Or they’re put in writing. I do not speak with the Council, that’s for Xnasis and the Korzavic.”
She eyed him, “And so, you don’t have any clue what customs there are going into the Council?”
“Wear pants?” He grimaced. “I know your mating organs must be covered, and you should not speak out of turn.”
She snorted, “Noted, thanks.”
Stars bless her for her himboVroskrowzmate. She motioned for him to lead the way. Buddy bobbed between them as the doors tohis room hissed open. They stepped into the long hallway and Aphrodite slowed to stare out into the depths of space. Despite how dark it was and the space between stars, she felt a sweet nostalgia sweep over her. Gazing out into the windows of her shuttle, wondering what it would be like to just go. To explore, to see the other places that always seemed beyond her imagination.
Xexis realized she’d been left behind and spun to face her. He addressed her with a soft smile curling her lips. “My mate?”
“I’m just thinking how fate must have heard my wishes.” She stepped toward the crystal walls and hovered her hand an inch from the surface. “I used to stare out into the stars when I was really mad or frustrated with my crew and think ‘maybe one day I can just go’. You know? I used to imagine just dropping into an escape pod and running away. I asked anything that could hear me to make this mission go faster so I could just escape them. I guess fate said, you want escape? How about to a completely different end of the stars? Huh?”
She pulled away as Xexis ended up beside her. He studied her with a warmth that made her legs weak. He scooped her waist with one arm and slid her into the crook of his arm. “The stars know what we need better than we do. It’s why they led me to you.”
“You never did fully tell me how you even ended up on the same planet as me.” She poked at his side, nodding with her chin for him to continue. “You said you were hunting something? How did you end up finding me instead?”
“Stars,” he cackled, “and a bad tip from the Council.”
She snorted. “Now youhaveto tell me.”
He nodded, guiding them further down the hall. Putting a hand to a sensor next to the door, she watched with fascination as the whole wall lit up line glow in the dark veins. Little sensor dots glowed as the lines connected them, then the door swished open. It happened so fast last night, she’d not seen it.
They trotted down the steps from his hall in unison. “I was after a large beast, something that was hunting little children on a planet calledMesto. It was described as eight legged with a thorax, large neck and sleek black like festering oil, and it had a tentacle tongue with teeth. So, of course, I am tracking it. The Mesto people tell me the creature left through a hole in the mountain. But there is no hole in the mountain. However, I do believe there was a ship, most likely hiding in their rocky abode. So I hunt.
“And for some time, I am chasing after something that is going from planet to planet in the same quadrant. I believe I see its pattern, so I try to get ahead of the beast. It’s sentient, as it has use of a ship or transportation between planets, so I am sending in reports to Xnasis about it. Until, I nearly spotted it. Tall black inky of a body, claws for hands, wrapping around a tree. I chase, I believe I am close when I hear a voice. The beast is barreling somewhere in the foliage. I rush to the voice, believing it is someone working with the beast or worse, the beast itself. Maybe the sweet voice is how it lures the children? It only had a thirst for younglings up until then. As I clear the foliage, however…it is not an inky, clawed beast on a broken log in the trees. It is my Mate.”
Aphrodite furrowed her brow, “Wait, so that thing was on the planet with us?”
