“I’m not your friend,” I told her. “You lied to me.”
“Under my orders,” Kol cut in.
I looked at him. “I thought you were an arsehole from the get-go so that doesn’t surprise me, but I liked your sister. I knew she was keeping something from me, I just knew it, but it didn’t stop me from liking her.”
“I humbly beg your forgiveness, Nova.”
Mikoh and Kol viciously growled the moment the words left Surkah’s mouth.
“Why are you both growling?”
“A royal never begs,” they replied in unison.
“Well, this one just did,” Surkah said and stepped forward to me. “I am very sorry for hurting you. I didn’t want to lie, but I could not go against the shipmaster’s commands. Aboard the Ebony, his word is law.”
I contemplated her words, but my head felt like it was a hotplate that was overheating.
“Let me think about it, okay?” I eventually said. “I’m trying to figure out how I feel about being kidnapped, being brought to a new planet, and used as a baby incubator.”
“Thanas, give me strength!” Mikoh suddenly hollered. “You’re impossible. I thought Surkah was difficult, but you intolerable. I feel sorry for the male who is unfortunate enough to be your mate. An entirety with Kuat would be more peaceful.”
Kol growled and so did Surkah, but Mikoh paid them no attention.
I shrugged uncaringly. “I feel sorry for Surkah ending up with a dickhead like you, but you don’t hear me bitching about it, do you?”
“What did you just call me?”
“A dickhead.”
“Why is that an insult?”
“It means you’re a stupid, irritating, ridiculous male.”
Mikoh narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing further. Steam might as well have poured from his ears to show his distaste for me at that moment.
“Don’t give me crap if you can’t take it being thrown back at you, fucker.”
“I don’t understand your Earth words, imbecile human!”
“And I don’t understand your way of thinking, imbecile Maji!”
Mikoh growled at me, and even though it hurt my throat, I growled right back at him.
“I am going to find a male to spar with me,” he said through gritted teeth. “Kol, watch Surkah in my absence.” With that said, he turned and hightailed it out of the room.
“I hope you get knocked on your arse!” I shouted after him. I angrily folded my arms across my chest and turned to Surkah. “Can you believe him?”
She was smiling at me, and a quick glance at Kol showed he was smiling at me too. It caught me off guard. “You’re a fierce female,” he said as his chest puffed with what appeared to be pride.
“I agree with my brother; you would make a great party leader at our monthly debates.”
How shockingly civilised and human that sounded calmed me down massively.
“You have debates on your home world?”
“Of course,” Surkah said. “Maji citizens go to our Citizens Department building within our city and leave formal complaints and requests for changes. For example, we have very few Maji young, so we have no play sectors for them when they are not in their homes, at lessons, or during combat training. Mothers have complained about this and requested a play sector to be built. We will discuss it at the monthly debate and then vote to decide on a decision in response.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
“The Council,” Kol answered me.
I couldn’t look at him. “What’s that?”
“A legislature made up of twelve Maji.”
“Which Maji?”
“Four members of the Guard, four members of the royal family, and four citizens of Royal City who are voted by the people to represent them.”
“I thought you said your father was the ruler. Why do you need a Council if he is in charge?”
“He is the ruler, and he is still in charge,” Surkah replied. “Papa has been the Revered Father for over nearly five hundred years now, and over the past century, he has changed many of our laws. One of them is that the Council collectively makes decisions for the people. He deals with the Guard, the Elite, the running and protection of our society and all the hard stuff, but he lets the Council deal with the lesser stuff.”
He doles out the responsibility.
“He sounds like a good ruler.”
“He is the best.” Surkah smiled.
“Was he the one who gave the order to kidnap humans?” My sarcasm drew a small growl from Kol. “Or was this mission a whim?”
He stepped forward. “I believe the term you’re looking for is rescue.”
I didn’t want to argue with him again, so I looked at Surkah and said, “I’m really tired, and my head hurts. I think you gave me too much of the konia stuff.”
She pressed her hand against my forehead, and I felt a huge surge of relief, making my body sway.
“Surkah!”
“She is fine, brother,” Surkah said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m taking her pain away. She is not used to healing, so it just feels strange to her.”
“A really good kind of strange.” I sighed and smiled lazily when Surkah lowered her hand. “Your hands are magic.”
She chuckled. “Yes, my lissa is a blessing from Thanas.”
“Wait.” I frowned as she removed her hand from my head. “What is this lissa thing you keep mentioning?”
Surkah looked at her brother. “How do I describe my lissa?”
Kol shrugged. “Look for the closest translation.”
Surkah looked like she was racking her brain then she said, “It is a version of … healing ability. You understand healing ability in your Earth words?”
Yes, I understood the words, but it left me with more questions.
“You have a healing ability?” I asked, wide-eyed. “I knew you somehow healed wounds with your hands, but you have a … a real healing ability?”
Surkah nodded. “Well, yes, how do you think I heal the wounded and sick?”
I stared at her. “With medicine and machines?”
She raised her brows. “We only have machines to monitor, not heal. And our medicine is only a substitute until a healer reaches their charge. The kind of machines you mentioned, there is no point in having them when healers heal with our hands.”
Well, shit.
“Enough talking,” Kol said abruptly. “I’m being summoned to the bridge, so she needs to be escorted to human housing now.”
Surkah nodded and then moved to the far side of the room where she placed her palm on the wall and took folded clothing from inside when it opened. She returned to my side and handed them to me. It was a t-shirt and pair of trousers in a bright grey. Like before, there were no underwear, socks, or shoes.
I was about to take off my gown when I noticed Kol’s memorising eyes on me.
“Go away,” I said, holding his gaze. “I don’t want you here while I change.”
“Nova.” Surkah frowned. I switched my questioning gaze her. “What?”
“You must learn to have respect for the shipmaster,” she stressed. “You cannot be a bad influence on the other humans.”