by Regine Abel
“Valena is showing advanced symptoms of ryspak deprivation,” Nurse Rosthan said. “Her blood tests are still inconclusive, but she’s likely pregnant.”
“Hasn’t she been given ryspak every day?”
Even in my foggy state, I recognized the menace in V’s dangerously calm voice.
“Every meal in the replicator contains ryspak.”
“Well, clearly, her body doesn’t consider replicated food as proper ryspak. I highly doubt Amalia Praghan was given replicator meals during her pregnancy. See that Valena gets fresh ryspak every day to her heart’s content. If anything happens to her, I will punish you myself.”
The call ended.
Nurse Rosthan muttered something under her breath and left with Sheb. No sooner did they depart than Zhul reentered the room and pulled me into his embrace. We didn’t speak. There was no need. The chime of the door opening resounded, and moments later, Ghil walked in carrying a small crate of ryspak. Sheb stood by the entrance of my cell, hand on his blaster in case Zhul tried something. The sweet scent of the fruits tickled my nose and my stomach rumbled even louder. I whimpered as another cramp twisted my insides.
As soon as they left, Zhul carried me to the kitchen. He placed one of the fruits against my lips. The Goddess only knew where the sudden surge of energy came from, but I threw myself at it with blissful abandon. I don’t even think I took the time to chew. As the soft flesh of the ryspak slid down my throat, my body shuddered, as if struck by a million micro-orgasms. A long, drawn-out moan erupted from me. Zhul chuckled while frantically slicing more ryspak into bite sizes for me.
I gorged on nearly two dozen fruits, then went from feeling on the verge of starving to my belly about to explode from overindulging. I could barely breathe my stomach was so full. Intense weariness washed over me. My eyes drooped and my head sagged. Zhul picked me up again and carried me to his cell. He laid me down on the bed and crawled in beside me. Sleep claimed me, surrounded by my mate’s warmth and his protective hand on my stomach.
* * *
The next four days were pure hell.
I had heard of morning sickness, but that wasn’t exactly my case. My stomach tortured me relentlessly. It felt as if ghostly hands twisted and knotted my insides. Although I could eat regular food again, ryspak was all that could sate my hunger. Worse, while I had no interest whatsoever in sex, my body seemed to be aching for it. No… that wasn’t right. My body didn’t actually want sex, only the release of climax. Nothing made sense.
Well… In a way, it did. I simply wasn’t ready to face the truth.
Nurse Rosthan was beside herself trying to find a solution. V would have her hide if – when – things went sideways. My hormones were all over the place, turning me into an emotional wreck. She tried to inject me with a dozen different things that all seemed to burn right out of my system.
Zhul, the Goddess bless him, remained steadfastly by my side. We no longer slept in separate cells. He massaged my back and my feet to try to give me some comfort. He weathered my irrational angry outbursts and nonsensical bouts of crying without a single complaint. Whenever a craving seized me, he would rush to prepare me some ryspak, even in the wee hours of the night. Sheb hadn’t been pleased to drop the curfew lock up, but under the circumstances, he had no choice.
I knew what was coming and needed to prepare Zhul for it. But not today. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
And come it did.
On the Friday morning, exactly three weeks from the first day of our arrival in this lab, our son died. I didn’t need the DNA analysis V’s technician later performed to know that. I had seen some of the Sisters go through my symptoms – minus the ryspak addiction – back on the breeding compounds.
I didn’t cry. I was all cried out. Zhul took it hard but put up a brave front for me.
According to the autopsy, our child had been nearly six weeks old. It was, of course, impossible. Except that Veredian pregnancies only took six months whereas Xelixians took eight months. Assuming gestation would be on an accelerated timetable closer to the Veredian span, it would place the conception of our son sometime while we were still at Zhul’s house. For some reason, that gave me comfort.
V called Nurse Rosthan away. She would be gone for an entire week. It was likely to give her time to recover from whatever punishment V exacted on her for the negligence that allowed the death of my son.
But V had yet another blow in store for us.
