by C. W. Gray
Clyde grunted as he sat down beside Val. “There’s no denying he has a lot of power.”
“He is dangerous,” Val agreed. “To our enemies. To the people who might try to hurt us. He’s not going to lose his temper and harvest someone’s soul. Trust me. There’s this man named Brisco that annoys the hell out of him every time he’s around. Veri complains about it all the time. If he hasn’t killed him yet, then he won’t kill some random stranger walking down the street.”
Clyde smiled half-heartedly. “What if you get mad at him and want to leave? What’s to stop him from hurting you?”
Something told Val that Clyde wasn’t asking an idle question. “He cares for me, Clyde, but he also respects me. Nothing ties me to him except my love for him.”
“I was married,” Clyde whispered. “Before I met you or Poppy. He had a temper.”
Val’s hands balled into fists. “Did he hurt you?”
Clyde nodded and looked away. “He’s what happened to my leg, but I couldn’t get away from him. It took years to find help. Pops and Ma Brackenridge were the ones who stepped in and got me to call enforcement. We divorced, and he was exiled from the station.” He looked up, eyes wet. “It took years to get away from him, Val, and he was just a normal man.”
Val wrapped an arm around Clyde and pulled him into a hug. “I need to meet this man. I think I would actually like to pummel his face in.”
“Maybe you would, but I just can’t see you hurting someone.” Clyde’s laugh was a little watery. He leaned his head on Val’s shoulder. “What do we do if you need to get away from Death?”
Val didn’t know how to reassure his friend. There was no way Clyde would accept that Verion wouldn’t do those things, not without knowing him. “If I need to get away from Verion, I’ll walk away. Do you know where I’d go?”
“Where?”
“To you, Alois, and Poppy. You three are my friends, and you’re the ones I trust to believe me.”
Clyde watched him for a moment. “We need to trust you too, don’t we?”
“Yes.” Val’s eyes watered. “Don’t insult my Verion or our baby, okay? Trust me when I tell you that Veri and I can handle a gifted baby. We may have to pull you and everyone else in to help, but we’ll raise this kid to be a good person.”
Poppy and Salla stood at the top of the stairs. Sai’s twin looked very different from her, despite their similar features. Where Sai had an almost stern personality and style, Salla was all about art and expression. Her long hair was styled in a messy ponytail, and she wore bright and stylish clothing.
Poppy danced nervously from foot to foot. “Your son is making out with Sai downstairs, and Death and some soldiers are coming to finish loading things. One of the soldiers is following your man around like a puppy.”
Val grinned. “That would be Brisco. I’m glad I’ll get to meet him this time.”
Salla made a face. “What about Lorry and Sai? They’re on a public street. You don’t see me kissing my mate every chance I get in front of everyone.”
Val frowned. “You haven’t met your mate yet.”
She groaned. “I know, and it’s not fair, damn it.”
“Well, you’ll have to deal with Lorry and Sai,” Val said and winced. “I lost all credibility as an authority figure when I didn’t use protection and got my lover pregnant.”
Salla smiled wide. “Lorry said that he told you to start small in wooing your man, but instead you got him pregnant and are moving in together. You really lost that credibility, Mr. Philbert, but I’ll still pretend to listen to you, okay?”
“Gee, thanks, Salla.”
Poppy laughed and pushed the teenager toward the apartment door. “Let’s go and give these two a chance to pretend they were actually working.”
“Seriously.” Salla sniffed. “Big, strong men sitting on their asses while we do all the work.”
“Story of my life,” Poppy said, shaking her head.
Val and Clyde watched them disappear just as Verion and a few others reached the top of the stairs. Val’s mate had his head bowed in misery as one of the men beside him practically bounced in place.
“I’m serious,” the man said. “I think this guy really cheated at cards. All you got to do is come to the next poker night and sit beside me. He won’t cheat then, but you could read his soul and tell me if the asshole is feeling guilty or not. If he’s feeling guilty, then okay, but if he’s not, then I’m cheating next time and taking all his money.”
