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LANTA SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the floor of Payton’s office and rolled the ball to the other side of the room. Jack took off after it, tripping over his paws in the process. When he finally scooped it between his massive jaws, he ran back to her and dropped the wet ball in her lap. Lanta giggled as she picked it up and repeated the process.
“But why are dogs called ‘Man’s best friend?’ Why can’t they be a woman’s best friend too?” She’d spent the last hour rolling around the floor and tussling with him. She wanted Jack to be her best friend too.
Payton let out a grunt. Lanta glanced up to find her slumped over her desk. Her head looked heavy in her hand, which was propped up by an elbow wedged against the table. Payton flicked her free hand through the air, pushing files she’d said bored her into Chikondi’s case load for review.
“It’s just a saying. Dogs are everyone’s best friend.”
Jack dropped the slobbery ball into her lap again. “Too bad you don’t have a pair. I would’ve liked to have had one.” Lanta rolled the ball and Jack galloped after it. “Although I know I could never have a pet anyway. I’m away from home far too often.”
“If you had a boyfriend or something you could get one and have him pet sit while you’re working.”
“Boyfriend,” Lanta said slowly. “You mean a mate?”
Payton chuckled and leaned back, giving her eyes a rub. “Something like that. Oh! I think I found out who your guy is. I know you told me to leave it alone, but I couldn’t. I can arrange a formal meeting if you want. Please say you want.”
“Payton...”
“Please let me do this for you, Lanta. You don’t have to bump uglies with him or anything. Just get to know him. You never know what it could lead to.”
“What would be the point? Melis, I mean the Kgosi will pick his mate soon and Una, Elkah and I will be on our way.”
A smile tugged at Payton’s mouth. “You don’t think he’ll pick Una?”
Lanta chuckled and shook her head. “Ah, no. Besides, if he did, Elkah and my services still wouldn’t be needed any longer. The palace security would take over.”
“You’re right about that. These days I can’t even walk to the bathroom without tripping over security. But seriously, let me hook you up. You deserve a little fun in your life.”
She was having fun. A lot of it. The thought of how much fun she was having with Melis made her cheeks burn.
Payton smiled and leaned forward. “Lanta. You sly dog. You’ve already hooked up with him, haven’t you?”
Embarrassment made Lanta hide her face in her hands. “No. Yes. No.”
“You can’t deny it. You’ve got crazy-ass braids in your hair. A Ngonyama has been playing in it.” She rapped her knuckles on the desk. “Details!”
Lanta’s hand went to her hair. She hadn’t re-styled it from when Melis had braided it the night before. The three braids in her hair, while not her first choice in hairstyles, was cute, only because he’d done it. “I can’t. I just can’t. Can we just forget about it?”
“Ab-so-lute-ly not. Tell me.”
“Promise not to tell anyone. If anyone finds out I could be fired.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” Payton made a motion across her chest that Lanta didn’t understand. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
No wonder every other species found humans strange.
Lanta sighed and dropped her hands. “It’s not the waiter.”
Payton waggled her eyebrows. “Intrigued. I am.”
“It’s the Kgosi. I’ve been spending time with Melis.”
Payton’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened with shock. But the sharp intake of breath came from behind Lanta. She turned around to see Elkah standing in the doorway looking just as shocked as Payton.
“Elkah. I...” Lanta scrambled to her feet.
“You weren’t answering your comlink so I tracked you using the location services. It’s time for you to escort Princess Una to view the ballroom.”
Lanta tapped her comlink. It had accidently been set to silent. Probably when she was wrestling and playing with Jack. “I-I’m sorry,” was all she could say.
Elkah regained control of her features. Although they were devoid of emotion, Lanta could only guess what was going through Elkah’s head. “Return to the suite so you can do your duty.”
“Elkah.”
Elkah didn’t respond. She turned and left. Lanta stood in the middle of the office without a clue as to what to do next.
“Lanta,” Payton said softly. Lanta found herself turning to face Payton. “Has Melis mentioned a true lifemate to you?”
Lanta shook her head as tears began overflowing her eyes.
Payton cursed under her breath. “Melis is looking for a mate who can—”
“I know Payton,” Lanta said. Her voice shaking as she talked. “I’m not naïve. You told me to have a little fun and I decided that’s what I needed.”
Payton watched her with somber eyes. “How much trouble are you in?”
“A lot.”
* * *
“YOU’LL OUTLINE YOUR vision and plan formally to them. We’ll hear their concerns. We’ll present our evidence that one of them is involved in an assassination attempt. Then send them on their way,” Themba said in a low voice to Melis.
They’d decided to use the conference room his father had favored when he was alive. Melis thought the other Kgosis would feel more at home and relaxed at being in a place that hopefully held fond memories for them. Melis himself was seated in his father’s old, well-worn chair and Themba was in the chair Melis had once occupied as the heir.
For this meeting, they’d decided a more intimate approach was better. If the other Kgosis didn’t have an audience, they were less likely to feel the need to become overly boisterous or pompous. The advisors were patiently waiting in Melis’s office to be called if needed and the guards were positioned outside the doors.
Melis hadn’t wanted the other Kgosis around his guests, but ever since he’d agreed to this meeting, the attempts on his and his guests’ lives had ceased, and he’d been able to enjoy peace and quiet. Now, the hard part would be to get them to agree, or at least provide a compromise to his vision.
Imir, Yolto, and Ammeal filed in. Noticeably, there was one Kgosi missing. He had a much smaller kingdom, but he should’ve been invited as well. Melis’s vision affected them all.
Melis studied the other Kgosis. Ammeal was taller, like Melis. But he wasn’t as lean. Not because he was older and had gone soft and put on extra weight, but because that was how everyone from his kingdom was built. Both Yolto and Imir were shorter. Yolto was rounder and Imir was considered petite. Each of them wore the best garments produced in their kingdoms. The merchants who’d made the fabrics and the seamstresses who sewed the outfits were no doubt proud to dress their Kgosi.
