Sometimes it was hard to get a word in with Jess, probably a result of having no girlfriends to talk to onboard ship. Although, from what she’d shared with me, she hadn’t had a lot of close pals on Earth either. We had that in common. As well as the gratitude to have one another now.
I trailed her into the sitting area of the captain’s quarters. Despite her best efforts to neaten it at her Master’s request, it was always awash in colorful items. Every time she returned one to the storage bay, she came back with two more. My friend was the human equivalent of a dragon with its hoard. She loved beauty and color but had told me her favorite colors were the ones displayed by Mantsk when they were alone together.
We’d compared notes, and learned that while the shades of the Arythians for different moods were similar, each was a little different, personal only to him. We had no knowledge about the females of the race, but, since they no longer existed, we didn’t like to ask a lot of questions. I had my eye out for information about them and their color changes in the scrolls, but it must have been such common knowledge nobody bothered to make note of it.
“Jess?” I said when she paused for breath. “He gave me a present! Look.” I uncupped my hand from around the shell and held it out for her to see.
“Oohh. That’s beautiful. And just the same shade as your dress…”
“I know. And you should have seen the effect the dress had on the Archon. Not that he isn’t usually…ardent? But whew.”
“Are you walking a little funny?’
“Does it show?” We both burst into giggles. Walking funny had become a way of life due to the attentions of our alien males.
Finally, we stopped laughing long enough to unload the fabric from her body into a corner and sit down with our favorite tea in front of us. I’d wondered if the mild high it produced might be an issue with her pregnancy, but the ship’s doc was positive it wasn’t, and he also insisted it provided trace minerals that Arythians needed, so she indulged. Happily. And without guilt.
“Mantsk is meeting with Guryon about something or other, so we have time to chat. This stuff is the best, isn’t it?” Jess took a sip and sighed.
“It is. I’m so glad you turned me on to it.” We were quiet for a few minutes, while I continued to toy with my new necklace. “I was so touched to receive this, you know?”
“Still want to leave at the first opportunity?” She looked at me in a way like Vyraz when I would swear he could see what I was thinking. “Or have you realized that this life might be better than what you lived on Earth?”
I’d shared so much with her during our chats and while we sewed. “It’s better. But I didn’t choose it, you know? And I feel like I’ve never gotten to choose anything.”
“You didn’t choose to come aboard. And our guys are pushy, for sure, but I’ve seen you together, seen how he goes out of his way to please you.”
“But he’s still in charge.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes and no. They are dominating, protective, and maddening. But have you asked yourself if the husband you would have ended up with on Earth would have treated you like this? I mean—spectacular sex aside. Even if you’d chosen your own man, something that was not very likely to happen, would he have been a better mate?”
“He’s not my mate. He’s my Master, and that’s a whole different thing.”
Jess set he cup down and looked at me. “But the token. You accepted it. I assumed that meant you changed your mind. Accepted his declaration. I thought we’d be planning your wedding or mating ritual…or combination thereof. Wasn’t that what you came to tell me?
“What?” My brain went poof. “This is…he called it a thank you gift or something…”
“This is a seasprite shell. I’ve seen pictures of them, although this may be the only one left in existence. Which tells you how valuable it is.”
“Wow. So it’s a nice gift but—”
She shook her head as if I was too dense to live. Which I might be. “Aja. Does or does not the Archon call you Seasprite? I’ve overheard it a couple of times.”
“Sure.”
“Let me spell it out for you, sunshine. A nickname token is the equivalent of an engagement ring. A valuable one like yours is the ultimate engagement gift. In giving this to you, he was offering to make you his mate.” She paused. “Although there is a ritual, some words he should have said to you that would have made it clear. I don’t understand why he didn’t.”
I flushed. “Uh…he might have if I hadn’t kissed him on the forehead and raced out the door to show it off.” Yep, definitely too dense to live. “Oh, what must he think? What do I do? I have totally screwed up his proposal. You sure this was a proposal?”
Jess shrugged, the merriment in her eyes hard to take in my current mental state. “Pretty sure. But there’s only one way to find out.”
“Go back and…I can’t face him.” I tossed back the last of my liquid courage. “Can I live here?”
Jess pushed to her feet, one hand on her belly. “I swear I’m already off balance. Soon you’ll be pregnant, too, and our babies will grow up together.” She escorted me toward the door that reappeared at her wave. “Unless you’re already…are you?”
“I don’t think…” My mind was a whirl already. “I have to go face him, and apologize on my knees for being the stupidest woman in the world. Or the galaxy.” I grabbed at her hand. “Come with me? You can back up my stupidness.”
“Ohhh no.” She pulled free and gave me a little push into the corridor. “You’re on your own. He’ll understand. Probably. Besides, once you’re on your knees, he’ll be distracted.” Her laughter followed me down the hallway. “But I want a full report.”
“Bye, Jess.” As soon as I turned a corner, my steps lagged. Was she right? Did I just short-sheet a proposal? Did I even want a proposal? My plans for escape, never fully formed, had been fading into the background as my new life took shape. I had a kind, hot man, a job I loved already, a chance to study something fascinating, and another something I didn’t want to consider yet.
