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“Annaka is many things but she’s not a murderer—crazy, ambitious, bold, extremely sexy…”
“Vi!” I chuck a book at his head.
“What? Don’t worry, she’s kinda clueless too.”
I groan. He’s the worst partner in crime. I swear if I had an assassin after me, he’d probably fuck them.
“Are you trying to tell me there’s no one else doubting my right to rule as a human?”
“No,” he says with a shrug. “There are definitely complaints here and there, but what else do you expect? Anyone else who dislikes you being Ka’lakkori is all talk, no action. This is a time when too many things are changing at once, so people get cranky. It’ll settle, and I think the more they see you and Mak together, it will hush any lingering concerns.”
“But this Proving Ceremony… it would stop all those rumors at once, wouldn’t it?”
“Everyone has seen what the planet is capable of, and we hardly know what causes it or controls it… Needless to say, superstitions are at an all-time high, and that’s coming from a superstitious people! So, in my opinion, if you walk into an ancient, burning hot pool and emerge on the other side? They will cheer. They will love you. And no one will be able to question you.”
That’s all I need to hear to know the risks are worth the potential outcome. This is one of the few things I can do for Mak that will make his life easier. I can bring confidence and excitement to our bond, drive away the suspicions and the tension surrounding a human standing by his side.
Viro stares hard at me.
“Rut me sideways. Am I talking you into this? Mak’ll kill me…”
“Will you go and check on him?” I ask. “I know it wasn’t the biggest fight, but I wanna be sure he doesn’t spend all night brooding.”
“How sweet,” Viro sighs. “Do I look like a love note courier service to you?”
I frown. “I think the real reason Mak assigned you this job is that you can’t take orders without mouthing off.”
“Might I remind you I’m not your assistant, and that leaving you alone to check on a grown male is counterproductive to my duties?”
“Not alone.” I point at Nisina, who’s currently belly up, legs aloft in doggy slumber.
“I’ll go,” he sighs. “But to be clear, I’m doing this favor as your friend, and it doesn’t fall under bodyguard obligations.”
“Thanks.”
“And if I’m checking on Mak, that means you can’t brood or stay up all night either.”
“Yes, Mother. I shall be good,” I promise, clasping my palms together dramatically.
But as soon as Viro is gone, I start to wonder whether I shouldn’t have gone on my own. My reasoning was that I didn’t want it to turn into another fight, but so what if it did? With Mak, even an argument isn’t so bad. He still listens to my every word when we’re at odds.
I stare up at the ceiling, my body stiff as a board and unwilling to rest.
When I hop out of bed again, Nisi jumps to attention, looking ruffled by sleepy confusion at first.
“I know I said I wouldn’t brood,” I babble to Nisina. “But that’s too bad. I’ve brooded myself into apologizing. Let’s go, sleepyhead. I need your moral support.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
MAK
If it weren’t bad enough that my wife and I have been arguing, halfway through my office hours in the captain’s den, Annaka La’Kannita appears requesting an audience with me. She was once someone I admired, but the passings I’ve spent primarily aboard Makiva’s Revenge strained our friendship. And now, since I know she is scheming with her mother to cause my Francesca grief, I may as well call her an enemy.
I grant her entry, if only to swiftly crush all support for these nonsense ideas they’d like to fill Frankie’s head with. Annaka is jealous, plain and simple. I don’t know what she thinks she stands to achieve.
She bows her head humbly before me, darting a glance at the gathered warriors in the room. If she felt the need to interrupt my business, then she should be bold enough to speak in front of ten members of my guard. Most of them have known her since childhood.
“Thank you for allowing me to speak with you.”
