“Less now than when we met,” Mave admitted. “He’s done needing me. He’s gone and set off doing work for Alchan. I keep an eye on him, but I don’t think he needs it.” She was proud of him, but she wasn’t Zayden. She wasn’t going to hover.
“Exactly. A formal adoption is different. This is about to be morbid but just bear with me. If you and all of your males died tomorrow, Rain has no legal power to do anything with your belongings or bodies. Your belongings would probably go to Seanev unless Alchan stepped in. If you had no living relatives, the mativa of the community would find something to do with everything. Now, if you and Rain formalized your relationship, that changes. He would have that power. And that’s what I want to give to you.” Senri sipped her drink, then licked her lips.
“We’re about to try for a child. With rebellion and more war looming, I know it’s going to be harder this time. I might not get another chance. And I want to know there’s a wonderful big sister to protect any child in case their parents don’t survive the war. And…” Senri’s eyes closed. She patted Kian’s leg.
“We love you,” he finished for Senri. “Mave, we’ve watched you go from stumbling, scared, and tougher than a wyvern to someone we respect and love. We’re honored we played even a small role. Senri tells me all the time how happy she is Alchan and Luykas got you out of the Empire. You fill a special place for her. And for me too.”
“We know you don’t really see all of us as close to you as you are with Senri, but a female sets the pace of the family. If you accept, you don’t just gain Senri, you gain us too,” Willem said, walking back in and sitting next to her. Mave looked over his face, searching for something, but she wasn’t sure what. She knew Willem and Gentrin, but he was right, she wasn’t close to them. She felt like a child for a moment, wondering what the adults were trying to tell her. “We would become your legal fathers. And males Senri might find after this will consider you a daughter of the family and treat you accordingly.”
“Oh.” That hit her in the chest. “I would get an entire family…”
Why does that feel terrifying and exhilarating at the same time?
“Yes. And we would treat you no differently,” Gentrin promised. “If someone hurts you, we will kill them. If you want us to stay out of your space, we will. If you only want to talk to Senri and Kian about everything, you can do that. But this isn’t just about using you to protect any future sibling you might have. Senri wants you in this family because it’s you. We want you in this family because you’re you.”
“Seanev’s return made us realize you never really had a family,” Kian whispered, his eyes surprisingly filled with emotion. “So, when Senri mentioned adopting you, we were all on board. Then Luykas hurt you…” Kian sighed. “Say yes. Please. We would love to be the parents you’ve never had the chance to have. We would love to consider you a daughter of this household.”
“Senri?” Mave’s voice sounded small.
“You’re allowed to say no,” Senri said, smiling even when her eyes were tear bright. “But I love you, and I want you to have someone who can be the mother you never had. I want to be that person, formally, for the entire world to know. I want everyone to look at you and stop seeing an orphan. I love you, and you deserve a mother. You deserve fathers and siblings.” Senri wiped her eyes. “There’s no reason for you to be alone. I know you have males, but that’s different.”
“It is.” Having her males was different from having the very idea of parents and siblings—different types of family, who filled different roles. In her home, she was in charge, but when she was bruised and hurting, she didn’t run to her males. She had run here to Senri to take care of her, to let her feel the hurt and understand it. Senri let Mave be vulnerable and made her feel a different type of cherished.
And Mave wanted more of it. She wanted this. Her parents were dead. Her brother was more of a stranger than any of the males sitting in the room.
“What do we do?” Mave asked, making her decision. She leaned over and grabbed Kian’s tail tip and gave it a tug. She knew he would be the worst of them. “And before we go further, Zayden took it upon himself this morning to warn me that fathers are often overprotective and overbearing. Don’t go overboard.”
Kian laughed suddenly, yanking his tail out of her hand. “Yeah, we all give him shit, but it’s mostly ignorance. We know where he’s coming from. Still fun to give him shit because he’s a bit worse than most, but he doesn’t have a female tempering him. Senri can snap us out of it, but no one does that for him. Well, we all try, but we’re not female, and we’re not Rain’s mother. That’s an important distinction.”
