by Erin Raegan
I squeaked in surprise and jumped from the bed. Tahk shouted and reached for me, but I ran for the bathing room and slammed the door.
“Get out here, mate,” Tahk growled from outside the room.
“No, your fathers right outside the door and I’m naked,” I huffed and searched for the robe I left by the bathing pool a few days earlier. Of course, Isin moved it.
“I am partial to your bare form.”
I laughed and shouted for him to leave me alone. I wrapped a clean cloth around me and relieved my self on the square toilet-thing. They didn’t flush like they did on the ship, and it always reminded me of porta-potties. I refrained from asking where the waste went in the castle―there were some things a girl just did not need to know. But for all the Dahk’s advancements in space travel and healing abilities, it always amazed me how they lived so simply. Then again, us humans were destroying our own planet carelessly. The Dahk already had a dying star, and eventually, their planet would follow, so they were more inclined to take care of their home. Something more that humans could learn from them.
When I emerged, Tahk was dressed and standing in front of the partially open door. His body blocked Haytu from seeing me, so I ran to grab clean clothes and shut myself back in, dressing.
Tahk looked beyond frustrated when he saw me fully clothed, so I grinned at him and skipped out the door before he could make a grab for me.
“Daughter,” Haytu greeted me with a wicked grin. I flushed and followed him and Tahk through the castle. There was something disturbing about my father-in-law being so comfortable about his son's sex life. The Dahk were far more open about what happened behind closed doors than I would ever be. Our audience back on Dahk One proved it.
We met Uthyf in his office. He sat behind a large table with his arms crossed. “I have been waiting for you since you arrived.” He scowled at Tahk.
Haytu chuckled, “When you find yourself a mate, my King, you will see some things are more important.” See? I shifted uncomfortably. I was not a prude, but seriously, Tahk’s father?
“The Queen has been abducted.” Uthyf stood and slammed his palms on the table. I jumped.
“I am aware.” Tahk crossed his arms and glared back at Uthyf, cool and calm. I shifted guiltily. Tahk was worried, and obviously needed time with me, but Uthyf had a point. I shouldn’t have distracted him for so long. There were more important things.
“If you are aware, why have you not started the search.” Uthyf was pissed and clearly worried about the Queen. I swallowed heavily. I didn’t want to regret a moment with Tahk, but the King was doing a pretty good job of making me feel selfish.
“I have.” Tahk surprised the room. Haytu seemed the most surprised, and Uthyf dropped some of his hostility. “I have dispatched Ryt with a team. They left as soon as we arrived. I have also spoken with Wohn. They have not made any progress in their search for the assassin but are now aware of the Queen’s abduction and the possibility the assassin may be the culprit. They will search for her as well as Aryx’s slayer.”
“And you? Why are you not searching?” Uthyf crossed his arms again, and Tahk gnashed his teeth.
“You once served me,” he said, low. “Never once questioning me, and you do so now. Do you have so little faith in the Dahk that serve me, as well?”
Uthyf’s face stiffened, and his eyes narrowed. “I served you, as my brother requested, and because I was not King. You know very well my skills were wasted on your Council. You are as a brother to me. I have respected you and followed you through many battles, but I cannot follow you now as I once did. I am King, and you will answer to me as such.”
Tahk seemed to vibrate with fury, but Haytu just grinned like it was all very entertaining.
“Well, my King, I do not search for my Queen, because I will be returning to Earth.”
I gasped, and it echoed in the silent room. Haytu shook his head in disbelief, and Uthyf’s jaw ticked. We were going home? Oh man, I wanted that so badly. I missed Earth, Vitat cannibals and all. Okay, maybe not the Vitat, but I still missed it, and I was going crazy thinking about what was happening back there. I just knew if we went back, Tahk and I could find my mom. I knew it.
“You know why I do this.” Tahk held Uthyf’s gaze.
“Your Pythe is aware of the Galactic Council’s terms.” Uthyf’s eyes flicked to me meaningfully.
Tahk growled at him and spun to face me. “You told her? Why?”
