Page 15 of 80% Beef 20% Cake (Alien Fated Mates #2)

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I bent over her tiny frame and cupped her cheeks in my trembling hands. Ginger’s skin glowed a soft orange where the magma’s light peeked through holes dotting the inner chamber. The occasional starbug fluttered by, casting iridescent blue sparks over her silvery hair. Under my palms, her heat licked at my skin like flames, and she stilled in my grip. Why had the ancestors bestowed this fortune on me? “You haven’t answered me, little jungle cat.”

“Kiss me,” she breathed, so close the puff of warm air grazed my lips.

Gold flecks swirled with desire, and hazel melted into green. When I took too long, transfixed by her gaze, she looped her bare arms around my neck, kneading the base of my skull, careful of the gash. A long groan escaped me as she bridged the distance until her lips touched mine. My coil stirred to life alongside my thigh, trapped in my pants.

I smoothed my hands down her ribs, over her flared hips and scooped her up to meet my lips. She gasped when I lifted her, so much smaller than me, and I slipped my tongue into the warmth of her mouth. Her spread legs hugged my ribs and my thumb skated over the smoothest fabric I’d ever touched as I held her weight with one hand.

“You’re so strong.” She leaned away to squeeze the muscles in my arms, and I flexed, preening like a firebird—the flashiest and most annoying bird on Yagras. Then her head dipped and her cheeks flushed. “I said that out loud, didn’t I? I’m a disgrace to human women.” Ginger laughed, and her hard nipples skimmed my chest. “I’m really not that shallow.”

Sucking her lower lip and releasing it, I teased, “But you like it, right?” I contracted my pectoral muscles until her nipples scraped against them once more. A mouthwatering red bloomed over the soft orbs. They were encased in shiny fabric that I craved to tear away but didn’t dare in case it was wrong.

I groaned as her four fingers traced the perimeter of my chest muscles before she leaned in to nip my lip. “They’re very impressive.”

Then I fell, lost in the heat of her mouth. In the way she sucked my lips as if they were the most savory meal she’d ever tasted. Her tongue glided over the nerves above my teeth, setting them alight. A sharp nip. A soft bite. My rattling rumba mixed with her soft moan. All of it turned my coil into an iron bar.

She ground her damp pelvis into my chest, and I thrust into the air. The lack of friction and the discomfort from my tightening pants set me on edge. I knew she wouldn’t turn me away. She needed my seed, but I didn’t want to make another mistake. My inexperience had me doubting my instincts. The last thing I wanted was to shame myself, like when I’d kissed her and she’d forced me away.

“Ginger, show me what you need.” I clutched her curvy bum cheeks, pressing her deeper into my chest. I craved her skin, not these smooth covers.

In a daze, she lifted her eyes to mine. “Wha…?” She massaged her thumb over my forehead ridge. “Try and relax. You’re doing great. Best kiss ever.”

Every muscle stood at attention, tense, the need to rut overwhelming.

Her eyes grew more focused, then concerned as she took in my rigid stance. “Okay, King Kong, I got you.” She pressed a kiss to my closed lips. “Put me down.” She petted my arm. “We’re both going to leave here happy.”

Reluctant to put her down and separate us, I forced myself to follow her husky coaxing.

“Would you like to take these off?” She waved a hand over her coverings.

“More than anything.” With quaking arms, I released the hook between her soft mounds, and the fabric fell open. Underneath, her pale skin was flushed red, and two pointed nipples the color of toasted sugar begged me to take a taste. Instead of devouring her with my mouth, I knelt before her, the soft moss sinking under my knees, and stripped away the swath of material between her legs.

At its most potent, Ginger’s linnea scent overwhelmed me, and my coil kicked against its constraints. “You smell like home.” My rumba rattled so hard I strained to hear Ginger’s whimpering response.

Her whimpers turned to pleas, and she clutched my shoulders. “JayJay…I need you to touch me.”

I ached to do just that. Pretty blue-green fabric rolled into a narrow strip as I dragged it down her legs, and I shoved it into my pocket when she stepped out. Ginger stretched out on the blankets, her whole body on display.

“Take your pants off.” Her raspy voice was filled with unneeded persuasion.

My heart pounded in my chest, and the need to claim her grew overwhelming. I squeezed my coil to blunt the need. In half a breath, my pants were off.

She gasped as my hard coil bobbed free, and the desire in her eyes mixed with fear. “Should’ve known you’d be a grower.”

