Out of the Ashes

by L. A. Casey

  “You’re going to have to explain that,” I said with a shake of my head. “Why do you want to get married straight away?”

  “Because I fear the pain of my uva.”

  “You’re what?”

  Surkah gleefully laughed. “This has turned into a schooling lesson on the Maji way.”

  The males chuckled while I waited for an answer.

  “When a female Maji reaches adulthood, her uva activates. It means her body is now able to carry offspring.”

  “Oh!” I said excitedly at finally understanding something. “You mean you’ll hit puberty? That means your body creates new hormones that help the growing body and enables a woman to bear children.”

  “Then yes, my uva is to us what your puberty is to you. Does your puberty cause your body to hurt when you don’t share sex?”

  I frowned. “Uh, no.”

  “You’re lucky!” Surkah stated, her brows furrowed. “We females feel pain if we do not have sex after our uva activates. It is why our females are so sexually active and why our males have a high sex drive to be able to tend to our needs. Only pregnancy sates the uva.”

  “So you’re telling me that when you and Mikoh get together, you will have sex … uh, share your furs, like horny animals every single day until he gets you pregnant? Pregnancy will be the only way to sate the uva?”

  Bright purple bloomed on Surkah’s cheeks, and she dropped her head which earned a deep chuckle from Mikoh, but he said nothing as to not embarrass her further.

  “That is not the wording I would use, but yes.”

  “How many children would you bear if this is the case?”

  I couldn’t imagine being in pain and the only way to make it go away was to have sex and get pregnant.

  “I’m am the sixteenth child in my family,” Surkah said with a shrug. “But I know of a family with twenty offspring; originally twenty-three, but three of them died due to illness when they were infants.”

  Wow.

  “I am my mother’s last child. That is why Mikoh chose me. I am the only princess amongst our princes.”

  Wait a minute.

  I stared at Surkah. “You’re a princess? Like a real royal princess?”

  She nodded.

  I’m talking to a real-life freaking princess.

  Surkah asked, “Are you a princess?”

  I laughed. Hard.

  “No, I am a commoner of my people … a peasant to some. Our royals lived behind big walls in a life of luxury. They have lived off the planet since the Great World War. No one knows which galaxy or planet they went to when they abandoned us.”

  Surkah wouldn’t look me in the eye, but Mikoh and Kol would, but they almost glared at me, like I had said something I shouldn’t have about my royal family.

  “Sera has informed us of the activities on Earth.”

  “Who is Sera?”

  They had mentioned the name several times.

  “A human who has been with us many years. She has taught us about your people, but I must be honest, I don’t listen to her often. Therefore, I am fascinated with your explanation of your people and your ways. It sounds different because you have really experienced it.”

  Oh.

  I looked at the shipmaster. “So you’re a prince?”

  He nodded.

  I looked at Mikoh. “Are you important like them?”

  His lips twitched. “No, I am the shipmaster’s jra when he travels.”

  “His what?” I quizzed.

  “There is no translation,” Mikoh replied, “but it’s a titled word for something you might call a protector or guard.”

  “He is also his best friend,” Surkah informed me. “They are always together … like a mated pair.”

  Both males hissed at Surkah, and it made her laugh.

  “I will remember all your words when we’re mated,” Mikoh warned her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Punishment for me means punishment for you, too.”

  “I will endure it to teach you a lesson, young one.”

  Surkah chuckled again, not bothered by Mikoh’s growl of annoyance.

  “What does he mean?” I asked.

  The longer this conversation went on, the more I found similarities between the Maji and humans, yet I didn’t know how to feel about it.

  “He does not like my attitude because I talk back to him a lot.” Surkah grinned.

  “You talk back to everyone a lot.” The shipmaster snorted. “Mother and father have spoiled you.”

  “They like me best,” Surkah teased with a big cheesy smile.

  Her brother laughed but didn’t disagree with her.

  “Are you close to all your brothers?” I asked her, noticing the look of admiration her brother gave her.

