Barbaric

Chapter Fifteen

(Jox's POV)

There was just...something about Delkele that kept my attention directly on him. I mean, I knew he was attractive, after all, I would have to literally be blind not to notice that fact. However...it wasn't just his looks that captivated me and made me act like some lovestruck schoolgirl. I mean, here I was, just staring at him as he ate, like some sort of weirdo. What bewildered me was the fact that it wasn't even anything extravagant, what he was doing, but something so mundane that literally everyone with a stomach did. Like come on, he was just eating, and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of him, or his lips that wrapped so seductively around the fork...ok, I'm stopping that thought right there.

"So Jox, you were saying?" The man I was creepily staring at asked, causing my cheeks to burn red as I cleared my throat and continued what I had been saying before I got...well, distracted.

"Asurah wants to place four safety shelters in each of our major cities; Aeris, Kiron, Lethidar, and Iysalis, and he wants them large enough to house about 300,000 people each. In addition, he's hoping we can place them about a mile under the surface. Which, honestly enough, could prove to be difficult with the ice layers beneath the snow. We're hoping that, with Naraka's adaptability and quick thinking, we'll be able to create a device that can puncture through the various ice levels below Glacida's surface."

Delkele paused for a moment, crimson eyes lowered in deep thought, before his gaze lifted and he nodded. "That should be doable, although, I hate to ask, but is Asurah going to be funding the creation of the device that will puncture through the ice? Naraka...well, isn't as financially well off, and I feel like we can accomplish more if Asurah is funding it."

I gave him a small, teasing smile, relishing the way those sunkissed cheeks darkened. "He's already agreed to fund the whole thing. After all, he's the one whose creating this for our people. So of course he's willing to, ah...how did Joseph put it? Break the piggy bank."

Delkele's brows furrowed adorably, a look of confusion flashing across that sharp, crimson gaze. "What the hell is a piggy bank?"

"I believe that is a place where humans store their credits. At least, that's what the books said," Emylle spoke up, causing Delkele and I to jump, the both of us having forgotten that she was even here. Her green eyes then flickered over to me. "Pardon me for intruding on your conversation, but you mentioned ice under Glacida's surface? How far does it go down, if I may ask?"

I resisted the urge to sigh, Emylle's presence becoming more of a nuisance, really. I mean, I swear every time I tried to have a conversation with Del, she was always somehow there, interjecting and putting her two cents into it. Whether it was to ask Delkele something, or to ask me something about Glacida, or even just to hear herself speak...it was really beginning to get on my nerves. And I know she was trying to be included, I mean, after all, she was on a completely different planet than she was used to all by herself...but I sometimes felt like she interjected into our conversations out of jealousy. Like she was jealous that Delkele was talking to someone that wasn't her. And I hated to break it to her, but Delkele was mine, so she needed to back the hell off.

Oh. Wow. Well, there was a thought. Delkele wasn't mine, per say...hell, I wasn't a hundred percent sure I even knew what we were, outside of friends that kiss and occasionally have lewd, steamy dreams about each other.

Gods, we really needed to have a conversation about our relationship, and what we wanted this to be. And preferably without little miss nosey-pants.

Ok, maybe I was being a little mean, but perhaps it was because I didn't like that Delkele was being forced to be engaged with this woman. Hell, I didn't like the thought of him being with anyone that wasn't me...and that thought honestly kind of scared me. After all, the last time I felt this way, I was betrayed and made a mockery of.

So with that last, fleeting thought in mind, I pulled myself back to the present, not wanting to come to any...realizations just yet.

"Well, there are about six different, ah, layers of ice that we know of, under Glacida's surface. Each one is about...well, if I'm right, they're about .7 miles thick. We're not sure how many more layers are after the sixth one, as we haven't yet explored that far down. Our equipment keeps breaking, or our blades get too frozen to move, after two layers, and we have to keep switching our equipment to get even further down. And, well, that gets incredibly expensive after a while." My attention turned towards Delkele, who was listening intently, "Which is why I'm hoping that, collaborating with your people, we can create something that will bypass those layers without any issues, not to mention carve out space big enough for the bunkers." I paused for a fleeting moment to catch my breath, watching as a wavy strand of red hair fell in front of Delkele's eyes as he nodded. And of course, I wanted to do nothing more than to brush those strands back behind those cute, pointed ears of his.

However, I somehow managed to control my urge to do so as I, instead, cleared my throat and awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. "Anyway, Asurah's willing to spend up to three hundred billion creds to get this done. So if there's something you think might help in this project, don't worry about the price. Asurah's got that covered."

I winced when Delkele practically choked on his drink, his eyes pinching closed until he caught his breath and stared at me. "Three hundred billion?"

I nodded my head, ignoring the way Emylle stared at the both of us. "He did want to put forth more, but I talked him down. I know he worries for our people, but it will actually hurt more than help if he spends the entirety of Glacida's worth on this project. So, I'm glad I was able to talk him down a bit."

Delkele's crimson eyes glazed over in intense thought, as if he couldn't comprehend having that kind of money at his disposal, and I really wanted to kiss away that furrow that formed between his brows. He took a breath, a fang gently piercing into the meat of his thick bottom lip, not quite hard enough to draw blood.

"Wow, it's incredibly admirable that your king is putting forth so much money to ensure his subjects are safe," Emylle spoke up in the awkward silence, a hint of sadness mixing with her voice, "my bambo would never put forth that much towards our people, even if it would keep them safe. He believes such funds would be better placed in weapon technology and furthering our militant strength."

I frowned, my gaze falling on the Eterian princess as she fumbled with her fingers, her eyes downcast. So Elphes didn't care about his people? Seriously? He would not even have a kingdom were it not for them, and even so, he would rather further his own selfish desires than make sure his own subjects were taken care of? Gods, I was beginning to hate him more than I already did, the more I learned about that narcissistic bastard. Ugh, I really couldn't wait to meet the jerk just so I could punch him in his smug little face.

"That's incredibly ignorant of him," I muttered after a moment, the anger swelling inside of me, "after all, he wouldn't even have a kingdom to rule over without his people. The fact that he'd rather fund research and development for his own selfish gain, over the protection and wellbeing of his followers...then he shouldn't even be in charge in the first place. A real king cares about his people, and what may happen to them. A real king would find better ways to make his people's lives easier and more comfortable. A real king wouldn't endanger them simply because he couldn't put forth the effort to better them." I shook my head, barely registering Emylle's gaping mouth, or Delkele's wide eyes at my words. Words I wholeheartedly believed, in fact. Elphes had no right to be king if he couldn't even find it in him to care about his people. Hell, that made him a selfish, vindictive bastard that needed to be taught a lesson or two.

And you know what? Maybe it will be sooner than later because I was going to convince Delkele one way or the other, to call off the engagement. Maybe that would bring the bastard here, and if he even tries to threaten Delkele or his people...well, I would have no problem teaching that jerk a thing or two. Preferably with my fists.

A/N: Ooooh snap, Jox ready to protect his man!! XP. Not really my favorite chapter, but you do get to learn a little more about Glacida, and how it's planet is structured lol. So, yay!

Anywhooter, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!