by Liz Craven
Ilexa smiled, and when Thane patted the bed beside him, she joined him, snuggling into his side. “Good to know someone kept him in line while he served the League.”
“He had no problem keeping me in line, too,” Thane confessed.
She laughed again before sobering. “The point I was trying to make is I’ve hit my brothers with impunity, but I know one healer who slapped someone and suddenly her gift was gone. I do know in all the instances of healers physically defending a patient, the goddess has never punished the healer.”
“Then perhaps Quatres can train, but not fight. That would go a long way towards making things easier on him.”
“Perhaps,” she hedged. “Remember, Quatres believes in your Deity, not the N’yotan pantheon. This is uncharted territory all the way around.”
Concern tightened Thane’s eyes. “What about you?”
“Me?”
“You hit me. Will that affect your healing?”
“Nope.”
“How do you know?”
She hesitated. How to explain? Faith remained a nebulous area in the universe, but she knew Havilla’s limitations for her own healing gift. Explaining it however, was something else. “I just do. Thane, I’d let someone kill me before I’d jeopardize my gift.”
There was a pregnant pause. “That’s what frightens me.”
She placed a hand on his biceps—the gods must have hewn his arm from granite. “Thane—”
He gave himself a shake and pointedly looked at his chronometer. “I need to go.”
“Of course.” She pulled back, trying to not be hurt.
“My father returns today. We will share a private dinner. I would like it if you joined us.”
“The Intertribal Council has recessed?”
“Yes. Senators are returning home to wait out the rains.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Senators walk from the shuttleport. It shows their strength, and in truth is safer than speeders.”
“Oh.”
“Will you?”
“Will I what?”
“Join us for dinner?” He ground his teeth so hard Ilexa feared they’d break.
“I didn’t know you cooked.”
“Ilexa.”
“Sorry,” she laughed. “I’d be delighted.”
Thane beamed at her and pressed her to the mattress with the passion of his kiss. When he lifted his head, she was wet and achy, but he evaded her attempts to grab him and pull him back down.
He rose and crossed to her door. “I’ll see you in my quarters at seven?”
She struggled to sit up. “Seven.”
“And Lex, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“My father. He’s a real bastard.”
“Thane—”
“Not all of us have loving families, but whatever he says or does changes nothing between us.”
With that, Thane was gone, leaving her staring at the wooden door in bemusement.
***
Thane’s palms actually slipped on the doorknob when he opened the door to Ilexa’s knock. Surreptitiously, he wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and accepted the bottle of wine she extended. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “I brought this with me from N’yota. I hope red is all right?”
The nervous glint in her eye swept his worry aside. He wanted her comfortable in his home—of course, once she married him, he’d request larger quarters in the family section of the keep—but for now he wanted her relaxed and thinking of him in homey ways.
Unable to resist, he brushed her lips with his own. “Red is perfect.”
She smiled again, and he snaked an arm around her waist, and swung her into his living area.
“Thane—” she whispered a warning.
He ignored it. “Father, may I present Ilexa Dhakir, my ahali.”
“What in all the worlds does ahali mean?” she demanded under her breath.
A tall lean man stepped forward to appraise the woman he held. Cold eyes the color of charcoal swept over her and Thane had to fight the urge to shield her with his body.
“Ilexa, may I present my father Nytham Msaka.”
She turned that beautiful smile to his father and extended her hand. “I see where Thane gets his good looks.”
Nytham ignored the proffered hand and flared his nostrils in disdain. “I understand you have no warrior in you.”
“Father…” He ground out.
“I’m a healer, sir.” Ilexa squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
Thane felt a surge of pride at the backbone she displayed.
“Let’s get this farce of a meal over with.” Nytham stalked to the table set in an alcove and sat down in a chair. “At least you spared me the humiliation of having to dine with her in public.”
Fury blinded Thane for a moment. He’d known his father would not be pleased he’d bucked tradition and chosen an offworlder over a warrior, but he hadn’t anticipated such virulent hatred. “You will not insult Ilexa. Apologize. Now.”
Ilexa’s fingers curled around his arm and she squeezed. The pressure surprised him enough to stop him from taking the menacing step towards his father.
“I’m not insulted,” Ilexa lied. “I don’t want to cause difficulty. Perhaps I should leave.”
“The hell you will,” Thane growled, not taking his eyes off Nytham. “I said apologize.”
“I will not. Thane think. What kind of weak sons will she bear you? She’s not Hakimu. Fuck her if you must, then send her home and find a strong warrior for a wife.”
In a flash, Thane suddenly understood his visceral opposition to Talon’s search for Lia. He’d helped his friend find his lost wife, but hadn’t kept his personal feelings on the matter quiet. He’d disdained Talon’s arranged marriage. Hated it as a matter of fact. But it wasn’t Talon’s arranged marriage he’d despised, but his own father’s attempt to find him a broodmare while sending him out to stud.
