Lois
The sun is high in the sky when everyone gathers to see us off. Both Lady Zalora and Prince Kiahn give Az the sternest of looks when he finally shows up, all packed and ready to go, an older Xaviann woman fussing over his clothes as he rounds the corner of the palace courtyard.
His eyes find mine as soon as he steps forward, dismissing the woman – his maid, I think – with a kindly nod and a smile.
She parts from him with what looks like some final words of wisdom – words of wisdom that I’m fairly sure Az nods to, but completely ignores, because all he had been doing was staring at me from across the fountain.
And, almost shamelessly, I’d been staring right back at him, remembering our kiss.
Niska and Jaya are talking nearby, but I’m not really listening. Drex, Jaya’s new, masked bodyguard, is lurking in the shadows of a tall, neatly trimmed hedge, a huge blaster gun in his hands, his tail flicking behind him as he surveys the scene.
But I just keep staring at that handsome, smiling idiot across the courtyard.
And I swear, I can hear that song, ‘Kiss Me,’ by Sixpence None The Richer playing in my head like I’m in some kind of 90s romcom.
Except… it’s not playing in my head.
DJ is floating nearby, playing songs like someone’s programmed her to curate the soundtrack to my life.
To be fair, I did absently tell the floating orb about the kiss when I’d arrived home last night. But I’d made it very clear it had all been down to the adrenaline of the drak flight.
And, to that, she’d played ‘Little Lies’ by Fleetwood Mac.
Az starts walking my way, a gleam of intent in those roguish eyes of his, but he’s intercepted by his Aunt and Kiahn. I try to look away. Try to concentrate on whatever it is the girls are talking about, but it all sounds like hearing voices underwater. All my focus keeps going back to him.
Whenever I do look over, Az is looking right back.
I even witness Lady Zalora physically redirect his attention away from me and back on her with a gentle push from the handle of her cane to the side of his face.
His expression changes when he’s finally listening to Zalora and Kiahn. His brows dip, and his almost ever-present smile flattens into a look of serious concentration.
Lady Zalora points her cane directly in Az’s face before leaving the conversation, and Prince Kiahn gives him one of those macho, shoulder-slapping hugs.
When he’s finally begun walking toward me again, that smile reappears.
Only to disappear a few steps later when staff members approach him, apparently in need of his help.
The mournful look he gives me is accompanied by what seems like an apologetic shoulder dip before he’s turning in the other direction and following the staff toward the train-thing Kiahn has arranged to take us to the Capital.
“So what’s the game plan?” someone says beside me just as I catch Az glancing back over his shoulder at me.
“Wh-”
I need to snap out of this! It was just a stupid kiss!
When I refocus on the conversation at hand, I realize it’s Niska asking the question.
Game plan?
At first, my brain jumps to Az, and my treacherous eyes find him again, not looking at me this time, but walking away… walking away in tight pants that do nothing to conceal that ridiculously round ass of an athlete-
“With Senator Glex. I think it would be wise to try and befriend him before going head-first with the human trafficking angle, you know? Try and figure out how to get him to care before shoving all the facts in his face.”
Right.
Shit.
Human fucking trafficking.
It feels like I just swallowed a boulder.
A boulder of guilt.
A boulder of guilt with a note stuck to it that lists all the ways in which I, Lois, am a terrible, terrible human being.
My cheeks heat with shame as I nod enthusiastically to Niska’s plan.
I’m going on this trip with Az to help change laws and protect humans, not fantasize about bouncing a quarter off that stupid hot ass of his.
“Yeah, absolutely! I’ll dial the charm up to ten. He’ll love me!” I beam back at her.
Niska and Jaya both give me the same look.
It’s a ‘Girl, what exactly is going on here?’ look.
And, I really don’t want to explain myself.
Saying out loud why I feel so flustered and guilty right now will only make me feel more flustered and more guilty.
So, instead, I go in for two big hugs, with extra squeezes, and hurriedly exchange goodbyes with added sprinkles of ‘I’ll miss yous’ thrown in.
I mean, I’m not lying. I will miss them. Especially Jaya. We were close before, but after Niska moved out of the townhouse and into the palace, we became a nice little duo, with our evenings reminiscing about things we missed from back home.
I leave her with what I hope she sees as a heartfelt look before Drex approaches, urging her back inside while murmuring something about human skin exposure to the sun’s rays.