Melis waited patiently for them to take their seats. “Thank you all for coming. Is Rantu arriving soon? I would like to get started.”
Ammeal humphed. “He was not invited.”
Melis turned toward Yolto. “You said you would take care of the arrangements. He should’ve been invited.”
Yolto made a rude noise and turned away. “Rantu’s kingdom is small, inconsequential. We can inform him of our discussion.”
“It’s a shame he isn’t here in the flesh,” Melis said. “I wanted you all to meet our esteemed guests before departing.”
Yolto glared at Melis. “Our guests? They’re outsiders that you wish to bring onto our world.”
“We have many outsiders on Ipakethe,” Melis ground out. “Some even call Ipakethe home.”
“What you propose is unheard of! You wish to not only breed with an outsider, but plan to make her your Queen!” Imir’s voice thundered.
A lesser Ngonyama might’ve cringed or grown fearful of the aggression shown, but the outburst didn’t faze Melis, and Themba’s unmoving form by his side told him it hadn’t scared Themba either.
“You all agreed to meet here so I could formally discuss my vision for Ipakethe and our kingdoms—”
Ammeal leaned forward and stabbed a finger on the conference room table. “There has never been an off-worlder royal. That was one thing we had an understanding about.” Ammeal made it a point to glance around to the other Kgosis. “We’ve always kept our royal bloodlines pure, until your heir, that is. If a commoner wants to pollute his bloodline with a lesser species—”
He was cut off abruptly by Themba’s deep growl, which grew louder and louder. Melis didn’t attempt to calm or still him. He could imagine how he would react if someone were to speak ill about his true lifemate. One rude word about Lanta and Melis could picture himself sliding across the table to rip Ammeal’s throat out.
“I would stop talking about my brother’s true lifemate if I were you, Ammeal. Besides, none of my guests or my sister are considered a lesser species. Everyone I’ve assembled here in some way can help us—all of us—with the application to have Ipakethe recognized as a Class 5-ii planet. The mate I choose will help us forge alliances and important relationships, which will strengthen Ipakethe and the Ngonyama species.”
“If that price comes at letting someone of non-Ngonyama blood rule one of the kingdoms, then we don’t agree,” Imir huffed.
Melis tried hard to check his anger, but the more they talked, the angrier he became. “You don’t agree? You would rather we never advance as a species? As a planet? Why did you come here if you’re steadfast against the idea? I thought you wanted to hear me out?”
“We came here to let you know that we forbid this to go on any further,” Yolto punctuated his words by slamming an open palm on the table. “Your father was much easier to work with. He understood the importance of tradition. He died before his time and before he could properly train you on what it means to be a Ngonyama royal.”
Anger boiled through Melis now. It took all his strength to contain it.
“My earliest memories are of my father explaining to me what it meant to be Kgosi.” He was surprised at how calm he sounded. “The duties of being Kgosi are ingrained in everything I do. I couldn’t eat a simple snack without being told the significance and the consequences of my chosen meal. My father taught me, and he taught me well. He also taught me that the Ngonyamas aren’t better than any other species and I’m no better than the gardener. We all have a duty, a job, to do and mine just happens to be the Kgosi of the bu Kumkani Kingdom.”
“But—”
Melis raised his hand. “If you mention my father again, I will make your mate a widow.”
Yolto growled low and deep. He leaned over the table, half-rising. His eyes squinted as he glared. “You dare threaten me, kit? Whatever your father taught you wasn’t enough, especially if you think you can win a fight against me.”
Sensing the threat, Melis rose slowly. He kept his gaze on Yolto, tracking his every move. “I warned you.”
Yolto chuckled. “Your warnings mean nothing to me. Everyone else thought they could reason with you. I knew it was a waste of time. A Kgosi who allowed his heir to marry a human,” he spat out the last word, “doesn’t deserve to be a Kgosi any longer.”
Themba growled and erupted from his seat. Melis launched across the table with claws extended and gripped Yolto’s neck. He flipped Yolto to his back against the table. Melis locked his elbow, pinning Yolto. Yolto pummeled him in the sides. Although he was older, Melis felt every punch battering his ribs.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but if you continue to disrespect my father and sister in our palace, I will make good on my threat,” Melis said through his teeth.
Yolto glared at him, then a sinister smile stretched his lips. “It’s not your father or the human, I disrespect, but you. You or your brother will never be the Kgosi your father was.”
A knife suddenly whizzed past Melis’s head and embedded in Themba’s shoulder. Themba ripped it out with a roar. Pain burned in Melis’s side then across his throat. Warm liquid dripped down his chest and splattered Yolto. Melis caught the gleam of metal from the corner of his eye. The metal slashed toward his throat again.
Melis released Yolto and ducked while turning his body toward Imir, his assailant. He extended his claws and pulled his arm back. With all of his force, he punched through Imir’s abdomen, grabbed at everything his hand could hold, and ripped the entrails from the hot body cavity.
Still gripping the knife, Imir looked down. His eyes widened and his mouth hung agape, as his guts and blood spilled from his body. A second later Imir’s eyes fluttered closed and he dropped, a dead heap, on the floor.
Yolto scampered out of Melis’s reach and pointed to Imir’s body. “You killed one of your own!”
The door opened and security burst into the room, surrounding the other Kgosis.
“Imir attempted to assassinate Melis!” Themba roared.
“He was trying to save me from your crazed Kgosi!” Yolto yelled back.
“Detain Yolto!” Themba ordered.
Someone slapped a bandage across Melis’s neck and applied pressure. The thundering noise that bounced off the walls dimmed, then blackness took over.