“Please leave me alone,” Verion said, a slight whine in his voice. “The others like you, so I don’t want to make them cry by harvesting your soul.”
Clyde turned to look at Val. “I’m starting to see what you mean.”
An hour later, everything was packed into the moving shuttle. Val held Verion’s hand as they walked to the tram. It was a quiet moment in an otherwise very busy morning.
Midge stopped to sniff a flower, and Val had to tug on her leash to get her to continue on.
“You didn’t have to miss work for this,” Val said. “I know you’re close to finishing the vaccine. I could have handled the move for you.”
Verion shrugged. “I know. Wyatt and Estella are keeping an eye on the last of the tests, but they’re more formality than anything. I wanted to be here with you.”
Warmth stole across Val’s cheeks, and he looked away. “Thanks. I think it would be good for you to spend time with Clyde and Poppy. They need to get to know you.”
“Your friends are afraid of me.” Verion didn’t sound surprised or hurt by the fact, just accepting.
“That’s why they need to get to know you.” Val tugged on Midge’s leash again. She had found an interesting tree to explore. “Brisco helped, believe it or not.”
“Brisco needs to get to know a ship going to another system.”
Val chuckled. “Is Brisco your new best friend?”
“No.” Verion narrowed his eyes at Val. “Don’t even put that idea into the air around us. I’ll stick with Sandra and Leti, thank you very much.”
Val laughed again and teased his mate during the short tram ride to their new neighborhood. “Maybe you and Brisco can have a buddies’ night out.”
Verion shuddered. “What is wrong with you?”
Val forgot to answer when he stopped off the tram. “Why are there so many people carrying food?”
Almost each family that lived in the neighborhood had their arms full of covered dishes. They chatted as they walked toward Val and Verion’s new home. A long-haired goat stared at them from the street corner. Once they reached him, the goat sniffed Midge, then walked beside them.
“That’s Muffin,” Verion said, nodding at the goat. “He belongs to Leti.”
“Of course, he does.” Val chuckled. “How many pets does he have anyway?”
“I lost count,” Death said, yawning. “Or maybe that was children. Either way, he has a large family.”
“Are you tired? Do you need a nap?” Val unhooked Midge’s leash, then stuck it in his pocket. “Here, you hold Midge and let me carry you.”
Verion frowned and took Midge when Val handed him the little dog. “What?”
Val scooped his mate into his arms. “There, now you can rest. I’ll get us to the new house.”
Verion sighed. “This is ridiculous.”
Alois, Clyde, and Poppy started to walk past them, then stopped.
“Is he hurt, Val? Do I need to get a medic?” Clyde asked.
“He’s very tired,” Val said. “He’s growing a baby, you know.”
“It was just one yawn,” Verion said, scowling.
Poppy snickered and pet Muffin. “This is your life now, Dr. Death. Get used to overprotective Val. He’s very similar to normal Val but with extra anxiety and coddling.” She gasped and pointed up. “Look, there’s the dragon.”
Val looked up. A large Fire Veil dragon flew high above them. A much smaller dragon flew right behind him with two baby dragons clinging to his back. A
Grellweir glimmer soared on one side of the dragons, and a Radollia flew on his other.
Val recognized the Radollia and a couple of the dragons. “The Radollia is Mustaschio, the big dragon is Princess Buttercup, and the Frost Veil dragon baby is Stardust. I haven’t met the rest of them, but they’re a familiar sight around here.”
“The medium sized Fire Veil dragon is Aagy and belongs to Leti’s sister, Pepper, and the baby Fire Veil dragon is Honey. She belongs to Draif and Lucas.” Alois sighed. “I suggested name tags for all the pets when we had visitors to the neighborhood, but everyone said, No, that’s too weird, Alois.”
A small black shape flew at the tail end of the group. Val frowned as it came closer and dipped down to land smoothly on one of Muffin’s long horns.
The goat bleated, but otherwise didn’t act too concerned. The creature looked like a small raven made of pure black metal. His intricately made metal feathers glinted in the light. Someone had put a lot of time and love into creating this creature.
