by Hope Hart
“Just a few more hours and you can go home and sleep it off,” I mutter.
Then I’ll need to pack so I can be ready for our trip to Fecax.
I haul myself out of the pod and groan as movement sends stabbing pain into my head.
I feel like I’m walking through quicksand as I make my way into the palace and up to the meeting room. Harlow’s already seated, smiling at Varian who grins back at her. Peyton and Jessica are here, as are Vazta and… Korva.
I meet his eyes and grit my teeth. There’s absolutely no need for him to be at this meeting. I’m sure he just came to mess with me.
Two ex-boyfriends in one day while running on zero sleep and dealing with an incoming migraine. Awesome.
Korva snarls suddenly as I walk past and grabs for my hand. I may be in pain, but I’m still fast, and I pull my hand away, backhanding him with it as I pass.
Harlow cackles at the stunned look on Korva’s face as he wipes blood from his mouth.
“Why do you smell like the human male?”
Jesus, I’d heard that these guys could smell well, but this is ridiculous. The room was pretty small though, and Liam had leaned close while confiding everything he knew.
The room is silent, everyone looking at us, and I grit my teeth. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being the center of attention.
Which Korva fucking knows.
“None of your business.”
Peyton looks like she might pass out, her hands shaking with nerves and I smirk at her as I pass by her.
“So, did you have some chirpy little birds follow you around and put your hair in that braid this morning?”
She scowls at me, but a tiny bit of color returns to her face.
Varian clears his throat, and I take that moment to find a seat as far from Korva as possible.
“Is everyone here?” Varian asks.
Harlow nods and reaches for Peyton’s hand. Peyton swallows, carefully avoiding Vazta’s eyes, which are stuck to her like glue.
“I will hear the first petitioner.”
Peyton gets to her feet, still careful not to look at Vazta.
“As Harlow has likely mentioned, I would like to go home immediately.”
She says nothing else and I nod. Smart. Knowing Harlow, she hasn’t exactly told Varian that Peyton would be willing to stay for six months. Instead, she’s probably encouraged Peyton to play her cards close to her chest.
Varian raises an eyebrow. “My understanding is that you have had a blood test and were found to be Vazta’s mate.”
She grinds her teeth, and I can almost hear her silently counting to ten before she opens her mouth.
“I have an important and rewarding career on Earth, not to mention my family. I thank you for rescuing us, along with your hospitality so far, but I want to go home.”
Harlow sends her an encouraging look, and I’d bet a bottle of aspirin that they’ve practiced this exact answer.
Varian’s silent for a long moment before he turns to Vazta.
“What are your thoughts?”
“Peyton is my mate, Your Majesty. She belongs with me.”
Peyton draws in a sharp breath and Harlow clears her throat delicately, sending her a look. Vazta is likely trying to get a rise out of Peyton. The more emotional Peyton gets, the less likely Varian is to take her seriously. Varian’s all about negotiations and deals. I’ve never met anyone as logical as him in my life.
“I disagree,” Peyton says finally. “I’m a… healer on Earth. I save lives. My time is valuable.”
Vazta snarls at the implication that he is not valuable enough for her time and I grin. Now Peyton has the upper hand.
Varian sends Vazta a cool look, and we all watch as he slowly gets himself under control. It’s impressive.
I can still feel Korva’s eyes on me but I’m determined to ignore him. I knew I’d have to see him around. Breakups are awkward. I’ll get through this.
“What are you suggesting, Vazta?”
“She needs to stay for one year. That is long enough for us to get to know each other.” He turns to Peyton. “All I want is a chance to be with you.” His voice is so earnest that my heart flips, but Peyton simply ignores him.
“Unacceptable,” she says. “I will stay for two months.”
The girl is good.
A tiny smile plays around Harlow’s mouth and it clears as Varian turns to her.
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Of course, my love.”
“It turns out that the male who bought these women was not actually killed. There’s also the matter of Jessica’s baby. The father may still be alive, and she would like him found. Perhaps we can consider these facts in the negotiations?”
Varian stares at her for a long moment, and then turns back to Peyton.
“What are you suggesting?”
Peyton pushes her hair behind her ear nervously, chewing her lower lip. Varian sits back in his seat as he regards her, and if Harlow didn’t instruct her to pull that wide-eyed, nervous act, I’ll eat my knife sheath.
“If Your Majesty would be willing to help us kill this man and find the father of Jessica’s baby, I would be willing to stay for a few extra months.”
Varian eyes her. “You would be willing to stay for longer, even though you just stated that you would like to go home immediately.”
“I want him dead,” she states flatly. “What he did to us…” her voice trails off as fear crosses her face and Vazta slowly gets to his feet.
Shit.
I reach for my weapon. Peyton’s fear makes Vazta completely enraged, which, of course, makes her even more frightened.
Varian takes a moment to think. I already know how this is going to go. He’ll be pissed that the Arcav got the wrong guy and he’ll want to send them back to rectify that mistake. Especially with Harlow in his ear talking about human rights.
“Six months and we will find these males,” Varian says finally before turning to Vazta. “Is this agreeable to you?”
