They demolished the food on their plates, but it barely made a dent in the amount Kokia had made. When they were all full, they leaned back in their chairs and sighed happily. The whole meal had been wonderful!
Corvin looked at Sya’tia with a wary expression. The food was all put away and they had settled down to enjoy an after dinner cup of tea. Thea got an uneasy feeling.
Corvin tapped his finger against the side of his cup with a thoughtful expression. Thea felt her stomach knot. This didn’t look like it was going to be good news.
Corvin shook his head and looked up to meet their eyes. “Sya’tia, I would like you to give me the care of your eggs from now on instead of allowing them to be stored with the general populace.”
Sya’tia’s black eyes narrowed and fixed on his face. “Why?” she asked, her face becoming expressionless.
Corvin squirmed uncomfortably. “Um, because I asked?” he ventured, looking hopeful.
Daeshen snickered.
Sya’tia’s lips twitched. “Not good enough, my friend.”
He didn’t move for a moment, then he took a small box out of his bag and set it in the center of the table. “I found that the Council had scheduled your eggs for destruction to prevent the possibility of…” he seemed to struggle for words, “hereditary birth defects.”
Sya’tia flinched as if struck.
Thea reached for her hand and held tight.
“I see,” the Warrior Chosen said in a tight voice. Her hair curled in on itself and braided into a tight protective knot at the back of her neck. It was the only sign of how the words had hurt her.
“There is nothing wrong with my daughter!” Kokia broke in. Her expression took on a fierce cast as she defended her daughter.
“Of course there isn’t, Kokia. She’s amazing,” Thea said soothingly.
Kokia leaned back in her chair, looking satisfied with this agreement. She smiled fondly at Sya’tia.
“I took your eggs,” Corvin continued, his gaze locked on Sya’tia’s face. Thea knew he didn’t want to cause Sya’tia any pain, but it had to be said. He wasn’t the kind of man to let her keep going through the motions of letting her eggs be harvested when they would only be destroyed.
Daeshen frowned thoughtfully. Thea could almost see the wheels turning in his brain.
“Won’t you get in trouble for taking the eggs when they were supposed to be destroyed?” Sya’tia asked him quietly.
Corvin squirmed. “Maybe, but I don’t care. Until you sign the release they are, legally, still your property.”
Daeshen smiled evilly. “They are? We didn’t know that.” He cackled softly. “Sya, why don’t you call your sisters and cousins tomorrow? If they are your eggs, you can give them to anyone you want, and since your family members share your genetics, the Council can’t argue an increased risk of birth defects.” He looked very pleased with himself.
Corvin looked at Daeshen with an arrested expression. “You are absolutely right! And the Council cannot deny an entire family the right to reproduce.” His eyes gleamed. He turned to Sya’tia’s mother. “Lady Kokia, I would not impose, but we have more than a full month planet-side. Would you permit me to stay as long as possible to allow the ladies to reach the right cycle for implantation if they wish to have a child?”
Kokia smiled. “You are welcome for as long as you wish to stay, Doctor. On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you for the service you have done my family and my daughter. You are truly a man of substance.”
Corvin’s cheeks turned pink. “Thank you,” he murmured, looking embarrassed. He stuffed the box back in his bag.
Kyrin patted the table. “Well, that’s settled nicely. How about a swim to work off some of the delicious dinner? Kokia, we’ll all have to roll out of here after a month of your good food!”
Kokia flushed and hummed with pleasure.
Thea really liked Sya’tia’s mom and couldn’t wait to meet her sisters. Kokia seemed thrilled to have them visiting and Thea was looking forward to getting to know her better. She smiled wryly to herself. Two out of three great mothers-in-law weren’t bad odds. And if Chisha didn’t get any friendlier, Thea could always slip her a key lime pie, which acted like an aphrodisiac on the Ta’e’sha. Bet she’d be really interesting then, Thea thought to herself with a smidgen of cruel delight.