Sheb forwarded a vidcom from V on the vidscreen in our sitting area. Varrek’s image came to life, his fathomless eyes taking in Zhul and me. His face remained impassive.
“My condolences to the both of you. Cahla’s lack of judgement has been addressed.”
I wanted to scream and yell at him, strike him and make him hurt as I was – as we were. That wouldn’t get me anywhere, though, except to bring down punishment on myself. Not like I could touch him wherever he was calling us from. Zhul gently stroked my back. It startled me at first but then I realized he was trying to calm me. A dull pain in my hands drew my attention to my nails digging into my palms. I forced myself to relax.
Rosthan was a mere tool in the greater scheme of things. If anyone deserved any kind of blame it was him, not his minions. Right now, I could be home with Zhul. Our child might still be thriving thanks to the proper diet my mate always prepared for us.
But now I would never know.
“You have until the end of next week to mourn and recover from your loss,” Varrek said. “No samples will be required until then, though you will continue to inject her with your venom,” he added, staring at Zhul.
“Are you fucking joking?” Zhul snarled. “Valena is in no condition, physically or emotionally, to go through this again so soon!”
I hugged myself, feeling numb. While it didn’t surprise me – that was standard procedure on the breeding compound – it didn’t make it any easier to be on the receiving end.
“Your opinion is neither requested nor needed,” Varrek deadpanned. “You will comply. Resistance is pointless, anyway. Valena will be entering her season any day now. It is you who will be begging for mercy, Zhul Dervhen.”
“You’re a heartless monster,” Zhul breathed out.
“No. I’m merely practical. Compassion makes for poor business.”
Zhul pulled me to his side and I pressed myself against him.
“Ah… You have solved your differences?” Varrek asked, smirking. “I approve.”
“Fuck you,” Zhul gritted out.
“Any time you want, Councilor. It will be my pleasure,” Varrek replied.
His eyes slowly roamed over Zhul, making his meaning clear. Zhul clenched his jaw and wisely chose not to feed Varrek’s taunts any further.
“Your venoms are becoming more potent, but they are still nowhere near the level achieved by Amalia’s mates. I’m disappointed.”
Varrek leaned back in his chair, giving us a better look at the room behind him. Unfortunately, it showed only white walls – nothing to provide any clue as to where he might be holed up.
“You will drink deeper from her once you resume your mating. It is unfortunate you aren’t Tainted. Hopefully, that isn’t the missing key.”
“Drinking too deep has a negative effect on females,” Zhul countered.
“A problem easily fixed by a good dose of Thylin.” Varrek’s stare and tone hardened. “Do not think I don’t realize you aren’t giving her as much Thylin as I requested. You will rectify that as well. Remember, you have until the end of next week.”
Without another word, Varrek terminated the call.
CHAPTER 20
Lhor
Admiral Lee walked into the medical bay with Korina, a young Veredian girl barely sixteen years of age. She clung to him, casting nervous glances at Khel’s warriors. To my relief, their Taint didn’t seem to be the source of her distress. Before their arrival, Lee warned me that Korina was one of the Veredians rescued less than a year ago from the Crebios stronghold. Her time there
had left some serious scars they were still helping her through. Too many males around her tended to trigger anxiety attacks. Even now, after nearly three weeks treating Khel, the guards’ presence still intimidated her.
Ghan asked his warriors to make themselves scarce. No harm would come to Khel from the Tuurean leader or this wisp of a girl.
“Ghan,” Lee said with his eerie synthetic voice, “a pleasure as always.”
Both the Admiral and Korina gave us a Veredian greeting. Head slightly bowed, they placed their hand on their heart then waved it towards us. Ghan and I responded with our Xelixian greeting. Ghan and the Tuurean admiral had developed an odd friendship over the past year. Despite that, and the genuine affection he seemed to bear Amalia, the Admiral remained a complete mystery to us, which he appeared to enjoy maintaining.
