Chapter 2
Diarvet
“Seriously, Diarvet, don’t you pay attention to the news feeds?
” Lucy snapped, her voice crackling through the holo-comm as she jabbed her finger toward the camera.
I grinned, watching her image flicker, exasperation vibrating through every gesture.
No, I didn’t watch the news feeds. Most of the time, whatever sensationalized drivel they peddled was so scandalous and editorialized that it bore more resemblance to fiction than truth.
I shrugged and grunted, making Lucy roll her eyes. Even across the holo-screen, her aggravation was obvious. I paused my walk through the station corridors and leaned on the railing above the terraced gardens, focusing on Lucy’s expression instead of the surroundings.
“Jala and Praxxan aren’t on the Ardeese Valout at the moment because they’ve traveled to planet Kerzak to help smooth over the transition of power,” she explained, her fingers drumming impatiently against what I assumed was her desk.
Transition of power? Perhaps I should pay more attention to the news feeds after all. “What’s going on?”
Lucy blew out a sharp breath, her fingers drumming faster as her head shook, sending auburn hair swaying about her pale face. “You know Prince Alokar tracked Ambassador Yaard to Earth and killed him?”
I nodded, fragments of overheard conversations from my crew floating back to me.
“Well, while on Earth, Alokar met a woman... and you know how that goes,” she grinned, her hazel eyes tracking something off camera, my cousin Vraxxan, no doubt. “When Alokar returned, he changed the law about females ruling and made his sister queen.”
I loosed a low whistle that echoed softly in the surrounding corridor. “I bet that went over well.”
“You have no idea,” Vraxxan gruffed, his deep voice rumbling as he strode into view.
He slipped an arm around Lucy’s waist, scooping her effortlessly from her seat, and dropped into the chair, pulling her across his lap.
“I’ve been on comms with the Alliance Prime, Duke Ako and Ambassador Khaion all morning. ”
“Why? What does the change in the Kerzak rule have to do with Zarpazia?” I mulled aloud, my tone laced with curiosity and a hint of concern.
“Nothing really,” Vraxxan sighed, his teal eyes reflecting a weariness that came from hours of diplomatic maneuvering. “But the Prime wanted assurances that Zarpazia would stand with the Alliance if needed. There are fears that Yaard’s followers won’t accept the change easily.”
“And you agreed?” The question carried weight beyond simple words. Since ascending to the throne, my cousin worked tirelessly to reshape Zarpazia’s reputation, transforming us from the den of assassins that marked his mother’s rule into a peaceful nation and a leader in the Alliance.
“Of course,” Lucy beamed at her mate, her face lighting up with pride as she planted a loud, smacking kiss on his cheek.
While my cousin had always possessed a naturally kind disposition, taking a human as his mate had awakened in him a sensitivity to the plight of abducted humans scattered across the cosmos.
“That reminds me,” Vraxxan said, his expression brightening as he turned his attention to Lucy, a warm grin spreading across his angular features. “Did you get the humans settled?”
“Yes.” My voice carried the satisfaction of a job well done.
On our last mission we’d rescued three humans: two females and one male.
“The females are staying on the station; the male wishes to travel to Tau Ceti. Merrilee arranged transport for him and jobs for the females at Space Pearl’s.
” Merrilee, the station owner’s human assistant, was thoroughly competent.
“Speaking of Space Pearls,” Lucy said, her hazel eyes sparkling as she waggled her eyebrows in that distinctly human gesture that never failed to amuse me. “How was it?”
“How was what?” I asked, puzzled.
“Are you kidding me?” Lucy huffed, folding her arms across her chest. Over her shoulder, Vraxxan shot me a sympathetic glance, his lips barely twitching. “Have you not eaten at Space Pearl’s?”
“Of course,” I frowned, still not grasping her frustration.
“I’ve eaten at Space Pearl’s many times, as you well know.
Especially since Vysar has mated with Marcia.
” Our exiled king—Vraxxan’s father—returned to Zarpazia after the queen’s death and, unexpectedly, bonded with the human female sent to oversee the Space Pearl’s restaurant on our planet.
“But the Space Pearls on the Ardeese Valout is the flagship restaurant,” Lucy explained with the patience of someone addressing a particularly slow youngling.
“They serve exclusive recipes that the other locations don’t have—dishes that exist nowhere else in the galaxy.
You absolutely have to go there for dinner. Promise me.”