Vazta stares at Peyton. “Look at me,” he says softly. “Look at me,” his voice hardens and her eyes widen at whatever she sees on his face.
“I want a date with you every day,” he says softly.
I raise my eyebrow. Vazta has obviously been talking to a human who told him to suggest this.
Peyton immediately shakes her head.
Harlow leans forward. “How about once a month?”
“That is only six dates. Unless she would like to stay for twelve months, that is unacceptable.”
Varian studies them both. “Peyton will stay on Arcavia for six months. Vazta, you may take her on one of these ‘dates’ once every human week. If you are not happily mated at the end of six months, Peyton may return to her healing.”
Vazta’s horns straighten, likely at the thought of her leaving.
“You will never leave me,” he tells her, and she simply flips him the bird.
Varian sends them both a warning look.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes,” I say, getting to my feet. I want to scream as a marching band takes up residence in my head. I’m gradually losing vision in one eye, something that occasionally happens with these migraines.
“You will sit down,” Korva says, and every woman in the room gasps.
“Excuse me?”
“You are unwell.”
“I’m going to pretend like you’re not messing with my life. Either shut up or leave.”
Varian takes a moment to stare at Korva, who is currently burning a hole in the side of my head with his eyes. Then he turns back to me.
“Can this be accomplished in less than five minutes?”
“It can if you’re agreeable,” I say sweetly, and Harlow cracks up.
The ghost of a smile crosses Varian’s face, and then he waves a hand.
“Proceed.”
“As you’re aware, we recently traveled to Earth to round up the leaders of HGA. While there, w
e were involved in an FBI sting. There were… problems. I know that the Arcav had their reasons for disarming our population, but there have been serious repercussions.”
Harlow nods encouragingly at me while Varian raises an eyebrow.
“Such as?”
“While law enforcement was forced to hand over their guns directly to the Arcav, there are still plenty of them floating around. Surprisingly, there are much fewer than I had imagined, since you guys managed to also scare the shit out of most of the criminals. Unfortunately, HGA and groups like it are now a threat. And they’re an armed threat. Many of them are ex-law enforcement, and others are the types of people who tend to be armed to the teeth. They may have handed in a few guns, but if we hadn’t been there with our blasters, it’s likely that the human authorities would have sustained severe casualties. With all due respect, it’s insane to expect SWAT to approach these types of takedowns with nothing but Tasers.”
Varian narrows his eyes at me. “What do you suggest?”
“You have two options. Either try to eradicate guns, which in many parts of the world may be almost impossible, or provide the good guys with blasters.”
Varian looks at me as if I’m crazy. “Absolutely not. As you are well aware, blasters can be used against us.”
“I thought you might say that. Look, I’m not saying to arm every cop and fed with a blaster. That would be stupid. All I’m saying is that a blaster in the hands of a few select people could turn the tide. We all know that they’re the best weapons possible.”
“And how do we choose these people?”
Harlow reaches across and takes his hand. “It’s easy enough to investigate a few humans. We train those that we know without a doubt that we can trust. We can’t just leave them with no weapons, Varian. Unless you’d rather keep an Arcav team on Earth for situations like yesterday.”
“We already have these teams in the more unstable regions on Earth. We cannot afford the manpower while dealing with the Grivath and searching for the human women. Not to mention our search for Methi and Meghan.”
Harlow stares at him, and he eyes me, obviously not happy to be put in this situation.
“I will think about it,” he says, and Harlow gives me a thumbs up.
“In that case, I think I’ll take off,” I say.
“Do you need a healer?” Harlow asks
“Nope, just a nap. I’ll see you soon.”
It takes everything in me to walk slowly out of the room without bumping into anything. I head directly to the small bathroom next to the meeting room where I bend over and throw up the little I have in my stomach. My head is pounding so bad that I give up, curling up and lying my face on the cool tiles. I’ll just stay here.
The door opens and I can’t even lift my head.
“Someone’s in here,” I mutter.
Could’ve sworn I locked that door.
“I am well aware.” Korva. Breaking in. Again.
“Fuck off.”
Strong arms lift me up and I wretch again, puking down both of us. Great.
“Are you deaf? Leave me alone.”
“You have two choices. I take you to the healers, or I bring the healer to your home.”
“Neither, asshole. I just need to sleep it off.”
Korva snorts and heads toward the door.
“Wait!” I groan. If he could just hit me and knock me out, that would be preferable to the hot poker lying behind my right eyeball.
“What is it?”
“Don’t carry me out where people can see me. Where did everyone go?”
“You cannot walk.”
No shit. “Well… wait until everyone’s left this floor.”
Korva sighs but complies, cracking open the door and checking that the coast is clear.
I don’t bother protesting when he loads me into his pod. There’s no way I can drive myself. Instead, I keep my eyes closed, wishing for death.
“What is happening to you?”
I grit my teeth. “Too. Loud.”
He changes to a whisper but repeats the question.
“Migraine. They don’t happen often, but when they do, they take me down.”
“What causes them?”
“Why do you care?”
