by Viola Grace
“Prince Alric is coming for you. A pity that he won’t find you there. I wonder what will happen when they arrive?” Dwell sang it in a singsong tone.
Elurra was startled into laughing. Her father had told her tales about the sandmen attacking and destroying cities, wiping them out and burying them forever. It would be a pity for her aunt to become the base for a sandcastle.
Chapter Four
Dwell sat with her and giggled over the options of species and blood types. “The downside is that they all have anticoagulants in them, so they taste a little chemically. But, this is a warmer, so they come up to blood heat. If you supplement yourself with one tube at each meal, you should be fine in about a week.”
Elurra smiled. “Thank you, but I would hate to put you out.”
“Don’t worry. They have another mission to the trading station in a month. I can definitely get more then.”
There were at least six dozen vials. “Do you have any sandman blood?”
Dwell paused. “No, they don’t give their blood up. Ever.”
Elurra remembered the heavy taste of Alric on her tongue. She blushed. “Oh. Okay. Thank you.”
“Now, Sho has told me that your back is injured, so you are on sonic showers for the next few days. Our son Teth is going to take you and show you hand-to-hand combat techniques, and if he gets overheated, Lian will take over. He is a better size for you.”
Dwell smiled as she headed to the doorway. “Oh, and we have family dinner in the gardens. It will be ready in an hour. Oh, and if you do need to bite one of the guys, don’t worry. I am not jealous. The forearm is not where I sink my teeth.”
Elurra felt heat in her cheeks as she looked at the container that Dwell had given her free use of, and she looked for something familiar. She looked for two of the same species and put the first of the vials into the warmer. It chimed in a few minutes, and she put the second vial in to warm. Emthec was what was on the vial, but she tipped it back and swallowed, tasting the species for the first time.
She swallowed slowly and closed her eyes. Two ounces of blood from someone she had never met began to course through her bloodstream. She felt better, stronger, and when the second vial was down, she began to feel more like herself. She just wished she knew who she was.
Dinner was a quiet riot. The women tried to make sure that everyone was fed, and the boys tried to make sure that they got all of their favourites. Elurra took a piece of bread, and she chewed slowly.
Dwell looked at her. “You are having more than that.”
“I am fine. This is more than I usually eat in three days.”
“Yeah, but we are trying to build you up. Here.” Dwell moved so fast that Elurra’s vision could barely track her. A tiny portion of everything was now on her plate. Dwell was definitely a mom.
She ate a bit of everything, but she took her bread with her when the grouping dissipated. She nibbled as she walked and was surprised when one of the men stepped in front of her and raised his forearm. She frowned. “I am fine.”
He shook his head and gestured for her to take a bite.
She ran her tongue along her teeth, and she stepped forward, biting as politely as she could. She took enough that she nearly felt full. She healed the wound, and then, she curtsied deeply, holding the dress that Dwell had given her out of the way.
He smiled and patted her head, leaving to rejoin the group.
Dwell was meeting her gaze from a hundred yards away, and she gave a thumbs-up. Elurra knew that it was not the last of the insistence on her consuming offerings. She was just going to have to get used to it.
Teth appeared out of the shadows of a tree, his white hair braided down his back. “Princess, is there anything you needed to learn in particular?”
She smiled. “I need to learn how to incapacitate an opponent that is over twice my size or just how to use a dagger. Either one will do.”
“I will teach you both, princess. Though, your mate should be watching out for you.”
She nodded. “He might one day after we meet again.”
Teth paused. “Will you... take my blood?”
Elurra looked at him and shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“The spirit in which it is given. Your fathers offer it for my strength and because your mother told them to. There is free will and no expectations. You are looking at me and hoping that there will be a sensual aspect. There will not be. My teeth part skin and muscle, they tap into veins, and they pull blood out. It would be different with a mate, but he is not here, and I know what he tastes like. There is nothing like it.”
Teth paused. “You love him?”
She smiled. “I love the idea of him. The idea that there is someone for me and that I am the someone for them. When we meet again, if we meet again, I will have to adjust the idea to the reality.”
“You don’t want passion?”
She chuckled. “I was raised to duty and honour. I would like passion, but I would rather have honour.”
He looked as if he couldn’t work out the concept. “The Dhark choose mates for passion.”
“No, they choose mates for acceptance. The passion grows out of that.”
Teth paused. “Sho needs to check the wounds on your back.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
A shadow came out of the forest, just as Teth had. She looked at him and nodded. He gestured for her to follow him.
She followed him with Teth trailing behind her. Aside from there being a lot of gynecological scanners, there was also a regenerator. No wonder the ladies looked so young.
Teth translated. “He would like you to remove your clothing and the cuff, and enter the regenerator, princess.”
She nodded and worked at the cuff. Sho had to help her, but once it was off, she simply untied the cloth belt and pulled the dress over her head. She heard Teth’s intake of breath as he looked at the map of scarring on her body.
