“Of course,” I reply. Honestly, the thought had never crossed my mind. Elana deserves the best mating ceremony I can provide, even if neither of us knows anyone who will attend. But what exactly must I arrange? I’ve never even been to a mating ceremony.
Rist sighs, shaking his head slowly. “I’ll handle it. Consider it a mating gift.”
We pause as we step through the door into the loading bay of the starship. The interior reeks of filth and neglect. It’s clear none of us want to enter.
“Valtair and Jen contacted me again,” Rist says, clearly including Elana in the conversation. “They said this ship was a gift. Either you humans don’t know what the word gift means, or there’s something inside waiting for us.”
“Oh, that’s not ominous at all,” Elana remarks, squinting into the darkness. “Well then, let’s do this.”
“Do what?” I ask. She’s stepped out of my reach before I can grab her. I’m not above keeping my tail wrapped around her if she insists on blindly walking into danger.
“Agreed. Let’s find the main control room and get out of here,” Rist says, following my mate. “Did you know, I’ve got experience flying ships now.”
“No, no you don’t,” I shout as I rush after them. “Flying Valtair’s ship doesn’t count. He had it on autopilot basically the whole time! You just sat in the captain’s chair!”
Rist waves a hand at me, blatantly ignoring the reality of the situation. He’s quick to change the topic by saying, “So, I put that strange fellow in the east wing suite. I figured I’d serve him dinner later to keep him occupied.”
“A good plan,” I reply absently, peeking through a hatchway for any drakoon stragglers. The loading bay is packed with boxes stacked high, and visibility is poor.
“For some reason, he thinks this is an extra special event for a VIA guest.”
“A VIA?” Elana asks, peering into a wooden crate.
“Very Important Alien,” Rist informs her. “And he said he’s the critic.”
Both Elana and I turn to face him. The jig is up.
Rist places his hands on his hips, his gaze jumping between us like we’re errant children.
“The important thing is to focus on the special event part,” Elana says, patting his arm as she passes. “He was totally impressed. He said it was his best review ever.”
Rist scowls for a long moment, mulling over her words.
“Fine. But I just finished cleaning the courtyard,” he gestures at the cluttered spaceship, “so you two will be responsible for tidying this up.”
“Agreed!” Elana replies, popping open another crate lid. She’s incorrigible, unscrupulous, and all mine.
I frown at them both. Is Rist just accepting her like that? After everything?
“Sometimes it’s about seeing the future for what it can be, Sutek,” Rist tells me quietly, pulling me aside. “I’d rather have my best friend and his mate at my side than run this hotel alone.”
“You’re not alone. There’s Taruk.”
We both stare at each other for a long moment.
“Forget I mentioned it,” I say. “If he didn’t show up today, he’s probably deep in the wilds.”
Taruk is more beast than man. It hurts that my best friend left my side, when I stayed by his caring for him and watching over him when he was injured.
“Oh, but he did,” Rist comments. “I saw him from the window while you two were... running the event. He was ready to intervene if needed.”
The revelation stuns me. All this time I thought my friend couldn’t stand to be by my side after what happened to us, but he’s been watching over me instead.
Rist gives me a soft, knowing smile. “I’ll try to track him down again, see if he’s willing to join us for a meal sometime. In the meantime, you two better start cleaning; you have a lot of work ahead.”
Elana’s sharp intake of breath makes me turn, ready to defend her.
She stands in an open doorway with a pained expression, tears pooling in her eyes.
