***
Val’ee’na held back a laugh at the startled look on the faces of all three males. Few knew that Tajii had the ability to enclose themselves completely within the shadows. And they liked it that way. Only few Tajii were called to the warrior path and left the homeworld on special missions when called upon by the Intergalactic Council in exchange for secrecy.
Although Tajii were considered snobbish for keeping to themselves, much of it was for their own protection. Val’ee’na had been told from the time she was a child that she had an arranged marriage to one of the most powerful elite warriors. She wouldn’t lie and say it hadn’t made it a little bitter.
As a Tajii female, Val’ee’na grew up in a life of isolation to “save her” for her mate upon reaching the agreed upon mating age of twenty-five revolutions. Her visits under her aunt’s supervision were her only escape from her mother’s restrictive governance. She could flirt and toy with males, and her aunt did not stop her so long as she didn’t attempt to lay with any of them.
Although her aunt, after years of living on Kaidava, was more relaxed about the traditions, she made sure that Val’ee’na adhered to the social expectations. That meant she had to keep herself for her mate. Truthfully, she should be grateful that her mother allowed her that much grace period instead of mating her as soon as she became an adult. But instead of gratitude, she felt panicked now that time was dwindling.
Her aunt’s invitation to Mahuura’s mating had been a gift from the gods since she’d been able to escape yet another dreary, uncomfortable monthly meeting with her promised mate. At the same time, it hurt watching her cousin parade around with a male of her choice.
When her cousin’s mate had attempted to seduce her, she’d felt powerful for the first time. So she flirted with Benjamin to indulge her own self-pity with the idea of making her cousin watching him yearn for her. Unfortunately, the longer she was around the weaselly male, the less she could stand him.
Still, her cousin had chosen him, and she didn’t feel any compassion for her cousin for purposely orchestrating her own miserable mating. In fact, she was ashamed to admit that she went out of her way to make the entire mating experience as miserable for Mahuura as possible. She’d hoped to do so by also making Mahuura’s new friend, Cara, unhappy, but the male barely noticed she was alive. Mated Kadesh were no fun.
That had always been the way things had been with them. Mahuura would flaunt her blessings of growing up Kadesh, and Val’ee’na did everything in her power to make her cousin miserable the brief time she was on Kaidava. She knew before she’d even arrived on Kaidava that Mahuura would not be happy about her presence during her mating ceremony. That made her strike during their revolutions-long feud all the sweeter.
She’d refused to feel even a bit of guilt for anything she did until her cousin made a genuine gesture of kindness toward her. Granted, it was obviously a ploy orchestrated by Cara to get what Mahuura wanted, but the way Mahuura seemed happy to include her after that moment had moved something within her.
Val’ee’na was suddenly included in planning the details of the ceremony, and Mahuura happily added shades of blue into everything just because she made a vain demand to hurt her cousin. Even Cara had been really nice to her lately, which was… odd. Val’ee’na couldn’t recall a time where females outside of her family were actually kind to her. Tajii females tended to be highly competitive for the choicest males.
It made Val’ee’na feel true remorse for the first time in her life. She was determined to make things right, but she didn’t know how. One thing was for sure: she couldn’t stand by and allow her cousin the same sort of unhappiness she was destined for. Mahuura deserved more.
Removing Benjamin was the easy answer, but how? Val’ee’na could seduce and cajole, but she wasn’t exactly strong if he decided to fight back. She couldn’t force him into anything if he got it in his mind to rebel.
The fact that the male obviously used females indiscriminately from what she’d heard didn’t make her the least bit sympathetic toward whatever his future might be. If it weren’t for the fact that she was suffering from an attack of conscience and couldn’t let her cousin suffer with him, she would consider his fate on Kaidava well-earned.
But to save her cousin, she would need to get him away. She did have the contact information of a particular group of ladies who would likely love to have him… but how to get him there?
She’d been pacing, trying to think of a way to help Mahuura, when she noticed Sovuul and Kaval walking past her. Curious, she merged into the shadows of the night and followed behind them, keeping just enough distance so they wouldn’t hear the light fall of her feet. She wasn’t a trained warrior and hadn’t learned how to muffle the sound of her steps.
When she heard Esha’s voice, she slipped around the edge of the wall, not daring to follow her cousins further. Thankfully, they spoke well within a comfortable hearing distance and she did not have to strain to listen in.
Excitement filled Val’ee’na as she listened to them discuss the human. When they seemed to flounder on how to go about their plan, it was the perfect opening that she was looking for. She would help them and, by doing so, would help her cousin so that she could mate with Esha. It was brilliant.
For that reason, instead of gloating at their shocked expressions, Val’ee’na extended a genuine offer to aid her cousin.
“What exactly can you do to help us?” Sovuul asked suspiciously.
Val’ee’na knew that her smiles were often none too short on malice but was confident that none but the Ikoru would be able to clearly see it.
“Well, does anyone else have a connection with a species of females looking to take a horrible human male off your hands? If so, I will be happy to leave you to your own plans.”
Kaval cleared his throat. “You have such contacts?”
“Oh yes,” she purred. “Give me a few days to get their starship in place, and help me out with a bit of muscle and a distraction, and we will never have to worry about Benjamin again.”