He was particularly quiet about what lay beneath his people’s black armor. However, the more I grew to know him, the less I believed the rumors that Tuureans were nothing but wires and gears beneath their celesium suits. I had yet to meet a true cyborg that had achieved such a level of sentience as our allies did. They had to be organic beings.
“How fares the General?” Lee asked.
“Better each day, thanks to this delightful young Seha,” Minh said, nodding at Korina, “and my wonderful mate,” he added, winking at Maheva who shadowed him.
Maheva’s presence always worked wonders on Korina. Although she remained close to Lee, her posture lost most of its stiffness.
Minh guided Khel’s cryo chamber to the main work station before opening it. He was still in an induced coma. His absence, his emotional silence had become a physical torture that tormented me night and day, even though I knew it was only a matter of time before he came around. How Zhul could withstand the permanent loss of his Gem without going insane baffled me.
As the lid of the chamber finished opening, I stared in awe at the miracles Maheva and Korina had performed on him over the past three weeks. The charred carcass Ghan had brought back from the Convention Center no longer existed. While extremely thin compared to the brawny male he used to be, Khel was almost back to his old self. Flawless, healthy skin covered his entire body. However, where the toxin had tampered with his genetic makeup, some dents or lumps appeared on him. Some would be fixed through surgery. Other’s he would need to learn to live with. One of the ridges of his crihnin lay slightly crooked while half the ridges of his left ear were gone.
The biggest concern was his lungs. Although Minh believed Khel would make a near complete recovery – minus those few aesthetic defects – until we found a way to rid him of the toxin that had already bonded with his system, he would be prone to respiratory problems. That meant the end of his military career on the field.
Because of the stress to his body and the strain on his healers, we’d had to spread the treatments over multiple sessions. We hoped today would be the last. Ghan and I took Khel out of his cryo chamber and placed him in the nearby lab bath. Moving aside, we let Korina approach my Gem and place her hands on his bare chest. An intense look of concentration on her face, she went to work. After nearly a minute, yellowish beads of toxin began oozing out of every pore on Khel’s body. The nanites from the healing liquid in the bath immediately attacked the poison.
Unlike previous sessions where we had to move Khel from one bath to another because of the large amount of toxins expelled, this time the toxin only came out in trickles. After nearly an hour, Korina removed her hands from him. Straightening, she rolled her shoulders to release some tension.
“That’s it,” she said with an unusually deep and throaty voice for someone so young and of such delicate constitution. “I’ve removed all that I could. Anything else has fused with his system. It’s beyond my abilities to fix it.”
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you have done for my Gem,” I said with a bow.
She gave me a shy smile and went to stand near the Admiral. To my great surprise, his armored hand gently caressed her hair.
“Well done, little Sister,” Lee said to her, his disembodied voice taking on a strangely gentle edge.
Korina beamed at him, reveling in the praise. The look of adoration she cast towards him added to my confusion. I understood the Veredians’ gratitude towards the Tuureans who had made it their life’s mission to rescue and free their people. What I didn’t get was how the ruthless, fearsome, and faceless Tuurean leader had earned such unconditional love and loyalty from the embattled females.
Ghan observed their interaction with an undefinable look on his face. Probably sensing his gaze, the Admiral turned his armored face towards Ghan. The shiny, dark surface of his helmet made it impossible to see his features or read his expression. Yet, there was no question they were staring at each other. Ghan eventually averted his eyes and looked at the young Veredian instead.
“Thank you, little one,” he said to Korina, bowing his head with his hand on his heart. “We can never repay the debt of gratitude we owe for all you’ve done for the General and the other warriors.”
She blinked at Ghan before smiling at him. That made even less sense. With his brutish face, behemoth size, and strength, he should be terrifying to her. Yet, she never expressed any fear in his presence.
I will never understand female logic…
Maheva placed her hands on Khel. Whatever healing she performed on him had to be internal because no noticeable changes took place. Minh brought another cryo chamber containing one of Khel’s soldiers and prepared him for Korina to drain toxins from him as well. After confirming she would be okay without him, Lee pulled Ghan and me to the side.
