Pythen Blessing: An Alien War Romance (Galactic Order Book 6)

by Erin Raegan

  He looked at my mouth and his lips quirked. He didn’t answer. Or, he didn’t answer my question. Instead he asked one. “You enjoy singing?”

  I blushed, my ears burning. I nodded, physically incapable of answering.

  He tilted his head, his eye roaming my face. “This embarrasses you?”

  “A little,” I squeaked, avoiding his eyes.

  “It is not a shameful talent,” he said quietly.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m not ashamed.”

  I was so mortified. My dad had said I was singing before I learned my first word. It was gibberish then, but I tried my best to mimic a melody. At first, my family loved it. They wanted me to sing all the time. I put on my princess dresses and performed for them, spinning and dancing. I sang while I was at the breakfast table. The dinner table too. I sang in the shower. In the car. Everywhere I went, I was singing or humming.

  Around the time I turned twelve, it got to be annoying. My mother would scold me. Tell me to go to my room and sing there. I loved my mother. And she loved me. But I understood how I could get on her nerves, constantly bombarding her with songs. So I tried to curb it. But most of the time, I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I had even gotten into trouble at school. My humming during tests was distracting to the other students.

  As an adult, I had better control of it. But when I lived on my own, I didn’t have to hold back. It was just me and my fish and they didn’t mind. Then I met Tim, and it charmed him. At first. Then it became annoying, so I had to hold back at home again. Only this time, I shared a bedroom with my fiancé and I couldn’t just shut myself in there and let all the melodies in my head loose anymore.

  I had gotten pretty good at catching myself until the Juldo came. All those days and weeks locked in a cage. Cold, hurt, and unbearably sad, I started humming again. I hadn’t stopped since. I must have been doing it a lot more than I realized.

  Ignyt watched me as I silently freaked out. I took a bite so I wouldn’t have to say anything else. He dropped his elbows onto the table, leaning forward into my space. He was so large, he dwarfed me. I tried not to flinch away.

  “You sing beautifully.”

  My eyes shot to his, and I felt my blush spread down my chest. He tracked it, shifting closer.

  A plate clattered onto the table next to me and I jumped so violently my elbow knocked over my empty cup. Ignyt glared at Hylg, baring his fangs, and slowly reached across the table, righting the cup.

  “You have a visitor,” Hylg murmured, ignoring Ignyt.

  “M-me?”

  Hylg nodded and jerked his chin over his shoulder. I turned around and saw a tall, lanky Dahk hesitantly stepping into the great hall, an escort of two warriors flanking him. I paled and jerked to standing, nearly knocking into Hylg. The lanky male’s eyes moved through the crowded hall until they stopped on me. A small, wary smile hit his mouth, and I walked to the end of my table, nervous and itchy.

  Uryn flushed as he stopped in front of me, his eyes dropping to my chin as they always did when he looked at me. He was a shy Dahk. At first, it had been endearing. I had met him in Ilynda, at a festival Uthyf had taken us too. Uryn was a carver, and so sweet and charming, I had been thrilled when he asked to escort me to that night’s celebration. We had laughed and danced for hours.

  An assassination attempt on Uthyf had quickly made us part ways, but for a few weeks, Uryn came to the castle to see me. We took walks around the halls—escorted of course—and we talked and laughed. It was nice. It wasn’t long before I was anticipating his next visit.

  But the last time he came to see me, he had been more reserved than ever. His smiles were small and sad, and though he said he would comm me the next day, he never did.

  Mona had encouraged me to reach out to him. It took a lot of courage, but I finally caved, worried about him. His father had answered the comm call and… well, I knew I wouldn’t be getting any more visits from Uryn. His father did not approve of him “cavorting” with a human female.

  “Hi,” I said, shifting on my feet.

  He smiled shyly again and looked at his feet. “Good morn, Lydya.”

  I twisted a lock of my hair around my finger, strangling it until it throbbed. “What are you doing here?”

  Uryn met my eyes briefly before looking back down again. “The king has commissioned a gift for the commander’s new son.”

