by Grace, Viola
Her mother smiled. “Mathura should be proud of this one. They are so desperate for him to have more of his genetic line that they were willing to agree to anything. So, if the child is born, we will have the full rights of family. I have been in conversation with her, and she is delighted that he has made such an advantageous union.”
Zaber grinned. “When I told her your name, she said the same to me.”
Shan sighed. “Right. Well, shall we ask Cotic for lunch?”
Her mom smiled. “Can he still make those little puffy things?”
Zaber snorted. “Shan lives off those little puffy things.”
Shan grinned.
Isomber smiled. “Four for lunch then. I will let Cotic know.”
There was a call up from the depths of the stairway. “Cotic knows. Four for lunch.”
Shan grinned. Things were a lot less formal when there wasn’t an Athon to witness it. This was just her at home with family and friends.
“Where are your parents staying?” He had his arms around her as they looked out over the gardens that stretched deep into the woods.
“They have a home in the forest.” She grinned. “They like their privacy; my mom gets loud.”
Zaber closed his eyes. “That isn’t something I needed to know.”
“Ah, but you will find out soon enough. They will stay when your mother shows up.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“My mom is not going to leave me where another Kaduran can get me. There were a few attempts on my life until my toxicity came in.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I inherited half of each of my parents’ earnings as well as the gifts offered from close family. That made me a prime target for kidnapping, as there would be for any child of ours. Kadurans are excellent at kidnapping and murder. We are not a particularly pleasant group when you are talking about the higher classes with the most training.”
He grimaced. “So, you were threatened.”
“Now and then. My mom doesn’t trust Kadurans. Especially not Kaduran women. If your mother doesn’t like me, she might try to kill me to clear a path for another woman.”
He frowned. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“Instinct is strange. If she doesn’t take to me, it is a possibility. We will just be ready for anything.”
“It will be fine.”
She patted his arm. “I am glad you think so.”
She was sparring with her father in the yard when she heard an intake of breath.
The new voice was strong but calm. “Really? Sparring?”
Her father struck at her head, and she ducked, rolling aside as he kicked out at her.
“Pleased to meet you, madam.” Shan ducked again. She struck her father with lightning-quick blows to the abdomen, and then, she tripped him.
He groaned and laughed. “Well, you are going to slow down when you gain weight.”
She grimaced and helped him to his feet. “We have a few months before that happens.”
Mathura was standing next to Zaber and blinking. “So, it’s true?”
“It is true.”
Shan wasn’t expecting the hug, but she knew what to do when Mathura started to crumple. “Dang. Zaber, can you carry her? We will have to get her inside to wake her up.”
“What happened?”
She smiled. “That is what usually happens when someone who doesn’t have immunity touches my skin. She will wake up in an hour on her own, and we can wake her with the medkit we keep. Is she a hugger?”
Zaber looked at her and then laughed. “Yes. Yes, she is.”
As they walked into the house, she called out, “Mom. Get the injector. We have a fainter.”
Her mom came by and raised her brows at the woman who looked just like Zaber, down to the dark waves of hair.
“Wait. Wavy hair. I dunno. I think that is a dealbreaker.” She smirked, and Zaber growled, picking her up and flipping her around.
“A little too late for that, Shan.” He held her in his arms, and she grinned.
She sighed. “And I couldn’t be happier about that.”
Her parents woke Mathura, and the first sight she was treated to was Shan cradled in Zaber’s arms, kissing him softly.
She smiled. “Thank the shining stars. Zaber, if you screw this up, I am going to sic the guilds on you.”
Shan watched her mother’s expression as she smiled evilly and said, “Don’t worry, Mathura. We are already here, and we are watching.”
Mathura blinked and took in the clothing that Shan’s parents were wearing, processing what she saw. She slowly smiled. “Zaber, I think you are in very good hands.”
Shan looked at him.
He grinned. “I think I knew that the moment that I saw her.”
She touched the mark on his forehead. “I knew I wanted you the moment I saw you. Wanting to keep you took an hour... or two.”
He blinked in surprise, and her parents laughed. His mother chuckled with a hand over her lips.
