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

by Erin Raegan

Then there were the new stalkers behind us. I didn’t know how they’d found us, but they had been gaining on us. It was the only reason Ignyt had finally given my lips a rest.

  Rytsya was beautiful and I wanted to appreciate it, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the Dahk creeping up on us. The city wasn’t made of toyl stone or huts. It was gleaming and full of steel. I saw the reflections of the stars in the buildings, which was nearly enough to shock me into ignoring our stalkers. Rytsya was the loveliest thing I had ever seen.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised that there were buildings made of steel on Home World—their ships were made out of it—but I still was. The buildings were various sizes, but all of them were curved instead of Earth’s cornered buildings. They were ovals and circles and they had amazing spires at their tips.

  Then there were the Dahk. Thousands of them lived in Rytsya. They populated the ground and the sky. Several small ships hovered above the city, and I watched as one of them zoomed high into the sky, disappearing into the stars. Dahk didn’t leave their world often unless you were under the commander. It just wasn’t done. Most vendors hitched a ride with a warship.

  When we passed the city’s outer buildings, several dozen Dahk flew in formation straight for us.

  I stiffened. “Ignyt?”

  “Calm, love,” Ignyt murmured. “It is my father’s guard.”

  My eyes bugged out at the approaching Dahk. His father had that many guards? I’d been thinking he had one or two. But nearly half the size of Uthyf’s personal guard? What in the stars for?

  “Ignyt, what does your father do?”

  He smirked at me, humor dancing in his eyes. “He is Rytsya’s new Head House Leader.”

  A dozen little dots connected in my mind. Rytsya had lost its House Leader a few weeks ago, after the castle had come under attack from Josyd’s loyal followers. Uthyf had replaced the now-executed leader with an older Dahk. I had never met him, but I remembered Mona talking to Gryl about him. Tyrl was not a fan of humans.

  Gryl was here! He was the new leader’s advisor.

  “Gryl’s here,” I said in excitement.

  Ignyt scowled at me.

  I shook his shoulders, making his wings dip. “This is good news! I already have a friend in your father’s House!”

  Ignyt didn’t lose his scowl. I huffed and kissed his cheek before smiling at the approaching guards. This was the first time I’d felt anything but dread about meeting his father.

  The guards fell in line with us, guiding us into the city. We approached a gleaming tower and circled around it, flying to the top. There we approached a flat landing space and several more guards. After landing, Ignyt put me on my feet and rubbed the cold from my arms, careful of my injured shoulder and the new mating bite on the opposite side.

  “My sons,” a male voice called in the wind.

  I looked over my shoulder to see a tall, stocky male walking toward us from a hole in the roof. He had hard, unforgiving features. He wore a sword at his side and his ridged brow was shot with grey. This was Ignyt’s father.

  Hylg stepped forward and slapped the male on the shoulder. Tyrl grinned at his son then turned to his youngest. Ohta glared at his father, dismissed him, then walked to the hole with his arms crossed. Tyrl sighed and looked at Ignyt.

  I stiffened and fiddled with the linens in my arms. Tyrl looked over his son then down at me, his face clearing. It was scary how quickly Tyrl shielded his emotions from me.

  Ignyt was a frozen pillar at my side. His arm was wrapped around my waist, anchoring me. Tyrl looked at the arm around my waist and his face twisted. I swallowed against the thick worry in my throat. Ignyt made a low rumbling sound, and Tyrl looked back at him.

  Tyrl studied Ignyt and sighed before turning on his heel and waving us forward. “Your mam is beside herself with excitement, Hylg. I suggest you hurry down and give her a proper greeting.”

  Hylg looked at Ignyt, silently communicating with him. Whatever Ignyt conveyed had Hylg nodding and rushing down the stairs in the hole.

  “Glyn arrived just this morn to witness your return,” Tyrl said over his shoulder as we followed him down the stairs into the dark. “She was impatient and wandered off, but she should return soon.”

  Glyn was their sister. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of female this hard male could have possibly produced. If she was the free spirit her brothers described, I was looking forward to getting to know her—if she was more open to a human than her father was.