She followed Sho’s silent instructions for gripping the handsets inside the chamber. It closed, and she felt the heat and hum of the tuned light. Her scars were broken down and diminished. The process took the better part of three hours, and she was hungry when it was over.
The machine was opened, and Sho helped her get her hands off the stabilizing bar, supporting her as he walked with her to a nearby chair.
She took her dress off a table and got it over her head, pulling and tugging at it until she was covered. The belt was tied, and Sho helped her stand so the dress could fall into place.
He offered her his forearm, and she didn’t hesitate. She bit down. Due to position, she wasn’t in danger of over-indulging. When she had what she needed, she sealed his skin.
He patted her cheek and smiled.
Teth came in with a tray of food, and he put it on a rolling table, bringing it up to her. “Here. Eat.”
She chuckled. “So, when will you lose your ability to speak?”
Sho looked around and said, “We can all speak. We just elect a speaker to deal with aliens and our mates. The less we talk, the less trouble we get in.”
Elurra stared at him, and then, she started laughing. She laughed until she hiccoughed, and then, she wheezed to a stop. The meal was cold meat, fruit, cheeses, and bread. She sat, relaxed, and slowly ate as much of the food as she could.
Teth looked at the cuff. “Why were you wearing a psychic projector?”
“Your fathers gave it to me. They needed me to appear to be what the queen was looking for. It hid the signs of the feed that they had given me.”
“But, you still look horribly thin.”
She snickered. “I know.”
“And the scars.”
“I know about them, too. I was there when they happened. Look, Teth. I am not bitter, but I am practical, and I know that the most important thing in my life is surviving.” She quirked her lips. “I am not looking for sweet words and seduction. I want my kingdom
back, and I will do what it takes to get there.”
Sho was at the terminal, and there was some kind of com link enacted. She saw the joining of the file to the message, and the send connection was hit.
Sho turned back to her with a smile.
Teth paused. “Father, I want to offer her blood.”
Sho put his hand on Teth’s shoulder and shook his head.
Teth leaned back. “I thought it would feel good, like when Mom bites you.”
Elurra answered. “Your mother doesn’t bite the forearm. She drinks from areas with less bone and tendon. I only take blood from folk from the forearm because it is nearly impossible for me to take too much unless I am startled and tear the skin.”
She kept eating, and soon, she was strong enough to be helped back to the guest quarters. To her surprise, with her belly full and her body not screaming, she slept.
* * * *
“Elurra.” The voice was a deep growl, and it matched the surreal landscape she was standing in.
She was standing on a hill, and wind was whipping around her. She looked around for the owner of the voice, and she saw a shadow. “Hello. Do I know you?”
The shadow chuckled. “We have met.”
He moved toward her, and she looked up and up at the man. It was definitely not a woman.
When he stood in front of her, he was made of stars. She could see space in him. She tried to find any part of him that would be a face. “I don’t remember you specifically. And I would definitely have remembered this.”
She reached up to touch his face, and he caught her arm, spun her, and held her with her back to him, and his forearm was next to her mouth. He leaned down to whisper, “You have grown. Your eyes were nearly too huge for your face when last we met, but now, you are all grown up. So am I. I still like your ears.”
She jolted and turned her head. The swirling of stars was next to her face. “Alric?”
There was a chuckle. “Yes, Princess Elurra, you have grown into a fascinating woman. I can’t wait until we meet again in the flesh.”
She didn’t understand what he meant until the stellar hands moved on her, and she realized that in the dreamscape, she wasn’t dressed as she would normally be when talking to a stranger. She felt the touch over her breasts, and her belly tensed when his long fingers delved between her thighs, and she gasped when he slipped the tip of one finger into her. The finger dipped slowly in and out of her while his other hand cupped her breasts and gently worked her nipples into hard nubs.
She tried to move his hands, but they continued their slow, teasing exploration. There was no way for her to dislodge him.
His dipping finger lifted and circled her clit, and she shuddered as her knees buckled. Her breathing was ragged, and the tingling that he was generating was far different from what she had experienced at the hands of the Dhark.
The tension wound tight, and then, it snapped. She squeaked and collapsed, his hands on her torso held her up as she shivered and twitched.
He lifted his forearm to her lips, and she didn’t hesitate, she bit down and drank. It was her messiest bout of consuming since she was a toddler, but when she tasted blood, her tongue moved against his skin, and she kept drinking until he tapped her on the nose.
“Enough for one night, Elurra.”
She regretfully opened her mouth and lapped up all traces of the super-rich blood, and then, she healed him out of reflex. The tiny pinpoints disappeared.
“Always polite. Sleep well, Elurra, I will be there soon.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek and stroked her belly, and then, she was alone.
Elurra stood in the dreamscape, shivering and wondering how she was going to get home.
Chapter Five
Elurra woke with a jolt and looked around, expecting to see her hands touching her body. Nope. She was on her belly, and her hands were under the pillow.