Esha narrowed his brilliant eyes on her. “Why don’t we just send him back to Earth?”
Her smile widened. “Because I consider this a favor to all human females as well to do it my way. He wants many females for his pleasure. Well, now he can have many females for their pleasure. We Tajii don’t like males like Benjamin. Not at all.”
They fell silent and then one by one nodded their agreement.
“What kind of distraction were you thinking?” Sovuul asked with a wicked smile.
Chapter 27
Cara breathed in the coastal air with a happy sigh. As much fun as visiting the plateau was, she enjoyed being back in Birol. It was already beginning to feel like home.
As expected, Mokav had been delighted with the news that the estate would host its first mating ceremony in ages. When he’d heard that it was to be a double ceremony, he’d been ecstatic. When he’d learned that it was his oldest son mating, he was over the moon… or moons, rather, since Kaidava had three of them.
Within short order, he’d hired a public transport to meet them at the Birol platform. Upon arriving, a pair of males leaped from the large shuttle and began loading their belongings into the back while everyone boarded and found a comfortable place to sit for the short ride to the estate.
Mokav was waiting just outside the building, a pleased smile on his face as everyone piled out. Even Gordix and a few cousins that Cara had yet to meet hustled out to help carry bags. Mokav patiently explained to her that mating ceremonies were a big deal. In the past, they’d always brought staff in from the resort to help. Since it was Lerix mating as well, his kin made sure to take time off to help.
To her surprise, and somewhat dread, they weren’t going to just be receiving Mahuura’s family and friends, but there was also a substantial guest list for all those who would have been insulted to not be invited to witness Lerix being mated. Apparently Mokav had been very busy since Lerix commed him.
For all her mate’s scoffing about Kadesh not being romantic, mating ceremonies were a huge deal for them socially, and not just for the couple involved or their parents. They were so infrequent that it was often consider the social event to attend for relatives and friends, both close and mere acquaintances. It was considered an honor to be invited, and even more so to participate.
Apparently, there were a great many nuances for what made the perfect mating ceremony. The bigger the event, the more everyone seemed to look forward it; a busy ceremony was also more likely to attract the blessings of gods and local spirits according to their religious practices. That explained Mahuura’s excitement over having co-ceremony, which was supposed to attract the blessings of Vorakahee herself.
After everyone had the opportunity to be shown to their rooms and the various bags and packages put away, Gordix broke out the tea and sweet obols in the common room. The obols were a new treat for Cara. They reminded her of something between a crisp wafer and a cookie that smelled heavenly. Almost like chocolate.
Apparently, they were not only a delicacy but a delicacy Birol was famous for because Mahuura had squealed over it and promptly stuffed one in her mouth with a delighted moan. Cara smirked at the way Esha seemed to shiver from where he sat between the Kadesh female.
Mokav watched over the gathering with an indulgent happy look on his face. Out of respect for Mahuura’s parents, he placed chairs for Ordul and Val’na’kee beside his own. Cara was surprised to see Ordul crack a smile for the first time since she’d met him, not that the male had much to smile about with Benjamin for a son-in-mating.
Ben, for his part, sat sullenly between Kaval and Mahuura, with Esha just to the other side of her. This had made Gordix frown at first as he served them, since it was tradition for a brother to sit beside the female, but all it took was one look from Esha and he hastily moved on.
“Now that we are all settled, I wanted to share the good news that not only have I secured a ceremonial party from the mountain temple, but that the mother priestess, who was a close friend of my mother in their youth, decided to preside.”
Mahuura’s family seemed equal parts surprised and pleased with that, and even Lerix raised his brows with interest.
Cara leaned toward Lerix and whispered, “I thought the mountains were all plateaus.”
“Not all of them,” he corrected quietly. “Just north of here, there is an island that is called Temple Mountain. Our planet has few such islands, but they are considered most holy and each has a temple for its region at the peak.”
“Fascinating,” she murmured.
“The mother priestess is quite old and hasn’t bothered to come down from the mountain temple for a number of years. That she offered to preside is not only unexpected but will be cherished. It could very well be the last time she does so, unless Gordix manages to mate before her health declines.”
Cara couldn’t help but feel intimidated by how serious that sounded.
As if sensing her discomfort, Lerix squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry, vonri. I know it sounds like a lot, but you will see our ceremonies are pretty simple. It won’t be as bad as you are probably imagining.”
Cara relaxed. Yes, of course it wouldn’t be. She was letting her nerves get all worked up over nothing. A mating ceremony was bound to be nothing like the overcomplicated affairs of human weddings. Even if it were a bit bigger than a typical Kadesh ceremony, she would be sharing the limelight with Mahuura, which would take off some of the pressure.
She allowed herself to relax into Lerix’s side as his arm wrapped around her.
***
As the day of the ceremony drew near, guests began to arrive. Relatives gradually filled the rooms of the estate, while Gordix shuttled friends and distant relatives to the resort. The estate itself seemed to transform overnight. Beautiful atmospheric lights were set everywhere, and especially through the gardens. The central garden that had been off-limits for so many years became the site of the ceremony, and a beautiful flowering arch was built just in front of the fountain, which was lit up with dozens of twinkling blue lights. They almost reminded her of fairy lights except they weren’t on strings. Each tiny pod was programmed with coordinates and what distance it was to hover off the ground before it was released to hover in the air.
