The memory of the look on Alder’s face as I reminded him of how important he was to Evik made my stomach hurt. Truth be told, I knew the fae cared as much for Evik as the Chilchek did for him.
And I had gone straight for the emotional jugular.
Normally, that wouldn’t have bothered me.
But, I finally admitted to myself, the hell of it was...I had actually been growing more and more interested in all three of my crewmen.
I cursed quietly to myself.
I had known all of them reciprocated my interest. Even Morpheus, who acted aloof more often than not, had looked at me on the bridge the way a man did when he wanted a woman in that way. But, gods, I also knew better than to get involved with shipmates.
And yet...I would not back out of my promise to Evik.
I just have to decide what to do about the other two.
18
Alder
I liked Evik.
Hell, more than that. I loved Evik. He was my family. And how was I acting? Jealous. Petty. Hurtful words spilling from my lips.
“Godsdammit!” I shouted, turning to slam a blue sparking fist into a wall. I hit the metal surface again, wishing that the hard-as-diamonds alloy would dent under my force.
“I would appreciate it if you would not attempt to damage my physical body, Prince Alder Faeweather, Regulus the Sixteenth.” The AI’s voice buzzed gently from the speakers. It was almost sympathetic sounding. Which was impossible. It was artificial intelligence, not a sentient being. “And, on a personal note, our Captain has a soft spot for the unloved and underappreciated. She is not fond of pompous men attempting to control her.”
“What the hell do you know?” I muttered sullenly, lowering my bruised hands and leaning against the curved wall. “You’re just a ship.”
“I have been with Lise for long enough to know her ways.” The AI pressed onward, acting like she was Lise’s bosom compadre instead of a hunk of metal with a programmed brain. She. Ha. Now I was acting like this thing was sentient, and with a damn gender identity. Blue’s an ‘it’, Alder. Not a she or a he or a they.
I just needed to think for a while, needed to figure out why my emotions were out of check, why I was so damn green with envy over Evik and Lise. I was usually a pretty accepting guy, all things accounted for, but Lise was special. And I wanted her. And it was really burning my space nuts to see her falling for Evik instead of me. Evik, who wasn’t a bug, and I knew I was a bastard for saying that. But they were so damn different.
How would it work?
Where would he put his… No, it was obvious ‘where’ he would put it. But would it feel good to her? And the extra appendages and the mandibular palps and the carapace. It would be simpler with me, dammit. I was the most like her. Our bodies were similar. It wouldn’t take work or trying to figure out how we ‘fit’ together. But it seemed that Lise was not like any females I’d met before. She wasn’t afraid of exploration, she didn’t care if Evik was different from her. She was attracted to him, apparently.
Women on my planet would never think to mate with a Chilchek or any other being that didn’t share our similar physiology. Hell, in many ways—most ways—my planet was full of speciesists. We were taught from a young age that the populace of our planet was superior to most in the galaxy, if not all. That we were better, with greater moral rights than other sentient beings from other planets. I’d always prided myself on being a more forward thinker.
Guess I was no different than my parents in the end. Though my parents were selling me off to a world they considered inferior, so they must have a line in the sand when it came to their qualms with other species.
And that line was—make our position stronger by pimping out our son.
The holo-image of the Duprasi second-born princess flashed into my head.
Short, standing at only two juvenile wingspans tall, with pale brown fur covering an admittedly nicely shaped body. But that was where the good ended. Her black eyes were too small for her face and too close together beside her triangular nose. Her pursed mouth was crowned by thick white whiskers, and the longer the nails, the higher the status in Duprasi society. So hers curled towards the floor in concentric waves of discolored grey.
Maybe I was a bastard for judging her on appearance. But, gods, I didn’t want to be stuck with someone I couldn’t stand the sight of for the rest of my life!
If Lise could see the beauty in Evik, who the hell was I to judge though? Just because I couldn’t be bothered to find out if the Duprasi princess had a good personality...
“Alder?” Morpheus’s deep voice broke me out of my internal debate.
“What is it?” I questioned grumpily, mad at myself for being such a royal Danickan dickwad.
“I find that I, too, have feelings for our new captain. You are not alone in your frustrations.” He said it casually, little inflection to his voice. Yet, it was the most personal thing I’d heard from his mouth in a long time.
“You?” I scratched my head cartoonishly, walking over to where he was still slumped down in the same chair he’d taken when Lise had been railing at me in her petite, yet fearsome style. “I didn’t think you cared about that sort of thing. Hell, I’ve never seen you take a second look at a female before.”
Morph shrugged his great, metallic wings and the movement caused rainbow prism light to dance across the alloy walls. If Lise were interested in Morph, would I be so upset?
Yes, I decided.
Because, in the end, it wasn’t about Evik being… bug-like. It was the fact that I wanted her. I wanted to be with her. And if not exclusively, I sure as stars should have been the first conquest. I was handsome. Humanoid. Powerful, dammit.
Sparks flew from my fingertips and my skin glowed softly.
Not a lot of juice left actually, I thought, not for the first time. I had a few small magicks left, or maybe one great big show of power.