I gave my coil a hard stroke, closed my eyes and lifted my chin toward the domed ceiling. Ancestors, guide me true in this and I will follow where your voices lead for always.

“Oh, no…I know what that scrunched-up forehead ridge means.” Ginger sat up, her mounds bouncing. “Get down here.” She swooshed her arm over the spot on the blanket beside her.

The soft moss gave way as I sat beside her, hip to hip, legs straight in front of me, coil jutting. A bolt of panic tightened my jaw as I eyed her tiny body next to mine. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” she soothed, climbing onto my lap. “I have an idea, but we might not get that whole beast in the first time.” She grinned while her light fingers massaged my forehead ridge.

Relaxing was the last thing on my mind. “But you need my seed.” I groaned as her stomach pressed against my coil.

I planted a hand behind me, tearing into the mossy floor. The tempting tuft of brown fur at the juncture of her legs brushed over my coil, and my legs shuddered against the rough blanket.

She shifted, placing her knees in the crooks of my thighs, and kissed me on the nose. “Quit worrying. Let me take care of this.”

Ginger reached down with one hand behind her and gripped the base of my coil, squeezing it. I bucked in her grip. Never in my life had something felt so good.

“Yep, this will work just fine.” The playful twinkle in her eye eased my worry by a fraction. “Give me your hand.”

I placed my palm in hers, three fingers meeting four.

“You’re going to get me ready,” she practically purred as she guided my finger through the springy tuft into the slippery, wet folds behind.

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat at the delicious glide beneath my fingertips and nudged my hard length away from her backside.

“Circle the little bump.” She slanted her lips over mine while I did as instructed, and the pointed tip of her tongue darted into my mouth for a taste. “A little harder.” She groaned into my mouth while I massaged the swollen flesh. “Ahhh…that, just like that.”

She grew slipperier and slipperier, and her hips began to circle, smashing her curvy chest into mine. “JayJay, slip your finger back a little… Yeah, there…” The purr in her voice worked me up as much as the feel of her moving against my skin. “Now push inside.”

The fire kindling under my skin burst into flames as I eased my finger into her tight sheath.

Ginger threw all her weight into me and nibbled at the lobe of my ear. “You’ve got me so hot.”

When she ground down on my finger, my coil bucked and landed in the groove of her fleshy bottom.

“Ginger…” I ran my nose over her cheek, into her hairline, groaning.

“Soon…hang on a moment more. I’m almost ready,” she moaned. “Add another finger and use your thumb on my clit.” I slotted a second finger into her tight channel as she writhed over it, my muscles growing so tight my toes curled. “Stretch me a bit.” Ginger rolled her hips, sending her breasts up and down my chest, knocking against my nipples, adding fuel to the fire. “Oh God, that’s so good.”

“I’m ready.” Her red-hot need mirrored my own. My legs were trembling on the blanket. “I can’t wait to rock against that spiraled ridge.”

I spread my fingers the tiniest bit, stretching her smooth walls, generating more mind-fogging linnea-scented slick. “Are human coils much different?”

She leaned back on my thighs and gripped my coil. I jerked in her grip as she guided my coil to where my fingers were still pumping. “Well, they’re smaller for one.” Her grip tightened around my broad head, and she mapped the raised spiral, circling the length of my coil with one smooth stroke. “And besides the odd vein, they’re smooth.”

My knees shot up, and my heels dug into the carpet of moss, sending it swaying beneath us. “Please, let me inside.”

She nipped my lip. “Remove your fingers. I’m going to slowly sit on your cock, okay?” Ginger licked at the spot she’d just bitten. “You’re doing so perfect King Kong.” Her soft lips brushed over mine. “Try not to move till I say, all right?”

I grunted, removing my fingers from their warm hold. I’d never dreamed a female would choose me. Eyes on mine, she tilted her pelvis and massaged my coil, coating it in the slippery essence around her little bump, then slotted my tip against her entrance. With no idea of where to put my eager hands, I shoved them into the mossy carpet.

Slowly, her wet heat engulfed my coil. I bit my lip, locked my knees and closed my eyes as my whole body shuddered, wanting to drive up into her. Not yet.

“Doing okay, King Kong?” she groaned. “Open your eyes. I want to see.”

“You feel like mine.” I choked as she rose and pressed down again. Glazed with lust, the heat in her eyes made me feel like the most powerful male alive.

“JayJay, we…” she breathed.