She slid a sideways look at Sya’tia. She sent a tendril of feeling toward her and was pleased when Sya’tia grasped it and sent back a pulse of love. She didn’t seem too upset by the conversation; in fact, she seemed pleased. Thea would talk to her about it later. Right now a swim sounded great.
Chapter Seventeen
Thea floated aimlessly through the roomful of women. Sya’tia’s cousins and sisters had descended upon the house like a swarm of locusts the day after she had called them. Fifteen women, all wanting babies. Sya’tia had twelve eggs, so they were trying to decide how to parcel them out. It was actually a good time for them to become pregnant. The timing would allow the babies to be born in early winter, the quiet time for the family’s farm.
She hadn’t realized how many people lived in the cove! There were twenty families down there! It boggled her mind, but now she understood why there was a parking lot built off to one side of the house. She had thought it was for the farmhands who lived in town.
She paused to reply to a greeting from one of the women. They were all extremely friendly and had many questions about humans. Everyone seemed very excited about Sya’tia’s engagement and wanted to throw a party to celebrate. Thea had been hauled into a corner to talk about when the party should take place. Several of the women were asking her to create tapestries for their homes also.
They all wanted silk.
She wasn’t sure how it would hold up to long-term water emersion, though, so she told them she would look into the matter. Another woman had asked if she had tried some of the Ta’e’shian yarns and threads yet. That had sparked a long conversation about textiles, which she had thoroughly enjoyed.
Sya’tia’s family reminded her of some of the ranchers and farmers she remembered from her childhood. They had the same love of the land and waters that made up their home.
Her family was very different from both Kyrin’s and Daeshen’s. Both of the men came from affluent families that were involved in more cerebral occupations. Kyrin’s family seemed to focus on financial analysis and consulting and Daeshen’s family had been in politics for several generations.
Sya’tia had two mothers and three fathers. Thea had realized early on that Sya’tia didn’t see a distinction between the man and woman who had given her life and the rest of her parents.
That is why Daeshen had been so angry with his mother. By rights, Chisha should not have cared who had fathered Thea’s child since both husbands were considered fathers. By claiming it was Kyrin’s child, she had excluded Daeshen’s rights to their child. It was a subtle way of saying Daeshen was not truly married to Thea or Kyrin.
Sya’tia’s male relatives had immediately dragged her husbands off to do guy stuff. She wondered if that involved stag flicks and beer. They were very excited about getting to know both Kyrin and Daeshen. She had learned Sya’tia’s family was bursting with pride over Sya’tia’s accomplishments. She was the first Chosen born in their family for the last five generations. But they had been worried that no one would look past her “birth defects” to see the woman underneath.
Sya’tia hadn’t had an easy life and the whole family was fiercely protective of her. Kokia had confided that they had been thinking about setting Sya’tia up on blind dates so she could meet some eligible men.
Thea would have loved to videotape that. The poor men would have run screaming the first time Sya whipped out one of her knives for them to admire.
The arrival of more people dragged her attention back to the present.
“Thea!” a voice screeched.
Thea blinked in surprise as she was swept into a bone-crushing hug. “Cristabel?” sh
e asked, wheezing.
The redheaded Amazon released her and grinned. “We’ve missed you! Sya called and asked if we’d like to come up for a visit.”
Zinnia hugged her next. “How have you been?” she asked in her quiet, reserved manner.
Thea smiled and kissed them both on the cheek. “Great! I’ve missed you guys! Is Ruri here too?”
“She’s here; I think she was saying hi to Sya. Wow, this place is awesome! Shage is with his family. They are really nice, and man, did his mom rip a strip off him when she found out what he did!” Cristabel bounced on the balls of her feet with enthusiasm. “She rocks!”
Zinnia smiled fondly at her wife. “His family is wonderful. Cris and I have been talking, and we might have his babies. At least, I will. The thought of sleeping with a guy still gives Cris the heebie-jeebies.” She ran a hand down the taller woman’s back. “It turns out he has a very nice lady friend he wanted to introduce us to. He’s got a crush on her. We’ll see.”