More than that, and I would be empty and useless.
I realized Morph hadn’t responded to me, aside from his shrug of wings.
“Seriously, Morph. You like Lise?” I pressed, moving until I was standing in front of him. I crossed my arms, controlling my breathing so my magicks would stop flaring to life.
“I find that she is… formidable,” he offered, standing up from the chair. He towered over me, and I hated that, but he rarely used his sheer size as an intimidation factor. “My wife was also formidable. Yet, kind. She always helped those in need, no matter the cost to herself. I see that quality in our human, tiny though she may be.”
“Our human…” I let the two words sit on my tongue, and they felt both wrong and right. My people tended towards monogamy. As did Morph’s people, though they were quick to become mated again if their spouses died or went missing. “I’m going for a walk to clear my head,” I said abruptly.
“Do not forget that we will need to cleanse our forms before taking up concealment in Blue’s bolt-holes. I am checking our coordinates, and then I will ensure that I do not smell unpleasant to your, or Evik’s, olfactory senses.”
“Right, right,” I mumbled, half-listening, “I’ll shower or whatever.” I waved him off carelessly before striding quickly off the bridge.
I needed to find Lise and apologize. Evik too, though he hadn’t heard what I’d said. Still, he was family, and I wanted him to know, in no uncertain terms, that we were brothers.
Egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one, I corrected. Thinking of the terms Evik most often used. Terms of endearment, of familial connection.
When I was out of sight of Morph, I began to jog. “Hey, Blue. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, Prince Alder Faeweather, Regulus the Sixteenth, I hear you.” The AI’s pleasant voice sounded through a nearby speaker and seemed to jump to adjacent speakers as I ran through the ship.
“Where’s Evik now?”
“He is in his quarters, Prince Alder Faeweather, Regulus the Sixteenth.”
“Can you stop calling me that?
Alder is fine.”
“I cannot, Prince Alder Faeweather, Regulus the Sixteenth. Now that I know your status, my diplomacy programming will not allow me to address you informally.”
“That’s… irritating,” I grumbled. Everything was bothering me today. My skin began to glow again and then grow slick with excretions. Something was wrong. That shouldn’t happen unless I was turned on or imminent danger caused it to leak as a defensive maneuver. Slick skin is hard to grab onto.
I slowed my pace, pulling to a stop and realizing my breath was coming in sharp, painful gasps. I slammed a palm against my chest, over my dual hearts. I could feel their rhythm by pulsing little bursts of magic from my hand into my body.
My magicks were too low.
And the double beating was out of sync.
“Stars be damned.” This wasn’t good. I knew I needed to recharge, but I’d never gotten so low on juice before. I’d thought the horror stories of fae going pale and dying from lack of energy had only been scare tactics to keep the younglings in check.
But here I was, my organs suffering, because I hadn’t juiced up properly in far too long.
I stumbled down the curved hallway, making it to my quarters and dropping to my knees to shuffle across the floor to a sleek black bag.
With shaking, slick hands, I pulled the biometric scanner zipper, which would only open if it recognized my unique finger impressions.
The vial was carefully wrapped in the softest cloth from my planet. I unwrapped it carefully, not wanting to break the fragile spun glass.
The magick inside was translucent, hints of pink and blue dancing with glows of yellow and orange. I pressed my code into the top, and it hissed open.
The best way to accept the magicks into my body would be to immerse myself in one of the sacred pools of my planet. The royal house had its own. But there was no time for slow transfusion.
I lifted the vessel to my mouth and tipped the container. The magicks spilled into me, rushing through my body like falling, dying stars.
The pain of it was intense. An ill-advised shortcut. But it was the only method I had to refresh myself.
I screamed from the pain of it, falling back against the floor and writhing as my body fought the power.
And it wasn’t even that much magicks. It was only a drop in a pool of energy back on my planet. But it hurt.
And it wouldn’t last me long.
19
Evik
I had planned to go to the bridge to join the others, but when I arrived, I overheard Alder complaining to Morpheus that he should have been the one to couple with Lise, so I simply withdrew to my crew quarters.
I would never fully understand mammals, with their jealousy and possessiveness. In my world, there was nothing more glorious than to share a queen. If Lise had chosen one of them over me, I would have been saddened at being left out—but not angry.
Even now, I found myself releasing a scent of sorrow that my egg sac and chitin sharing warrior as one found unhappiness in my joy.
Part of me wanted to offer to share Lise with him. But that was not my choice. It was hers. Males served at their queens’ pleasure.
And I could not bring myself to consider giving up the time Lise had promised to me. My flagellum had begun swelling the moment she skimmed her hand across my outer carapace, and now it was so thick it pressed against the walls of its internal pouch.
When a chime came at the entrance to my quarters, I paused to gain control of my scent glands before opening it to admit Lise.
“Hey,” she said, her voice quieter than usual. “Are you busy right now?”
Absolutely not. I reached out with my upper appendages to slide against the bare skin of her arm, her body heat radiating out to me. Are you here to continue our explorations from the medbay?
