by Alyssa Ezra
“I began searching through the ancient legends,” Pevas said, picking up the story.
“When the Great Spirits hinted you could survive, I searched for something to confirm this, and discovered that the touch of the Plant is not deadly under one important condition.”
“What’s that?” asked Simone, impatience for an explanation.
Storm Kar fixed her with his deep, dark eyes. No longer the burning red orbs of roar power, they were, instead, now silk soft and lustrous. “You survived touching the Plant because you are pregnant.”
Chapter 8: Leaving The Past Behind
The celebrations lasted ten days. After the chaos and damage caused by the floods had been put right, the Mystic Folk and the Phoenix People gathered at the citadel to venerate the Great Spirits and to mark Storm Kar’s and Simone’s union as soul mates.
The Podderers supplied their home brewed rango beer, which left everyone a little worse for wear, and Phoenix People performed aerial displays in the sky.
Standing on the balcony of the citadel on the night of the final day of the celebrations, Simone watched the bird peoples’ fiery wings make patterns in the air, and listened to the music and songs being made by the people below and in the courtyard. A deep sense of contentment filled her being and for the first time for many years she felt at peace with herself.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Storm Kar said as he padded onto the balcony to join her. He was clad in only a pair of buckskin leggings, and Simone turned to enjoy the view of his sculpted chest and bare feet. His long black hair hung loose the way she liked it, and there was a ravishing smile on his handsome face.
Her eyes lingered on his face. She still couldn’t believe how much he had changed. He was still the kind and gentle person he always was, but now he had a new confidence in him. The pall of sadness was gone and he was completely revitalised.
“What are you looking at?” he asked. “Do I have food on my chin?”
She smiled and kissed him gently on the lips. “No, you look perfect.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You look better.”
She giggled and playfully nipped the curve of his neck. “Don’t start putting the charm on me. I don’t fall for it that easily.”
“I can’t help myself,” he replied, running his fingers down her spine just the way she liked it. “You cannot imagine how happy you’ve made me feel.”
She sighed and pressed herself closer to him. “I have a pretty good idea,” she drawled as she felt the stiffness in his leggings.
“I don’t mean like that,” he chuckled. “You have transformed my life completely. I can never repay you.”
“Just stay with me forever,” she murmured as she began gently kissing his chest.
“Stay with me and our baby.”
“I’ll never leave you,” he said firmly. “You and our child are everything I’ll ever want.”
She sighed softly as he caressed her bare thighs beneath her skirt. “Let’s take this inside,” she whispered. “We don’t want to give Jedediah a shock.”
Giggling like teenagers, they returned to their quarters where Storm Kar held her in a deep passionate kiss as she pulled down his leggings. Turning her round, he helped her slip her dress over her head, and they grinded against each other in slow rhythmic motions.
With his hardness pressing into the small of her back, he reached around to her front and sank his fingers into her wet heat. She arched her back like a cat as he explored her inner treasure finding the right pleasure points to send her over the edge. She held his wrist tightly and moaned as he brought her to climax.
Once she was sated, she turned and dropped to her knees. Storm Kar caressed her short hair as she brought her hot mouth around him, eager to return the favor. He groaned in a ragged voice as he reached his own point of no return. She swallowed his sweet tasting seed eagerly.
Though pleasured, they were far from done. Kissing passionately, their hands caressed each other with urgent need. They fell onto the bed and Storm Kar hooked her leg around his waist. She clawed his muscled back as he slipped inside her. She gasped with pleasure, and did not resent when he pushed himself on top.
He thrust deep and hard inside her, and she wrapped her legs around his magnificent, sweating body. Her hunger for him was all consuming, and the memories of the past that had tormented her so were exorcised.
As she reached another climax, he released himself with a shudder. She clung to him tightly and he devoured her with kisses.
As they parted and held each other, Simone thought of Dean, but now without a sense of guilt or reproach. She would never forget him, but now she had a new life and was certain he approved. As she closed her eyes and drifted into content sleep, she dreamed of her future and her brand new family on a distant, alien world.
***
PREVIEW OF ‘RAYER: SPACE WARRIOR’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE’ BY ALYSSA EZRA
Chapter 1
He had been awaiting the summons – he supposed that it was long due in reality. Unfortunately, such logic didn’t make the summons any less disdainful.
“High Prince Rayer. My lord, his highest majesty, your father has requested your presence.”
“Why do you insist on calling it a request when we both know that such edict is a command?” It didn’t matter how many years Rayer had been receiving summons this way, ever since he had been a child he had known the difference between a request and an order – Why can’t court manners at least be honest? He had always wondered that question, and he did so again, now.
“Sir.” The messenger, Hanneth, had been Rayer’s keeper ever since he had been weaned from his mother’s breast, and had become his full-time care-giver during his childhood and adolescence after the still mysterious illness that had ravaged the females of the planet had taken his mother in one of the most severe cases witnessed by the planet.
