PEARL

For the past few days, every step I made was shadowed by silent, unnerving Enuki servants who bowed whenever I walked into a room. Two guarded my door, and it was unsettling.

I could leave my room, but not go outside; not until Dumuzi felt it was safe enough to do so. As terrified as I was about the prospect of Ona being out of prison, he didn't have to tell me twice. I never saw the Eddu, the other aliens that were supposed to be here.

Probably because Dumuzi said that they were invisible unless they wanted to be seen. They were in the skies, watching over the palace.

Dumuzi was absent every day. But sometimes, I awoke to find his lips on my forehead and fingers skimming my stomach. I was always too groggy to talk to him, to ask him to stay.

I missed him. I knew he was busy because of what happened, but this was getting ridiculous. It was clear he wasn't leaving the council. The more time he spent away from me, the more antsy I got.

The guards never spoke to me or answered any of my questions.

Yesterday, I left my room, but quickly retreated to safety when sounds of agony came from somewhere upstairs. Dumuzi had told me one of his men had gotten hurt when Ona escaped. I hadn't seen Ogrik since the entire ordeal, so I could only guess that he was upstairs tending to him.

The thought made me sick. Whatever injury it was, it must have been serious.

Thankfully, I wasn't totally alone with myself. François came to see me every day, keeping me updated. Because of the Eddu being here, we were well-guarded. I had asked her how they were invisible, and she practically said:

Long conversation about dimensions. Shadrach might dumb it down for you in an easier way. It is very hard to explain.

I thought that was weird, but whatever.

Since things were calming down, why hadn't Dumuzi come to see me?

"Screw it," I grumbled, and pulled open the heavy wood door. I stared into the side of one of the Enuki guards, clearing my throat. "Where is Dumuzi?"

One inclined their head in my direction. Biting my lip, I slid through the gap in the door.

"Take me to him?" I asked.

They exchanged glances. That probably wasn't in their orders, but I would not back down. He had spent too much time away from me; I knew he had a lot to do, but the least he could do was not show up while I was unconscious.

"Fine, then I will go find him myself."

Hands balled, hair ratted, and sweaty, I stomped down the hallway, knowing they couldn't touch me unless I was in danger. In their culture, touching a pregnant woman that wasn't yours was a serious offense. Dumuzi had told me about this.

Maybe I could use that to my advantage.

A guard blocked my path, gazing down at me with steely grey eyes. His skin glowed in the moonlight filtering in through the tall planes of glass, and his silver, shiny cloak brushed the floor. The guards were shorter than the council and not as built with muscle, but they were still imposing. "Counselman Dumuzi is busy with personal affairs. He cannot be disturbed. Please return to your room."

I frowned, shifting uneasily at his dead tone. "Where is he? I think he can spare a few minutes."

I was probably being idiotic right now because I knew Dumuzi was dealing with important things. Not only that, but I did not know where he could be. There were too many doors, too many floors in this place.

The Enuki cocked his head to the side at me. I knew what that meant: alien communication. "Is it of grave importance?"

"Yeah," I lied.

The Enuki nodded and walked, motioning me to follow.

I followed him through long, glistening corridors, eyeing the hanging pieces of glowing rocks that curled at the tip. We rounded a corner, coming to a stop at another long hallway with windows on one side and mirrors on the other. Our footsteps echoed. Mine, clumsy, and the guard's, light and sure.

I gazed outside, taking in the sight of another garden with green and pink flora. I froze when I saw a large silhouette moving in the dark and flinched at the sounds of metallic clashing. My curiosity piqued, I moved quicker. It was hard to see through the pink petals falling off the trees, but it looked like somebody was fighting.

The guard came to a stop at two large, metal double doors. They opened with a wave of his hand. The clanking continued, and with it came the sounds of grunts. I stepped into the moonlight spilling in through the doors.

Two men were sparing.

Not just sparing, and not just men, either, because one of them was Dumuzi. My breath got stuck in my throat at the sight of him; in glistening, white armor, wielding a spear that buzzed at the tip with blue electricity. The other man was Shadrach, a fierce look of determination in his eyes. He held something like an axe in his hand.

Behind him stood many more Enukis, watching the exchange, clad in their own armor. With each blow, I flinched, because those had to hurt, regardless of the protection adorning their skin, and regardless of the transparent blue shields blocking advances.

The brothers dodged around each other with inhuman speed. Dumuzi's broad chest looked glorious, hugged by the armor. Still, to this day, I could not get over the fact of how massive these creatures were. Their weight caused the ground to shake; their clashing scraped at my ears, the buzzing of their equipment rattling my teeth.

Instead of running away in fear, I stood there like a damned idiot.

They obviously were too into their sparring to notice me standing there, gawking. I turned my head to look down the hallway—for the briefest moment—and saw something even stranger.

