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“The Deadheads are the ones I’ll have to seek out for help—”
“And give them an excuse to hold something over our heads?” the other voice harshly demands. “I don’t trust them.”
“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” Mak mutters. “No, it’ll only be a friendly request. There’s no reason for it to be a diplomatic mission.”
“What’s the problem?” I recognize this voice as Raina’s mate Niko. He’s exasperated. “Just jerk it in a cup and send it to her ro—”
“Watch your mouth. And this isn’t a joke so that smirk better disappear.”
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one that won’t talk to her. Humans are practical by nature. She’ll understand.”
“You’d better not a breathe a word of this to her or Raina. They—”
That’s enough eavesdropping. I straighten my back and sail into the room. Mak is sitting on his desk with Niko and a few other Kar’Kali warriors gathered around him. They all turn when I enter. It falls quiet for a moment before Niko brightly greets me.
“Frankie! We were just talking about you.” He’s not the type to hide anything, even the unsavory. That’s why he suits Raina well; she always preferred naked truths. I expect to see some mortification from my mate, but his face is the picture of calm.
“Good things, I hope,” I say, letting my arm drop to stroke Nisi’s head. She’s ready to lunge at her own kin because she senses the tension in me.
“Trying to make sure our transition to life on Kar’Kal will be easy for you,” Mak announces smoothly, standing up from his desk.
“Despite my current afflictions, I’m still a flexible person. It should be fine, no matter the situation.”
“Of course,” he agrees. “Clear the room. Let’s call it a day.”
Awkward throat clearing and the shuffling of feet follows as the advisors and warriors gather their things and head to the door. When the last one leaves, Mak waits an extra beat with an eye on the door before his unflappable expression drops.
“How much did you hear, then?”
“Would you rather I pretend I didn’t?” I ask.
“No.”
“I have no idea what you were talking about, but don’t hide things from me. Telling Niko to lie to Raina? That’s low.”
Relaxed now that it’s only Mak and me, Nisina jogs to her master and climbs his chest looking for attention. He lifts the massive beast off the ground like she’s only a puppy. I’m forced to chuckle as she throws her head back and lolls her tongue out the side of her snout.
“Let’s sit down.” He carries Nisi to the couch, all the while scratching her belly. He sits down with her on his lap, thoughtfully at one edge of the couch so that I can claim the spot on the opposite end.
“The planet’s been called habitable, but technically that’s only true for Kar’Kali. The only reason we were able to win it back from the Azza is down to the planet itself. The core within is hostile to outsiders. Volcanic activity rises wherever non-Kar’Kali attempt to land on the surface. More often than not, the Azza invaders were engulfed by lava flows before they walked a few steps.”
“I can’t land on the planet, then?” I knew a little bit about this phenomenon. The news outlets have been debating whether it’s truth or fabrication. “But Raina landed with a team during the war… And the other human queen, she’s been on the surface as well.”
He nods. “They were both safe.”
I recall what I overhead about ‘jerking it’ and my head starts to pound. The pieces come together.
“Then it’s because you haven’t fucked me,” I say.
He looks like he’d rather jump out the airlock than speak of this. “Correct.” His fingers don’t stop their attentive strokes on the wolf. Nisi’s the only comfortable one in the room.
“Does the entirety of your crew know that I’m a frosty withholding bitch, then?”
“Francesca!” he protests, startling so harshly that Nisi skitters off his lap and jumps to her feet.
“It’s fine. I knew our business would be far from private when I agreed to being a queen,” I say. “Why did you think you needed to hide this from me? Because I have such a… naive, soft heart?”
A snort. “Your heart is as soft as a blade, wife.”
