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I lean forward, careful not to press my weight against her.
“Hit me any time you like, wife,” I tease her from over one shoulder, “and I’ll politely ask for more.”
She punches the fuel and takes us off on our path in a flash, but even as I brace myself and the wind smacks my face, I couldn’t miss the way her lips quirked up ever-so-slightly.
There’s no point in talking once we’re in the air. Between the fuel release and the whistling wind, we’d be forced to shout. But both of us are quickly too busy enjoying the scenery to have anything to say. Cold air needles the bottom half of my face as we zoom over the rainbow of scrub that covers the tundra. Gray mist blurs the edges of the swirling colors like a painting. The place feels entirely untouched by the war that was fought over this land, and the bubbling core below has not come up to disturb it.
“Hold right there!” Tevi urges us over the radio. “You’re in perfect positioning. The new pairs will be coming your way to chase over the tundra. Settle in to wait.”
I reach over her shoulder to override the autopiloting to slow us down until we’re idling in midair. Frankie picks up the image-capture drone controller.
“Do you think we’ll be here for a while?” she whispers.
“Why are you whispering?” I whisper back. “Do you think the kaia are listening?”
She turns her head to throw me a sour look.
“Maybe we’ll scare them away.”
“We’re very far up,” I remind her. “And in any case, they have mating on the mind. They’re not going anywhere.”
“Let’s make some conversation,” she says, her voice wobbling. Is it because mentioned mating?
“We do have things we need to discuss. Last night, for example.”
She visibly winces.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” I ask.
“What is there to say? We did what we needed to do. I don’t regret it. Because look where we are.” She gestures across the tundra and out toward the distant mountaintops. She gives me a genuine smile. “We both had fears about what might happen, and neither came to fruition. That’s something to be thankful for, right?’
I don’t regret it. It’s technically an answer to my question, but it doesn’t satisfy me. Is it only my ego that wants to know more?
“Right.” Yes, I didn’t lose control of the amma’ka and harm her, and she didn’t have a panic attack. “I’m not ungrateful for that. But I had hoped…”
I trail off, debating whether I’d rather hop off the side of the speeder and plummet to my death than ask her if she enjoyed my tongue.
“I know,” she says softly, her tone apologetic.
I blink at her. “What do you know?”
“If I was a braver person, I would’ve pushed myself.”
I frown. We’re not talking about the same thing.
“Pushed yourself to what?”
“Get you off,” she replies.
“I’m trying to figure out whether or not you were comfortable and perhaps even enjoyed yourself, and you’re worried about that?” I blow out a breath. “Who cares whether I ‘got off’?”
“I did, at the time,” she says. “I was more than comfortable. I was surprised just how comfortable my body was getting, but I’m still disappointed that I couldn’t repay the favor.”
“There was no favor given, and I’m not sure what any of that has to do with being brave. Of course, I would have been yours to command if you’d decided to pleasure me in return. But that was never part of our deal, and I would never demand it of you. Not after—”
“After what happened to me? There are people who’ve endured what I did for their whole lives, and they find the strength to put it behind them,” she says. “I always admired people like Raina, who see obstacles and run headfirst into them ready to fight. And me? I build walls and hide instead.”
“You decided to board my ship and demand a marriage under your terms,” I point out. “That took bravery. After all, I’m a king with an army of pirates and mercenaries.”
