Pythen Blessing: An Alien War Romance (Galactic Order Book 6)

by Erin Raegan

  Hylg and Ohta followed us into the air.

  Another long, freezing cold flight and I was officially done with flying. I hadn’t liked it before and I definitely was not a fan after the day I’d had.

  I didn’t know where we were and had never seen the city Ignyt flew into. We went quietly, staying to the shadows. This city wasn’t anything like Ilynda. It was not light and colorful. The trees were mushroom popsicles and the mountains were so coated in snow and ice that the natural lavender stone barely gave off a lick of light. The city was in a deep cluster of tall, pointed mountains. The Dahk’s homes were not beautifully formed like Ilynda’s or the castle and its city. They were rough and crude. Flickering blue light leaked out of cave holes in the sides of the mountains, and huts made of leather and wood peppered the ground.

  Ohta led the way to a cluster of three huts butting up against the side of one mountain. Nothing about them made them particularly different from the other huts in the city, but Ohta went to them as though he had zeroed in on those huts in particular.

  When we landed between one hut and the mountain, Ignyt faced the mountain and walked along its base.

  “Where are they?” Hylg asked quietly.

  Ohta looked at the sky. “We lost them entering the city. They’ll be looking all eve.”

  I looked up, my teeth chattering. I blinked the ice from my lashes and searched the sky. I hadn’t even realized we were being followed.

  Hylg grunted and shoved aside an enormous boulder. Ignyt ducked into the opening revealed and climbed down a crude stairwell. The lower we descended into the mountain, the warmer the air became.

  Finally the stairwell widened into another cavernous room, this one clearly inhabited. Several Dahk stiffened at our entrance and shot our group guarded expressions.

  Stalactites dipped from the ceiling, but the floor had been smoothed out and held several chairs, benches, and stone tables. Over twenty Dahk surrounded one table covered in food. My stomach growled, but I was so cold, the smell of the food made me nauseated.

  “Ignyt? Is that you?” An older male stood and limped over. His right leg was heavily scarred, large chunks missing from his thigh.

  “Dyrn.” Ignyt nodded to the male. “We seek refuge.”

  “He has a human!”

  Someone gasped. The crowd murmured, and their chairs scraped back as they stood. The sudden burst of noise echoed in the cavern.

  “Of course, of course.” The male waved us forward, his eyes hugely round and focused on me.

  Ohta and Hylg flanked us, watching the crowd closely as they moved closer.

  “Why do you seek refuge?” the male, Dyrn, asked in alarm.

  “The castle has been attacked,” Hylg muttered, watching a lanky Dahk as he bent forward, peeking at me. Ignyt snarled at him until he backed off.

  The crowd gasped and whispered.

  “The king?”

  “Alive,” Ohta said.

  “Who is behind it?” someone growled.

  I looked to the male. He was tall and bulky. His left wing was tattered, littered with holes.

  Hylg shook his head. “They came for the commander’s son.”

  Another round of gasps and heated whispers.

  “A babe?” Dyrn choked out.

  Ohta nodded. “They are tracking us.”

  Eyes dropped to me and the suspicious bundle in my arms.

  Dyrn looked at the misshapen fake baby I was clutching to my chest with a frown. It clearly looked nothing like a baby after the long flight and run for my life. Just a lumpy pile of wet cloth.

  Ignyt, Ohta, and Hylg stared him down, not saying a word. Okay, it seemed these Dahk were friends, but if we couldn’t tell them about the damp towels in my arms, then maybe not.

  “We need food and rest,” Hylg prompted.

  Dyrn jumped. “Yes, of course. We open our home to you.”

  Dyrn looked at the crowd and shook himself. He hissed at them and waved. They reluctantly scattered, and Dyrn waved us deeper into the cavern. We followed him into a wide tunnel and up another flight of stairs.

  “What is being done?” Dyrn asked.

  Hylg looked at the male leading us through another tunnel. “The king has sent out scouts.”

  Dyrn stopped and looked back at me. “I wonder why you chose to come here.” He shook his head sadly. “Brydn was one of Josyd’s most loyal conspirators.”

  “You have served the commander,” Ohta said. “We know you do not hold the beliefs of your House leader.”

