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I try my best to get work done while I wait for my human female to appear. But every comm message I open drifts away, and I find myself reading one line over and over again. Thankfully, I don’t have long to suffer.
It’s still early morning when she enters. She’s my many dreams and mirages come to life. I didn’t forget the curve of her round face or the warm brown shade of her eyes.
“Welcome, Francesca. I trust you had a comfortable trip from EC-12?”
Nisina follows her into the room, running to give me a snout nudge before settling in her usual spot—a pile of pillows beside the door.
She wears a simple jumpsuit, a common colony style made for utility, and underneath it, a long-sleeved pullover that covers her neck. Her thick dark hair is tied into a loose bun. I’m surprised to see she’s wearing Kar’Kali shoes, a pair of embroidered fur-lined boots.
“I wish I could say I did,” she says. “But Kalla’s ship moves so fast, I felt like my head would implode.”
Why does she look thinner now than she did when she climbed out of regen? There are dark circles under her eyes, and she’s busy looking everywhere in the room but in my direction.
I chuckle. “Yeah, that thing’s not built for civilian travel…”
“I read your letter,” she says, hands clasped behind her back.
The way she stands stiffly in the center of the room makes me unsure where I should be. Should I stay seated where I am? I don’t like it, but I worry that any sudden movement will send her running from the room. It feels formal, as if she’s another member of my team presenting some new information to me before saluting and disappearing again.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“You have a way with words,” she tells me. “Believe me, it feels like shit to tell you that I can’t return the sentiments… I can’t reciprocate—”
I hide my tightening fist under the desk.
“No need to feel badly,” I cut her off quickly. The last thing I want to hear from her are apologies or pity. “I was thrilled enough just to hear you wanted to see me. I’m sure you didn’t come all this way to reply to my letter.”
“Right. I should get to the point of my visit. Which is to make a mutually beneficial proposal to you.”
I keep my expression calm and thank the spirit I’ve had plenty of practice hiding my emotions. In the back of my mind, there are grumbles. Why is my mate talking to me like a business associate?
“Seems like you already know what’s been going on with me, and my issues with reintegrating into normal life. I don’t think I’ll be able to return to any of my past pursuits—the travel, the writing, the photography. I’m not sure it’s healthy for me to live alone at all. Kaye wants to help me, but I’d rather her enjoy married life like she wants to. She wants to move to Kar’Kal with Kalla, and she won’t do it until I’m better. Except I’m not certain I’ll ever be the person she once knew. So, if I were to move to Kar’Kal, she could move on with her life without guilt.”
She’s doing this all for Kaye? I knew about the situation from Kalla, who informed me our plans to move him to Kar’Kal as a training commander would be postponed for as long as Kaye wanted to remain on EC-12. He spent the wartime apart from her, so far be it for me to force his hand otherwise. Having him near to my queen worked in my favor too.
“Then there are your resources,” she continues. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I was contacted by the man that purchased me at auction. You have an army, and as I understand it, Sector 5 will be a heavily fortified zone for the foreseeable future. It would give me peace of mind to stay within your territory so long as he’s still a free man. It’s only practical when my chosen family is here too.”
Her words are rehearsed, and it’s all too practical for my liking. Still, my pulse is jumping at the mere prospect of her residing within my domain.
“Finally, and I know this is asking a lot when you’ve exhausted resources on a war campaign but… I want to find the last missing woman from my colony. You’re a powerful man, with people like Captain Rossa at your disposal. If anyone can do it, it’s your sworn captains. And because I have no idea how long that will take, the bargain I’m proposing will last my lifetime.”
“What bargain do you mean?” I ask. “I would give you all this for nothing.”
“In exchange for what I’ve mentioned, I will fulfill the role of your queen.”
“I see,” I manage to say as my heart pounds rapidly.
“I have conditions,” she adds quickly, before I can summon a more intelligent response. “I will fulfill all the front-facing roles of a queen, and I’ll be sure to do it to the best of my abilities. But I want to be clear that I am not offering anything in the bedroom. I can’t allow touching at all, at this point.” She drops her arms, flexing her gloved fingers, showing them to me. “I’m… working on that. Most importantly, I need you to understand that this is not a love proposition. You can’t expect that. You can’t push for it. If you agree to this, you’re agreeing to a partnership, not a true marriage.”
I lean back, still feeling trapped in my seat because I don’t want to frighten her. This is something I never could’ve predicted.
“You know I would do all these things without holding you to any obligations, right? Of course you are welcome to reside on my planet. You will always have my warriors to protect you. If you want to find this female, I will help with that; no forced alliance required.”
“I don’t intend to take advantage of your generosity when it’s clear to me that refusing this role might cause unrest at a difficult time for your people.”
This role.
I suppress a wince.
