Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Right, the common. He's trying to be common. I'd laugh if things weren't such a cluster-fuck right now. "You look less 'common' and more 'unhinged' if you don't mind my saying so."
"I feel unhinged," he agrees. "So I am not surprised." He touches his mane, and it looks like he's covered himself in cheddar dust from a bag of snacks. "Do you suppose it will come out?"
"Do you want it to? What with the snow-white mane being a problem?" I don't point out that it's less "snowy” and more “muddy” at the moment. He's still dirty from his stint at the barn, and it's probably a good thing breakfast was ruined, because he likely dripped some hay into it.
He tries to run his claws through a cheektuft, only for them to get stuck on a knot. Zhur grimaces. "Perhaps I should look at alternatives, then. A disguise of some sort."
A disguise. A disguise and he's hiding out here on Risda III despite the fact that he clearly loathes this place. "Are you in danger or something?"
"Or something, yes."
My skin prickles. "And is you being in danger going to put me in danger?"
He pauses.
He pauses for a really, really long time.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
ZHUR
Is Maeve in danger at my side?
It's not something I considered previously, and now I play out scenarios in my mind. If she's found with me...will the insurgents assume she is a co-conspirator? Will she suffer whatever fate I will?
No, I decide. The Praxii Empire has agreements with Homeworld, and Maeve is one of Lord va'Rin's refugees. She would be protected by his name. Anyone that saw her with me would consider her a pet. A plaything. A distraction for a bored nobleman. Even if she was taken back to Praxii Minor for some reason or another, she would not be executed by my brother's retinue. She would be kept as a pet all over again...and likely extradited back to Lord va'Rin.
Her hands go to her hips. "You know, the fact that you're pausing for so damn long—"
"No," I interrupt. "I was contemplating all the scenarios. You are safe, because you are human. If you were praxiian, you would be in danger. You would not want to fraternize with me. But a human? No offense, but you are not respected enough to be considered a threat."
"I can cheerfully say 'no offense taken.'" Maeve looks relieved. "First time I've been glad to be a puny, insignificant human."
For the first time, I am glad she is, too. "This is why I have not been able to tell you anything about my situation. It is best that you do not know."
She puts her hands in the air. "Say no more. Ignorance is bliss and all that. I don't want to know, and you don't have to tell me. It's all good."
I am relieved she does not press the issue. The last thing I need is Maeve pushing to know all my secrets, to know that I am royal.
Well, deposed royal. But I am hoping that my brother's rebellion is swiftly foiled and it will be safe for me to return soon enough. I just have to be ready.
"Anyhow," Maeve says, putting the heels of her hands on the counter behind her and hopping backward. She sits atop the countertop and swings her legs, watching me. "The whole 'marriage' thing was a spur-of-the-moment solution. You seemed like you were panicking and it was the only thing I could think of. We don't really have to get married, though. We can set up a hiding place somewhere here on the farm, and then I can tell them we broke up, or that we decided not to go through with it. They'll probably come check to see if you're still here—hence the hiding space—but after that we should be in the clear. It'll take some maneuvering, but I think we can manage."
"What was the trouble with pirates?" I ask, curious. The custodians had mentioned it while they were here and had seemed gravely concerned for Maeve's safety.
She waves a casual hand in the air. "Oh, that. It was some trouble a few years back. When Lord va'Rin first started handing out farms to humans, a few showed up married to some unsavory sorts. I think there's a few ladies that are married to escaped convicts. Rather than boot the women from the only safe place in the universe, Lord va'Rin worked out something that allowed amnesty for the alien men married to human women. So then we had a problem with all kinds of men showing up demanding to marry a human woman, either so they could stay here untouched, or because they were trying to steal farms and murder their human wives. Lord va'Rin brought in the custodians and we haven't had problems since, but for a while it sucked. Or so I'm told. I got here on the tail end of all that and didn't have to worry about someone showing up and demanding to marry me."