Lucy stared at me, eyes narrowed, holding up one finger in warning—a look that managed to be both a challenge and a command, daring me to disagree while making clear that refusal wasn’t an option.
“Fine,” I said, giving in with a grudging smirk. My schedule had freed up after organizing the rescued humans’ resettlement, and I had already dismissed my crew for a well-earned forty-eight-hour leave.
A shrill, persistent beep startled Vraxxan. He paused, brow furrowing, eyes flicking to the blinking comm unit on his wrist. He pressed his lips tenderly to Lucy’s temple, let them linger, then guided her gently off his lap so he could stand.
“It’s Ambassador Khaion,” he explained, his voice taking on the formal tone he reserved for diplomatic matters. “I need to take this call.” His teal eyes met mine across the distance. “Come home soon, cousin. You are missed more than you know.”
“I will,” I promised.
Lucy’s grin lingered as she watched her mate disappear from view, her hazel eyes tracking his movement with deep affection. When she finally turned her attention back to me, the playful light in her eyes had dimmed, replaced by something more penetrating.
“How are you, Diarvet? Really?” Her voice carried a gentle insistence that told me I couldn’t placate her with surface answers.
I glanced around the corridor, the artificial light glinting off polished walls. Nearby, Altairian merchants chatted about trade routes, close enough to notice yet too far to hear.
“I’m fine,” I said, the lie tasting stale on my tongue.
“Don’t lie to me,” Lucy huffed, her voice gentle despite her rebuke.
Concern softened her features, her eyes shining with worry that made my chest constrict.
The way she looked at me—like I mattered, like my pain was worth her attention—reminded me why she had become not just my queen, but one of the few beings I trusted completely.
“Are you sleeping?” she pressed, her head tilting slightly in a distinctly human gesture.
“Define sleeping,” I hedged, my fingers unconsciously gripping the metal railing beside me until my knuckles showed pale beneath my scales.
“Diarvet,” she warned.
The sigh that escaped me felt like it came from somewhere deep in my chest, heavy with the weight of sleepless nights. “I still have nightmares.” The admission hung in the recycled air like a confession.
Lucy’s expression transformed, her features softening with the kind of understanding that could only come from someone who had walked through her own darkness. “Like before. Where Vraxxan and I both die?”
“Yes,” I whispered, the memory making my mouth go dry, my tongue feeling thick and uncooperative. “It’s always the same.”
Silence fell between us. Lucy understood my darkness, she’d faced her own. While Vraxxan suggested healing, Lucy supported my need to face my demons on my terms.
“You know I’m here if you need to talk,” she offered, her voice carrying a quiet promise. “Day or night.”
“I know.” The words came out rougher than I intended, thick with gratitude I couldn’t quite express.
“But talking about it doesn’t help. I feel like a part of me is broken, and I don’t know if I will ever feel whole again.
” The confession felt like tearing open a wound, but Lucy was the only being alive to whom I could admit such vulnerability.
“You will,” she assured me, conviction in her voice. “It hasn’t been that long. You just need time.”
I nodded, though I privately wondered how much time would be enough. Eons didn’t seem sufficient to heal the fractures that ran through my soul like cracks in damaged crystal.
“I spent my whole life on Earth basically dying,” Lucy reminded me. “But I got a second chance. I want that for you, too.”
“Me too,” I admitted, managing a smile that felt sad even to me.
From somewhere off-screen, the sound of raised voices erupted. Sharp, angry tones that carried the unmistakable cadence of negotiations gone wrong. Lucy rolled her eyes, but I could see the concern flickering beneath her humor.
“I’d better go,” she snorted. “Vraxxan tends to lose his patience when he’s pissed.”
I laughed despite everything. “Go save the kingdom, my queen.”
When the holo comm flickered and died, a strange sense of melancholy settled over me.
Lucy and Vraxxan were my family. I had asked to captain the Eden, thinking that time alone among the stars might help me overcome the trauma of torture.
Now, after weeks drifting through the void with only my crew and memories for company, I was beginning to doubt that decision.
I headed down the corridor toward Space Pearl’s, my footsteps echoing softly against the polished metal flooring.
The passageway thrummed with life as dinner hour approached.
Beings from all across the galaxy called this massive station home.
The air carried a mix of languages, the rustle of exotic fabrics, and the subtle perfumes and pheromones of a dozen different species.
The corridor’s curved walls seemed to pulse with the rhythm of countless lives intersecting, separating, and flowing onward like tributaries of some vast cosmic river.