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“Ethan, Lucas, this is Sazahk. Kevin’s…” Margaret’s eyes glinted. “Colleague.”
“Dang, I wasn’t expecting anyone else. Here.” The first man—Ethan; Sazahk recognized him from the freckle on the left hinge of his jaw—strode over and pushed a steaming paper cup into Sazahk’s hand. “I’ll go grab another one.”
“No, please, that’s not necessary.” Sazahk tried to return the cup before the man left. “I don’t need one. In fact, I would prefer not to have one. Please take it back.”
“Oh, right.” Ethan sucked his teeth and relieved Sazahk of the cup and the odd feeling of guilt that had come with it. “You a klak man?”
“No, I’ve never had much interest in or need for stimulants of any kind.” Sazahk shook his head.
The second man—Lucas, he had the thicker eyebrows—laughed. “You sound like Kevin.”
Beaty giggled, then deepened her voice. “Caffeine addiction is a liability, Lucas.”
“Don’t make fun of your brother while he’s unconscious,” Margaret tsked, her tone more playful than chiding.
“Well, we’re not allowed to make fun of him when he’s not in the room, either.” Ethan left Sazahk in his corner and dropped into a free chair. “And he’s only ever in the room when he’s unconscious.”
Sazahk watched the family rib each other and fuss over Garin, petting his hair and holding his hands, and considered leaving with a pit in his stomach.
He didn’t want to leave. The thought of leaving Garin when he’d only just got him back alive made his eyes burn. But a disappointment lurked in his gut too and when he recognized it, his embarrassment only added to his sickness.
He realized he’d been looking forward to Garin waking and finding Sazahk at his side. He’d thought Garin would be happy to see him, surprised and maybe delighted. He’d thought maybe that Garin would even be excited to discuss the possibility of a future for them.
But now seeing Garin’s lovely and loving family arrayed around him, Sazahk felt intolerably silly for ever thinking Garin would be excited to see him. What was waking up to Sazahk’s face compared to waking up to the faces of his family? With them here, Sazahk’s presence felt more like a detriment. He was an awkward distraction when Garin should enjoy his siblings and his mother. He saw them so little, and he loved them so much.
And besides, Sazahk wasn’t going to confess his feelings with an audience, so maybe it was best that Sazahk left. He’d still monitor Garin’s vitals through his implant, even if he wouldn’t see his eyes when they opened.
“So, what sort of colleague are you?” Beaty asked, just as Sazahk made up his mind to sneak for the door.
“A temporary one.” Sazahk paused, surprised to be addressed but anxious to make a good impression. “I was an assignment, really. He was charged with my protection.”
“What did he need to protect you from?” Ethan asked around a mouthful of food from his second box.
“Myself, he would say,” Sazahk replied, and all the Garin siblings laughed.
“Yeah, that sounds right.” Lucas tilted his cup at Sazahk.
“In actuality, the elements and the unknown were the threats and Garin was chosen because of his experience with threats of all sorts and because Dominic Turner trusts him.” Sazahk settled down once he realized all eyes were on him and that they weren’t so hostile after all.
“Oh Dominic.” Beaty’s face fell. “I feel so bad for him. Can you imagine?”
Sazahk could not, in fact, imagine the future in store for Dom, though he supposed he had been the instigator of its architecture.
Alistair Turner, for all his bluster, had clearly wanted his son’s life saved. Admittedly, he’d also wanted to safeguard the power he’d grown accustomed to that Dom’s actions had threatened. Prince Hyg had wanted an end to the political deadlock that kept his people confined to the Colony Ship on which they withered away. Those two desires, combined with the fact that the only laws that trumped an individual species state’s were those designed to ensure diplomatic functioning between species, and the solution seemed obvious in retrospect.
Alistair Turner had betrothed his eldest son to Prince Hyg in exchange for pushing through the Insects’ settlement claim on Qesha.
“It’s a better future than being dead.” Lucas shrugged.
“Is it?” Beaty raised her eyebrows. “What if he’s awful?”
Sazahk frowned. “I don’t think Prince Hyg will be awful.”
“I’m still pretty sure it’s better than dead.” Ethan tossed his empty box in the trash. “And it’s definitely better than him being dead and taking Kevin with him.”
No one in the room argued that. Sazahk liked Dom. He did. But in a contest between Dom and Garin, he knew who he’d choose.
Margaret turned to Sazahk with a smile. “And so then are you?—”
