Two guards, armed with razor-sharp shade spears and magnetic shackles, guided him out to a balcony and instructed him to wait.
Verakko stood on under a canopy and stared into the distance at the crystal mountains to the west. The glimmering crags of crystal the mountains were known for glittered in the setting sun. He tipped his head, a sign of respect for them and for his father, now buried at the base of the mountain alongside his ancestors. He rarely thought of his father anymore, but when he did, it always made him smile.
His mother had been elected Queen when he was very young, but he still had memories of him and his father visiting her here. Verakko would always marvel at how powerful and stoic she appeared, towering over him in her glittering frocks. But his father would chuckle and comment on how nervous she’d seemed.
Verakko had never understood it, but his father had always had a way of reading her like no one else could. And as he’d grown older, Verakko had come to realize that she’d let him. Even though they hadn’t been married for years, they had still shared a bond. He tried to think about how his father had acted with her. The type of words he’d used to get her to agree to let Verakko focus on technology instead of politics. What gifts he’d brought her to convince her Verakko didn’t need to be monitored after his accidental fall from the vacant new city building. He couldn’t recall anything specific.
Then how had he persuaded her so often? Verakko thought about Lily and realized what it must’ve been. They’d cared for each other in their own way. Maybe his mother wasn’t as heartless as he thought, after all.
“Verakko,” a light voice called from behind him.
He turned, and his blood ran cold. Ziritha glided toward him, a polite smile curling her lips. “Ziritha,” he choked out.
“Ziri will be just fine. We’re about to be married, after all.”
Verakko licked a fang and wondered if it would be wise to explain why he was there before speaking with his mother. She was wearing a dazzling dress of pale pink that complemented her deep navy complexion beautifully. A gauzy bright peach fabric mokti draped over her throat and down her shoulders, morphing into the sleeves of her dress.
“Your mother should be along shortly. She asked me to greet you while she finishes her meeting.” Ziritha looked him up and down with a raised brow. “I was going to say how happy I am that you’re home and well, but you look rather ill. Is everything alright?”
Did Ziritha know about the humans as well? Verakko studied her silently. His mother did trust her. Would she have told her? “I’ve had a difficult few days,” he hedged.
The delicate clicking of shoes made them both turn.
“Son,” said his mother from the doorway, appearing as regal and reserved as always. Her deep teal skin, so like his own, was covered completely by a chin-to-toe vibrant purple cape. Verakko’s dread deepened. His father had always claimed he could asses her mood based on her clothing. Shapeless capes, no matter how fine the embroidery and ornamentation, meant she was struggling with something.
“Mother.” He dipped his head.
“I’m very glad you’re alright. After the Queen of Tremanta notified me of your abduction, I was unsettled.” She said the words, but her expression revealed no evidence of any emotion of the sort.
No use dragging this out longer than necessary. “I need to speak with you privately, Mother,” Verakko said, shooting an apologetic glance toward Ziritha, who appeared to take no offense.
“Anything you need to discuss, you may do so in front of Ziritha,” said the Queen with a lift of her chin.
Arguing wouldn’t help his case, but if he was to have any success, he’d need to get his mother alone. “It’s a sensitive topic, and I’d feel more comfortable speaking to you privately about certain information I’ve been entrusted to keep confidential.”
“Are you referring to the human in your care?” Ziritha interjected.
Verakko froze, and all the blood seemed to rush from his face. He turned to Ziritha, eyes wide. Had it been Desy?
“No need to look so upset, son. I was alerted as soon as her doctor began administering care. I programmed an alert based on the Tremantian Queen’s suggestion. The humans have been through so much already. But I can understand why you felt the need to keep her out of sight until speaking with me. I’ll have her transported here as soon as she awakens.” Ziritha nodded along as his mother spoke. “She can stay here until she settles in and finds a husband. You needn’t be responsible for her any longer.”
