\u201cYou should not take that smuggling job,\u201d Kaur continued, either unaware of her disgust or ignoring it. \u201cStay here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaau li cursed herself again for setting foot on the Star Wraith<\/em>. She should have disappeared when she had the chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour offer is tempting. But Kaur,\u201d she said, looking him in the eye. \u201cYou know how I like to make my own way. I\u2019m very independent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the scientists who want the arthenium are building an army, I will have to learn how to deal with it. You have been invaluable to me, and I request that you stay by my side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat if they are just scientists out to make history?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKali,\u201d he said pityingly. \u201cNo one goes to that much trouble if they don\u2019t have practical uses in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His condescending tone irked her, but she didn\u2019t have time to be offended. She needed to convince him that her staying was a bad idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaur pulled her close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaau li panicked, hoping he wouldn\u2019t feel the stolen handset within her robes. He kissed her, but there was no feeling in it. Kaau li fought the urge to gag, not from the kiss, but from being surrounded by the floating magic users\u2014his wives<\/em>\u2014and the fear of her theft being discovered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Kaur released her, Kaau li smiled up at him, keeping her gaze steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can be as independent as you want on the Star Wraith<\/em>,\u201d he said. \u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He removed a ring from a chain around his neck. It was a heavy gold band, with his symbol, a slashed flag, etched into the black stone at the top. \u201cWith this ring, you will have authority aboard this ship. Power. No one will dare cross you if you are wearing it. But if they do, or if you feel threatened in any way, press the stone down. It will trigger an alert sent directly to me. No matter where I am. Even from across the empire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaur held up his left hand, where a similar ring adorned his pinky finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaau li gasped. He had really thought this out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had them specially made for us,\u201d he said, misinterpreting her dread for awe. He took her right hand and placed it on her index finger. \u201cNow, you will feel safe. And part of the clan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Kaau li felt anything but safe. Her heartrate sped up as she thought of being trapped forever on this cursed ship. More than ever, she wanted to flee. Although the handset in her pocket put her in danger, she was oddly comforted by its weight in her cloak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaur took her hand. \u201cYou are going to enjoy the arena, Kali. I\u2019m glad you are here on this day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kaau li felt anything but safe. Her heartrate sped up as she thought of being trapped forever on this cursed ship. More than ever, she wanted to flee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/machinations.wilhelminakirk.com\/machinations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}