The avian alien slid between us. He pounded his chest with his right fist, pale green eyes filled with mischief.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You’re important to the Aldawi and CEG—or they’d never have offered to pay me such exorbitant credits to escort you. I’d say you’re worth a lot,” he joked in a singsong voice.
Oh yes, the peacock was clearly male and with a personality to match the plumage. It explained his showy clothing. I recalled reading male birds on Earth often attracted females with their gaudy displays.
Giving him a pointed stare, I replied, “And you would be?”
“I am Qraniebi, hired mercenary, at your service.” His wings rippled behind him as he placed his right fist on hischest and made a shallow bow. “I do the dirty jobs the Aldawi can’t without creating problems at CEG. I’m getting paid a hefty retainer to ensure your exquisite self makes it to CEG HQ without a single hair missing from that pretty head of yours.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course!Hewould reward such a flamboyant male with a fortune to deliver me to him at the space station.
“Whoever would pay that much for my safety is insane,” I said, hoping to bait him into revealing something of his employer.
“Believe it, female. I don’t work for free.” He winked as he looked me over. “Though were circumstances different, I’d say you could pay me in other ways. But given who has hired me... sorry, you’ll have to keep your hands to yourself.”
My mouth fell open in shock. He couldn’t possibly believe I would throw myself at him to gain his escort to CEG HQ...
Before I recovered enough to reply, Qraniebi turned to the princes.
“Now, if you’d send crew to unload the crates on my fighter, I’ll return to my own ship. The crates are for Selena. A gift. If you’d make sure they’re delivered to her cabin?”
“Of course.” Z’fir turned to one of the crew. “M’nto, would you please arrange for the crates to be taken to Prince V’dim’s suite. We are making it Selena’s for the remainder of the voyage.”
Kaede stood and turned to face Prince Z’fir. “I’m connected to several special military-grade drones. They’ll help me protect Selena. Though I don’t technically need your permission, I’m requesting permission to deploy them aboard your ship and ask that you instruct the crew to ignore them.”
Prince Z’fir glanced at Prince V’dim before replying. “Permission granted. As long as they do not get in anyone’s way,we will make an announcement to the crew. I do not want you or your drones to cause any problems on our ship.”
“Of course. You probably won’t even notice them.” Kaede’s voice was filled with laughter.
Gasps erupted behind the princes, and I spun to look. Ten drones the size of my fist hovered above our heads in a loose circle. They had appeared out of thin air, and I hadn’t heard a thing. Had they been here the whole time?
Xylo pulled me behind him as his vines unwrapped themselves from around his torso. They whipped through the air, a waving shield protecting me from the drones. I wrapped my arms around his chest, feeling his cool, smooth scales under my hands as I leaned into his back. His petal-wings shifted to partially shield me in their embrace.
I peered out at the drones from the safety of Xylo’s back. Surprisingly, I hadn’t been scared by the drone’s sudden appearance. I marveled at the audacious display.
“Stand down everyone. The drones will not harm you.” Prince V’dim’s voice was full of amusement as he stared at Kaede. “Amazing devices. Perhaps a little warning next time?”
Laughter exploded from Qraniebi, sounding like ringing chimes. “There is no warning when it comes to Kaede. He wouldn’t want to warn his target and make it harder to kill them. It’s why he is the best. You’d be shot—dead before your body hit the ground. Just make sure no one messes with Selena, and you have nothing to worry about. Your ship just got a little more interesting.”
“I can discuss logistics with your security if required, but I insist I be the one to protect her. Your security resources can be reassigned elsewhere,” Kaede stated matter-of-factly.
“We have worked alongside the Aldawi before, and though we have never seen your work firsthand, we have seen its effects. You are one of the Aldawi’s newer specialized units, are you not?” Prince Z’fir asked with a smirk.
“Yes. And I believe we were involved in a few of the same battles during the war though we never met in person. I generally work as far from allies as possible to prevent casualties from friendly fire—a quick-strike specialized unit, deadly to anyone who crosses the Aldawi and those they protect.”
Xylo’s vines had wrapped around me as I leaned against his back. I could tell he was still feeling protective, which made me smile. I gave him a squeeze as I dropped a kiss between his shoulder blades as a thank you. A shiver raced through the vines that were wrapped around me.
“It’s okay, Xylo. He was sent to protect me. I think we can trust him.”
“You are mine to protect.”Xylo’s deep mental voice sounded strained.“But it is not my place to gainsay the Aldawi, so I can do nothing about it.”
“Just because he’s here doesn’t mean you’ve been replaced. You can protect me in other ways,”I comforted.
“What ways?”
“My health... which includes my current hunger,”I joked as my stomach growled loudly.
CHAPTER TEN