Sya’tia came charging over to pick Cristabel up and give her a huge hug. “My war sister! Greetings and welcome to my home!” She beamed and pressed kisses on both of Cristabel’s cheeks before setting her down again. Next, she turned to give Zinnia a much gentler hug. “Hello, lovely one. My heart sings that you have come.”
Zinnia blushed with pleasure. “It’s good to see you as well, Sya. Thank you for your invitation.”
Sya’tia had fallen in love with both women as soon as Thea had formally introduced them. She and Cristabel had found that they had several things in common. They had started working out together. Apparently, sweating was a great bonding experience for both women. Thea smiled inwardly as she watched them chatter animatedly. It was a little surprising though, since their occupations were completely different. Sya’tia was a pure warrior and Cristabel was a physical therapist. Zinnia, she had later learned, was an accountant. She thought that occupation perfectly suited the quiet woman’s personality.
Ruri slinked over and gave Thea a quick hug. “How ya been, babe? I hear you got a nightmare mother-in-law,” she said in English as she slung an arm around Thea’s shoulders.
Thea curled an arm around Ruri’s waist and hugged her lightly. “Chisha? She’s coming around. It’s hard to outstubborn me. Besides, Daeshen pretty much told her off before we left her house. She actually apologized to me and, from Daeshen’s reaction, hell must have frozen over because of it,” Thea replied in English.
Ruri and Sya’tia had forged a tentative friendship in the months since the fight had occurred. Thea was very pleased with the effort her friend was making. She was even getting along with Kyrin and Daeshen. Ruri had finally talked to Kiger a bit about how she felt. Thea had gone with her to have the conversation. Kiger was appalled by how his behavior had been hurting his wife and had immediately tried to make amends. Since that day, Ruri had been calming down and was actually learning to like her husband. Thea had high hopes like would turn to love. Kiger was a pretty great guy, and just as clueless about women as her young friend Soren. Soren still stuttered and tripped whenever he spoke to a member of the opposite sex. Well, except Thea and Sya’tia. He was very relaxed around both of them.
Kokia came up to them. She was wearing another of the kimono-style robes she seemed to favor. This one was decorated in seashells and anemones. “Hello! You must be Thea’s sisters! I’m so happy you could come! Welcome to our family!” She kissed each of the women in greeting.
Thea quickly made introductions. There was a brief flurry of confusion over Cristabel and Zinnia’s short hair, but Thea managed to explain to Kokia that human women had more leeway for hair length and that it did not mean that Shage had stolen children.
Kokia dragged them off to be fed, and after that, show them to rooms. Thea was glad that the house was so big!
Corvin came to her. “Wow, what a group. Did I just see some of the ladies from the ship?”
Thea nodded. “Sya’tia invited them to visit.”
“Excellent,” was his contented reply.
Thea turned to eye her friend. “How are the exams going?”
“Very well. As soon as we know who’s getting eggs I can get started monitoring them for fertility cycles.” Corvin looked very pleased with himself as he continued to watch the swarm of women laughing and chatting together.
“Have they figured out a way to decide?” she asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” he replied with a smile. “Sya’tia suggested a knife throwing contest but I believe that was vetoed.” He moved off to answer a question from one of the women.
Thea grinned and wandered into the kitchen where her friends were eating. “Hey, guys, how’s the food?”
Cristabel winked and continued chewing.
Zinnia carefully wiped her mouth with a napkin before answering. “Excellent for all that I have no idea what I’m eating.”
Thea poured herself a cup of tea and sat down with them. “I’ve found it’s best not to ask.”
Ruri looked up from her plate. “Kokia reminds me of my grandmother.”
Thea smiled, but didn’t reply. There was something subtly different about her friend. It was as if the rage had been blunted.
“What have you guys been up to?” she asked instead.
They told her about the things they had seen and done since landing. The warmth in the room, the camaraderie, was soothing. For all that Thea loved spending time with her new families she had missed her friends.
