by Jade Waltz
“It’s my dream for you to visit my home planet once your embassy is built,” he said, shooting a glance at her. “I hope I’ll be invited to do the same.”
Jaiya cursed her fluttering heart.
They weren’t meant to be and would probably never meet after this mission.
She forced herself to keep the smile upon her face, despite the conflict raging inside her.
When she had originally accepted the mission, she only meant to escort her brother—not take his place. But she knew if he had come alone, or even with her by his side, he wouldn’t have been as successful as she’d been. His fear of the Daextru and the deadly stakes would have ruined his chances of establishing a successful peace treaty.
Now that she had been here for almost a week and had become familiar with the Daextru, she didn’t believe they were responsible for the destruction of her mother’s vessel. These people were already involved in a brutal war. Why would they start another one? Especially with a people who could provide them with a vital resource and potentially aid them against the Vresqoxk.
And even though their explanation of their evidence of the past events were enough for her, they provided copies of holodisks filled with their records and data to take back with her to prove their innocence.
She wasn’t ready to be swept away by the incoming CTA representative tomorrow, not after working alongside these males and being treated as equal, instead of as a pair of tits on feet. Not once did any of them pull rank on her, even though Idris was a prince acting as a representative.
If she had been dealing with human males, they would spend more time puffing their chests and trying to one-up each other than working on the problem at hand.
That was what conflicted Jaiya.
A part of her didn’t want to return home and face the unknown but knew that she needed to accept the consequences of her actions. Another part wanted to reveal her true identity to the prince and hope he would understand. If he caught wind of news about her deception once things settled between their species, he would feel betrayed that she wasn’t the real Aydin. She hoped he never bumped into her brother before she had the chance to explain herself.
But telling him now would only jeopardize the peace treaty, and she couldn’t return unsuccessful.
“Of course, it will be a historic moment when the creators of the peace treaty shake hands at each other’s embassies. I can’t wait to see what your home planet Dzenshju looks like,” she told Idris.
“Even if his parents are the Sovereign and Overseer?” Erlyn teased.
Jaiya stilled.
Idris laughed, dropping her hand as he held his stomach.
“You should have seen your face, Aydin!” His laughter grew louder as dark hair bounced with his bellows. “Did you forget that I’m a prince?”
“To be honest, yes,” Jaiya explained, feeling the contagious joy roll off him. “You act so normal compared to the males I usually deal with.”
“Should I be worried?” he asked, settling down into a smile. “I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
“And what would that be?”
He jerked to attention, his body rigid and head held high. “I am Prince Idris, fifth in line of the Daextru throne, and a deadly starstorm pilot.” He smirked as he peered down his nose at her. If not for his sapphire-blue body and golden horns, scales, and tail, she would have mistaken him for the typical pompous male.
“I don’t know, Prince Idris, I heard you have a fan club back home.” She latched herself onto one of his arms, instantly gaining his full attention. He watched her intensely as she raised the pitch of her voice to imitate the women who always lingered around space stations, waiting to be the picked for a good night out and a one-night stand. “Oh, Stars! You are so handsome, big boy.” Her gaze dropped to his pectorals, and sensually traced aimless circles on the scales. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll show you a good time.”
Resting her palm on his chest, she looked up to give him a teasing wink, but her breath caught. He stared down at her with a hooded gaze, watching her every move.
A hard cough jerked her out of her trance. She automatically let go of Idris and backed away.
Way to blow your cover, Jaiya! Why am I so stupid?
“I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me. Please forgive me,” she begged, unable to meet his gaze. She didn’t want to see him angry or upset that a male had hit on him, a prince, even as a joke—especially since his people rarely mated outside of traditional coupling.
When she had asked about the prince’s relationship with Erlyn, and how it came to be, Raizxl told her about the liege-assistant relationship. Erlyn had worked his way up to stand beside Idris and had sworn himself to the prince. They were best friends, as close as brothers, which became obvious to Jaiya as they slowly relaxed and opened themselves around her.
Idris shook his head and shot her a wary smile. “It’s okay. I knew you were playing around and didn’t mean anything by it.”
“We need to report to the hangar’s Control Room and check with Commander Ajexk about tomorrow’s talks and any new updates,” Erlyn murmured, trying to ease the pervasive awkwardness within the room.
“I’ll let both of you go, then.” Jaiya slowly backed away from the table. “Have a nice night. See you tomorrow for the big day!”
Jaiya rushed through the war room’s door, not wanting to spend another second on that catastrophic conversation. She had just made an ass of herself, and there wasn’t any time for her to correct her mistake. Not completely, anyway, and definitely not before the signing.
“Hey! What’s wrong?” Raizxl asked, as he caught up to her.
Jaiya shot a glance at the broody guard. “I embarrassed myself. I need to fight something in order to take my mind off it.”
“Do you want to return to the practice battle arena?”
“I was hoping you would say that,” Jaiya replied. “Anything to feel better.”
“I’ve got the perfect thing.”
