Miwaay, a female warrior who’d quickly taken a male of the city as her mate following the battle as she’d once boasted, gestured from a mongoroli—what Frankie privately decided was best described as a café. They’d become close over the past few weeks, and Miwaay helped Frankie with the hatchlings that were currently overrunning her home. Frankie smiled at the sight of all the babies and toddlers running around. Of all of Kaede’s projects, this was the one she’d found the most satisfying to help with: locating each of the hatchlings that had been kidnapped offplanet. Though her heart ached with those who were beyond their reach, she felt privileged to be there for this reunion.
With a squeeze of Kaede’s hand to get his attention, she joined the harried female who currently had a hatchling of two revolutions yanking on her tail.
“Is it time?” Miwaay asked, wincing as the little one decided to sink her tiny teeth into the Agraak’s tail.
“Yes, I think so. Let’s bring them out so they can finally meet their mothers.”
“What of the ones who don’t wish to keep their hatchlings?”
“Then they will stay where they are. It’s not like Kaede and I don’t have plenty of room in that big house of his.”
“Maybe to fill with your own hatchlings?” the female offered slyly.
Frankie laughed and patted her rounding belly.
“I think we may do all right filling a few of those rooms. Come on. Let’s get them out there.”
With the help of a small army of volunteers, they rounded the hatchlings up and brought them out. All around the square the women fell silent as they emerged with the little ones in tow but sounds of joy filled the air as women were introduced to their young. She knew that it took a lot of restraint for many of them to not snatch their children up into their arms, but they’d been cautioned to take it slow with the frightened hatchlings. Older hatchlings tentatively reached their arms out to their mothers, uncertainty in their eyes, while babies stared with open curiosity.
It would take time, but the families would get there.
Seeing that everything was going well, Frankie made her way to her sister. With ten hatchlings belonging to Alisha alone, all present and accounted for by some miracle, Miwaay was on hand helping to keep them all herded together as they brought the children to their mother.
Alisha stood with Gorul at their approach before walking around the table at which they’d been sitting. Her hand immediately went to her heart, her eyes filling with tears as she looked over them. With a smile, Frankie drew them forward, the youngest, only two months old from his hatching date, snug in her arms. Kaede stepped beside Gorul with a wide smile on his face and a friendly hand on the noswal’s arm.
“Alisha, these are your children. Little ones, this is your maga,” Frankie said, deferring to the Agraak word for mother. Though the children were fitted with translators since the day they hatched, it seemed appropriate.
Waving forward the oldest pair of twins, the males approached eagerly. They were a sad case among the hatchlings. Their father had been cold and aloof toward them, wanting progeny only to continue his line and to improve his status. The boys, in turn, had received little warmth or affection from anyone in that house when Frankie had taken them in. Although timid at first, the four-year-olds were bright and reacted with enthusiasm when they heard of their mother.
“This is Mish and Talor,” Frankie said. “They’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Both boys nodded eagerly, but one froze, his face crumpling.
“Maga, why you crying? You sad?”
Alisha shook her head and smiled through her tears as she swiped them away.
“No, Mish. Your maga is very happy. I’m so happy to finally meet all of you.”
His little face broke out in a wild smile and he trotted over to her side, throwing his arms around her legs before she had a chance to bend down to greet him. He squeezed her tight, his little body quivering with emotion.
“And this is your new apa,” Frankie said as she directed Talor toward Gorul. His little eyes got huge. Gorul kneeled before the child.
“You very big.”
“I am,” the noswal agreed with a chuckle.
“Why you have a tail?”
“Because my mother and father had a tail.”
“Oh. Hug?” Talor lifted his arms hopefully and made a small happy squeal when Gorul lifted him up in his arms.
One by one the children were introduced, until finally the baby was put into Alisha’s arms. Her twin looked over her brood with happiness radiating off her as her hand skimmed over heads not yet lethally studded with long spines, tousling hair affectionately.
“I remember each one of you,” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. She looked up at Kaede and smiled. “Thank you, Kaede. I can never repay this.”
“You paid more than any ever should,” Kaede murmured.
Gorul, with young ones already clinging to his hands and tail, leaned to speak softly to his mate.
“Come. Let us feed our hatchlings.”
With one last thankful look, Alisha and Gorul led their family back to the table. Frankie watched them with a smile until a female approached with three younglings. Her face immediately fell. This was going to be more difficult. Though she’d already placed Marissa’s hatchlings with a family who were eager to take them in, she still hadn’t asked yet if Erika and Claire wanted to take their children with them.
Accepting the younglings from the caretaker, Frankie approached the table where the women sat. Claire sat close to Emagul, listening intently to something he was saying while Erika stared out into the night with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Erika was the first to notice Frankie approach and her expression went cold. Frankie left the children at some distance with Miwaay as she closed the distance between them.
“Frankie,” she greeted quietly, her eyes sliding along the children. “I take it this isn’t a social visit.”
“Not entirely,” Frankie agreed. “I am glad to see you before you leave for Earth. How are you?”
“So glad to be going back,” Erika said with a happy sigh. Her smile faltered, as her eyes returned to the hatchlings again. “Is one of them mine?”
