by Regine Abel
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Eryon said, anger, confusion, and worry for me swirling within him.
“Yes, we do,” Zharina said, her beautiful face lighting up with a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry, Aunt Kamala; we won’t hurt your mate.”
It was my turn to gape at her while Eryon, Kamala and the other three boys all gasped at the little girl. Eryon stared at me and then at the stunning female Zharina had named Kamala.
“Oh, Goddess!” he whispered as he shifted his vision, enabling him to see our souls were indeed Attuned.
“But Daddy’s warriors will hurt him,” Vahl said, as the footsteps of the warriors racing towards us reached us in the distance. “Don’t ever come back without permission, Uncle Xevius. Next time, I will punish you.”
Uncle Xevius?
“Rhad, the clearing,” Vahl said gently to his Geminate.
Rhadames leveled me with his electric blue eyes, the same color as his sire’s, Lhor. My skin tingled before a falling sensation washed over me. My gaze connected with my soulmate’s for a brief instant in which her hazel eyes mesmerized me. Darkness flashed before me, and then I found myself standing in the middle of Credhan’s Clearing.
What the fuck?!
Pivoting around, I took in my surroundings in disbelief. The damn kid had instantly teleported me over a distance of nearly three kilometers. My mind reeling, I quickly checked myself for any sign of injuries, but I’d been unscathed.
Why had they protected me from the Warriors of the First Division of the Xelixian army? How had Zharina guessed my bond with her aunt? Too many questions were shoving each other in my mind. More shaken than I wanted to admit, I made my way back to my hoverbike.
I was in way over my head.
CHAPTER 5
Kamala
My mind was still reeling from yesterday’s encounter. Even as I raced down the road on my hoverbike on my way to Aleina’s home, the events on the Praghans’ estate kept replaying in a loop in my head. A part of me rejoiced that Vahl had saved Xevius from the painful fate Khel would have reserved him for coming near his children. But another part worried about the safety of all our young Veredian hybrids. The Korletheans only feared the Titans. While Eryon had confirmed they instantly recognized Titans from people with ‘normal’ psi powers, Xevius was one of their top assassins—if not the best. You didn’t send your elite operatives unless you meant business.
I had utterly failed in my role as protector. For all my cockiness and bluster, taking on the role previously occupied by the mighty Admiral Lee overwhelmed me. I didn’t have Aleina’s cool-headed decisiveness. How we used to tease her for always acting like the Tuurean cyborgs we pretended to be. But soulmate or not, Aleina never would have forgotten her main responsibility as a Veredian defender.
The tingle of the Tuning had made it impossible to focus, and then my gaze landed on him. Just thinking about the perfection of the male the Goddess created for me had me falling to pieces. I used to think that Lhor—Amalia’s second mate—was the most beautiful man ever created. Until yesterday, although I’d never been in love with him, I had still harbored a major crush on him. But that Korlethean—MY Korlethean—was the embodiment of the Sun God with his honey-colored skin, light, blondish-brown hair down to his lower back, and gleaming amber eyes. His high cheekbones and straight nose gave him a noble air softened by plump and pouty lips that promised many a sinful moment, and a strong jaw that hinted at the determined, dominant man behind the stunning face.
Like all Korletheans, he didn’t have a massive, bulky physique. But the skin-tight, dark-grey armor he wore hid nothing of the well-defined muscles of his tall, strong, and lithe body. To my shame, I’d barely noticed what kind of weapons and gear he’d packed on him, having been too mesmerized by his sight and by experiencing, at last, the Tuning I’d dreamt about for so many years.
Having signaled my approach, the gates of the estate automatically opened as I neared them. The traditional, three-story, Xelixian mansion, with its sharp angles, white walls, and dark grey accents, was of a similar design to Amalia’s home. When Aleina and Ghan had decided to settle on Xelix Prime after their wedding rather than on the city of Haven on planet Tuur—the new home world of the Veredians—they had bought the lands neighboring the Praghan estate. They were only separated by the large forest which Xevius had used to infiltrate the Praghan’s backyard.
