“This is gorgeous.”
“It fits you,” he breathed.
He picked up the necklace from my hand and dangled it between our faces.
“Turn around, and I can put it on you,” Zirene purred.
A giggle escaped my lips as I turned to face the glass wall, peering into space. The necklace passed in front of my eyes before landing in the middle of my breastplate. I studied our faint reflection in the glass wall as he carefully locked the clasp behind me. The hardness of his claws grazed the back of my neck as his soft padded hands took care not to injure me. His focused eyes observed his work as he lightly grabbed my hair and pulled it from the necklace. I felt the cold clasp fall on my neck before I felt my hair fall between his fingers. Grasping a few strands, he brought them to his nose, closed his eyes, and breathed in.
“I am at peace now that I know you are safe— now that you are with me. My mind will be at ease to know you will be protected in my star system while I am away serving the Aldawi Empire. My wish is for you to have the freedom to do whatever you want with your moon. My only request is for you to take Kaede whenever you travel throughout space. He will protect you from any trouble.”
“Should I be worried?”
“On your moon? No. Within my star system? Probably not. Throughout the Aldawi Empire? It shouldn’t be an issue unless you are near the border. We will soon see how much of an issue it will be for you to travel to other territories.”
I grabbed my necklace and turned to face him. “Do you truly believe others will be a problem?”
He pursed his lips. “I want to say no, but that would be a lie. There are others in the CEG whose moral compass is… different. They are the ones I want to protect you from.”
The swooshing sound of a pair of doors opening filled the room, bringing my attention to the messenger in its entrance.
“The Assembly is ready to see you,” a light feminine voice announced. She was a bipedal species that closely resembled a dragonfly from Earth—bright green skin, four iridescent clear wings, and a long thin torso, almost tail-like. She wore a flowy pale-yellow dress to cover her delicate body.
“She is an Euvrel. Her species strongly supports the Aldawi,”Xylo mentioned.
“Are they peaceful?”
“They like to keep to themselves—but aren’t against supporting something they believe in. They are one of the Aldawi’s greatest allies.”
“Thank you.”
I filed that information for later. A smile crossed my face at Xylo’s thoughtfulness, even though I was still battling nerves.
“It is time,” Zirene announced.
Our group followed the messenger in silence out of the waiting room and down a short metallic hall, decorated with memorabilia. Zirene and Royak led us, their heads held high as their tails swished along with their strides. The Circuli princes followed closely behind, and my nestmates and I trailed behind them.
As we walked up to the doors at the end, they automatically opened, revealing the Assembly beyond.
I gasped in awe at the room.
Dome-shaped and about the size of the terrarium on theDestiny, it contained four tiers of seating, filled with beings sorted and grouped by their species. A hallway separated each species-assigned table, where either two or four members sat. The larger species sat toward the back, needing more space than the bipedal species placed in front of them.
My gaze traveled along the occupants as I followed the princes to the center stage. They all wore similar robes orcapes in a variety of colors—each species matched the others in their area.
Horns. Wings. Feathers. Scales. Tails. Stalks.
Bipedal. Quadrupedal. Even a few who had eight legs or more!
The wide variety of colors, features, and shapes assaulted my eyes.
I didn’t know where to look.
The Ulax and Wudox both had a pair of representatives in their designated area behind the Aldawi spot, which sat four of its own members. Directly across the room sat the Quaww, members of the same avian species as Qraniebi, who dropped Kaede off on theDestiny. I smiled at the memory of the brightly colored male and his ridiculous outfit.
Voices filled the room. Everyone seemed to have their eyes on us—well me specifically—as we came to a stop.
Above the four tiers of representatives was a stadium packed with an audience that covered the upper half of the dome. The only thing separating them from the Assembly below was the ledge and the glass wall they were enclosed in.
