She was still frowning, but she said, “Okay.”
Kirov nodded, going over to the screen. He located the feed number for the dwelling in the Golden City and then connected the line.
Vixron’s face appeared and he scowled when he saw him, but wisely remained silent. It was not his place to berate an Ambassador.
“Myluxivawishes to speak with her friend,” Kirov said.
Vixron’s jaw ticked at the wordluxiva, but he jerked his head in a nod, still not saying anything. He walked away, out of sight of the Com, but the blonde female returned in his place, her face filled with confusion.
Her eyes went wide when she saw him on the screen. Kirov stepped away, letting Lani approach.
The blonde gasped, “Lainey! Oh my God, I was so worried! Where are you?”
Kirov pressed a kiss to hisluxiva’s forehead. She looked at him and he said, “I will be back soon.”
She nodded, biting her lip, a question in her eyes.
But Kirov ignored it for now, inclined his head to her, and walked out of the room, heading to the entrance.
“Crystal, I’m fine,” he heard Lani say. “I’m in a place called Troxva.”
That was all he heard and then he stepped out of his dwelling. The walls were sound-proof so once he closed the door, he heard nothing, just the sounds of the outpost, of the breeze.
He drew in a deep breath, enjoying the view, for a brief moment. Then he turned and walked down the terrace, to the second dwelling he’d built. It was a short walk, but it felt like eons by the time he reached it.
He placed his hand on the door and it recognized his touch. Sliding open, he was immediately hit with angry shouts and his shoulders tensed. He closed the doors quickly and stepped into the central hub.
“Ambassador Kirov,” one of the guards, Tiravi, said, inclining his head in greeting. Kirov had two guards on duty at all times. The other must be with his sire. “You have returned.”
“Tev,” Kirov said. “How is my sire?”
Tiravi looked towards the back room, where Kirov heard the shouting emanating from. “This span is…not a good span for him.”
Dread pooling in his belly, Kirov nodded and looked around. He had modeled this dwelling off his own, just to a smaller scale, since Kirov didn’t trust his sire to operate a lift to the second floor. The design was the same, with clear panels of windows showing the view of Troxva, letting an abundance of natural light in.
But his sire preferred the darkness of his sleeping quarters.
Kirov’s chest ached, looking around at the mess. Shattered pieces of a drinking vessel lay near the entrance of the central hub. Kirov had purchased it from one of Troxva’s marketplace vendors himself for his sire. Tunics and leg coverings were scattered about and Kirov picked them up, taking them to the sterilization room for cleaning, before he walked to the back room.
Lixron was just emerging, looking a little frazzled.
“Ambassador,” the elder healer said in surprise.
Kirov clasped his hand on the healer’s shoulder and said, “You know better than to use my title. You delivered me from my mother’s womb, after all.”
The aging healer’s eyes softened and he said, “Welcome home, Kirov. I was wondering when you would return.”
Kirov wanted to tell Lixron about his female, wanted to tell the male—who he highly respected—that he’d been gifted a fated mate. But right then was not the time.
“Tiravi said it is not a good span for him,” Kirov commented, looking past Lixron to see his sire, hunched in a chair, yelling nonsense at Pilava, the other guard, who was standing near the door.
“No, it is not,” Lixron replied, frowning. “Yesterday, he was better.”
Kirov nodded and slipped past Lixron to step into the room. He nodded at Pilava, his massive arms crossed over his chest, his expression carefully unreadable. He was used to the insults his sire hurled at him.
The smell of his sire hit him first and Kirov knew that he would need to bathe him before he left. Lixron and the guards did their best in Kirov’s absence, but his sire was stubborn. And Kirov had been the only one who could make him wash.
“Sire,” Kirov said softly, crouching in front of the chair he sat in. He only had a tunic on, a dirty one at that. He was naked from the waist down, his leg coverings crumpled in a heap at his feet.