I massaged the curve of her ass, stealing the rest of her words, taking more of her weight while she worked one hand over the base of my coil. The plump head sucked in and out of her needy grip. An aching desire to cover her in my scent ratcheted through me. Her hair swayed behind her when the broad head of my coil breached her tight entrance, and she arched her back, brushing my hands with the silky tendrils.

“Just give me a sec.” She bit her lip, pressing one hand to my chest, and my whole body trembled.

“Ginger, I need…” I had no idea what I needed, but whatever it was, it had to happen now.

As if sensing the end of my control, she arched her back again and stacked her hands at the base of my coil. “’Kay, go.”

My body strained to move, but I resisted as doubt reared its ugly head. “What if it’s too much?”

“I need you, King Kong. Move. It’ll be okay.” Her chest heaved. “Just go as far as my hands.” Then she began to stroke her stacked fists up and down my shaft.

“Blant.” I gripped her hips, holding her still, and slowly lifted her, driving my coil deeper, then backed off again, mimicking her earlier movements. My coil swelled even larger inside her, pushing against the restraints of her smooth walls. On a long moan, I lay down. Ginger adjusted her hands and I thrust through them into heaven, then did it again. All the while she writhed in my grasp.

“Faster, JayJay.” Awash in the orange glow of the cave, sweat beaded her skin between her swaying mounds. I lifted my head and licked up the sweet musk.

Like charged electricity, I surged inside her. Unleashed, I thrust into her with abandon, meeting her hands as they pumped my base.

“Don’t stop,” she called out as I moved faster.

I loved having her so close, our mingling sweat, the meeting of our mouths. “Not planning on it,” I panted, pressing my thumb to her little bump.

She moaned and shuddered, clinching me in her female hold. I lost my barrier when Ginger released her hands and fell forward, suckling my collarbone. She mewled, her hips jerking, easing my passage as more of her essence flooded her channel.

“Holy shit,” she cried. “Keep going, JayJay.” She slapped my shoulder and began to ride me again. “Does it feel good for you, too?” She lifted her glassy eyes to mine.

I placed my fist at the base of my coil as she’d done and drove up into her. “If I never left this place again, I would die a happy male.”

Her smile almost undid me, but then she bent, took my nipple in her mouth and bit down. I bellowed, clutching her bottom as my arms trembled. My seed flooded her female hold as I sank deeper into the blanket, cradling her on top of me.

My rumba quieted to a contented purr as I circled a thumb over the dip in her back. “Best moment of my life, cherished female.”

“Me too,” Ginger whispered into the ear she was nuzzling.

Time seemed to stand still as the weight of her body turned liquid above me. Our small cave was bathed in the mixture of our scents, and never had anything smelled so right.

Smiling, Ginger lay on a blanket beneath a linnea tree in full bloom, the deep purple leaves ripe and heavy, oozing their intoxicating scent. The pride on her face filled me with confidence. Enough to fight off an entire planet of hellsna single-handedly.

A loud knock yanked me from the middle of the dream, and I jerked awake.

Hill’s steady voice filtered through the door. “Sisip needs you at the command center.”

Smoothly dislodging Ginger’s head from where it lay on my chest, I crept to the door and cracked it open a sliver before Hill could wake her.

“On my way,” I whispered to Hill. Not fully Boola, the freckles dotting his deep brown skin stood out in the low light. He tipped his chin and jogged toward the tunnel that led to the command center.

Fighting giant worms with sharp teeth was the last thing I wanted to do. With care, I slid the door shut and inhaled our aroma. An itch prickled the surface of my skin. Our mating… The way we’d moved together had been beyond anything I’d dared to dream. I wanted to have her melt for me over and over again. Now that she’d given herself to me, I’d do anything within my power to keep her for as long as she was willing.

In silence, I slipped into my ragged clothes. The rhythmic rise and fall of Ginger’s chest held all my attention. Curled naked on her side, one ripe breast rested on her arm like an offering. Flashes of our mating came to me. Her sweet musk, the soft texture of the white fuzz covering her skin, the ring of tiny bumps around her nipples that hardened beneath my tongue, the clench of her body and its surprising ability to take my coil.

To experience that with a female, even if she’d chosen me out of desperation, was a gift. Rock Dwellers mated for life. Like a blindfold had been removed and I was seeing for the first time, I now knew why. A compulsion to never leave Ginger’s side hummed inside me as if I’d been tuned to her. But she would never be mine.

How am I going to keep doing this and remain sane?