Rayer had barely been three solar orbits of age when his mother had fallen ill – he had a scant few memories from the time. They weren’t happy memories; however, they were cherished as they were his only memories of his mother, High Queen Arati. The high queen had fought the illness as stalwartly as any other warrior princess – as that had been the status of her birth – would have.
The people of the planet, Siiger, had loved his mother and did not take well to the idea of his father’s remarrying. After some time, they had come to accept the new high queen, but she had never accepted Rayer. His father’s second mate, Montala, wanted her offspring to be the next high king. Perhaps if the man had actually been the product of the high king’s loins that dream would have had a chance. Rayer’s father had claimed Graith, but it was merely as a social nicety, not because Rayer’s younger brother-by-marriage would ever sit on the throne.
At fifty solar orbits, Rayer had finally hit his prime. Most of the other hominid races reached their prime physical conditions and reproductive states between twenty and thirty-five; however, the Sii, the people of Siigert didn’t reach that point until they were well past their fortieth orbit. It had been obvious that Rayer would reach his on the tail end and at fifty orbits, he was physically far superior to Graith, who had hit his zenith early at forty.
Some of the other races said that the Sii aged slowly – that in his present condition, Rayer was comparable with the thirty-or-so aged men of similar races. He didn’t much worry himself over the views of the other species of the galaxy. Especially not now – not as he trekked through the ceremonial throne room to his father’s office to face whatever had incited the old man to summon his only child for the first time in more than an orbit.
One of the High King’s guards cast the doors wide, and announced into the room – his voice booming into the chamber beyond.
“High Prince Rayer has arrived as per your summons.”
Rayer walked into the room. It had always been one of his favorites in the entire palace complex. Giant windows cast great swaths of natural light into the cavernous space from one
courtyard facing wall. The rest of the walls were lined with shelves that held items of prophecy, scrolls recording the history of the Sii Empire, and other samples of crystalline growths and mysterious objects that had been collected from all over Siiger for as long as the Sii had walked the surface of the planet.
“Father,” Rayer continued to approach the most powerful man of the planet as he spoke a greeting.
“Rayer, it has been a while since I have seen you.”
“Not since before my previous birth celebration.”
“Yes, you are correct – I apologize that I was unable to see you on this orbit’s celebration, but your mother was ill, it was only appropriate that I attend her until the doctor finished.” Rayer considered holding his tongue as he always did whenever his father insisted on referring to the his second wife, Montala, as Rayer’s mother, yet, this time, for this occasion, Rayer decided against logical caution.
“Father, I do not wish to fight with you, but I ask you again to not refer to Montala as my mother, she is not – by that I do not mean that she didn’t give me birth, but rather she never had the desire, nor made an effort to be a mother to me. Therefore, she is not my mother, she is Graith’s mother. I did not take your absence personally, I did wonder, but I assumed that some call to duty had required you to miss the celebration. Now, what has driven you to call for me to attend you?”
The increasingly ancient King Balkar stared at his son shrewdly, taking in the way Rayer’s body had filled out. His son was much more his mother’s son, Arati’s son. He looked so very much like his mother – she had been an astoundingly beautiful woman, but Rayer might be even more astoundingly striking than the vicious warrior princess.
Arati’s family had been the noble warriors that had defended Siiger for hundreds of orbits, and while they could be quite sly, the families of the Kaltar tribe were unquestionably built in a manner that was ideal to that bred aim of planetary protection. His son had the body of a warrior, but the mind of a masterful high king. Unfortunately, Rayer was as stubborn as Balkar. Knowing that his son would doubtless be angry by the proposal he was soon to force on him, Balkar took a deep, cleaning breath, before looking at the comparatively young man, nearly a century his junior.
“You need to breed and provide an heir.” Balkar stated the reality of the situation simply and Rayer’s face blanked of all expression, just as Balkar had anticipated. Knowing that his son could, and would outwait him, Balkar continued, “You have officially hit your prime – it is expected that you breed. You have to breed and provide an heir in order to secure your position as my heir for High King.”
“And tell me father, who am I to breed with? The Sii are not compatible with the other known breeds in this area – and there are few if any Sii females left and those that might be of breeding prime, are barren, in fact all Sii females that survived the epidemic that killed mother are all incapable of breeding an heir. Or have you forgotten that was the basis on which you agreed to take Montala as your second mate? She had managed to birth Graith after the main onslaught of the epidemic.”
“Of course I remember that fact, boy,” the High King sighed. “Just as I remember that as a result, in order to maintain a semblance of a population balance, we have been forced to replicate artificially. Unfortunately, that is not an option for you. You have to provide a naturally conceived heir in order to ascend the throne – such is the rule that has ruled the pattern of ascension for as long as the Sii have existed. And you are not quite as informed as I am. In order to make sure this family line continues in power after my death, I have been sending out scouts, and I have confirmed that there is a race, of which there are a few females that are compatible with the Sii for breeding purposes. They come from a small outer-rim world called ‘Earth.’ Some of our scientists are already on site – quietly working with an inner-system company to find suitable candidates”
Rayer stared at his father and king for a solid five minutes before turning away from the man and striding over to stand before one of the windows. Another five minutes passed before his father lost patience and hollered across the room.
