Page 58 of Devin
“You will receive nothing.” Bright held up her hands in front of her face and a black scroll of text appeared on her forearms. Unfortunately, it was written in a language that Val didn’tunderstand. Her arms faded back to pink and Bright left without another word.
“That is a neat trick,” Grena whispered.
“What did it say?”
“Scrubs. Is there a warrior called Scrubs?”
Val recalled the Mahdfel that had scanned her and dismissed her before moving on to the next pregnant mate.
“The doctor. That’s what they call him.”
“I believe we have just met his mother.”
“Is that all it said?”
“No. It said, ‘Be ready.’”
Chapter 29
Devin
Being in an enclosed space with four Mahdfel warriors, all missing their mates, three of whom were expecting sons any day, was not the most pleasant of places. Even the controlled physical training exercises could not quell the need for Devin to rage against the forces that had taken his mate from him.
His mother could take care of herself, but Val? She had no experience with space travel, no connections or resources to fall back upon. She was alone and he had let it happen. He had let himself become distracted with his mother and his mate.The guilt gnawed at his insides even as he knew that no amount of planning could predict every outcome.
It had been a mad rush to follow the Adrastian into space. Though Devin hadn’t been thinking too clearly, Zenik had taken the shuttle for a brief data gathering flight before flying to the main camp. He switched to the ship owned by the doctor’s mate, Clover, and landed at the new landing pads.
Devin had not asked, but Goru and Kave had boarded right beside him with Jane and Meadow watching from a distance. Space flight and battle were too dangerous for mates so close to term. They needed to stay planetside with the doctor close athand. Hopefully, if all went well, they’d only be gone a handful of hours and be back on Etlon 2 overseeing the final details of the city in quick time.
Things were not going well. Things had not been going well ever since they found the Adrastian murdered in his own cockpit with no sign of his mother or his mate. There was only the lingering scent of Val in the air, and he clung to the memory now, nearly a week later, as they lumbered through space. Neither this vehicle nor the Adrastian craft were built for speed.
Zenik had managed to probe the computers for information, though they had been rigged with digital tripwires that had taken hours to untangle. He managed to get the sensor signals from the ship that had linked to the Adrastian ship. But it was faster and was moving quickly. It would take several days at top speed to get close.
Goru was the most even tempered but he was pouring all his energy into cooking. Although Kave was cracking jokes, Devin could see the seething rage just below the surface. Kave skin was literally rippling with it. Zenik was just silent, closed off and unreadable, spending most of his time in the cockpit.
They’d come up with a plan. It was risky, but Zenik seemed to think it would pay off. He would pose as a trader interested in selling a Gervasian crystal, a rare glowing gem that was sought after in many systems. He was sure he could get them aboard the ship. Then, the four of them would put their Mahdfel biology to work and slaughter anything or anyone that got in the way of his mate.
Rescuing his mother was probably also a necessary thing, though if she hadn’t hired that untrustworthy Adrastian to bring her here in the first place, none of this would have happened. Devin tried to tell himself that if this plan failed, his grandfather could pay whatever ransom was demanded. But now, it wasmore a matter of pride for the clans of Etlon 2, that they had let two females be taken from their protection.
“So, for the second city,” Kave said randomly after Devin had paced the length of the ship four times. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Devin paused, suspicious.
“I was thinking of locating it on the site of our original camp, keep it smaller, more recreational. And the third as well, but more tailored to non Mahdfel.”
“A tourist destination? Wouldn’t that put the factories more at risk? If Etlon 2 is the only place where this stuff grows,” Devin countered, the logic centers of his brain kicking in. Kave was doing this on purpose, he suddenly realized, distracting him from spiraling into a mad cycle of guilt, despair and rage.
“For now. I’m thinking long term. Once we’re established and the stock of plants is more widely distributed for growth, the risk will not be so great. And we have a whole planet to fill. There are plenty on Etlon who might reconsider relocating to a new planet that is away from any current lines of engagement,” Kave said.
Long term. Right now Devin was having a hard time seeing past getting his mate back in his arms. He knew a lot of what was raging in his system was inherited, bioengineered desire to mate and protect. But most of it was his own self loathing. Devin had spent so much time fighting his natural instincts that he hadn’t given Val much of a chance. He knew little to nothing about her, and honestly, had mostly been an asshole to a female that had been nothing but accommodating. Her life, compared to him, had been nothing but challenges and hardships. No female who’d had it easy would have come to him in such a disreputable state.
Kave rattled on but Devin only half listened. When he got her back, Devin would ask for the time off, and he would takeher to some place and bond with her properly. Complete the appropriate rituals and, his body tightened with the thought, bed her until she was carrying his child.
He’d thought a lot recently about Mahdfel sons and how they would fit into the city, what plans there should be for the academy and for the training facilities, but until this moment, he’d never imagined his sons being trained, his sons going off to fight the Suhlik. It was both a glorious and a terrifying thought.
Devin had always made excuses for why he couldn’t drag a mate around from assignment to assignment. She would get in the way. She would take his focus away from his work, but in all truthfulness, Val had never demanded anything from him that he was not ready to give. His projects here on Etlon 2 would probably last for years, if not for the rest of his career if he so chose. He could build city after city, transforming the wild landscape of the planet to a thriving hub.
“You are not listening to me,” Kave said. “But at least you have stopped pacing. This is a positive development.”
