Chapter 27
"Take the ship?" I looked at Legolas, who let go of Zale's wrist the moment after he snarled his command.
"Who is this guy?" Legolas asked. "That is an extreme reaction."
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"You don't know?" Legolas asked as he took another step back. "Isn't he just a bodyguard?"
Zale moved in front of me, getting in between us physically.
"That is what I thought at first," I replied, thinking back on the last few days and everything I had observed.
"But why would a zookeeper need a whole bunch of bodyguards, even if he is the Prime Minister's son?
And why would one bodyguard be able to order around a literal squadron of the rest of them to the point that they all do whatever he says the second he walks in the room? "
Then that small, mischievous, little bit evil part of me rose its head.
"Plus, when we first met, he totally murdered a bunch of guys who messed with me and gave me their heads as a gift." I grinned. Oh, I was so bad. "I probably should have warned you."
“Shit,” Legolas said.
There was a soft sound, like feet thudding against metal in the distance.
Legolas stepped back and put his hands up, palms forward.
Zale took a step back and to the side, sweeping his arm out to press me back against the wall as a mass of alien cat elves in full combat armor rushed past us. One peeled off and pointed a weapon at Legolas.
"Knees," he barked.
Legolas knelt, keeping his hands visible, annoyance flashing across his face.
After a few minutes, one of the soldiers trotted back and faced Zale, he flexed his hand as if he was going to claw something but instead placed it over his heart.
"The ship is secure, sire," he said. "Your orders?"
Sire?
"Take all the aliens to the largest room," Zale said. "I will speak to them at once."
"How about the mess hall?" I typed out.
I really wanted that coffee.
"Take all the aliens to the mess hall," Zale ordered.
Then he leaned down, wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me into him.
He bent down low enough that he was able to press his nose and mouth against the curve of my neck, just under my ear.
A shiver ran through me as his lips gently caressed my skin while he spoke.
"Whatever you want is yours," he said. "But you are mine."
"You got it," I replied, breathlessly. Then I realized I had just spoken out loud, so I quickly typed the response into the translator tablet for him.
He let out a deep, rumbling chuckle.
We headed down the hallway after the soldier.
Time to see the damage.