"The Denynso split just like the Klimnu," Gyyx said.
"They did," Creia said. "Those in the original compound worked with their small group of allies to force the creatures that would become the Klimnu off of the planet and everything seemed quiet again. On the new compound, however, two new babies were born just a few months apart. They weren't like all of the other children, but no one spoke of it. Nearly two and a half centuries passed. The two smaller Denynso clans disappeared and the others continued to build their reputation for war. Species from other planets would hear of the beauty of Uoria and come to invade. By then this compound had been walled in and the prison that had been built on the far end was largely forgotten. What we didn't know was that during that time, the Covra had reemerged and a misdirected ship of humans had crashed on the planet."
"What do you mean the other two Denynso clans disappeared? What happened to them?"
"No one knows. The clans were highly separated. There was rarely any communication and by the time the clan from the other side attempted to reach out to them, their compounds had been empty for years."
"What happened to this compound?" Pyra asked. "If it was once so beautiful, what turned it into the badlands?"
"You know that the first human visitors were allowed to Uoria around 50 years ago."
"Yes."
"Those visits lasted fewer than 10 years before we had to suspend them. That is when the Klimnu returned. While they were still beautiful, the years had only intensified the avarice and lust for violence and dominance within them. The first thing that they did was come to the people who had rejected the offer of alliance from their ancestors and destroy it. They buried weapons in the ground and detonated them, triggering the volcanos beneath the surface to erupt and burn the compound to skeletons and ash. That is when they learned that they could feed off of the high emotions of the Denynso and that the blood of the warriors would give them unimaginable power. The fire has not stopped burning since. It was only two years later; they came to me after coming into contact with the flowers and wanted my help to heal them.
By then those two strange babies who were the first born on this compound had grown up and several generations of their families had been born after them without any indications of the oddness of those children. There were two young men in the compound then, however, the youngest of those two family lines, who would grow up to have babies of their own and each of those children would show the same extraordinary characteristics that their ancestors had two centuries before. Not fully Denynso, these children would grow to be men, both losing their fathers far too young. From them, however, we got one warrior with the smaller size, beautiful face, and incredible speed of the Mikana tribe, this tribe," Creia said, gesturing toward Maxim and Rey, "and one with the gentle, kind heart of his mother but the astonishing ability to control objects of a father with Valdician blood, blood that was shed when the Valdicians returned for his son and he gave his life to protect him."
Pyra felt like he couldn't breathe. He turned slowly and faced his warriors. Ero and Ty stood in the center of the group, visibly shaking. Their mates clutched them, trying to offer them strength. Two of his dearest friends, men raised like his brothers, men who had fought alongside him in battle, had the blood of the worst enemies that the Denynso had ever encountered flowing through their veins. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words disappeared in the sound of a scream from the back of the crowd.
Chapter Eighteen
Loralia felt Eden's fingernails dig into her arm, breaking through the painful, foggy thoughts that were filling her mind. She knew now what had restarted the plague that had killed her family, and though it still didn't explain why she had been the only one to survive, the very fact that she now knew what was behind it seemed to give those deaths more meaning, as truly pointless as that meaning was. At that moment, however, she pushed those thoughts aside so that she could turn to Eden. The smaller woman was clutching Loralia's arm with one hand and holding her own belly with the other, terror in her eyes as she looked up at Loralia.
"Eden, what's wrong?"
Pyra crashed through the crowd and made it to Eden's side just as Loralia was lowering her to the ground. She placed her hands over Eden's belly, pressing her compact to it with one palm, and focused in on the baby inside, blocking out all of the emotions and thoughts of the adults around her so that she could only feel the growing child.
"She's in labor," Loralia said, running her hands down to the side of Eden's belly so that she could continue to follow the baby as it rocked with the contractions clutching his mother's body.
"What?" Pyra nearly shrieked.
"This baby is coming," Loralia said pointedly. "He's not going to wait any longer."
"This means that you are carrying like a Denynso," Zsilvia said, rushing to Eden's side, "but if so you would have been feeling labor pains for several days now."
Eden looked up and nodded, then took a breath and arched as her belly visibly tightened.
"I have been," she admitted. "I didn't want to say anything."
"Why?" Zsilvia asked.
"I wanted Pyra," Eden said. "It's ridiculous, I know, but I felt like if I didn’t say anything, it couldn't be real and then maybe he would make it home so I didn't have to go through this without him."
"I did make it home," Pyra said, reaching down to take Eden's hand.
Loralia could feel Eden calming as soon as Pyra touched her and she nodded at him.
"That's helping, Pyra. Keep touching her. Elianna, go get the midwives."
Elianna took off running down the path, but Loralia could feel the doubt and fear rising off of Eden. She knew that she wasn’t going to make it long enough for the midwives to arrive.
"Can you stand up and try to make it back to the house?" Loralia asked, wanting to keep Eden calm by giving her as many options as much control as she could.
"I can't," Eden gasped.
