The Melier: Home World (Women of Dor Nye Book 2)

by Poppy Rhys

  “I do have a reason for intruding,” he said, slipping back into his formal demeanor.

  She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

  “You are being summoned to the meeting room.”

  Lucia murmured a response, and then followed the guard through the door.

  Upon entering the room she’d been lead to, a few gazes swiveled toward her. She spotted her partners and made a beeline for them.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered to them, as Val’Koy signalled an individual to turn on the live transmission.

  Her expression was lit with understanding once Mr. Topla’s face came into view upon the large screen.

  “Greetings, seat holder Herana,” Mr. Topla said formally, and Soren returned the gesture.

  “I am eager to hear good news,” Soren said hopefully, and to Lucia’s relief, Mr. Topla smiled.

  That’s a good sign.

  “This will be a good call, then,” he continued. “I, and the other seated officials, have spoken with the Intergalactic Coalition. They have contacted Emperor Vu’Mal’Su, and though we were not privy to specific details of the ultimatum they were given…,” he trailed off gravely. “We have received word the emperor has agreed to withdraw, and abide by an accord set forth by the coalition that has dire consequences if broken.”

  She squeezed Soren’s hand hopefully.

  “You should soon receive word from--”

  A communications tech burst into the room at that moment, a glow shining off his CID and illuminating his face as he looked up and made a rushed announcement, a little breathless, like he’d been running.

  “Transmission has been received; Vu’Mal’Su is withdrawing his military force right this moment!”

  A collective murmur could be heard round the room, along with a ripple of excitement and relief.

  “No word yet, about King Val’Qa and Princess Gi’Calla,” he added, a little disappointed. “We will continue to wait for an update.”

  The queen, positioned on the other side of the room, nodded. Her poise was without fault, but her eyes bespoke her uncertainty.

  It made her think back on the conversation the night of Soren’s homecoming banquet.

  “Do your parents at least… love each other now?” she remembered asking.

  “I think they have a deep admiration for each other… Sometimes that is enough for two people.”

  Ren’s words echoed in her mind as she watched the queen for a moment longer. After all that had transpired, Lu had a suspicion maybe Gi’Moy actually did love Val’Qa, despite their rough start.

  She wasn’t sure how an individual could spend years with someone, have younglings with them, and not love them in some form. Even if just a little.

  Her attention went back to Mr. Topla, and she listened to the rest of the transmission while he and Soren spoke, and just before the call was ending, she piped up.

  “Do you have any news of Beela’Su?”

  “She is safe,” Mr. Topla said indulgently. “Your plan has worked favorably, Miss Herana. The coalition will continue their protection of Princess Beela’Su, and allow Vu’Mal’Su to communicate with her once a month, so long as he abides by the accord.”

  Lu nearly jumped for joy. She wanted to high five someone, but she shoved that desire away. Her partners wouldn’t know what to do, and taking the time to show them would suck the fun out of it.

  “The war is over,” he said in conclusion, turning his attention back to Soren. “Safe travels to Melierun, and I do hope to see you back planet side soon. Many future plans to discuss, seat holder Herana.”

  With that, they said warm farewells and the transmission ended.

  Chapter 21

  Melierun - Four weeks later…

  Lucia scooted along the grass on her hands and knees as Lenny walked to her, and each time she’d get close, Lu would shuffle back a little more, coaxing the youngling to walk a little further. Her tiny, hairless tail whipped back and forth in a wily way, reminding her of Soren.

  “I can’t believe she’s so fast!” she gasped, in between encouraging hand gestures and claps.

  “She is Melier,” Zun said proudly.

  “Half Melier,” she corrected, pushing her unruly chocolate curls out of her face after a quick, hot breeze tousled them. “Don’t forget the human side.”

  “How could we?” Val’Koy said dryly as he lounged nearby upon the grass. “When her mother is so-”

  “Beautiful,” Soren said, cutting off the impending rude remark as he stood to make his way toward her. Lucia snickered at Val’Koy’s grumbling when Soren’s tail accidentally whipped his brother in the face.

