Page 86 of Hope Forged
“I suppose you can make him suffer a little. So… Zoo would expect me to ask. What’s your greatest desire, and if at all possible, Etteria will provide it.”
Ziamee blinked, a little stunned. After all, anyone’s ‘greatest desire’ could cost a small fortune. “Why? I’m a stranger and not a citizen of Etteria.”
Macy shrugged. “You’re Durn. There are so few of you left, and I guess, since your people helped Etterians so many centuries ago, Xeus feels honor-bound to offer aid.” She dipped her fingers in the waves and flicked droplets at Ziamee. “So spill. What would you like?”
“Mm, if I had my way… A cabin by a fish-filled lake.”
“Thatdoessound lovely, but choose something else. Illan’s already organized that for you…on Vora.”
“What?” Ziamee whispered, stunned at his thoughtfulness. She sniffed, then wiped away an escaped tear. “When?”
“Just after the discovery of that underground facility.” Macy straightened with her hand at her lower back. She waved Nuos away when he took a step toward her, concern in his furrowed brow. “I gave birth days ago, and sure, Etteria’s medical tech is phenomenal. But my brain keeps reminding my body that I delivered twins.” She smiled. “And the exhaustion isn’t helping. Poor Aldur comes by every morning to ‘heal’ us.”
“We can return…” Ziamee hitched a thumb at the wall.
“No, I’m enjoying the sunlight.” Macy beamed and looped her arm through Ziamee’s, urging them onward.
They strolled along the shore, in and out of the water. Only the distant cries of birds and the susurration of the waves filled the companionable silence between them.
“Are you happy he found you?” Macy asked, then snorted. “I suppose you are when you love him.”
“If you believe in fate, his arrival was perfect timing though I didn’t think so then. With his help, we rescued my father and found my mother.” Ziamee ran her fingers along her thigh, cherishing her pants when her garments had been nothing but patches. She studied her palm and blushed, remembering the first time he’d touched her. “He’s taught me so much.”
“Well, he’s devoted to you. I know that.” Macy twirled on the spot, then stiffened when Azan waved. “Looks like our stroll’s done for today. You can stay if you like?”
Ziamee glanced out to sea and smiled. “Please, for a little while longer.”
“I’ll send Illan your way. And do come for dinner.” Macy headed to Azan, took her son, and left.
Ziamee didn’t watch but trailed their departure by the female’s chatter until only the sounds of nature remained. She drew in a long breath and held it.
This… This was what she wanted. But no longer on her own.
The dead Maloidian had made her realize that she wanted this…with Illan and children of her own. And as soon as she confessed how she felt, the sooner that part of her life could begin.
She only had to claim the male. Easier said than done when she knew next to nothing about dhutyas. She gave herself a curt nod. Then she’d make him do or say whatever was needed. If he didn’t have the courage to leap, she’d do it for them both.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Illanpeeredoverhisshoulder at the closed door to Macy’s home, then forced himself to face ahead, locking onto Xeus’s disappearing back. He hadn’t invited Ziamee to join him, even though she had every right. But revealing this ugly side of him… No, that could wait until they were truly dhutyas. She’d get a secondhand view from his memories, not witness him using any means necessary to peel the truth from this Maloidian.
Could he kill the male? Yes, he would do it…if he had to. After what he’d discovered and how they’d treated that poor male, not to mention those Maloidians at the base? He had no doubts that what awaited them was the same fate as that corpse on the station. What justice he and Brac had handed out was a far kinder end than abandonment, starvation, and loneliness. A blaster shot was swift, merciless—better than what they deserved after their destruction of Durn. And therein lay the issue; Illan was conflicted, pitying the one Maloidian while hating the rest of the species.
“Your discoveries paint the Maloidians as beyond redeemable,” Xeus muttered, holding aside the door leading to the levels beneath the throne room. “This is not the face they show us. And yet, I do not struggle to believe this. Many things have been revealed as coming from their hands.”
“I had not considered, not once, that my planet’s destruction was anything but natural.” Illan pinched his brow, fighting for clarity of thought while using his other hand to guide him down the stairs.
“Ava says everything comes into the light, and she is not wrong,” Kanzo said from behind Illan. “What with Zucis’s revelations and the part Maloid played in them…” He tutted. “I cannot believe our lima kuu did not once entertain the possibility of Maloid instigating a galactic war.”
“True, which leaves us at a disadvantage,” Xeus said, striding into a sec room with a desk at the center. A warrior stood to attention. “How is he? Barro?” Xeus demanded.
“He has been screaming about injustice and reporting this to the G.C., my king,” the male said.
Xeus snorted. “What could the Global Council do from their padded seats? Lower the shield, Warrior Tanlu.” He strode to the farthest cell, to where a Maloidian sprawled on a bench molded to the wall. “Ambassador Barro—”
“King Xeus, what an honor,” the male muttered, sitting up, then stiffening when he caught sight of Illan. “But you,” he said, “are a rare privilege.”
“Is it?” Illan crossed to stand a few feet from the male, his fingers curling into fists. “When your kind killed mine?”