"What if I carry you?" Pyra asked.
"No, please. I can't go that far."
"Is there somewhere we can bring her?" Pyra asked.
Creia stepped forward and pointed across the plateau.
"There's a cave over there. It's not very large, but it will get her out of the open."
Loralia and Zsilvia stepped back so that Pyra could scoop Eden up and rush her across the plateau to the cave. She settled onto her knees beside Eden and a moment later saw Ivy rush up to the mouth of the cave. She took the bag off of her shoulder and held it out to Loralia.
"There are clothes, a sheet, and some medical supplies in there," Ivy said. "Use whatever you need."
Loralia thanked her and opened the bag, taking out the clothes and balling them up so that she could tuck them under Eden's head. Next she withdrew the sheet, the ointments, the herbs, and the strips of bandage and laid them to the side. Eden cried out as another contraction coursed through her body and Loralia rested a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Almost as soon as her back rested onto the ground again, Eden bucked again, screaming more loudly and reaching out for Pyra.
"The midwives aren't going to make it here in time," Eden sobbed.
"I can help you."
Loralia looked up toward the voice and saw Rey standing at the mouth of the cave.
"No," Pyra said harshly.
"My great-grandmother was midwife to the human women in the settlement after the crash. She taught my grandmother, who taught my mother, who taught me. They said that if I was to lead in the footsteps of my father, it was a skill that would make me stronger. I have attended several births."
"Human?" Loralia asked.
"No," Rey said, "but my mother taught me the differences very carefully."
"No," Pyra growled again, starting to stand.
Eden yanked him back down to the ground beside her and nodded.
"Yes. Thank you."
"He's a man!" Pyra protested.
"He is the closest thing that I have
to a midwife who can help me deliver this baby. The Denynso midwives have never delivered a human either, so how is this so different?"
"Those midwives aren't men," Pyra said, "and you aren't human anymore."
"My body is, Pyra, and I don't care if he's a man as long as he gets the baby here safely."
Loralia rested her compact over Eden's belly again and then nodded to Rey.
"He's ready."
"Are you still sure that it's a boy?" Pyra asked.
Loralia smiled up at him as Rey helped Eden get into position to push.
"You'll find out in just a few minutes."
Chapter Nineteen
Ivy stood in Maxim's arms, her forehead rested against his as he gently rocked her back and forth. She had only been able to hold his hand behind Gyyx's back, but in the chaos of everything that had happened on the plateau, Gyyx had stepped away from Maxim and she had immediately curled into his arms. She took a deep breath of him, filling her lungs with the smell that she never wanted to spend another moment without. He ducked his head and touched a kiss to her lips. Her mind was spinning with everything that was happening around them, but that simple kiss soothed her.
The high sound of a baby crying suddenly cut through the air and everyone turned expectantly toward the direction of the cave. The crying quieted and there was still silence for several long seconds before Pyra walked around the corner, a tiny, sheet-wrapped form tucked in his elbow. He carried it carefully over to Creia and Ivy watched as he lowered himself to his knees in front of his father and king. The first light of the morning was just coming over the cliff as Pyra lifted the baby into his hands and held it up to Creia.
"It's a boy," Pyra said.
The king took the tiny child into his hands and held him so that he could look into his face. Ivy could see a tear trickle down Creia's cheek as he gazed at his first grandchild, a brand new generation for the Denynso.
"What is his name?"
"Lysander," Eden said as Loralia helped her around the corner. "It means liberator."
"Liberator," Creia whispered, turning his eyes back to the baby in his hands.
Ivy watched as he stared down at Lysander and then raised his eyes to the crowd in front of him. He let his gaze touch each person in turn and then looked down at Pyra.
"Pyra."
"Yes, sir."
"You are the leader of these warriors and you lost the faith of your men. What you wanted to do to the Mikana is inexcusable."
Pyra flinched and nodded, his face lowering.
"Yes, sir."
"But I forgive you."
Pyra looked up at him.
"You do?"
"There is a time when I would have wanted to do the same thing. A time not too long ago. But to kill indiscriminately would make us no better than the creatures that we are trying to eliminate. We have spent far too much time hiding and locking ourselves away, even from our own kind. I have failed you, all of you, as your king by not telling you the truth, but if you will give me the opportunity, I promise that we can get beyond all of this. All of the fear, the hatred, the refusal to understand anything outside of us. It stops now. All is forgiven. All is put in the past. This precious baby is exactly what his name says. Today, he has liberated all of us."
The next evening Ivy sat in the banquet hall beside Maxim, watching him eat more than she had ever seen him eat. It brought a smile to her lips and she nuzzled close to him to kiss the side of his neck. Creia stepped up onto this room's smaller platform and held out his arms to silence the room.
"This is a historical day. Tonight we sit down together, the descendants of five species sharing and at peace. From here forward we will focus not on fearing and defeating one another, but on building our relationships so that we can exist together. Tomorrow morning some of our men will return to the settlement to release the rest of the Mikana tribe and bring everyone who is interested back here to this compound so that we can start creating the unity that is far overdue."
