Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(11)
Understanding dawned, horrifying me. “Someone tried this with you.”
“Yes. More than one.”
I drew a deep breath. “It is true you and I do not understand each other very well. But understand that I would rather never touch you again than hurt you. I have frightened you without meaning to, but I am not like these beasts you describe. I will do whatever I must to prove to you I am a man of honor.”
She swallowed, and I saw the relief on her face—and the tears in her eyes. “I’m starting to see that,” she said softly, not removing her hands from my arm. The tingling in my flesh there wasn’t all from the bandage anymore, and I swallowed, suppressing the urge to embrace her.
“I will fight these urges and give you time to make your own choice about me.” The craving would never leave me—but I was stronger than my instinct. I would not give her reason to fear me again.
“Thank you,” she murmured, and her expression grew even kinder.
Perhaps I was the most fortunate of men and could somehow win her over eventually. But in the meantime, I couldn’t help but move closer to her as she kept her hands on my arm. She lowered her eyelids but still kept her face tilted up toward me. I hesitated, enchanted by that soft little smile . . . and then bent down to kiss her.
She shivered as our lips brushed, but she didn’t pull away from me. I felt my heart leap as I reached to take her in my arms.
Booted feet ran up behind me. “War Chief!”
Scowling in frustration, I turned to see one of the hall guards skidding to a stop and bowing. “What is it?” I demanded.
His voice cracked with panic. “Dorin has been poisoned! We found him unconscious on his throne!”
“What? How?” Now my heart was pounding for a different reason entirely.
“He is delirious and keeps mumbling about being stung by a metal insect.”
“A metal insect?” I exchanged glances with Grace as her eyes widened.
“The seers are convening to investigate.” The guard stared at her with a suspiciousness I did not like. “Only humans are capable of creating such devices.”
I stiffened. “What are you saying?”
He bowed apologetically, but his voice stayed firm. “This woman is our main suspect. She is to be taken into custody immediately.”
CHAPTER 5 /GRACE
“The human, Grace, is confused as to why she is here,” a female voice, low and fluting, commented.
“That is inaccurate. The human is aware of our legal customs, thanks to the counsel of her promised mate, War Chief Dekkir. Her confusion is moral in nature, not factual.” This voice was male, deep and raspy.
The first speaker, a woman in a gray cloak that looked like embroidered doeskin, frowned slightly. “Correction. The human is confused as to how she could have become involved in a situation like this. Her training, occupation, and mission goals have nothing to do with sabotage, murder, or the attempted destabilization of our government.”
Yeah, no kidding. I sat numbly in the blackened wood examination chair, clenching tense fingers in the slick white fabric of my jumpsuit sleeve. I had been in that small, lamp-lit room for about an hour, surrounded by a circle of six figures in pale robes and various colors of elaborately decorated leather cloaks. The Lyran seers looked typical of their species: tall, athletic, pale in coloring, their skin and hair ranging from light bronze to literally white. Their eyes were uniformly golden, like owls’ eyes, and their pupils glowed when the light hit them. They towered over me—small, black, and curvy, with long, relaxed black hair that had gone frizzy in the planet’s persistent humidity, so I contrasted with them even more sharply than most humans. Their hoods were pulled up, and some of them were veiled as well. They looked more suited to a religious ritual than a court interrogation.
When Dekkir had told me I was going to an inquest into the attempted murder of Planet Lyra’s High Chieftain Dorin, I had expected the seers to be something like lawyers. But as I sat there listening to them comment on things I had not spoken aloud, I realized seers were more like psychics out of Greek mythology. It almost seems like they’re reading my mind.
One of the speakers, the one who kept correcting the others for accuracy, stepped forward just slightly. He was very tall, even for a Lyran, but unusually thin. His long face smirked down at me from the shadow of his deep-blue hood. “That is exactly what we’re doing, human. Hiding anything from us is pointless, so it would be best for you to remain honest.”
Holy crap. I stared at him. His smirk widened slightly, and he stepped back into place.
Gray Cloak continued tiredly. “The human was not aware before now of the verified existence of telepathy, empathy, and prescience. Apparently, human society still largely denies the possibility. She’s extremely confused by our use of our abilities.”
Blue Cloak gave a single nod. “That is understandable under the circumstances. Please continue.”
Did the doctor know about this? He mentioned a possibility of psychic connections in passing when he was talking about Dekkir involuntarily imprinting on me as his mate. But he never got this specific. And it’s a huge omission. Was he worried I’d report their psychic powers back to Command?
The chief science officer had spent years on Lyra before me, prior to his promotion. He was our only real source of information on the world and its people, and I knew him for being cautious and thoughtful. My immediate superior, Damon Norcross, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly known for ethics or professionalism and sought fame and commendations like an addict sought drugs.