However, rage at the insult dealt Ilexa eclipsed his fury at his father’s machinations and left him momentarily speechless.
In the charged, rage-filled pause, Nytham added, “Deity. You haven’t gotten the bitch pregnant have you?”
Thane snarled and started to launch himself at the cold son of a bitch who’d sired him, but Ilexa flung her arms around his neck and dangled against him.
“Let go.” The words came out so soft and dangerous Ilexa flinched, but valiantly held her grip.
“No. Both of you stop this.”
“You dare give me orders?” Nytham roared.
“I dare.” Ilexa twisted to glare at his father, but didn’t release him. “And for the record, not only am I Hakimu, I’m head of my own family, an honor granted me by the Malkia.”
Thane had the satisfaction of seeing his father’s mouth fall open.
“And your son is too honorable to get a Hakimu woman pregnant without marriage.”
He had to hand it to Ilexa, she met his father’s eyes when she baldly lied to the man. Still, his hands clenched and unclenched with the rhythmic need to wrap them around his father’s neck. “Ilexa, let go.”
“No.” She didn’t take her eyes off Nytham. “You don’t have to like me sir, but Thane deserves a basic level of courtesy in his own home.”
“You dare to dictate to me?” Nytham repeated, clearly stunned by Ilexa’s demands.
“I do.”
“While you hang on my son’s neck like a coward?”
“While I hang on your son’s neck to save your miserable life.”
“I don’t like you.”
“I actually figured that out on my own.”
“I want you out of his life.”
“I got that, too.”
Thane wondered if his father heard the ribbon of amusement in her voice.
Nytham rose. “I will leave, but I am home now and I will find a way to cut you from my son’s life like the cancer you are. You will not mother the next generation of
Msaka men.”
With those ominous words, Nytham slammed from Thane’s home.
“I’m tempted to marry you just to spite him.”
Thane supposed he should be ashamed of the fact he’d let her, but he’d have for his wife no matter how he had to obtain her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he clutched her to him before it could occur to her to let go. “I’m sorry. I knew he’d be displeased, but I didn’t know it would be this bad.”
“Maybe you should go after him. Talk to him.”
“No.” He tried to soften his refusal. “I’d rather have dinner with you.”
“Thane, he’s your father. You should talk to him.”
He tried to lighten the mood. “No. Unless you want to punch him, too.”
“No. Hitting him would cost me my gift.” Her voice held such conviction, he didn’t doubt it.
She studied him. “What does ahali mean?”
“Fiancée.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t exactly true either.
“Thane, I haven’t agreed to marry you.”
Raw from the confrontation with his father, he lashed out. “Are you suggesting I should take my father’s advice and just fuck you like a convenience and then send you away?”
Her eyes clouded and her arms fell from his neck. She stepped back, and with reluctance he let her go.
“He’s really hurt you,” she said quietly and retrieved the bottle of wine he didn’t remember dropping.
“Lex…” The right words to apologize hovered just out of his mind’s reach.
“It’s okay, Thane. Let’s eat dinner. I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.”
A few hours later, after dinner and sharing the comfort of their bodies, Ilexa stirred beneath him.
“I should go.”
“Stay.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to give your father any more ammunition.”
“We’ll go to the Malkia and have her marry us now.”
“Thane.”
The exasperation in her voice grated his nerves. “You know you are going to marry me, otherwise you wouldn’t be lying here. Why are you putting it off? Putting me off?”
For a brief moment, he thought she would tell him.
“I need to go.”
Chapter Twelve
It didn’t take long for word of the estrangement between Thane and Nytham to make its way around the keep or for people to surmise its cause.
A knock on the closet door drew her from her worry. “Come in.”
Quatres appeared and settled on the stool across from her. “You doing okay?”
She forced a smile. “I am. You?”
“I suppose I should say yes, but that would make two liars in such a small space.”
She ignored the fact he’d called her on the lie. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have broached the possibility of you being a healer.”
“No. You didn’t have the right to keep it from me.”
“That’s how I would have felt. Still, I feel bad for burdening you.”
“It’s a harder decision than I anticipated,” he admitted.
“You look tired.”
“I’m not sleeping.” He hesitated. “How do you handle it?”
“It?”
“The tribe. Don’t you feel isolated?”
Ilexa mulled that over. “A little, but a lot of that comes from being an outsider, and I’m starting to find my place. I’m making friends in medical and others are warming up to me. If nothing else, the tribe is becoming accustomed to my being here.”
“A few of the old women still call you a witch.”
That prompted a laugh. “Old women need something to gossip about. I’m happy to provide the entertainment.”
Quatres smiled. “You saying I’ll have an easy time of it?”
She sobered. “No. I’m not. People hate change and things that are outside their own experiences, but you have a support system. Friends, family, colleagues.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Some are going to hate you for walking a different path, but it’s your path to walk. Have you talked to anyone? Your family? The Malkia?”
Quatres’s eyes became as wide as saucers. “I couldn’t bother the Malkia with my problems.”
