Hofer thought I should send someone else to do this job, but I thought, naw. I wanted to do this job my ownself. This would be the first precious thing I stole from the Prince.
Then I would take this throne.
Eleven
Axis
I tapped on the door and waited. There was bustling on the other side and loud electronica music playing, but no response to my knock. I doubted she had heard me. It was nearly midnight, but I wasn’t surprised she was up so late, still working in the lab. I could spy Ceritha through the laboratory’s small window, setting up centrifuges and refrigerators, microscopes and testing tubes, all the while sashaying around the room with a little wiggle in her hips and a smile on her lips. She had changed into a sleeveless turquoise blue dress, practically see-through, just wisping around her thighs and hanging down to her heels in the back. It clung to her curves in all the right places and flowed out in a flourish as she spun.
I smiled and pushed the door open. She saw the movement and stopped dancing, holding the blood samples, her mouth dropping open and her face flushing a little. She hurriedly set the samples in their rightful spots and turned to me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the knocking.” She moved to turn down the music.
“You can leave the music on. It’s nice. Interesting work choice. Fires you up?”
"It's a friend of mine who spins on Serpul. She's brilliant. Melds electronica with natural wood and ocean element instruments. If you listen, you can hear the occasional conch shell blaring."
Ceritha’s eyes were bright and playful, her smile genuine and inviting. She did a twist, turn, twirl, and fancy little movement wave with her hands playing together in a symbiotic movement that was mesmerizing, like holding a flame between her hands and unleashing it to the world, in sync with the music.
I chuckled and clapped lightly. “I like it.”
She bowed and twirled once more, then turned back to the blood samples we had collected earlier in the day, though she did not cease moving her hips and shoulders and head to the beat. It was a gorgeous shimmying movement that shook her breasts slightly, which was hard to tear my gaze from.
"I'm glad we got so many samples from the firefins today. I'm just transferring them from the chillers we have had them into the refrigerators here in the lab. I want to get the lab completely set up tonight, so I can truly dig in with the analyzing tomorrow."
“Great. How can I help?”
She stopped and looked at me, no accusation, just an earnest curiosity. “Don’t you have bigger concerns at the moment? I don’t really know what is going on, but it seems there is something serious happening.”
I sighed and clenched my fists. Her eyes dropped to my involuntary movement and her brow furrowed, lips pursing. I wanted to bite them…
"I have wanted to find the moment to tell you, and I am sorry it hasn't been until now, but I have been receiving orders from King Kajo. There are some pirates off the coast. They have been making movements to challenge Bristola and the Farian realm at large. There are some thirty ships headed toward three of my ports. They are not far off. We expect the attack to happen tomorrow."
Ceritha nodded, her face surprisingly still. I had expected more of a reaction, perhaps alarm, or fear, or anger. I didn’t know her very well at all, yet. As far as I knew, Serpul had not faced any military conflict during her lifetime. How would she hold up under what Farian had been through my entire life?
“What would you like my role to be during this time?”
I was startled by the brevity and matter-of-factness of the question. I cleared my throat, having not truly contemplated what I needed from my new Queen…
“Well, I am certain I can handle the pirates. King Kajo has sent reinforcements, but my Navy is already quite strong. I would like you to concentrate your efforts on the blue flu. That is a problem that will not go away quickly, and we are suffering from it every day. If you can continue your work here, that is what is best. The main thing that I ask is that you stay safe, I suppose… I mean, during the attack, I would like you to remain under guard and take the orders of the soldiers assigned to protect you.”
“All right. I can do that.” She said the words, but there was something of a bite to them, and I knew I needed to assign a guard to watch her right away. Spirited was one thing, escape artist was another… I needed to make sure I kept her safe… I cursed myself for not having set a guard already. That would be the first thing I did when I left the lab. One of my Spec Ops spies would be a brilliant tail. One that she knew about and was visible beside her and one that was watching from hiding, just in case.
“Other than that, I will not pressure you to any Queenly duties at this time. I know this is a big transition—upheaval… for you right now. I am just so honored you are here with me, Princess. Truly.”
Ceritha spun an empty flask and then set it securely in its little setting on a bigger table of chemistry tools. She turned to me, biting her lip, smiling sideways through it, irresistibly cute. She has to know how irresistibly cute that is. “You know, I am well trained in hand-to-hand and telekinetic combat.”
“Is that so?” I said, a smile pulled out of me as I stepped closer to her. I put my fists up near my face. “Want to prove it?”
She laughed and backed away. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare hit the