“Any progress on finding Valena?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“No,” Ghan said. “We’ve followed the tracker. Even took Amalia in unreasonably close range to try to lock onto her, but nothing.”
He gave me a hard stare when he said this, still upset that we had forced him to bring Amalia closer to the abandoned house than he deemed safe. With Amalia still in the early days of her season, arguing with her would have simply earned us a clawed face. She felt responsible for Valena still being captive. She believed that had she looked into Valena’s future more frequently during the raid, she could have prevented this entire tragedy. It wasn’t her fault, but nothing could convince her otherwise. At least her season had ended a couple of days ago and with it, the volatility of her temper.
“Even deep scans of the abandoned house have revealed no organic presence other than the small wildlife nearby,” Ghan said, once again facing the Admiral.
Lee clasped his hands behind his back in a military pose reminiscent of one Khel often took when pondering a serious matter. My heart tightened in my chest at the thought.
“Hmm, and you have no other leads?” Lee asked.
I ran my fingers through my hair, hesitant to place a target on a male that might yet prove innocent. The Tuureans could be relentless once they had you in their sights.
“Well, we are keeping a close eye on Whil Dervhen,” I said cautiously. “But there is no evidence this male is involved in any way.”
“But he has piqued your interest,” Lee said.
I nodded then quickly summarized for him the recent events at the Council Hall. After his first shocking request to have other males drink from Amalia and President Frebhin’s stern reprimand, Whil went on to file a series of formal requests. Among them, forbidding Khel from further placing himself – and, therefore me – in danger, placing our family into the hands of an international group of scientists to be studied like lab rats, and worst, lifting the embargo against the Guldans.
“Even after his own cousin was apparently attacked by Guldans?”
“Yes, hence our suspicions,” Ghan said.
“Let me know if you require our assistance,” the Admiral said. “But you warn your Council, we will not tolerate anyone imprisoning Amalia or our allies,” he added gesturing towards me. “We will tear that facility to shreds before we all
ow it.”
I smiled. Although it flattered me to be included under the Tuureans’ protective umbrella, I didn’t delude myself that it wasn’t primarily Amalia and our children – especially our son – that mattered to them.
Before I could respond, Minh’s voice resonated behind Ghan.
“We’re ready to wake him.”
My heart leaped in my chest and for a moment, it felt as if I couldn’t draw in enough oxygen. We headed towards the lab bath. Ghan and I moved Khel’s naked body out of the bath onto a hover stretcher. Amalia walked into the medical bay just as I finished placing a blanket over him to preserve his modesty.
Our eyes connected. The same hope and worry I felt danced in hers. She came to stand next to me, her dainty fingers interlacing with mine. Maheva approached her and gently rubbed her back in encouragement. Ghan, the Admiral, and Korina stood on the other side of the stretcher. Minh, standing by Khel’s head, took in a deep breath before using a hypospray on Khel’s neck.
A heavy silence, interrupted only by the rhythmic beeping of one of the medical bay’s machines, descended upon the room. I could feel my heart thundering in my neck. Amalia’s grip on my hand tightened.
Khel’s lips parted and he drew in a long, deep breath before exhaling slowly. His eyes fluttered then opened only to close again.
“Lights, dim, fifty percent,” Minh said, guessing what the problem might be.
Khel blinked a few more times before his eyes fully opened. I leaned over him, impatient to reconnect with my Gem, but he didn’t acknowledge my presence. He continued to breathe loudly through his mouth, his empty eyes staring at the ceiling, unseeing.
A shudder crawled down my back. I swallowed hard, refusing to acknowledge the sense of dread creeping up.
“Khel? Can you hear me?” I asked.
No reaction.
“Sweetie, it’s me,” Amalia said, her voice shaky with repressed tears. “Answer me, my love.”
Pushing me slightly aside, she leaned forward and turned Khel’s face toward us. He didn’t resist. His dead eyes stared right through us. Drool trickled down the side of his mouth.