“I want to make sure that you do not get them in the future.”
“Get this through your head. My future has nothing to do with you.”
He finally shuts up, and I doze until I feel him gently lift me out of the pod. My eyes fill with tears. A few days ago, I would’ve welcomed this caring, overprotective side of him when I felt this bad. Now, all I can think is that if he had his way, he’d be devoting all of that attention to another woman for the rest of his life.
“Shh, don’t cry, I’ve got you.”
That just makes me cry harder, even as he brushes my tears away with his lips. He lets himself into my apartment, and I’m too busy falling apart to see exactly how he breaks in.
He takes me into the bathroom and sits on the small chair with me on his lap, pulling off my clothes. I tense. Any more comes off, and he’ll see the mating bands.
“Out.”
“Eve.”
“I can do it myself.”
He hovers, and I almost feel bad for the guy until I remember just how much worse this situation could get.
Finally, he nods, flicking the shower on to the Arcav setting before he goes. I drop my clothes and step into the shower, wanting nothing more than to sit on the ground while the mist cleans me. But if I do that, I won’t be getting up, and Korva will definitely bust back in here.
Instead, I get out and reach for the robe hanging on the back of my door. Korva knocks and walks in.
“Sit,” he says, and I comply, sitting on the closed toilet seat as he drops his clothes to the ground. He’s done in less than a minute, and I keep my eyes closed the whole time. Then, he carries me back into my room and tucks me into bed.
“I will be right back.”
I can hear him using his communicator and I groan. I’m sure a healer will be on the way.
He returns with a glass of water and I glare at him weakly.
“I don’t need a healer. I’m serious, Korva, I just need a nap.”
He frowns at me. “I will stay with you and you will sleep. If you are still in pain when you wake, I will bring them here. Is that acceptable?”
I nod, closing my eyes, and one final tear falls as he climbs in behind me and pulls me close.
Eve
Today’s the day. We’re going to Fecax.
I’m officially back on rotation, my suspension over. I’m well aware that it’s purely a matter of need and not because Varian actually wanted me to be unsuspended. But since so many of his people are defending Arcavia against the Grivath or searching for Methi, Meghan, and the Fecax Queen, I’m about to board the ship to Fecax with Harlow.
The last time I saw Korva was when I woke up from my ten-hour nap. He’d still been curled around me, and I kicked him out after convincing him I felt well enough to kick his ass.
Varian is in a pissy mood and Jaret is the only one brave enough to go near him after one of Varian’s advisors accidentally bumped into Harlow and Varian threatened to rip his head off.
“He’s being ridiculous,” Harlow sighs. “I was the one who got in the poor guy’s way!”
“I know right. It’s not like he could avoid bumping into you or anything. You’re massive.”
Harlow bursts out laughing. “You know, most pregnant women would take offense to this shit.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Not you, Maleficent. You know I’m playing. You look great. I mean, you definitely look like you swallowed a basketball, and you wouldn’t want to challenge anyone to a race right now, but other than that, truly great.”
She elbows me in the ribs as we walk off the dock and onto the massive ship that will take us to Fecax. People are practically jumping out of the way as Harlow gets close to them and she simply shakes her head
and sighs.
“You know,” she says, “you’re awfully chirpy for someone with the you-know-what’s.” She gestures toward my wrists and I roll my eyes. Subtle, Harlow is not.
“You know why? Cause I’m about to have eight Korva-free days. That means no seeing him, no thinking about him, and most of all, no—”
“Uh… Eve?”
I frown as she gestures behind me, and my eyes widen as the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
“He’s behind me, isn’t he?”
Harlow nods and I spin, narrowing my eyes as my heart does a sad little flip in my chest.
“You. What are you doing here?”
Korva raises one eyebrow. “You did not know? I am coming for this trip. But please,” he gestures with his hand, “continue.”
Of course, I didn’t know. Because we specifically talked about this trip back before he stomped on my heart and he never even hinted that he might be coming.
I make a strangled sound and snap my eyes to Harlow.
“Did you know about this?”
Harlow shakes her head. “No, but I’m sorry.” She eyes Korva like he’s a bug. “I could probably have him thrown off the ship though,” she says brightly, and Korva simply smiles at her.
“Varian would never go for it. He’s got him on here as an extra body between you and danger.” I smirk up at him. “That’s fine, we can use him as a shield.”
Korva nods at me— as if I’m a fucking stranger that he came across in the street—and then he strolls off.
“What the hell was that about?” Harlow’s voice is grim.
“No idea. Let’s not talk about it. I need to hit something.”
Harlow sighs. “Of course you do. You couldn’t possibly need to lie around with your feet up and eat cheese.”
Blake finally boards and I narrow my eyes at him.
He frowns back. “What?”
“You could’ve told me Korva was coming.”
“Why would you care? Aren’t you banging him?”
“Not anymore,” Harlow says. “Jeez, Blake, keep up.”
He simply shakes his head. “Women.”
“You stay with Harlow,” I tell him. “I need to hit some things.”
Blake frowns at me. “I could hit some things.”
