wish.
Please, just let it stay like this for a little longer.
Chapter Eleven
Vivian
I blink my eyes open as the kradi lightens, a low groan leaving my throat.
Too much noptri. The rest of the night after my dance with Arix is a blur, but I vaguely remember Ivy deciding the noptri would go down much easier if taken as a shot.
“Curse that flame-haired vixen and her ability to pound liquor like it’s water,” I mutter. From Arix’s low laugh, he’s feeling just fine.
I turn, attempting to keep my hungover morning breath away from his face. He ignores that, nibbling at my lips in a way that makes me wish I didn’t have to get up.
“I clearly remember you challenging Ivy and Sarissa,” he murmurs. “I believe you told them to ‘suck your dick.’”
I groan, covering my face with the fur, and Arix laughs again, pulling it off and pressing a kiss against the tip of my nose.
He’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, his smile staying put even as I squirm away from him and reach for my clothes.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
I sigh at the grass stains all over my dress. Cauri is going to kill me.
I glance up at him. “I haven’t had a good look at the ship yet. Alexis wants to take the thruster part to the ship and make sure it fits. Dexar has agreed, and he’s coming with us, along with half his army.” I roll my eyes, and Arix’s smile drops from his face.
“Be careful.”
I ignore the warmth that blooms in my chest at his warning. “What will you do today?”
“We’ll solidify the terms of my agreement with Rakiz’s and Dexar’s tribes.” I suppress the urge to ask him exactly what those terms are. If he wanted me to know, he would’ve told me.
Fling, V. He doesn’t need to tell you shit.
I glance back down at the dress and shrug. I’ll change later before Beth’s mating ceremony. Arix watches me through dark eyes as I pull it on, and I run a comb through my hair. My hands still as I realize how much I’ve cut down my morning routine.
Usually, I’d feel the need to darken my lashes, contour my cheekbones, and stain my lips. But for some reason…the thought hadn’t occurred to me this morning.
My head spins as I get to my feet, and I gulp down some water, hoping it’ll take care of the headache that’s currently pounding behind my right eye. I groan again as I open the kradi flap and the sun hits my face.
Arix’s chuckle reaches me, and I scowl over my shoulder at him.
“You could have some sympathy, you know.”
“I told you to slow down. You called me a ‘pussy.’”
I groan again and step out of the kradi, finding Alexis, Kate, Sarissa, and Clara waiting for me.
Alexis is the only one who looks fresh-faced, while Kate and Sarissa are both squinting into the sun as if it has personally offended them. Clara’s face is so pale that her freckles are stark against her skin.
At least I’m not the only one who’s hungover like a dog.
Alexis smirks at me, running her eyes over the other two women. She opens her mouth, and I glower at her.
“Don’t even start.”
Her smirk turns into a grin, but she gestures at the guards who’ll be traveling with us, her face turning serious. Dexar is waiting with them, and from the look on his face, he’s not exactly excited about taking us with him.
His eyes scan the guards, who all straighten under his attention. Finally, he murmurs something to them, and Korzyn steps up next to us.
“What are you doing here?” Sarissa mutters, holding up her hand in a bid to protect her eyes from the sun.
“Arix ordered me to go with you.”
From the scowl on his face, he’s feeling just as terrible as we are, and Sarissa gives me a satisfied grin as we head toward the mishua.
We’re mostly silent as we travel toward the ship, passing the time with our own thoughts. Kate’s face is grim, and I know she’s worried about being responsible for so many lives.
Finally, the huge ship comes into view, and we all take a moment to stare at it silently.
It’s a shock to the system, seeing the futuristic silver spaceship in front of us. It’s designed in a V shape, with the bridge and main hull in the point of the V and what Alexis says are hangars at the two ends of it.
I stare at