clearly excited. Turning to Borak, I see him reading a message on his handheld com device. I touch his arm to get his attention. “Their queen is arriving today, right?”
He dips his head slightly. “She wishes to speak to you personally.”
I remember the Sonadraid talking about how their queens gift others with fruit. “I need a gift for her. They like exotic fruit. Is there any chance we could scare up a bit for the occasion?”
Borak doesn’t even have to ask. Korak murmurs, “I’ll be right back. We have a supply in stasis.” He races off to iron out this little wrinkle for us.
When our former prisoner sees me, he stops milling about and begins racing towards me. Somehow I know he wants me to put paw to face so I step out to meet him. Borak’s wings flutter in an unspoken command for me to fall back. Since I think I’ve got this, I take a few more steps forward.
When the huge creature is looming over me and lowers his face to sniff at me, I do the paw to face thing and he goes down on his side. “Are you certain you do not wish to be our queen as well? There are enough males to make two prides.”
I sit aside my shock. “I don’t think our species are compatible for mating.”
The Sonarian makes the growly noise I thought was laughing before. “We are not good for mating, but you need males in your life who do not look like they were carved from stone. Queens should laugh and be happy. Sonarians are good at making queens laugh.”
I squat down and absentmindedly scratch the top of his head. “I don’t think I’m allowed to have my own pride. Your Sonarian queen seems very possessive over the lot of you. She called you her males and said she was coming to take possession of you.”
That seems to make him happy. He quickly licks my hand when I’m not looking and laughs when I pull back. “You taste like danger.”
I shoot him a wry grin. “I think you’re just making stuff up now.”
He preens a bit. “See, I told you that I could make you smile.” Standing up, he walks around me a couple of times. I come to my feet, realizing this creature is almost as tall as I am and at least eight feet long. Before I realize what’s happening, he curls himself around me and drops back to the ground. When I hold out my arms, he comes up to my waist in every direction. Glancing back at Borak, he finally gets it that this species might be fierce, but they’re not our enemy.
By now the bay is filling up with Mathadar and the other elite warriors. Mathadar walks up, eyeing the Sonarian wrapped around my legs. “What do you do, Queen Juliet?”
I got nothing. Trying to remain still so I don’t fall on the huge vicious cat with purple and green fur, I shrug. “Just trying to make friends and influence people, I guess.” Jesus, what’s wrong with me? That sounded all kinds of stupid. Generals are not socially awkward.
The Sonarian sniggers and stretches his paws out, extending long razor sharp claws. “The Sonadraid are excellent protectors. I can eat an average sized enemy in three bites.”
Oh my God, not that again. I stare down at him and realize this creature really wants to stay with us. I don’t think I can handle his endless arguing or him trying to cajole me into laughing all the time. No. Absolutely not.
Just as Korak is walking in with one of Miss Molly’s baskets filled to the brim with fruit, the docking ring opens. The peacekeeper exits first with a woman about my age at his side. He has a glowing crystal in his head. Since I researched his species, I know this guy Crovan is telepathic and the crystal magnifies his abilities. He reaches out to me mentally, but I smack him away none too politely. The link immediately dissolves.
Before he can close the distance between us, the Sonarian female comes bounding through the docking ring. She immediately runs over to the males and pounces on them. They seriously look like a family of cats playing around. It’s weird because they’re taunting each other about who’s slower. The one at my feet looks on with something approaching longing in his eyes. That’s when it hits me that something strange is going on here.