the front of the room, Ander next to him. Ander’s scowl was enough to encourage every slow foot.
“Fuck.”
“Let’s go, your lordship. Looks like even you aren’t getting out of this.” Sambor clipped me on the back, hard, and stepped forward to take his place in one of the lines. Full armor. Weapon. The works, since he was here as my personal guard and we’d both come directly from a day of meetings at IC Command. Next to him, a petite female in a sparkling gown and Atlan mating cuffs twirled and giggled in anticipation. On her other side, a freakishly monstrous cyborg with matching cuffs hovered protectively, clearly as confused as Sambor and I by the upcoming ritual.
By the gods, I hoped this line dance ceremony did not take too long. I had a warm bed waiting, since tomorrow would be another busy day at IC Command. Duty came first, as ambassador, in work and at events like these that were meant for pleasure. It was hard to relax after spending the day with Helion, the head of IC, and knowing another stressful day would follow in the morning. No doubt Sambor—and Lord Ander, who’d been part of the Prillon Prime contingency—agreed. But as the guest of honor’s second mate, this held more satisfaction for Ander, meaning more disappointment at dawn when he would have to leave his mate’s bed.
I stood next to Sambor and paid no attention to the bodies lining up next to us, behind us. The queen and her two mates were in the front row. If Prime Nial and Lord Ander were participating in this human ritual, there was no excuse not to.
Lindsey pointed to various females and warriors in the room to give instructions. Move there. Stand here. You two, back one row. It went on for about a minute until she was satisfied with the appearance and placement of everyone in the room.
“Good.” She looked at the comm tech. “Let me get in line and then start. Okay?”
He nodded gravely, as if she’d given him a life-or-death order, then watched as she scrambled to stand next to the Elite Hunter she’d identified as hers a few moments ago.
Being a worthy male, he kissed her senseless before the music started.
I approved. If a male was going to claim a female for his own, he’d damn well better take excellent care of her. That included kissing her into dazed submission as often as possible.
The comm tech looked to Lindsey, who nodded. Then to the queen, who nodded as well. My entire being tensed in dread as he reached forward and activated the strange human music again. This was a different song. A stringed instrument filled the air with a pounding beat behind it as the females all clapped along.
“Perhaps this version has no voicing,” Sambor mused.
We were not to be so lucky.
“Follow along, everyone. And one-two-three-four!” Lindsey shouted.
On the next beat, the ladies stepped forward. Then backward. The males scrambled to imitate the movements, but none of us had a clue what was happening next.
“This is strange, Nik. But at least they are all moving together now.”
Sambor was right. The ladies moved as one, stomping, clapping. Running into the males.
Laughing.
The human voice spoke words that made no sense.
“…tell my lips to tell my fingertips…”
The whining male’s voice seemed to repeat over and over in a strange cadence that was singularly annoying. “Why would a male speak to his own fingertips?” I asked. “Human males make no sense.”
Sambor, who seemed to be learning the steps with an ease that made me want to trip him, grinned as he executed a perfect turn on his heel. “The male’s heart is aching and breaking. However, the ladies seem to enjoy the idea of a male in pain.”
As the song repeated a lyric about a male’s heart blowing up inside his own body and killing him, the ladies stomped in unison, yelled out with excitement and clapped before starting the whole thing over again.
“Human females are, apparently, a bloodthirsty and merciless species when it comes to mating,” I muttered.
Sambor nodded in agreement. “And I thought Prillon females were ruthless.”
Two Atlan Warlords rammed into each other, one letting out a bellow of irritation seconds before his mate whirled into his arms and pulled him away. Then there was Commander and Lady Karter. She had the moves down, and beside her, Karter himself had picked it up. He was moving to the music and… fuck, he was enjoying himself. When he spun