by Jade Waltz
“You lie,” she spat, waving her hands to gesture for us to go away. “She already had a triad, and they did unspeakable things to her. If it were true, then the Stars are playing a cruel joke on her, and she has reasons to reject anyone interested in her.”
“Why would we lie about something as serious as this?” Ajamu demanded, stepping forward. “Rowdu triads only have one shot—one opportunity—to find the core they are destined to be with. This isn’t a game to us, and I refuse to let her slip away from our life, after we just discovered her, without an explanation of why we aren’t good enough.”
“Brother,” I hissed, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. “You shouldn’t take your frustrations out on her. It’s not her fault we are in this predicament, and she is the only lead we have to our core.”
“Those are large declarations. Something that I will need proof of before I let you know any information I may have on the two that you seek.” Her icy gaze looked between us, freezing me on the spot when our eyes locked. “How can I be sure that your government didn’t send you to take Caia away? I know how much your kind loves to stay amongst each other. A young Rowdu living with a human on a space station far from your sol system isn’t something that you often see.”
“What if we return with proof that our royal family wants nothing to do with us?’ Ajamu offered, taking a step back. “Would that be enough for you to know that we are only here on good intentions?”
“I don’t know if I should be impressed that you would have such proof.” She let out a chuckle as she shook her head before steeling herself. “Or worried for Elya.”
“We aren’t criminals. If that is what you are suggesting,” I corrected. “We were merely working for the wrong employer at the wrong time and fell victim to their cruelty, along with many others.”
“It’s odd how this universe works sometimes,” she said. “The evil ones always prey on those who are kind and are often left unchecked, in fear of punishment themselves. It takes a strong soul to stand up against them, and perhaps one day, they will.”
“What does this have to do with us trying to court Elya?” Ajamu asked, shooting me a confused look. “Or us, for that matter?”
“If what you claim is true, then you may have more in common than what you think.”
Chapter Twelve
Elya
“Do you feel any discomfort?” Karvyan asked, curling a finger under the edges of Caia’s bandage as his violet eyes scanned his work. “It feels secure, but I need to make sure it isn’t too tight for you.”
“Other than the bandage movement a little, making my whole torso feel stiff, I feel fine.”
“Perfect.” Karvyan grinned. “As long as your wraps are secure and you are capable of breathing easily with them, then I don’t see why you can’t be completely healed in a few days.”
As I watched him take his time to carefully spread ointment on Caia’s wound before bandaging her up, I didn’t witness any warning signs of aggression or resentment from him.
The medic had removed himself from his personal bias. Instead, he treated her with a kindness that I had always wanted her to experience from a father-like figure. He respected her boundaries and had listened to her whenever she voiced her discomfort or brief moments of pain.
Other medics that tended to me while I was at the palace had detached themselves too, but they also didn’t have any empathy when it came to the wounds my original triad had given me. It was as if they were afraid of what would happen to themselves if they showed any brief lapse of caring for me.
I didn’t even want to comprehend what had happened to all of the staff members who had disappeared overnight. Then, one morning, I woke up to an entirely new roster, and I was afraid to ask the explanation for why it happened.
Questions only brought more attention to me. I worked as hard as I could to stay hidden from my triad, believing if I stayed out of their sight, they would forget about me.
Only they never did.
“When can I see you again?” Karvyan asked, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
“Who? Me?”
“No, me, Mother,” Caia mocked, rolling her eyes. “Of course he’s speaking to you unless he’s offering to bandage me every day.”
“I can if you want,” he hastily said, as he failed to hide the excitement in his voice. “It wouldn’t be a problem. You could come here for a new wrapping and progress check-up… Or perhaps, I could stop by your residence.”
“Our home?” I said, covering my heart with my hand as I shot a glance at my daughter, who gave me two quick thumbs up. “We don’t have much…”
“You aren’t homeless, are you?” His smile dropped as his voice turned serious. “If you are, my triad has extra room in our vessel. Enough for both of you to have your own cabins.”
“You live on a ship?” I frowned.
While the offer sounded nice, it also meant that they could take us wherever they wanted, even against our will, and there would be nothing we could do about it. Blindly giving them that much trust when I’d just met them wasn’t something I was willing to do.
Not yet, anyway.
Yet it also meant if the royal family sent a search party for Caia and me, they would be able to take us away… or to them if the reward were high enough.
I needed to know who they worked for and their real reason for being here before I allowed them to get too close.
“Currently,” he replied, “my brothers and I hope to settle down one day… Perhaps even planetside. Right now, we are trying to find work so we can collect the funds needed to do so.”
“We’ve been doing the same.”
“You are welcome to visit our ship if you would like. I can send you the information to where we are docked to your wristband.” He stepped away from Caia and pressed some buttons on his tablet and peered at me. “Even if you decide to want nothing to do with us, I would feel better if you knew where our ship is located in case you ever need anything.”