  “We must speak to the king,” Ignyt called to his father.

  Tyrl nodded. “He is awaiting your comm.”

  I couldn’t forget why we were there. It was a lot to take in and I could easily get distracted, but we were on the run and for good reason. I needed to keep my guard up. Just because this was Ignyt’s father’s House did not mean there weren’t Dahk here that would try to harm me.

  We stepped out of the dark stairwell and into a large hall. I had to blink from the shockingly bright yellow light. It seemed Rytsya used Ilyndahdus’s golden toyl stone. Five beautiful Dahk women stood in a row, waiting for us in the center of the hall. They all looked much younger than Tyrl, and one female in particular caught my eye. She was nearly bouncing on her clawed toes, clasping her hands to her chest and grinning so wide her fangs gleamed in the low light.

  “A human!” she crowed, rushing forward.

  That must be Olyda. She ran right past Hylg—who had been approaching her with open arms—and skidded to a stop in front of me.

  Ignyt smirked at me and gave me a little shove. “Olyda. Lydya, my mate.”

  Olyda sucked in a sharp breath, as did several of the other females. “It is true then?”

  Ignyt nodded once. I tensed as she looked me over with wide eyes.

  I was waiting for them to shout or argue, but Olyda grinned and bounced, clapping. “My son! Mated! Finally!” She grabbed my hands and tugged me forward. “Thank the ancestors, I thought it would never happen,” she muttered to me as though she was sharing a secret.

  Another female approached and looked me over with a small, shy smile.

  “Mam,” Ignyt said from behind me.

  “It is good to see you, my son.” She didn’t take her eyes from me. “Lydya, I am Jalys.”

  I smiled, blushing. “Hi.”

  She tilted her head.

  “We have all received the upgrade to our translators. I understand human perfectly now.” Olyda beamed. She struck me as a much younger female, but her spiky ridges were also shot with grey, like Tyrl’s. I guessed she just had a super awesome personality.

  The other three mates introduced themselves, then Olyda was pulling me to a chair at a long table full of food. “You must be starving from all that traveling. Eat.”

  Tyrl’s mates joined me at the table and piled my plate with food as Tyrl and his sons quietly murmured to each other.

  Olyda fired questions at me faster than I could answer. I tried to tell her about Earth, but it seemed with every answer I gave her, she found a hundred new things to ask.

  It was Ignyt’s mam, Jalys, that steered the conversation away from Earth. She asked me about my bond with Ignyt, and an awed hush came over the table. Even the few servants in the room stopped their frantic cleaning and leaned forward to listen to me talk about how a touch had sealed Ignyt and me together forever.

  None of them looked disgusted or angry. Olyda’s features took on a dazed expression while Jalys quietly watched me with a small smile and shimmery happiness in her eyes.

  A throat cleared at the back of the room, then Gryl was stomping into the room. I was so excited to see him, I jumped from my chair and ran to hug him.

  That took the happiness in the room and burned it into ash. Tyrl shouted in outrage, and Hylg jumped over a chair to grab Ignyt. Ohta quickly pulled me away from my friend and Mona’s protector.

  “He was a guard at the palace,” Hylg growled at Tyrl. “You know this.”

  Ignyt shoved Hylg aw
ay and stomped over to me, snarling at Gryl.

  Gryl chuckled, looking at me with raised brows. “You have mated the king’s prized interrogator, little Lydya?”

  I nodded shyly, letting Ignyt pull me into his chest and repeating silent vows to forgive Ignyt for his barbarian display. Not only was hugging a male while you were mated a big faux pas to the Dahk, but Ignyt had completed the bond with me less than a day ago. He was going to be a little possessive for a while. Never mind the fact that I secretly loved it.

  “Blessings are in order then,” Gryl called over the shouting. “I wish you both happiness and a fertile mating.”

  My hand dropped to my belly in shock. A baby of my own. I could be pregnant right now. Ignyt looked at my hand and ducked down, catching my eye. I smiled shyly, and he kissed it away.

