“Remember that and you will save yourself much grief,” he added.With that, Vikan pushed up from the wall, his wound making his features stretch tight.“I am needed at the command center.”
Lihvan watched Vikan pull himself out of the pit and disappear at the top without another word.Lihvan leaned his head back, thinking over Vikan’s words, wanting to deny them.But he knew he couldn’t.
What Lihvan wanted more than anything, even his Ambassador status, even more than being one of the best warriors on Luxiria, was a mate.A family.Offspring.And not many knew that about him.When Vaxa’an had found his fated mate in a human female, he’d been overcome with a jealousy that surprised him.Ashamed even.He should’ve been happy for his friend because Vaxa’an deserved happiness.Yet, a small part of him was filled with envy.
And now…now when his Instinct had recognized something in Beks, with her soft hair and alluring smile and tantalizing scent, he was to be denied the chance to pursue anything with her, before he even knew her.
It is for the best, he told himself.But even thinking that filled him with dismay and the loss of what could have been.
SIX
Lihvan didn’t return to his quarters after he finished in the training pit.Instead, he bathed in one of the spare quarters and slept there, although it was a restless night.He’d been haunted by erotic dreams of smooth skin and breathy moans, all too aware that the female that had taken hold of his thoughts was a quick stride away.
When he entered the command center after the few hours of sleep he got, he found Vikan still at the controls.His friend looked as if he’d gotten no sleep at all and jerked his head at him in greeting.They didn’t speak about what had happened in the training pits and they wouldn’t.
Lihvan looked at their position on one of their Coms and was surprised to see that they were in Jetutian territory.Which meant that they must travel with vigilance.
“Any signs of Jetutian vessels?”
Vikan’s face was likefacevstone, the same stone the Golden City was built from.“None yet.”
But the lines of his body made Lihvan tense.Quietly, he asked, “You think there will be an attack?”
Viking had always been more perceptive to the Fates’ will than any other warrior Lihvan had ever encountered.To heed his instincts would be a benefit to them all.
Vikan’s eyes flashed to him.“I think we should all be on our guard.Something does not feel right.The darkness is too still.”
Lihvan’s gut tightened, his mind flashing to the safety of the females on board.
Vikan seemed to think the same thing because he said, “The only way to keep them safe is to fight well.We cannot send them off in an escape pod, especially in Jetutian territory.The risks are too great and we may never recover them.”
Lihvan looked around the command center.Most of the warriors were resting, but he would rouse them from sleep in the next few moments.He was irritated that Vikan hadn’t thought to do so the moment they passed out of the Second Quadrant and into the reach of their most-hated enemy.
“Get us away from here as soon as you can,” Lihvan said.“We should not have passed this way.It was a mistake.”
Vikan said, “Vaxa’an wanted the females to safety as quickly as we could.I was only following his orders.”
Lihvan grit his jaw, but anger made him say, “If Nitav was on board, you would not have even considered coming this way.”
And then he turned from his friend and went to sound the alarm to wake the rest of the warriors, so that they could prepare for the worst.Preparing for the worst had saved his life in many instances and he wouldn’t gamble with those under his command.
He thought of Beks as he issued the call, debating whether he should put her in with the rest of the females.But he reasoned she would be safer in his quarters.
For a brief moment, he glanced back at Vikan and his muscles tightened.The warrior’s face was scanning the darkness of space, looking, watching.If Vikan felt threatened, then an attack would be imminent.
Not for the first time, Lihvan wondered if Vikan purposefully courted an encounter with the Jetutians.He’d been bent on revenge after the grief of losing Nitav had passed.Lihvan wondered if he’d just found his chance, except it came at the cost of endangering them all.
Just as Lihvan feared, after most of the warriors were awakened, in position and ready for a possible confrontation, one of their Com alarms sounded, indicating an incoming vessel.
The command center exploded into action and Lihvan knew that elsewhere on the vessel, Luxirians were doing the same: preparing.
In the end…it didn’t matter.The smaller vessel they were on was meant for swift travel and was not equipped for offensive attacks.The best weapons they had were themselves, Luxirian warriors…a race feared and sought after by both enemies and allies.
As a Jetutian vessel came into view, at least three times as large as theirs, Lihvan knew that an encounter had been inevitable.They should not have traveled through that part of the galaxy.Their impatience would cost them.
The only question was what the Jetutians wanted for their freedom.
One of the translators at one of the Coms called to Lihvan.“Ambassador, there is a message uploading to our vessel.A request to open a connection.”