“A husband or a mate! This is all so exciting.” Ziritha beamed. “A new race of Clecanians who can be mated and conceive children. This may change our whole world. Your mother and I have been discussing the repercussions since we first learned of their existence, and now one of them is here, a Swadaeth citizen. Remarkable.” Ziritha tipped her head and added, with a stern look, “The way they were obtained is despicable, to be sure, but I’m confident we can provide a good life for her and convince her to stay after her one-year transition period is up. Unless, of course, she meets her mate.” She grinned.
Verakko swallowed and forced a mask of calm back onto his features. His mother hadn’t talked to Desy personally. She still didn’t know about his marks, or this would have been a very different conversation. Verakko clasped his hands behind his back and fidgeted. His paint was still in place, but the instinct to hide his marks from view remained.
He studied Ziritha with renewed curiosity. He’d only met her a handful of times before, and this conversation was the most he’d ever spoken to her. She had a lightness to her that surprised him. When his mother had selected Ziritha as her protégé, he’d assumed she’d be distant and aloof just like his mother was. Their personalities couldn’t be more dissimilar.
“That is very kind of you,” Verakko began, choosing his words carefully, “but I’d like to continue to watch over her myself, as her guardian.”
“Her guardian? But you won’t have time. You need to take these few weeks to prepare for your marriage, do you not?”
Verakko stared and tried to mentally explain to his mother that this conversation would best be had without his betrothed present.
The Queen’s eyes bore into his, and he feared she might just be able to read his thoughts. She lifted a brow, as though understanding something distasteful. His mother aimed her unblinking gaze at Ziritha, and they seemed to have a silent conversation all their own.
To his surprise, the first to speak was Ziritha. “Have you recognized her, then?”
Verakko faced her, readying to stifle a wince at the emotion he’d surely see. Outrage or offense or possibly disgust. But all he could see was curiosity. He swallowed. “No.” Gaze darting between the two powerful females who held his future in their hands, he quickly added, “But I believe I will if I had a bit of time where we aren’t struggling to survive.”
He needed to win back Lily’s trust and convince her they were meant to be together. And for that, he needed time.
“You’re under contract, Verakko,” his mother said, a chilling severity ringing in her voice. “Are you asking to break it?”
“No,” he lied. “I’m asking to delay it. I don’t know how much you’re aware of, but humans don’t recognize mates, and many believe their isolated evolution has affected their ability to be recognized in a timely manner. It took Theo months for his marks to appear.”
“Yes, but from the reports I’ve received, he recognized her as a potential mate long before then. He himself admits it may have happened during the Testing, though there’s no way to be sure,” his mother argued reasonably.
Verakko ground his teeth. He’d hoped she hadn’t learned that yet.
“If you haven’t recognized her as a potential mate by now, then how is it fair of me to give you this advantage? You don’t even have enough evidence to claim her as a mivassi. Why should I take the chance of finding a mate away from my other citizens who may very well recognize her immediately?”
“I feel s
he’s mine,” Verakko said numbly, his instincts screaming to claim her and end this once and for all.
Ziritha and the Queen frowned at each other silently.
Verakko’s heart thudded in his chest. His mother would never allow something like this. What had he been thinking? He should return at once, steal Lily away, and hope his mother still cared about him enough to not send her guards after them.
He thought about his father again and wondered. He’d always told Verakko his mother wasn’t as hard as she presented herself to be, but was that true?
“Mother,” Verakko said, letting his desperation and ache show on his face. The Queen held his stare, and he could’ve sworn he’d seen the ghost of worry in her eyes at his tone. “I know this in my soul.”
She studied him for what seemed like forever, her expression unreadable. “Our world will be changing very soon. Wars may start. Our people will call for the humans to be gathered. Our laws and our traditions are sacred, Verakko. And they need to remain so. I cannot break them for anyone.”
Nausea roiled in his stomach, and he had to quell the answering snarl that rose in his throat. He shot his gaze to the ground. We have to leave.