As I pulled up to the main house, Rhena—their housekeeper—opened the door and waited for me with a friendly smile. The mid-fifties Xelixian woman had been widowed a few years ago when her husband, suffering from the Taint, had passed away from medical complications. He’d been in the last stages of the Taint when they had met and decided to marry. While that had lengthened his life by a good twenty-years, it hadn’t sufficed to save him.
Tall and thin—like most Xelixian females who averaged 6’3—Rhena’s skin was on the lighter shade of grey, with midnight-blue eyes, the common black, slightly wavy hair to her shoulders, and the more delicate version of the crihnin on her forehead which was typical for women. As a Norm, she wore light-grey dresses, knee-length with short sleeves. Outfits of lighter colors were forbidden to her as only Primes could wear them.
I hated that this labelling had become so ingrained in their culture. It wasn’t enough that the Taint killed males at an early age and made it difficult for their females to have children, especially daughters, but they also had to bear their status on their clothes. Like Aleina and Amalia, I avoided going into Xelix Prime’s public areas. It infuriated me too much to see Tainted males forced to wear hooded capes or veils to hide the dark veins of the Taint on their skins. And for what? To spare the sensibilities of the population.
Fuck that.
Khel had lifted the unofficial law requiring Tainted to cover themselves for all the males who worked on his property, whether in his orchard, his military compound, or as help at the house. Ghan had enforced the same on his own property, but he couldn’t dictate for his staff to dress free of the Xelixian society’s constraints.
“Welcome, Kamala,” Rhena said, as I climbed the short staircase to the porch two steps at a time. “Aleina is waiting for you in her office.”
“Thank you, Rhena,” I said with a smile while she waved me in. “How are the children?”
“Yhanos is behaving, as always,” she replied with an affectionate look in her eyes. “Aleina was quite right stating he was a Scholar. Despite his young age, his curiosity and inventiveness are boundless. He’s been solving puzzles all morning and shows no sign of tiring. Easiest child in the world to look after. It’s when Zhara comes visiting Lenora that things get hairy. Those two always find ways to cause mischief. The house is only this quiet because they’re off to school.”
I chuckled as the older woman shook her head. Despite her words, she clearly wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Then enjoy the peace while it lasts!” I said.
“I shall,” she answered before turning back towards the backyard where the boy no doubt played.
I deactivated my Tuurean armor as I headed up the stairs to the second floor. The nanites unraveled, settling inconspicuously inside my armor belt and the armbands on my wrists. I climbed up, taking in my surroundings with the usual envy. My half-sister had spent many months renovating this house into a welcoming home for her family. Xelixians had an obsession with purity stemming from the plague of the Taint which infected a large percentage of their population. Therefore, white and silver dominated the color schemes used everywhere. But Veredians loved color. We squeezed a touch of it everywhere. With Ghan being so formal and by the book with everything, I’d expected some pushback from him. But he’d embraced it all, and not just to please his female.
The ceiling-high windows in the family room on the second floor let in loads of sunlight. Despite the black furniture with dark-red, patterned cushions and throw pillows, the room remained light and warm thanks to the light-beige walls and colorful paintings hang
ing on them. I walked past it to Aleina’s office, which occupied a large room in the west wing of the house.
I knocked on the door, then let myself in without waiting for her to call me in. She was expecting me, and our closeness superseded such formalities. I found her sitting behind her desk, poring over what were no doubt endless treaties, trade agreements, and alliance requests. Entering this room always reminded me of her former quarters on the Tempest, her battlecruiser. Well, technically now, my battlecruiser.
She’d reproduced the same dark grey walls from the ship and decorated the room with burnished reds, soft blues, and golden yellows that brought light to darkness. Pictures of her mother, Amalia, and her family, her mate and their children, our late sister Sevina, and of yours truly, were the only decorations on the walls. Funnily enough, had she put the pictures of her mother, Amalia, and herself one next to the other, one might have thought they were all the same person at different stages of their life, aside from her having the same lighter hair color as our poor excuse of a father.