  Olyda sighed behind me. “A dahkling. Oh, what a blessing that would be.”

  Tyrl sighed and rubbed his crown. “Come, my sons, the king has waited long enough. He has information for you.”

  Tyrl caught my eye as he passed us and I paled, looking at my feet. Ignyt’s father did not like me one bit.

  Ignyt let go of my hand and started to follow, but I tugged him back. “I want to check on Roxy and Mona, and Sym and Peyton, and Prin and Vivian, and—”

  Ignyt held a finger to my lips. “I will return for you so you may speak to them. My mothers will look after you.”

  I looked back at the females. There were several guards in the room, but I didn’t know them.

  Hylg stepped up to my side. “I will stay with her, brother.”

  Ignyt nodded and kissed me quickly but deeply before following his father and Ohta.

  Hylg cleared his throat and walked to the table. His mothers jumped into action, loading several plates with food for him.

  20

  Ignyt

  “Damage was extensive.” My king sighed and rubbed his brow roughly, looking away in the comm screen. “We just finished rebuilding after the last attack.”

  “It is just a bit of stone, my king,” my father muttered. “Be thankful the loss of life was not greater.”

  Uthyf nodded. “How is Lydya?”

  My father’s lips twisted. I ignored him, lest I upset my mothers with my actions.

  “She is well,” I replied gruffly. She was amazing. The greatest treasure I could have ever hoped for. She was my life.

  “The bond?” Uthyf pushed.

  My father stiffened, glancing at me.

  I did not answer. What had happened between my mate and me would not be discussed without her knowledge.

  Uthyf sighed. “Very well. Mona insisted I ask.” He leaned forward, revealing the wreckage of his office behind him. “I must speak to you privately, Ignyt.”

  I looked at my father.

  His face firmed, and he looked at the king coldly. “You do not trust me?”

  Uthyf did not answer.

  “You placed me here, my king.”

  Uthyf stared at him, unflinching.

  My father cursed and stormed from the room. I looked at Ohta, silently asking him to follow our father and keep him from my mate. He nodded once before walking out after him. I knew the king could trust my father, but it was not my place to give such assurances. Uthyf would have to decide for himself. He had good reason to question those around him.

  Gryl sat down heavily in a chair, looking at the king gravely. All traces of amusement were gone from his face. I watched him warily. Whatever the king had to relay to me was dire indeed.

  “We’ve spoken to Josyd,” Uthyf said. “She is more stubborn than any female I have come into contact with. I fear we will have to consider more unsavory ways of making her speak.”

  I nodded, having already considered it. Josyd was a traitor and responsible for countless deaths, both Dahk and human. Torturing her would be unpleasant, but if my king asked it of me, I would not flinch. We were at war and needed to know our enemy.

  “But we do know if she is behind the attack it is not a Dahk she communicates with,” Uthyf said gravely.

  “The master is dead at his assassin’s hand. If not a Dahk turning our own against us, who then?”

  Uthyf clenched his jaw, his eyes flashing with fury. “I did not understand who could be behind it. Hull is still missing, but he does not have my Dahk’s loyalty as Josyd did. Her other followers were revealed when they declared war on my kingdom. They are now dead at your hand.”

  I had interrogated every one of those cretins until they’d begged for death. They knew nothing.

  Uthyf looked down, seeming to bolster himself. “I have not spoken to you since the night of the attack.” He swallowed thickly.

  “My apologies, my king. We lost communication in the ice storm last eve.”

  He waved away my words. “Shortly after the storm, Gryo came to me.” He took a deep breath. “Had Tahk not been indisposed, he could have spotted it sooner. Tahk is the only one among us to have spent any amount of time with a Bour.”

  I stiffened. Bour were a mysterious species. We knew little about them, but their leader, Viytenus, held the head seat on the Galactic Council. He rarely left the council outpost, Hugund.

  “The Dahk that facilitated the attack for Sym held traces of Bour in their blood.”

