Page 12 of Splintered Shadow
The two guards peered at the female in Vekele’s arms. Despite their physiological differences—he shuddered at the horrible blankness on the side of her face—he felt drawn to her.
He checked behind her ear. No scarring to indicate an implanted translator. Curious.
“Is that a Nakkoni?” Luca asked.
“No. Nakkoni have scales and a tail,” Kenth answered.
“Nakkoni shed their scales, don’t they? And her tail could have been damaged. You never know with an alien.”
“That is not a Nakkoni.”
“Like you’re an expert. They’re colorful, and so is she,” Luca said. After a pause, he added, “Some Khargals can shift their color.”
“They have wings and stone skin. Does the female appear to have stone skin?”
Vekele’s wings itched to burst forth and shield her from Kenth and Luca’s eyes. Whoever she was, she was not a curiosity to be ogled.
“Enough,” he barked. “She requires a medic.”
“Is it female?” Luca asked, clearly not knowing when to be quiet.
Vekele rose to his feet. The flesh at his back and shoulders burned, then his wings went wide, knocking into the impertinent male.Good.
“Forgive me for not making the order explicitly clear. Return to the ship and prepare for departure, Luca.” Vekele marched out of the temple, cradling the stranger to his chest. Her breathing remained steady, but he disliked how the pink color drained from her complexion.
His karu flew in front, scouting the way.
“Sir,” the male said, his face blushing an unseemly shade of violet. He hurried after Vekele.
“Kenth, have a medical team ready to meet us when we land at the palace.”
The older female nodded, then opened her mouth to speak. She hesitated.
“Out with it,” Vekele ordered. These two were the best the royal guard had to offer? It was a miracle that his brother had not been assassinated.
“Your Highness,” Kenth said in a cautious voice, “is that wise?”
Vekele blinked in the sunlight. Kenth had a point. This was a covert mission; to return to the castle with a medical team on standby would draw unwanted attention.
“You are correct,” he said. Kenth’s eyes went wide, surprised at Vekele’s sudden shift to being reasonable. He continued, “We do not speak of the female. The anomaly was dust on a sensor.”
Kenth and Luca nodded.
“Set a course for my residence. Send for my medic, Harol. Tell him I was stubborn and refused to wear the protective lenses on my eyes, and now I require a tonic for pain. Have him wait for our arrival,” Vekele said.
Harol had been the field medic under his command. He trusted the male’s discretion completely.
“Stubborn? You?”
Vekele turned to the female.Jokes.Unbelievable.
Kenth held his gaze. She did not appear shamed for unearned familiarity or the humor.
For a moment, Vekele felt a pang of yearning for the camaraderie of the military. The soldiers under his command had been obedient but did not spare his royal ego from teasing. In the year since Vekele’s injury, no one had dared jest with him. Ignored him, tried to pretend that the youngest prince did not exist, pitied him, or lavished him with praise forbeing braveand preserving. Every interaction was tainted by acknowledgment of his damage, “polite” or otherwise.
Is it any wonder he hid himself away in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere?
At the palace, no one treated him as if he were a person.