Ilexa waved a dismissive hand. “She loves her tribe.” Memories of the Malkia’s anger—and hurt—at Drea’s suffering had her adding, “I think the Malkia wishes more of her tribe would let her help them.”
“I’m not sure I’m strong enough to be a healer.”
She knew he didn’t refer to the strength of his healing gift. “It’s a difficult path for you. Perhaps you should visit N’yota and counsel with some of our teachers.”
Quatres consider that. “I’ll think about it.”
“Talk to the Malkia first,” Ilexa entreated, knowing the woman’s support could make all the difference to him.
“Maybe,” he hedged. “I’m sorry Nytham is causing you such headache. I’d expected Thane to have proposed by now.”
It took a second for her mind to make the topic change and her cheeks to heat with embarrassment. Quatres believed Thane had thrown her over because of his father. The sympathy in the medic’s eyes made her confess. “I can’t accept it. Things were complicated before, but with his father’s disapproval…”
“Thane? You’ve turned down Thane?” Shock born of hero worship shone in his eyes.
“I haven’t exactly turned him down.” At least not in any way I know he’d truly accept.
“So you are just stringing him along?”
The appalled look on his face struck her in the gut. “I’m not stringing him along. I can’t say yes. I can’t be his ahali.”
Quatres sucked in a breath large enough to decompress an airlock. “He called you ahali.”
Ilexa narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t mean fiancée does it?”
“Sort of.” But he shook his head. “Thane has declared himself your husband, claimed you as his wife. Even if you refuse him and leave or marry someone else, you will still have his commitment. Such a declaration can’t be erased. Thane is yours until death—either his or yours.”
Ilexa rocketed to her feet. “That son of a bitch.”
Ignoring her outrage, Quatres continued. “He bound himself to you. Not doing the same is cruel beyond measure.”
She was going to kill him.
***
Thane lowered his weapon and berated the warrior on the ground before him. “This is not a holovid where dancing and acrobatics matter. It’s a two handed sword that means keeping both hands on the weapon and not twirling it like a school girl’s baton.”
Kavin panted with humiliation but didn’t rise from the ground. He couldn’t even meet Thane’s eyes. Thane knew the younger man had been showing off for the women watching the training and the ease at which he’d been disarmed shamed him. Still, Thane couldn’t muster any sympathy. Kavin shouldn’t have been showing off like a trainee.
The silence around them drew his attention. Warriors stood frozen in place, some with weapons poised above their heads, while others had cast their weapons to the ground.
And hurtling through the throng was a vision in a blue unitard.
It took a moment for him to realize what had happened. Then it clicked. Ilexa had rushed into the covered arena with no thought to the men wielding sharp objects. For a long minute his heart stopped, then began to beat triple time.
He leapt over Kavin, charged forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Have you lost your damned mind?”
The woman didn’t have the sense to look chastened. Instead she shot back, “Want to explain ahali to me? Are you going to try and sell me that crock about it meaning fiancée again?”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No, but I’m going to kill you.”
He shook her, and because it felt so good, he shook her again. “Did you not notice that my men are training with weapons—real weapons? These a
ren’t holographic training tools.”
Her mouth fell open and she glanced around at the warriors staring at her. A heartbeat later she squared her shoulders and turned her furious gaze back on him, clearly dismissing the risk she’d taken. “You were going to explain ahali to me.”
He was going to throttle her. But the shocked breaths drawn almost in unison reminded him of their audience and he magnanimously decided to let her live. However, they had given his men enough of a show. He released one of her shoulders and used his grip on the other to haul her away from the arena—and didn’t stop until the reached her room.
He slammed the door behind him. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“Me? You’re the one who entered into a one-way marriage.”
“The hell I did. I just had the courage to make a declaration, to behave with honor while I wait for you to stop dragging your feet.”
She snarled at him. “Are you saying I have no honor and no courage?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” He shoved a hand through his hair, dislodging it from the queue at the nape of his neck. “Damn it Ilexa stop twisting my words around.”
“I’m not twisting your words. I’m trying to understand.” She pulled away and began to pace. “You married me.”
“No, I didn’t. I would never take your choice from you.”
“So if I refuse to marry you, you’ll find someone else?”
“No.”
“No because you won’t or because you can’t?”
“This doesn’t matter. You won’t refuse me.”
“What is an ahali?”
“Obviously someone already told you.”
“I want you to tell me.”
He sighed and plopped into the chair. It wasn’t dignified for a warrior to plop, but exasperation made it impossible to do anything else. “Our tribal lands are large by any standard, but modern technology makes them easy to traverse. In ancient times it could take months or even years to do so. Traditionally only the Malkia or a tribal elder could perform a marriage ceremony.”
“And it could take a long time for a couple to see one,” Ilexa concluded.
“A man claiming a woman as his ahali and she claiming him as her waume became common practice. A marriage without the ceremony.”
“And if the woman didn’t claim him as waume?”