I blink at her for a moment or two, feeling like my whole body is locked in place. My aunt has always had this special way of knowing. Even when Az, Zann, and I were young, it was like she could see into our minds and identify the bad decisions running rife before we even made them.

And, I’m sure you don’t need to be the Goddess of Wisdom herself to figure out that when your father is the cause for your mother’s death, it affects you deeply. But Aunt Zalora is not normally one to waste words for the sake of talking. When she speaks, she means it.

And, apparently, I needed to hear it, too.

Slowly, I release a breath and let my head hang a little. I can hear Zalora rise from her seat and start walking toward me, the tap of her cane on the floor a rhythm I’ve listened to my whole life. When she reaches my side, she cups my chin and lifts my face so that she can look me in the eye.

“You will be so much better than him, Kiahn, I know it,” she says, her voice turning gentle. “My sister knew it the moment she birthed you into this world. You just need some faith in yourself.”

I stare up at her, wondering if this really is the right thing for me to do. “What if I bite her?” I ask, the words sounding quiet and hoarse.

What if I bond that sweet, vulnerable little human to me, and she ends up heartsick from it, just like my mother was?

She drops my chin, and brushes non-existent dirt from her immaculate skirts. “We do not know how humans would react to Bonding Venom. Perhaps it will merely make you more tolerable in her eyes,” she says, the ghost of a playful smirk toying with her lips.

I roll my eyes at her attempt to inject some levity to the subject. My family are sometimes overly fond of making light of the serious. Letting myself fall back, I slump in my chair with a huff. “She tolerated me just fine when I met her.”

She tolerated me so well, she was right there, seated in my lap.

“So I’ve heard,” Zalora says, raising a brow at me, making me feel like a young male being chastised all over again. “Just tell me you will enter contract negotiations with her. You know Vel, with all her fascination and love for the human species, she will make sure your Niska is safe and taken care of every step of the way.”

I can’t help but snort at that. “You should have bought her a human of her own instead of one for me.” Vel probably prefers the human females over me already.

Aunt Zalora chuckles and heads back down the length of the table toward her paused game of duos. “Maybe, if she’s good.”

Vel is always good. She is good to all she meets. I don’t think I would trust anyone else to be handling Niska’s side of the negotiations as much as I trust my cousin.

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13

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Chapter 13 - Niska

Vel comes to retrieve Lois, Jaya and I from our room when dinner is apparently ready to be served. She talks animatedly to Lois about the foods that she’s convinced we’ll like, stating that she’s studied Earth foods extensively and tried to direct their chef to provide something delicious for us.

Jaya’s pinky finger squeezes around mine for a brief second while we walk side-by-side down the hallway, prompting me to look at her. She gives me a soft smile and mouths the words, ‘you ok?’ as we follow along behind Vel and Lois.

I nod my head and bump my shoulder into hers. “Yeah. This is all a bit new is all.” And it’s true. This is the first time we’ve been treated with any kind of respect since we’ve been abducted. Except for with Yix, and even he could only do so much. “But it’s much better than back with Mama Z’rykby, right?”

Jaya shudders and nods her head. “For sure.”

We pass many of the other royal rooms that Vel had shown us on our tour, earlier. There’s a recreation room, holo suites, and a ‘lagoon room’ which I will definitely be exploring at some point during our three day journey back to Xaavia.

When we finally reach the dining room, Lady Zalora and her three nephews are already seated, waiting for us. When we enter, Prince Kiahn and his brother, Az stand for our arrival - like we’re the ones who are royalty. It gives me a strange, bubbly feeling low in my belly for some reason. The youngest brother - the one who had interrupted us at the club - Zann, is a little slower to stand and greet us, though he gives each of us a smile and a nod.

“Niska, you are seated beside Kiahn, my dear,” Lady Zalora informs me before directing the others to their seats. I was hoping to stay close to Lois and Jaya - or even Vel, as I’ve come to like her quite a lot so far, but it looks as though I’ll be next to the Prince as he sits at the head of the table, facing Lady Zalora at the other end.

I can feel my face start to warm as I near Prince Kiahn. He’s changed his clothing now, though he still looks like he belongs in a Victorian period drama set in space. His shirt has billowy sleeves but is black now, instead of white. He’s also wearing a matching silky black waistcoat, pulled taut over his broad chest. It looks like he’s sporting golden caps on the sharp tips of his horns, too. There’s still gun harnesses around his thighs, though they’re currently empty, and a lot less noticeable against the black pants he wears.

He pulls my chair out for me, and God damn it, I must be basic as all get-out, because for some reason, it makes me smile as he helps push my alien-sized chair in. “Thank you,” I say quietly.

The Prince hovers behind my seat a second or two before I hear a murmured, “you’re welcome.”

He’s still looking at me as he sits back down - staring, in fact. His gaze so intense, it’s like I can feel it on my skin. It makes me fidget - in a good way, I think.

A crew-worker dressed in plain burgundy comes to Kiahn’s side and fills his crystal glass with a deep purple liquid, prompting the Prince to clear his throat and finally avert his gaze. Once the server is done with his refreshment, he approaches me to offer the drink, but seems to freeze momentarily, his eyes widening as he takes me in.

Is it because I’m human?

I give the Xaviann a smile and he blinks back at me, a deep blush blooming beneath the gray of his skin. “The-…uh-…” he stammers, making a move to fill my glass with shaky hands.

“I’ll take that,” Prince Kiahn clips, snatching the decanter from the crew worker. He glares at the poor male who must be several years his junior, his stature and horns nowhere near as impressive as the Prince’s and his brothers. “Gorryn, you are dismissed for the evening. Go and get some rest,” he says, jerking his chin at the server.

‘Gorryn’ nods his head bashfully and bows, but doesn’t leave without giving me and my friends a few quick, furtive glances.

Zann, Kiahn’s youngest brother chuckles to himself as he lounges in his chair next to me and watches the server go. “Some of the staff are new and aren’t as well traveled,” he says, casually leaning over his armrest to tell me.

“Meaning… they haven’t seen humans before?” I ask, more aware than I need to be that Kiahn is now filling my glass himself on my other side.

“There is that, yes,” Zann drawls, an impish smirk on his face, “but it’s more to do with that tempting little uncovered throat of yours.”

“Zann,” Kiahn warns, putting the decanter down and seating himself again.

“What? Don’t you agree, brother? Your female has such a lovely, scandalously bare neck.”

Kiahn glares at Zann, looking like he wants to launch himself across the silverware at him. Without even breaking the stare, the Prince reaches down beneath the table and grabs hold of the chair leg of my seat. I jump a little at the loud scraping noise that seems to echo in the quiet room when he slowly, but very purposefully starts dragging me toward him, and away from his brother.