  “Her quick development is the Melier side,” Ren said matter-of-factly beside her as he rattled Lenny’s favorite toy, a prize for whenever she made it to them. If they ever stopped scooting backward, that is. “Human younglings do not walk so expertly at her age. Look at her balance,” he pointed out. “It is perfect.”

  It wasn’t, but Lucia didn’t burst his bubble, opting instead to roll her eyes.

  Soren crouched down beside her, brushing his mouth against her temple tenderly before he too began coaxing Lenny to the finish line.

  Val’Koy sighed, bored. “This gathering would be much more entertaining with a concubine, or five.”

  Just then, Gi’Moy, and Val’Qa passed along the pathway near the garden clearing they were in. The queen paused, watching Lenny for a moment, her eyes sweeping over the group. She turned as if she was going to continue on her walk, but then hesitated.

  The weeks back on Melierun had been strange. There was a peace to the palace, and Lu figured it was a mixture of relief that a war was over, and a lingering depression for those being mourned.

  Many had died during the invasion. During the days following Vu’Mal’Su’s withdrawal from Melierun, the citizens and their allies collected the dead, and began arrangements for burial.

  Upon re-entry, the military did a sweep of the palace and found Val’Qa and Gi’Calla still safely tucked into the hidden room Soren put them in. They were haggard, understandably, but alive and well, which was the most important thing.

  There was still an uneasy feeling surrounding Lucia, and the royal family, though. Her would-be assassin had still not been found.

  The only reprieve, no more attempts had been made on her life thus far.

  It was unsettling.

  The thought of who it could be resurfaced in her mind every half hour or so. It made her suspicious of just about everything, but even while the brothers had plenty of work to do in the aftermath of the war, she was still never alone.

  Gi’Moy reanimated, and to Lucia’s disappointment, she continued on her walk with Val’Qa instead of joining them.

  “So, is that a no on the concubines?” Val’Koy interrupted her thoughts.

  Zun, Ren, and Soren growled at him. “Shut up,” they all said, nearly at the same instant.

  Lenny squealed loudly as if to agree, pulling their attention back to her.

  Val’Koy collapsed back against the grass, sighing.

  Lu giggled.

  ****

  Later that day, as nightfall approached, the group was making their way to third meal. When Lenny started crying, she remembered she’d forgotten her favorite rattle in the garden. Soren gave her a wary glance as she said she would be only a moment, but he let her go after a few heartbeats of debating.

  Her slippers carried her softly through the quiet corridors, as most individuals within the palace were sharing third meal with their families in the main hall.

  “Princess?”

  Lu halted, turning to see Ishka making his way to her. She smiled faintly, a mix of happiness to see her favorite guard, and nervous when she noticed his anxious expression.

  “Ishka, it’s nice to see-”

  “I do not mean to interrupt you, Princess, but I have news--”

  He cut short as he neared her, his entire demeanor shifting in the blink of an eye as he s
potted something through the wall of windows behind her.

  It all happened so fast, that it took her a moment to grasp the situation.

  A loud crack snapped through the air.

  Glass shattered.

  Another spine popping crack broke the silence.

  Ishka grabbed her by the shoulders, the biting grip and sudden gesture startling a cry out of her.

  “What are you doing!” she choked out as she was being pulled to his chest and they both shifted. His body jolted once, and then the weight of him began to sag slightly against her. When Lu pulled back, her fingertips wiped at the wet warmth upon her cheek only to streak red.

  Her mouth O’d at the sight of blood, wondering where it had come from. Just as the thought entered her mind, Ishka groaned and his body gave out against her.

  He dropped down to his knees, inadvertently pulling her down with him.

  That’s when she saw it.

  A bloody, gaping wound in his shoulder.

  The dark blood began to soak down his purple guards robe.

