Page 30 of The Death Striker's Partner
“And it begins.” Tumva spoke and I furrowed my brows with confusion. He didn’t sound impressed in the slightest. “There, look.” He pointed toward the far side of the hall and one of the guests was trying to slither up to the middle platform to get to the dancers. One of the bronze clad Elite guards struck forward from their position against the wall. He released a warning hiss and aimed a spear towards the guest, making them cower back down. “Lunar Dancers are the most beautiful Ucfeni women and tend to incite reckless behaviour during Gcorket. See.” He pointed again and I followed his prompt to see another Ucfeni making an attempt to press themselves up the middle of the platform wall, arm outstretched, to take hold of a dancer’s tail. I looked around and didn’t see a guard nearby to help her. Was this it? Would we have to go and-
The dancer whipped her tail at the guy’s face, stinging him across the eyes and sending him back down to the floor beneath. She even laughed at him. I turned to look at Tumva who was unphased. “As time goes on their mating display will encourage our men to get braver with their attempts. Toward the dancers, and others. This in itself isn’t the issue.”
“It isn’t?” It sounded like an issue to me.”
“Our women choose who to mate with, if they wish to make over Gcorket, but if multiple males are suitable choices, it tends to result in violence.” Tumva placed a hand on my shoulder. “Thatis what keeps peacekeepers busy. We need to watch out for such challenges as multiple males vie for theapproval of the female in question. Sometimes this is done by dancing, other times it is done by wrestling.” He grumbled, clearly unimpressed with this Thelian tradition. Then again, he’s worked so many Gcorkets now, he’s probably sick of it all. Especially if he’s never taken part before…
“And wrestling is bad?”
“No, not if it remainsonlywrestling.” Tumva was back in work mode and imparting knowledge on me. His hand on my shoulder was very distracting, but I tired not to think about it…too much… “Unfortunately, during Gcorket the breeding drive is stimulated by hormones and alcohol.” He sneered, pointing out Ucfeni making the rounds, slithering around the dance floor with a platter of shot glasses of clear spirits. “Give it a couple of hours, and even the golden palace will break out with fights over mating potential partners.”
“So we’ll see some action after all?” I grin and he gives me a double take, before his darkening mood lightens with a chuckle.
“Of courseyouwould look forward to such things. Are you so eager to put your combat training to use?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to kick some scaly butt.” I wink up at him and he looks up at the ceiling of our hollow room for strength. Still, he laughs and I’ve made him smile. “So if two or more guys start fighting for real, we step in?”
“In the beginning I imagine the Elite guard will wish to handle such disturbances themselves.” Tumva nodded to the many bronze armoured guards around the hall. “However, if things get out of hand we will be deployed.”
“AndthenI can kick some scaly butt.” I snigger and his hand on my shoulder moved to my back. He leans closer and I chuckle as my stool is dragged closer to him. When did he coil his tail around the base of my seat? My right side presses to his left and I feel like we’re on a date, rather than on a patrol.Snuggling together like this. A deep rumbling in his upper chest and throat lulls me even closer.
“You will stay by my side throughout our shift so I can keep you safe.”
“Sure, but I’m not sitting on the sidelines.” I pout, thinking he’s planning on coddling me to keep me away from danger.
“I wouldn’t expect you to. You’re an officer and have a duty to perform to protect the general public, even from themselves, but this is your first patrol.” My pout softened. Tumva had a point, so I nodded and shrugged.
“Alright. Consider me your shadow.” I giggle as I decide to tease him some more. “After all? I’ll need to keepyouclose too.”
“Oh?” He smiled with a hint of gums. “Why is that?”
“Because I need us both to be in one piece so we can have ourdebrieflater.” My wing is suggestive and his throat scales darken again. I purposefully look to my left and the writhing dancefloor, whilst placing my right hand on his tail just below his kevlar lined wrap around skirt. I feel him tense under my hand and I giggle at the feel of his left hand holding my left shoulder to hold us together.
“I am looking forward to our debrief as well.” He whispers to me, and I rebelliously slide my right hand up his skirt. Just enough for the finger tips to go beneath the material. I feel his scales change size so they are smaller, more flexible, and the very start of his pouch’s seam. The way he shudders at the contact makes me want to do a lot more. “Hannah, n-not here. We’re on duty.” His tail tip coils around my wrist and slides my hand back down. He’s right of course. Still, I’ve enjoyed teasing him.
“Later, then.” I smirk and put my hands on my lap. I’m watching the festival below, but I’m hyper aware of the man beside me.