“You don’t need to worry about these three. You saw how effectively I handled them when it came to you and Luykas,” Senri said, her smile turning into a grin. Her eyes were still tear bright, but when she stood, she wasn’t shaky. She held out both her hands for Mave.
Mave took them and met Senri face-to-face on her feet. Before she could say anything, Senri threw her arms around her.
“Thank you for joining my family,” Senri whispered in her ear. She pulled back, a tear falling. Willem jumped up and wiped it away with a thumb, and Senri never let go of her. “We have to take this to Allaina, as the mativa of the community. We could also bypass her and go to Alchan due to your position. Or both. Allaina might feel comfortable getting Alchan involved just because of the tangled mess our positions create.”
“When…Are we doing this right now?” Mave’s heart began to race.
“If you want. I would love it. There’s nothing special. Nothing you need to wear or do. You just need to come with me.” Senri bit her lip. Mave had never seen Senri truly nervous before, but she saw it now. Senri was probably anxious to get it done, so Mave couldn’t change her mind.
I would never. Not about this.
“I would be honored,” Mave told her honestly, swallowing. She wanted to be bold. She wanted to do this right now, too. “Let’s go find Allaina and Alchan.”
Senri’s hug was bone-crushing.
17
Matesh
Matesh was in the village war room with most of the Company for much of the morning. They had a lot of coordinating to do about training, hunting, and guard schedules.
“Where is Senri? The guard schedules can only be done with her,” Nevyn said impatiently.
“She’s with Mave this morning, and we’ll see both of them this afternoon for the rest of the day. I figured we could work the rest out and see if she needed any changes later,” Alchan answered, sounding almost bored.
“Are they talking about…” Mat let that trail off. For weeks, he’d been forced to keep quiet, knowing Mave was purposefully avoiding it. She had so much on her plate; if Kian wasn’t going to say anything, no one was going to say anything.
“From what I know,” Alchan answered, looking up from the map in front of him. “How do you feel about it?”
“It’s not about me. I don’t have a say or feelings one way or another,” Mat replied half-truthfully.
Luykas snorted, and Bryn elbowed him. None of them had really sat down and talked about it, but from the looks on his family’s faces, he knew they probably felt the same way he did.
This is a gift Mave deserves. Everyone in the Company knows it. She’s been alone for so long, and it’s time for those missing pieces to be filled.
“She better say yes,” Nevyn mumbled. “Spare us the Kian problem.”
“He’s turning into Zayden,” Alchan agreed, still not really paying much attention to any of them. Or maybe he was getting better at being involved without being over-involved.
“I’m really happy for them. I think she’ll say yes.” Rain was less absentminded than Alchan, grinning from his seat.
Mat smirked. He thought so, too, and if she didn’t, he would finally open his mouth and give her the opinion he knew she didn’t want. It would get him in a lot of trouble, but he wanted her to know the love of parents and understand that part of f
amily. He wanted her to have all the things she’d missed, thanks to Shadra.
“Let’s get back to work—” Alchan didn’t get the chance to finish as the door swung open.
“She said, yes!” Allaina screamed. She was grinning wildly at all of them. “Alchan, you’ll be doing the honors.”
He sighed, looking up from what he was doing. Mat could have sworn there was a smile forming, but it was too faint to make an educated assumption.
“I wonder if she’ll change her last name,” he said thoughtfully.
“They’ve already decided against it,” Allaina answered, the smile not fading. “For her own reasons, Mave is going to remain in the historical Lorren household, while being the daughter of Senri Amori. Senri seemed to have no problem with it.”
Alchan’s frown was pronounced.
“I would have loved that name change,” Bryn mumbled, chuckling. “Brynec Amori. Has a nice ring to it. Maybe we can convince her—”
“She’s the last real Lorren,” Luykas pointed out. “Seanev left the household with his marriage to Leria. I think that played a part in it.”
