Page 84 of The Warrior's Oath
“Most wonderful. I look forward to seeing you there. And allow me to thank you once more for your hospitality. You have made our arrival in Molok one to remember.”
He gave a little wink and followed Torpa for a quick medical examination, hoping he’d played it smooth enough and not gone too far with his flirtation.
He needn’t have worried.
The magistrate composed herself quickly, her skin returning to its normal hue with a well-directed bit of self-control reining in her blush response. It had been a long time since someone made her lose her composure like that, and she found she rather liked it.
She turned her attention to Korvin and Nyota, the two standing close by one another, their demeanor quite different from when they had first come to her city.
“You two seem well,” she said, a curious tone in her voice.
“We are, Magistrate,” Korvin replied with a tiny bow.
“Different, though.”
“That we are.”
“I cannot quite put my finger on it, but there appears to have been a rather drastic shift in your relationship since we last spoke.”
“Thanks to your Skrizzit, in fact,” he confirmed, opening his shirt enough to reveal his faintly glowing Infala. Nyota squeezed his hand warmly and did the same, a happy smile plastered to her face.
“Your Infalas? They match?” She stared at Nyota in shock. “But you have only just been marked. And yet they somehow have grown to form the bond?”
Korvin nodded. “They do, and they have, Magistrate.”
“But how? No, nevermind that. This is to be celebrated. It is just so highly unusual. Impossible, really. It normally takesyearsfor the Infala rune to fully bond to its host, and longer, if ever, to find its mate. To have happened so quickly, I have never heard of this happening in all my days.”
“I think the Skrizzit is to thank for that,” Nyota chimed in. “It seems somehow our blood and pigment were mixed.”
A look of shock, annoyance, elation, and disbelief flashed across the magistrate’s face all at once. On the one hand, she was flabbergasted to learn her Skrizzit had been so careless. But on the other, even in rare instances of mixing implements, it had never resulted in an Infala bond. Infection, perhaps, but never this.
But now these two were paired. Mated for life. And even the stoic Bohdzee Guard seemed thrilled for it.
“Congratulations are in order. You have fully bonded as Infala mates. It is cause for celebration.”
“Well, about that,” Nyota quietly said. “We haven’t exactly, well, you know.”
“What my mate is trying to say is we have been, uh, busy with other pressing matters.”
“Fighting the Raxxians,” the magistrate noted. “And rescuing that large group from their clutches.”
“Indeed.”
“So, there has been no, umalonetime as of yet?” she asked with a knowing grin.
Korvin’s pent-up look answered the question before he even spoke. “That is the situation, yes.”
“Well, that changes things,” the magistrate said flashing them both a huge grin and a knowing look. “You require lodgings, and at once. Minnix, see to it, will you?”
“Of course, Magistrate.”
“Oh, and Minnix?” she added with a gleam in her eye.
“Yes, Magistrate?”
“Do make sure it is well insulated for sound. We want to afford our guests the utmost privacy.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