  She didn’t realize it at that moment, but she was screaming. Between the commotion of the shattered glass, and her shrieks, guards were filtering in from both ends of the hall, and soon she was surrounded as she hysterically tried, and failed, to hold up the immense weight of Ishka while pressing her hand against the wound.

  The freshly blown hole continued to bleed, and she watched with horror as it seeped through her fingers, thickly coating her hand and wrist. Her mind numbed as grisly torn pieces of flesh and scales scraped, and squished, and slid beneath her palm in the slippery pulp.

  Lu’s teeth gnashed together against the wave of nausea that threatened to overtake her.

  ****

  Lucia blew out a frustrated sigh once she was finished pushing her curls into a bun atop her head. She was in a new, clean, lightweight lavender dress that hung to her knees, a matching robe hanging open and stopping at her ankles. She was just happy to be clean.

  It was hours later, and she was still tightly wound up after another failed attempt on her life.

  At least, that’s exactly what it appeared to be.

  She moved back and forth outside the glass doors of the medical wing. Every time she walked past, she would set off the sensors and the doors would whoosh open, but that didn’t even distract her anymore.

  Ishka saved my life.

  He’d literally jumped in front of a hosha bullet for her. They always inflicted maximum damage, as it was a high powered projectile weapon with bullets that were meant to splinter, shredding anything it tore through.

  Ishka was lucky, since it was only a shoulder wound, but it just seemed like so much blood and mangled flesh. She wasn’t sure what Melier healing was like. On a human, the loss of blood from such a grotesque blow could be fatal.

  The medics had yet to tell her anything, however, so she figured Ishka was still in surgery.

  The palace was once again on lockdown, and by that time, the secret the family had been hiding was out. Palace inhabitants, staff, and relatives knew it had been an assassination attempt. Even as she lingered outside the medical wing, her partners, and seven guards remained within a few yards of wherever she was.

  “What will happen now?” she asked distractedly, chewing on the skin of her thumb as she continued to set off the sensors.

  “He will be detained,” Soren said, solemnly.

  Lucia stopped abruptly.

  “Excuse me? For what?”

  “Is it not suspicious he was there just in time?” Zun said, eyes narrowing menacingly.

  “Are you kidding me?” her jaw dropped after she asked. “He took a bullet for me, Val’Zun!”

  He rolled his eyes, and shook his head dismissively, as if her words were childish.

  “So it appears, however, why was he there to begin with?”

  “He was going to tell me something,” she said defensively, recalling that he never got around to it. “Before he could, he was shot!”

  Soren and Zun shared a skeptical glance.

  “It’s true!”

  “I do not believe in coincidences,” he said indignantly.

  “Ishka has done nothing to indicate he means me any harm,” she huffed, anger curling her fingers into fists at her sides. “He’s been nice to me, and talks to me like I’m a--” Lu stopped short, as she was about to say ‘like a human being’, but on Melierun, that wasn’t a good thing. “Like an equal.”

  “You are not equals,” Zun growled. “You are a princess.”

  “Yes, I’m aware--”

  “He should not initiate conversation with you--”

  “I know--”

  “-as you are above him. It is uncalled for--”

  “I know that’s what you all believe!”

  “It is fact.” He stated, incredulity and anger morphing his face.

  “I think that’s--”

  “It does not matter what you think--”

  “Shut up for a fucking minute!” she shrieked at him. “Jesus!”

  “That is not my name!”

  Lucia looked to the domed ceiling, chanting woosah in her mind over and over, even though it really wasn’t helping.

  “I know that isn’t your name,” she finally said in a calmer tone.

  “Then do not address me as such--”

  “I wasn’t! It’s just a thing people say sometimes.”

  “Why would you shout another individuals name at someone else?”

  “Oh, fuck me,” she sighed. “Forget it!”

  Soren rubbed a hand over his lips as if he was wiping away a smile, and then he was looking serious once more.