  “Of course.” Mikoh snorted and answered me instead of Surkah. “She is the princess, so they adore her. All the people adore her. She is precious to us.”

  My lips twitched. “That’s really cute.”

  Surkah blushed again. “I wish they would not fuss over me or treat me differently. It is why I like being out in space so much. My brother allows me free rein on his ship whereas back home, I’m inside a lot for safety.”

  “For safety?”

  “She is the lone princess to our royals,” Mikoh said, and his tone indicated he thought I was stupid. “Our disloyal Maji would take her without hesitation. Males outnumber our females ten to one. Our females are always protected, especially Surkah.”

  “Because you’re a royal?” I asked her.

  “Because my firstborn son will lead our people when my father steps aside or passes on to be with Thanas.”

  I gaped at her. “What?”

  “What?” she repeated and laughed at my expression.

  “Well,” I began, “the firstborn son sired by the king and queen in the human royal family is the next leader.”

  Surkah nodded. “I’m aware, but that is not the case for Maji. If no daughter is born, then the title of Revered Father goes to the firstborn son, but if a daughter is born, the title of Revered Father goes to her firstborn son then to his daughter’s firstborn son and so on. We have a long lifespan, so waiting for me to reach age and conceive is no issue. My son will likely reach my brother’s age or older before he takes the throne.”

  I flicked my eyes to the shipmaster’s, noting he looked the same physical age as Mikoh—twenty-five, if even.

  “How old are you?” I asked, shyly.

  “Two hundred,” he answered.

  Wow.

  I looked at Surkah. “That is why you can only have sex with your intended? In case a random male got you pregnant?”

  Surkah nodded.

  I looked at Mikoh. “Is that why you asked for her to be your intended? So your son would eventually lead your people?”

  He narrowed his eyes at me and growled, but he relaxed when the shipmaster cut him a look and muttered something to him that I couldn’t hear.

  “It is my honour to be Surkah’s intended. To be considered, let alone be granted permission by her father and have the approval of all her brothers, is the greatest compliment any male could give me. They’re confident in my abilities as a warrior to protect her and as a male to care and provide for her and our offspring. There is no greater honour that could have been bestowed upon me.”

  Aww.

  “Why’d you bicker with her then?” I questioned.

  Mikoh grunted. “Because she has a big mouth and annoys me just to amuse herself. She has done so since her tenth year.”

  Surkah smiled, not denying the charges against her.

  “Do you annoy all males?” I asked her, grinning too.

  I hoped they thought all my questions and now my grinning meant I was relaxing around them. I needed them not to be wary of me; I’d never escape otherwise.

  Surkah snorted. “No, Mikoh would kill them.”

  “Why?” I asked, shocked.

  “Because she is mine,” he growled. “If any male that wasn�
�t her father or brothers spoke to her, I’d reach the edge in seconds.”

  “The edge of what?” I asked.

  “Of sanity,” Mikoh replied, curtly.

  I looked at Surkah, my brows raised in question.

  “The edge is a term we use when a Maji has gone passed the point of rational thinking and is acting on instinct alone.”

  Riigghhhttttt.

  I looked at Mikoh. “You clearly have anger problems.”

  The shipmaster laughed, and so did Surkah; even Mikoh’s lips twitched.

  “So that’s why you’re posted outside this room,” I said in understanding. “And why you keep popping in? You’re guarding her?”

  Mikoh nodded. “We just tell the Hailed Mother my assigned job of jra is to protect Kol and Surkah just to appease her. She loves all her sons, so their safety matters just as much, but Surkah is my only real charge. Kol does not need protection; it would be an insult to his Elite status to suggest otherwise.”

  I assumed the Hailed Mother was the title of the Queen—Surkah’s mother.

  “Who is Kol?” I quizzed. “And what is an Elite status?”

  “I am Kol,” the shipmaster replied. “And being an Elite means you’re a highly skilled warrior, and part of the Guard that protects the people. It is the highest status a warrior can obtain. To be a member of the Guard is an honour.”