Chapter 26
The Royals
Tumva
She is a menace. When she touched my slit, teasing the edge of it,I wanted to hiss with embarrassment. I also fantasised about snarling and yanking her off her stool to tangle with her in the back of our hollowed our viewing room. Her trousers would be awkward to get off her legs, but for a moment my mind went to the dark place Gcorket draws from all Ucfeni. A tangling pit of desire. Even now I’m begging the swell of my pouch to calm down. Gcorket has never been for me. Other Ucfeni are desired by females, not I. No one shows a Death Striker any interest. No male has seen me as a threat to their successful selection either. All my presence ever achieved was to intimidate obedience and submission, for fear of my bite.
Yet, Hannah enticed my scent pits and ensnared my breeding drive. I want to mate her. I want to take her back to my nest and tangle with her over and over. But I must abstain, for now. I am unable to push the thought of this ‘debrief’ she has promised we will have later from my mind for very long. She may not wish to mate yet. She may wish to discuss courtship first. To kiss. I know nothing about how humans mate, or if there is a ritual to follow. But…her looks are hungry. Her touches are enchanting. Her scent is maddening. I want her, but I don’t want to scare her off. If she only allows me to taste her lips, I will gladly take that affection. It is far more than I have ever had inmy life, and I will thank her for it. Not because she is the only woman to see me as a man and not a monster. But because she is Hannah. I have never felt this way for another. I never thought it would be possible. For every scale and every nerve to hum with praise for this feisty, scrappy woman. She pretends not to be kind, especially at work, but she is abundantly compassionate. I know if we don’t see her sister her today she will try to pretend that she isn’t dissapointed, and it will be a lie. She worries about Billie every day. I don’t understand why she is afraid of upsetting her sister by not calling her without forewarning, but I accept that this is true.
When The Lunar Dancers split into two groups to line the sides of the middle platform beneath us at the sound of trumpets, I am elated.
“Hannah, they come. The Royals.” He nod for her to look to the far upper left of the hall. As if to represent their station over all their subjects, the Royals enter to lounge on the upper most platform and look down on the rest of us. They arrive together, the Royals, and all the males display their cowls and privilege. The trumpets and horns continue to play as they wound out from the private entrances and they towered up high on their tails to address us mere worms. That’s how it always felt, looking up at the Royals. They lived in a different world to the rest of us. Their Royal sandy scales and the stark eye or chevron patterns to their cowls and backs were almost as prestigious as all the gold they wore. Not gold coloured sequins and fabrics like the performers and musicians. Oh no. They wore the real thing. King Xulei rises up on his tail in the middle of the Royal line, a formidable Ucfeni with many battle scars across his sandy scales. He has only dark brown eye like markings on his hood and a creamier colour to his torso and undertail. His wrap around skirt is woven gold silk, his belt a golden Royal holding it’s own tail to clasp it shut, and around his neck he worethe Sovereign collar. It was thick and had a rainbow of precious stones set within it. One was a com-gem, but all the others were real gems. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, amethysts, and many more I couldn’t name. It was the collar worn by every Royal Monarch who ruled over Orna. Every since our people came out of the deep jungle to make this monumental city. One day it would go to his first hatched son, Vrujac. I recognise him to the stoic King’s left. His scales are more golden sandy in colour and he has yellow framed black bands running down his torso and under tail. A stark contrast to King Xulei. I recognise him from his markings, but also because the future ruler is well publicised amongst our people. The others I recognise as Royals, but I couldn’t tell Hannah which is which. Other than of course, the only female of King Xulei’s clutch with his late Queen. His second born, Jajana. She has also been well publicised, because King Xulei has declared that this Gcorket she will recieve tribute males from other Royal nests to select a mate from, if one so pleases her scent pits and eye.
“Wait, so that’s the princess then?” I relay all this to Hannah eagerly so she understands what she sees. She asks me many questions and I do my best to answer her. “She’s pretty.” I incline my dark head and regard Jajana. She has sandy scales, white and black bands on her underbelly and black and white ringed eyes on her hood. She is ordained with a delicate silver chain shrug, a headdress of blue feathers to match her skirt and adornments. By Ucfeni standards she is beautiful. Large in size, thick in the tail and curvaceous at her waist and hips. Her torso is lean and her manner is delicate. “I bet she’ll have lots of scaly princes coming from across Thelia to hope she will choose them.”
“Yes, she will. She will become a Queen and lay the next Royal clutch of Kings, but only if she deems the male is worthy of her.”
“I gotta say, I like the sound of that. That your princess gets to choose her prince.”
“That is the way of Thelia.” I raise a scaly brow and look down at her curiously. “Do human women not choose their mates? Do your males not display their prowess with hope of compatibility and selection to mate and couple?”