“Why shouldn’t he have?” I asked him. Why did he want it kept from me?
“My yula, I did not wish to worry you. I will not let them enslave your species.”
“Neither will I,” Uthyf added flippantly.
“And why do you now have such a concern for the humans, beyond your brothers wish to save them?”
“Tahk, we had spoken of this before you left,” Haytu waded in hesitantly, he seemed taken aback by Tahk’s attitude. I was, too. I thought Uthyf and him were on good terms. Now it seemed something was coming between them.
“Yes, and the King made it clear his view was skewed, his opinion intolerant where the humans were concerned. Beyond the possibility of the Dahk finding a true mating amongst the humans, why would you risk a war with the Order?”
“Is that not enough?” Uthyf asked. I was growing more confused. Haytu and Uthyf had earlier made it sound like it was about repopulation. Not true matings. Why not come out and tell Tahk?
“No. A true mating is a blessing, but you know the resources it would cost to defend the humans long term for only the possibility of a Pythen mating.” Only? Were we so expendable to everyone? Only worth saving if they got something out of it? Now that Tahk was back, all my outrage from my meeting with the King was flooding back. Surrogates weren’t so bad a request, but, come on, we were dying. I couldn’t believe Tahk had that opinion. I glared at him. He sighed. “You know I do not feel the same, my mate. I speak only as the Dahk would.”
I guess. I mean I understood they couldn’t just start a war they couldn’t finish. Everyone needed incentive. But it still hurt more coming from Tahk than it had Uthyf or Haytu.
Uthyf and Haytu shared a private look.
They were being cagey. I didn’t understand why.
I was not going to let them yank Tahk around. If they didn’t want him to know, they never should have told me. “They want the humans as surrogates.” My word seemed to confuse him, and I shook my head in frustration. “They aren’t concerned about mating the humans. They just want us to procreate.”
“You would fertilize them? We are not the Chutary. The Dahk require a mating for procreation.” Tahk seemed shocked and appalled at the very idea of surrogacy. I had a hard time seeing the problem, and it made me feel bad. It’s not that I would just hand over every single female to the Dahk, but it seemed an even trade for our safety. If Uthyf and Haytu were to be believed, the women that agreed would be well taken care of. A lot of them might even welcome it after having suffered at the hands of the Vitat.
Uthyf walked from around the table and stopped in front of Tahk, “You said yourself we must evolve in these beliefs and practices if we are to survive. The humans offer a viable opportunity to ensure our growth.”
“Yes, through a mating, not to be used as cattle.”
I sort of wanted to hug him for that.
“Son, why do you fight this? The human females would be cared for, praised for their service. You must see how the opportunity would entice many who struggle to have dahkling.” Haytu looked to me with worry. I narrowed my eyes at him. He knew something, and I had a feeling he didn’t want me here to hear it.
“I am not so ignorant to not see it. But you are fools if you believe your Dahk would welcome them so easily. They already do not accept my mate. You have heard of your own Council's outrage at her and the other human's arrival. She must be guarded at all times for fear of a threat by my own Dahk!” Tahk huffed heavily. “Already her life has been in danger of being lost. Nonya’s House was outraged and d
isgusted by my mate. Their scorn only drove her anger further resulting in her sanity breaking.” I tried not to flinch. I knew the Dahk were wary of me, but I had no idea it had gotten that bad. “I had thought Uthyf against such things. Then I leave for such a short time only to return to hear of these schemes. And you speak to my mate of them? I have already heard of the Galactic Council’s plans to enslave the humans. I will not hear of my Dahk doing the same.”
Jeez, Tahk made surrogacy sound so bad. Maybe what I thought it was, was totally different from what the Dahk thought.
Uthyf scowled at Tahk and lifted his chin. “You think my Council has corrupted me.”
“Do you deny it? Who presented this to you?”
“Perhaps you should wait outside, daughter.” Haytu glanced at me again, his strange worry more obvious.
“No,” Tahk growled at his father, still glaring at Uthyf. “She stays. Answer me.”
“Gryo.” Uthyf spat and backed away, breathing heavily.
