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“His Grace has returned to his rooms, and he’s inviting you to join him for dinner,” a servant announces at the doorway of the private library attached to Mak’s office. I jolt to attention, immediately dropping the Archaic history book I’d been reading. The detailed architectural drawings inside have been absorbing my attention for hours now.
I was waiting here because I thought he’d come this way first, but perhaps he went straight to the room because he assumed I’d be there. That thought makes me smile like an idiot.
Viro glances at me. He’s been doing knife tosses out of boredom. The victim? A squid plushie he found among my belongings that he claims reminds him of an Azza soldier. The poor stuffy barely has a tentacle left.
“My cue to be on my way?” he asks.
I wave him off, turning my attention to what I’m wearing. “Thanks, Vi.” I turn to the servant. “Yes, let him know I’ll be joining him. Thank you.”
They both leave, but not before Viro plants the blade right between the squid’s shiny black plastic eyeballs. I’m so rarely alone—such a change from the lonely days I spent on my homestead going mad.
My stomach starts bubbling as I jam my feet back into my shoes and head for the door at a pace just short of jogging. I’m smoothing my hair, checking a mirror in the hall to glimpse the state of me. All this fussing before I realize what’s happening.
I know this feeling. The tightness in my belly, the frenetic energy in my limbs… I’m nervous to see him like he’s some teenage crush and not my husband. It’s not unwelcome, but it still frightens me. What am I supposed to do with these feelings if I can’t give him anything more?
When I arrive at his quarters, Mak has bathed and changed from the armored air seal to his casual clothing already. One might think that he’d look the most appealing in either his air seal or his kingly traditional garb, but I find I prefer this best. He typically spends his private time in soft, loose pants and not much else. Today his chiseled chest is barely disguised by a loose halter. There’s a good chance he only bothers with tops for my comfort.
Nisina sleeps peacefully on his bed, apparently exhausted.
I see it in Mak’s face too. His bright face shows signs of strain. Both man and beast seem to possess boundless energy, so it must’ve been a busy day.
“How did it go?” I ask, taking a seat across from him.
He hesitates.
I’ve started to enjoy the way his eyes flit over me quickly. It’s not quite sneaking, but more like he’s trying to see all of me in one go before he keeps strictly to my face out of respect.
“How did it go?” He repeats my question as his gaze slides away.
“That bad, huh?”
The dinner that’s been laid out for us consists of creamy vegetable soup and black Kar’Kali bread slathered in a salty meat paste that has grown on me since I came here. It tastes much better than it looks.
“Honestly? It was that bad,” he sighs before taking his first bite.
“If you don’t wanna talk about it, we can talk about something el—”
“No,” he says. “It’s better that you know what’s going on.”
As we eat our dinner, he explains what’s happening on the surface. Put simply, it’s an eerie wasteland littered with corpses. Hardly the homecoming that most Deviant Kar’Kali were anticipating when they dreamed of reinhabiting the planet. Mak describes it all without lingering on the gruesome details— empty streets, crashed vehicles, and animals inhabiting what was once a bustling city. They’re gathering all the bodies to help the other Kar’Kali give them a decent end.
“It’s not a pleasant project. Once we clear the capital, we’ll start traveling to each of the major cities and attempt to make a decision about where to settle our people. There’s more land than we need, but I’ll have to make that choice with growth in mind. Some advisors are nervous about leaving the military center to the Deadheads, but I can’t see us thriving there. It’s made for soldiers, not families. Not that any of the modern infrastructure is any different… But aside from the beautiful valley and the distant mountains, there’s nothing for us there.”
“Choosing a place to start over will be exciting,” I say, lunging for a shred of positivity. “It’ll help put all this depressing stuff behind you.”
A smile tugs at his lips for the first time since he saw me walk through the door.
“True. That’s why I’d like to get you cleared for the surface as soon as possible. I want you with me, so we can travel together and make the right choice.”
I blink. “Me?”
He chuckles. “Is that so surprising?”
“I’m learning as much as I can, but I’m hardly the expert on what will suit your people best.”
“Our people,” he corrects. “Remember everything is ‘ours’ now.”
“Right,” I murmur.
