Vel is always good. She is good to all she meets. I don’t think I would trust anyone else to be handling Niska’s side of the negotiations as much as I trust my cousin.
13
Chapter 13 - Niska
Vel comes to retrieve Lois, Jaya and I from our room when dinner is apparently ready to be served. She talks animatedly to Lois about the foods that she’s convinced we’ll like, stating that she’s studied Earth foods extensively and tried to direct their chef to provide something delicious for us.
Jaya’s pinky finger squeezes around mine for a brief second while we walk side-by-side down the hallway, prompting me to look at her. She gives me a soft smile and mouths the words,‘you ok?’as we follow along behind Vel and Lois.
I nod my head and bump my shoulder into hers. “Yeah. This is all a bit new is all.” And it’s true. This is the first time we’ve been treated with any kind of respect since we’ve been abducted. Except for with Yix, and even he could only do so much. “But it’s much better than back with Mama Z’rykby, right?”
Jaya shudders and nods her head. “For sure.”
We pass many of the other royal rooms that Vel had shown us on our tour, earlier. There’s a recreation room, holo suites, and a ‘lagoon room’ which I will definitely be exploring at some point during our three day journey back to Xaavia.
When we finally reach the dining room, Lady Zalora and her three nephews are already seated, waiting for us. When we enter, Prince Kiahn and his brother, Az stand for our arrival - like we’re the ones who are royalty. It gives me a strange, bubbly feeling low in my belly for some reason. The youngest brother - the one who had interrupted us at the club - Zann, is a little slower to stand and greet us, though he gives each of us a smile and a nod.
“Niska, you are seated beside Kiahn, my dear,” Lady Zalora informs me before directing the others to their seats. I was hoping to stay close to Lois and Jaya - or even Vel, as I’ve come to like her quite a lot so far, but it looks as though I’ll be next to the Prince as he sits at the head of the table, facing Lady Zalora at the other end.
I can feel my face start to warm as I near Prince Kiahn. He’s changed his clothing now, though he still looks like he belongs in a Victorian period drama set in space. His shirt has billowy sleeves but is black now, instead of white. He’s also wearing a matching silky black waistcoat, pulled taut over his broad chest. It looks like he’s sporting golden caps on the sharp tips of his horns, too. There’s still gun harnesses around his thighs, though they’re currently empty, and a lot less noticeable against the black pants he wears.
He pulls my chair out for me, and God damn it, I must be basic as all get-out, because for some reason, it makes me smile as he helps push my alien-sized chair in. “Thank you,” I say quietly.
The Prince hovers behind my seat a second or two before I hear a murmured, “you’re welcome.”
He’s still looking at me as he sits back down - staring, in fact. His gaze so intense, it’s like I can feel it on my skin. It makes me fidget - in a good way, I think.
A crew-worker dressed in plain burgundy comes to Kiahn’s side and fills his crystal glass with a deep purple liquid, prompting the Prince to clear his throat and finally avert his gaze. Once the server is done with his refreshment, he approaches me to offer the drink, but seems to freeze momentarily, his eyes widening as he takes me in.
Is it because I’m human?
I give the Xaviann a smile and he blinks back at me, a deep blush blooming beneath the gray of his skin. “The-…uh-…” he stammers, making a move to fill my glass with shaky hands.
“I’ll take that,” Prince Kiahn clips, snatching the decanter from the crew worker. He glares at the poor male who must be several years his junior, his stature and horns nowhere near as impressive as the Prince’s and his brothers. “Gorryn, you are dismissed for the evening. Go and get some rest,” he says, jerking his chin at the server.
‘Gorryn’ nods his head bashfully and bows, but doesn’t leave without giving me and my friends a few quick, furtive glances.
Zann, Kiahn’s youngest brother chuckles to himself as he lounges in his chair next to me and watches the server go. “Some of the staff are new and aren’t as well traveled,” he says, casually leaning over his armrest to tell me.
“Meaning… they haven’t seen humans before?” I ask, more aware than I need to be that Kiahn is now filling my glass himself on my other side.
“There is that, yes,” Zann drawls, an impish smirk on his face, “but it’s more to do with that tempting little uncovered throat of yours.”
“Zann,” Kiahn warns, putting the decanter down and seating himself again.
“What? Don’t you agree, brother? Your female has such a lovely, scandalously bare neck.”
Kiahn glares at Zann, looking like he wants to launch himself across the silverware at him. Without even breaking the stare, the Prince reaches down beneath the table and grabs hold of the chair leg of my seat. I jump a little at the loud scraping noise that seems to echo in the quiet room when he slowly, but very purposefully starts dragging me toward him, and away from his brother.
Jesus, these guys are dramatic.
“Careful, Kiahn,” Zann grins, picking up his crystal glass to swill the liquid inside, looking like he’s absolutely loving being able to tease his brother over me. “If she gets any closer, she may end up in your lap again.”
With seamless movement, the Prince snarls as he jerks my chair the rest of the way so that our legs touch beneath the table. It’s not until Lady Zalora is shouting ‘enough!’ that I see he’s swiftly picked up one the sharpest of his setting’s silver knives with his other hand and embedded the tip into the polished wood of the tabletop.
I stare at the knife, the blade disappearing into the table for at least an inch as the golden hilt, decorated with an intricate pattern of inlaid chips of a precious stone seems to almost glow.
“For the love of The Four,” Zalora mutters before she stands from her seat, her own chair scraping across the floor now. Kiahn refuses to look at her, and continues to glare across me at his brother. “Zann, kindly stop baiting your brother into violence,” she starts, pinching the bridge of her nose. “And Kiahn, control yourself! The ship’s flooring and furniture cannot withstand this kind of behavior.”
