“He’shere?” Lainey asked, blinking.
“Nix, he hails me on the Coms,” Kirov replied. “Stay here,luxiva. Let me deal with him.”
Lainey grabbed his arm. “You won’t get in trouble, will you?”
Kirov didn’t answer her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and urged, “Stay here.”
And then he walked back into the living space, rounding around towards the clear glass panel that had shown the live feed of the lake. Out of sight.
Lainey bit her lip.
A moment later, she heard the chiming stop and Kirov spoke in Luxirian.
Next, she heard Vaxa’an speak, his voice ringing through the speakers, as if he was in the room.
She didn’t need to speak Luxirian to know he waspissed.
Chapter Twenty-One
“It seems that all my warrior brothers are betraying me lately,” Vaxa’an said, his tone cold, his eyes as hard as Luxirian crystals.
Kirov clenched his jaw. “You know that under no other circumstance would I betray you like this. I never have before.”
“You have been lying to me. Vixron reported to me just now, after he found the female missing. Do you know what he had to report?”
Kirov could only guess.
“He said that you seemed rather intent on the female, that he suspected there was an attachment. Yet, you hid it well, so well that he did not think it serious enough to report. Until now.”
Kirov’s spine straightened.
“So, tell me, brother,” Vaxa’an continued. “What have you been hiding from me?”
“My Instinct awakened for her,” Kirov said softly.
Vaxa’an cursed, exhaling a sharp breath. “At this rate, there will be no more females to return back to Earth!”
Kirov would’ve found that statement amusing, at any other time except that one.
“Vaxa’an,” Kirov said. “You have been a good friend, a good leader. I understand that I betrayed you, but I felt like I had no other choice. Cruxan said he was—”
“You and Vikan have made fools of me,” Vaxa’an said, his tone soft. “Both of you. It cuts deeply.”
Guilt ate at him, but Kirov could not bring it in himself to regret his actions. He never would.
“How am I expected to punish a warrior for stealing a crystal, when I cannot even punish two of myAmbassadors, who have both stolen a female from my protection? It makes me soft, but it does not make me fair,” Vaxa’an said, his voice anguished.
“I will take whatever punishment you give to me,” Kirov said, steeling his spine. He was still a warrior of Luxiria. He had known the risks, especially given his position, his rank.
“I cannot even punish you for it,” Vaxa’an breathed, raking a hand over his horns so hard that Kirov was surprised he didn’t leave claw marks. “I did not punish Vikan for it, so I cannot punish you. But know that I will never trust you in the same way again.”
Kirov’s chest ached. Vaxa’an, Kirov, Vikan, Rixavox, and Cruxan had all gone through warrior training together, as a solid unit. None of them cared that Vaxa’an was the Prime Leader’s son, that he would eventually become the next Prime Leader of Luxiria. They’d cared for one another, fought alongside each other, laughed and drank together, loved one another as blood brothers.
“As your friend,” Vaxa’an said softly, “I am happy for you. That your Instinct awakened. You know that I want that happiness for all of you. But as your leader, I cannot forgive you for this.”
Kirov inclined his head. He would never have Vaxa’an’s full trust again. There would always be a division now, a division that had not been there before.
“I understand.”