“Yes,” Frankie answered. “The little female in Miwaay’s arms is your daughter. There was a male too, but I’m afraid his father left the planet with him before we could get him. So many women are taking their children with them. I wasn’t sure whether or not that was an option you wanted to consider.”
Erika swallowed thickly, her eyes glittering with tears. She blinked them away and drew back.
“No. I’m sorry. I know you probably think I’m a terrible person, but I just can’t. I need to start over and forget about this place.”
Frankie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the other woman.
“I think no such thing. I’ll take good care of her. You just focus on what you need to do for you. If you ever change your mind, I will be here to reconnect you if that is something you want.”
“Thank you,” Erika whispered, giving her a small squeeze before stepping back. “I think I’m going to turn in. The day has been a bit exciting,” she laughed wearily. With one last look, she walked away.
“Is one mine?” Claire whispered from the side, startling Frankie. She looked over at the blonde who was leaning against Emagul, fear stamped over her features, and yet something else as well.
“Yes, the boys there, Asmal and Avok. Would you like to meet them?”
Claire glanced back at the Itashvanda, who smiled at her encouragingly.
“The choice is yours,” he reminded her gently. “No one is going to make you do anything that you are not comfortable with.”
She smiled hesitantly and nodded as she crouched down to meet them on their level. Her smile only widened once the boys were brought before her and introductions made. She reached out a hand and lightly stroked their hair as she spoke softly to them. To everyone’s s
urprise, the smallest of the boys threw himself at her. Claire caught him in her arms and began to cry.
Frankie abruptly stepped forward to take Avok from her, but Claire shook her head, her arms tightening around him. Once she got her tears under control, she stood with Avok balanced in one arm. She stretched the other hand out to Asmal, who took it tentatively. She beamed a watery smile at Frankie.
“I... I want to keep them,” Claire said, her voice firming with certainty.
“Do you have someone on Earth who can help you out when you return?”
The blonde glanced again at Emagul, her face flushing pink.
“I’m not returning to Earth. I’ve decided to stay with Emagul. He asked me to be his mate, and I’ve accepted,” she confessed, her blush deepening even as her smile brightened.
Frankie’s eyebrows went up in surprise. Apparently, a lot more went on in the swamp than she’d been aware of.
“That’s okay, isn’t it?” Claire asked, suddenly nervous.
“What? Oh, yes of course!” Frankie laughed. “I’m just surprised. I am so happy for both of you, and your new little family.”
Emagul gave her a grateful smile as he steered his mate and hatchlings away, the boys still glancing at him with awe from where they crowded into their mother. Turning, she took little Tika from Miwaay. The infant immediately began to slobber on her. Frankie cuddled her while Miwaay ran a hand down the tiny female’s back, a longing look in her eye. Frankie regarded her friend carefully and cleared her throat.
“Miwaay, would you like to care for Tika?”
The other female glanced up in surprise, her spines puffing up with pleasure.
“I would be most honored,” she said in a husky voice. “I have longed for my own hatchling for some time. I am confused, though—I thought that the hatchlings that were left behind were staying with you?”
“They don’t have to all stay with me,” Frankie huffed playfully, making her friends eyes sparkle with humor. “I’ll see her plenty, anyway.”
“I am never far away,” Miwaay agreed with a loud laugh.
Frankie grinned and met her mate’s eyes from where he stood with one of Alisha’s hatchlings swinging from his arm as he talked with Gorul. The males seemed content to allow the children to climb all over them. Frankie let out a low chuckle as she wandered back over that way.
Kaede instantly pulled her close to him. His nose dropped against her neck, inhaling as his facial spine tickled against her throat. With a giggle, she pushed away just enough to drop a kiss on his lips.
“I think everything has finally worked out,” she murmured, tucking into him with a happy sigh. Kaede’s tail wrapped around her hip with its warm, familiar grip. “Families reunited and it looks like happily ever afters as far as the eye can see.”
Kaede hummed thoughtfully, having been educated on the necessity of a happily ever after, especially after a long, grueling adventure.
“And what is yours, agishi?” he whispered, a hopeful note in his voice.
She smiled and snuggled her cheek against his chest.
“I have it, right here with you, Kaede. It’s going to be me and you forever... Nothing could ever sound better than that.”
His arm tightened around her and she felt one drop of moisture land on her cheek. Glancing up, her lips parted with her surprise. Her mate, the one male who seemed to be able to stand against everything, was looking down at her with tears standing bright in his eyes.
“You are in my heart, agishi,” he whispered as he leaned in to claim her mouth, their love sealing their bond for their rest of their lives.
Epilogue
Five Revolutions Later
Kaede stepped into his home with a small bundle of flowers from the garden for his mate. The cluster of sweet-scented pink blooms were her favorite and always made her happy. It was best to keep his mate happy, he’d found, in the final month of her nesting. She’d soon be delivering their second egg, and as of late she’d become oddly weepy at the strangest things. He wasn’t the most expressive male, but he’d do anything to put a smile on his mate’s sweet face.