  Oh.

  I couldn’t look the Maji in the eye—his gaze was too much—but I allowed my mind to repeat his name over and over.

  Kol.

  I cleared my throat. “Well, I’m Nova. It’s… nice to meet you all.”

  “That is a stupid name,” Mikoh informed me.

  Surkah grabbed a little black object from the top of a machine next to her and threw it at his head. He avoided it easily, but couldn’t dodge the elbow Kol rammed into his side. Mikoh growled and rubbed the spot.

  “Iamui!” he bellowed at Kol.

  I looked at Surkah. “What does that word mean?”

  “It is an insult that does not translate well,” she whispered. “It means waste canal.”

  An asshole.

  I snorted and looked back at Mikoh, who shoved Kol and demanded, “What was that for?”

  He sure didn’t talk to Kol like he was his prince.

  “What is our mission?” Kol rumbled, his glare terrifying.

  Yeah, what is your mission?

  Mikoh straightened up. “The mission is perfectly fine. She—”

  “Doesn’t like you because you’re being insufferable.”

  “I apologise,” Mikoh grunted to the shipmaster, not to me. “It is because of Surkah’s presence; I’m growing … impatient to have her.”

  I looked at Surkah and saw she rolled her eyes.

  Kol clapped his friend on the back. “Four more moon cycles and she is yours, my friend.”

  “That is when my lifelong prison sentence begins,” Surkah whispered to me.

  The others heard her whisper, which told me how good their hearing was. I laughed when Kol had to restrain Mikoh, who looked like he wanted to paddle Surkah’s ass. She grinned at him, a flash of amusement in her beautiful pink eyes over his annoyance. She clearly liked pissing him off, and he wanted nothing more than to rip into her because of it.

  “You have a beautiful smile,” Surkah said to me.

  I blushed. “Thank you.”

  “I am glad you are no longer scared—”

  “Iamui!” Kol suddenly bellowed, cutting his sister off. “That broke the skin!”

  “It was payback for your elbow. I think you cracked a rib!”

  I screeched when a ground shaking roar filled the room. I jerked my head in the direction of Kol and Mikoh and was horrified to find them both on the ground, beating the ever-loving shit out of one another. I’m talking hard punches, kicks, headbutts, and it even looked like there was some biting going on. I could have sworn I saw red liquid smeared on Kol’s arm.

  Did Maji bleed red?

  My instant reaction was to flee and protect my life but being bound to the bed meant I couldn’t move a muscle. My heart pounded against my chest as fear and worry consumed me. Before I realised what was happening, my eyes rolled backwards, and I began to lose consciousness.

  “Nova!” Surkah gasped.

  I felt a hand on my head then a delightful shiver ran the length of my body, and a relived sigh left the one touching me.

  “She is fine,” Surkah said, exhaling a deep breath. “She just… fainted.”

  I heard Mikoh’s humourless laughter.

  “And you say humans are the salvation of us Maji?” he sarcastically asked. “Watching us grapple has caused her to lose consciousness. They’re not meant for us.”

  I practically felt Surkah’s growl.

  “Sister,” Kol rumbled. “Watch over her. She is going to need all the rest she can get if she is to stand with us… and Mikoh, if you bite me again, I will break your nose in a place it will not heal correctly.”

  “Your sister has a better chance against me than you, friend.”

  “One more word, Mik. That is all I need.”

  “Look at the bright side, my prince, the human fainted out of fear this time and not because of your ugly face.”

  I heard more roaring, Surkah’s sighing, and the sound of my own heart beat before I blacked out completely.

  When I awoke, the room was not bright anymore. There was light, but it was dimmed, and it was quiet. Too quiet. I lifted my hand to my face and rubbed the crusted sleep out of my eyes. I lowered my hand back to my side and released a gratified sigh. My body felt so relaxed, and I knew it was because of the bed I was lying on. I smiled and lifted my hand back to my eyes and rubbed at them again. I paused mid rub, though, and opened my eyes to look at my hand.

