“So, they can be let out of their…quarters?” Rosalie says excitedly.
“If you would be willing to supervise,” I suggest.
“Me?”
“My warriors have a healthy fear of you now. They would be on their best behavior.” I grin at her.
“And, um, the other thing?” Rosalie averts her eyes from me and stares at her hand in her lap. “I know it’s not my place. I know I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours, but it seems to me your warriors are at their best, or the best they can be, when they have structure. Like those who went to guard the scout ship when it landed.”
“I love my crew as if they are my brothers. They have done things I have asked them to without question and more.” I kizz my little flame again because I like kizzing her. “I brought them through the worm hole, I put them in their current state, I want them to be able to do what they want.”
Rosalie studies my face and stays silent. I wonder if she is considering envenomating me, but I think there would be more signs.
“However, I appreciate some structure is needed to avoid situations like this morning.”
“Perhaps not everyone in the dining hall at once,” Rosalie suggests. “That would be a start.”
“Your word is my command, my little flame.”
She places both her hands against my chest, staring up into my face, looking over me carefully.
“I don’t mean to overstep, Dante,” she says. “If you think your crew wouldn’t like this, then don’t do it on my account. Like I said, I’ve been here no time at all, and if it’s not my place, then please ignore me.”
Rosalie tries to pull away from me, but I won’t let her.
“Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to lift us up.” I stroke my thumb over her fine, scaleless skin. “And sometimes innovation comes out of change. I do not care how long you have been here, little flame. If you wish to set fire to the way we do things, I consider it is for the better, not the worse.”
Her eyes light up, and she puts her hand on my shoulder, an area I might never wash again, unless it is to lick it clean and know she was with me.
“Thank you, Dante. That means more than you could ever know.”
DANTE
This is mayhem the likes of which I didn’t think possible to unleash. Three tiny sarkarnlings flash past me, screeching at the top of their lungs as Dart chases after them, calling out something about aquium time.
There are at least five halfway up the walls of the atrium in the leaves, only two of which have any ability to shift at all. The other three are crying out to be rescued.
As for the sounds coming from the dining hall, I can only surmise it is a food fight…again.
I don’t think my crew has ever been happier.
“Will someone get the sarkarnlings down from there?” I point above me. “And get them some snacks.”
At the mention of snacks, I’m suddenly surrounded by a multitude of little ones as I spot Rosalie. She has the little female in her arms, the one who wouldn’t leave her alone when she met her initially. The young female is toying with her hair, and there is a smile on her face wider than a nebula.
It makes my stomach dip because Rosalie is smiling too.
“Go to the dining hall,” I tell the oldest one. “Tell the crew in the kitchens I sent you.”
They immediately take off, the smaller ones squealing in delight as I stride over to where my little flame is standing, placing my hand on the wall above her.
“This sarkarnling needs snacks,” I say.
“Do you need snacks?” Rosalie asks the little female, wriggling her fingers on her chest and making her giggle with delight. “I think you need snacks.”
“I needs snacks,” the small one says.
“Then you need to go with the others.”