Jaiya stood in the middle of the dark room, breathing heavily, as she watched the blue sphere hover in the air, waiting for her next opponent to coalesce.
She could pick a preprogrammed opponent—either a creature, Daextru, or another species—or design her own. However, she would rather let Raizxl’s choice surprise her.
He’d agreed that he would keep his selections within the same relative skill level as hers, and so far, he’d kept his word.
Both Raizxl and Erlyn’s imitation AIs were challenging, but not enough so that she would leave the arena in pain. She didn’t mind getting a bruise here or there, but she wanted to be able to walk without wincing. The blue sphere dimmed, as if the program was shutting down, but the overhead lights weren’t slowly turning on.
“Hello, Aydin,” Idris purred. “Care to spar?”
Jaiya turned around to face the new opponent, shocked to see the prince. He was dressed in the same living cloth as her, but his glowed blue. The suit’s lighting reflected off of his golden horns and scales, making him appear ethereal.
She looked up, in the direction of the observation window, wondering why Raizxl was pitting her against the prince’s projection.
Is this some sort of sick joke? A test?
“It’s my turn to see just how much of a male you are.”
“Excuse me?” she asked as she faced him, unable to comprehend what he was saying. None of the other AIs had communicated with her.
“I have observed enough of your matches to believe I’ll be able to best you.” He smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”
The male before her was not the male she had gotten to know during the mission. No, this had to be his projection, equipped with the attitude he flaunted while he flew his starstorm.
Confident. Cocky. Arrogant.
“I don’t want to fight you—not like this.” She shook her head, taking a step back. “I would rather fight Ajexk, or have another match with Raizxl, than
deal with your attitude.”
He tilted his head and studied her with a calculated gaze, before throwing a dagger at her. “Catch!”
Jaiya scrambled to catch the spinning dagger before it hit her.
As soon as her dominant hand wrapped itself around the dagger, Idris lunged, forcing her to retreat. He kept her on the defensive, shifting left and right with each step until her back hit the hard wall.
The corner of Idris’s lip curled, his fangs glinting in his suit’s blue light.
“My soldiers have asked me: what kind of male can you be if you need a guard to escort you through a bare starbase? Some want to know exactly how far your skills go.”
“What’s the point of this?” she demanded, keeping her focus on the movement of his two daggers at all times.
“I want to know if you have the courage to fight me without hesitation.” He leaned forward. “If you have the strength and swiftness to beat me.”
“So basically, you want to know if I have the guts—or stupidity—to fight you.” She rolled her eyes. ”If you are a male in your prime, you shouldn’t have any problem winning against a lowly diplomat human. Just don’t be mad when you lose.”
Jaiya growled and dove forward, dodging Idris’s first swing as his cockiness caused him to misjudge the speed of her attack. She slammed the dagger into his side, pushing him back hard enough he lost his footing in shock and confusion.
If he wanted her to fight, she would.
There is not a black hole’s chance that I’m backing down now.
He had assumed she wouldn’t accept his challenge that she’d be afraid to piss off the royal family the night before their most important meeting. He was intent on judging her, testing her, for some asinine reason.
She took a deep breath as he recovered.
“Lucky shot.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t luck.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t get another one in.”
They paced around each other in circles as each waited for the other to make the next move.
They took the first step forward at the same time, both dodging at the last moment. She spun as his tail grabbed her leg and pulled. Her survival instincts kicked in, and suddenly, she was on the offensive.
With a burst of energy, Jaiya twisted below his next attack, bending out of his reach and dropping to the ground. Idris flipped and landed on his back, tail still wrapped around her ankle.
Jaiya swung her free leg over him and straddled the prince, one dagger to his scaled neck, the other to his scalp.
“Surrender!”
They both panted hard as she waited for him to yield. She glared at her defeated challenger, unable to comprehend why he went to such lengths just to test her skills—unless he wanted her killed.
A sudden chill crept down her spine at that thought as she pinned him in place.
“Sire!”
Jaiya glanced in the direction of Erlyn’s voice, wondering how she could defend herself against another opponent.
Something golden smacked her face, knocking her to the ground. She lost her grip on her two daggers, and they clattered across the floor.
Suddenly Jaiya was the one on her back with a dagger at her throat, her hands pinned above her head.
A pair of teal eyes peered down at her, his face flooded with what she hoped was respect. His long, dark hair blocked her view of the outside world, the combined light of their suits seeping in from the holes his golden horns left in the curtain.
“Prince!” Erlyn’s voice was closer this time.
Idris leaned closer, his body pressing heavily upon hers.
“Yield,” he ordered.
Jaiya swallowed, feeling the sharp nick of the blade barely brush her skin.
She turned her head to the side, exposing her neck to the dominant male, as blood trickled from her fresh wound.
“I yield,” she whispered, closing her eyes. Her voice barely registered to her own ears.
The weight of the blade lifted away as the prince trailed his nose along her neck, breathing in her scent.
She gasped when his smooth tongue lapped at her wound. Something hard pressed against her thigh, growing with each passing moment.
