“...and I was so worried about Myrum. I didn’t think he should’ve left Kalor, but then I can see that he looks good and that makes me happy!”
By the time Nalia ran out of breath, Helmen and Gis were standing behind Amina along with Myrum. Relaxing her hands to sheathe her claws, Amina forced a smile on her face.
“We should all move onto the ship,” someone behind Derani and Nalia said. He faced Amina. “If you’re comfortable coming on board.”
She was surprised he was addressing her as if she was in charge of their group. No stranger ever did that.
Another human wearing a collar stepped around the new Talin and spoke up.
“I can assure you that you’re safe,” she said. “My name’s Jinna, and you probably already figured out that this is Nalia and Derani. This quiet guy is Holian.”
Oh, so this was the infamous Holian who sent Myrum into a situation he wasn’t prepared for and where he was almost trapped as Lorse’s plaything.
Her smoldering temper pushed her to step around Nalia and Derani. “I want to talk to you.”
“Commandant Holian is not the enemy,” Myrum said, wrapping his arms around her and purring.
“But he is the ringleader and spymaster,” Jinna said, drawing Amina’s attention. “Let’s go inside and talk. You can give him a dressing down for sending Myrum on a mission none of us wanted him to go on.”
Amina gave Jinna a real smile. “That sounds like exactly what I want to do.”
Jinna chuckled, took Holian’s hand, and pulled him back toward the ship. “Come on, everyone, it’s time to talk and maybe do a little yelling.”
“I don’t like the idea of yelling,” Holian grumbled, following Jinna as if he was the one wearing the collar.
Amina didn’t expect that, or for Derani to pick Nalia up and cradle her against his chest and carry her away.
“I bet you didn’t expect that,” Helmen murmured as she and Gis walked past Amina to follow them.
“Nope,” Amina agreed and took the hand Myrum held out.
Myrum held her back. “I don’t blame Holian, and you shouldn’t either.”
“We’ll see.”
Chapter 33
Myrum
He hadn’t considered how Amina might react to meeting humans wearing collars or coming face-to-face with Holian. Really, he should’ve known better. Her boldness and interest in helping others was one of the things he adored about her.
Jinna led them to the ship’s galley. It was about the same size as the one on Steady. After pushing Holian into a seat, she sat on his lap. Derani and Nalia did the same thing, while Gis and Helmen sat in spots on the other side of the table. That left two seats free, one next to Derani and one next to Helmen.
He could tell Amina didn’t want to sit down. Instead of making her pick one, he pulled one a little away from the table, sat down, and drew her onto his lap.
She was tense but didn’t fight him.
Helmen broke the silence. “First I want to thank you for not only paying us in full but adding the bonus even though we didn’t drop Myrum off at Tik.”
“Using the termfirstindicates there is a second thing you want to say,” Holian said.
“The second thing is that we will all be leaving here when this meeting is over, including Myrum,” Helmen said. “We’re not in your empire. If our crew doesn’t hear from us on a regular basis, they’ll bring station security down on you.”
As he expected, Holian didn’t react to Helmen’s threat. The commandant was far too controlled for that. He remained silent for a few micromarks, then answered in a calm, quiet tone.
“I had hoped paying the bonus would show you that we were meeting in good faith,” he said. “But I can see that it might also be interpreted as a bribe. My intention is only to converse. I have no interest of using force on anyone present.”
“Or coercion," Amina snapped.
