by Celia Kyle
Yazen’s appearance not only ended the argument, it stabbed him with fear. Had the male emerged to tell him Delaney was gone? No. No, that could not be. Not when the Knowing was still a persistent presence in his mind. He reached out and mentally touched the invisible bridge that tied him to Delaney and found it intact.
No, she was not gone from him. But that did not mean she was healthy.
“Yazen?” Zadri rasped, unable to keep the longing for news from his voice.
“Delaney joi Zadri Cole is resting well.” Yellow eyes bored into his. “Now.”
She was resting well now, but what about before? “What is wrong with her? What caused her to lose consciousness?”
Other than the drills and Zadri’s failings as a mate.
“It was a rise in her blood pressure.” The male’s expression turned grim. “It went extremely high, causing her several discomforts and eventually unconsciousness.”
“But she will be well?” He prayed to the skies she would be well.
Yazen shook his head. “I cannot guarantee this.”
He swallowed hard, ignoring the stinging of his eyes and the lump in his throat. He was not about to cry. Preor warriors did not cry. Ever. “What must be done?”
“It is a matter of what must not be done.”
What must not be done. Zadri wheezed, let his mind drift further back than his quick departure. Back to the passion they’d shared. Had he caused this? He’d worshipped her body, but perhaps it’d been too much for her human blood and heart. It’d increased the pressure so greatly that when she’d been left alone—
“She must be kept calm.” Yazen’s words sliced into his thoughts. “She should not be alone. Ever.” The way the male said that single word, the tone and sharpness, told Zadri it was an order he must take seriously. “She should only partake in activities that bring her joy.” Yazen gave him a heavy stare filled with meaning. “Of the heart, not body. And not until she has presented her offspring.”
Yazen was telling him not to enjoy Delaney’s body until after their dragonlet arrived. His own body cringed at the thought, but his determination was stronger than his cock’s need for her wet warmth. He would not risk his mate.
“Understood.” Zadri jerked his head in a quick nod. “It will be as you say.”
Yazen grunted. “Then come. She has asked for you and Healing Master Whelon has an issue that must be discussed.”
An issue? Was it about him? Was the healing master going to reprimand him? It was deserved and he would not protest.
So when Yazen turned to face medical once more, Zadri stepped forward, prepared to follow the primary healer. He ignored Choler and Tyff, deciding he could address additional blame at another time. The original error was his own, but he would not let Tyff get away so easily.
Medical’s doors closed behind him, locking out the other two males conducting a whispered argument. Now he focused on scanning the room, searching for his mate. He spied her on a nearby medical platform, the ryaapir unit’s holo hovering above her reclining form. The images glowed, scan sliding over her body from head to toe and revealing her inner workings.
He saw the beat of her heart, the network of veins, and the tightening of muscles. He even saw… their dragonlet. Or a digital representation of their dragonlet. He slowly approached, his emotions ranging from awe over the young one to shame at what his neglect could have cost him.
“Shaa kouva?” he murmured as he drew close to her.
She gave him a small smile, delicate fingers finding his own and giving him a soft squeeze. “Zadri.”
“You are well?” He’d listened to Yazen’s words, but he needed his mate’s reassurance.
“Well enough.” Her smile wavered, the holo hovering above her body shimmering with a change in her heartrate.
“Calm, Delaney.” Healing Master Whelon glanced at them over his shoulder, single eyebrow raised in challenge. Further proof this male had spent too much time with humans as well.
Though, was that such a bad thing? Humans—human females—were already proving their ability to adapt, recover, and stand strong beside their Preor males.
“I am calm,” his mate fired back and Whelon merely raised his eyebrow higher. That caused Delaney to huff. “My blood pressure and pulse are going to waver slightly from moment to moment. Unless you want to keep me sedated for the next few months, you’re going to need to determine a healthy range and only bother me when I go too high. A tiny change,” she waved her free hand at the holo, “is not something to complain about.”
The holo wavered again and he shot a glance to Whelon, waiting for the male’s response to the change.
Whelon pointed at the holo. “That is slight?”
Delaney glared and he realized she was beautiful when angry. “That is you annoying me.”
The male shook his head and turned to face them, moving forward until he stood across from Zadri, Delaney between them.
When Whelon spoke, it was to Zadri. “She must remain calm. Only activities she enjoys. Much sleep. Specific foods will be added to the ship’s systems so you can request appropriate meals. Nothing stressful.” Whelon turned his attention to Delaney. “I wish you to carry your offspring to term, but you will not do so if you do not do as I say.”
Delaney’s grip on his hand tightened almost painfully. While her face remained impassive, that squeeze told him she was worried over their dragonlet.
“It will be as you say,” Zadri confirmed. He would allow nothing less. “I will ensure her health.”
“You have to work, Zadri.” Her hold remained hard while her words were soft.
He shook his head. “Taulan and Kozav will have to operate the ship without my constant presence. I will not put you or our dragonlet at risk. If that means I must remain at your side at all times, then I shall.”
And no other could convince him differently.
