Page 9 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

KAIREN

I don’t think falling onto a female penis-first, like a Nekkar in heat, is the way to befriend her.

I had to get out of there. It’s a bit rude of me not to explain how the cleaning chamber works after she had been injured in battle and assaulted, but I couldn’t trust myself not to think of her using it while doing so. The AU mech is the safest choice.

The way she stared at my lap, though… with such fascination and perhaps a bit of awe.

I know from the diagrams we obtained that human males are shaped similarly, if somewhat more blandly.

Honestly, I’m not sure how they manage to please their partners with such smooth appendages.

Perhaps they have some extra skills with their fingers and tongues we don’t know about?

Aaand, now I’m thinking about some human male, with a penis like a Yv’lar sea slug, pawing my match. I resist the urge to pull my hair out only because I saw my princess staring at it like she wants to touch it.

“She has you fuming already?”

I was so preoccupied with my doomsday thoughts that I didn’t even notice Caden waiting for me in my quarters .

“Not her. Any human male who ever looked in her direction,” I admit, slumping down next to him in the lounging area.

Snickering, he offers his glass of Vasari spirits. I take a greedy gulp and let my shoulders relax.

“You have it bad already,” he teases, bending over to pour a new glass.

I nod absentmindedly. “There must be something about matches,” I muse. “A scent or something. I was drawn to her from the very beginning, more than I ever was to any female.”

When he doesn’t reply, I look at him from the corner of my eye to see an unusually wistful expression on his face. I elbow him until his eyes are on me and his smile is back. “There are still plenty of females on this planet. Surely your match must be among them,” I comfort him.

My cousin looks like the only thing he cares about is a good joke and an even better drink, but I know he’s been dreaming of having his own family ever since we were old enough to grasp the concept, many, many cycles ago.

“I hope so,” he says before taking a sip of the rainbow liquor.

“I am happy for you, though.” He sounds sincere, and I know it’s not just a front.

We’ve always put each other first, despite every mischievous prank we could pull as younglings.

“Has Auntie Rae called you yet?” His purred question is like a splash of cold ocean water.

By Vireon’s light, could he not give me a moment to enjoy my matched status before he reminds me of my mother?

I drag a hand down my face, then check with my nanites for the time at the Veyrathi palace.

Breakfast time. Great. With a sigh, I call my cube and place it on the table.

Caden’s snicker accompanies the whooshing sound of an image taking form.

“Kai,” Queen Raelith says neutrally. Which means she got the news, she’s just giving me a chance to do the right thing as a son.

“Mom,” I greet, then take a deep breath. “I have news.”

“When can I meet my new daughter?”

I guess the pretense is over .

“I haven’t–”

“I checked what a human’s gestation period is. If you start now, we can have…”

I let her prattle on about Avaren holidays while Caden chews on his fist to hold the laughter in. He’ll get his turn soon, I’m sure.

“I haven’t told her she’s my match yet,” I say when I get a word in. “She’s had a rough day, and I didn’t want to add to the strangeness of the situation.”

Mom’s lips thin, and her green eyes narrow into slits. You never want to find yourself on the other side of that gaze, whether you’re a youngling or hundreds of cycles old.

“Yes,” she seethes. “Zeiran was here not long ago. I was strongly considering offering him a pleasure barge vacation and then having him ejected out of a chute in low orbit.”

My shoulders shake while Caden flat-out guffaws.

“There was nothing amusing about having that Vorthai ass hiss in my face first thing in the morning, Caden Veyrath!” she reprimands my cousin, her nose in the air.

Cade doesn’t seem daunted. “Of course, I told him you handled things as you should have.” She gives me a sharp look next.

“And that was before I knew she was my daughter.”

Her words warm me, even though I expected nothing less from her. Plus, she never did like Zeriah when we had a partnership, and likes her even less now that she jumped spaceships to land on my brother. I wonder what her reaction to the news was.

