I can do that,” I said.
Galan hesitated and then opened the left door, ushering me in ahead of him. The room we were in was on the smaller side. A window along the left wall filled the room with warm sunlight. A wooden credenza with a marble countertop ran along the right wall. A couple of jugs filled with pink liquid sat next to some empty glasses on the credenza and my mouth watered. Gallberry juice. My sudden and intense craving for it was almost overwhelming.
I took a deep breath and forced my gaze away from the juice and to the middle of the room. A long table with four chairs on either side and a chair at the end took up most of the space. My heart thudded out an erratic rhythm as I stared at the two aliens sitting at the table.
They stood and I stumbled forward when Galan pushed lightly on my back. We stopped in front of the larger Draax who I knew instinctively was the king. I bit back a strangled laugh. Large was an understatement. Galan had to be at least 6’5” and the king still had a few inches on him. His body was as muscular as Galan’s and his dark hair was cut short. But where Galan’s eyes were a warm copper and had kindness and compassion radiating from them, the king’s eyes were an icy silver that didn’t hold an ounce of compassion. I immediately looked down when his gaze landed on my face.
Fuck. I’d be lucky if the king didn’t just kill me himself for stealing from him.
“Human, this is King Quillan of the Western Province. My king, this is the human Ellis.”
I bowed, keeping my gaze on the floor even after I straightened.
“Hello, Ellis.”
The voice was deep and, surprisingly, more kind than I imagined. I swallowed hard. “Hello, uh, your majesty.”
“I asked Krey to bring the thief,” the king said.
“You did,” Galan said.
There was silence and I diligently studied the cracks in the stone floor.
“This is Teo. He is advisor to the king,” Galan finally said.
I nodded to the older Draax. His hair was more silver than dark, and his body was bent with age. He pointed to one of the chairs. “Sit down, human.”
I sat, my knees unhinging at the last second so that I fell into the chair. Galan sat down beside me as the king returned to the chair at the end of the table and Teo sat in the chair to his right.
Teo had a tablet in his hand and he scrolled through it. “You are being charged under your Earth’s law for stealing gallberry juice. You will be -”
“It wasn’t me,” I said.
Teo looked up from his tablet. “What?”
“I didn’t steal the juice,” I said.
“You were found on a royal ship with juice from one of our shipping containers in your possession, human.”
“Right,” I said. “But I didn’t put it in my backpack.”
Teo studied me before turning to Galan. “Does she suffer from a head injury, Galan?”
“No,” Galan said.
“Maybe brain cancer,” I said.
Galan jerked beside me as Teo cocked his head at me. “As I was saying, you are being charged with -”
“But it wasn’t me,” I said. “I’m innocent.”
“Who was it then?” Teo’s voice held more than a hint of exasperation.
“Cheryl,” I said.
“Who is this Cheryl?” Teo said.
“Well, I thought she was my friend but then she convinced me to sneak onto a Draax ship and planted some stolen juice on me before running away and leaving me holding the juice. So, to speak,” I said.
I was talking fast, my mind whirling as I spoke. There was no way in hell I was incriminating myself. I’d be given a lawyer when I returned to Earth and even though the public defenders were notorious for not giving a shit about us lowers, there was still the chance I might get one with a shred of conscious who would actually try and keep me out of prison.
“Was there another human on the ship, Galan?” Teo said.
“No,” Galan said. He was studying me with obvious confusion but the king… was that amusement in his gaze? “There was only this human hiding in the storage space.”
“I told you, Cheryl took off before you guys came on the ship. I’m surprised you didn’t see her in the docking bay. Tall, blonde hair, real curvy?” I said.
Galan shook his head and I shrugged. “She moves pretty fast when she wants to. Listen, I had no idea her plan was