“Zadri.” Her expression turned sweet and trusting. He only hoped he was worthy of her trust. “You don’t have to go that far. I’ll be—“
“If you say fine I will…” He was not sure what he would—could—do to her in her condition, but he was confident he could think of something. Later. “May we depart?”
Delaney nodded.
Whelon shook his head. “No, I have news about your mating and the tests I ran, though I am unsure how it will affect your mate.”
“Then it can wait.” Zadri would wait forever if needed. Nothing was more important than his mate’s health.
“No,” Delaney glared at him. His ill mate glared. “What did you find out?”
The healing master’s attention bounced between them for a moment before the male spoke to Delaney. Damn the man to the skies for answering her question. Yes, she was a bearing female and they were supposed to receive all they desired for the health of the dragonlet, but… But Zadri did not want Delaney’s pressure in her blood to rise. Even more, he did not want to be told that Delaney did not belong to him.
“I discovered the reason you both experience the Knowing although all symptoms indicated that your original mate was Ballakin.” Whelon’s voice was kind and calm, but both Delaney and Zadri twitched and winced with his words.
Was.
Was Ballakin.
Past tense because Zadri had killed the male. Justified or not, he had, and Delaney had born witness to every agonizing moment until Ballakin finally took his last breath.
The healing master’s attention flicked to the holo and Zadri did the same, watching the beat of Delaney’s heart. He was not sure what the male searched for, but he must have been pacified with what he found because he continued.
“The only incident of a female possibly finding a second mate is if the males are clutchmates and the bond between the first couple is not completed.”
Zadri shook his head. “You know I am a child of Syh, Whelon. I have no—“
“What I know, Zadri joi Delaney Cole, is that you are the clutchmate of Ballakin sen Ulgali.”
Zadri swayed, mind suddenly clouded and lungs unable to draw in air. “No.”
He could not be a sen Ulgali.
“Yes. You are his clutchmate, his twin as humans would call it.”
“But I killed…” He killed his own brother. He shook his head. He would never do such a thing. But he had.
“You freed the Preor of a male who did not deserve the wings on his back.”
A male who also was his brother.
15
Zadri hadn’t talked as he’d carried her from medical and to their rooms. He hadn’t even really talked much more when they ate or just before they went to bed. Then morning had come and…
It was much the same. Quiet, subdued, almost downtrodden. Those were words to describe her mate after he’d discovered he was Ballakin’s clutchmate. Zadri was truly a sen Ulgali and now he knew who’d abandoned him to Syh. A deep pain enveloped her chest, tears slowly filling her eyes, and she swallowed past the hard lump in her throat. She had her demons—her reasons for the distance between her and her parents—but Zadri could now put a name to the people who’d tried to get rid of him—literally.
She had no idea how badly that information hurt him—not truly. She caught a hint of his thoughts here and there, their connection allowing them to reach her. But most just passed her by.
Delaney had hoped he’d talk to her—confide in her—but it hadn’t happened yet. Would it ever? She prayed it would. They needed to share their lives if they were going to build something worthwhile for her—their—dragonlet.
Padding through their suite, she moved from space to space, searching out her mate. With her orders to rest, Taulan had expanded their rooms. The extra space was great, but it made finding her mate more difficult. She passed one bedroom and then another. Then a third. Then… then she paused in the doorway of the fourth. It was the one closest to theirs and also the smallest of them all. It was tiny—cozy—and perfect.
Perfect as a nursery.
Zadri stood less than ten feet away, his massive body looming over the crib nestled against the wall. His peach scales blended with the soft hues decorating the walls, as if he belonged there in that space. As her baby’s sire, he did.
“Zadri,” she stepped into the room, whispering his name softly.
His wings twitched when she spoke, but he kept his back to her while he curled his wings around himself. He probably didn’t even realize he’d made the movement—one of self-protection. A Preor dragonlet would wrap himself in his wings when frightened or attacked. It mimicked the enclosed feeling they had when their dams still carried them. It was instinctual and a purely emotional response.
That movement, more than anything else, showed her the true condition of her mate’s emotions. And he was not well.
She walked deeper into the nursery, coming up behind him. She stepped close, but didn’t touch him, not willing to break the soft spell that surrounded them.
“Zadri,” she said his name with a sigh and took that last step, the one that brought her flush against his back. She slipped her hands beneath his arms, sliding them around his waist, and held him close. She breathed with him, keeping pace with his every inhale and exhale until they were in perfect sync.
Delaney traced the flat plane of his stomach, easing one hand higher until it came to rest over his heart. His broken, battered, and bruised heart. She ached for him, this new closeness allowing her to receive more of his emotions. His feelings were raw and rough. They pierced her soul and tore at her until she wasn’t sure how he breathed at all. She pressed a soft kiss to his back above his wing base—something gentle and chaste. They didn’t need passion. They needed each other.
His large hand came to rest over hers, his thumb tracing small circles on her flesh. “Shaa kouva.”
His chest vibrated, rumbles transferring to her, and the baby shifted and turned inside her. The child nudged Zadri’s back and he chuckled, the sound bringing a smile to her lips.
“Hello, my kouvai maor.”
Delaney’s mind translated the words without prompting. Heart sweet. He’d called their baby heart sweet. It was the closest the Preor language had for English’s sweetheart.
