Page 48 of Adtovar
“Yes,” Adtovar agreed, squirming in his seat beside me. “I am beginning to feel rather freaked out.”
I didn’t even know either of them very well and I felt a tad freaked out. “What happened?”
“TheBardagawasn’t exactly on a covert mission,” Willa confessed, her voice tinged with a hint of embarrassment. The corners of her lips curled into a sheepish smile as she shifted her weight, pulling closer to her mate. “We were cloaked and hidden until we could get the bounty off my head.”
“What?” Adtovar barked, his voice sharp and edged with irritation. I sensed the worry roiling within him, and I placed my hand on his thigh, rubbing softly, hoping to offer some comfort and calm.
“You remember the Zarpazian shapeshifter I killed?” Willa began tentatively.
“How could I forget,” Adtovar snorted.
I knew this story, too. Willa suffered capture by Duke Ako’s son, Nansar, who planned to use her as a pawn in the scheme to assassinate his father. However, it wasn’t Willaherself who would carry out the deed. The plot involved a Zarpazian shapeshifting assassin named Vreses assuming her likeness to kill the Duke. The plan unraveled when the Zarpazian took on the appearance of Charick in order to get close to Willa. But Willa saw through the deception and was able to kill the imposter, thwarting the assassination attempt.
“Well....” Willa drew the word out as if trying to avoid what came next. “Apparently, Vreses mother put a bounty on my head.”
“What?” Only my grip on his thigh kept Adtovar in his seat.
“Don’t freak out,” Willa insisted, waving her hands in a calming motion. “It’s fine now. The Alliance Prime took care of it. The Zarpazian queen had the choice to remove the bounty, or the Alliance was going to blow their planet to smithereens.”
Charick laughed softly, slipping his arm around his mate, and pressing a kiss on her temple. “My mother would let nothing happen to her favorite daughter-in-law.”
Adtovar told me his daughter had mated the son of someone called the Alliance Prime, essentially the leader of the Interplanetary Alliance that ruled the universe. Apparently, a handy connection to have.
“You’re safe?” Adtovar pressed. I could hear the tremor of concern beneath his steady tone, like the distant rumble of thunder before a storm.
“Completely,” Willa assured him. “We’re on our way to Tau Ceti to drop off a couple of women we rescued from Kolox Prime.”
“Where is theHistorianow?” Charick asked. “Khaion said Ako refused your next rescue mission.”
“We are in orbit around Saturn,” Adtovar said, the tension I’d felt in him waning. “Duke Ako is taking a shuttle to Earth.”
“Earth?” Willa blinked. “No shit?”
I would suspect, like me, that Willa never expected to get close to Earth again. I also suspected that, like me, she had no desire to return to our home planet and leave the man she loved.
“Bozzo, the gladiator boss we arrested, had knowledge of Ambassador Yaard’s whereabouts,” Adtovar muttered, both anger and concern clouding his tone.
“Earth.” This time, Willa said the word with more dread than curiosity.
“Yaard is going after Helene,” Charick muttered with a faint growl.
“And he went alone.” Willa’s voice suggested she had experience with the Kerzak. Not a pleasant experience.
“Duke Ako can handle himself… even against a Kerzak,” Charick reassured her with a hug.
“When fighting to protect one’s mate… it makes you strong,” Adtovar concurred, his voice carrying the weight of conviction. To me, it seemed as though the arm draped around my shoulders tightened, his grip becoming firmer and reassuring, like a steel band infused with warmth.
We sat in silence for a minute, the air heavy with unspoken thoughts, each of us lost in contemplation about Duke Ako’s mission. The room felt tense, as if even the walls held their breath, hoping alongside us that Duke Ako would reach his mate before Ambassador Yaard found her.
Finally, Willa released a soft grunt and gave a vigorous shake of her head. Her whole body seemed to ripple with the motion, like a bird ruffling its feathers after a storm, casting off the lingering weight of tension and unease.
“We need to plan a meetup,” she announced, her blue eyes sparkling. “I’ve got to meet Maddie in the flesh so I can give her a big hug to welcome her to the family.”
“I’ve hugged her plenty,” Adtovar quipped and proceeded to prove it.
“Oh, I’m sure you have,” Willa laughed.
“I can’t wait to meet you both,” I said, my voice bubbling with excitement.