“Are you saying I should be worried about something?” I scanned the infirmary and didn’t see anyone acting odd or paying attention to us. Only the sounds from the machines and soft murmurs of the medic speaking with their clients filled the room. “Or are you trying to tempt me to visit your ship?”
“Who doesn’t love a pilot?” Caia asked wistfully. “Being able to explore what’s out there and visit all the amazing planets I’ve read about.”
“Sadly, I am only a medic.” He chuckled. “It’s my brother, Ajamu, who’s the pilot. But once we have the funds to refill our energy banks, I am sure he would gladly take you both wherever you want.”
“Really?” Caia asked, grabbing his arm. “Even that ice planet where cities are built in caves? I’ve been wanting to visit their hot springs that a coworker has been bragging about.”
Karvyan nodded. “If you want. As long as it’s okay with your mother.”
“We aren’t going to an ice planet.” I clasped my arms as my body shook from the mere thought of walking through deep snow in a blizzard. “I’m cold even thinking about it. If we’re going to go anywhere, then it will be somewhere with beaches and hot sun.”
“Beaches are overrated,” Caia said, rolling her eyes. “Why not pick something different?”
“You’ve never been off of the space station, so how would you know?” I playfully pretended to claw at her arm, something she always did whenever she tried begging for something. “Plus, I bet you would love it as soon as you felt the sand between your toes as the waves dance over your feet and the sun’s rays warm you up like a loving embrace.”
“How about we go to both and then we can decide which is better?”
“Deal!”
“Do you two always argue like this?” Karvyan asked, his eyes wide open in shock.
“It’s not an argument if I’m right,” Caia countered, crossing her arms.
“We are having a fun discussion,” I explained. “Don’t you have them with your bro
thers?”
“We do, but usually it ends with our whipping tails at each other and punches in the shoulder.”
“I’m assuming if I am going to see you again, your brothers will want to be present too.” The thought of having another triad in my presence made my heartbeat quicken. “It’s only fair to everyone if I don’t accidentally play favorites. The last thing I want to do is make our situation more awkward than it already is.”
“As much as I would love to be able to have time alone with you, I believe you are correct. My brothers aren’t usually the jealous type, but with you being our core, it’s best to believe all bets are off.”
“Give me your vessel’s information,” I said, extending my wrist to him. “My daughter and I have to go to work soon, but I should be prepared to come for a visit tomorrow night. That is if we are still welcome for a tour.”
“You will honor me with such a thing?”
“I told you that I would give your triad a chance. But, let me take the precautions I need to feel comfortable, like letting my boss know where I am. That way, I can make sure it’s a safe environment for not only me but my daughter too.”
“I understand completely.” He grinned and pressed his tablet to my wrist. An audible ding rang as it lit up with his ship’s docking registration information. “I wouldn’t ask from you any less.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ajamu
“What evidence are you willing to show her, warden?” Eynar asked as soon as we entered our ship. “Are you going to provide her with our banishment papers? Or perhaps give her a copy of the announcement that has been passed around the galaxy?”
“I am going to do something even better.” Walking to our golden broken triad spear that hung on the wall as a reminder of the betrayal the royal line had done to us, I lifted the two halves off of their display hooks and placed them on the table. “Anyone who wants to believe we have mercenaries for our government can take a look at these. It doesn’t matter how faithful we were to the crown. They broke our bloodline’s spear, thus breaking our chance ever to secure our core… because what female would want to be tied to an illegitimate family name, tarnished by the actions of a deranged prince, and preventing any offspring a legacy.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Eynar hissed. “Why would you want to parade around the space station with our broken triad spear? Do you want to put a target on our backs? We are already having problems finding work as it is. Displaying proof of our punishment in public wouldn’t do any good, especially if this is your insane idea to prove to Elya and her friend that we mean no harm.”
“What do you believe we should do?” I waved my hand at him. “I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas.”
“Because I don’t have any at the moment,” he huffed. “Even though I am against taking our heirloom off of the ship, I don’t believe showing her our papers and the recordings will be enough to convince her. It would be our word against our government.”
“We don’t even know if she will want us if we have nothing to give her,” I said, collapsing onto a bench.
Running a hand through my hair, I peered at our sacred spear and remembered how much I used to polish it before bed. My need to make sure it was always in its top form drove me to do it, even on the nights where I just wanted to go straight to sleep. Then again, the fear of not knowing when we would discover our core and not having it prepared to give it to her if she wanted to bond right away.
“But Eyra is human,” Eynar hedged. “It’s unlikely she would understand the significance of our triad’s sacred spear or care if it is broken.”
“But don’t they exchange rings?”
“Yeah,” Eynar said. “I heard it’s how they claim each other. Since their teeth and claws are too dull to make any permanent mating marks, they do it in rings to prove how much they are worth.”
“Do you think we need to acquire some rings for ourselves?”
