Veral narrowed his eyes at Navesha’s back and hissed. He had anticipated just this problem arising, but he did not know how to appraise his cousin’s offer. What did she have to gain from it? There were no bonds between them outside of their common ties to their line. Logically, it would not be enough to protect Terri against the other females should they prove hostile toward his mate. There was no reason for her to act in a way that could jeopardize her own standing among their mother-kin. She had to want something.
Terri glanced over at him curiously and leaned in.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
He grunted in reply as he kept his attention trained on his cousin, watching for any sign of deceit. He did not wish to share his concerns with her. Terri was under enough stress and he did not wish to add to it. He knew just from her expression that she would not let it go. At least his mate was no longer offering credits in exchange for his thoughts.
It had disturbed him that his mate would offer to pay for something that he would happily give her freely even if she had not intended him to take it literally. She never had to do more than ask. He was pleased to share everything with his mate and offer it to her. Offering a barter between mates was an extreme insult… one he had ignored knowing that she was of a different species. Regardless, it had still pained him more than he would have expected. It was his responsibility to provide for his mate and their young, for him to give for her comfort. Not for her to give to him.
He met her eyes, looked over meaningfully at Navesha briefly before he met Terri’s gaze again and shook his head. He would tell her, but not until they were alone. Terri thinned lips back at him unhappily but remained silent as she walked at his side.
“It is late,” Navesha said over her shoulder from where she paced ahead of them. “I was overseeing my station for the first half-night duties when your ship’s AI alerted me to your arrival. I was surprised by your sudden appearance, but even more so that your vibrissae appear butchered. You appear significantly damaged compared to the regal bearing you once bore. I am certain that if it were not for your genetic identification markers, none of us would have recognized you, not even Featha.”
“When will we be meeting with her?” Veral asked, his eyes skimming over halls that he had hadn’t lain eyes on in many revolutions. It had been a long time, but not so long that he couldn’t recognize that this was not the route to the gathering room.
Navesha gave him a knowing look and inclined her head. “Not until morning. Since Featha and the others will sleep for several hours yet, you will be permitted to stay in your private chambers for the night until the head mother is available to meet with you.” She opened a door to his chambers and gestured to it. “I will return for you in the morning when she is ready to see you. As these apartments are yours, with this entire wing once belonging to your mother, no one will object to your residence here. You should be undisturbed here until I arrive.”
“Thank you,” Terri murmured, eyes roving curiously around the rooms that made up his private chambers.
Krono immediately peeled from his mate’s side, dropping onto the comfortable mat just in front of the sleeping platform. A heavy sigh huffed from the dorashnal as he watched over them. Navesha shook her head at him but made no effort to follow them in. Instead, she remained just outside of the door until they were inside. Only then did her head drop in a curt nod just before the door silently slid shut.
Veral’s breath hissed out of him at length, and he lifted his hand and placed his palm on the keypad beside the door. Although it felt absurd to lock his chambers against his mother-kin, he was not going to take any risks with Terri and their offspring. At his touch, he connected with the systems of his chambers so that, with a single thought sent into the panel, he locked it, ensuring no one else could open it, before he turned to see to his mate. She stood among the muted silver and black of his bedroom decor as the single mark of brightness in all his surroundings. One of her eyebrows arched as she surveyed the rest of the room, and she made a small sound at the back of her throat.
“Your people certainly do like a dark decor,” Terri observed.
He nodded his head. “It is simple and efficient.”
Terri gave him a puzzled look. “The Wandererhas a lot of metal, but it’s nowhere near as dark and dismal as this.”
His ear twitched and turned slightly toward her as he considered her words. There was a difference between the two. He could not deny that. But the simple comforts that he added to his starship since mating were little compared to what was available on his home world. He had noted that his mate had a penchant for picking brighter colors, but she did not understand just how much the complex contained the most desirable comfort and tranquility.
“A starship is designed to be utilitarian. It is not the same as the household of one’s line,” he said. His vibrissae flared and flattened anxiously. Despite the fact that they were not staying, he wanted his mate to see the beauty and strength of his line. He wanted her to smile, not grimace as she was currently doing. His mandibles snapped as he drew in a sharp breath of what he hated to admit was injured pride.
“It is not dismal,” he continued, a disgruntled growl escaping him on the last word. “Not the most luxurious on Argurumal, but it is a worthy complex for our line, equal to any other successful line who dwells upon the Great Dunes.” He gestured to the dark walls. “The complex is made of the finest black stone, enhanced only by the metal tech adjoining it to fulfill our needs. You may not see it now, but the darker fabrics are meant to compliment the walls without being too distracting or disruptive to the mind, while keeping our interior residence as dark and cool as possible.”
His mate glanced around slowly, her expression blank as she further took in her surroundings. When she met his eyes again, he noted the effort she expended to force a genial smile.
“I see,” she murmured but he shook his head in immediately denial.
She couldn’t truly know until she experienced the relentless brutality of Argurumal for herself.
“No, you do not.” Veral tipped his head and sighed. “You have not seen Argurumal during the day, so until you do, you cannot understand. The brightness of our sun and the intense heat of it will make you long for and appreciate the darkness within our walls. But you should be pleased to know that there are always the shadowed gardens of the courtyard when you seek something a bit brighter,” he amended, winning a small smile from her.
“Oh, okay,” she murmured as she stepped over to him, her hands sliding up his chest on their path to curl around the base of his neck. “I suppose you make a good point. I just need time to get used to it.”
He brushed the tip of his nose against her hair, his eyes half-closing blissfully as his mandibles slid through her hair, delivering a fresh burst of her perfume over his scent receptors. He kissed the top of her head and allowed his mandibles to vibrate in a soft purr.
“We will not be here long. Just be patient, anastha, and we will be back to our starship soon.”
Terri silently nodded, though her expression became slightly more pinched. She took a deep breath and offered him a more genuine smile that eased a tightness within him that had gone unnoticed.
“I’ll be fine,” she said softly, her palm stroking the base of his neck, toying with the vibrissae as they curled around her fingers and clung to her. “Like you said, we are safe here. It’s just an adjustment. No reason to talk about leaving when we just got here.” She swallowed. “It seems to me that you have some unresolved things to see to with your family. We have to be here anyway, so we will kill two birds with one stone.”
His brow dipped. Although he did not know what exactly she spoke of, he was able to infer her meaning well enough. She was encouraging him to make the most maximum use of their time there. Although he had not wished to deal with the matter of his inheritance and had been content to leave it in his mother-kin’s care, he knew that he would not be able to avoid it long.
Terri was right. Better to deal with the unresolved matters within his line in light of Navesha’s words.
Vibrissae twisting lightly around him, he growled unhappily but pressed his lips against the top of her head.