It wasn’t the strangest introduction, and it definitely suited the new family that was forming with the new couple in the center. Hopefully, there was a new life starting in them at that very moment.
Epilogue
What was to become the greatest general in Athon history was born in the center of the Akura Forest, during a storm, with all of her family around her.
Shan looked at her baby, and her hands flexed. She wanted to touch her daughter, but she had her father’s complexion and skin-to-skin contact might cause her to sleep. She was too young for the inoculation.
Zaber was cuddling his daughter, and he was waiting for her signal. When she finally reached out for her daughter, the child sighed, and Shan froze.
Her father said, “Just hold her, Shan.”
Shan touched the baby’s cheek, and there was a tiny exhalation before the eyes squinted at her, and the little fists waved. Her tiny crystal was pink, and her body was perfect.
Shan cried. She had grown up with tales of sleeper or death women who had killed their newborns a moment after birth. It had been a fear that plagued her for the last month of her pregnancy.
“Astura is her call name.” Shan smiled and stroked her baby with her own blood-red hair. “Into the stars.”
Zaber smiled. “It’s a good name. It’s a good start.”
The family started to come in and speak to the baby softly, touching a little hand or arm as they said what was put aside for it.
Shan smiled. “Such a small family. What an unfortunate heir.” The vid screens that had been set up showed aunts, uncles, and cousins from across the sector.
The faces on the screens laughed, and they asked for the baby to be held up toward the monitors. Mathura waited for a nod of permission, and she showed the little princess to the childless family members who had focused their energy on Shan’s family when one child was all they would have. The viewers whispered to the baby of the wealth, properties, and riches that they would give to her at her naming day.
Shan reached out, and Zaber took her hand. She smiled slightly. “So, that one was easy. How many more should we have?”
He laughed and came toward her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his mind wrapping tightly to hers. “Whatever you decide, love. Or whatever happens. I am good with either.”
The baby was carefully handed from grandparent to grandparent, and they watched carefully.
The title of unfortunate heir had passed to another generation.
* * * *
Kemsah looked at her daughter, and she smiled at the happy contentment that had spread across Shan’s face. When Shan was born, she was the target of pity. No massive family, no siblings, just the single child with the chalk-white skin. She wasn’t even good for stealth training. Now, here she was with enough funds to buy an entire planet, a man who worshiped the ground she walked on, and a daughter with eyes like the stars. Shan had an inclination for
money, and she attracted good people around her. She was a blessing designed by the stars, and when Kemsah looked at Zaber, she could see that he saw it, too.
Perhaps she could stop planning ways to kill the great general. She chuckled. Nah. It kept her mind calm to plan a death. It was a delightful hobby.
“Mom, you are to stop contemplating murdering Zaber in a way that wouldn’t leave a trail.” Shan smiled as the baby came back to her.
“What? I wasn’t.”
Shan gave her a look through her lashes as she bared her breast for her child.
Kemsah nodded. “Fine. I will have to find another target. Now that your dad is a grandpa, I can’t focus on him. Any suggestions?”
“Cousin Tal? He is well protected.”
Kemsah smiled brightly and stroked her daughter’s cheek. “You always were so clever. Very well.”
* * * *
Shan sat while her father tried to convince her mother not to plan an assassination of the Prefect of Trunoth.
Zaber sat next to her and smiled. “Is it always like this?”
“When they are happy? Yes. A dark upbringing makes for difficult coping mechanisms.” She sighed. “They will be fine. We will be fine. The baby will be amazing.”
He smiled and kissed her head. “Of course, she will be. She already is.”
Shan met the baby’s gaze, and the little, starry pupils were bright. “Yeah. She really is.”
The chaos continued, and they remained a quiet oasis in the hushed arguing, discussions, and nervous laughter of the other members in the room. It was the start of a dynasty and the heart of a family exposed for all to see.
Author’s Note
This book was a brain worm. I read something that started a train of thought, and this was the result.
I have no intention of continuing the story. It was just a meet-cute, a kidnapping, and a bit of nekkid wrestling. Now, I can continue with my more normal venues.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