His mother continued, raising her voice above what must be his obvious anger. “In three days, I’ll be announcing the existence of the humans and their unique traits to our people. If you can make your eyes change or your marks appear before then, you will have legal cause to break your contract.”
Verakko’s eyes shot up, not trusting his own ears. His gaze darted between the two females before him, and he saw a gentle smile curving Ziritha’s lips.
“Hear me, son.” Verakko blinked as his mother’s sway demanded entry. He looked at her, breath caught in his throat. “I cannot make you her guardian, so in public, you’ll treat her as a betrothed male would any female who wasn’t his future wife. If it’s reported to me that you’re in violation of the exclusivity clause in your contract, I’ll have no choice but to send you off-world. Do you hear me? I will not have the public’s respect for Ziritha or myself affected because of this, not now when we need their support and loyalty more than ever.”
Verakko grinned, nodding. “I understand. Thank you. Thank you both.”
“And if you don’t recognize her—”
“I’ll honor the terms of our contract,” Verakko finished for her.
His mother peered at him for a moment longer. Before spinning and walking away, she said, “Return in three days.”
When she was out of sight, Verakko glanced nervously at Ziritha.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” She reached out and gripped his shoulder. “I’d hate to see you throw your future away on a female who may not deserve you.”
“I think it’s more likely I don’t deserve her.” Verakko’s brows furrowed. “I’m sorry, Ziritha. I see now I don’t deserve you, either. You should be angry with me. I’ve dishonored you, yet you seem so willing to violate our laws to help me.”
“It’s Ziri.” Ziritha smiled and gave a delicate shrug. “What can I say? If you have even the slightest chance to find a real mate, I’m not going to take that away from you.” She leaned in close and whispered seriously, “Don’t mess it up.”
Ziritha strode away through the same door his mother had.
Verakko’s smile drooped lower and lower until it wasn’t a smile at all. Three days?
Fuck, I’m gonna mess it up.
Chapter 18
Lily was floating. No, that didn’t make sense. Her head was floating? She laughed. Yeah, that was it. Her head was cloudy, lighter than air.
“She’s waking up,” a melodic voice said from near her elbow.
Lily stretched, reveling in the satisfying zing of pleasure that coursed through her with the movement. Suddenly, hands were gripping the sides of her face.
“Lily, are you alright? Talk to me.”
A solid train of thought was hard to hold on to at the moment, but she noticed the sway tickling her senses and pushed it away. “Stop that,” she slurred, swiping clumsily at the hands holding her cheeks. “Verakkoooo’s the only one can do that.” She giggled as her own droopy voice played in her ears. “The. Only. One. Who. Can. Do. That,” she amended, pausing on each word to ensure she had in fact included them all this time.
“Oh, thank the Goddess.” The hands moved from around her cheeks and gently glided over her forehead. “It’s me, love. It’s Verakko. I’m here. Will you look at me?”
“Verakko!” she said excitedly, forcing her eyes open.
Verakko’s face, a paler shade of teal than she’d ever seen it, loomed above her.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, grinning like a fool. Whatever drugs they’d given her were most certainly working. Lily tilted her head, examining her alien’s beautiful worried face, and pouted. “I never wanna go outside again.”
A toothy grin transformed his features. “Then we won’t.”
Memories returned to her slowly, and the haze began to lift. “Wait a minute,” Lily said, furrowing her brows. “I’m supposed to be mad at you.” Her mind was still feeling a little goofy, but the argument they’d gotten into before she’d been attacked by that flower thing replayed in her ears.
Verakko’s grin faded, and he licked his lips.
Lily shook her head, trying to clear the fog a little faster. She pushed at his hands and struggled to sit up. “What happened?” She scanned the room and found another man settled in a corner glowering in Verakko’s direction.
“You were stung by a vonilace,” Verakko choked out.