“Come in,” Aleina said, rising from her chair and gesturing towards the comfortable couches in the sitting area. “Want a drink?”
“Yeah,” I said heading towards the three-cushion couch. “Something strong and bring the whole bottle.”
I plopped myself on the couch, kicked off my boots, and crossed my feet beneath me. Aleina gave me an indulgent smile as she placed a tall bottle of Xelixian wine on a tray, two glasses, and a bottle of ryspak juice. I watched her with affection as she closed the distance between us, settled the tray on the table, and took a seat next to me.
Without giving her a chance to pour our drinks, I drew her into my embrace and hugged her like a drowning woman. She didn’t speak but just held me, her temple resting on top my head, and her hand gently caressing my back. Aleina was more than a half-sister and best friend to me; she was my hero, my rock. Growing up in a breeding compound, I thought the Goddess herself had walked through the doors of the holding area when our master had finally removed her from his ship and sent her to the compound where I’d been born. She was so beautiful, fearless, and my big sister. I had followed her around like a puppy, wanting to be just like her one day. Aleina had not only tolerated me; she had taught me everything she could. No one could ever understand me better than she.
“I fucked up, sis,” I said against her shoulder.
“You didn’t. Everyone is fine. No one was hurt.”
I lifted my head to look at her, my skin heating with shame. “No thanks to me. All of the children were there: all of Amalia’s, both of yours, and the Dervhen twins. The Goddess only knows how long he’d been there. He could have killed them all.”
“He didn’t.”
“But he could have!” I got up and paced around the room, the memory of my failure burning deep. “I should have shot him as soon as I had been within range. But I couldn’t. My blaster was already set to the highest stun, but even then, I couldn’t do it.” I turned to my sister, making no effort to hide the pain I felt at the shameful secret that had been burning within me since yesterday. “Even as I was telling the children to get back, the truth is that their safety wasn’t on the forefront of my mind. I was just praying the Goddess that they didn’t kill him. What the fuck kind of protector does that make me?”
I waited for the condemnation and disappointment in Aleina’s golden eyes speckled with green, but instead, sympathy and understanding filled them.
“You didn’t worry about them because you knew they were safe and could defend themselves.”
“He was armed!” I argued, although her words had been exactly what I’d wanted to hear.
“And instead of stopping his heart with a thought, Vahleryon kept him frozen and helpless,” Aleina countered. “The Dervhen twins could have either made him burst into flames or turn him into a block of ice. Zhara could have ripped his soul right out of his body. Rhadames could have teleported him into outer space or inside a tree trunk, either of which would have been a horrible death. The Titans do not need our protection; we need theirs. And the world needs us to protect them from the children ever turning to the dark side.”
I knew all that. Having her voice those facts out loud was a true balm to my guilty conscience. I wanted to believe that my mind focusing on fear for my soulmate hadn’t been a sign of negligence and selfishness over my duty to more than just Veredian children, but my own nephews and nieces. Even though the Dervhen children weren’t blood relatives, Valena and her mate Zhul had pretty much become family to us. Who would have thought that day would have come with Khel and Zhul’s lifelong enmity?
“Still, he never should have been able to get this close. Khel has been losing his shit all day over it. The Xelixians cannot counter Guldan technology.” I stopped my pacing and stared my sister straight in the eyes. “They could have if we’d shared more.”
Aleina stiffened, and her gaze hardened. I knew that look. While marriage and motherhood had greatly softened her, when it came to the safety of Veredians—which largely derived from the Tuurean technology—she became fierce and inflexible.
I sighed and reached for the bottle of wine, filling my glass almost to the brim. I gulped half of it down, before remembering how treacherous the damn thing could be as my blood quickly started to warm.
