Page 6 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

“Thank you, Serge. How is the shuttle running?”

“No complaints from them as far as I know.”

“Good. That’s one less thing I need to worry about. Let’s hope this miracle worker has even fewer problems.”

I’ve had experts from all of the Six Kingdoms reveal the magnitude of their ignorance to me over the past several months. Let’s see how much worse this Zaya manages to be.

I’m expecting only bad advice, but I didn’t want to insult one of my oldest friends by rejecting his recommendation. I wish he’d simply kept his mouth shut, though, and not given me the burden of having one more ‘miracle worker’ fail.

I don’t even know when I last saw a human. It might have been when the human servants of Kantha’s Cloud Kingdom paramour, Zephyron —oh, excuse me, fated mate!— helped move the last of her possessions last year, after four years of claiming she would get them.

Kantha couldn’t be bothered to come back herself. I should have thrown them away so I never had to see her again. She cared more about her belongings than she did her own daughter.

I never thought much of the fated mate concept even before the calamity. My parents weren’t fated mates, and most other pairs I knew weren’t either. In fact, I’d only met maybe one or two, and they were so obsessed with each other, it seemed like a curse from the Divine Ones rather than a blessing.

I was gratified that the Kiphian I found who seemed like the best match for me indeed was not a fated mate. Kantha was from a noble household in the Mountain Kingdom, one of distinguished warriors whose line had developed new passages through the Ice-Charred Peaks. My father, Thane Odar, even said it had been a stronger match than his own with my late mother, the Queen.

‘We choose our own fates,’I’ve always said.‘Fate does not choose me.’

But fate chose Kantha, apparently. Her family was part of the diplomatic mission to open up relations with Cloud Kingdom, and she decided she’d go. I had matters here to attend to. Even after the mission ended, she didn’t come back for months, which should have been my first indication of a change. She had been a devoted mother until that point.

But when we would call on the commpad, something felt strained in a way that it hadn’t before. She claimed it was because of the strict protocols in Cloud Kingdom, a place that is almost pathologically secretive.

When she finally returned to Mountain Kingdom, it was only to share the news with me and Hanai that she would be relocating. She had found her fated mate in Zephyron, and she could only stay for a week before returning to Cloud Kingdom. She insisted on taking Hanai, and I told her over my dead body.

“It’s too difficult to leave Cloud Kingdom and return. I need her with me, or else I won’t see her.”

“Then you won’t see her.”

Hanai was only two-and-a-half when Kantha left for Cloud Kingdom, and three when Kantha left for good. Any later, and she would have felt the loss more intensely, although even at that age she felt a strong bond.

Once Kantha began to have her own children with Zephyron, it was as if Hanai never existed at all as far as Kantha was concerned.

And now, Hanai might not exist if things continue as they are. There’s no way I can allow that. I would die for Hanai one thousand times over without question. I would endure torture. I would even destroy the Mountain Kingdom if I had to choose.

Which is why I’m allowing this woman to see her. Nothing else has worked so far. It’s unlikely this will make anything worse, apart from my mood.

I’m not looking forward to humoring this idea. I don’t like meeting anyone new, especially not a lower-level species that I’m rarely forced to deal with.Why did I let Talan talk me into this?

A bell chimes on my commpad to alert me that the shuttle is landing in the Mountain Kingdom. Unless this is a surprise visit from a royal of another realm, it means the human healer is here.

I need to enter Hanai’s suite before I greet her, because I need to remind myself of the reason for tolerating the constant intrusions to our quiet lives. I need to remember that making Hanai better is worth any hardship, even subjecting myself to the uninformed opinions of unrefined beings whose presence on this planet is an accident at best.

Even the new layout of her suite serves as a reminder of what’s at stake. It no longer includes just a bedroom, a playroom, a library, and water facilities. There’s also a complete medical array, with machines to help her breathe and filter her blood where her body is incapable. Given the complexity of the Kiphian body, these machines only cover a fraction of everything her ailment affects.

“Hi, Daddy.” She opens her eyes and sits up, hugging her stuffed chordata.

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m sorry if I woke you. How are you feeling today?”

“Better than overnight. I was freezing and hot at the same time. My blood felt like it was on fire.”

“Oh, honey. I hope we can get you some help soon. There’s someone coming today.”

Her eyes are listless. “Do you think they’ll be able to fix me?”

“Honey, there’s nothing that needs fixing. We just need to help your body heal. There is nothing wrong with you. But we’re going to see if she can help. Would you like to come down to meet her when she arrives?”

Her eyes light up. Ever since Kantha left, she seems to crave the attention of someone maternal.

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