Tahk was quiet as he watched Uthyf regain his composure. When the King finally turned back around his voice was grave. “Our birth rate has grown too low. Aryx has kept our dire position from all but his closest healers. Gryo was made aware after you returned from Earth. The healers had been torn on whether to inform their new King about their dead King’s search for a solution. Gryo came straight to me. Aryx knew of the human's viability and had plans to enslave them, just as the Order plans to do. Not as I do.”
I stumbled back. No, no. He was wrong. This was all wrong.
“No, that is not the King I knew.” Tahk bared his fangs and stormed away. He stopped at the wall and braced his hands against it. “He would not enslave a species, I fought many wars for him, I freed many in his name.”
“I am sorry, Son, but he speaks the truth.” Haytu grabbed Tahk’s shoulder and squeezed. “Even I was kept in the dark. Aryx conspired with only Hull and those he deemed partial to him on the King’s Council. You were to liberate the humans from the Vitat, and Klando and Jirt were to intervene after you succeeded. They had orders―” Haytu stopped and shot me an apologetic look. “They had orders to begin enslavement the moment the last of the Vitat were destroyed.”
My breath snagged painfully, and I rubbed my chest from the shock. “An entire species? Dahk One’s large but there’s no way you could’ve caught all of the humans. There are billions of us.” I was shaking. I couldn’t believe what they were saying. The Dahk were sent to save us, not enslave us.
Haytu sighed and looked to me with a deep sadness I felt all the way to my bones. “There would not have been so many of you left.”
“No.” Tahk rumbled low. “Aryx could not have known the humans would survive at all. Too many could have been lost by the time the Vitat were beaten back.” Tahk shook off his father’s arm and walked to me. His face was grave. Knowing. I backed away, not ready to face the understanding in his eyes. Tahk looked stricken. I clenched my eyes, blocking him out.
I couldn’t un-hear Uthyf’s next words, though. They were too harsh, too painful.
“He sent the Vitat. Aryx facilitated the human invasion.”
Chapter 17
Tahk
My mate looked so broken I wished to gather her in my arms and flee with her. I myself was spiraling into a cavern of turmoil. How could I have misjudged my King so deeply? Aryx had been a kind and fair ruler. I could not accept this turn of character. There were pieces in this game that did not fit.
“Why not just invade Earth ourselves? The Vitat could have wiped out the planet. The humans have survived far longer than I had anticipated upon first reaching Earth, but they are weak and ill-prepared. Sending the Vitat may have eradicated the humans, thus leaving none for Aryx to enslave.”
“Would you have?” Uthyf asked me knowingly. “Would you have invaded and enslaved the humans if he had ordered you to?”
My mind was fractured in confusion. Would I have? I had slaughtered in the name of my King. Obeyed him as all Dahk should. But could I have enslaved a species in his name, when all I had known were our missions for freedom?
“No, Son. You would not have.” My father held his hands beside him, beseechingly. “The Dahk army is under your command. Aryx may have been King, but they follow you. He would not have had Dahk One―his army―aiding him, had he not withheld the truth from you.” He stepped closer. “You may be loyal, my son, but you are just, and honorable. You would not have done as he wished and Aryx would have found himself at odds with you.”
“After then? After he accomplished this? What would he have done then? I would have stopped my Council. They would never have had the chance to enslave them.” I would have confronted my King. Looking at my mate, I had no idea how fiercely I would have fought his plans before her. I would have opposed him, yes but after her? Finding my Pythe? I knew I would have fought my King. For her. For her home, her species. The thought nearly brought me to my knees. Yet still, if Aryx were alive, I would have opposed him, even if only for the many others I had freed in his name.
Uthyf shook his head. “We believe he had plans to bring you to heel, though we do not know what they were. After your Pythen mating, though?..” Uthyf trailed off. I would have not come to heel. The very thought caused me outrage. But Aryx would have used my loyalty against me. Urging me to see his reasoning. But after my Pythe? He would have had no hope of convincing me.
