Erin blinked. Kate cut in, “Erin, I don’t think Vaxa’an would—”
But Bruxilia had already latched on. “Nix, nix, nix,you tell me right now,” she said, waving a hand at Kate, shushing her as she locked her gaze on Erin. “What vaccine?”
And so, Erin had told her. Everything. While Kate bit her lip, rocking Ollie, feigning discomfort, Erin spilled all the details, making sure to emphasize that it wasJaxor’anwho led the Prime Leader and the warriors to the Jetutians, that it wasJaxor’anwho discovered the existence of the vaccine, that it wasJaxor’anwho killed Po’grak and brought the vaccine to the Prime Leader after the battle. That it was Jaxor’an who’d very likely saved her own life.
Erin also heavily implied that Jaxor’an had been a spy for Vaxa’an—which wasn’t entirelyuntrue. Jaxor had been planning to steal the vaccine and bring it to his brother, after all, so it fell surprisingly easily off her lips.
Then she took a deep breath, deciding to reveal one more thing. Jaxor had warned against it, but Erin had decided that she was no coward. She wasn’t ashamed that she was Jaxor’s mate, though that was what he might believe.
“And now, I’ve been so stressed about the trial that Privanax fears for the baby’s health,” Erin said. “Jaxor’an and I never even got to perform ourravraxia.”
Their mating ceremony.
“Oh Fates,” Bruxilia said, leaning back against the fire pit cushions where they were sitting in the middle of the Archives. “Oh Fates.”
The older Luxirian female was shaking her head, her eyes wide, stunned. For a moment, she was entirely speechless.
Then she swiveled her head to Kate and asked, her voice a little weak, “This…this is all true?”
Kate pursed her lips, leveling Bruxilia a familiar look. Kate’s silence was almost as good as a ‘yes.’ Being the Prime Leader’s mate and the queen of his people put her in an awkward position, but she’d offered Erin her help regardless. She couldn’toutrightconfirm or deny it, but her silence was enough for Bruxilia.
“This is outrageous!” Bruxilia sputtered. “And the council is still putting Jaxor’an on trial? It is…it isunheardof!”
Relief coiled in Erin’s belly and she sank back into the cushion propped against her back. The healing wound over her right breast gave a small throb.
They left shortly after. Ollie got fussy and the guard that Vaxa’an assigned to Kate gave them a ride back to the Ambassador terrace, where the other women were waiting.
“Well?” Lainey demanded when they returned.
Erin and Kate exchanged looks. Erin gave them a small, tired smile. She’d barely slept the night before and had terrible sickness that morning.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” she said softly.
* * *
“I have never underestimated that female,”Kate said, returning from the meal hall, her gaze tired. Not one but two guards had been trailing her and they remained stationed outside the dwelling door. “For good reason.”
Erin stood immediately and approached her. “How did it go? What happened?”
The sky was dark; night had fallen. Just a half-hour ago, Kate had ventured to the meal hall to see if the news was already beginning to spread.
“Oh, it’s spreading all right,” Kate said as Erin helped her to sit. Cecelia had been rocking Ollie and handed him over to his mother. Kate looked down at her son, pride and love shining in her gaze, before looking up at Erin. “It’s spreading fast.”
“Really?” Erin said, her chest squeezing.
Kate nodded. “I didn’t even reach the food. Right when I stepped inside, everyone looked at me. Then a group approached, asking me if it was true. About the vaccine. About Jaxor’an. They were frustrated when I couldn’t say anything. Angry even. My guards had to step in to escort me out.”
“Oh my God,” Erin whispered, dropping down to the fire pit, looking around at all seven women present: Kate, Taylor, Lainey, Cecelia, Beks, Crystal, and Bianca.
“Sorry, ladies,” Kate said, “but it might be a long night for your mates. Right when I was leaving, I saw a group of hovercrafts approaching the command center and more were going on foot.”
“To get answers?” Taylor guessed, pressing her lips together.
“Undoubtedly,” Kate said.
“I’m sorry,” Erin said, looking at Kate. “I don’t want to put you in unnecessary danger. You have a son now—”
“Nonsense,” Kate said, taking her hand. “Jaxor’an is my mate’s brother. He loves him. Dearly. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”