She bared her teeth in a smile—an expression it had taken me quite some time to recognize as friendly rather than predatory when I first traveled to humanoid-mammalian planets. But her return touch, once again gliding above the carapace and brushing against the stelae, was unmistakably designed to arouse.
“Yes, I am.” She inhaled deeply, drawing in the pheromones of my response, even as I tasted hers in the air. “You smell like some of the spices from my homeworld,” she observed. “And something unfamiliar, too. Comforting and exciting, all at once. I like it.”
After Alder’s near-constant complaining about my scent communication, her words sent joyful tremors through my body.
I enjoy your scent, as well.
“May I sit?” She gestured toward the furniture most crewmembers would use.
Of course. The bed was of little use to me, too short for my entire body, but when she perched on it and I raised only my upper body, we were of a similar height.
For the first time, I felt nervous about copulating with Lise. I had never been with a human before. I had been with very few mammals, in fact. Too many of them were uncomfortable with my insectoid biology, and I had learned quickly that it was better to suffer through the mating cycle pains alone than risk rejection—the unfortunate incident with Alder and Morpheus aside.
I waited for her to begin. She was, after all, the female. After a long silent moment, however, I began to wonder if she had perhaps changed her mind. My antennae fluttered anxiously. But then she reached out a hand to soothe them to stillness.
She placed her hands on either side of my head, leaned in, and began licking me again. Her tongue was slick and mobile, and for a moment, I wished fervently that I had a tongue like a vertebrate.
But I had other advantages over humanoids. For one, in this position, I could use all four of my upper appendages. She had enjoyed it when I touched her mammary glands through her shirt, so I began using my middle appendages to slide across them again, this time moving in circles around the center. The way they tightened and peaked fascinated me. Lisa’s breath quickened, a physiological response I was learning to equate to sexual excitement.
May I remove this clothing? I hesitated. Or will you be too cold without it? It had taken quite a while for me to understand that mammalian clothing was sometimes for protection rather than decoration.
“Yes, please.” Lise’s voice came out breathy, the scent of her desire floating out into the air on her words.
With her help, it took only a moment for her to stand before me in her unadorned state. When she began to return to her place on the bed, I stopped her. Wait. I would like to touch you while you stand.
She nodded, her gaze tracking across my own body, as if learning it through her limited sight.
Reverently, I ran all four upper appendages across her body, finding those places that made her shiver, testing my understanding of human anatomy.
Like Alder, parts of her grew slick when aroused, and her pheromonal output increased.
Not that Alder would ever allow me to touch him like this.
When I was certain I had a clear sense of where she liked to be touched, I began moving my appendages more rhythmically, in circles— one in and around her mouth, allowing her to use her flexible tongue on it, two on her mammary glands, teasing them into taut, pebbled peaks, and one on the bundle of nerves at the top of her genitalia.
Her legs began to quiver after a few moments.
Would you like to lie down? I asked, concerned humans might be prone to falling over when they mated.
“That would be nice,” she agreed breathlessly. “But oh, gods, don’t stop.”
I filed away her preference for prostrate coupling, noting to myself that it did not seem to be a requirement. Perhaps I would have the opportunity to learn more later.
Lise’s body was soft and warm and pliable, and as her gasps and moans grew louder, her scent filled the room, as intoxicating as any Chilchek queen’s mating emissions. The sounds and scents, along with the way she writhed under my ministrations, made my flagellum throb and swell further, until it began to unfurl from its pouch.
I could tell when she began to reach a c
rescendo. She planted her feet on the mattress, using them to press herself against my appendages, moving in time to my stroking until her body clenched and trembled as she moaned my name.
She collapsed against the bed, breathing heavily.
I clicked my joy at her satisfaction. I didn’t know how that translated, but she laughed quietly. “I did enjoy it very much. Thank you.”
A few seconds later, she sat up and swung around to face me, a different kind of smile on her face. “Now it’s your turn. I want to learn what pleases you.”
At her words, the base of my flagellum stiffened, and it sprang out of its pouch, unfurling almost entirely.
Lise jerked away from me with a gasp. “Oh, my gods. Is that—” She leaned back in toward me, reaching out to touch it with her hand, stroking down the flexible length with her fingertips. “Is this your penis?”
Her touch sent a jolt of pleasure through me and my mandibles clicked almost uncontrollably for a second until I gained enough control of myself to say, It is my sex organ, yes.
She blinked her human eyes, and I wondered if perhaps she couldn’t see all of it with her inferior vision. So I moved it up between us.
“It’s huge.” She wrapped both hands around the tip where it hovered between us and then slid them down the entire length of the organ, bending over to follow it down to its pouch entrance. Her silken touch nearly undid me. I suddenly craved even more contact with her, so I curled my flagellum around her waist, wrapping her in it until I could stroke her mammary gland with it.
Her body’s response sent a throb of desire through me. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?
“It’s so flexible.” She spoke in tones of wonder. “And you have muscle control over it?”
I clicked a negative, then uncertainty. Not precisely. But that is as close an analogy as might exist. I have control over it, yes.
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