“I highly doubt we would be able to afford such a request any time soon,” Eynar countered as he unhooked his tablet from his utility belt and pressed a few buttons. “We barely have enough funds to pay our daily docking fee and one meal for each of us for the next seven days. How are we supposed to replenish our funds when we can’t find work?”
“We have to depend on the income Karvyan brings in for the time being.”
“I met our mate!” Karvyan announced as he entered the ship and closed the hatch behind him. His face beamed with excitement as he sat down at the table beside me. “She touched me, and my markings glowed, proving what you said is true!”
“You met our core?” My mouth opened in shock.
“You were supposed to be working all day,” Eynar replied, his eyebrows scrunched with thought. “The only way you would’ve been able to meet her would be if you skipped your shift… or she came to the infirmary..”
Karvyan nodded. “You are correct. Our core came into the infirmary needing assistance, and since their primary medic was on vacation, I was able to assist her.”
“What happened to her to require her to go to the infirmary?” I stood. “Does she need our help now?”
“That won’t be needed.” Karvyan wrapped his tail around my torso and directed me to sit back down. “Her daughter injured herself while she was running away from you both last night. Since her body is currently within a growth stage, it isn’t healing as quickly as it should.”
“Should we be concerned?”
Karvyan shook his head. “None is needed unless her wounds get infected before it seals, but her daughter asked me to rebandage her daily until I am happy with the results.”
“How are you supposed to see her?” I frowned. While I was glad that her daughter was willing to return for his assistance, I couldn’t help but be jealous of the fact that he would be interacting with our core every day without us needing to be around. I knew that small moments like this would help us slowly gain both our core’s and her daughter’s trust. “Did she say anything about us?”
“I convinced her to come visit our ship.” Karvyan grinned widely as he leaned backward and tucked his hands behind his head. “She asked if it were okay if the both of them stopped by tomorrow night.”
“How did you do that?”
“I just had a normal conversation about traveling and visiting places of interest with both of them.” He shrugged. “I believe the less we pressure her about the bond, the more she will be open to becoming the core of our triad officially. If we allow her to make all of the decisions by herself and give her the necessary resources she needs to feel safe and comfortable with us, she will learn to open up and trust us.
“As much as the three of us want to rush into this, we can’t allow our excitement to push her away. “
Chapter Fourteen
Elya
“What do you mean they were here?” I hissed and peered over my shoulder to make sure I didn’t wake up Caia. She remained sleeping soundly on her top bunk. Her tail twitched as it dangled off the side, which would make it more difficult for me to climb into my bottom bunk later.
“The two emerald Ely Rowdu males stood at the entrance of the cafe and peered at the sign with confused looks on their faces.” Nami chuckled. “After watching them bicker for some time, I finally decided to ask them if they needed any help, in hopes they would leave instead of scaring off any more potential guests.”
“Compared to the other species aboard this space station, they aren’t that scary.”
“No, but they are large, and standing side by side, they easily blocked the entrance.” Nami crossed her arms as she leaned against a stack of crates. “With all the drama happening amongst the Rowdu, the last thing I want is trouble near my establishment. I’ve worked too hard to make my cafe a safe place for others like you needing somewhere to go or a place to work until they can be on their own.”
“I don’t believe they would purposely cause trouble.”
“No, they won’t,” she countered. “B
ut from what I’ve heard, there has been an uptick of unemployed Rowdu arriving on the space station looking for work. Something about mass banishment and public spear breaking. It’s safe to say the story your males told me has lined up to the word on the station.”
“Are you saying they’ve lost their sacred spear?” I covered my mouth in shock.
It was no wonder they’d been so devastated. A triad without a spear is nothing, and the fact that I had rejected them without this knowledge must’ve been a big blow to their already fragile self-worth.
“I’ve looked into it, and now I’m letting you know.” She gave me her all-knowing stare—one she only used whenever she had used her connections from the lower floors. “From what I’ve been told and the short conversation I had with them, they seem like good males. A little too eager to please, but they only want the best for you.”
“I’m starting to get that feeling too.” I sighed as my lips curled into a smile from the memory of how gentle Karvyan was with Caia when he mended her wounds. “It’s just so hard to trust once again fully. I know from experience, it’s our connection that’s making me at ease with them, but I don’t want to follow blindly.”
“Then don’t.”
Nami leaned forward and grabbed my hands, holding them together between us. Her gaze locked on to mine and refused to let me go. I knew whatever she said would be essential, and I’ve always welcomed any advice and opinions she was willing to give.
“I understand how you feel right now, Elya, for I am a victim too,” she whispered calmly. “But don’t you dare compare yourself to me and what I’ve achieved. Instead of shutting down, I lost myself in my job—and this establishment—needing to find one source of stability in my life. So I held on to it tightly and refused to let the universe take it away from me. This host club was my foundation and what I’ve used to teach myself how to love myself again, but now that I have my own company and I know who I am, I feel like I’ve missed out on what I’ve always wanted before that night happened to me.