“Well?”
“How long will I have to select a suitable mate?”
“Unfortunately due to the pushing of the nobles, you have to make a decision with great speed. I will allow you a week once you have arrived to select a mate from the available candidates that have been vetted to be genetically compatible.”
“This is absurd.”
“Rayer, I am attempting to be reasonable with you; however, you are pushing my patience.”
“What patience, you have none.”
“Silence!” Balkar puffed for a moment, “You will do as I say. And that is the end of this conversation. You will depart for the planet Earth tomorrow. You will select a female as your mate and you will return, with your chosen female, home. The rites will be performed and you will mate with her. There is no need to worry about binding yourself to this female, you may reject her – but you must provide a naturally born heir. Our laws do not necessitate that the heir be male, so all you need to do is get the Earth woman pregnant. After your heir is born you may do with her what you will.”
“Is that what you would have done with mother?” His son’s voice was so soft that Balkar almost did not hear him.
“Of course not, but in that time, I had the liberty to be selective of my mate. I had plenty of options to choose from. You, my son, unfortunately do not have the same liberty. And the reality is that at nearly three times your number of orbits, discussion has been raised on how long I will live. Further discussion has been raised at allowing Graith the opportunity to provide an heir.”
“Graith?” Rayer stared at his father, the High King of Siiger, dumbfounded. In all of his years, no words more outrageous had ever passed his father’s lips. “You would allow Graith to claim ascension to the High Throne? He is not of the line!”
“I do not want to allow the line to thin.”
“It would not thin! It would break!” Rayer interrupted.
“Then do your duty. I do not know how this has been raised to the nobles as an option, as I do not consider it to be one, but I managed to stall any such discussion until you hit prime. You have – now time is slipping away for you to absolutely claim you position as the next High King.”
“Is your health failing?”
“Not yet. But I am weaker.” Rayer sighed and braced his forehead against the wafer thin panes of crystal that filled the windows – blocking the harsh winds of this time of year from sweeping priceless artifacts off of the shelves in the room. “My son, I wish I could give you an alternative, but I cannot. I am out of options, and you are running out of time.”
His breath fogged the panes of the window – Rayer did not appreciate being forced into making decision, before he was ready and chose to make it. On the flip side, he refused to let Graith have even this sliver of a hope at claiming Siiger for him and the woman that had wormed her way into his father’s bed. Rayer had often wished that his father would swap out Montala for another woman; even a purchased slave would be preferable.
“I will agree.”
“Excellent!” Balkar crowed.
“However…” Rayer waited for his father to fall silent, “I have a condition of my own.”
“What is that?”
“I will agree to take to mate any compatible Earth female that is willing, and I mean willingly accepts my offer, but she will know beforehand what is being offered to her – in its entirety. She will know before any mating occurs that I am not of her world. That I require an heir. That we will breed until I successfully impregnate her with my seed. She must be entirely willing to accept that and to bear the child to existence. And after an heir is provided, she will be offered the opportunity to return home. To her home world. She will have the option to leave me. As no one, not even you, expects me to keep her as my life mate, as my queen when I eventually inherit the throne – I will not deprive her of her lif
e on her own world should she wish it. Lastly, she will be compensated.
She will live in luxury here, but if she chooses to return to her world, she will be compensated enough so that she is able to live in luxury for the remainder of her life on, what did you call the planet? Earth?” At his father’s nod, Rayer continued, “Yes on Earth. Those are my terms.”
“I will accept your terms if you leave today. Before anyone knows what is going on. Before anyone has the opportunity to cause trouble.”
“Fine. I assume that the vessel will be ready by the time I get to it?”
“As soon as you reach the spaceport, you will be cleared. I will have Gaolan send a runner while you get whatever you might need for the voyage from your apartments.”
Rayer let out a rough laugh – even after all these years, his father could not fathom why his son would choose to ensconce himself in the tower, a place traditionally used to house offending criminals so that their cries could not be heard in the marketplace far below.
The High King refused to see his son in the tower, but the reality was that the tower was the easiest place to defend and after it had been rigged to have plumbing, piped straight from the reservoir it was, almost impossible to set the structure aflame.
Rayer did not bother to offer Balkar a farewell as they both considered such to be a waste of words. One did not waste words on farewells unless it was sure to be the last one saw of the other.
Chapter 2
“Order up!” Cole, Coletta Harper – if once actually knew her as anything but Cole, grabbed the three plates from the pass through before her hollering cook could put the ‘p’ on ‘up’ as the ham he called a hand popped down on the little antique bell that had been part of the diner in its previous life.