“What am I right about this particular time?” he asked, waving to the seat in front of him.
Set in a small, casual grouping in the main rooms of the suite the humans had assigned to him, they were smaller than he was used to but larger than anything else he’d seen here on the Terran surface. Same with the large bed in his sleeping chamber. The humans had definitely made an effort to ensure his and his people’s comfort.
Risyn settled himself, a vague expression of distrust on his face. Like he expected the flimsy chair to collapse beneath him. Not for the first time did Daaynal wonder what the B’Kaar shoved under their skin. There was the ke’lath, that much he did know, but he had no idea how it was installed, how it did what it did, or the range of its capabilities. No imperial scientist had ever gotten a look at it, and the B’Kaar had their own healers—although it would be more accurate to call them mechanics—so he couldn’t even command the healer’s hall to dig into their secrets.
“He’s definitely Lathar.”
That got all of Daaynal’s attention. The closed file still balanced on his knee, he watched Risyn with single minded focus.
“He being Cameron Murphy? Are we talking he’s Latharian, from one of the clans?”
If another clan had managed to infiltrate human society and place an operative in their chain of command, he had bigger problems than he’d thought.
“Cameron Murphy, yes.”
Risyn nodded, lines glowing under the skin of his arm as he lifted it and held his hand out, palm up. An image flickered into life above the skin. Two DNA strands.
“The left is human DNA. This is from Jay Stephens,” the B’Kaar said as the strands turned. “The right is Cameron Murphy.”
Daaynal leaned forward, his long hair whispering over the leather shoulders of his uniform jacket, and frowned. “They look the same.”
“They do, until you look a little closer.”
Risyn turned the image with his free hand and expanded it until they were looking at a smaller section of the two strands.
“He’s human, mostly. But there are genetic markers here that I’ve not seen in any human before. We know humanity are descended from us but this is… odd. These aren’t the same generalized markers we see in the rest of the human population. These are specific.”
Daaynal lifted one eyebrow. “Okay, I’ll bite. What kind of specific?”
Risyn looked at him, his long features highlighted by the temporary display above his hand. It was a neat trick, one Daaynal had never seen before but he didn’t allow that to show on his face.
“In most of the human population we’re seeing unaltered Latharian genetic information, albeit filtered by millennia between us and them, plus interbreeding with whatever hominid species must have been on this planet originally. But in Murphy and Ms. Beaufort, there are altered markers.”
Daaynal blinked in surprise. “That means…”
Risyn nodded. “Whatever expedition seeded this planet contained Lathar with imperial clan links.”
Daaynal sat back in his seat with an oomph as his bodyweight forced all the air out of the cushioning behind him. He raked a hand through his hair. “That wasn’t in the dossier on the lost expedition. Can you isolate which clan it was?”
Risyn’s expression tightened grimly. “Already did.”
“And?”
“Cameron Murphy and Ms. Beaufort both have K’Daar DNA. They are descendants of the lost prince.”
15
“Are you sure it’s okay me being in here?” Elise whispered as Cade dragged her along the corridor and into the dining hall reserved for the Lathar.
As soon as they stepped through the door, all eyes turned toward her and she froze. She would have bolted but Cade had her hand wrapped in his, so there was no avenue of escape. Not without tearing her own arm off.
“Of course it is. You have a security clearance, don’tcha?”
He grinned broadly and pulled her along behind him to grab a table near the end of the hall. She smiled weakly at the two nearest Lathar, both B’Kaar, but they didn’t return it. Instead they turned back to their food and ignored her and Cade completely.
“Of course I do!” She leaned over to hiss at him. “But there’s a different between that and potentially causing a diplomatic incident because of a cultural mistake.”
“And how is that different from watching us through hidden cameras?” He leaned forward, a twinkle in his eyes, surprising her with a kiss.
“How… do you know about that?”
He winked and levered himself up. “Tell you when I get back. What do you want for breakfast?”
She blinked. He was not just leaving her here on her own after dropping a bombshell like that. Was he? But yeah, it appeared he was as he walked backward from the table.
“Speak now,” he ordered, still smiling. “Or I’ll get what I think. Gotta keep my female’s strength up, after all.”
She looked past him quickly. “It’s pancake day. Pancakes and sausage, with syrup please.”
He gave her the thumbs up, looking more human than she’d ever seen him, and headed off to grab a tray. She watched him for a moment, admiring the fit of his leathers. No longer loose, they fit him better now, the black leather stretched taut across the finest ass she’d ever seen.
Feeling eyes on her, she turned, but instantly every warrior that had been watching her averted his eyes. She bit back her groan. Of course, bringing her here… his last comment… it was all about staking a claim. On her. He’d just announced to all the Lathar present that she was his.
Which… to be fair… she was. For the moment.
Hell, who was she kidding? If she could find a way onto that damn mate program and become eligible, she damn well would. Perhaps she should have let Cam get his way and deal with Josh…
As soon as the thought hit her, she pushed it away, ashamed of herself. She knew Cam had taken a deep dive into the darkness. She’d seen the effect it'd had on his soul, but she wasn’t there yet. Maybe not ever.
While she had a moment to herself, she flicked her memopad on and shot a quick message to Cam. Just a single sentence.
They know.
A chair scraping in front of her made her look up, but instead of Cade, she found herself face to face with Prince Rohn.
“Good morning, female,” he rumbled, watching her with a gaze that was both like the emperor’s and not. He didn’t have the same green eyes as Daaynal. They were more hazel and amber, and now she was closer, she could see the set of his lips was slightly different.
“Your Highness.” She inclined her head in reply. “I’m afraid that seat is taken.”
He scooped a forkful of pancake into his mouth and chewed, watching her. “It looked empty.”
“I’m waiting for my…” Shit, what on earth did she call Cade? “I’m waiting for my boyfriend to get back with breakfast.”
“Boyfriend?” Rohn said the words as though he was testing the sound of it out in his mouth. “A juvenile male who is a friend? I wasn’t aware human younglings were allowed on base with us.”
“A romantic partner who is a male,” she corrected him, in no mood for any of his shit today. She didn’t like how he treated Cade and the other Lathar he deemed below him in status. “A romantic partner who is female would be called a girlfriend, regardless of actual chronological age.”