Page 7 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

KAIREN

“ I didn’t want to say anything in front of the human, Your Highness, but it’s General Korvann,” Zane says as soon as the doors close behind us. “Word got to him about his son and the manner of his death. He is… disquiet.”

I purse my lips. “I’m not altogether surprised.” The general is Zaiem’s father, and I’m certain being killed by a female from a less advanced alien race isn’t on his list of honorable deaths.

I nod at Zane and turn toward the bridge, contemplating General Korvann’s influence.

With our fertility issues, many Avaren families faded into oblivion.

With only a few hundred families left, every Avaren knows the names of the more prominent ones.

Zeiran Korvann is the patriarch of his family, and though Zaiem wasn’t his only child, he won’t easily let this go.

“I imagine he’ll be out for blood,” Lirael comments.

I glance at her. Her arms are clasped behind her back, and her expression, exposed by the severe way she binds her hair back, is neutral and unreadable.

When I face ahead again, I notice the passing crew and soldiers throwing curious looks our way.

“Yes, I imagine so,” I murmur, nodding at one of Kael’s engineers. The female is fixing a temperature control panel, gently humming to herself.

“You know his views on females,” my cousin continues.

“I do,” I affirm.

“If it were up to him, females who choose to cohabitate with other females would be persecuted,” she needlessly reminds me.

“It is a good thing my mother is queen and vehemently against such injustice,” I gently counter.

Lirael is quiet for a moment. “We should test the human for a match. For her own safety. We already failed her once.”

I close my eyes, thinking of the attempted sexual assault and of her potentially finding her male and being off limits.

While her match is unknown, I can look at her with the eyes of a potential lover.

As soon as the name is registered and the male is made aware, any possibility of enjoying more time with her, of enjoying… more with her… is gone.

But I cannot be selfish. “Do it,” I command with a hollow voice.

My cousin’s cube is out in the blink of an eye, and she’s finished inputting the search command by the time we reach the bridge. The doors open, and the officers on each side stand at attention.

“At ease,” I say, already moving to the center of the room, where Caden and Kael are waiting, along with my chief communications officer Rhaevik, the security chief Avenis, tactical chief Zorath, intelligence chief Orien, and chief science officer Cyrel.

General Korvann’s countenance stares down at us from the hologram display.

“General,” I greet him with a firm voice. “The situation is regrettable.”

“Regrettable?” the soldier fumes. “My son is dead. Killed by a lesser creature.”

Here we go…

“Did the human, our genetic match, I’ll remind you, not defend herself, the outcome would have still been the same.” I interlock my fingers behind my back and raise an eyebrow at Korvann. “The punishment for forced mating is death, no matter the victim. ”

I watch as the general’s neural filaments flicker with his agitation. “How can you be sure the assault happened?” he asks through gritted teeth. “The creature could have been lying, Kairen!”

Cyrel clicks her tongue at Korvann’s lack of decorum. He may be older than me, but I am Avaris’ military commander and the crown prince.

“I checked the security recordings, Zeiran ,” I counter with an emphasis on the general’s first name. “I did not execute Rheven on a hunch.” His suggestion that I didn’t do my due diligence is preposterous.

The general’s lips thin further. “I saw the recordings,” he says, sounding uncharacteristically flustered. “The boys didn’t even have intercourse with the creature!”

He’s really bugging me with the whole ‘creature’ thing.

“The boys ,” Avenis speaks up, “had the female restrained and were tearing her clothes off.” My chief security officer tilts her head at the hologram. “I’m sure if it were your daughter, you would want her to defend herself.”

Korvan’s upper lip curls at being chastised by a female. Or perhaps it’s having his only daughter compared to a human female. Either way, he ignores Avenis as if she hadn’t spoken and addresses me.

“I will be speaking with your mother on the matter,” he says, then signs off without a goodbye.

Rhaevik groans. “Did he just say ‘I’m telling your mom’ to his commander and prince?”

“And then hung up on him,” Zorath adds with a wild grin.

“I think Korvann, much like his daughter, doesn’t think I’m his future king.

” There’s only humor in my voice. I don’t mourn Zeriah dissolving our partnership in favor of my brother.