“Whoa,” Poppy said, eyes wide. “Is that one of the Fyrelings?”
“Yeah, that’s my newest,” a deep voice said from behind them. They all turned to stare at the large green Grell with two babies strapped to his chest in slings. One of the babies was much bigger than the other, but the smaller baby’s scowl looked a little intimidating.
“It’s beautiful, Beck,” Verion said, looking impressed. “As usual, you’ve created a lovely Fyreling.”
Beck grinned. “I’m glad you think so, ‘cause I thought he’d suit you well.”
Verion narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Is he the gift, Ma was talking about?” Val asked, smiling at the mechanical raven.
Beck blushed. “Yeah. Leti read me this Old Earth poem by some guy named Edgar. It was about a raven, and it gave me the idea. It also scared me, but I didn’t complain because Leti probably would have tried reading me some of his own poetry.”
“The Blue General’s mate writes poetry?” Clyde asked, brows raised. “I thought he was a historian.”
“He writes poetry about the Blue General’s dick,” Alois said, snickering. “Thankfully, we’ve not heard too much of it.”
Poppy patted the goat’s nose. “Interesting neighborhood you’re moving into, Val. Dragons, Fyrelings, and dick poetry. I think I might be jealous.”
Val and his friends shared a smile. It really was an interesting neighborhood.
Verion reached out and stroked a hand over the back of the raven. “If he chooses to stay with us, we should name him Edgar.”
Beck grinned, brimming with happiness. “I just knew you’d like him. I can already tell he likes you and Val. It’s a match made for sure.”
By the time they reached their new house, most of Verion’s friends and family were there, and the shuttle was mostly unloaded.
Val made a nervous sound when he saw Sandra. Verion’s ex seemed like a nice woman, but Val had managed to avoid her so far. Frankly, he didn’t like how she made him feel. In his head, he knew she and Veri were good friends and that’s all they would be, but when he saw her, his heart got in the way, and he wanted to shave her head. She wouldn’t be as pretty without hair.
“Nice place,” Clyde said, eying the house. It was a lot like Morgan and Wyatt’s but was yellow instead of blue. Rueal Sundrop roses filled the flowerbeds, and a large tree shaded the front yard.
Sandra laughed when she saw them. “Why are you carrying him, Val?”
Val almost dropped his mate when he saw the lord admiral of the station standing behind Verion’s ex. This couldn’t get much worse. Lord Admiral Fasi Juren was right there.
“Is he injured?” Fasi asked him, looking puzzled.
“He yawned,” Val said, voice small. He just wanted to take care of his mate, but everyone was staring at him now like he was a weirdo. The Lord Admiral was staring at him. The. Lord. Admiral.
Verion set his head on Val’s shoulder. “I was very tired. I’m growing a baby, you know.”
Val was vaguely aware of Poppy and Clyde grinning at one another. The Lord Admiral and Sandra were both still staring at him.
Verion’s dog, Scythe, bounced out of the house and wiggled between Fasi and Sandra to reach them.
Verion frowned, eyes suspicious. “Morgan! Why is Scythe here?”
Morgan looked up from where he was watching Kiki and Pela play with Alois’s eldest child, Nina. “He’s your dog.”
“No, he’s not.” Verion’s look of afront made Val laugh. “Midge is my dog.”
Scythe sat at Val’s feet and stared lovingly up at Verion.
“I love you, Veri, but you’re wrong. He’s definitely your dog.” Val snickered when Verion glared at him.
Morgan snorted. “We named him Scythe, you know, to go with Death. How did you not know he’s your dog? He sleeps on your bed. You’re the one that feeds him and takes him out for walks.”
They all watched Scythe circle around, trying to catch his tail.
Verion gave Morgan a sour look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Midge woofed, then hopped from Verion’s arms. She sat next to Scythe and barked at him.
The big dog lowered down, until he laid in front of her.
She licked his nose, then turned and pranced toward the house.
Scythe jumped up and followed her, tail wagging.
“You have two dogs,” Val whispered, lips pressed close to Verion’s ear. “And an Edgar.”