She nuzzled his back, breathing in his scent while enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. Not to spark passion but simply to enjoy and reconnect.
His hand slipped away and he shifted beneath her cheek. Delaney eased back while he turned, waiting until they faced each other. But his eyes met hers for only the smallest of moments.
Zadri dropped to his knees in front of her, his lips going to her rounded stomach, and he trilled a dragon’s song to their baby. The growls and coos rose and fell in a haunting rhythm, the sounds floating around the room in a soothing wave.
Delaney reached for him then, fingers sifting through the silken strands of his hair, caressing each one as she cupped his head. He tilted his head slightly, nuzzling her palm for a moment before refocusing on her stomach.
“Tar kouvai maor, la kaosado.”
My heart sweet for eternity.
But he didn’t say those words to her. He said them to their dragonlet, to the biological child of another man—a human male. He claimed their baby without hesitation and with a tone filled with reverence.
Delaney shifted her touch to his cheek and put gentle pressure on his chin, encouraging him to look at her. His movements were slow—reluctant—but slowly his eyes rose. They traced every line of her body, moving over her legs, hips, rounded stomach, breasts and finally landing on her face.
When she finally had his attention, she spoke. “What am I gonna do with you, Zadri joi Delaney Cole?”
He opened his mouth and then snapped it closed only to open it once more. “I…” he sighed, earnest eyes meeting hers. “Love me.”
Love him. Give him what he’d never experienced in his centuries of life. Give him what he’d craved from the moment his dam and sire threw him from their aerie.
If she was honest—with him and herself—part of her already did. But she wasn’t quite there yet. She wasn’t ready to bare her soul. Not when there were still problems hanging between them.
And fixing them would require communication. Communication she’d shied away from, not wanting to have the conversations necessary to repair everything. But what she’d developed wasn’t about conversation. She was showing him exactly what she’d endured.
“Come on,” she pulled her hand away and bent slightly, reaching for his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
Zadri shook his head but rolled to his feet even as he denied her. “You are to rest and remain calm. The last time you entered the halls…”
The last time she’d entered the halls she’d been escorted by Luzan. She’d been uncomfortable and wary and everything inside her had urged her to run. That was why her blood pressure had spiked. But she hadn’t said a word about how she’d felt and wasn’t about to start. Since she didn’t have a justifiable reason for her feelings, she kept the story to herself.
“You’ll be with me.” Delaney reached for him, sliding her hand into his and giving him a squeeze. “And you’d never let anything happen to me.”
Zadri just grunted, none of that vulnerable male visible in his demeanor. No, he was once more all Preor warrior—fierce, massive, domineering, and… hers.
“Exactly.” She pulled him toward the door. “Which means we can leave our rooms and do what I want.”
“Calmly,” Zadri countered.
“Calmly.” She agreed easily and kept them moving, getting them out and into the hall with a single press of her thumb to the identipad.
When she would have continued pulling him along, he tugged free of her grip and took one large step forward. It put him at her side, a position that allowed him to curl his large peach wing around Delaney’s shoulders. She had his large body on her left and his wing on her right while his arm… his arm wrapped across her low back to caress her hip. It was a blatant statement—Delaney was his.
His to protect.
His to cherish.
And he was hers. As broken as he was after the news from Whelon, he was still hers.
“What is your desired destination, shaa kouva?”
Her heartbeat fluttered with the endearment and she wasn’t sure she’d ever get tired of hearing it fall from his lips. My beloved. She hadn’t said them in return—yet—but it felt right. Everything inside her said it was time to fully admit their connection aloud.
“The senchambers.” She raised her eyebrows in question, wondering if he’d disagree with her.
Instead, Zadri nodded his agreement. “A nice pik-Nick on a ger-ass covered hill seems appropriate.”
Delaney simply smiled at him in return and kept moving, not willing to admit that a picnic on a grass covered hill was the last thing she wanted. But he’d find that out soon enough. Specifically, when they entered the senchamber and she brought her simulation on line.
There wouldn’t be a picnic—she never enjoyed those growing up. There wouldn’t be a grass covered hill—even her father hadn’t been able to afford one.
And there wouldn’t be anything nice about it—because it’d feature her life before she met Zadri.
16
His Delaney’s emotions were contagious, but not in a way that made him smile and rejoice. No, he did not sense her happiness when entering the senchamber. Or at least, not pure happiness. There was a gentle swaying of her thoughts, her mind drifting from times of joy to heartache to desolation before returning to hints of gladness once more. The constant transition made Zadri’s head spin and he did not know how his mate tolerated the rapid whirl.
The room echoed as they moved deeper into the cavernous space, their steps reverberating against the slick walls. The entire room was gray, a blank canvas for the senchamber systems to fill with its magic—with the wonders of Preor technology. He had not spent as much time within the chamber as he would have liked, but then again, a senchamber was typically used for pleasure.
Zadri had not had much in his lifetime.
Delaney squeezed his fingers, lips curled into a tempting smile and he hoped the program his mate chose involved a bed. They could not share passion, but he would enjoy simply touching her—holding her in his arms.