A chime rang from the small com unit, and Dwell’s voice said, “We are having breakfast in the common space. You are welcome to join us.”
“Thank you. I will be there shortly.” Elurra got up and went to the sonic shower. In a minute, she was out, clean, and still dressed. Sonics were efficient.
She put on the slippers that she had worn the night before and left her quarters, finding her way back to the common area where the family was waiting. She was getting a lot of stares, and she looked at Dwell. “Is something wrong?”
“Are you hiding the holo bracelet somewhere?”
Elurra shook her head. “No. Why?”
Dwell handed her a plate loaded with a small selection of everything. “Oh, you just look a little more alive today.”
One of the Dhark chuckled.
Elurra frowned. “Did something happen? I passed out after the healing and woke up just before you called.”
Dwell blinked. “Do you really not remember what happened?”
“I dreamed. That’s all.” She ate. The children were ignoring the conversation, but the adults were focused.
“What did you dream about?” The speaker pressed the issue.
She blinked and frowned. “Alric. He was different. Definitely not the young man that I met over a decade ago.”
The Dhark were all chuckling, and Elurra looked at the women and their husbands. “What?”
Dwell chuckled, and she ate her breakfast. “I will explain it later. I mean, I knew that it happened, but I just haven’t met the bride of a sandman before.”
The speaker murmured, “No one has. They are usually rabidly protected by their mates.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I haven’t seen him in years.”
Dwell cocked her head. “You said you had tasted his blood.”
Elurra paused and then nodded. “Yes. There was nothing weird about it. I had just dropped out of a tree, and he introduced himself. I went for a bite, apologized, and then, he offered his arm.”
She finished the food on her plate and started to look around for more. Dwell began to pass her platters, and Elurra kept eating.
When the meal was over, she felt stuffed for the ten minutes it took to clear away all the dishes. Teth helped her, as did the young ones, while the adults went to look into the status of orders for the data crystals. Elurra finished putting the dishes into the cleaner, and she smiled at the lack of leftovers.
She asked Teth, “How do you get fresh food?”
“We grow a lot, and meat and medical supplies arrive via drone.” He shrugged. “When the last of the ten are born, my siblings and I will have to make our own base and set up our own supply chain.”
“Ten?” She didn’t want to ask.
He nodded. “When we set up our own mines, it is likely that we will lose a few of our number. That is why the linked minds are efficient. If one dies, we still have their thoughts and memories active every day. They can even take over one of the other bodies if needed.”
“Oh, so...” They were walking into the fight area.
“As long as one of us lives, all of us live.”
“So, why the multiple mates?”
Teth ducked his head. “It is a matter of necessity. As we share a mate, the others without something to do will get... frustrated. Psychic release and physical release are different. So, there are always a minimum of three and a maximum of five brides for the Dhark.”
“Ah. I see. To take on the children?”
“To take on the Dhark.” Teth looked rather uncomfortable with the topic. “The children don’t start to appear until the grouping has been together over a decade. The first ten years are for the adults.”
Elurra chuckled. “Ah. Got it.”
He went to a wall and got some small rolls. “Come on. We are going to wrap your hands against damage. It wouldn’t be right for you to injure yourself while training, princess.”
She watched as he wrapped her hand until she could make a fist that felt like a block of wood. “Wow.”
“Yes, fighting without
safety gear leads to broken knuckles and torn skin. We can fix them, but they still hurt.” He nodded. “Now, you will learn to throw a punch.”
She blinked for a moment and then smiled, looking down at her dress and shrugging. She supposed that you could punch in anything.
Teth held out his hands, and she aimed for him, focusing and striking until she was covered with sweat and sitting down.
He grinned. “Enough for today?”
“I haven’t been able to lift more than firewood for five years. I have to pace myself.”
He chuckled. “You have done well. I can show you our entertainment areas. You can watch some vids.”
“I am going to jump into a quick shower first.”
He smiled. “You might want to put a hold on that. The mothers are going to take you dancing later today. They rarely take no for an answer.”
She shrugged. “I can always sonic multiple times a day. It harms nothing.”
Teth nodded. “True. I thought you were going to have a soak in the bathing rooms. I am sure you would find them most relaxing.”
“I am sure that there will be time for that. Who does all the meal prep?”
“My fathers do the gathering of the fresh produce when they are home. They also do most of the chopping. Miki does the actual cooking. Even when she’s heavily pregnant, she has a knack for spices that the others don’t. Heth does the bread.”
“What does your mother do?”
He chuckled. “Everything else. She says if she has one more child, she’s done. If they start a second set, she wants a raise.”
Elurra laughed. She unwrapped her hands and looked at the red markings. She flexed her fingers and smiled. “They worked really well, mind you, I barely landed a punch.”
“You did very well for your first try, and you kept at it. That is more than most of my brothers have done.” He took the wraps and put them in a cleanser cycle.
“You have so much tech here.” She admired the shiny units around the space.
Teth smiled and shrugged. “We need it. There are only a few layers between us and the void.”