  “Oh.” I felt a pang of something. Disappointment? Stupid, I shouldn’t feel anything like that for this guy. I could understand stepping back from our friendship because of his father. I got that the Dahk were all about family and honor and tradition. What hurt was how he dropped me. He should have told me. Said goodbye. Something. But I got nothing. He just stopped coming and stopped calling. And that had hurt. I’d started to trust him and like him. Him coming now but only for Uthyf stung a little more than I was comfortable with. “Well, that’s great. You must be excited.”

  He nodded and cleared his throat. “How are you?”

  “Oh, I’m—”

  Uryn’s eyes snagged on something behind me then widened. He took a startled step back, bumping into the palace guard behind him.

  Ignyt stepped up to my side, ensnaring my attention. He was so much taller than me that I barely reached his chest. Ignyt’s mouth was a hard line and his squinted eyes were aimed at Uryn. His hands were crossed on his broad chest and his wings were tight to his back. He didn’t say anything, but the much shorter and lankier Dahk paled and trembled under Ignyt’s attention.

  “I-I’m good,” I resumed on a stutter, watching Ignyt in confusion.

  He was throwing off a whole lot of anger at the moment, and I didn’t understand why. Ignyt was scary most days, but he rarely glared at anyone except for Hylg or Ohta when they irritated him. He was usually calm, quiet, and watchful. He was scarred but still handsome—for an alien. The ridges on his head were short knobs that ran from the center of his forehead and split into three rows, one down the center and one on each side of his skull. He wore nothing but leather pants; his clawed feet were bare. And he was always armed to the teeth— blades at his waist and a sword strapped to his back by a leather band that wrapped around and across his thick chest.

  Still, besides the difference in weapons, that wasn’t so different from most of the warriors populating the castle. The way Ignyt looked shouldn’t instill so much fear in me, but something about him demanded respect and caution. Though the wicked glint in his eye and menacing air clearly conveyed why he was the king’s interrogator, he had never done anything specific to frighten me. In fact, he seemed to go out of his way to make sure he didn’t frighten me. He moved slowly around me, was careful not to touch me, and never ever raised his voice.

  But right now? I couldn’t deny how terrified I was—for Uryn. It had nothing to do with my general fear of aliens or my time spent as a Juldo prisoner and everything to do with how Ignyt very much looked like he wanted to pummel Uryn.

  “Igs,” Hylg growled low in warning.

  Ignyt rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Leave.”

  Uryn stepped back again and looked at me. Ignyt rumbled a menacing sound and Uryn snapped his eyes away. “N-nice to s-see you, Lydya.”

  Then he spun on his heel and fled. I watched in shock as Uryn bumped into several Dahk, knocking trays and cups from their hands. Ignyt relaxed his shoulders and turned back to the table. I watched, frozen, as he sat and tore into a sliver of meat. His eyes never left me.

  Hylg chuckled next to me and sat back down.

  I forced my feet to move me back to my seat, and I slowly sat down, confused. “What was that about?”

  Ignyt tensed and leaned back, his face cool and unapologetic.

  Hylg chuckled again and slapped the table, startling me. “Little human, I think it best you not speak softly to any more males around that big bastard.”

  “What?”

  Hylg chugged his cup, watching me. He licked his lips and shook his head. “My brother did not like
your eagerness to meet that male.”

  “He’s my friend,” I defended myself. Hating the reminder, hating that I had for a moment stupidly thought Uryn had come to see me. I had been shocked Uryn was there. Why did it matter that I had been briefly excited to find out why Uryn came to the castle? “And so what?”

  I looked at Ignyt, and his chest inflated so dramatically that I thought he was going to shout. But air slowly heaved out of his nostrils and he looked at the table. “Has he been courting you?”

  “Uryn?” Courting me?

  Ignyt nodded once, angrily.

  I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I wanted to make him angrier, and everything about his posture indicated he did not like Uryn or me speaking to Uryn.

  “Y-yes. He had been.” At least I had gotten the impression that Uryn liked me that way. But then he didn’t visit anymore. So he must not have liked me enough. As much as I deserved, that is.

  “No more.” Ignyt sat back and folded his arms across his chest.