  It’s free.

  I quickly sat up and lifted both of my arms and bent my legs. The black straps that tied me to the bed earlier were gone, and they left no marks on my skin, even though I had struggled to get them off. I looked around the room and found it empty. No Surkah, no Mikoh, and no Kol—the mysterious shipmaster I couldn’t bring myself to look in the eye for more than a couple of seconds. I turned to my right and let my legs dangle over the side of the bed. I gripped the bedding and carefully lowered myself to the floor.

  I was extremely surprised to find the floor of the medical room was heated. I had heard that the rich and powerful had heated floors and walls to protect them from the soul-splitting cold on Earth during the harsh winter months, but never did I expect them to feel so wonderful. A shiver ran up my spine, and a sigh of delight left my lips.

  This feels good.

  I shook my head and focused on my main objective. I needed a weapon, and I needed one now. My eyes scanned the room, and I could see nothing that I could use to defend myself. I shifted my stance and momentarily lost my balance. I accidentally bumped into my bed, causing a thudding noise. I jumped when a bright light suddenly filled the room. I squinted, looked up, and saw the door to the room was open, and… Mikoh was standing in the way.

  “What are you doing?”

  Lie, Nova.

  I swallowed. “Stretching my legs.”

  Mikoh flicked his eyes to said legs, and I wished that the gown I was wearing was longer.

  “You have stretched them, so get back into bed.”

  “Don’t give me orders.”

  The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  Mikoh took a threatening step forward, and before I could think of anything else to say, I jumped onto my bed. Mikoh laughed at me and leaned his shoulder against the doorway panel. He watched me with obvious amusement while I watched him with fear. He was huge.

  Seriously. Fucking. Huge.

  He was taller than Surkah, who was a giant herself, and the same height as Kol, who towered over his sister with ease. I fully assessed Mikoh while he was silent. His eyes were blood red with licks of silver streaking through, his skin was a pale blue, and his hair was jet black. M
ikoh’s hair was cut short, tight on the side and a little long on top. Just like Kol’s, minus the braids. His uniform was black, and the armour plates were a shiny black, which told me they were a solid material of some kind. He didn’t have a gun in a holster; instead, he had silver dagger blades strapped to his thick thighs.

  He scared me to death, and he knew it.

  “Are you tall for a human?” he randomly asked me.

  I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected question.

  “No, I’m not. I’m considered short by most.”

  Mikoh nodded in understanding.

  “You’re defective. I assumed something was wrong—”

  “I’m not defective,” I angrily cut him off. “Some human women are as tall as Surkah, and some are shorter than I am. It is the same with human males. We all come in different shapes and sizes. Don’t discriminate.”

  Mikoh features hardened. “Your tongue is dangerously close to being cut off.”

  I stared at him, not knowing what to say back to his threat, but then he laughed and confused me even more.

  “What is your problem?” I asked. “Why do you hate me?”

  He furrowed his brows.

  “I don’t hate you… I just don’t trust you.”

  “You don’t trust me?” I spluttered. “I’m the one who was kidnapped by your people, and now I’m being held here and ordered to stay in this bed by you. Who shouldn’t trust who here?”

  Mikoh lips twitched. “You’re fierce for such a little being.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “If you call me little one more time, you’ll be sorry.”

  This caused Mikoh to laugh. Loudly.

  I heard a little commotion outside the room, and I watched as Mikoh leaned his head back and looked down the hallway to see what was making the noise, and whatever it was had caused him to sigh.

  “It is too early for you to be growling at me, darling one.”

  Not what, the sound came from who, and I had a good idea who that person was.

  “I have tended to my other charges alone, yet I find you here. It is barely sunrise, and you’re bothering Nova again,” Surkah’s voice bellowed in a low tone. “I don’t care that she is the only human who does not whimper in your presence, you can’t bother her just because she impresses you. You’re asking to be attacked by me, Mikoh.”