  All my training and control since birth was the only way I was able to keep my feet. “No. A Bour has not invaded for millennia.” What little we did know of them were tales spoken from other species. Bour held no regard for life. Long ago when they were much stronger, they infected minds of entire worlds. Taking them over and crushing them. When Viytenus took control, the invasions ceased and the Bour drifted away into obscurity.

  Uthyf nodded. “I know.” He looked at me with haunted eyes. “But it is unmistakable. There is a Bour on Home World, perhaps Viytenus himself, and he is infecting our Dahk.”

  “To what end?” I growled.

  “I’ve spoken to the Kilbus Lord. It is the same on Earth. A Bour has invaded.” He cupped his mouth. “I have not told my mate. I do not know if this is a direct attack from the Council. If Viytenus is behind it, the humans are in more danger than we realized. I do not think I could withstand any more of her suffering.”

  Gryl stood. “Mohna is queen, my king, but she is your mate first. Allow the Kilbus Lord to gather more information before you cause her any more pain.”

  Uthyf nodded. “Yes, Kil has it in hand for now. Right now, we need to eradicate this poison from our own Dahk. How many have been fighting for Josyd and how many were attacking their own under Bour influence?”

  It was a devastating realization. Just yesterday, I’d taken the lives of several. “Frydun. The ruins.”

  Uthyf looked at me gravely. “Wohn has been tracking your progress. All those you and your brothers have slain were infected.”

  I sat down heavily, unable to keep my feet. “Why does the Bour seek the babe?”

  Uthyf shook his head. “It is a deception. I do not think the Bour seeks Sym directly but instead infected my Dahk’s mind with this as a distraction. We had not questioned the attacks because of the humans and the recent attacks on them. The Bour would be able to infect minds unwittingly as long as we believed my Dahk had a true reason for their attack.”

  Because we believed our Dahk so unwelcoming to the humans, we had not been able to see the true enemy.

  “The leaders then? Had their attack been orchestrated by the Bour as well?” I asked.

  Uthyf shook his head. “No, this is recent. We would have seen the traces of the Bour before their Rites.”

  I nodded, relieved. So many had died when Josyd’s followers attacked. Had it all been a deception, I did not think my Dahk would recover the emotional blow.

  “Careful, Ignyt. The Bour is following you, infecting Dahk along the way. We believe he is using the search for Sym as a cover to infect as many Dahk as possible before he is found out.” That was how they’d been able to so easily track us. The Bour had stopped and infected more Dahk every time
we stopped. I did not know how he could so easily hide from us. “He must be found before he reaches Rytsya.”

  I nodded gravely. “I will need to inform my father.”

  “I trust your judgment. I fear we no longer have to be wary of our own attacking the humans, but instead we will lose many to a Bour invader. Wohn has taken a ship and is headed to you. Gryo believes he can detect the Bour. But if the Bour suspects we are aware of him he will retaliate. You must defend the city.”

  I nodded again, deadened. Uthyf explained Gryo’s detection unit but it was untested and there was no guarantee we could restrain all those infected long enough to detect the Bour’s interference. And if so, we did not know how to bring them back from his thrall.

  “I’ve spoken to the Guhuvin King as well as the Xixin. They are both aware of the danger. We cannot take the risk that it is not Viytenus behind this deception. We have severed all ties with the Galactic Order.”

  I blinked in shock. “We are at war with the Order?”

  Uthyf nodded gravely. “We are at war with our allies.”

  21

  Ignyt

  I walked from the room, determined fury flooding my veins.

  My father waited for me. He stiffened after discerning the raw rage on my face. “Son?”

  I filled him in on what transpired. He sat down heavily, gaping at me. Gryl quickly excused himself.

  “Our allies? All of them?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “The Xixin and Guhuvin Kings have also severed ties.”

  “Not the Yuwak?”

  I shook my head.

  “We have not been at war with them in millennia.”

  “We have not been at war with the Order in millennia. Not since the Juldo were our allies.”

  “And what of the Juldo?” my father demanded.

  “They still have no master. Only time will tell.”

  My father sighed. “I must warn the city. I cannot tell them a Bour has invaded.”

  “You cannot say anything. It might alert the Bour before we can catch him.”