But there was one very important detail. A proposal implied a question. Will you marry me? Mate me? However they phrased it. Could I say yes or no? A choice? Was I finally being presented with a choice? Even my degree was in an area selected by my father for its possible use in his business—pure luck that I liked the field. And a shame I’d never gotten to use it. Until Vyraz made that possible.
Aja, do you choose to live with the most amazing man you’ve ever met. To finally have a great job. To share the greatest adventure of finding a whole new world to live on. To put down roots with this great man who wants me without even knowing I was a royal princess for real.
I’d come to a stop, but suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get back to our quarters. To apologize and hope he still wanted to propose.
To make the first real decision of my life.
I raced toward home. Waved my hand and dissolved the wall, excitement bubbling inside me. Vyraz was speaking with the admiral via hologram. I hung back to let them finish their conversation.
And heard the words that tore a hole in my soul.
I do not want the human as my mate. I hereby relinquish my ownership of her. Please give her to another warrior. Immediately.
Chapter Nineteen
Vyraz
I hadn’t seen Aja in 7 sols.
Not that I hadn’t tried.
After I got over the shock of finding out she overheard my conversation with Mantsk, I realized I needed to set things straight with her as soon as possible. First, I’d find out how much she heard. Then I’d explain in the gentlest of terms that although I still wanted to work with her on the scrolls, our personal relationship had to end.
There was only one place she would have gone. I dreaded the confrontation, so I let some time pass before heading to Mansk’s quarters and gesturing my presence.
“What do you want?” Jess called through the wall.
A bad sign. Proper etiquett
e required her to open the doorway and invite a visitor in. Especially the Archon.
“I need to speak to Aja.”
“Just a minute.”
Silence. I paced the corridor.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you,” came Jess’s voice. “She says anything you have to say you can say to me.”
I hadn’t expected that. Time to assert my male authority.
“Tell her that her Master orders her to return to our quarters. I need to speak with her. Privately,” I added.
I heard low murmurs then Jess’s voice again.
“She says you can’t tell her what to do. You’re not her Master any more. You gave her back.”
I bit back a curse. Legally, she had a point.
“Very well. As Archon of Arythios, I command her to accompany me to our quarters. It is imperative that I speak to her. Now.”
I heard a loud “Oh hell, no!” from Aja, followed by more low murmurs.
“She says you can’t call them ‘our quarters’ anymore. She doesn’t belong to you, so she’s decided to live somewhere else from now on. And since she’s not an Arythian, she says the Archon doesn’t have the power to command an alien he doesn’t own or want as a mate to do a damn thing. Especially not an alien princess.”
More murmurs then a giggle. Jess’s.
“She says as a princess she commands you to go away and leave her alone.”
I’d never doubt her claim to be descended from nobility. She certainly knew how to act like a royal pain in the ass.
I was getting nowhere. I tried one more maneuver. Projected my thoughts directly to her.
To my shock, I hit a wall. Somehow, she’d learned to close her mind to me.
I headed back to the lab. I decided I’d give her some time and speak with her when she came to work the next sol. She was hurt, but once she realized we were better suited to be colleagues, she’d get over it.
But she didn’t show up. Mantsk came to me instead.
“Aja isn’t coming,” he informed me. “She asked me to send her regrets to the Archon, but she isn’t feeling well enough to work this sol.”
“That’s not what she said.”
He looked sheepish. “You’re right, Archon. She had several suggestions of what I should tell you, none of which I deemed appropriate. I found one particularly imaginative. It involved your head and another part of your anatomy.”
I sat down. Ran my hands wearily over the head under discussion. “By the gods, I never meant to hurt her. It’s just—I’m an old man, Mantsk. She’s young and vibrant. She deserves a warrior in his prime, one who can take care of her properly.”
“From some of the conversations I overheard between her and Jess, it sounded like you took care of her quite well.”
“Fucking isn’t the same as breeding,” I muttered.
“Is that what this is about? You sent her away because you’re upset that you haven’t impregnated her yet? Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I did hear that topic being discussed. Apparently some human females are not as focused on having offspring as our Arythian mates were. Aja told Jess if she had a child at some point in the future that would be wonderful, but she was in no hurry. And if it never happened, that would be all right, too, because she loved the work she was doing here. She said she never would have had the opportunity to pursue her passion back on Earth.”
Mantsk put a hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re the Archon, but in some ways you’ve led a sheltered life. Being there for all the Arythians meant you never committed to just one. I lost my mate when our world was destroyed. I thought I’d never survive the pain. When I took Jess as mine, it was only to breed her and do my duty to see that our race would go on. To my surprise, as I got to know her, I came to care for her. You’ve met my Jess. How could anyone not care for her? She’s charming and funny, with such a big heart. Over time, my grief and pain began to heal, and that caring grew into love. She’s filled my life—and this entire solport—with color again.”