  Dyrn snorted. “No, I hope you made him regret his treachery.” He looked at Ignyt. “You know the city of Tybyn has fought against Brydn’s leadership since the old king gave him the Rise.”

  Ignyt grunted. “He suffered.”

  Ohta nodded toward the hall and Dyrn jumped, leading the way again.

  “How has Bydyl handled his transition into Head House?” Hylg asked.

  Dyrn made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat. “He is fair. Only time will tell.”

  We were climbing deeper into the mountain, but it was growing colder again and I was already freezing. I understood enough of what they were talking about to follow the conversation but my mind was growing foggy with exhaustion. We were in the city of Tybyn right now, and its old House Leader had been one of the ones to declare war on Uthyf. Dyrn was the leader of this House, but Bydyl was the city’s new House Leader. I just didn’t care. My bones ached. My fingers were stiff, as was the rest of me, and I was so tired I could sleep for a week.

  My teeth were chattering again, and Ignyt curled me deeper into his chest. Dyrn looked increasingly more worried and rushed down the hall as fast as he could with his limp. Stopping at end of the hall, he pushed open heavy doors and waved us inside before limping to the fire bowls in the room and lighting them.

  “Is she well?” Dyrn asked, sounding nervous.

  I squinted at him in the dim light as Ignyt laid me on a large bed. He yanked the sheets up from the bottom of the bed and pulled them around me, but they were thin.

  “We need furs,” Ignyt growled, his hands running briskly up and down my arms.

  Dyrn jumped and nodded, rushing from the room.

  “We’ll wait for them outside,” Hylg muttered, he and Ohta closing the door behind them.

  Ignyt snarled and scowled as he watched me shiver. He dragged the tall fire bowl stands closer to the bed and climbed in next to me. He flipped off the sheets and settled on top of me before pulling them around us both. His elbows went into the bed at my head and his torso dropped onto me. The warmth of him and the bowls seeped in, but it didn’t offer any relief. Instead it brought pain.

  Pricks of sharp stings rained down all over my body as the heat seeped in and I whimpered in distress. I was so used to the cold, I didn’t think I realized how much danger I was in. I could have hypothermia. I could lose limbs. Ignyt was extremely warm, his body heat volcanic. It was probably the only reason I’d survived the flight. But I was in big trouble.

  “What is it? What hurts?” Ignyt asked, frantically searching my body with his hands.

  “Everything,” I gasped.

  I curled up, trying to escape his heat, and he knelt above me, his hands in the air. But that only brought the cold back and made it worse. I tugged him back down, my hands clawing into his shoulders, and he pressed himself against me. His arms came around me and he cradled my head and waist. Hylg carried in a mountain of furs and Ignyt smothered me in them before climbing out of the bed. I whimpered and cried, my entire body throbbing and shaking. But slowly the pain ebbed and I relaxed into the bed, exhausted.

  “She needs thicker garments,” Ignyt said to Hylg.

  “It will have to wait until the morn. We can’t risk being followed back here before she can travel again. I’ll see what Dyrn has for her.”

  Ignyt snarled and upended a basket of unlit fire stones sitting on a table by the door.

  Hylg sighed. “Rest with her. Ohta and I will trade watch.”


  Ignyt cursed again and stormed back to the bed. He climbed in behind me as Hylg left. He curled my back into his chest and rubbed his hands up and down my arms and legs. The room was slowly warming up, and the fur blankets went a long way to making me more comfortable.

  “Are we safe here?” I asked, staring at the reflection of the dancing fire on the wall.

  Ignyt dropped his chin onto my shoulder. “Dyrn is a close friend of mine and Tahk’s. You are safe here.”

  “But the others?” They’d seemed awfully shocked to have a human in their home.

  “They are his House members. His brothers and friends. Most of them serve or have served the king or his father. They would not dare betray him.”

  “You know, you guys keep saying that, but—” I bit my lip, hesitating to insult his king or commander.

  Ignyt chuckled. “You do not believe me?”

  “Well, for as long as I’ve been here, you guys say a whole lot of”—I lowered my voice dramatically—“‘They would not dare betray the king. They would not dare attack. They would not dare.’ Blah, blah.” I looked at him over my shoulder, my eyes widening. “But they do. They do dare.”