When she stretched out her arm, the sheet of silvery hair shifted, exposing her face. The dark moons under her eyes had already started to fade and fill with new life. I swallowed hard.

Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.

Crisp morning air filled my lungs and cleared my head. With fresh awareness, doubt began to seep in. I nodded to a handful of enforcers loaded with supplies and walked into the bustling command center.

Ginger couldn’t be my life companion. She wasn’t even the same species. Never, in recorded history, had a Rock Dweller and a human mated, but Dr. Ten seemed to have reason to believe we were compatible.

I stretched my neck back and forth, fighting the anger brewing under my skin at being pulled away from Ginger.

“Protector JayJay, you’re looking fierce today.” Saluda scratched at the scaly nubs on his back where wings would soon grow.

Efred eyed me up and down, one purple-scaled arm tucked tight to his side, no longer in a sling. “Protector JayJay, did you get bigger overnight?”

My forehead ridge furrowed at their strange comments, but I smiled weakly, then pressed on through the darting bodies, dodging hot javae as it sloshed from containers held by bleary-eyed enforcers. Sisip likely wanted to tell me Efred would be returning to active duty.

I ignored the onslaught of stupid comments about my appearance. Sisip’s distinctive tawny ears twitched above the crowd, guiding my way. Her eyes widened over the container of thick black sludge she sipped from as I approached.

Sisip’s split-lipped mouth twitched as if holding back a smile. “Are you glowing?”

Blant! My jaw clenched. What was with the ridiculous questions?

I shifted back and forth, tapping a rat-a-tat-tat on my thigh. “I think you need more sleep, Lead Enforcer.”

“Who doesn’t?” Real-time enforcer locations blinked red, green and yellow on the terrain grid projection that shot up from the bowl in the floor. “Thank you for coming. I know D’irk declared you off duty.”

I lifted my chin.

“Early this morning, hellsna razed two dwellings.” Sisip’s squared-off claw pointed to a stretch of land near the rocky outcrop. “The deaths of two Nacers have been confirmed.”

My heart sank. Please don’t let it be the Rowtees. They had a newborn, the first youngling born on Tern.

“I’ve notified Mayor Yurst. He’s requested your presence in town to assist with securing the fungus.”

“What?” Frowning, I raked my dull nails over the sudden itch beneath my wrists. An unfamiliar restlessness stirred in my bones. “I’ll be useless in convincing the Yagras representative, and Yurst knows that. I’m needed here.”

Sisip shrugged. “My hands are tied on this matter. But I can give you Hill, Saluda, Efred and D’unter for support. Your team can assess the immediate risk to Yurstille while you deal with this absurd request. Report back with the findings.”

Blant! I scowled at the flashing dot where the Nacers had been killed. “This should never have happened.”

My fists clenched at my sides. In my current mood, dealing with Yurst would be a huge problem. My team hovered in the background, one eye on me and one eye on the flashing red zone where the sleeping Nacers had met their demise.

“You heard Lead Enforcer Sisip. Pack an overnight bag and eat breakfast.” I glanced at my wristport. “Meet at the hovee bay in half a sun.” They dispersed with a mix of grumbles.

“Why do we have to miss all the action?” Efred asked as he tested his healing wing, flapping it against his side.

“We’re supposed to be the first team on the front line,” Saluda whined.

D’unter dodged a stalactite. “Yurst is a rocksucker.” I laughed at that one.

Covered in wood chips, Geo approached while I stood debating whether I should tell Ginger I’d be gone until the next rotation.

“Hey, bossman.” I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, though technically, he wasn’t my boss at the moment.

Geo eyeballed me. “You look rather shimmery this morning, JayJay.”

I needed a moment in front of a mirror. The itch under my skin grew, and I unslung my arm and rubbed at my wrists.

“Blanting Mayor Yurst has requested I attend a meeting with the Yagras representative to help negotiate the transfer of the bloodroot fungus. I’ll be away tonight. Can you tell Ginger?” I barked.

Geo ran one hand over his beard, his gaze assessing. “Okay, but are you all right?”

“No, I’m not all right.” My voice echoed through the command center. “We’re in the middle of a blanting war, and I don’t have time to deal with Yurst.” I fought against the ferocious need to be at Ginger’s side, scratching at my wrists.

Geo tentatively reached out and squeezed my elbow. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Just tell her.” My voice sounded harsh even to my ears as I shook him off. I leaned over and stole a sandwich and tinga from the table before me, trying to tamp down the restless agitation. Maybe food would help my cracking composure. I’d just get some new clothes from my bunk in the Rock Dweller sono tonight. No need to wake Ginger.

