Argurma Monster (The Argurma Chronicles #2)

Chapter 9

Zoreth returned to the cabin, exhaustion hounding his steps, and came to a stop just inside as he caught sight of the sleeping pair strapped to the chair. Circumventing the gravitational pull of decaying planet had been enough of a chore, but he had the misfortune of running into some other issues in exiting the solar system that can kept him tied up for much longer than he had anticipated. It left him feeling depleted. But now that feeling was completely replaced with unreasonable envy.

His mandibles clicking rapidly with his annoyance, he strode into the room, pausing only briefly when Talech opened his eyes. He took a moment to study the male as he approached. The glowing cybernetics along his cheeks were badly damaged, and he wondered what affect it had on his ocular systems. It was a wonder that the male was blind if not worse. The grafted metal horns were attached to some reconstructed systems implanted where they were never intended that formed a picture of complete chaos.

“Do they ever pain you?” he asked, nodding toward the horns.

Talech regarded him for a long moment in consideration before answering. “At first. They have fused with the nanos reinforcing my skeletal system now.”

“You have retained this data?” he asked, surprised.

The other male’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and Zoreth could see the flicker of confusion within them as the male tried to access his memory banks. His muscles jumped slightly in reaction to the strain and Beverly responded in her sleep, her hands stroking the arms curled around her in her sleep. Immediately the male soothed and shrugged in a very humanlike gesture. With his fractured systems, it seemed that he was adopting Beverly’s mannerisms. Even the way he often smiled was not in a manner of an Argurma. He was dependent on her a lot more than Zoreth expected.

“The data comes at times,” Talech replied. “It is unpredictable.”

“I process this,” Zoreth rumbled and drew up to the side of the flight seat. “I am preparing to release you,” he warned.

“Do not provoke me and I will not attack,” his rival replied in kind.

Zoreth huffed but bent to initiate the release. His eyes never left Talech as he did so, however. He did not entirely trust the male to not attack if he believed it to be advantageous given his current state. Remarkably, the male kept his word and merely stood with the female in his arms. He barely glanced Zoreth’s way as he strode directly to the bed and gently laid Beverly in the center of it.

“She is tired,” Talech needless explained.

“Are you going to be stable with this sleeping arrangement?” Zoreth asked. “I will not relinquish my place as long as you are here.”

Talech chuffed as he slid into bed at her left side, his long metallic spinal limbs folding in against his back as he closed his eyes. “You are no threat to me.”

Zoreth bristled, his vibrissae puffing out around him as his mandibles splayed aggressively. “Are you saying that I am unworthy of Beverly?”

The male briefly opened one eye to direct a dismissive look in his direction before letting it slide shut as he rested his jaw against the top of her head, his mandibles stroking through her hair. “No. I am telling you that you cannot get rid of me.”

Zoreth stared at him, infuriated, his mandibles expanding and closing in anger. Unfortunately, his fury was lost upon his rival because the male fell asleep quickly, leaving him without an audience to witness his challenge. He stared down at the sleeping pair, his vibrissae rattling as they twitched. Still no reaction. He stepped away to the other side of the bed, his head snapping around to cast a suspicious glare in Talech’s direction. The male began to purr in his sleep. Shaking his head, Zoreth huffed quietly to himself as he dropped into bed at Beverly’s other side.

This was strange beyond even his most extreme calculations. Grunting, he closed his eyes and curled into the female at his side. He would find a way to deal with Talech later.