wish to meet with this Cha’lii again.”
“Yes, my king,” Rhyst rumbled as he dropped his head submissively.
Inside, he wanted to roar with triumph, and yet he couldn’t quiet the concerns that rose within him. What if Cha’lii rejected the mating?
Chapter 29
Charlie followed the same Tak’sin male who had come just moments earlier for Ag’hana. He wordlessly led her down a long corridor until they finally arrived at a set of engraved double doors at their left. The elegant doors slid open soundlessly at their approach, revealing a large chamber dominated by a golden throne on which the king was seated. She paused as everyone’s eyes turned toward her.
Her muscles trembled with the desire to disappear and hide away from the scrutiny. With great effort, she lifted her head and returned their regard. She wasn’t a non-gratas anymore. Rhyst said she was free, and Charlie held onto that like a lifeline.
Ag’hana smiled at her from where she stood a short distance away, but Rhyst stood out like a beacon to her. His body was tall, straight, proud, and thick with powerful muscle. She trembled again, but this time, not with fear. With his mane flowing down around his shoulders and his legs standing at graceful attention, the sight of him made her heart pound.
His expression didn’t soften or change at all her entrance, nor did he do more than marginally turn his head in her direction so that most of his attention remained on the king. But she didn’t miss the way that his long ear pushed through his mane and tilted toward her, nor the way the pupil in his one organic eye expanded. More telling, however, was the orb that took the place of his other eye. It always seemed to be moving, but it stilled as his eyes drank her in.
He couldn’t control his reaction to her. She felt a private thrill at that, despite the lingering heartache over his outright rejection. Rhyst inclined his head toward her. He was with her.
As her eyes traced over the fine glowing green lines in the metal, Charlie realized that she didn’t find it as unsettling as she used to. It didn’t bother her to look at it anymore. She wanted nothing more than to run to his side and enjoy the solid comfort and support that his presence provided. She wanted that small reassurance while facing the king—but moreover, she wanted his touch. Her mouth went dry, and she felt a familiar tightening of interest in her belly.
A throat cleared, snapping her attention back to the throne. A flush stole up her cheeks as the king regarded her, the corners of his lips twitching.
“That was… informative,” he murmured, nostrils flaring as he spoke.
Her cheeks burned hotter, this time with embarrassment. He could smell her—they all could. She kept forgetting details like that.
His lips quirked again, but he glanced away, studying the small orb in his hand as his tone turned brisk and formal.
“I have reviewed considerable information that Rhyst has put at my disposal, and have heard reports in support of your personal character both from my mate and from Ag’hana. Now I want to hear from you. Why should I spare your people rather than send my a’sankhii down the mountains and reduce the potential threat to my city by leveling the colony?”
Charlie had expected to be questioned, but in more direct, personal ways. She wasn’t sure how she should answer that question. It was the sort of question upon which lives hung.
Should she try for a diplomatic answer? No, she had no such talent for that kind of thing. She could tell the truth. And the truth was that the colony should be wiped out, all vestiges of control and pretense of authority removed, though with a caveat that the people be spared.
Earth Gov’s attempt to take power on the planet codenamed Turongal needed to be stopped. Inara Tahli belonged to Tak’sinii, and any humans who dwelled here would have to play by their rules, by all rights. Not to mention that the colony was the hand of Earth Gov, slowly strangling the life out of the non-gratas brought to the planet.
Both populations deserved to live in peace. That couldn’t happen while the corrupt colony remained.
“Honestly, leveling the colony might do a lot of the people there a favor,” she said candidly. She pressed her lips together as she steeled her nerves. “Not because I want the people to die,” she added when the king’s eyes widened in