Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
"Not you again," he says.
"Get me Kazex," Zhur replies, unruffled by this charming greeting. "My mate and I will sit and wait."
The other man rolls his eyes and taps something into his wrist comm even as Zhur leads me toward one of the tables at the front. It's a booth that reminds me of a diner back home, the seating some sort of red plasticky-feeling stuff with an attached table between the two benches. There's several of them in the cantina now, and I slide in on one side, with Zhur squeezing his much larger body in next to me.
"Why don't they like you here?" I whisper, leaning over to him. "What did you do?"
His fuzzy cheeks tickle my skin as he leans back toward me. "I reminded them that they let Zebah rob me, and they gave me a plant that poisoned you. I imagine they are wondering what sort of terrible thing has gone wrong now."
I bite my lip. Poor guy. "So Zebah did rob you for sure?"
"Oh, absolutely," Zhur says and shrugs. "I am told that I should have expected it."
And he's not more upset? That's...interesting. He was hung up on those trunks for a while—and rightfully so, since they were all he had left. "You're giving up on them? What about your credits?"
"Gone, I imagine. There is no sense in fussing over it. I can squeeze the necks of all these men..." He gestures at the empty bar we now sit in, since the clone guy has tactfully disappeared into the back. "But it will not make my credits return. Better to focus on one thing at a time."
Right. His brother's wedding. I lean against his arm and rub my thumb against his sleeve as I do. "Whatever we find out, I'm on your side, okay?"
His hand covers mine. "Maeve, you have been on my side ever since I landed here. Of this, I have no doubt." His voice is full of affection, and his tail brushes against my leg under the table. "I just want to know the truth so we can figure out how to move forward."
I nod. "Makes sense. Doesn't hurt to point out that you've got me with you, though. Whatever comes down the pipes, we'll figure it out together."
He just smiles down at me, so calm and unruffled that it's a little worrying. Either that or he's still half asleep, post-orgasms. Which...could be likely.
I'm drowsing against Zhur's warm arm, thinking just how lovely it is to sit at the window with him and have a moment of quiet. How nice it is to snuggle together.
"You guys really have to stop showing up," Kazex says, waking me from my drowsing. He stands in front of us, dirty ship uniform on him, and he has a pair of goggles on his head and soot on his face. "You're giving Erzah a complex. What now?"
"We need to use your comm unit," Zhur says in his most imperial voice. "Take us somewhere private so we can do so."
"Don't you have a comm unit?" Kazex asks.
"We do. We wish to use yours."
Kazex rolls his eyes and pulls off his cuff-sized wrist comm. "Here. Use this. I need to fix the wiring on the beverage processor before it explodes again."
Again? I want to ask, but he walks away and leaves Zhur with the wrist-cuff. Despite the small size of it, there's a watch-sized display screen that has a bunch of alien text moving over it in what looks like a feed of some kind. Zhur's big fingers fly over the user interface below the screen, more letters appearing.
A news feed appears, displaying into the air in front of us in three dimensions, and both Zhur and I lean in to watch.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED SIX
ZHUR
It's a standard marriage contract announcement, spending several long minutes talking about the history of my family's rule and when we came into power. It goes on and on about our accomplishments and how benevolent we are. This is normal for praxiian unions, because most are done amongst ranking families for acquiring power or to enhance a family's questionable pedigree. Virtues are extolled and every good and important thing in the family background is brought to the forefront so one might focus on that and not on how terrible the current family is.
It's the same with this particular vid. I'm curious to see what it will say about me, and lean in closer.
An old clip of me as an awkward younger male surfaces. I walk with advisors, scowling at them as I sweep past people. I don't even recall what date it was, just that I look surly and unpleasant and very unhappy to be there. I watch as my younger self sits upon my throne, my nose in the air, and the narration continues. "When current Heir Zhurrrvas abandoned his throne and his people, Remrrrtel selflessly stepped up to shoulder the burdens. He abandoned military retirement to be of service to his people—"