* * *
Because Az needs to transport Lady and Puff with us to the Capital, we can’t travel via an airship cruiser.
Instead, we’re being provided with a royal rail ship – which, as far as I can see, is like some kind of mega-version of the monorail at Disney.
Although I wouldn’t really know, since we never had enough money to go there when I was younger.
This thing is enormous, though. It’s plush – kitted out with soft cream leather furnishings and luxury velvets, embroidered with the Xaviann royal crest. I’ve never been on a fancy train before, but this thing kind of feels like how I always imagined flying on a private jet would be – but even bigger.
There’s a whole carriage just for us to dine in, ones for us to sleep in, one with a library of games and all manner of screens to keep us entertained – this thing even comes with its own dedicated staff.
And, right at the back, there’s an enormous, purpose-built carriage, keeping Lady and Puff contained.
Apparently, Az had to hide a special pill in some meat to give it to both heads of the drak – just to keep them sleepy and sedated while they’re moved from the Northern Principality to the Capital.
I’d asked Vel why Az couldn’t just ride her all the way there, but she’d explained that a journey like that would be too much for the drak and could possibly risk injury. “Az would sooner hack his own horns off than see ‘his girls’ hurt,” she’d commented as everyone had gathered to wave us off.
Zek, one of the Xavianns that work at the townhouse, is even coming with us. Apparently, he’s become quite territorial over my care, and had already started snapping at the rail ship staff, as if the thought of anyone else being able to look after a human as well as he can is a preposterous idea.
Seating myself in a huge, Xaviann-sized, plush, white leather chair by the window, I watch the city as we whiz by.
Then, when the buildings become less dense, and there’s a touch more greenery, a purple drink arrives at the low table beside me.
I’d been too absorbed in watching the outside; I hadn’t even noticed which staff member had come to wait on me.
The first sip is sweet and, surprisingly, warm, but it goes down smoothly, and by the time I see the bottom of the glass, Xaviann civilization has given way to wilderness – to thick forests, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls.
I imagine Az taking me for another drak ride, with Lady and Puff skimming their claws along the glass surface of the lake.
And my tummy does a little flip.
“Ooh, no,” I tell myself, swiftly standing up to go put my now empty glass down at the bar in the far corner of the carriage. “We are not taking a walk down to horny-town. Come on, girl, pull yourself together.”
DJ makes an electronic chirping sound as she hovers beside me – almost as though she’s asking what’s wrong. I don’t quite have the courage to tell her that I’m thinking with my coochie and need to knock it off.
So, instead I ask, “DJ, can you show me everything there is to know about Senator Glex, please?”
* * *
I end up starting dinner on my own.
I’d waited for Az, but gave up after the second bout of tummy rumbles.
The scenery outside the rail ship has changed a dozen times since we set off.
We’ve zoomed through fields of crops, hugged a steep cliffside of a coastline, and occasionally pierced through the blackness of traveling under a mountain.
Sometimes, the rail we travel on is level with the ground, and sometimes it’s high up like a viaduct.
Currently, we’re on a section like that, and down below are little villages and small towns starting to get a dusting of lights as the day begins to recede into night.
A notification pops up on DJ while I’m eating, indicating a call from Az. Hurriedly, I swallow the delicious roasted meat I’d been served and use a soft napkin to dab at my mouth. Once I accept the incoming call, DJ projects an image of Az in front of me.
“Hello, little female,” he says, his somehow smooth but rough-around-the-edges voice accompanying his lopsided smile.
And, yep – there’s a really annoying fluttering in my chest.
“You’re missing the food,” I accuse in a tone that sounds bitchy as hell, and only a teeny-tiny bit flustered.
He leans back, casual and sexy as hell. “Yeah,” he sighs, and it’s only then that I realize he’s sat with his back up against some drak scales.
I can see the gentle rise and fall of the creature’s breathing.
“My girls are fighting their travel meds, unfortunately.” As if backing up Az’s claim, I hear a terrifying grumble-growl and see some markings in the scales turn from aqua blue to lava orange.
Az calmly pats the drak, shushing them back to sleep.
“They got a bit aggressive for the staff, and needed my help to keep things under control. They’ll be good once I can give them a slightly higher dose, but I can’t do that for another five hours, so… ”