“Yes, thank you, are you?”
“I want to be out there with a fuzkin’ weapon,” she growls most aggressively. "Sitting here while Krush takes shots at us makes me sick. I hope Rath fuzkin’ kills him.”
I say nothing. I don’t truly understand what is happening here. I have been given little attention to these people, but whatever is happening is intense. I can feel the fear and anger in the air all around me.
“You must be hoping Tusk dies,” she says with a casually conversational tone. “We can help you be free of him if not.”
“You would help me?”
“Humans have to stick together against our korabi overlords," she winks.
"But your mate is…"
“Rath's a special case.”
I’ll have to take her word for it. I have a hard time telling any of these korabi males apart in terms of intent. Tyvian was kind, but almost too kind. He treated me almost as though I were his child. Tusk is demanding, cruel at times, and absolutely overwhelming all the time. He occupies me in a way no male before him has ever done. Even Mark only ever managed to take a small part of me. With Tusk I feel as though I might be more than I ever suspected.
“Megaris is a trip,” she says. "But you’ll get used to it. Once we have Krush in custody, and I get Jax back, everything will be okay.”
“Jax?”
"My best friend.”
"He's holding your friend hostage?”
"Worse. She thinks she's in love with him.”
I do not know how to respond to that, so I don’t. It is clear to me that I am in the midst of interpersonal politics far beyond my understanding.
“How do you become accustomed to such things?"
Lyric smiles and shrugs. “I’ve seen worse. I’ve been through worse. I’ve perpetrated worse, if I’m to be honest.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I assassinated Krush’s father while trying to murder Rath. It's a long story.”
“It must be.” I try not to sound shocked. I’ve heard it before, after all, though it is different hearing it as an admission from her very lips. Am I shocked? I think I must be. This is a brutal world. I knew that from my very first contact with it. Still, hearing words like that coming from the mouth of a woman is very strange. Everybody on Megaris seems to have a capacity for violence which far exceeds anything I ever saw or heard of on Earth.
“I think they've got him!” she exclaims suddenly.
I look at the screens and do not see much of a difference.
"That's Krush!” She points at a golden dot on the screen.
"How can you tell?”
“Only Krush is golden. He has royal DNA. It marks the korabi royal line. Hell yeah. They got him. This is over!”
She is so happy and so certain based on a very distant blurry gold dot. I do not think I could ever trust such limited information, let alone do a happy dance.
“You’ll see," she says. “In a matter of hours, they’ll be back, and everything will be safe again. You’ll meet Jax. She's really sweet. You will like her, and the three of us can finally form a human cabal inside the walls of the palace itself.”
“Sounds like you have a plan,” I note.
“I have so many plans."
We have been waiting for at least another hour when Tyvian enters the room. His hair has been plaited and tied up behind his head. His silver skin and battle plating around his throat has been caked in blood.
“Tyvian! Tell me you got Krush!” Lyric is so full of joy, she doesn’t seem to notice the hollow, desperate look in Tyvian’s eyes. That is a korabi who has seen more than he wanted to, perhaps more than he can contain.
“Rath has been injured in battle. He is in the medical bay. Come. He wishes to see you.”
I’ve not seen someone experience such a strong emotional swing as the one which sweeps over Lyric. Her face falls and her eyes fill with tears. “Rath’s hurt?”
“Not so hurt he doesn't want to see you. Come now.”
While you still can. Tyvian doesn’t finish the sentence that way, but I hear it anyway. He escorts Lyric away, and she’s trying not to sob. I don’t know if I like her, but I am sorry to see her in pain.
I am left to wait for news. It takes longer than I expected, and I start to wonder if Tusk has been harmed, or worse. Who would come and tell me if he was? Would anybody?
The door opens and Tusk strides into the room. My heart lifts and a smile spreads over my face, until I realize that he is not alone. He has someone with him. Someone very small. Someone who can't have been on this planet for more than an hour or two.
Wordlessly, Tusk puts the baby in my arms. It is a golden, glowing little thing with bright blue eyes and a mop of precocious wispy pale hair. It is the most adorable little thing I have ever laid eyes on. It does not quite look human, but it does not quite look korabi either.