“It’s … purple.”
“Yes, was water on Earth not purple?”
“No,” I replied. “It’s clear.”
“How do you see it then?”
I laughed because I didn’t know how to answer the question.
“It’s complicated.”
Surkah’s lips quirked. “I imagine it is.”
“From space, our water sources appear blue, but in person, it’s clear. Clean water, anyway.”
“Very strange,” Surkah commented. “Our water looks very purple from up here, but in person, the shade is much softer, and you can see through it. It is purple because of the mountain rocks that the water is filtered through before it reaches Ealra’s rivers, lakes and oceans. That’s how it gets its colour.”
“It’s beautiful.”
I glanced at Kol when I felt tension pour from him in waves. It looked like he was having a heated discussion with a few members of his crew, Nero, and Mikoh.
“What are they saying?” I asked Surkah. “He’s uneasy about something, I can feel it.”
“Mikoh is relaying a report to Kol about the Earth’s Officials.”
I turned my full attention to Surkah. “Earth’s Officials? What about them?”
She looked at her brother then back at me and said, “Maybe you should ask Kol about that.”
I did exactly that as I focused on her brother.
Why are you talking about Earth’s Officials, reva?
I heard his growl from across the room.
“Surkah!” he snapped, spinning to face us. “This conversation is not for Nova’s ears or yours!”
Surkah didn’t even flinch. “I told you I wasn’t going to be dishonest to my sister-in-mate when she asks me a question,” she said firmly. “If you don’t like that, then that is your problem. Not mine.”
I looked at Surkah. “You go, female.”
“Go where?” she asked.
I burst into laughter.
“Nowhere.” I cackled. “It’s just a bit of praise for standing up to Kol.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
Kol scowled at her, but when he switched his gaze to mine, it softened.
In private, I will discuss it.
I raised a brow. Do you need to be here to land the craft?
No, he hesitated, my crew can do it if I give the order.
Give the order then because we’re going to discuss this. Now.
I turned to Surkah. “I’m going to speak about this with him in private.”
I hugged her and walked towards the exit of the bridge, noting Kol angrily gave out the verbal orders I asked him to. I made it about ten metres down the hallway outside the bridge before I felt him behind me.
“You’re not to walk alone without myself, Mikoh, or Nero to escort you, Nova.”
I rolled my eyes; glad he couldn’t see the action.
“Nova,” Kol growled. “Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, reva. I just don’t want to talk to you until we’re in our quarters.”
“Fine,” he clipped.
The tension between us was thick, so by the time we reached our room, I felt like I could breathe again, and I was glad of it.
“We’re in private,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest as the door to our quarters closed. “Start talking.”
Kol scowled and began to pace from left to right in front of me.
“Kol,” I prompted.
He growled. “I am trying to think of a way to word it, so you don’t get angry.”
I raised a brow. “Is there a reason for me to be angry?”
“No, but you’ll still manage to find a way to be angry.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You aren’t helping your case to keep me calm when you say antagonising shit like that.”
“I apologise,” he said and continued to pace from left to right. “Forgive me, shiva.”
I had to look away from him after a few moments because he was making me dizzy. I moved to the seating area to the side of the room, and Kol followed me.
“Okay,” he finally said, coming to a stop before me. “Two days ago, spacecrafts belonging to Earth’s Officials were in range of us, and Mikoh was just confirming the course they took is leading them to a certain section of the Ara system.”
“Earth’s Officials?” I repeated. “They were in range?”
“Before they adjusted their course, yes.”
I frowned. “How did you know they were Earth’s Officials, though?”
“We tagged their vessels when they took off from Earth.”
A flashback of the night I snuck close to the WBO surged through my mind. When the compound lit up next to the WBO before I focused on the Ebony, I had noticed a bunch of smaller crafts take off from the surface.
“The crafts,” I murmured. “The smaller crafts I saw take off from the surface before the watchmen found me. The ones you gave the coordinates to for the unnamed planet. Those were the WBO’s officials?”
“Yes.” Kol nodded. “We told them why we were there, and they said they would fully surrender Earth’s females to us if we gave them credits—they’re a source of currency everywhere— as well as coordinates and half a dozen of our recue crafts to survive using warp drive in space.”
I didn’t know why I felt hurt, but I did.
“The cowardly bastards, saving their own pathetic behinds.”
Kol nodded slowly, his eyes watching me carefully.
“They know the Earth is a lost cause, right? They know nothing can reverse climate change no matter what, don’t they?”
Kol nodded again. “It’s why they wanted credits to get to—”
I narrowed my eyes at him when he cut himself off.
“To get to where?” I questioned. “The unnamed planet?”
“Before I tell you, remember how humans have treated you all your life, okay?”
As if I could forget.
“Okay.”
“You mentioned once that your human royals lived off the planet, but you didn’t know which planet or galaxy they fled to.”
I nodded.
“Well, we know where they went.” Kol dropped his gaze. “I hid this information from you before our mating. The name of the planet they fled to is called Terra, and it is the planet I referred to as the unnamed planet.”
Kol’s father traded with the species on the unnamed planet. I processed this for a moment then gasped. “The species your father traded with were … human?”
Kol nodded, his eyes watching me carefully.
“The royal humans?”
“Yes,” Kol said. “As king of our people, the Revered Father met with your human king, and they devised a trading agreement and a truce between our species.”
I couldn’t speak.
“We have known for eleven years of the existence of humans on Terra, but part of the trade agreement between the kings was that it be kept a secret until humans could grow and defend themselves and their new planet. Otherwise, they would be vulnerable to attacks. Maji and Vina are the only species to know that humans have relocated from Earth to Terra to start over.”
Still, I could not speak.