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Zyr tapped his fingers on the table then relit his pipe. "Fine," he snapped. "But only for him. The others will have to make do with a half capsule at most."

"Really, I only hired them just for the spread, but it is you, my friend," Korzien pointed, "who I am confident the most in. Find them and gain their location at the very least. If you bring back a few, even better. After that, we can start sending out our own ships."

Aly listened and felt her body turn cold then hot. She clenched her hands into fists on her lap, trying not to be sick again.

"And maybe, just maybe, if things turn out well enough," Korzien continued, "we'll give you one, a nice girl perhaps, like this one here, assuming there are plenty to go around."

Aly felt Nezka's eyes on her again, and this time, she glanced back, glaring, hoping he could see the hate there.

Korzien leaned forward and placed more bluym in his pipe. "I know you are intrigued by them. I can tell. I think it's their soft innocence that does it. They are so delicate. I am curious to see how they break in the bedroom." He laughed, his hand brushing the back of Aly's head. "And they are not always meek, mind you, though some have shown to be. But they can be fierce little things too, even in their silence. Isn't that right, girl?"

Aly didn't respond. She didn't turn her gaze away and neither did Nezka.

Nezka took another hit of his pipe. "Very...intrigued," he said in a low, husky sort of voice. A wicked spark lit in his eyes, and Aly felt herself blush.

Her stomach twisted and what she thought might be vomit coming up again was instead words. "You won't find them," she said softly. "You won't find any because we are all that is left."

A blatant lie right to their faces, but she could think of nothing else, and her desperation was too great to care.

They were silent, watching her carefully, Korzien's expression indifferent if not amused. "Is that so?" he said slowly, inhaling then exhaling smoke. He set his pipe down to look over at her more intensely. "That is a very grand statement if it is true." His mouth turned up ever so slightly as he stared at her. "Funny, though, the other girl, Marzin's chosen, said otherwise. She claimed there were quite a few worlds inhabited with your kin."

Aly clenched her jaw, her throat tightening. Damn Sarah and her betraying mouth.

Korzien leaned forward, his face close to hers. "Are you telling me she lied to us? Because if that is true, she will have to be punished rather severely. Perhaps, have her babe taken from her for a week or two or maybe have her tied out for a day with a few lashes across her back."

Aly 's mouth trembled.

"Hm? What do you think?" Korzien said, unphased. "I can have it arranged today if it’s true. I'll just have one of my guards slip into her room and—"

"It's not," Aly said, cracking under his gaze. "It's not. Please don't harm her."

"Ah. So, then, it was you who lied." Korzien sighed and gently cupped the back of her neck with his hand. "That really disappoints me." With casual effort, he picked up a short-curved blade sitting by a plate of cut meat and held it over a small flame at the center of the table used for lighting their pipes. Still holding her neck, he gripped her tight so she couldn't pull away. The now hot blade rose toward her face, and Aly choked down a tiny whimper. "I don't appreciate being lied to." The blade moved closer, and Aly tensed. "But because I like you, I will let you off with this one warning. Just one. If, however, you ever lie to me again, even if it is the smallest, most innocent lie imaginable, I will take this heated blade and make you suck on it till your tongue is ash in your mouth. Do I make myself clear?"

Aly nodded her head quickly, and the blade dropped.

"Good girl." He released her, and she let out a little hiss of breath.

They continued talking, pretending she wasn't even there, and Aly said no more, allowing herself to float away from the scene altogether, beginning to feel a dull buzz now from the bluym floating in the air. Only when her stomach rolled and she clutched at it, leaning forward, did Korzien look back at her.

"What's wrong now?" he said, more annoyed than concerned.

"I...I don't feel good. Can I please be excused?"

Korzien eyed her curiously for a moment then waved his hand. "Go, then."

Aly went, not bothering with so much as a "goodbye." She slipped out of the room and wandered aimlessly down one hall until she came to some other small garden and sat down at a stone-laid bench covered by a tree with purple leaves. She sat with her head nearly between her knees and just breathed in and out for what felt like hours. When the pain finally subsided, she lifted her head and saw that it was sundown. She was gazing around at the shadows forming along the outer edge of the garden, particularly around the several rows of pillars, when she noticed one shadow looking back at her with a pair of orange eyes.

Nezka watched her as he leaned against a pillar, his hand playing with a collar-like necklace set with violet gems across his neck; one she had yet to notice, just like the small gem-like beads that were set in the skin across his brow.

They stared at one another for a brief moment, until Nezka turned away and Aly shot up and ran after him.

"Please don't do this," Aly called out as he walked away from her down the passage. Nezka stopped and looked back at her. When she caught up to him and stopped several feet from him, she repeated, "Please don't do this."

"Don't what?" he said after a pause.

Aly gave him a grim expression. "Please don't hunt my people down. If you give them up to the nillium, they will be no more than slaves!"

Nezka closed his eyes then opened them slowly. "What can you give me?