She was afraid to move, to fight. Here was a side of the prince that she had never seen before, as he went from an attacker to . . . an aroused caregiver?
Was the male she had seen during the mission the true prince? Or was this who he really was?
“Idris! You must release Diplomat Aydin and leave before you do any more damage!”
Jaiya opened her eyes, the sudden brightness from the room momentarily blinding her as she searched for the source of the assistant’s voice.
When her vision cleared, she saw Erlyn staring down at them through Idris’s curtain of hair. His pale green eyes were filled with alarm and worry.
He reached down and touched his liege’s shoulder. Instantly, the prince flinched, jerking his head away from her neck. He sat up, releasing her hands as he snarled at his assistant.
Jaiya quivered in fear, helplessly pinned beneath an angry male.
“Get off of him now, or I am afraid you may jeopardize everything we have worked so hard for,” Erlyn hissed.
She watched as something snapped into place, as the reality of the situation dawned on Idris. He shook his head and stared down at her in shock, as if unable to believe what he had done.
He scrambled to his feet and stepped away from her prone form, failing to hide the large bulge straining against his tight black pants.
“Diplomat Aydin . . . I . . .” He opened his mouth at a loss for words to explain what happened.
“It is better if you leave before you make things worse,” Erlyn growled.
The prince nodded and turned to leave. Before he left the practice room, he shot a glance over his shoulder and met Jaiya’s gaze. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. . . I don’t know what got into me.”
“Leave!” Erlyn barked. As the doors closed, he looked up to the viewing windows above. “Raizxl, you are to follow the prince and make sure he remains inside his quarters until I get there.”
“What was that?” She asked, wincing when her voice cracked.
“The Daextru have always been lethal in combat.” Erlyn hesitated before offering his hand. “Something about your sparring match must have triggered an instinct deep within the prince. He has never acted this way before.”
“But why was he here?” She took his hand and allowed him to help her stand. “I thought he was just a projection until he started babbling. What he said didn’t make any sense.”
“I have never seen him like this before, not even in a high-pressure situation. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but I will get to the bottom of this.” Erlyn reached for her neck and paused before his fingers touched her. “May I?”
She nodded, trusting that he wouldn’t snap and attack her.
She watched his face while he gently touched her neck, where the blade had sliced it. She was prepared to wince in pain, but when none came, confusion settled.
“It doesn’t look like it will scar, thank the Stars.” He pulled his hand away and met her questioning gaze. “It seems like the prince used his saliva to heal you. Who knows, perhaps he was trying to correct his mistake. But he shouldn’t have been in the arena in the first place.”
“What about tomorrow?”
Erlyn opened his vest and pulled out her sheathed beamblade.
“I want you to have this,” he said, handing it to her. “May the Stars be damned if anyone complains. After tonight, I want you to be armed. You have proven your honor throughout this whole week—we were always the ones making the mistakes. I don’t want you to be afraid during your final day on this starbase.”
Jaiya grabbed her weapon from his hand and instantly felt relieved. “I want you to know that I don’t fault you for the others’ actions. You have been fair and honorable to me.” She pulled the beamblade out of its sheath
and flicked it on, inspecting its condition. She did trust him not to tamper with her belongings, but for her own peace of mind she also needed to make sure it still worked. “If we ever meet again after tomorrow, you have a friend in me.”
He gave her a soft smile. “Thank you.”
“What was that?” Erlyn demanded.
“I don’t know!”
“Do I need to call Qatszo to inspect you?” Erlyn asked, concerned. “We can’t have you attacking anyone tomorrow. It’s a historic day, and we can’t afford to lose the humans once again.”
“I will get myself under control,” Idris said as he continued to pace the floor. “I promise.”
“Can you tell me what you were thinking? What was going through your mind?”
“I don’t know,” he whined. “That’s the problem.”
“Explain to me why you attacked Aydin and then healed him.” Erlyn stepped into his path, locking his worried, pale green eyes with Idris. He placed his hands upon his shoulders. “The last time I checked, those were displays of possession.”
“It can’t be,” Idris muttered in disbelief. “I am not attracted to males.”
“Maybe not Daextru males, but who said anything about human males?” Erlyn tilted his head forward, gently clicking their horns together. “Aydin is smaller, weaker, and looks softer. It would be natural to be attracted to him, for those are the same characteristics most Daextru females have.”
Idris pulled his head away, shocked by Erlyn’s suggestion.
“I am not attracted to males, and even if I was, I would more likely be attracted to you than him. It’s not like I can be with Aydin anyhow.”
“Why not?”
“Because I scared him, and probably ruined his trust in me.”
“We’ll just need to make sure you are not alone with him until he leaves,” Erlyn muttered. “And then we can work on whatever has gotten ahold of you before the embassy visits. Perhaps that’s when you can try to mend the friendship you’ve developed.”
“I guess that is all we can do. Wish for the best.”
Erlyn studied him for a moment. “Do you need anything before I retire for the night?”