“Soon,” he murmured.“I regret that I do not have time for another mating, if that is your angling, female.”
Kate shook her head in as much amusement as she could muster, given the circumstances.He was trying to joke with her, trying to put her at ease, when it should be the other way around.Hewas the one fighting this day, not her.
Don’t cry, she ordered herself.It would only distress him and she wanted him to be completely focused on one thing and one thing only: winning these damn Trials so he could come home to her and their unborn child.
Kate swallowed a sob that threatened to emerge at the thought and swung her legs over the side of their bed.She approached him and walked straight into his chest, pushing her nose right between his pectorals and breathing him in.When she felt she had a good enough grasp on her volatile emotions, she looked up at him and said, “I love you.”
Three simple words but they threatened to break something in her.If he didn’t leave soon, he’d witness a full-blown breakdown.
He touched her cheek and then leaned down, placing his forehead against hers.Between them, their baby moved for the first time and Kate gasped, reaching down.
“He kicked,” Kate whispered, eyes wide.She felt the baby kick again and she immediately reached for her mate’s hands so that he would be able to feel.
Her mate’s expression was nothing short of wonder.“He?” he questioned, his voice guttural and deep.
Kate gave him a small smile, getting used to the strange sensation of something moving within her.“I—I’ve felt for some time that it’s a boy.I don’t know why.”
“I would be just as happy with a girl,” he told her, leaning down to capture her lips in the sweetest of kisses he’d ever given her.
Just then, the rhythm of the drums changed and Vaxa broke away.His gaze turned out the window and it was there that Kate could see hovercrafts approaching the Golden City.They were still far enough away that they were mere specks in the sky, but they were in formation and there were many, at least ten, probably closer to fifteen.
“Now I must go,” he murmured down to her.She swallowed thickly but nodded.“Bidan will come soon for you.”
Kate nodded again and leaned forward for one last kiss, needing to believe that it wouldn’t be their last.And then she let him go.
“Remember my promise,luxiva,” he told her as she walked with him out of their bedroom, down the hallway, through the living room, and out to the terrace.The suns were already blazing hot, even at this early of an hour.
“I’ll be there,” she said, watching him climb into the hovercraft.
“And I will be watching for you,” he said in return, firing it up until it began hovering off the ground.Wind swept little black specks of sand across her bare feet, dirtying them.
“Vaxa?” she called out, when the hum became too noisy.Her mate looked back at her and she gave him a wobbly smile.“You better come home.Or else I’ll be seriously pissed at you.”
Her mate gave a purring laugh.
“That is motivation enough, female.”
And then he was gone.
* * *
The Trials were held in an amphitheater-like structure locatedinsidethe mountain of the Golden City.Dressed in the bronze dress that Keriva had suggested, although her friend had needed to let out the waist a little due to her rapidly growing size, Kate had to remind herself to take calm, steadying breaths as Bidan led her inside the arena.It was jam-packed already, even shortly after the morning meal.Luxirians, some even that she recognized, nodded their heads in respect to her, murmuring greetings oflavrix’an, some reaching out to touch her stomach, something that she had begun to get used to whenever she ventured out in public.They parted a path for her and Bidan.The older Luxirian led her to a raised dais, which was the furthest point inside the mountain.From this angle, she could see the arena ring, which was currently empty, and the massive crowd that had gathered inside.The amphitheater was lit by the light pouring into the mountain from the mouth of the cave and by floating balls of blue light that hung overhead, giving all the Luxirians a blue-tinged glow.
The energy inside the mountain was strange.It was a mixture of excitement for the impending spectacle, no doubt, but there was also a hushed quiet, like some were dreading this Trial just as much as she was.
On the dais, there were several older Luxirian men, who she assumed were the elders, and also Vaxa’s ambassadors, a few whom she had much contact with.Lihvan, Rixavox, and Kirov were all there, in addition to two others, who she guessed were Cruxan and Vikan.All the men had gone through military training with her mate and all were his trusted friends and advisors.
Lihvan greeted Bidan and then turned his eyes on her, bowing his head.He must have read the blatant fear on her features because he said, “Do not worry for him,lavrix’an.”
Even though she’d ask him to call her Kate—or ‘Kat’ since Luxirians couldn’t pronounce her name fully—he still insisted on using the proper term.
She nodded at him now, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.She had to put on a strong front.
Rixavox cut in, his eyes briefly straying to her stomach.“Vaxa’an will be the victor.The warriors that challenged him pose no serious threat, although he may come away with a few injuries.”
Another of Vaxa’s ambassadors stepped beside her, either Cruxan or Vikan, she couldn’t be sure.He was just as handsome as all the rest, just as built, with tightly spun muscles and an almost intimidating bulk.He wore a mischievous expression on his features, his eyes light with humor.
He said, “Although,lavrix’an, if he were fighting any of us, then you would have need to worry, for we know all his weaknesses.”
