Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
KHATAK
The landing zone shimmers with heat distortion from the idling shuttle engines. I adjust my grip on my bags, my tail dragging behind me across the permacrete. Every step toward that shuttle is a step away from her.
From the only three days in my entire life where I felt like I actually mattered.
The shuttle crew moves through their pre-flight checks. Fifteen minutes until boarding. Fifteen minutes until I leave this place forever and return home to face my family’s disappointment.
Again.
I’m so focused on the shuttle, on forcing one foot in front of the other, that I almost don’t notice the figure standing near the boarding ramp.
Almost.
My steps falter.
Prince Rist stands with his arms crossed, his red skin darker than mine, his black horns catching the sunlight. He’s not looking at the shuttle. He’s looking directly at me.
Waiting.
My stomach drops.
For a wild moment, I consider turning around. But where would I go? Back to the hotel? Back to Selene, who made it perfectly clear she wants nothing to do with me?
No. The only direction left is forward.
I force my legs to move, closing the distance between us. Each step feels heavier than the last.
“Prince Rist,” I manage when I’m close enough. My voice comes out rougher than intended. “I didn’t expect—“
“I know you didn’t.” His tone is measured. Calm. “You were planning to leave without our meeting.”
It’s not a question.
I set my bags down carefully, buying myself a few seconds. My tail curls tight against my leg. “I assumed... given that I missed our scheduled appointment, you wouldn’t want to waste time on—“
“I know your father is General Thax’nor,” Rist interrupts quietly. “I know your brother Valkor is a decorated combat specialist. I know your family has been vocal in their opposition to the current king’s policies.” He pauses. “And I know they sent you here for a reason.”
The words hit like physical blows.
“I make it my business to know who comes to my hotel and why,” he continues. “Especially when they come from military families with political motivations.”
Of course. He survived a coup attempt. Built this refuge from nothing. He wouldn’t be careless.
“Then you know what they wanted,” I say quietly.
“An alliance. Using my name, my claim to the throne, to legitimize their opposition to the current king.” Rist’s gaze doesn’t waver. “They want a figurehead for their war.”
“Yes.”
“And yet you missed our meeting yesterday.” No judgment in his voice. Just observation.
Because of Selene. She made me forget everything else existed. For three days, I felt like maybe I could be enough exactly as I am. Not a warrior. Not accomplished. Just... me.
Rist leans against a nearby transport crate, settling in like we have all the time in the world. “Let me ask you something, Khatak. Do you believe this alliance—this war your family wants—will actually help anyone?”
The directness of it stuns me into honesty.
“No.” The word comes out firm. “I think it’ll get them all killed. I think they’re using righteous anger about the king’s policies to justify violence that will solve nothing. War breeds more war. Throwing you into the middle of it as some symbolic figurehead will just...”
I trail off, realizing what I’m saying. Who I’m saying it to.
Rist nods slowly. “Go on.”
“I think they’re wrong,” I finish quietly. “They need to let go. Move forward. Find new possibilities instead of clinging to old grievances. But they won’t listen to me.” The old familiar shame washes over me. “They never have.”
“Because you’re not a warrior.”
“Because I’m not Valkor. Not my father.” I gesture at myself. “I’m just the son they could send because no one would notice me leaving.”
“I noticed you immediately.” Rist’s voice is gentle but firm. “I knew who you were the moment you arrived.”
The words land harder than they should.
“You could have approached me on your first day,” Rist continues. “I’ve been walking the hotel grounds as part of the staff. Fully accessible. But you went through Sutek instead.” He tilts his head. “Why?”
I open my mouth. Close it.
“I wanted to do it right,” I finally admit. “Diplomatically. Like someone competent.” I laugh, bitter. “Obviously that worked perfectly.”
“Or perhaps you were delaying because part of you knew this wasn’t right.”
The observation cuts too close to the truth.
“I love my family,” I say, and my voice cracks.
“Even though they drive me insane. Even though I’m never enough for them.
” My claws flex, then retract. “And I think if I’d succeeded, I would have been sending them to their deaths.
So I’m going home to tell them you refused.
At least then they’ll have to find another path forward.
One that doesn’t end in a war they can’t win. ”
Rist is quiet for a long moment.
“This hotel isn’t a military base,” he finally says.
“It’s not a staging ground for coups or revolutions.
I built it as a place for new beginnings.
A refuge.” His voice carries weight—history and pain and hard-won wisdom.
“Most of the staff here are individuals who have been impacted by war. Or mistreated by others. Some were abducted, trafficked, sold. They came here because they needed somewhere safe to rebuild their lives.”
The words settle over me slowly, and then—
Oh.
Selene.
Her appearance of always being in control—of directing everyone and everything around her. I thought she was organized, but it was more than that. The way she was always gazing around, watching everyone around us. Her hypervigilance.
She wasn’t just cautious.
She was traumatized.
“I built this hotel for people who need new beginnings,” Rist says quietly.
“For those who’ve been impacted by war, by trauma, by circumstances beyond their control.
We need staff who understand that. Who value honesty.
Who put others before themselves—even when it costs them everything.
” He meets my eyes. “We need people like you, Khatak.”
The words don’t compute.
“I’m not a good male,” I state.
I hid things from her. I came here with ulterior motives and got close to her while carrying secrets. I took away the very thing she needed most.
After someone had already stolen it from her once.
“You came here on a mission you didn’t believe in. You’re willing to face your family’s disappointment—potentially their rejection—rather than drag them into a war you know will destroy them.” Rist’s voice is firm. “That’s a mark of a good male. Someone with integrity.”
The shuttle crew calls out a ten-minute warning.
“I need to go.” I reach for my bags, refusing to be involved in the conversation any longer. Unable to. He doesn’t understand. Can’t. Rist has no idea how deep the pain goes. I thought for one blessed moment that I had found my mate—the perfect being in all the universe. And I destroyed her.
“She deserves better. Every time she’d see me, it would just remind her. I can’t keep hurting her.”
Without waiting for his response, I turn and march up the boarding ramp.
Sinking into my assigned seat, I close my eyes.
I saved my family. That’s what matters. They’ll be safe.
I accomplished the mission.
So why does it feel like I’ve lost everything that actually mattered?