When she had asked about the prince’s relationship with Erlyn, and how it came to be, Raizxl told her about the liege-assistant relationship. Erlyn had worked his way up to stand beside Idris and had sworn himself to the prince. They were best friends, as close as brothers, which became obvious to Jaiya as they slowly relaxed and opened themselves around her.
Idris shook his head and shot her a wary smile. “It’s okay. I knew you were playing around and didn’t mean anything by it.”
“We need to report to the hangar’s Control Room and check with Commander Ajexk about tomorrow’s talks and any new updates,” Erlyn murmured, trying to ease the pervasive awkwardness within the room.
“I’ll let both of you go, then.” Jaiya slowly backed away from the table. “Have a nice night. See you tomorrow for the big day!”
Jaiya rushed through the war room’s door, not wanting to spend another second on that catastrophic conversation. She had just made an ass of herself, and there wasn’t any time for her to correct her mistake. Not completely, anyway, and definitely not before the signing.
“Hey! What’s wrong?” Raizxl asked, as he caught up to her.
Jaiya shot a glance at the broody guard. “I embarrassed myself. I need to fight something in order to take my mind off it.”
“Do you want to return to the practice battle arena?”
“I was hoping you would say that,” Jaiya replied. “Anything to feel better.”
“I’ve got the perfect thing.”
* * *
Jaiya stood in the middle of the dark room, breathing heavily, as she watched the blue sphere hover in the air, waiting for her next opponent to coalesce.
She could pick a preprogrammed opponent—either a creature, Daextru, or another species—or design her own. However, she would rather let Raizxl’s choice surprise her.
He’d agreed that he would keep his selections within the same relative skill level as hers, and so far, he’d kept his word.
Both Raizxl and Erlyn’s imitation AIs were challenging, but not enough so that she would leave the arena in pain. She didn’t mind getting a bruise here or there, but she wanted to be able to walk without wincing. The blue sphere dimmed, as if the program was shutting down, but the overhead lights weren’t slowly turning on.
“Hello, Aydin,” Idris purred. “Care to spar?”
Jaiya turned around to face the new opponent, shocked to see the prince. He was dressed in the same living cloth as her, but his glowed blue. The suit’s lighting reflected off of his golden horns and scales, making him appear ethereal.
She looked up, in the direction of the observation window, wondering why Raizxl was pitting her against the prince’s projection.
Is this some sort of sick joke? A test?
“It’s my turn to see just how much of a male you are.”
“Excuse me?” she asked as she faced him, unable to comprehend what he was saying. None of the other AIs had communicated with her.
“I have observed enough of your matches to believe I’ll be able to best you.” He smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”
The male before her was not the male she had gotten to know during the mission. No, this had to be his projection, equipped with the attitude he flaunted while he flew his starstorm.
Confident. Cocky. Arrogant.
“I don’t want to fight you—not like this.” She shook her head, taking a step back. “I would rather fight Ajexk, or have another match with Raizxl, than deal with your attitude.”
He tilted his head and studied her with a calculated gaze, before throwing a dagger at her. “Catch!”
Jaiya scrambled to catch the spinning dagger before it hit her.
As soon as her dominant hand wrapped itself around the dagger, Idris lunged, forcing her to retreat. He kept her on the defensive, shifting left and right with each step until her back hit the hard wall.
The corner of Idris’s lip curled, his fangs glinting in his suit’s blue light.
“My soldiers have asked me: what kind of male can you be if you need a guard to escort you through a bare starbase? Some want to know exactly how far your skills go.”