After a while the conversation wound down as each woman finished telling her about her experiences. “Let’s meet tonight, out by the water. I want to tell you about the trial. The Lord and Lady made several appearances.”
The women sucked in startled breaths and started shooting questions at her.
“Live?”
“They’re here?”
“What are They like?”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh my freaking God!” this from Ruri.
“Exactly,” Thea murmured.
Before they could say more, Sya’tia’s father, Velian, barged into the room. He was a huge bear of a man with white hair and blue skin a few shades darker than his daughter’s. He reminded Thea of Triton from Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid. He had broad shoulders, washboard abs, and a wide grin. In a word: hot. “I hear I have new nieces! I want hugs and names!” He threw open his arms and beamed at the women expectantly.
The witches stared at him, bemused.
Cristabel bravely threw herself into the breach and hugged him. “I’m Cristabel, this is Zinnia, and this is Ruri,” she said, introducing the other women.
Velian grinned broadly and waved his hands at them. “Hugs!” he demanded in a deep voice.
They got up to hug him as ordered.
Satisfied, he flopped down at the table next to Thea. “Ahhh, such exotic beauties! Welcome to the family!” His eyes gleamed at he studied each of them appreciatively. “Tell me about yourselves!” He leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, and gave every sign of being willing to stay there all day if that’s what it took.
Cristabel was the first to start, and the other women soon began to join in the conversation. Thea smiled inwardly. Before he was done, Velian would pull every detail he wanted out of them and they wouldn’t realize it till later. He was so easy to talk to you just didn’t think about it.
She was very happy to be part of this family. Life was good.
Later that night she kissed her husbands and fiancée as they prepared for bed. “I’ll be back later; I need to talk to the girls privately, okay?”
Kyrin frowned and nodded. “Take a jacket; it’s getting cool.” He stole another kiss. “We’re gonna start without you,” he added with a leer.
She giggled and skipped out the door.
Ruri was just shutting the door to her room. Thea traipsed over and bowed dramatically. “Madam Wench, shall we adjourn to the night?” she whispered in sepulchral tones.
Ruri lau
ghed softly and they crept down the hallway like they had hunchbacks.
Cristabel and Zinnia came out of their room and stared. Without a word, Cristabel assumed the position and lurched after them, growling nonsense in a dramatic accent.
Zinnia sighed, shut the door gently and followed them.
Someone had to be the adult and Thea was just glad it wasn’t her tonight. She giggled and leered comically back at Zinnia who laughed and shooed them down the hall. She had so much to tell them! Thea hoped they were just as happy about what she had to say!
Chapter Eighteen
Thea sighed contentedly as she dropped several bags onto the floor of her family’s cabin. It was good to be home.
Daeshen, Kyrin, and Sya’tia came in behind her. They also dropped several bags and boxes. Sya’tia’s family had sent them away with many gifts and lots of love.
As much as she had enjoyed her time planet-side, she was glad to return to the ship. It had become her home and she had missed it.
A sound made her turn. Her husbands froze beside her.
A huge jaguar stood in the doorway. His fur was smooth, clean, and shining with health. He yawned majestically before sitting on his haunches. His mouth dropped open slightly in a feline grin. “You’re home. I have missed you, mind-mate.”
Thea swallowed. “I know you. You were in my dream.”
Kyrin sucked in a wheezing breath behind her. Sya’tia came to stand beside her, watching the cat warily. Daeshen didn’t move a muscle.
“Of course. The Lady let me meet you before I decided to come,” was his blasé reply. He looked at Kyrin. “We’ll be good, Captain. Our assignment is finished.”
Kyrin grumbled under his breath at that.
“My name is Condezl and I would be proud to be your familiar, Theadora. Will you accept me?” His golden green gaze fixed on Thea intently.
Thea smiled slowly. “I would be proud to call you my companion, Condezl, and thank you for the honor of choosing me.”
The Ta'e'sha Chronicles 2: Shards of the Mind Page 16