“You can ask her. Come on, all of you. This doesn’t take very long, but I need Alchan, and I know the rest of you are going to want to witness it.”
Mat knew when Allaina was starting to get annoyed, and this was definitely one of those moments. She was a typical Andinna female, with no time for male idleness and gossip. The cocks needed to get moving because the females needed them.
He started walking first, chuckling to himself as he passed her and got the typical Allaina glare. There was a lot of male laughter as the rest of the Company followed.
“Someone get Zayden!” Bryn called out. “If he misses this, he’ll kill someone!”
“I got him!” Rain called back.
They walked into the woods together to one of the small clearings in the valley. Mave was sitting on a log with Senri, and Kian stood proudly behind them, flanked by Willem and Gentrin. Three proud fathers already.
Mat smiled to Kian, who beamed in return. Anyone who knew Kian or anyone from Senri’s family knew how important this was to them. They tried to have children every time her fertile cycle happened. They’d had one and lost him in the War. And with more war looming, Mat knew their reasons for going to Mave.
They wrapped it up neatly in the idea Mave would become the guardian of their future children if they had any. She would be in charge of everything they owed if they were lost. They would be able to help Mave if one of her males were lost. Mat didn’t like the idea of thinking about his own death, but knowing Mave would have them officially if he died or Luykas or Bryn…That brought him comfort.
They waited in silence for Zayden and Rain to run into the clearing. Zayden pushed his way to Mat’s side, grinning.
“Good for her,” his old friend said brightly.
“Yeah,” Mat agreed softly as Alchan and Allaina walked in front of the family.
“You have an announcement to make to the leader of your community. It shall be heard now,” Alchan said formally.
Senri stood up, holding Mave’s hand.
“I would like to declare Mave Lorren as my daughter under the eyes of my rulers and our gods.” Senri’s words were bold. There was no asking. Mat smirked again, crossing his arms. Generally, it was asked for the relationship to be recognized. Senri was leaving Alchan and Allaina no option but to agree or find a reason to say no that no one would believe.
Not that either of them is going to say no.
“Your declaration is heard,” Alchan said softly. The long pause after that made Mat worried. Everyone waited, and Mat was certain no one was breathing. He looked down at Mave, who was still seated.
“I want this,” Mave whispered. “I want this, brother.”
“Why won’t you change your name?” the king asked his Champion.
“Because there’s a legacy I need to correct,” she answered. “On Al Moro Nat, I saw my late family and realized I carry their burden. I carry their failures. If that’s all I have from them, then so be it. I’ll carry it.”
“You don’t have to, though.” Alchan sighed. “Mave, change your name. Change it, and no one will ever hold Javon and Kelsiana against you again.”
“I can’t,” she said, smiling. “I can’t run from that, and I’m not going to try. The Lorren name stays.”
“Sister,” he said, sounding almost pained. “They aren’t your burdens to carry.”
Mat felt proud, but he wasn’t sure why. He understood Alchan’s point of view and respected the king for saying what he was certain half or more of the Company believed but didn’t voice. On top of that, Mat saw the vast changes between Mave and Alchan over the last year. They genuinely cared for and respected one another. Mat realized he was wrong.
This wasn’t a king asking something of his champion.
This was a brother asking his sister to move past something that haunted her because he cared about her.
“That’s not your decision, brother,” she said, standing up and stepping forward. “I declare Senri Amori to be my mother in the eyes of my ruler and our gods.”
Everyone seemed a little shocked. Ruler—she bowed to no one except the king. Mat didn’t think she would be bold enough to say it during a ritual, though.
“Alchan,” Luykas said loudly. “Her mind is made.”
“It is,” Alchan agreed, sighing. “Fine. Senri Amori, your adoption of Mave Lorren is hereby recognized. Leshaun, come forward. Varon, you as well. I’m sure you both know what this entails.”
