"How did you get in here, brother? My chambers are sealed."
The minister shrugged his wide shoulders. "I'm in charge of planetary defense. You think I don't know the code to open your door?"
"You could have signaled like everyone else."
There was annoyance in the regent's voice as his skin began to shift, lightening from orange, moving toward yellow. He was getting pissed and rightly so. She could have still been half dressed. He was the Supreme Ruler, right? The Minister couldn’t pull a trump card, could he?"
“You summoned me, brother," the Minister of Defense stated.
The regent took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. "I did, but you took so damn long that I forgot. Forgive me, but don’t walk into my chambers without knocking again.”
The other male simply nodded, as if saying nothing was better than offering a retort of sorts.
X continued, “Dr. Cohen and I were attacked this afternoon by Hareema infiltrators masquerading as your guards."
The Minister of Defense's reaction was minimal. "Where were you attacked?"
"In a transport vessel, returning from the resting place of the regents."
A dark eyebrow lifted on the maroon alien. "You took her to meet Mother?"
X scowled at his brother. "Drake, that's irrelevant. Maybe you didn't hear me. Two guards, the same two guards who were in your chambers, tried to take me prisoner. If it wasn't for the Earthling female, they would have succeeded in replacing me."
"The female stopped them?"
Sylvie bristled at the surprise she heard in the Minister's voice. "Yes, I stopped them. I fried them to a crisp. What you should be worrying about is how they could have gotten so close to your brother. So close to you."
The Minister eyed her, almost as if seeing her for the first time. His voice was far too monotone. Either he was numbed to the situation or he was hiding something. The latter of the two seemed more possible.
"I underestimated you.” Drake’s eyes moved across Sylvie as if assessing her worth. "I won't make that mistake a second time."
"I'm not sure I believe you, brother." X stared him down. "You've been making mistakes left and right."
"If you think I'm responsible for those two guards--"
"Of course not, Drake." X crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "Even I didn't realize anything was off about them, but you haven't been able to bring up the defense grid. The Earthling ship is still inactive as well, and worst of all, throughout this whole crisis, you've been running around, showing your maroon to everyone you meet. It's bad for morale."
The Zantharians had skin that changed color with strong emotion. Maroon indicated some form of fear or anxiety. It's the only color she'd seen on the Minister of Defense since she'd met him. The threat of an enemy invasion seemed to have him thoroughly scared.
The minister frowned. "There are more important things to worry about besides my skin color. For instance, how do we know this female isn't part of the plot? They could have set up your kidnapping to gain your trust."
X rounded on his brother, grabbing the braid that ran across his chest and tugging him closer so that the Minister's face was only inches from the regent's. "Dr. Cohen is not the enemy. She's proven herself to me multiple times, and Mother agrees."
X took a step back but didn't release the braid. "And, just to make myself absolutely clear, I want you to get a hold on your emotions. No more maroon in front of the men. That's an order."
Drake scowled, pulling his braid out of his brother's grip.
"Like I said, there are more important issues than my color. You'll see for yourself the moment you try to walk out that door." The Minister of Defense moved toward the exit. "Even if you think you can trust her, she could still be your downfall."
A snarl took up residence on the regent's face, his skin bright yellow. He didn't say anything as his brother walked out languidly, the membrane-esque wall resealing itself. X’s breathing was far heavier than she had heard it before and it seemed to take a few minutes for him to gather his wits about him. His skin darkened back to green before too long and he glanced up at her.
"It's strange," he said after his color returned to neutral. "My brother has never been one to parade his fear around for everyone to see. I would have expected him to focus more on the guards than on--." His eyes lit on her and his mouth closed.
"On me?" Sylvie nodded. "I don't know the guy, but I think maybe he's finding the stress of his position a bit overwhelming at the moment." Then she remembered that she was trying to get a ticket off this planet. "Still, he's got a point."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm a threat."
