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“Wait, Mak,” she protests, tugging on my sleeve before I can turn toward the cart outfitted with libations that I keep stocked in the lobby. “How long does that pill last?”
I chuckle. “Quite a while,” I assure her. “Don’t worry about it.”
Taking a breather might give Frankie the chance to change her mind if she has any doubts about tonight. But as my hand shakes over the amber glass of Zaledian rindliquor, I realize I need a minute to breathe for myself.
I offer a glass to Frankie and she accepts it, sniffing the stuff curiously.
“It’s strong.”
“We never did talk about what happened before,” she says, taking a tentative sip of the drink. “Is Nisi alright?”
“Yes,” I sigh, rubbing my elbow where I smacked it on the ground while wrestling the unruly beast. “I had to sedate her, but she’s perfectly safe. She’ll sleep it off.”
“Good.” Her lips form a tight line.
“Nothing more happened than what you saw; I swear it,” I say.
She shakes her head. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
“She threw herself at me—”
“I know,” she says firmly. She believes me. “I know, baby.”
It’s an odd human term of endearment, but it calms me. There’s a honeyed tone to her voice; she’s trying to comfort me.
“She’s being removed from my staff, and I might ask her mother to send her away for good measure. This was behavior I hadn’t expected from a fellow Kar’Kali. It’s unheard of.”
“I hate that Annaka touched you like that, and I’m sorry you had to go through it.” She swallows, cheek twitching with anger. “I don’t want her anywhere near you. I know what it’s like. How it feels when s-someone d-does that.”
As she starts to stutter, my stomach twists.
“You don’t have to talk about that,” I remind her softly. “It was a delicate situation, knowing I can’t very well injure a councilwoman’s daughter. I wouldn’t wish for you to see a sight like that, but it was honestly helpful that you appeared when you did. Otherwise, I’d have resorted to force to remove her…”
Francesca looks sulky, grumbling under her breath, “I’ll be the one using force on that trollop.”
I don’t know what that untranslatable word means, but I snicker. She’s so irritated and territorial. It’s adorable.
“I’m learning so many fun human words today…”
She throws back a swig of liquor.
“Now, I didn’t embarrass you, did I? I reacted dramatically.” She bites down on her lip as we both recall the aftermath of the incident that led us here. “I think I went into a fugue state for a second there.”
“Embarrass me? You reacted like any Ka’lakkori should,” I say. “You were so beautifully furious, I thought your eyes would turn amma’ka black at any moment.”
She giggles at the thought, a sweet sound that I feel in my bones.
“Frankie, why did you have those pills with you when you went to my office?” The first time I asked her, it went unanswered, and I was too distracted by other matters to pursue the issue.
“I was there to apologize to you,” she says. “I laughed at you when you were just trying to tell me how worried you are. And that wasn’t right, even if I don’t agree with you.”
“So, you were going to kiss me to make up for it?” I start to smile.
“Queens should be good at diplomacy, shouldn’t they? Negotiations should always start with gifts.”
“Apology accepted,” I say. “I would like all future negotiations between us to include gifts like that one.”
“Since I’m about to shower you with more gifts, I should announce something I’m not willing to negotiate on.”
