This announcement resulted in a flurry of activity, with Hydrassians racing in various directions, presumably to prepare for our audience. We’d been told Uulvin was the oldest of their kind onDionaea—older even than the last reign of Astrum Force Command. While it was a gamble to talk to someone with enough expertise to possibly identify us, I needed information only an elder could provide.
But first, let’s see how chattythisHydrassian can be…
“Do many seek Uulvin’s counsel specifically?” I asked as they led us to a bench carved from the same unusual rock and covered in worn, tasseled pillows.
Our guide snorted derisively. “Theyseek,but Uulvin only offers the gift of their sight to those willing to pay what such profound abilities are worth.”
How charitable.
Those looking for advice on domestic matters would not possess pockets half as deep as those with a well-armed military at their fingertips. So, of course, the ‘war-minded’ pilgrims were the ones who kept this supposedly neutral facility running.
“Is part of that paymentkarnilian?”I gritted out, annoyed at howunsurprisingthis intel was. “Because we brought no such asset with us.”
As far as you know, anyway.
No doubt picking up on my emotions, Micah discreetly activated his shield. While this provided an additional layer of masking for Pedro, along with protection for both of them, it also stopped mefrom being able to smell my mate.
Not the safest move, considering my mood…
Oblivious to the encroaching danger, the Hydrassian gestured a clawed hand toward the packs attached to my belt. “The iridium coins we’ve heard clinking around since we left the ship should be sufficient compensation for our stores.”
A smirk curled my lip beneath the fur. “Wasthatwhy you were harassing gem vendors on my planet? You were shopping for ‘ritual supplies’ for your most valued customers, hmm?”
I didn’t truly believe these seers were hoarding caches of karnilianon the premises, but my bold question managed to strike a nerve, as evidenced by the now-glaring Hydrassian clamping their mouths shut and stomping away without another word.
Looks like the interrogation is over.
“Uulvin will see you now!” a new set of voices rang out, and I spied a younger Hydrassian waving us toward another tunnel branching off the main cavern.
“Please try not to kill anyone,” Micah murmured under his breath as we crossed the room. “We come in peace, remember?”
I huffed but nodded. “I will do my best to behave, but whether anyone dies depends entirely on them.”
On howtheybehave.
Micah sighed but didn’t reply, and we followed our new guide down the tunnel in silence. My mate knew we were here to learn more about Pedro’s home planet—on what remained of it, if anything—but he wasn’t aware my interest in reuniting the creature with their own kind was now tainted by… an incredibly distracting pull.
A pull Iwilldo my best to ignore.
We entered a much smaller chamber, shockingly bright thanks to the light reflecting off the pumice walls. Seated on a cushion in the center of the room was an ancient Hydrassian I assumed was Uulvin, but that wasn’t what caught my attention.
The two adultDionaea muscipulaflanking the elder did, along with the Celestial Cube resting in Uulvin’s scaled hand.
Fuck.
“Have a seat, Stellarian,” the seer croaked as six incredibly sly smiles stretched over their faces. “We have much to discuss.”
18
MICAH
Luckily, my shields were already activated, because the terrifying sight of two man-eating-sized Venus flytraps had me freezing like a deer in the goddamn headlights.
Eek!
I only had a moment to register that the Hydrassian was holdinga Celestial Cubebefore Ziggy grabbed me with his big Borque paws, no doubt about to star hop us away from danger.
Except… nothing happened.