“Tell me what?” Ginger’s linnea scent swamped me, stopping me in my tracks. My skin seethed, and I dragged my nails over my forearms. She leaned into my space and rubbed the dark marks on my forearm. “Are you having an allergic reaction?”

Her soft touch cooled the itch that burned under my skin, and a sense of peace calmed the restlessness, except for the loud inner voice that bellowed, She’s mine! Take her!

“What did you need Geo to tell me?” She continued to rub soothing circles over my forearm.

In the much brighter light, her hair shone. A glossy dark brown seam showed near her scalp. Did humans shed?

“JayJay?” she prompted, and a smile twisted her lips up on one side.

I shook my hands loose, snapping out of the trance she placed me under. The itch returned with a vengeance. “I’ll be gone until new rotation.”

The disappointment that flared in her eyes stopped me in my tracks. I would’ve missed it, but it highlighted the green. The color of my favorite swimming hole back home. As I studied her face, I grew more agitated when a forced smile appeared. I had no patience for it.

“I will attend to you then.” She jolted at my rough voice before I stormed off to the hovee bay. I kept my focus locked forward. If I turned around, instincts would prevail, and I’d be forced to gather Ginger into my arms, return to my cave and claim her as mine.

Instead, I formed another image I desired in my mind. On my back, I floated in green water. Humid air filled my lungs. A sleek jungle cat lurked in a treetop perch above me. Equally still, we stared at one another. One day, we would face off.

My illusion shattered as Ginger’s words drove into my back like a spear. “Goddamn gorilla-sized asshole.”

As expected, my crew were waiting at the hovee bay. Their snarky comments quieted and disappeared altogether as I stormed toward them. It took two suns to return to Yurstille. When we arrived at the enforcers’ headquarters, anger’s hold still had a grip on me. I’d sent my team to assess the risk to the town and now stood bristling at Mayor Yurst’s door.

“JayJay.” Mayor Yurst patted my hand and ushered me inside. “I trust all is well with you, and you were not involved in the little shake-up this morning?”

“Little shake-up?” Two Nacers had lost their lives half a sun’s flight from Yurstille’s center.

“Come, come”—he beckoned with one hand—“let the past rest. I have us all set up by the pool. It should be a delightful meeting.”

With every step I took, I resisted the urge to reach out and wring his neck. My knees nearly met my ears as I sat in the too-low lounge chair. A meeting notification chimed, and the wall projection linked to Yurst’s wristport launched, turning his pink wall black.

Bonic took up one half of the projection, his shoulders hunched as he typed behind a long desk. When the Yagras representative joined, my stomach lurched. The male who’d accused me of killing an influential lobbyist, a female, filled the other half of the screen. His pressed sash cut across the deep indigo of his uniform in a slash of bloodroot fungus red. A smirk the length of the wall hovered over me where I sat with my knees at my shoulders, and my stomach dropped to the floor.

“Devile…so wonderful to have you join us. Your delightful voice always brightens my day,” Mayor Yurst gushed.

He nudged my knee. A silent request to offer a similar obsequious welcome. I remained frozen in my seat, my mouth as dry as sand.

Bonic passed a tablet to one of his staff before lifting his head, ready to join the meeting. “JayJay, how’s my brother? Makir informed me Yurstille’s fleet of hoverbikes is in dire need of replacement if you wish to maintain your assault.”

Before I could respond, Yurst interrupted. “It’s wonderful that Makir has you as a confidant.” He smiled at the statues of himself. He had two now. The gem-encrusted eyes of the second sparkled in the pool’s water. “But I must disagree, High Commander. Your brother has been doing a terrific job. Each and every one of our hoverbike fleet is in tip-top shape.”

How had this Tig been elected? I swallowed my shock over Devile’s presence and stood, leveling a glare at Yurst. “Should I bring my hovee in? Park it next to your statue, maybe?” Then I turned toward the projection. “Makir tells the truth.”

“Well, a generous donation from a wealthy ally certainly wouldn’t go unwelcomed.” Credits shone in Yurst’s eyes as he leaned toward Bonic’s projection. “We’re all friends here,” he cooed, “we must trust one another.”

A container wobbled when Bonic’s hands turned to fists on his large desk. A royal family portrait hung in a gilded frame behind him. His blue tail stood rigid like a flagpole, identical to his family's in the background. “I entrusted you with the safety of my brother. At no time, Mayor, did you mention Tern had a giant—”

Devile’s smirk widened as he cut Bonic’s words short. “Inmate 141, it’s been over an annum since your banishment. Tern has served you well.”