“There’s a reason we survived,” he went on. “Only the gods know what it is. But life is their gift to us, and I don’t believe they want us to spend the rest of it grieving our losses. So what if you don’t sire offspring with Aja? If your life is richer for having her in it, if she can say the same, and you make each other happy, well, that’s all that really matters. You’re the Holy One. Take a leap of faith.”
I mustered a smile. “Now I understand why Dylos put you in charge of our solport. You’re a wise leader, Captain Mantsk—and a compassionate one. Thank you. I will reflect on your words.”
To some it may not have sounded like much, but, as an Archon, telling him I would reflect on his words was the highest praise I could bestow. It meant I would meditate on them. And an Archon’s meditation is a powerful thing.
Aja still had not come back to the lab. Finally, I gave up waiting.
I went to the doorway of the captain’s quarters, gestured my presence then spoke to the blank wall.
“Jess, I would like you to give Aja a message for me. I understand if she doesn’t want to see me. But I would like—no, I would humbly ask—that she listen to what I have to say.”
I didn’t wait for a response.
“Aja, I hope you can hear me because there’s something I never told you. I didn’t pick you at random. The gods showed you to me in a vision. You called me Master and knelt at my feet.”
I decided to leave out the other details of the vision. They weren’t appropriate to shout out in a corridor. One day, gods willing, I’d tell her all about it—while bringing her pleasure wilder and more intense than she’d ever felt before. If I was ever blessed to have her kneel at my feet again.
“I think that’s the moment I fell in love with you. Before I knew you were real. Then Fate brought you to me. Fiery and stubborn, determined to have the freedom to make your own choices for once in your life.
“I gave you a seasprite shell. But I never said the words to go along with it. Aja, princess of the Terran world, the gods have blessed me. They brought my vision to life—and into my arms. I, the Archon of Arythios, presented you with a seasprite shell as a symbol of my desire to formalize our union. I want to declare before all that I claim you and you alone, forevermore, as my one and true Mate. But only if you choose to be.
“There’s a story behind my gift to you, Aja. I’ve never told it to anyone before. I found that shell on the beach when I was just a boy. I’d never seen anything so delicate. So beautiful. I ran to show it to my mother. She said ‘Oh, Vyrazi, you found a seasprite shell! How lucky. They’re very rare, only found on Arythios. You know, no one has ever seen a live seasprite. We’ve only found their empty shells. It’s said that the seasprite is magical. Unlike other sea creatures, she doesn’t have to stay in her shell. She’s free to come and go as she pleases. The legend says if you find an empty shell, when the seasprite who lived in it returns, she’ll make all your wishes come true—if you give her home back to her.’”
I didn’t know if she was listening. But I went on. “Aja, my world is gone. The gift I gave you—it’s the last seasprite shell in the Universe. Since the first time I saw you, you’ve made my wishes come true. You’ve been the partner I needed in the lab, someone who shares my dedication to the critically important work we’re doing. You’ve been the sensuous lover I always longed for but never had. I’ve given you back your shell—and now I want to give you myself. Body and soul. To be your Master, your partner, your lover. Your best friend. Please, Seasprite, make my final wish come true. Choose me. I’ll give your heart a home.”
Epilogue
Vyraz
She came toward me slowly, hips swaying. Moving to an exotic cadence as old as time. I could almost hear the low, seductive chant, feel the pulsing beat deep in my loins. An Arythian fertility goddess come to life.
She was more beautiful than ever. Even her skin, black as the precious gemstones of the Mira-Ba caverns, had a luminous glow about it.
I’d wondered when I first saw her if she changed color, as we did. Now I had my answer. Her nipples were no longer a shocking pink. They had taken on a deeper rosy hue. One I found even more erotic. And I still hungered for a taste of them.
She stopped in front of me, so close her scent filled my lungs, and dropped to her knees. Legs spread far enough apart to reveal soft labial folds the color of a seasprite shell, all the brighter against her ebony skin.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I couldn’t hear her words.
The sound of drums overpowered them, growing louder with each passing moment. I made out two distinct beats. One deep and slow, the other fainter, but rapid. Like fingertips tapping out a new and unfamiliar rhythm. Hesitant, but eager to learn.
Aja smiled. A knowing smile, a smile that hinted of the mystery and power of the Universe. The smile I’d seen depicted on the faces of statues of the fertility goddess. This time, above the beating of the drums, I made out her words. “I bring you a gift, Master.”
Not drumbeats. Heartbeats. Hers, deep and slow. And the other… My eyes filled with tears of joy. I reached down and gathered her into my arms. “Our child. You’re carrying our child.”
“Not just a child,” she said.
That’s when I felt it. The bond that linked our kind together through the ages. The bond so cruelly severed for me when everyone on our world ceased to exist. It was there again. I could feel it in my mind, in my very soul. Faint, tenuous, but unmistakable. One of my own kind, reaching out even now, without words.
Aja was right. The babe she bore was more than a new life to assure the survival of our species.
I was in the presence of another Archon.
Conquered Page 10