“How’s Vaelen?” I inquire, changing the topic. My mother’s eyes tell me I’m not getting out of talking about my newfound match.

“Your brother is fine and happy for you. So is your little sister.” Her voice warms up when she brings up Elara. She was the last thing my father gave her before the Ghorvek killed him.

“And how is Zeriah?” Caden asks, the eternal troublemaker.

Mom sniffs and checks her long, green-colored nails.

“I wouldn’t know. She was galivanting with her friends late into the night.

I neither expect nor desire to see her any time soon.

” When she looks at me next, her demeanor is that of Avaris’ queen.

“What are your plans for humankind now that contact has been made?”

I straighten from my slouch, presenting the queen with Avaren’s fleet commander.

“Although reluctant, Tara has agreed to be my ambassador. She is resting now, but once she is awake, we will discuss the broader aspects of what that entails, then descend to her home, where we will assist with whatever is needed after the Ghorvek attack before we visit the first human leaders.”

My mother nods through my recitation of the plans. “And when will I be able to speak to my new daughter?”

I groan and cover my face, becoming her son once more. “Please, don’t call her that when you do. We have no idea how humans view partnership.”

As the queen draws a breath to respond, Caden speaks over her – something only a few Veyraths and no one else can get away with. “Auntie Rae, I need to get your son drunk now so he can take that stick out of his ass and properly celebrate finding his match.”

Mom starts laughing, and I tamp down the urge to take that very same stick and bash my cousin’s head in with it. “I can’t get drunk, Caden, we’ll be discussing politics with Tara and the chiefs soon.”

Caden rolls his eyes and gives Mom a look of exasperation. “See what I’m dealing with?” He then turns to me. “She’s probably going to be sleeping for several marks.”

His reminder of what Tara went through makes me frown, likely the opposite of Caden’s goal here. “I’d still prefer to be prepared,” I murmur over their gloating snickers.

As my mother and cousin trade ideas for the names of future princes and princesses, I stare into my glass, watching the drink shift colors, much like the fish in my tank.

They’re both acting like this is just another match on Avaris, where the female is overjoyed to find her male, especially one from the royal bloodline.

But Tara is an unknown, and her species is as well.

What if she rejects me? She might seem physically attracted to me, but being with me will never be as easy as indulging in some recreational intimacy.

The future of a planet, of its entire species, weighs on my shoulders.

Lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice when the conversation quiets down.

I look up from my liquor and meet Caden’s expectant gaze.

“Your mother said to contact her when you have more news.” It’s not the first time my mind wandered to the point where the world around me faded away, and my family knows it.

Of course, I never allow myself to drop my guard like this with anyone else.

“What if she says no, Caden?” I express my fears out loud.

His gentle smile is something none but those closest to him see. “She won’t, Kai. No one in their right mind would say no to you. I said no one in their right mind ,” he continues when I open my mouth to bring up Zeriah. It’s my turn to give him a wry smile.

“Hand me the bottle, will you?” I say with a smirk, which he quickly returns.

Several marks later, we’re nodding off on opposite sides of the lounge seating, while the empty bottle of Vasari spirits mocks us from the table. I’m pulled out of my liquor-induced, somewhat inappropriate musings about the human girl by an alert sent out by the assis… by Kiko.

She’s awake.

I drag myself into the cleaning chamber where the steam revitalizes me, then prod my cousin to head to his rooms and follow suit.

When dressing this time, I choose the less formal uniform, one that’s similar to what Tara wears.

I’m uncertain whether we will meet any human leadership today, but seeing as the Ghorvek have been on Earth for several of its cycles, fashion and formality are likely not very important to them.

Once I close the pale-brown, utilitarian jacket over the tight, black, long-sleeved undershirt, I attach some tools that might be useful to have on the planet. I look at the Avaren male in the reflection as I tug on my gloves.

I allowed myself a few marks to have doubts. Now it’s time to conquer my match.