  Hylg chuckled, shaking his head.

  I looked between them. The nape of my neck prickled, and indignant heat flooded my face. “You don’t get to decide that.”

  Ignyt raised his brows. Mocking me. I stood and my mouth opened and closed, words failing me. Hylg’s fist came up to his face and poorly hid his massive grin.

  “Uryn can court me if he wants,” I said, screaming at myself inside. I didn’t want Uryn to court me. I didn’t want anything from Uryn anymore. He had severed our growing friendship in the worst way. But I would be damned before I admitted that.

  “No,” Ignyt grunted, dismissing me. He dug back into his food, but his eyes dropped to my hands as they curled into fists at my sides.

  “No?” Completely baffled and massively annoyed, I was—I was riled. Angry. I didn’t get angry easily. It was not a good feeling.

  Ignyt’s scarred lip quirked. “No.”

  “I-you—” I huffed and took a heated breath. “Why?”

  Ignyt looked at me, his eyes searing mine. Confident. Unrepentant. My chest heaved.

  “You’re going to court me then?” I asked. Not a scrap of rationality in my brain. My cheeks lit up like stop lights.

  Ignyt dropped his smirk and his lips pressed tight, his jaw hardening. His eyes turned hungry. Heated. He nodded, once. Firm. Certain.

  All the hairs on my arms stood on end.

  “Okay,” I squeaked. Then I turn and fled the hall faster than Uryn had.

  10

  Lydia

  I hid in my room for a few hours, puttering around but not really doing anything. I couldn’t believe what had happened or been said in the great hall. I was in shock. Drowning in nerves. My stomach rolled and I couldn’t sit still.

  Was he outside my room right now? Why hadn’t anyone followed me inside to guard the balcony? What would I say when I saw him again? What would he say to me?

  What in the stars had I been thinking? I told him okay? Okay! As if I didn’t mind the scary interrogator trying to woo me. As if I had no reservations about an alien courting me. As if I wasn’t still hurting from my fiancé’s betrayal and Uryn’s dismissal. As if I hadn’t spent weeks as a slave to an alien race that abused me, tortured me, and cut me open for their own sick amusement.

  My hand dropped to the jagged scar across my pelvis. It was only one of many I now had all over my body. I had one on my calf from a particularly mean Juldo. My back held scars from whips and batons. I had little burn marks on my side from a stick that sent electric shockwaves throughout my entire body. Aliens had touched me. Fondled me. Broken me by stripping away my confidence and deep-rooted sense of security.

  I knew I had been raped, though I didn’t remember a second of it. When I had woken up on a dirty floor in my cage, I had seen the blood on my thighs and felt the pain of it. Mona remembered far more than Roxy and I did. She had been there so much longer. She hadn’t been experimented on as we had, but instead suffered as the master’s personal favorite.

  Some days I was grateful for the experiments. They had nearly killed me, but they’d also left me so weak that I was barely awake most days. What happened when the Juldo pulled me from my cage was some distant dream— the memories foggy. I wasn’t aware when they did those things to me. I was only aware of the pain afterward. Sometimes during, but rarely was I conscious.

  I should have died on that planet. But I hadn’t. I survived it.

  No matter the road map of scars on my body, I had walked away. Alive. My scars had healed thanks to Gryo and the other healers. There was no way I could forget my abuse when I looked at my body every day, but unbelievably there had been no lasting damage.

  Regardless of my pain and suffering, physical intimacy didn’t frighten me as it had Mona, and as it still frightened Roxy. In fact, I missed it. I missed a warm body next to me at night. I missed the safety and security a lover could provide. Looking back, I could admit Tim hadn’t deserved those feelings from me. He was not safe. He was not secure. But I still missed being held. I missed the feelings, not the person.

  I missed the ability— the choice— to trust a man with my body and my heart.

  That didn’t mean I was ready for Ignyt. He was the opposite of my fiancé. He was so much bigger, and that intimidated me. He was also so different in personality. But I couldn’t deny I was attracted to him. He wasn’t beautiful, not even for a Dahk. He was too scarred for that. But he was unconventionally handsome, his features rough and masculine. Rugged. He was a warrior when I was used to accountants and lawyers.

