But not quite the same?
Kind of like it’s a foreign tone… and coming from underwater or something.
Tessa and I exchange a look.
“Ah, sh-” the Goddess says and I can quite clearly hear the clicking of buttons like a keyboard. The ball of light starts to float away and before I can even think, I snatch the thing right out of the air with both hands, clutching it to my chest. My eyes are screwed shut, bracing for it to burn through my pajamas.
But nothing happens.
That odd ringtone is still chiming.
Cautiously, I peel open one eye, and then the other to look down and inspect the glowing ball of light in my hands. It’s not hot like I’d expected. In fact, it feels kind of cold. And the spinning bits of light don’t feel like anything at all as they continue to whirl around, sometimes disappearing into my chest to appear back around the other side like I’m not here at all.
I look up to Tessa to find her eyes wide and her lips parted in surprise. I was going to say something - I don’t know what. What do you say when you grab ahold of an alien deity?‘Finders-kee-
No.
Not that.
There’s a subtle little whoosh sound and both Tessa and I look up to the temple just in time to see the little hollow this thing floated out of snap shut.
Then the ringtone ends.
“To what do I owe this honor, Your Highness?” an amused man’s voice drawls.
That… that’s definitelya malevoice coming from the orb in my arms. Tessa and I gape at one another. Whoever that is, they think this communicator ball is safely back inside the temple.
I take a breath, about to whisper or mouth some variation of ‘holy fuck!’ at Tessa, but she’s faster as her hand clamps over my mouth and she throws a furtive glance over at our oblivious Trixikka guards.
Someone -a male alien- groans as the orb lights up with the noise. “Don’t call me that, Zann. You know I hate when you call me that.” I blink at Tessa, her hand still covering my mouth. “Can’t I reach out via comms to find out how my little brother is doing without you being a giant geliklik? How’s the placement going?”
The other guy snorts. “Placement? Punishment, you mean?”
“Yeah… well, if you hadn’t fucked that senator’s daughter, I wouldn’t have had to send you anywhere. Besides, the sooner you finish up down there on the reserve, the sooner you can come home and enter your breeding contract, so it’s not like I want you to be there. I really don’t trust that Zyxiaan you put in place as your bride’s guard.”
Tessa’s hand slowly slips from my mouth as we both stare at the ball in my hand, very aware that we’re eavesdropping on something we don’t understand and we’re probably not meant to be hearing.
“Relax,” the first male says, sounding a little amused. “I owe him a favor. He’s trying to go clean. He’ll be on his best behavior with the human, I’m sure.”
“Wh- What do you mean, ‘he’s trying to go clean’?” There’s a pause in the conversation before I hear one of them inhale. “Zann, is he-” I can hear some movement and something that sounds like an exasperated sigh. “-Please tell me he’s not involved with the Darkstars cartel.”
“Alright,” the first male says, and I can hear the smile in his disembodied voice as I stare at the spinning orb in my hands. “He’s not involved with the Darkstars cartel…anymore.”
“Zann!For fuck’s sake! I can’t have a dangerous criminal living under the same roof as my Niska!”
Niska?!
All the blood in my body seems to rush to pulse in my ears.
Did I even hear that right?
The first male chuckles, totally unbothered by his brother’s apparent panic about… about someone called Niska? It can’t be… right? My best friend? No, that’s stupid. She’s still safe, back on Earth. “Your Niskais safe, I promise! Like I said, the Zyxiaan won’t touch your precious human bride, or mine, or Az’s…” he pauses and laughs again. “In fact, I think I’d pay to see him try itwith Az’s human - that female he picked is as feisty as the drak he rides.”
I look up at Tessa as if she knows what the hell this alien is talking about, but she’s just staring at the ball in my hands, her brows drawn in concentration.
“Niska?” I hear myself say when I look back down at the orb. My voice is hoarse and quiet, but I couldn’tnotsay something. They can’t possibly be talking about my friend, right? It just can’t be. “Did you say you have a human girl called Niska?” I ask, my voice only a little bit stronger this time.
There’s a pause before the second alien growls, “Zann… why is there a female on ourprivate comm line?”
