Adamant Spirits, page 212
“Why didn’t she go?”
“No pets allowed,” he replied mockingly. “My Sah-Rah wasn’t allowed to take me, nor did she want to leave me behind. We didn’t know what could have happened while we were separated nor when we would be reunited once again. From my understanding, that vessel is on an experimental voyage and there’s no guarantee that it will return. If she couldn’t take me with her, she wouldn’t take the risk of never seeing me again.”
Her loyalty to her cat was remarkable; she was willing to stay behind and risk never meeting all the friends in these photos again.
This meant I would have to bring her cat on my vessel if she agreed to leave with me. If she were willing to sacrifice all her relationships with her loved ones for the cat, it was clear they were a package deal.
“We don’t have long, Little One. Show me the evidence that proves your Sah-Rah is a princess so we can be on our way.”
“My name isn’t Little One,” he spat, arching his back as his tail whipped around. “My given name is Loki, and I would appreciate it if you would stop calling me that just because you are larger than me.”
“I am Carth’aiq, a Chusezri scout on a mission from the Intergalactic Protections Agency.”
“A scout? Couldn’t they at least send someone worthy of transporting a princess?” Loki turned his back to me dismissively. “Never mind. Follow me to her bedroom, and I will show you I am telling the truth.”
Pinning my ears back, I curled my upper lip in anger as my tail snapped wildly behind me. I bit back a growl as my claws nicked the palms of my clenched fists. It took everything in my power not to swiftly sneak up behind Loki and grab him by the scruff of his neck, demanding he respect my rank.
The sly cat knew the position I was in and was capitalizing on it. If I were going to be successful on this mission, I had to trust that he wouldn’t lead me into a trap. Time was of the essence, especially when there were many lives at stake.
Cursing the Stars for placing me in such a situation, I followed the arrogant cat down the hall. By its entrance lay a collection of awkward hexagonal mats, each a different color and equipped with seven black buttons.
Humans were odd beings. The faster I could get off this planet the better.
Pausing in the threshold of the bedroom, I watched as Loki leaped onto the bed and walked to a rainbow-colored toy in the shape of a cat leaning against a pile of pillows. He leaned over and nudged the creature with his head, moving it slightly closer to me.
“If you squeeze this stuffed cat’s right ear, it will give you the proof that she’s a princess.”
Locking my gaze on him, I watched him lick his paw. He was more focused on grooming himself than watching for danger from me. Was his trust instinctual because there was a mutual understanding between our species? Or did he believe that since I needed his help, I was at his mercy and wouldn’t jeopardize my mission?
If he acted like this aboard my vessel, we would have a lot to discuss concerning respect and deference. I wouldn’t allow some tiny being to parade around my ship as if he owned it. Even if he were the companion of human royalty.
Leaning over, I followed his directions, seeing no harm in trying, but hesitated before pressing the toy’s ear. There was something sacred about someone’s private quarters and the bed within. The human wasn’t awake to permit me to enter, and I wasn’t going to touch her bed without permission.
How could this cat act so calm about my intrusion?
Growling, I cursed the creature for getting in my head. My fingers clamped onto the toy cat’s ear, squeezing hard.
“Hey, Princess,” a deep, elderly voice sounded. “Know that no matter where you are, I love you.”
There was that word again—Princess. The remainder of the message my universal communicator couldn’t translate. I blamed the agency’s researchers for failing to provide an adequate update to my translator’s database before I departed. They had explained that the technology was still in a test phase and wasn’t reliable enough for conversation. Worse, they hadn’t fully uploaded whatever language humans most commonly spoke, and humans had so many different dialects and enough slang to confuse even their own kind.
The question remained: Should I accept this voice as enough evidence to prove her stature? For now, it was all the proof I had. Hopefully, my communicator would pick up some phrases by the time we arrived at the council, or else my mission would once again grow more complex. I didn’t know how I would deal with a needy royal if we couldn’t communicate.
“That’s your proof?”
I dropped the toy and stepped away before my anger could convince me to climb onto the princess’s bed and attack her cat.
“You saw all her gowns in the living room.” He jerked his head toward the door before switching to grooming his other paw, his green eyes daring me to object to his evidence. “She has more in her walk-in closet, including a huge collection of crowns that go with them.”
Loki jumped off the bed and rushed toward another door. I followed closely behind, wanting to see what other evidence he wanted to show me.
Inside the door, rows upon rows of dresses hung with crowns above them. My brows drew down in confusion as I studied the phallic designs decorating most of them.
“What are those?”
“Symbols of her availability to mate.”
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