gambling problem or a drinking or drug problem. I was homeless and starving and -”
“Shh, my sadora, I know,” I said. “I am not upset with you.”
“Me and another girl, Bailey, worked together. She loved having sex with the Draax, so I had the translators implanted and I would do the negotiating for the juice and Bailey would sleep with them. We split the profits even. But Bailey did a job for another guy – a really bad guy – and when it went wrong, he blamed Bailey and beat the crap out of her. She was dying so I used the juice I had promised to a guy named Richie Bulchanini to save Bailey’s life.”
“That was kind of you,” I said.
“After Bailey healed, she split for her parents’ place, but I couldn’t go back to mine, even though Richie had put a marker on us for the juice. I’d been gone seven years and my parents had never once tried to find me. They were happy I left.”
I rubbed her back as she stared up at the ceiling. “I needed a lot of juice and I needed it fast but with Bailey gone, I had nothing to trade for the juice. I knew I might get lucky and find a Draax ship delivering juice at the docking bay. Your ship was there, I tried to steal the juice… you know the rest.”
I should have been admonishing her for breaking the law. Instead I was thanking Krono she had. If she hadn’t, I would never have met her, and she would have died. Panic shot through me at the thought of losing her and my tail thumped hard against the bed.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“Nothing.”
“Your tail says something is wrong.”
I turned to my side to face her, pulling her in even closer and holding her tight. “Nothing is wrong, sweet sadora. I am only -”
The door to my apartment opened and slammed shut. “Galan, are you in here?”
Quill’s voice filled the apartment and Ellis stared wide-eyed at me. “Shit.”
“Stay here,” I said in a low voice as I climbed out of bed and quickly dressed.
“Galan? I hologrammed you, but you did not answer. Krey said you retired to your apartment after training. Are you here?”
“I am here.” I left my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and smiling at Quill. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” Quill sat down on the couch and with a quick look at the bedroom, I joined him. He studied me. “Were you sleeping?”
“A short nap,” I said.
“That is odd. Krey said you were injured in training today. Do you need more juice?”
“No. Just tired. Not as young as I once was,” I said.
Quill bellowed laughter before clapping me on the shoulder. “You and me both. Jota had both Sabrina and I up for most of the night. He was a real groden last night. And Jovie was as wild as a lokena this morning.”
“And yet I have never seen you happier. Being a father agrees with you.”
“It does,” Quill said. “How are you? We have not spoke much lately.”
“You are busy with your family,” I said.
Guilt crossed his face. “I am sorry, Galan. I am failing you and Krey.”
“What?” I said. “You are not failing us. You are a king and you have a mate, a newborn and a toddler. We are aware that your life has changed significantly in the last few years.”
“But you and Krey remain single,” Quill said. “I wish for you to have what I have, Galan, minus the children, of course.”
I laughed. “The odds of me ever finding a mate are slim. You know that, Quill. Most females are not eager to leave their planet. And with the war going on and our ability to travel to Earth gone, my chances drop to zero.”
“We received word an hour ago that Emira and Cillade have declared a temporary peace treaty.”
“For how long?” I glanced at the bedroom again and willed my tail to stay completely still, but adrenaline had already started to pump through me.
“Only a day,” Quill said. “It is the Emiran’s Celebration of Athos, and the Cillades agreed to the temporary treaty so the Emirans could engage in their rituals. Teo suggested that Laos and Hendren take the thief back to Earth while the peace treaty is on.”
“No.” This time there was no stopping my tail from flicking and thumping. “It is too dangerous.”
“They could return the thief to Earth and be back on Draax with a few hours to spare,” Quill