His son, Emalk, clung to his tail, yanking on it as they ascended the steps, his little voice practicing a rhyme that Frankie had taught him. Some odd thing about rings of posies, or some such. Whatever the nonsensical thing it referred to didn’t matter; his son took clear enjoyment of repeating it... often.
The very thought that he could have lost both of them when she’d stepped into battle with neither of them aware of her condition still made his blood cold. For that reason alone, he was grateful for every day with his family.
He tracked his mate’s sweet scent through the house until he found her in the hatching room. She was fiddling with the nest yet again. Frankie never seemed satisfied for long with the nest from day-to-day. Curling his body around her, he pulled her close and pressed the flowers to her hand. She brought them to her face and inhaled deeply as she leaned into him and laughed softly.
“How is it you always seem to know what I need?” she asked as she looked up at him, a smile curving her lips.
“I am your mate. How could I not know the things that please my female?” he scoffed playfully as he rubbed his nose against her jaw. She laughed and batted him away. Turning in his embrace, she stroked a hand over his chest.
“Such a considerate mate,” she cooed. “That, without a doubt, merits some sort of reward.”
“Me too!” Emalk chirped, his little arms and tail wrapping around his mother.
“And you too,” Frahnkee laughed, swinging him up into her arms, completely ignoring Kaede’s protest against her lifting their son in her condition. She merely raised an eyebrow at him before snuggling his little brilliant green body close, provoking a tiny giggle from their hatchling.
“I think cookies would be a nice reward. What do you think, Emalk?” she asked as she set him on his feet again.
“Cookies, yes!”
“Did you spend the whole day baking while I was gone? We spoke of you needing to rest more. You will be nesting soon,” Kaede groused after his mate as he followed her into the food preparation quarter that she referred to as a kitchen.
Miwaay snorted with amusement from where she sat on a tall stool beside the counter drinking a thick brewed tea from a cup, her lipini tucked gracefully around her body. Although always a warrior, the female had taken to city fashions with the sort of fervor that Kaede had personally found astounding. It didn’t make her any less lethal, which more than one unfortunate soul had discovered when attempting to steal from her place of business.
Much had improved in Aminae over the last several revolutions, but there were issues with crime that never seemed to go away. Some of which was due to offworld traders that visited habitually. Although operating under the harsh restrictions of the Intergalactic Council had slowed much of Agraadax’s financial growth, it had also allowed them to stabilize. Females were once again trickling in from the Mate Index Distribution Program and the cities were showing signs of prospering as wealth found its way into many pockets from tourism and trade that had suddenly become popular. Their swamps alone drew in many travelers who wanted to experience trekking through them on guided tours, which in turn helped the villages prosper.
Although she spoke fondly of her relations in the Aminfa, and often went with her family to visit, Miwaay seemed in no hurry to take up permanent residency there again. Her mate, Kaede knew, would’ve been agreeable wherever she chose. A male of mild temperament for an Agraak, he worked alongside his mate in their business, his cheerful face one that most customers readily recognized.
Miwaay opened her arms for Emalk and hugged him as Frahnkee placed the flowers in a vase and pulled out cookies, one for Emalk and one for Tika, and for Wilok, who’d hatched two revolutions ago to his parents’ joy. Miwaay grinned at him as she poked Frahnkee playfully.
“You know this one never rests, but do not be concerned over this. Frahnkee merely supervised while I bake
d her cookies. She was teaching me a new recipe for my bakery. They are quite delicious. The Earth spice cinnamon is going to be widely popular in Aminae.”
Frahnkee snorted with laughter.
“Pretend all you like: you’re just hoping to fleece humans arriving for the five-year anniversary celebration.”
Kaede grinned at his mate as he ate one of the cookies, the sugar and spice hitting his tongue exquisitely. The anniversary celebration was his mate’s project and she’d taken it on with gusto once the city council decided to go forward with a commemoration for the Liberation of the Arobi and humans. Not all provinces were of the same opinion, but the Western Province, Aminae in particular, prepared for the influx of visitors. While it was a painful part of Agraadax’s history, it was good to keep fresh in their memories as well as a benefit to their economy.
“Have you had any news from those you personally invited?” he inquired as he snuck another cookie. He was sadly addicted to them.
“I have! Claire and Emagul are coming with their brood. They’ve had another youngling of their own to join the two who left with them from Agraadax. Grish and Borth are making a special trip out with their mate, as are the Arobi. The whole pack of brothers got a mate from the Mate Index. How they matched that up I have no idea, but I’m eager to hear all about it. Rodriguez of course swears he couldn’t be paid to set foot here again, but Emagul says he’s traveling with them, in the company of a female Tagith no less.”
“That is wonderful,” he crooned, sliding up next to her. “Just be sure you do not overexert yourself,” he cautioned.
“No need to worry. I have Miwaay, and Alisha is due to arrive next week to help me with the preparations.” She popped a cookie in her mouth with an especially pleased expression that made his blood heat with longing. Even swollen with their egg, she was as perfect to him as she was to him the first day they met when he pulled her from the battlefield.
Less bloody, and more hair, but still exquisite.
Heart of the Agraak Page 25