  Ignyt’s mouth quirked, his fangs peeking out. He bent close and nipped at my chin, shocking a blush into my cheeks. “What kind of warriors would we be if we admitted our uncertainty?”

  I pressed my lips together. “Honest ones.”

  He sighed. “My king has many enemies.” He pushed my chin with his mouth, turning it away from him. “We cannot control the minds of others, but I will not let any harm come to you.”

  I squirmed against him, pulling his arm down from above my head and laying my head on it. “I want to believe you, but—”

  Ignyt nipped my shoulder. “I do not have your trust. I know this, my Lydya. I told you I would court you, did I not?”

  I nodded hesitantly. I figured the whole Pythen mating bond kind of made that a moot point.

  “Then allow me to show you the male I am, and I vow I will earn your trust.” He pressed his other hand into my belly, pulling me deeper into his chest. “As I will your affection.”

  14

  Lydia

  I woke up warm and tingling. The sheets were pulled up to my chest, but the body at my back had moved. I gasped as hands curled around my thighs, spreading them wide. Sweltering hot breath bathed my thighs, and my toes curled. I ripped the sheets away, curling up to sit. Ignyt had his head between my thighs, snarling and growling into the top of my pelvis.

  “Ignyt?” I asked nervously. This was the opposite of courting me and it was barely the next day.

  The tips of his claws bit into my skin and his nose ran down the center of my silk panties. He rubbed his nose into the center of them, bumping against something that was very much aching.

  “Ignyt?”

  He snarled and nipped at my panties. I grabbed his horns, trying to pry him away, but he wouldn’t budge. My body was responding but still waking up, and that made it hard for me to fully comprehend what was happening. But I believed Ignyt last night. He wouldn’t touch me this way for the first time without making sure I was awake and into it. Something was wrong.

  “H-Hylg? Ohta?” I looked at the door nervously. A rip in my panties opened me up to the cool air in the room. “Hylg!”

  The door slammed open and Ignyt sat up, snarling at Ohta and Hylg as they rushed inside. Ignyt crouched above me, shielding me from them, all the while snarling and growling. I had seen this. This was what Uthyf had looked like the moment Mona touched him and triggered their bond. This is what Ignyt had fought so hard to hold back as we fled from the castle.

  Ignyt’s claws dug into the bedding, shredding it.

  “Ignyt, she is frightened,” Hylg said slowly, cautiously stepping closer.

  Ignyt bared his fangs and roared.

  Ohta slapped his hand on Hylg’s chest. “No, you will only insight his rage. Lydya, talk to him.”

  I looked at Ignyt nervously. I was more wary of Ignyt than afraid. If things progressed, he may not be able to be careful with me, but I didn’t think it would go that far. He had definitely been taking a few liberties while I was asleep, but he hadn’t attacked me as I’d heard Pythens could do to their new mates. Whatever was happening inside him, driving him into this rage, Ignyt was locking it down as much as he could. He had seemed almost normal last night, his main concern my warmth and comfort.

  The mating rage must have crept up on him while he was sleeping.

  “Ignyt?” I asked quietly, drawing his attention back to me. His eyes shot to mine and he bowed over me, nuzzling my neck a little roughly but not painfully. It felt like a low blow to throw at him while he was snuggling me like a big cat, but—“You said you would never hurt me, remember?”

  Nothing. His teeth had come out to play and he was nipping down my neck, his hands curling around my thighs and spreading them so his hips could drop between them. Something large and hard pressed into me and I had to swallow down a ball of shocked pleasure. Was it weird that I was enjoying this? Was it too soon? Shouldn’t I be feeling all the reservations that Mona had had? Shouldn’t I be trembling in fear? Instead, as he ground his hips into mine, all I felt was a rush of tingles and an ache that grew with every nip of his teeth and thrust of his hips.

  “Lydya?” Hylg asked, sounding stunned.

