“True,” Lucy agreed, remembering that was one of the bonuses if things didn’t end up panning out. “The money is a nice consolation prize, but I want what I read about in my romance novels.”
“I know what you mean.” Jessie held up the romance she’d been reading to showcase the cover. A book that was obviously a shifter romance, judging by the title and cover. “When I watched the interview with Lady Juniper and her husband, I practically melted into a puddle. The way he was looking at her—let’s just say I was on my phone trying to figure out how to go about getting my name on the list before they’d even answered the first question. I could practically see the sizzle between the two of them. It was like they’d walked right out of one of my books and were suddenly on camera.”
“That’s what I want,” Lucy said with a heartfelt sigh. “I want someone to look at me the way Juniper’s warlord looked at her. Like she hung the moon.”
“I want that too,” Rue agreed right before the shuttle shimmied as they landed. “For both of us. We deserve it.”
Chapter Five
“What are you doing here?” Sparx asked, stunned that Matrix, the Warlord of Gunninng, was standing before him.
“Good to see you, too,” his friend drawled sarcastically, tossing back his hood to reveal a smile that crinkled the large scar running down the side of his bearded face.
“Sorry, ‘Trix.” Sparx hit his fellow warlord on the back a few times in greeting. “It is always good to see you. I’m just unsure what brought you to Fyeir.”
“The females that have been chosen for Gunninng are not set to arrive for another month, so I thought I would come over and see how things work in Fyeir,” he explained with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “We’ve followed Juniper’s instructions as best we could in setting up women’s quarters, but I am unsure if that is enough. I want to see how you and your miners handle their arrival.”
“To learn from our mistakes?” Sparx asked dryly; not mad, as it was exactly what he would do in the same position.
“There has to be a benefit of going last. Plus, I wanted to use the Phaeton vehicle to time a run between our cities,” Matrix replied with a shrug. “How have you been, Colby?”
Sparx’s second-in-command snapped to attention at the question. “I’ve been well, sir.”
“And your wound from the byorin?” Matrix asked, referring to the injury Colby had taken on their last group hunt.
“Healed and no lasting problems, sir.”
“Good.” Nodding at the young man, Matrix turned his attention to Sparx once again. “Do you want company back to the gate? I wouldn’t mind the walk after being cooped up in that vehicle for the entire morning, and there are some things we should discuss.”
“That sounds good.” Sparx turned to excuse Colby. “Head back to the city and make sure the rooms are perfect for when we arrive. Have the kitchen warm mead and bring it to the first gate as a welcoming drink for the women to help chase the chill away.”
“Yes, sir.” After handing over the cards he’d been charged with delivering, Colby gave them a short bow and jogged back the way they’d come.
“What’s going on?” Sparx asked, cutting right to the point.
“Listen,” Matrix began as they fell into step in the direction of the gates. “I don’t know about you, but Gunninng is less than pleased with the agreement that K’hor signed on behalf of Djaromir.”
“Our displeasure with the terms he negotiated does nothing more than waste our time and energy.”
“Only ten women per Earth month, Sparx? You agree that is a reasonable number when our race totals in the thousands of males searching for mates?”
Sparx placed a steady hand on Matrix’s shoulder at the sound of anger he could hear plainly in his voice. “Calm, ‘Trix. While I agree the number is nowhere near the amount I wanted it to be, it is still ten more females than we had before. Djaromir is so desperate at this point that I cannot see being ungrateful for those chances.”
“They’re offering us scraps for the amount of ore and jewels we’ve already shipped to their planet.”
Sparx rubbed a hand down his face. He understood the frustration that Matrix was voicing because he felt the exact same.
On one hand he could only imagine how hard it was to get volunteers. He didn’t know what it was like on that planet for women, but making the decision to leave all that is familiar had to be more than difficult. The warlords had been told that the Phaetons guaranteed their volunteers a stipend, a large monetary settlement the brides could receive for their troubles if things didn’t work out. They figured it was only fair for Djaromir to do the same. They understood the women’s need for security, in case they went back to Earth without a mate.
Not that he planned on letting that happen.
If he had his way, they would be able to find every single available female that arrived on Djaromir a mate. Especially if they were only allotted ten at a time.
“Patience, ‘Trix.”
“I hate being told to be patient,” the other warlord snapped, his boots stomping as they walked to meet the women they were talking about.
“How does Gunninng fare?” Sparx asked as they approached the second gate. Moving to the levers on the side of the cavern, he began to trigger the weights that would swing the gate open for them to continue on.
“Gunninng fares as it always has,” Matrix answered, bracing himself to move one of the levers on his own. Pushing with a grunt, he gave Sparx a look out of the corner of his eye. “Steady and strong.”
“And the brides that mated with your men? How are they?” Sparx asked curiously, wondering if they’d voiced any complaints regarding life within the tunnels.
“They’ve settled as much as we could expect. The only wish
