Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 by Victoria Aveline (books to read for teens TXT) 📕

said, “Don’t wake her up before I get back unless you have to. I don’t want her thinking I left her with a stranger.”

Desy sank into the chair near his desk and waved him away.

Only a few steps from the medbay, Verakko froze, his feet unwilling to carry him any farther. He ground his teeth and forced his body to move forward.

Once outside the tower, he climbed into a cruiser, directing it toward the palace, and rehearsed what he was going to say. He’d spoken to the Queen of Tremanta once while Lily was being healed by Desy, and now knew that his mother was aware of the humans but had decided to wait to announce their existence to her people. He didn’t know why, though. The Tremantian Queen had also acknowledged that his mother didn’t feel the humans should be granted the same right to decline their mate if they were recognized. That meant if she learned about his marks, or even that his eyes had changed in recognition, she would force Lily to stay with him.

Verakko groaned and fidgeted in his seat. Asking to be assigned as her guardian, the citizen who’d slowly introduce her to the culture and customs of this world, would be a stretch. A male on the verge of his marriage wouldn’t have time to be anyone’s guardian. How could he convince his mother to allow it? If Ziritha found out about his request, she may even take offense that he’d put another female’s needs above his own. If she saw it as a breach of contract, not even his mother could stop him from being shipped off-world.

He dropped his head into his hands and let out a bellow, injecting all his frustration into it.

The cruiser door slid open, revealing the colossal staircase leading up to the palace entry. He’d always hated climbing these stairs as a boy, never failing to become winded by the time he reached the top. All the stairways in Tremanta moved, carrying their passengers to their destination. Even the spiral stairways in the antiquated bunker Lily had been held in were mechanical. But not the Mithrandirian palace.

Verakko’s mood soured further as he climbed the steps, baking in the sun. No, in his hometown, they wanted a grand entrance that tired its visitors so when they finally arrived at the top, they had to pause for a breath. Their strength symbolically leeching into the queen’s domain to remind them of who was truly powerful here.

Two guards, armed with razor-sharp shade spears and magnetic shackles, guided him out to a balcony and instructed him to wait.

Verakko stood on under a canopy and stared into the distance at the crystal mountains to the west. The glimmering crags of crystal the mountains were known for glittered in the setting sun. He tipped his head, a sign of respect for them and for his father, now buried at the base of the mountain alongside his ancestors. He rarely thought of his father anymore, but when he did, it always made him smile.

His mother had been elected Queen when he was very young, but he still had memories of him and his father visiting her here. Verakko would always marvel at how powerful and stoic she appeared, towering over him in her glittering frocks. But his father would chuckle and comment on how nervous she’d seemed.

Verakko had never understood it, but his father had always had a way of reading her like no one else could. And as he’d grown older, Verakko had come to realize that she’d let him. Even though they hadn’t been married for years, they had still shared a bond. He tried to think about how his father had acted with her. The type of words he’d used to get her to agree to let Verakko focus on technology instead of politics. What gifts he’d brought her to convince her Verakko didn’t need to be monitored after his accidental fall from the vacant new city building. He couldn’t recall anything specific.

Then how had he persuaded her so often? Verakko thought about Lily and realized what it must’ve been. They’d cared for each other in their own way. Maybe his mother wasn’t as heartless as he thought, after all.

“Verakko,” a light voice called from behind him.

He turned, and his blood ran cold. Ziritha glided toward him, a polite smile curling her lips. “Ziritha,” he choked out.

“Ziri will be just fine. We’re about to be married, after all.”

Verakko licked a fang and wondered if it would be wise to explain why he was there before speaking with his mother. She was wearing a dazzling dress of pale pink that complemented her deep navy complexion beautifully. A gauzy bright peach fabric mokti draped over her throat and down her shoulders, morphing into the sleeves of her dress.

“Your mother should be along shortly. She asked me to greet you while she finishes her meeting.” Ziritha looked him up and down with a raised brow. “I was going to say how happy I am that you’re home and well, but you look rather ill. Is everything alright?”

Did Ziritha know about the humans as well? Verakko studied her silently. His mother did trust her. Would she have told her? “I’ve had a difficult few days,” he hedged.

The delicate clicking of shoes made them both turn.

“Son,” said his mother from the doorway, appearing as regal and reserved as always. Her deep teal skin, so like his own, was covered completely by a chin-to-toe vibrant purple cape. Verakko’s dread deepened. His father had always claimed he could asses her mood based on her clothing. Shapeless capes, no matter how fine the embroidery and ornamentation, meant she was struggling with something.

“Mother.” He dipped his head.

“I’m very glad you’re alright. After the Queen of Tremanta notified me of your abduction, I was unsettled.” She said the words, but her