Now it was Havik’s turn to be surprised. “Yes?”
“We treated your mate poorly.”
“I failed her.”
“I always disagreed with your father’s stance on Terrans.” Mais gave up any pretense of examining the kumakre. Stabs curled his many legs around her hand and gnawed on the glove. “I know he did not mate me for love, but I always thought he was an honorable male and it pleased me to be his helpmate.” She shook her head, a few strands of hair escaping from her braid. “His subterfuge has torn the clan apart. I no longer reside in his domicile.”
She might have disagreed, but she never raised an objection. Still, to leave the warlord’s house made a bold statement. In all his years, Havik had never known Mais to go against the wishes of the warlord. Part of him wished for it to have occurred when he was a child and desperately wanted a mother’s unconditional affection.
If he were ever to be blessed with a son, he would never fail to show the child that he was wanted and cherished.
Havik glanced at Thalia, knowing that the hardships he had navigated brought him to this moment.
Stabs abandoned his plan of kicking Mais’ gloved hand and uncurled.
“Is the kumakre too docile?” he asked, using the opportunity to switch subjects. He worried Stabs would be unsuited for life in the wild.
The barbed tail struck Mais’ gloved hand.
He had never been prouder.
Thalia
The staff buzzed with curiosity. Thalia saw the way the staff watched them, then acted as if they were too busy to notice when they got caught.
“Are you going to introduce me?” she finally asked.
The woman tilted her head to one side. “I know I taught you better manners than that. I am Mais, the second mate of the warlord.”
Havik placed a hand on her shoulder. “This is my mate, Thalia Fullerton of Earth. Thalia, this is my father’s mate, Mais.”
“I am delighted to meet you,” Mais said.
Thalia muttered a greeting but did not know what else to say. Enough bad blood to fill an ocean stretched between Havik and his family. He had seemed surprised at seeing the woman and remained cordial. Thalia didn’t know what to make of this formal stiffness.
They placed Stabs into a yard behind the building. With no fence, the yard stretched straight into the sands of the desert. There was a water trough but little else. It seemed to Thalia that the professionals just wanted Stabs to wander off. She had to trust that the professionals knew best but releasing Stabs into the wild was a lot easier in theory than being confronted with the actual moment.
Havik’s tail curled against his leg, a sure sign he was unhappy.
“This is tough,” she said, leaning against him. Unexpected family reunions. Saying goodbye to the pet he refused to admit was a pet. None of it made for a good time.
In silence, they watched Stabs roll around in the sand. Thalia smiled at the delighted chirps and rattles.
“I do not wish to keep Stabs in captivity. He is a wild creature,” Havik said, finally breaking the silence. The sorrow in his voice could not be hidden, no matter how stoic he kept his face.
Her Danger B was going to miss his pet monster.
Thalia patted his back, reaching as high up as she could. Stabs was not a wild creature, he had been tamed as much as possible, but life on a ship was not the correct environment for the sand demon.
Stabs dug into the ground with surprising efficiency.
“We will let Stabs’ actions dictate. If he follows us, then the wind has decided,” Havik said.
Mais joined them. She folded her hands over her stomach, the very picture of poise and elegance.
“Will you remain on Rolusdreus?” she asked, breaking the silence.
Havik continued to watch Stabs. “My mission was to deliver the kumakre egg. I am expected to return to my clan,” he said at length.
The older woman remained expressionless.
Thalia didn’t have a whole lot of experience with healthy family dynamics, but all this standing around and being stoic was ridiculous. “We could spare a day or two,” she offered, because no one else would.
The woman’s eyes flickered with something that resembled wanting. “Kaos will not welcome you in his territory,” she said.
Right. Dear old dad putting a wrench in the works.
“We will not linger,” Havik replied.
Something unseen chirred in the distance, the uncanny sound making Thalia’s hair stand on end.
Stabs raised his head and answered with a call she had never heard before, a high pitched staccato.
At the crest of the dune, a dark figure emerged. The kumakre was huge, easily the size of a truck.
“Are they going to fight?” Thalia asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The massive kumakre would tear Stabs to pieces. She grabbed Havik’s hand and squeezed. If releasing Stabs into the wild resulted in his instant death, then she’d happily clean his sand tank forever. He’d be a house monster. The new ship wouldn't be as tolerant of a monster scurrying down the halls, but Stabs didn’t like to be confined to one room. Maybe they’d find a harness for him and take him on walks.
“It is a female,” Mais said.
“That’s a female? She’s huge,” Thalia replied.
“She must be, to defend her eggs.”
The female kumakre called again. Stabs reared up on his hind legs and rattled his tail.
“She’s going to tear him to pieces. Stop him,” Thalia pleaded, tugging on Havik’s hand.
“I will not get between two kumakres in a mating dance,” he said.
“Mating! Stabs is a baby.”
“He is a juvenile ready to mature and healthy. His size will increase out of captivity,” Havik said.
The female kumakre and Stabs exchanged more chirps and rattles. Whatever had been decided, the female turned her tail and disappeared over the dune. Stabs followed.
The wind decided.
“If you love something, set it free,” Thalia said, echoing her mother’s words. Those words had felt cruel and mocking at the time, but Thalia understood the cold comfort that came