To Cara’s surprise, these lights were shaped like multi-winged insects that bore some vague resemblance to butterflies. If butterfly wings had a metallic glint that reflected light, rounded bodies shaped like beetles with multiple horned protrusions, and wings that were three times larger than the typical butterfly. Some of them were so big that she’d screamed like a fool when one had fluttered suddenly in front of her.
Thankfully the only one who’d witnessed it was Mahuura and she swore never to tell another living soul, especially not one of Lerix’s many relatives that had shown up and found her lacking as a mate for him. Cara spent most of her time hiding from said family members in the gardens.
The first influx of relatives wasn’t too bad. Most had stared at her like an oddity, few having seen a human female before on Kaidava, although word had spread quickly over the last several months since the Mate Index went live over the Intraweb. The second day saw the arrival of more far-flung relations, many of whom surprisingly belonged to the upper tiers of society.
“Don’t let them intimidate you,” Lerix whispered as they headed toward the common room. “My grandmother’s family is a bit… stiff. They come from a royal line and my grandmother broke tradition by snaring an ambitious—and quite attractive the way my grandmother told it—offworlder who came to build a luxury resort on the planet. He had money but wasn’t of the right social status to satisfy her family. Naturally, they are hard to please, so don’t concern yourself with them. I don’t,” he finished with a wicked grin.
Cara giggled as Lerix ushered her into the common room, but the laughter died out as an elderly female with dull pink scales turned and glared down her nose at her. Her olfactory ridges had several gold studs decorating them, which Cara could only imagine as painful. That had to be Grandma’s sister. The female looked old as dust and as unpleasant as an aged lemon.
Lerix drew her up beside him and smiled cordially down at his great aunt, his tail tickling the back of Cara’s leg his only outward display of mischief.
“Aunt Berol, please allow me to introduce my mate, Cara.”
“I am pleased to meet you,” Cara said with polite smile.
The female sniffed, her brow wilting into a scowl as her eyes traveled down the length of her.
“A human, eh?” Another disdainful sniff. “Your grandmother should be appalled to see from the world of spirits what she has reduced her line to—commoners and filth. In any case, I can’t imagine how you can bear touching a soft-bodied being without any scales.”
Seeing the dark cloud that settled over Lerix’s expression, Cara had to intercede. As mad as she was, she didn’t want Lerix to lose his shit in front of his entire family during what was supposed to be a happy occasion for them. Instead, she would find another way to twist his goose.
“I would say that he enjoys it very much. In fact, he happily fucks this ‘soft body’ multiple times a day. It is unfortunate that we had to leave such pleasures to come down and greet you, but such is life,” she said sweetly.
The female gaped at her as Lerix hurried her away to meet a cousin, his body shaking with silent laughter. Although there were a few other touchy relatives who sneered at her, the rest of the day was peaceful as long as she stayed far away from Aunt Berol.
***
As day three dawned, Lerix pushed her out of the bed at an exceptionally early hour. Cara mumbled a complaint and glared at her “beloved mate.”
“What was that for?”
“Father commed me and said that my cousins from the royal city have arrived and are looking to greet me.”
Cara groaned. “Not more Aunt Berols.”
Lerix chuckled down at her. “They ar
e of my generation, so they are not quite as set in their ways as Aunt Berol. I am not sure if they are going to be much better, but you can take some comfort in that. In any case, we must get up and properly greet them. It is our duty, just as Mahuura and Ben,” he said with a grimace, “have to greet all of her relatives as they arrive.”
“Hers are already here,” Cara complained. “She gets to spend the day snuggling with Esha.”
Her mate sighed. “Cara, Esha is not her mate. She is not cuddling with him.”
“They sit so close you could have fooled me,” she muttered, jealous that someone else was enjoying cuddle time today.
With an odd look, Lerix prodded her out the door of their wing of the estate and down the stairs to the common room. Cara knew she was dragging her feet like a spoiled child but she couldn’t stomach meeting any more stuck-up relatives.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered as they approached the common room. “If so many of your upper-class relatives hate that you’re mating a human, why did they bother to come? When not just comm, ‘Hey, your choice in mates sucks but congratulations?’”
Lerix chuckled and whispered back, “I told you that everyone makes sure to be at a mating ceremony. If nothing else, this gives them fodder to gossip about for no less than two generations.”
Cara steeled herself, determined to make the best out of the day. This was supposed to be the final group of relatives to arrive, and then in another two days they would be gone, and she wouldn’t have to see them again… hopefully.
Gordix mouthed ‘good luck’ as he slipped out of the common room. That didn’t make her feel better. Lifting her chin stubbornly, she allowed Lerix to pull her into the common room. A room of cousins, mostly male but a good number of females among them and all finely dressed, turned and looked right at her as soon as they entered. Cara immediately wished she could back right out the door and flee to their wing as several sets of eyes narrowed on her.
A Kiss on Kaidava Page 19