Qole looked baffled, rather than mollified. Unable to find the words to respond, she stuttered for a second, then blushed furiously.
I suppressed a wince. If this was supposed to make her feel better, I’d likely failed. I opened my mouth to prompt her and she, anticipating me, shot me a venomous look that said Shut up, I can speak for myself, as clearly as a blaring comm speaker.
Finally rallying, she said, “Thank you, Your Majesties, but we were all in danger and just doing what we could to survive.” She hesitated, but only for a moment. “I’m happy to be here. It’s been…quite the trip.”
I tried not to smile. Couching unpleasantness in euphemism—Qole was figuring out the game already.
The king nodded. “We’ve become aware. Apparently, there is a significant price on your head, Captain Qole. It would seem the Treznor-Nirmana family is exceedingly interested in what you might have to offer them. But you needn’t worry; they can’t reach you here.”
“Yes, they were interested,” Qole said with some heat. “They were so interested they tried to cut me open.”
So much for euphemism.
“That’s very disturbing.” Father frowned. “Tell me, did they say what they hoped to accomplish with that?”
I grimaced inwardly. In spite of her bluntness, I didn’t think this was a topic Qole really wanted to revisit. “What does that matter?” I asked, stepping in. “They are unscrupulous lunatics, willing to take shortcuts in their research at the expense of someone’s life. What matters is that with Qole’s help we can unlock the key—”
“Oh, systems, what kind of horrid conversation is this?”
There is a maxim in royal circles: for every social situation, the most socially uncomfortable thing that can happen will happen—hence, as the popular wisdom went, one must avoid anything that could lead to awkwardness. Such as conversations that were interesting enough to warrant staying awake.
But given that maxim, putting Qole in the same room as Ket was, without a doubt, the worst social misstep I could have made in my life to date.
To be fair, I hadn’t known Ketrana would be here, nor had I seen her lounging in the shade on a recliner as we entered, or else I might have aborted this attempt at an introduction altogether. My family, I could handle. My mother mostly confined herself to worrying about etiquette and impropriety, Marsius was always so good natured that one suspected drugs, and Solara was, just, well, Solara. She gossiped and went to parties.
But Ketrana…She looked the picture of a fine-blooded princess. Her tiny frame was perfectly proportioned to distract, and her regal neck led to fine features: lips designed for pouting, cheeks that dimpled just so, and a nose that had the perfect curve.
But the dimples of every smile were calculated perfectly, and the nose was held in a way that indicated not playfulness, but distaste. The first time I had ever met her, I’d been as taken as any red-blooded adolescent would be, especially since she’d worn a gown as alluring as the one clinging to her now. Since then, I’d realized there was a fine line between vapid and malicious. It was a line she played fast and loose.
Now there was no hope for this to be anything but a painfully awkward experience for Qole.
“Are you the Alaxan? I can’t believe they let you up here. This must be the thrill of a lifetime!” Ketrana stepped around the back of my couch and fixed Qole with a disbelieving stare. It was true that Qole’s fur-trimmed leather jacket and knee-high boots merely served to accentuate her ragged dark hair and the stark contrast of her features to those of Ket. Where Ket was fine as a perfect piece of miniature artwork, Qole was as healthy and wild as the nature that might have inspired that artwork. “From Alaxak to the royal chambers,” she continued, “it’s like something out of a reality vid.”
“Ket,” I said with some force, “Captain Qole is my guest. And she’s seen sights that do not make a royal common room much of a thrill.”
I hesitated then, even though I well knew that etiquette demanded a proper introduction. I wasn’t sure why I was having trouble saying the next few words. Maybe because I didn’t know how Qole would take them. Would she be indifferent? Or confused, since they no doubt did things contrarily on Alaxak? Angry, because I hadn’t yet had the chance to explain?
Part of me almost wanted her to be angry, for my own reasons that weren’t fully realized. But then I knew that because of etiquette and protocol, I couldn’t tell her why she shouldn’t be. Not here, alongside Ket. Not until we were alone again…whenever that would be.
“Qole.” I finally turned to her, having waited long enough for Mother to give me a look. “This is Ketrana Dracorte, my second cousin…and my betrothed.”
For a brief moment, I could have sworn blackness flickered at the edge of Qole’s eyes. “I…see. I keep learning new things here. Congratulations must be in order, hey?”
She was definitely angry. Furious, by the looks of her, though it wouldn’t be obvious to anyone else.
I, on the other hand, didn’t know if it was a thrill of alarm or excitement that I felt.
“Oh, hey, that’s adorable.” Solara materialized over my other shoulder, smiling. “You are a dear, Captain. Please don’t mind Ket, we simply haven’t met anyone such as you before. You can’t imagine how stimulating we find it. Isn’t that right, Ket?”
Ket laughed, her eyes as cold as ice. “Stimulating. I didn’t mean to be rude, I’m sure. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Qole.” She sat down daintily at the edge of the couch next to me. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Nevarian?”
She batted her eyelashes, and I heroically controlled my gag impulse. Typically, I had no trouble with Ket. Marriage for royals was about bloodlines, politics, and tradition. We were bred for specific traits and, as we were frequently reminded from birth, genetics did not care about passion. I’d always recognized that as part of my duty and had felt I could do much worse than Ket. She was certainly beautiful, and while her disposition was egregious, I could largely ignore her. Except now I was somehow finding that impossible. It was as though every fake thing about her, every inauthentic motion, was coming into sharp relief.
“Oh, you two lovebirds don’t need to talk.” Solara leaned over me and batted Ket’s arm. “You’ll have plenty of time for that later, don’t you think? No, we should take this opportunity to learn about our new guest. Tell me, Qole, what do Alaxans do for fun?”
I breathed silent thanks to Solara. I didn’t know why she’d felt compelled to come to my rescue, but as patronizing as she was being to Qole, it was a thousand times better than what might have resulted from Ket.
“Well, um…” Qole was off to another uninspiring start, but then her voice picked up strength and speed. “We don’t have a lot of downtime, but when we do, a lot of families in my village like to gather. We each bring a meal, and eat it together as one big feast.”