  But no one would get past him. He was large and fierce. I just knew deep down nothing would ever get to me in his arms.

  He was simultaneously thrilling and frightening. It was an overwhelming combination.

  And I had told him okay.

  A knock on the door startled me, and I made a high-pitched distressed sound.

  “Lydia?”

  I ran to the door and swung it open. Peyton yelped when I yanked her into the room. I released her and slammed the door closed. Two masculine chuckles echoed through the door.

  “Everything okay?” she asked cautiously.

  I shook my head quickly, looking at the door. “No, everything is the opposite of okay.”

  “Uh, you want to talk about it?” she asked, looking as though she regretted coming to my room.

  “No, no. I don’t think so.”

  She nodded, seeming relieved and concerned and confused. “Well, want to give me a hand with Sym?”

  “Yes!” I shouted. I loved Sym and I needed a distraction. Immediately.

  “Okay.” She looked at the door. “Ready to go?”

  I looked at the door I was barring and winced. “Um, actually—yeah, okay.” I slipped my hand around the handle and stopped, staring at it.

  “Lydia?” Peyton looked more concerned now. “What is it?”

  “Is he out there?” I whispered, afraid he would hear me.

  She looked at the door and then back to me. “Who?”

  “Ignyt,” I said. Like, duh. Who else?

  Her face cleared and she looked at her feet, grinning. “Uh, no. Hylg and Ohta are out there.”

  I sagged against the door, relieved and a tiny bit disappointed. But we were ignoring the disappointment.

  I opened the door and Peyton walked out ahead of me. Hylg grinned at me, and Ohta shook his head, falling in line behind us. Peyton also had two guards with her and they led the way to her room.

  “So…” Peyton raised her brows at me. “You and Ignyt?”

  I shushed her, looking behind me. “No, not me and Ignyt.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “No…” I looked away from her, covering my hot cheeks. “but— he’s going to court me.”

  Peyton’s eyes lit up and her mouth opened. “He said that?”

  I shook my head. “No, he just nodded it.”

  Peyton’s brows wrinkled again and she looked ahead. “Okay.”

  “What do I do?” I whispered
.

  Peyton snickered. “You are all kinds of stressed about this.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, he’s scary.”

  A snort came from behind us, and I glared over my shoulder.

  Peyton grabbed my hand and bent her head to mine. “They all kind of are though, right?”

  “Yeah, but Ignyt’s scarier than most.”

  Peyton smiled softly. “I thought that about Tahk once upon a time too.”

  That stopped me. She had been scared of Tahk? I didn’t get that. He was so sweet to her. So attentive and affectionate. That guy had little floating hearts in his eyes when he was around her. Yeah, he was super frightening—I mean, he was the commander of an alien army, terrifying everyone was kind of a job requirement—but Peyton never seemed afraid of him. She had him wrapped around her finger.

  “They can be kind of intense,” she murmured. “All the males are. But they would never hurt you. Not Tahk’s warriors anyway. And Ignyt is one of his best.”

  “I’m not afraid he’ll hurt me.” The fear I felt around him was different.

  “Good.” She smiled and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “So what’s got you freaked out?”

  I tugged on a lock of hair and nibbled on it, thinking. “I had a fiancé.”

  Peyton stuttered to a stop. “What?”

  I clutched her arm. “Oh god, don’t say anything. I didn’t mean to say that. It just came out.” I had completely lost control of my mouth. “Roxy doesn’t know.”

  She would be upset I hadn’t told her, but I hadn’t wanted to talk about Tim. I hadn’t wanted to even acknowledge him.

  “I won’t say anything,” she assured me quietly. “Is he—did he die?”

  “No, I wish.” I slapped a hand over my mouth, horrified. “I didn’t mean that!”

  Peyton snickered. “An asshole then?”

  I nodded miserably. “He practically tossed me to the Juldo when they came.”

  “For real?” Her voice rose.

  I waved my hands, shushing her. “I don’t want to talk about it.” But I couldn’t seem to stop the word vomit.