Thanks, Devile. Now, all of Yurstille will know I’m not here of my own volition.

“Banishment?” Mayor Yurst gasped. “That wasn’t declared on your recolonization admission form.”

“Oh, did I miss that detail?” Devile carried on as if I wasn’t there. As if his very presence wasn’t a gut-wrenching reminder of the life he forced me to leave behind. As if his accusations hadn’t turned me into an unworthy male.

How was I going to get this conversation back on track? Two Nacers had died this morning, and Sisip was trusting me to secure the bloodroot fungus. Instead of releasing the anger racing down my spine, I reeled it in, grinding my boot heel into the solarium’s pink soil. In the face of anger, Yurst shut down, and I needed him to charm his way into Devile’s good graces.

Devile leaned against a linnea tree, one foot propped against its trunk. If his intent had been to make me long for home, it worked. “The reason I never doubted your praise about Inmate 141’s effectiveness at luring hellsna is because he’s trained his whole life as an elite guard. But as competent as he is, that doesn’t change the facts of his conviction. To lure a hellsna and kill a female—unforgivable.”

“Oh dear.” Yurst walked over to his statue and patted its elbow. “Well, I will have to discuss this with our lead enforcer. It’s not right to have JayJay lead a team with that kind of record.”

Bonic tapped his long fingers on his desk. “Enough of this pandering. JayJay will remain as is.”

Devile plucked a payot, my favorite fruit, from the bush next to him. I could almost smell the tangy citrus as if the fruit were in my own hand. Juice dribbled down his chin as he bit into it.

“One good thing has come of Inmate 141’s conviction.” Devile leered at me, slurping up the juice with his fat tongue. It was clear that he’d come to the meeting with his own agenda. “The supreme rulers have passed a new bill. For the past annum, elite guards have been reassigned as defenders of the wealthy. I quite enjoy being under the protection of my own personal shield.”

My face grew chalky in the pool’s reflection, where I paced along its edge. The strange shimmer covering my skin had me second-guessing my vision. Acid soured my mouth. Not only had I not committed the crime I’d been charged with, but the devastation caused by passing that bill rendered me speechless. To reassign the elite guard as personal shields left the citizens of the seven districts unprotected from hellsna. I’d spoken out against it many times.

“Must I remind you”—Bonic’s steely gaze bounced between Yurst and Devile—“that we are here to find a solution to the immediate hellsna problem on Tern, not to rehash old grudges?”

The mayor clutched his statue’s arm. “Stars above, Devile, do you think JayJay could have awoken the hellsna in the hibernaculum on purpose?”

Of all the sneaky, blanting beings in the universe…I couldn’t believe the mayor had the equipment necessary to suggest such a thing. “Watch what you accuse me of, little Tig. Or I might find some accusations of my own to throw out. I will not be wrongly convicted again.” My tightly coiled rage unfurled, and I kicked a lounge chair, sending it screeching over the concrete floor.

“Yurst, Devile, not another word.” Bonic’s sharp command rang through the sticky air.

He was the only one in this sham of a meeting I had any respect for, so I swallowed my rage and forced myself to remain in the room. Tern needed the fungus.

Yurst cowered behind his statue while Devile smirked, biting into his payot once more.

Bonic’s blue tail snapped behind him. “Any more slander and an embargo on Lornian exports to both Tern and Yagras will be on the table. We’re here to discuss the delivery of the bloodroot fungus and nothing more. Devile, can you confirm you have secured the fungus and provide the details on its delivery?”

Devile tapped his three fingers on his knee. “Lornians. Always so abrupt. The bloodroot fungus is secured and”—he paused, then threw his arms open—“I will deliver it, in person, early new week.”

No blanting way. A flurry of words rushed from my mouth unbidden, “I’m sure you’re much too—”

Mayor Yurst applauded beside me. “I’ll have my assistant prepare my very best guest room for you. A celebration is in order for this momentous occasion.”

What assistant? He didn’t have a blanting assistant.

“I will wish your brother well from you, Bonic,” I bit out, tipping my head at his image before departing Yurst’s dwelling. It was either leave now or kill him.

A fierce itch burned under my skin. I shed my shirt and rode my hovee to the rocky outcrop at top speed. I needed my ancestors’ guidance, and their presence was strong in the ebony hot pools.