The raven finally left his perch on Muffin’s horn and flew to the top of the porch, settling down to watch them.
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Alois said with a grin.
6
Early the next morning, Death bit down on Val’s shoulder as his mate slowly pushed into him. The feel of his mate inside him should have been a chaotic, passionate experience, but like always, it was a moment of calm in the storm of his life. A moment of peace and complete joy.
Val’s slow, languid movements seemed to go on forever, their bodies twisting around one another. Another moment I wish I could freeze forever, he thought to himself.
Val’s teeth scraped along Death’s neck. “I love you, Veri.” Val’s warm, low rumble carried across his skin, making him shudder. “I will love you forever.”
Death yelled and came, splattering come between them. He clung to Val’s wide shoulders and moved his hips furiously, milking Val’s dick as he came, filling Death’s ass.
Val collapsed beside him on the bed, then pulled Death over and on top of him. “No leaving tonight.”
Death licked his dry lips, still panting from his release. “No leaving ever again.”
Val looked up at him, eyes wet. “It almost killed me when you left to fight the Queen. I know why you had to go, but I couldn’t say goodbye, not like the other spouses and lovers. Then, after the battle, I didn’t know who to call to make sure you were alive. I can’t do that again, Veri. We’re together now, right?”
Death made a rough sound and cupped Val’s face in his hands. What have I done to my beautiful mate?
“You and I are fused together tighter than a braid of pure thitetium. There’s no escaping me, Val. We even share a home and a family now.” He stroked Val’s face, smoothing his fingers over the strong cheekbones and broad forehead. “I’m sorry I put us in that position. All I could think of, at the time, was killing the Queen so Wyatt and you would be safe.”
Val swallowed hard and nodded. “I know. I just wish I had gone with you and stood at your side. I know I’m no soldier or shaman or medic, but I could have done something. I could have been there for you.”
“You were,” Death whispered. “I carry you with me wherever I go. The way your smile lights up your eyes, the feel of your lips pressed to mine, even the loud braying of your snores at night.”
“Hey,” Val said, smiling, as he tried to sound indignant. “I don’t snore.”
Death chuckled and pinched Val’s chin. “Your snores are l
ouder than a ship’s engine, but they’re music to my ears. All of you stays within me, warming me and reminding me of what it is to live.”
Val sighed and relaxed against his pillow. “I love you too, Veri.”
Death buried his face against Val’s chest and tried to ignore the stickiness between them. He couldn’t bear to pull away from his mate at the moment, not even for a shower.
Scratching sounded at the door before it thudded open and Scythe and Midge ran inside, jumping on the bed and trampling Death and Val. Edgar flew in behind them and went straight to the top of the headboard, cawing softly.
Midge settled down on the pillow next to Val and licked his face as he laughed.
Scythe stared at Death before plopping his large bulk half on top of them.
Death sighed and pulled the covers over them, wiggling around to get comfortable. “I really don’t think he’s my dog.”
Death finished the last report covering the Pleuli Feciose vaccine and treatment plan and sent it to King Xaran’s medical team. Finally, he thought, leaning his head back and rolling his shoulders.
The project had been interesting and certainly worthwhile but working under Xaran’s scrutiny had been a nightmare.
“Caw.” Edgar looked up from his multi-level perch in the corner of the office. The raven Fyreling had already built up a nice collection of shiny objects in his office nest. He especially enjoyed playing with the bells Fire and Wyatt had hung for him on the highest level of his perch.
“Well, Edgar, that mess is finally finished.” Death sighed happily. “Dr. Manning’s team will keep looking for a cure, but you and I can begin a new project.”
Edgar cocked his head and pecked a tune out on his bells.
Death smiled, enjoying the peaceful moment.
A soft knock on his door drew his attention, and Lorry cracked it open, looking inside. “Can I come in?”
Lorry normally sat in the office outside, guarding Death’s time like a dragon with its horde. Death had overheard Lorry telling King Xaran to suck a Siren’s horns yesterday before hanging up on him.