  “Huh?” I curled my fingers into Ignyt’s hips, holding him back, pulling him closer. I didn’t even know anymore. A minute ago, I had screamed for help, but now that I was more awake, I couldn’t seem to ignore the feelings invading my body. An attentive male was on top of me and he was confident in his actions. He had been sweet to me. Arrogant. Scary—Not scary. Earnest. And he was sexy in a marauding-Viking-meets-prowling-panther kind of way.

  Ignyt stiffened then growled low and sexy. He slid his hands up my thighs, under my panties, and around my bottom, squeezing it. My toes curled into his thick thighs and I gasped as he licked down my neck to my shoulder before sucking the skin into his mouth.

  “Lydya?” Hylg asked again, impatient.

  “Hmmm?” I curled my fingers into the band of Ignyt’s pants, shifting my hips against his.

  He growled low and sexy in my ear, nipping it.

  “For huktbore’s sake,” Hylg spat. “Do you still need our assistance?”

  “Leave us,” Ignyt snarled, moving down my chest and nosing at the silk that covered my breast.

  I gasped, arching. Those were words. A mate consumed in the mating rage wouldn’t be able to speak so clearly. Ignyt was back and in control. But he wasn’t stopping.

  Ohta chuckled. “I was enjoying the show.”

  Ignyt snarled a stream of curses at him, but Ohta guffawed and tugged Hylg back out the door. The door slammed and I gaped at the ceiling, panting. Ignyt’s chest heaved as he stared at the door.

  I slowly sat up, righting my dress. My cheeks flamed and I smacked my hands on them, staring at his broad back in horror. His pants were loose and hanging low on his hips. He turned and roamed his eyes over me from the tips of my toes to my face, stopping on my lips and licking his own.

  “Oh my stars,” I gasped, mortified.

  I jumped to my knees and frantically crawled to the end of the bed, but arms banded around my waist and tugged me back. Ignyt tossed me down and covered my body with his again. I slapped my palms over my eyes and mouthed my own stream of curses.

  That had escalated quickly. And we’d had witnesses.

  “Look at me,” Ignyt rasped in my ear.

  I shook my head frantically, praying for a time machine.

  He chuckled wickedly. “Look at me, little song.”

  “I can’t believe that happened,” I squeaked.

  “I can,” Ignyt murmured, returning to my chest and pushing aside the silk.

  I slapped my hand over the gown at my chest and rolled beneath him, hiding my face in the bed. His hands moved to the backs of my thighs and slowly inched up my dress. I slapped at him and the dress
, holding it down.

  “I can smell how much you need me,” he rumbled, batting my hands away too easily.

  My dress lifted over my bottom and I felt him nuzzle between my cheeks. I groaned in humiliation and clenched my cheeks together, trapping his face there. He chuckled again and squeezed them, spreading them apart. His mouth dropped low, and he growled into my bottom. Something stiff and damp prodded at my panties, and I jumped, scrambling from the bed and falling to the floor.

  Ignyt sighed and looked over the edge of the bed, raising his brow. I jumped up and stomped to the small bathing room at the end of the room, then slammed the door behind me. His amused chuckle followed me.

  “We’ll follow you to the market,” Dyrn said as Ignyt pulled the ripped fur blankets down over my head.

  He had made them into ponchos, and I was wearing five. I could barely breath from all the fur smothering me, but after yesterday, I knew it was necessary. At least until Ignyt found me some kind of coat. Ripped straps of fur barely covered my feet, and leather ties held the ends of the ponchos tight to my waist. My lower legs would still freeze, but the rest of me would be sweating.

  “They’ve tracked us here,” Hylg replied.

  “Your intention, I assume.”

  Ohta grunted.

  “We’ve packed some provisions for you,” Dyrn wisely changed the subject and handed over two leather sacks. Hylg and Ohta slung them across their chests and thanked the older male. “Please tell the king we are at his disposal should he need aid.”

  “He will appreciate the gesture,” Hylg said.

  Dyrn stiffened. “It is not a gesture. I may be old, but I was once a valued warrior in the king’s army. I still have a few good battles left in me.”

  “I meant no disrespect, my friend,” Hylg muttered. “Only that the king will be pleased to know that he has trusted allies in Tybyn.”

  Dyrn nodded, seeming satisfied. “We will cover you from a distance as you retrieve what you need from the markets, but we will not interfere unless it is necessary.”