Nai'dqa stumbled back, almost giving away his position in the shadows as the voice of the hirini struck him with the force of a berserk zezena.
He had no idea what she was saying; his universal translator seemed to be unable to recognize her language, but he knew without a doubt she was weaving a spell meant to render him incapacitated. It wasn't that her language wasn't beautiful… in fact, it was too beautiful.
While he detested the soft way that the Kallutan spoke, her voice was musical in a way he had never experienced before. It wasn't soft, but neither was it harsh like his own language. It was smooth and flowed like the calmest of seas, making him want to approach just to catch one more word passing through her lips.
He felt his muscles tense as if he was preparing for battle. He watched, unable to move, as she pulled herself onto the sandy shore of the artificial lake, her voice calling him to her.
He knew that hirini rarely came out of water, preferring to lure their victims to a watery grave rather than on land where they were significantly weaker, but he didn't expect her to be unable to move on land at all.
In fact, there wasn't a single part of her that didn't stun him. Her mane was a deep rich shade of red, only seen in the deepest part of the vulkaan's on his home planet. It covered the creamy white skin of her back and parted to reveal two globes where her legs were attached to her body. While she shared the same color as the Kallutan people, she lacked the fur that covered them completely.
Instead, she seemed utterly defenseless; even the tips of her fingers were blunted down. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There seemed to be a weapon growing out of her arm, one that he assumed would be used to plunge into the neck of her victims, but it didn't seem to be that effective.
There was no way it would even come close to penetrating his skin, let alone any of the other species he knew of.
He continued to watch as she grew silent, her head slowly dropping to the sand beneath her. There were no horns on her head to protect it, and even the teeth she showed him seemed useless and blunt.
But her scent, holy Sky Lord, her scent…
Now that she was no longer in the water, Nai'dqa was able to get the whole experience right from the source. He felt himself bulking up, his horns and muscles growing bigger as if he were about to enter a battle.
This had never happened to him before, this loss of control, and he clenched his teeth, refusing to give in to the changes his body was attempting to make. Quickly, he backed away from the hirini and her scent before she sent him in a berserker-type rage.
The Kallutan had come across the only weapon that might succeed in taking out the Nycteromys in the known universe. He had to get back to his party and tell them what he had discovered. However, he couldn't just leave her there; the destruction she could cause any unsuspecting species that came in contact with her was immeasurable.
No, they had to get her out of here and kill her if necessary. She could not become a threat to their species. He wouldn't survive it.
----
Nai'dqa stormed into the audience chamber just in time to watch the general-turned-king be crowned. His upper lip curled back in a silent sneer as he studied the male for the first time in his life.
There was no way such a puny being could be a threat to him or the Nycteromys' people as a whole. But who knew under that harmless exterior lay the creator of the most destructive weapon he had ever come across?
Nai'dqa narrowed his eyes even more; his vision completely tunneled onto the enemy. He had to destroy everything here. Anyone who had come in contact with the hirini could have been infected by her. He had no idea how she reproduced, but if she did harbor a parasite of some kind then everyone in this room could become a threat.
The realization struck him, and he took a step back into the shadows.
"Your hearts are pounding," grunted a deep voice behind him. Startled, Nai'dqa suppressed the desire to turn around and skewer the male speaking to him. "Is everything okay?"
Nai'dqa refused to speak to the princeling, not sure if he could truly understand what he had come to understand.
"Your prince is speaking to you," murmured Ba'dqeel. "And there is no mistaking the heightened sense of emotions pouring off you. Something has you… unsettled."
He'dtaalh snorted as he placed a hand on Nai'dqa's shoulder. "The word you are looking for is fear. Something has the number one spymaster in the entire Nycteromys empire… scared."
Nai'dqa didn't bother to answer the accusations coming from the warrior beside him. He'dtaalh wasn't known for his intelligence outside of battle, and arguing with a fool was below him. Instead, he turned to the one male he knew would understand. "We need to leave. Now," he said to Ba'dqeel, raising his chin just slightly to the taller male.
Ba'dqeel stared at the male he had known since birth and nodded his head. "Then we leave now."