Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(14)
Brax stroked his chin. “Still, someone on that base is indeed our enemy. That leaves your mate with divided loyalties.”
“Unlikely.” My voice was flat with disdain.
Brax looked startled. “How so?”
“It is her desire, as well as the desire of her predecessor, to learn our ways and develop a treaty between our two peoples. This has been the same effort the humans have consistently made with us for years. Whoever is behind the assassination attempt may not be the major power at this base. In fact, this person may be an enemy infiltrator of theirs who is attempting to sabotage the treaty to cause problems for Earth or for both of us. We will not know until the seers can gather enough information on the matter. In either case, there will be no division of loyalty.” I kept my voice calm and matter-of-fact, though I wanted to punch that politicking opportunist through a wall. The others trusted my judgment; only he disrupted council unity.
“Then we once again await the seers’ verdict.” Reela settled back in her chair.
Brax scowled. “I do not believe our war chief has a clear mind on this issue. He should not be allowed to continue his leadership position until his own loyalties are confirmed.”
Oh, not this again. “I suppose you believe you should replace me as war chief until this matter is resolved?”
“You have to admit that panting after this human girl affects your judgment. And of those left, I am clearly the most qualified.” Brax smirked smugly, oblivious to the annoyed muttering around him.
Reining in my temper again, I looked him in the eye. “Well, Brax, if you truly wish to be war chief and acting high chieftain, tell me something.”
His smirk weakened. “What is that?”
“How do you plan to deal with the uneven food distribution among the southern villages?”
Brax’s smug expression crumbled into uncertainty. “Uh . . .”
“The insect raids on food crops must also be addressed. Do you have any proposed solutions?”
Brax’s blank and slightly panicked expression caused a few chuckles from the other chiefs.
I smiled tightly. Brax was an adequate chief for his own village, but never kept abreast of issues outside his own walls. “What about the humans? Do you have any idea what to do if they do attack?”
Torvin, whose fishing village Steamcliffs bordered on the Boiling Sea to the south, scratched his bronze-colored mustache. “Do you, War Chief? I would like as much lead time as possible to prepare my people.”
“Yes, I have a number of contingencies in mind.” I put my hands behind my back. “Remember humans have little acquaintance with this world’s hazards. We can use that. We can shelter in our more remote outposts and force them to face this world’s predators and other dangers.”
“Then we must prepare for evacuation.” Torvin lowered his hand thoughtfully. “And what about striking back?”
“Sabotage and the use of our seers. The humans rely on technology. We now have someone with us who knows human technology and sciences, and from her knowledge, we can devise how to stop them.” I smiled. If anything, I knew after this shock, Grace would be eager to find some way to fix things. She was like me that way: always looking for solutions, even in times of high emotion.
Reela clasped her hands before her. “You plan to get the human to help us against her own people?”
“The seers will confirm she opposes hostilities. And she is my mate.” I held my confident tone, despite a twinge of doubt. Grace’s stunted psychic senses prevented her from feeling the bond between us. But I had sworn to win her heart regardless, even if I had to learn the human modes of courtship from nothing. “I have no doubt she will assist us if it is needed.”
Brax sat back, no longer able to look me in the eye. “We shall see,” he growled petulantly.
The door to the seers’ chamber opened, and a lean figure in a blue cloak stepped out. He folded back his hood, nodding to me briefly.
I called out to him, “Chief Seer Morion, the other chiefs and I are eager to hear your findings.”
He strode over and took the floor from me with a small bow. I went back to my seat for the moment, fully expecting him to verify every word of what I had said about Grace.
Standing in front of the empty throne, the chief seer cleared his throat. “Well, the girl is innocent of intent and knowledge; that is certain. It appears she was used by an unknown number of her superiors back at the moon base she came from.”
I heard faint sighs of relief from those around me and had to echo them, if only in my heart. The accusations of bias against me weren’t far off the mark, although it was not my feelings for Grace that were causing me problems. Instead, it was my suffering that might affect my judgment
My head pounded. My mouth was perpetually dry. A painful craving grew stronger in me with every passing hour: not sexual frustration, not loneliness, but both mixed, and far more. I knew instinctively it was happening because Grace was rejecting our bond.
I could not blame her for doing so now that I understood she could not feel it herself. Among humans, there was no instinctive mating, and a man who claimed to possess a woman was merely being egotistical and cruel. No wonder she had assumed the same of me when I had first announced our bond to my father. Since then, I had restrained myself around her and thus seemed to be winning her trust. But it was starting to cost me.