He nodded. “I love you, Mvarra.”
“I love you more, Mvarro,” I declared.
“Not possible,” Malik said gruffly and cut the transmission.
“That went better than I'd expected,” Braxis said brightly.
I rolled my eyes.
Chapter Forty-Five
Braxis ordered a course to be set for Earth and then summoned his warriors to the rec room. He stood before them with me at his side and told them about our conversations with the Triari and Bleiten Kings.
“What about our vengeance on Lucifer?” one of the men shouted. “And on her?” He pointed at me.
“Queen Amaranthine saved my life, as I've already told you, but, even more than that, she argued on our behalf,” Braxis said. “Without her, Lucifer would never have given us so much. She convinced him to see us as more than barbarians and to offer us a trade agreement for all of Hell's technology. It will be given in increments, but eventually, we will have access to weaponry as well as machinery. Reaksar will even be open to trade with offworlders in the future. And all of us will be granted pardons and allowed to return home.”
“We can go home?” a warrior asked in a soft tone.
“I made you that promise.” Braxis stared him down. “Did you doubt me?”
“No, Chief!” all of the men shouted.
“And Queen Amaranthine negotiated for this?” Rusalla asked.
“She did. I was with her, helping with the negotiations, and accepted the terms,” Braxis confirmed.
“What are the terms?” Rusalla asked.
“I must hunt down the Triari who betrayed us—Gregory,” Braxis said. “King Lucifer has demanded his head.”
The warriors started to grin. Lucifer had made a request that they were all eager to fulfill.
“And I will bring him Gregory's head and acknowledge Lucifer as our king,” Braxis added.
He left out the kneeling part but still, the warriors muttered uneasily.
“In exchange, Lucifer will make me a duke of Hell and allow me to govern in his stead,” Braxis added.
That changed things significantly. A dukehood for their chief? That must have seemed even more impossible than the trade agreements. The men started to look at me with shocked appreciation.
I stepped forward. “I've wronged you. At the time, I believed I was helping my mvarro but I've come to see that what I did was dishonorable and I deeply regret my actions. I don't expect your forgiveness but I offer my apologies for what I've done. I hope that interceding on your behalf has made up for it in some small fashion.”
The men looked at me and then each other. Their expressions were partially baffled and partially impressed.
Rusalla smiled broadly at me before she declared loudly, “Queen Amaranthine is our enemy no longer. She has offered reparations and humbled herself despite her royal status. She has saved our chief's life and endured your brutal behavior. I say it is enough. My vengeance is satisfied. What say all of you?”
The Fengoth warriors pounded their chests with their fists and nodded to me once. I looked at Braxis for a translation.
“They are satisfied,” Braxis said with a grin. “You are now an ally of the Fengoth.”
The men lifted their fists and gave a wordless shout.
Chapter Forty-Six
The atmosphere on the ship changed drastically. Warriors smiled and laughed, the air was full of anticipation, and I was treated with respect. Gone were the vicious comments and resentful looks. Gone was the heavy press of their anger. Braxis strode with me proudly through the corridors and grinned every time a warrior inclined his head respectfully to me.
“I didn't expect such a sudden shift in their attitudes,” I whispered as Braxis and I ate dinner in the rec room.