Varon was smiling as he came forward with Leshaun beside him. Mat had never seen this particular ritual done. He wondered if Mave knew it was coming.
Varon lifted their hands, where Senri still clung to Mave and vice versa and pulled them apart, an indulgent smile on his face. Leshaun pulled a small dagger out of a hip sheath and cut each of their palms.
“Today, we bind you,” Leshaun said softly. “Forever as one family of one blood.”
“Is this like a blood bond?” Mave asked, her eyes darting around.
“In its own way,” Leshaun answered. “You shall see.”
Mave nodded bravely.
Varon had them reclasp their hands, their blood meeting. Everyone could see how the blood mingled and turned black but left no mark.
Formal adoptions were rare in Andinna culture. While it wasn’t a real blood bond as Luykas and Mave shared, or Nevyn and Varon, it was permanent. From here until the end of their days, any trained Blackblood would be able to see they decided to be family, mother and daughter as if Mave were born from Senri’s womb. It didn’t erase Mave’s trueborn family, but it wasn’t deniable either.
“Mave, would you like to connect yourself with one of your fathers as well?” Leshaun asked impartially. No one would have blamed Mave for saying no. There was a reason this was part of the entire affair. A female was in charge of her household, and none of Senri’s males could have denied her the right to adopt Mave, but there was also no forcing an adopted child and new fathers together. Senri had to respect that, and therefore, Mave and the males behind her had a choice.
“Yes.”
“Is there one who will step forward?” Leshaun continued. No one was surprised by Kian stepping up and extending his hand. Varon grabbed Mave’s free hand and let Leshaun slice it open as well. Mat held back a growl as she winced this time. He knew they were shallow things and would heal fast, but seeing her even flinch a little made him a little upset.
Kian and Mave grabbed hands, and the blood began to turn black.
“And it is complete,” Leshaun declared. “Now, I shall translate for Varon for the witnesses.”
Varon’s hands began to move, but Mat wasn’t looking at them. He was staring at his wife, holding hands between two people who wanted her to be their daughter, and now, she was.
“On this day, we see the joining of families and more importantly, the joining of hearts. From this day forward, the world shall k
now, Mave Lorren is the daughter of Senri Amori, and the gods see it blessed.” Varon reached out and touched both sets of hands and mouthed something. Leshaun filled in the crowd. “You may now let go and heal the wounds, knowing that from this day forward, there will be no denying the bond you have. It shall run through your blood, and not even the gods will deny your connection.”
Mat turned away and rubbed his eyes. Bryn elbowed him, making him chuckle. Luykas threw an arm over the rogue’s shoulders, and Mat took his chance to thump Bryn’s stomach in return.
“Behave, you three,” Mave said, laughing. He turned just in time to see her come up and wrap her arms around his waist. “I’m going to spend the evening with them. Are you okay with that?”
She was asking all of them, Mat knew, but her steel-blue eyes were focused on him. He was exceedingly proud of being her first husband today, to be the one she went to for this question.
“We’ll be fine,” he promised, leaning down to kiss her. She made a little pleased noise he loved but didn’t let him deepen the kiss.
“Luykas, I’ll visit you tomorrow night.”
Mat wanted to groan as that meant he was going to go two nights without her, but he could suffer through it. He smartly kept himself from voicing any displeasure as she gazed at him.
“I’m happy for you,” he finally said.
“Thank you.” She kissed him one more time, then went to Bryn and Luykas, smiling as each tried to keep her longer.
“Everyone, take the afternoon off, and we’ll come back after midday meal!” Alchan yelled over the conversations around the clearing. “Here’s to the Amori family and their new daughter, Mave Lorren!”
“Hear, hear!” everyone roared back.
Senri grabbed Mave away, both laughing as they embraced once more. Without any further goodbyes, they both took to the sky and flew off, probably to talk more about their new arrangement. Mat chuckled as Kian, Willem, and Gentrin walked up to them. Fathers to husbands, there were going to be words.
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