Creia lowered his arms and stepped down off of the platform. He walked over to Theia and gathered her in an embrace, kissing her tenderly as they parted. Ivy could see the relief in his body language and the joy on his face. Though Pyra, Eden, and Lysander had chosen to stay home that night so that Eden had a chance to rest and recuperate and the new little family had time to bond, she knew that the king and queen were thinking only of their already cherished little grandson.
The mood in the room was light and buzzing with excitement. Loralia and Bannack sat to one side talking out the wedding traditions from her family and planning their union. Samira and Ty sat at the table ahead of her, leaned over a notebook discussing details of their own wedding. That one would be held on Earth and Ivy expected that they would not be the only couple to be making that journey to have a human wedding that would further seal the bond that they had with their mates.
Ero sat at another table with Zuri at his side and Rey across from them. They were speaking animatedly and she was sure that Ero was having Rey tell him as much about the Mikana and their history as he possibly could so that Ero could learn about the piece of himself that he never understood and had long been too uncomfortable to embrace. She felt a twinge of sadness for Ty. Though she didn't know him well, she knew that it couldn't be easy finding out that the astonishing power that made him stand out was actually the result of having father from a species that had only be described in extremely negative terms. He didn't even have the opportunity to confront them and find out who they truly were. The military units from Earth had killed all of the Valdicians that they found on Penthos after Project Nyx 23 had disappeared and no other of the creatures had been heard of again since then. Loralia knew what it was like to be the only one left and to wonder who you are.
All of the tension that had been so prevalent for the days leading up to their arrival on the compound was gone and it seemed that everyone had the sense that the darkness was behind them, that everything was over now that Creia had finally revealed the truth and declared peace among the groups. Ivy nuzzled Maxim again and sighed contentedly. She knew that it wasn't over. There was still so much left for them to understand, and she knew that Maxim felt the same way. There was more to discover and more to explore. Flashes of their conversation with Ellora kept running through her mind. She could remember the look of sheer terror on the woman's face as she talked about the Order and the mysterious circumstances that had led to her husband's death. It had something to do with the badlands and the Klimnu, but she didn't know exactly what.
For that moment, though, Ivy didn't want to think about any of that. She wanted to close her eyes, breathe in the scent of Maxim, and think of going to Earth to help prepare for and to attend Samira and Ty's wedding in just a few days and all of the fun that she would get to have now that she could truly relax with the women and get to know more of the warriors.
She was bringing Maxim along with her for the trip and she couldn't want to show him all of her favorite places and things from the university to the beach. More than anything she just wanted to be with him. The terror of nearly losing him still hovered just at the back of her mind and she wanted nothing more than to be able to be with him where they were safe and could make up for the time that they lost. She knew that she would be coming back to Uoria, but that was alright. She was going home.
( The End )
Cheers, you made it to the last book of Series II! Thank you so much for making The Uoria Mates Series successful. I’m happy to announce that this isn’t a forever goodbye… I have already started working on Series III where we travel with our warriors to Earth for a wedding and uncover many more mysteries surrounding Uoria… Stay tuned! - Ruth A. Scott
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The Chosen Ones
A Sci-Fi Romance Saga
> Complete Series (Books 1 – 4)
By: Ruth Anne Scott
Glossary
Species: Noxium (nox-e-um). Noxium is a humanoid species that aren’t much different than humans. Only they have some special abilities, and their skin is covered with intricate tattoos. Each Noxium receives their mark when they come into their powers. They are separated into pods that have the same or similar powers. After their planet begins to disintegrate, they save themselves and land on Earth. At first Earth isn’t accepting, until they realize they can benefit from the Noxiums. They are provided their own territories and Humans and Noxiums are in a sense segregated.
Home Planet: Suaro (su-ar-o). This series is going to take place on earth in the South Sector which is more of the “neutral” grounds.
Hero is a Noxium. They don’t age the same way as humans. For every 10 human years he ages one. So he is 8, and a Noxi (Singular form) which is still young, but powers start between ages 4-14 depending on the Noxi.
Wyser (Y-zer): 6’2”, Pale blue eyes very light and contrasts against his dark skin. Straight black hair, but he has random places of pure white hair. He keeps it cut choppy and medium in length. His tattoos run from behind his left ear, down his neck and over the left side of his chest and ends right below his waist line. He’s built strong. Wide shoulders. He’s got the abs all women drool over. No body hair, except on the head (a Noxi thing).
Heroine is a human woman. The Noxiums came to Earth when she was about 10. Now she is 19.
Hannah Nichols: 19 year old college student. She loves her dad but she is sick of all his hate and needs to break free. She is about 5’9. Fairly muscular. She’s a runner, does track on the college team. She knows all sorts of Mixed Martial Arts and is trained in self-defense.
Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates II Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Page 49