  “He will be detained, Loo-Sha,” Soren finally spoke. “Not only because he is a suspect,” he continued, giving a pointed look at Val’Zun, then her. “But he may know useful information that will help us find who is behind these attacks.”

  Lu sighed.

  “If he is innocent, it should be easy for him to prove.” Soren lifted his hairless brow as he approached her and rubbed his many hands over her tense shoulders, and arms. “It is only precaution. I promise.”

  Zun made a grumbling sound, and was again rolling his eyes. “That is basically what I said.”

  “It is not!”

  “Enough,” Soren rumbled.

  Lucia and Zun glared at each other.

  ****

  The next day went by slowly, and every hour, Lu visited the medical wing to check if Ishka was awake, and each time she was told he wasn’t.

  Well, her and her entourage. The mini army of guards followed her everywhere she went now, at the insistence of Soren and Val’Zun.

  But Ishka had survived.

  That was what mattered most to her.

  By third meal that night, she was a fidgety mess, wondering when he would be up and able to tell her what he had been intending to. Or at least prove his innocence.

  “He’s not guilty,” she insisted, muttering more to herself then to those around her as she pushed some leafy greens around on her plate. Across the table, Lenny smacked her lips as she slobbered on a piece of tart fruit while Soren held her. Her glossy, coal curls that were growing longer each day, plastered to the sides of her wet cheeks, but she far more concerned about the tasty chunk of fruity flesh she was gnawing to death.

  She’d grown like a weed once they landed back on Melierun. It was as if she kicked into high speed, her growth somehow facilitated by the alien atmosphere. She had begun cutting teeth, growing claws, crawling, and then walking within the same week. It didn’t make any sense.

  Well, by human standards, anyhow.

  Her curiosity about anything and everything was often getting her into trouble. She no longer obsessed over her tail, and for the most part, left it alone. Everything else though, watch out. The last two weeks alone, Lucia had lost count of how many vases had been destroyed, and books gutted of their pages.

  And she was bloody fast.

  One minute she was within your sights, th
e next she was gone, determined to climb, grab, and touch or break anything that struck her interest. Lu was almost afraid the babe would discover the drapes of the floor to ceiling windows that were in many places around the palace. What once were flimsy human fingernails were now stronger, and grew in spurts that required frequent clipping. She experienced heart palpitations each time she thought about Lenny climbing those things.

  Medic Tuzon assured her the fast developments were normal, and belated by Melier growth standards.

  “I just hope he wakes soon to prove it,” Lu sighed, finally shoving a tasteless bite into her mouth, as she stirred from her own thoughts. “He said he had news…” she said after swallowing.

  “What news would a guard have for you?” Val’Qa asked curiously, and Lu noticed the often pretentious undertone he had when speaking to her, on the few occasions, was almost nonexistent.

  He simply sounded curious.

  “I wish I knew,” she replied, recalling the events, like she’d done a million times in the last day, to try and maybe piece together or guess at what he was going to say. “Nothing has been overly strange lately, and the last time we spoke…”

  Lucia’s voice trailed as she recalled how she had felt at ease around Ishka. She could literally count on her fingers how few Meliers’ regarded her as kindly and equally as he had.

  “All I know is that in the few times we talked, he was always friendly. In my current position that means a lot more to me than it may to someone else.”

  “Loo-Sha,” Soren said clearing his throat, “what happened when you talked to him before the shooting that gives you the impression he is innocent? As Val’Zun mentioned, it is too convenient.”

  Lu frowned at Soren, knowing he was just trying to ascertain the truth, but it still frustrated her how everyone seemed to call into question Ishka’s motives.

  “Well it happened so quickly… I remember I began to greet him, but he interrupted me, stating he had news. Before he could say anything more, something caught his gaze behind me. I didn’t see what, or who, but could tell by his face. And then… and then he was bleeding.” Lu rubbed her fingers together absently, though they were no longer slippery with crimson.

  “That still does not prove lack of ill will.” Val’Zun claimed blandly. “If anything that is more suspicious.”