“Can we go back to Vorostor now?” she asks as I terminate the comm.
“Don’t you want to go get your horc?”
“Horace!” Maggie claps her hands. “Yes! Let’s go get Horace.” Her face suddenly changes from glee to concern. “What about the baron?”
“As we’ve just averted an Ulep invasion, I doubt anyone is going to let the baron do anything to a Sarkarnii.” I grin at her.
“Perhaps we can stay, for old times’ sake? Just one more night before going back to Vorostor,” she says, yawning widely. “All this excitement can take it out of a pregnant mate, after all.”
I have her out of the seat and in my arms before she can blink.
“I would agree, but I want you back on Vorostor, being worshipped until you birth.” I slide my hands under her clothing, luxuriating in the touch of her skin against mine. “And then being filled with another sarkarnling.”
“I’d like that,” Maggie says. “I’d like it a whole lot.”
MAGGIE
“So then, Dalox appeared. And it turned out he’d been approached by the Paralnyi who got Driok the ship and gavehimthe horc.”
“What happened?” Kerra is leaning forward, her baby sleeping soundly next to her.
“Dalox commed us and said if we didn’t come and take it straight away, he’d…” I look at the baby and then at Scarlett with hers and motion covering ears. “He’d tear parts off Driok.”
Rosie lets out a snort of laughter, her stomach bulging with her pregnancy, ready to pop any time soon.
“Did you?”
“Driok told him he’d collect Horace when we got back to Vorostor.”
Lydia bursts out laughing, clapping her hands and then stopping suddenly when she thinks she’s disturbed Kerra’s little one.
Kerra laughs and shakes her head at Lydia.
“Derrox will sleep through anything, believe me,” she says, gently stroking her knuckle down the side of the sleeping baby’s face.
“I can’t quite believe we’re all in this situation. All in varying degrees of up the duff-ness,” I say. “Most of us.” I nod to Lydia.
“I’m not missing out.” She wrinkles her nose. “Happy to leave it all to you.”
Horace snuffles out from under a nearby table and chitters happily at us. “Happy. Happy,” he says and wanders off to find more crumbs.
“He is super cute though,” Lydia says.
“Apparently they get into the conduits and do untold damage,” I say. “Can’t say Horace has done anything like that…in Driok’s sector.”
“What happened to the woman you saw on the dusty planetoid?” Rosalie asks.
“As far as I’m aware, Dalox still has her,” I reply. “Because apparently…mine,”I growl.
“We should insist he brings her to us. She shouldn’t think she’s alone,” Scarlett says.
“I agree,” Kerra says.
“And who is going to put this to Dalox?” I look around my friends.
“I’ll get Dante to ask,” Rosalie says.
“What are you going to do about your dance?” Scarlett asks.
