Page 70 of Black Mamba

“Is there a new Supreme Commander?” Levy interjects.

The soldier sighs. Several more soldiers have walked onto the field to join him. “You can ask your questions at the main pavilion. The best thing for you all to do is to register yourselves and get yourself a cot for the night. The naga will have to stay in the forest.” His brown eyes lift. “It’s going to be dark soon and nothing happens after nightfall around here.” He turns to the soldiers behind him and together they walk away. “Commander Lunteer runs this camp but he’s no Supreme Commander,” he calls back to us. “The Dreadnaut’s gone, or have you forgotten? There’s no more Supreme Commander anymore. There won’t be for many of us ever again.”

Greg and Levy, seemingly rattled by the soldier’s departing words, shift on their feet. “What do you think he meant by that?”

“How am I supposed to know? We might as well go to the pavilion and find out there.” Levy points to the sky. “Like he said, it’s going to be dark soon, and a cot sounds really nice to sleep on tonight.”

Levy storms toward the large tent in the distance and I share a worried look with Greg. We soon lose sight of Levy between the ships.

“Well, it seems they’re willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, naga.” Greg rubs his chin as he stares after Levy, his brow furrowed with annoyance. “At least we can rest easy knowing you won’t be killed.” He faces Lukys. “Thank you for getting us here. Levy and I wouldn’t have known how to get past the wetlands… Or how to get across the rivers. So, thank you. And thank you, Elena, for joining us so he would come. So, are you guys coming?”

I squeeze the straps of my pack. “I need to check that registry.”

Lukys’s jaw ticks and his lips part, a low hiss leaving him. He uncoils his tail out from under him and slides its tip toward me, winding the long, thinner end around my feet. “Are you thinking about sssstaying?”

I open my mouth only to close it and slump my shoulders. “I… I don’t know? I haven’t thought about it,” I answer honestly. “Whatever I decide, I’m not leaving my parents’ ship,” I reassure him. I don’t know why I do… but I feel like I need to. If our places were switched, I’m pretty certain he’d reassure me.

I like Lukys. I owe him for his help. I… want him. And whether that’s because of pheromones or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I like him. I’m beginning to like him a lot.

“Come with us.” I cant my head in the direction of the pavilion, telling him without saying it outright that I’m going to check that registry. “Please?”

He slowly regards me and I swallow, holding his gaze.

He hisses again but nods and turns in the direction Levy went. I release a relieved sigh. As we continue onward, Greg and I flank his sides. The sun sets upon us and people pause what they’re doing to stare.

We approach the wide-open pavilion flaps revealing a lit interior. Inside, I see groups of soldiers and people. Moving closer to Lukys, I grab his arm protectively. All around us and in no particular order are tents of every shape and design. We weave around several before we make it to our destination.

Right outside the pavilion, and on either side, are two more tents with enclosed walkways between them. The massive warship towers over all three from behind. Facing the pavilion, the space just inside is cleared out except for several long tables lined with computing equipment and gear.

People move away when they see Lukys.

By the time we reach the first table and the person behind it, it’s nearly nightfall. I can hear soldiers shouting in the distance as well as laughter. Levy is at the table beside me, bent over it with a holoscreen before him, his hand placed firmly on it.

“Naga! Over here,” a soldier, surrounded by several others, calls out from behind us. “If you’re seeking to register and be granted encampment entitlements, you need to come with us. You can go no further into the camp until then.”

I look at Lukys with a frown. His gaze meets mine. He’s unhappy. I squeeze his hand.

He yanks me into his embrace and presses his mouth to my ear. “When you are done, I will be waiting for you.” He grazes his teeth over my skin and my whole body shudders. “When you have your sister, you know where to find me. I will be right outside, watching for you from within the woods.” He pulls away, releases my hand, and I’m left bereft.

He twists and leaves, slipping back towards the forest outside. It takes everything not to go after him. Too soon, he vanishes into the shadows of the trees past the hills.

Straightening, I avoid everyone’s stare and approach the first soldier I see. “I’d like to see your registry please.”

Right now, I need to think about Jenna.

THIRTY-ONE

BARTER AND TRADE

Lukys

Scarlet light streaks across the earth as I return to the forest, keeping my ears pricked to the movements behind me, listening to the drones follow as I go.

Leaving Elena is not what my instincts tell me to do but my vow forces me. I vowed I would help search for her sister, and if we must part for a short time to do so, then I will overcome them. All I have been doing has been denying my instincts… I am exhausted. Now that she is out here, in the world, and outside my territory while also being aroused and in heat…

I am beyond my restraint.

But I promised…