“I agree that we need to increase the security for all of our children, but that doesn’t mean giving away our secrets,” Aleina cautioned.
“The Xelixians are our allies!” I exclaimed.
“For how long?” she asked, her face devoid of emotion.
I gaped at her in disbelief. Aleina held my gaze unflinchingly.
“Something else has happened?” I asked, though it was more of a statement.
Aleina gestured at the couch with her head, then leaned forward to fill her own glass with some ryspak juice. Just last week, her mother Maheva had confirmed Lenora and Yhanos would soon have a new baby sister. Ghan was ecstatic at the thought of another daughter.
I settled back next to my sister and waited while she took a couple of sips from her drink.
“I was informed this morning that a Korlethean delegation is set to speak before the Council two weeks from now,” Aleina said with a gloomy expression. She stared pensively at the red juice as she made it twirl in her glass. “We don’t have too many details, but they claim that Xelixians, and the Galactic Alliance as a whole, have been the victims of a long-standing deception from the Veredians.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins with the horrible suspicion of where this was headed.
“Remember that Korlethean Oracle we met on the Jeruna compound?” Aleina asked.
“Venya Solis? That snotty bitch? How could I forget?” I asked, making a face of distaste.
Aleina snorted, then nodded. “She had quite the attitude, but every single one of her words held important information. She warned us to keep our heads cool when we met Mercy. But more importantly, she knew that Tuureans were in fact Veredians in disguise. All Korletheans know.”
I swallowed painfully and nodded again.
“We’ve always known it was just a matter of time before our secret came out. My every instinct screamed to me that they are coming here to out us. We need to control the narrative,” Aleina said in a tone that brooked no argument. “They will put a terrible spin on things, which we may not be able to recover from.”
My mind racing, I reflected on all the consequences this revelation would have on our people, on our alliances, and on our safety. I took another sip of my wine before answering.
“That could be exactly what they want,” I mused out loud. “They might be baiting us into outing ourselves.”
Aleina nodded slowly. “It is possible, likely even. But either way, they are merely forcing us to show our hand sooner than we intended. We have been delaying long enough.”
I gaped at her again with an incredulous look. “You want us to come out?”
My sister nodded again.
“
Who are you?” I asked, flabbergasted. “Three years ago, you were willing to die rather than let me lower your armor to save you just to keep our secret. Now you want to spill it to the world?”
“That was three years ago,” Aleina countered with a shrug. “Things were different then. There were only four Veredian males alive in the entire galaxy: Amalia’s boys and the Dervhen twins. As of the last census, we now have 643 males; more than enough to ensure the survival and the growth of our species.”
“But most are barely more than toddlers. It will be at least another decade before the older ones can reproduce, and I doubt Amalia will agree for her boys to become fathers at seventeen,” I argued.
“Correct. Toddlers and grade school children that are currently exposed to an increasingly hostile environment.” Aleina’s palm settled on her still flat stomach and gently caressed it. “Every new Veredian we bring into this world will further fuel the propaganda. But there is something more.”
I watched her stand up and walk to the tall window overlooking the backyard. Her palm still on her midsection, she absentmindedly caressed it with her thumb while gazing upon little Yhanos solving a puzzle on the patio table.
“Camelia and Larissa informed me that too few of our Sisters wish to participate in the next meet-and-greet to justify holding them anymore.”
“What?” I asked, rising to my feet as well. “Why? Because of that propaganda?”
Aleina turned to look at me, a sad expression on her beautiful face.
“The number of our Sisters wishing to mate with Xelixians has been significantly dwindling since we’ve found the cure,” Aleina said with a sigh. “There have been some disturbing discussions back in Haven that echo some of the anti-Veredian propaganda. Xelixians fear our genes are too strong and changing the face of Xelix Prime. Well, our Sisters worry that all of our young males are hybrids. If our goal is to rebuild our species, we should strive for our descendants to look as much as possible like our ancestors who didn’t have those enlarged irises, ridged ears and crihnin on their foreheads.”