The chances of them conceiving are near negligible, and if she thought she was more likely to become queen consort with my sedentary brother over the prince that’s constantly on the frontlines, well, it shows she was never with me for me .

“How is the human feeling?” As the head of the science team researching humans and their planet, Cyrel worked closely with Lirael to heal the injured girl.

“Yes, Commander,” Caden purrs, finally speaking after being unusually quiet through the whole ordeal. He blows a lock of white hair out of his eyes. “How is the female?”

I roll my eyes at my first officer. “Tara,” I emphasize her name, “is feeling well. With her permission, I shared more nanites with her. She understands Avaren now.”

“Ta-ra,” Caden sounds out, syllable by syllable. Not that there are many. “It’s funny how you insisted it be your nanites to heal her in the first place, Cousin. Normally, that’s the healer’s task.”

I give my best friend in the whole universe a stink-eye and wish fervently I could throw him into a Nekkari mating hole.

“Did you test her yet?” Kael asks, sounding too eager for my liking. The hopeful note in his voice makes my skin feel too tight, and then I feel guilty for it. The male deserves a good female.

But does it have to be one I’m drawn to?

“We’re waiting for the results,” I say instead of what I’m really thinking.

Lirael clears her throat. “Actually, we’re waiting for you to stop yapping so I can share the results.”

My stomach drops. It’s over. I straighten my uniform to busy my shaking hands. “Is there a match?”

“There is,” she answers with an odd tone.

I turn to the exit. “Is the male on Avaris?”

“No. He’s here.”

I don’t know which would be worse. Knowing she belongs to someone else and waiting for the claim, or having to hand her over immediately. How will she be my ambassador when I’m already in knots over the female?

I speak through the tightness in my throat. “Notify the male. I’m going to go explain to her.”

“Kairen.” Lirael hails me when I’m already halfway to the door. “I am notifying the male.” I whirl around, my hearts echoing in my ears. “It’s you.”

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

“That’s impossible.”

My cousin lifts an eyebrow. “Do you have a penis?”

Caden snickers, and my ears ignite again. “You’re my healer. If anyone’s apprised of my reproductive health, it’s you.”

“Then she is your match.” Lirael’s voice is no-nonsense. “Go ahead and tell her.”

“No one tell her!” I blurt out, looking at the Sovereign’s command with a sense of panic the likes of which I’ve never felt before.

“Are you kidding me, Kai?” Caden growls. “She’s our princess and future queen consort.”

My dick hardens at the thought of her sitting on Avaris’ throne by my side, and I quickly turn to the door again.

By Vireon’s light, what is happening to me?

“I will tell her,” I say through gritted teeth. “Let me… befriend her first.”

“You’ll be getting really friendly soon, that’s for sure,” Caden simpers. “Cementing your claim on the throne with heirs.”

I close my eyes. A muscle at the side of my jaw ticks. I turn my head and see seven pairs of eyes locked on me. “This is precisely why I don’t want to tell her yet.” I shake my head. “She’s not Avaris’ broodmare.”

Everyone but my cousins lowers their eyes.

“I’m duty-bound to register the match, Kai,” Lirael says sadly. “Every Avaren will know before the next moonfall.”

I look at the Avaren closest to me. The ones who followed me for countless cycles, liberating planets, fighting our enemy. “Just give me time to… woo her,” I plead with a resigned voice.

Caden’s grin is reassuring. “You’re fucked,” he almost chirps. “My prince,” he adds with an all-but-respectful tilt of his head .

I sigh. “I’m having you executed for treason as soon as we land on Avaris.”

My cousin’s grin turns feral. “I can’t remember how many times you’ve said that before.”

“It will take at least one more time,” Avenis singsongs.

I’m over this conversation. I need to get back to… my match… my princess.

“Caden.” My first officer stands up straight at the shift in my tone. “Have the ambassador’s suite prepared for Tara,” I command. “After she rests, we will meet with her and discuss plans for establishing a rapport with Earth’s leadership.”

I don’t wait for everyone to acknowledge me, and the door closes on their platitudes of ‘yes, Commander’ and ‘as you say, my prince’. My hearts are already leading me back to where the human is.