But I want you to know that I could never see myself becoming King or an effective one if it weren’t for you.
It’s because of your faith in me. And your strength and compassion, that I want to be better. I want to share everything with you. You will be my queen and I will always be by your side, supporting you in whatever you want to do.”
“Well, you should know that before you, my life was boring and had nothing going for it. You changed all that. You loved me unconditionally right from the start. I have never felt more safe and more loved than I do with you.”
He brought both hands to my cheeks and smiled. “It looks like we saved one another,” he said as he pressed his lips against mine.
35
Grace
A WEEK LATER
“Any idea what you’ll do next?” I asked Riley who was standing in front of me.
She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I was thinking of joining a human colony's armed forces. I mean...It's what I know, right?”
I gave a nod of agreement. “Krin is leaving Alara in a few days. He could drop you off somewhere if you want,” I said, wearing a cheeky grin.
She brushed me off with a wave. “Knock it off. There’s absolutely nothing there. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in us being a couple.”
Olivia piped, “But he did admit that you are his mate, didn’t he? I mean, it’s evident when you see the markings on his biceps when he’s around you.”
Riley’s lip twisted on one side. “Not precisely. The cheeky jerk acknowledged he noticedIwas attracted to him...” She shook her head. “Then he said he is looking forward to being back on patrols in space, like it wasn’t a big deal that there was sexual tension between us. He didn’t even say he was attracted to me although I could see he was. It’s clear he doesn’t think I’m his mate.”
My head shot back. “Huh? But Trex told me...” I stopped speaking and covered my mouth.
Krin revealed to Trex that his mating marks would ignite whenever he was close to Riley, but he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. The big bad warrior was afraid.
Trex also mentioned he was poor with communication where the opposite sex was concerned. It wasn’t my place to interfere, but hopefully he and Riley would work things out. Maybe being on the ship again they would realize they couldn’t live without one another.
Riley pretended not to hear me and cleared her throat.
“Have you pondered the idea of staying here in the palace?” I asked Olivia with a smile on my face.
She gently touched her baby belly, which was hardly noticeable under her dress.
“Sadly, I don’t have many other choices,” she remarked, then smiled, but it never reached her eyes.
My brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
She looked at me with wet eyes but said nothing.
“Is it something you want to talk about? If not, just tell me to mind my own business.” I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
Her bottom lip quivered. “It’s probably just pregnancy hormones.... But I feel lonely.”
I pulled her into a brief hug. “I apologize. It didn’t dawn on me that I’ve been neglecting our friendship since we got to Alara because...well with everything that happened...” My voice trailed off as she nodded in acknowledgement.
It's only been in the past week that I've finally been able to relax and breathe again.
She shrugged. “It’s not really what I mean. You and Riley have both been great friends.”
I smoothed hair off her cheek. She felt like a younger sister to me and I couldn’t help but like her. “Is this about Orin?”
Orin was staying on Alara as one of Trex’s royal guards and apparently had family on Alara, though I wasn’t entirely sure ofthe details. Trex advised it was Orin’s story to tell if he wanted to and I never pressed him.
Orin and Olivia seemed to ignore one another, and I wondered if something had happened between them. It made me realize how lucky I was that Trex had no problem accepting our connection at all. In fact, he’d embraced it sooner than I had.