My gaze locked on a pair of brown eyes, with brown curls falling over an oval face. Their body was muscled like a warrior, and their clothes spoke of hardships. I did a double-take and realized that this person was...

Human.

My gasp must have been loud, because the brothers stopped their fighting. I felt both of their gazes on me, but I couldn't look away from this person, who crossed their arms protectively with a pucker between their eyebrows. They looked around my age but was shorter, and it was hard to tell if they were a he or a she.

Would it be rude to ask?

It would probably be even ruder to assume.

Behind them were two Enuki servants and Ogrik. Confusion planted my feet from under me, sowing my lips shut. The human took a tentative step forward, their eyes shifting around the hallway. They rubbed their arms and eyed the brothers who approached us. They dipped her chin and murmured, "Shadrach, you big, hard-headed demon."

My mouth popped open with shock. They just... they just called Shadrach...

A demon?

Why?

Did they know him?

"Pearl," Dumuzi said, moving to stand behind me. His hand fell to the small of my back as I stared at the other human. His metal-covered fingers were icy. "What are you doing here? You should not be around such violence."

I didn't respond. I was about to ask why the human was here and how they got here, but Shadrach got the jump on me from somewhere behind me.

"Ogrik, what is this? What have you done?"

I stood back, bumping into Dumuzi. He snared a hard arm around my midsection. He was panting, as was his brother, who stood a few feet away. Shadrach's green eyes seem to flare in the dark, unease apparent on his face. My gaze shifted between Shadrach and the human.

Their voice was small, thickened with an accent and feminine, but deep. "And to think I came to thank you for saving my life, but I see you have been avoiding me since I got here."

Shadrach said nothing, the silence in the room uncomfortable, until the large doors closed with a clank. His face went from confused to angry in a split second, only adding to the tense atmosphere.

"Veram wanted to thank you in person," Ogrik explained.

Veram stepped forward, their hands outstretched. Shadrach became motionless, staring down at them. Their eyes scanned his hard face for something. Whatever it was, they couldn't find it.

Shadrach's voice was full of warning. "You should have never come here."

Veram blinked, her frown becoming more apparent. Then they bared their teeth and snarled. "Fine, don't accept my thanks. Accept my anger. You stole my deer! That could have satisfied my village for weeks."

"It was sickly and tainted."

"The hide was not!"

His voice was cold, his face twisted with anger. "Go back to Earth. Go home! If your village knew you were here, they would kill you."

They recoiled as if someone had slapped them. Tears welled in their eyes. Ogrik opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Veram turned on their heel and ran. Shadrach grunted and pointed at Ogrik.

"You are a damned fool," he said, then hurried down the hallway and out of sight, leaving us all reeling.

Ogrik sighed, seemingly unbothered.

"What just happened?" I asked, looking up at Dumuzi, who seemed... unamused. "Who are they?"

"These are Shadrach's personal matters," he brushed me off, then turned to Ogrik. "Why would you do this to him? You know how he feels. You should send them home."

"I was only keeping my promise to them. Shadrach is entirely too stubborn and filled with self-loathing to see this clearly, so forgive me for intruding. They are his Sohme, and I'll be damned if I will stand by and watch this opportunity go to waste."

Oh, shit.

They are his mate.

I looked up at Dumuzi to see him frown. "That is not your choice to make. Order the men to continue their sparing. I will take Pearl to bed."

"What? No," I said, weaseling out of his hold. "I'm going to go find Veram. They look like they need somebody right now."

"You should stay out of this," he cautioned, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Are you hungry? Are you tired? Let's get you to bed."

I shook my head. There was no way I was letting an upset person cry themselves to sleep here. I hadn't seen another human besides François in so long.

"No. I'm going to go see if they are okay; humans need to stick together. Besides, you are always too busy to see me, so what's the problem?"

Dumuzi skimmed my cheek with his fingers. "I will make this up to you. But I do not think it is a good idea to get involved."

I made a face at him.

"I don't see the harm in it," Ogrik said, brushing his hands down his long, white jacket. "Another human may make them feel more comfortable here."

"They are not staying, Ogrik. Veram hails from a village that harbors animosity towards us, perceiving us as demonic beings of the apocalypse, and is not averse to resorting to aggression. You are to be tending to Chilits and his injuries—"

Ogrik placed his hands behind his back, squaring his shoulders. "He is comfortable and asleep. I will not be needed until dawn."

Dumuzi sighed, but I didn't care if he said no; I started moving down the hallway, weaving through Enukis to find out which room they went to. Dumuzi made a noise of disapproval, but he let me go.

"Upstairs and four doors down on the left," Ogrik said helpfully.

I nodded, feeling Dumuzi's gaze hot on my shoulders.