“Why not kill me?” My mate gasped as I spoke. “I was out of my mind during the mating rage, why not kill me, then?”
“We do not know, Son.” My father sighed and sat, scrubbing his skull. “Perhaps he wished to see if a Pythen mating was possible.”
“No, even if he had ordered you killed, who could have done it?” Uthyf glared at the table. “I would not have, nearly all of Dahk One is loyal to you, regardless of your mating. It would have had to have been Klando or Jirt, and neither of them are capable.”
“None could have taken you so off guard. Especially while consumed with the mating rage. Olynth perhaps is the only one with the skill, but he would never betray you.” Haytu stood, “We will never know.”
My mate shook her head and looked at us in confusion. “You’re saying those assholes Jirt and Klando were scheming to enslave us to make Dahk babies? That doesn’t make sense.” She wiped her cheeks angrily. “They were disgusted that Tahk had to mate me. No way would they be onboard with this.”
My mate made a valuable point. Uthyf and I exchanged frustrated glares.
“Mating maybe, perhaps Aryx had a similar plan as you do, Uthyf.” My father paced the back of the room.
“Regardless, they will be brought here, and I will beat the answers from them.” Uthyf pushed off from the table.
“What of my Council now? Are they aware of the change in plan? Or do they sit on my warship still scheming to enslave the humans?” I could not look at Uthyf. I kept my eyes on my distressed yula. She was angry, shaking with emotion. I did not approach her. I worried my arms would be refused. My own Dahk had planned to betray her.
“I have not made any in Aryx’s plan aware of my knowledge. Hull continues on as if nothing has changed, no doubt. He would be communicating with Klando and Jirt, though I have no reason to believe they would think enslavement would be accepted by me.” Uthyf spoke, his words grated with frustration.
“If they still follow through with Aryx’s orders, it is because they plan to eliminate you,” I told him.
“We are aware of the threat.” My father added.
I scoffed and turned to him. “If you are aware, why do you not slaughter them all?”
“You know we cannot without having all of Home World turn on the King.”
“So, you wait for them to come for you then?” I asked Uthyf. I could barely look at him without baring all my fury for him to see. He may not have been a part of these deceptions, but he schemed on his own instead of running his sword through those who did.
“You know me better, Tahk.” Uthyf scoffed and thumped into his s
eat. “Hull and the others are being watched.” The King’s exhaustion was clear. “I have sent a team with Dyadus. They will remove your Council upon arriving and return here with them.”
“Who have you sent?”
“Ignyt.”
The warrior was fierce, and one of my own. The Council would not come easily, but the old fools had no hope of avoiding Ignyt and his crew. They had trained under the old Commander and Wohn. “I would speak to him.”
“Of course.” My father murmured placatingly. He had a lot to answer for, he and I would discuss his secrecy on our own.
“Now that it is settled, do you see why you must remain here? Our King needs your protection, and our Queen must be found.”
I glared at my father. Nothing was settled. I would not forget their plans to use the human females but now was not the time.
“I will stay and deal with the King’s Council, but once the Queen is found I go to Earth to ensure their survival. I will bring every one of them here if it means keeping them from the Order’s clutches.”
My mate blinked droplets from her eyes and chuckled in disbelief. “You are―I don’t even know anymore, but you can’t do that.”
“No? You do not have faith in your Pythen?”
“Of course, I do, but we wouldn’t all fit on your ship.” Her words broke, and she ran to my arms. I sighed in relief and clutched her close.
“As daunting as that task would prove to be, you cannot. Humans will remain on their planet, for now. We will decide what to do once the Order sends their envoy.” Uthyf said, watching Pehytohn carefully.
“It will be too late then.” Peyton scowled at him. “What about your allies?”
I looked between them in confusion. “The Guhuvin’s will not aid us in this. I have spoken to the King. They hold their position in the Council too closely.” I did not talk of the Guhuvin King’s plan to watch the Council. I would ponder all I had learned from him before speaking to Uthyf more privately. “They would not risk their peace with many members of the Order, and the Chutary will not bother, they would avoid such a war.”