Lily stared around the small white room. A metal object that may have once been a couch or maybe a cot lay mangled in a corner. A large glass tube along a wall caught her attention, and she wordlessly pointed at it. A coffin—she remembered being in a coffin.
She looked back at Verakko. The lightness had worn off, and now her mind was too full. Fear and anger, hurt and betrayal all roared to the forefront until the tight lump in her throat choked her. He’d lied to her. He was getting married.
Verakko reached for her, but she pulled away. Her eyes landed on the man in the corner again, and she clamped her mouth shut. They really needed to finish this argument in private.
He let out a small, pained exhalation as if someone had punched him in the stomach.
“Is there somewhere we can go?” she whispered.
“Yes. I wanted to be here when you woke up, but I need to go for a few minutes to get you some clothes before we can leave. Then I can take you somewhere else. You’ll be safe in the medbay with Desy until I get back, I promise.”
A medbay. Was that where she was? Her fingers itched to reach out and beg him not to leave her alone, but the anger and betrayal she was still feeling pushed her prideful side to remain still. “Fine,” she grumbled, not meeting his eyes. “Wait!” she blurted, suddenly alert. “Alex. We need to find help for Alex.” Lily flung her blanket off and made to stand, but Verakko pushed her back down.
“I already sent a team,” he assured. “It was the first thing I did after I got you here.” He peered over to the man in the corner, who returned the glance with a raised brow. “I’ll tell you more about it later, okay?”
Lily nodded, momentary relief clouding her thoughts. She peered at the comforting hand still resting on her shoulder and shrugged it off. Verakko winced, lingering. After a long moment of charged silence, he stomped away.
“Don’t let her go anywhere,” he hissed at the annoyed-looking man in the corner.
The man frowned and quickly slid a forefinger and thumb up the point of his ear in a gesture Lily had never seen before, but somehow still looked rude. The equivalent of a middle finger, perhaps?
Verakko pressed his hand to the surface of the knobless door, and it whizzed open. He remained still for a moment, shoulders bunched and fists clenched, but then finally walked through without looking at her again. A curious pain tugged in her chest as the door slid closed behind him. Not a familiar ache of longing
but a real, physical tug, as if something inside her was urging her to follow him.
After he was gone, Lily studied her doctor-turned-jailor—at least she assumed he was a doctor. His clothes were monochromatic and simple in a way that made her think it wasn’t the style, but a uniform of sorts. His close-cropped grass-green hair and green skin, a darker forest green than Verakko’s teal coloring, told her he was Swadaeth as well.
“Hello,” she began tentatively. “Can you tell me what happened to me?”
The man assessed her in silence. When his gaze paused at her neck, she had to stop herself from pulling at the collar of her pale yellow, shapeless gown. “As he said—” he nodded toward the closed door, “—you were stung by a vonilace.”
“And what exactly is a vonilace?” Lily asked, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.
The man stood and began walking around the room, cleaning up spilled bottles and askew pieces of cabinetry. “Vonilace is a type of vining plant that hides under the sand in the Dakuun Desert. It spreads below the surface and produces one bulb at a time. If a stray creature happens to walk too close, the bulb will rise and inject the animal, or in your case, human.” He said the word slowly, like it was odd to him. “The toxin paralyzes then poisons its victim while the buried vines pull its immobilized prey under the sand.”
Lily’s gut churned anew.
Unaware of the effect he was having on her, the doctor continued, “Then, small suckers along the vine will latch on to the animal and drain all the moisture from its body. Quite a fascinating plant, in fact.”
A small grunt of agreement was all she could muster. A killer plant had almost drained her dry.
The doctor lifted a corner of the crumpled metal cot with a finger and made a sound of annoyance. “Your…” He dropped the cot with a clang and eyed her. “I mean, Verakko, dragged you away and carried you here just in time. Most would’ve died within minutes.” His look of indifference suddenly changed to one of curiosity. “It must be something to do with your race. Tell me, are you immune to many toxins?”
Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 Page 20
