“Any particular reason or are you just glad that you won’t have to listen to that screeching any more?” Olaf asked.
“Both,” Aisling replied with a smile. “Not listening to Xanti will be a relief, that’s for sure. Mostly I’m very interested in seeing the writing, but Elder Vulpiran won’t let me see it until I start the translations.”
“Why are you so interested?” Rand asked.
“The only Xanti writing I’ve seen was what Prince Garen showed me that day, at the Bearens’ home,” Aisling said. “Even so, Somehow, I’m sure that the Xanti use different languages for writing and speaking. I’m interested to see more of the writing so I can discover whether or not I’m right about this.”
“I wonder why they would use two different languages,” Olaf said. “I know that they’re completely alien to us, but I can’t see a reason for doing such a thing.”
“I have a theory,” Aisling said. “I think that the verbal language is pure Xanti. But, like the technology they use, I think their written language belonged to someone else.”
Olaf, Rand and Rudy stared at Aisling for a long moment, then Olaf shook his head and chuckled softly. “Now that you’ve said it, it seems an obvious explanation, especially given the things you’ve already told us about the Xanti.”
“It seems the most probable conclusion to me,” Aisling said. “The most probable conclusion is not always the right one, but very often it is.”
“You like numbers?” Rudy asked.
“Yes,” Aisling replied. “I love numbers. When all else fails, numbers, statistics, data, known facts and figures can provide information that perhaps no one has thought of.”
“I have to agree with that,” Olaf said. “We too like numbers. Which, considering our duties, is a good thing.”
Aisling smiled as she reached for her wine and took a sip. She swallowed, then took another sip, and another before setting the glass back down. “I would like to ask you something, and it’s rather personal,” she said, her mouth dry in spite of the wine. She did not like being nervous, but she had to ask this question. She just couldn’t take wondering about it any longer, and there wasn’t anyone else she could ask.
“You may ask us anything like you like,” Olaf said. “I promise you that we will do our best to answer you.”
“I know little about Rami and Arimas,” Aisling began. “Very little. I would like to know more. What I want to know most is, how do you know if you have found your Arima?”
Olaf was surprised by the question. He glanced at Rand and Rudy, then back to Aisling. “When a male-set scents their Arima the first time, they have a physiological reaction. That is the most significant sign, and it is undeniable.”
“Can you tell me what that response is?” Aisling asked.
Olaf hesitated. This was information given only to one’s Arima, or chosen mate.
“I can see that you would prefer not to answer that question,” Aisling said before Olaf made up his mind. “How about a different question?”
Olaf nodded, still not sure whether he should answer the first question or not.
“What is the response for the woman? For the Arima?” Aisling asked. “What does the woman feel, if anything?”
Olaf was very curious as to why Aisling was asking these questions, but he saw no reason not to answer her.
“An Arima usually feels a connection to her male-set,” Olaf said. “She may sense their presence, particularly when they are close by, and she will feel their emotions to some degree. She will feel as though she knows them, even if she has never met them before. She will also have a sexual attraction to them. All of these things vary in intensity, but in general, the longer she is with her male-set, the stronger her connection will become.”
Aisling took a long deep breath and reached for her wine glass again. When she set her glass back on the table she looked straight at Olaf.
“I feel those things for the three of you. The connection, the sense of knowing you, your emotions when I’m close to you. Does that mean that I am your Arima?”
Olaf was shocked, as were Rand and Rudy. How was this possible? And what did it mean? After a moment, Olaf realized that he was also pleased that Aisling had such feelings for them, which made him feel a little guilty. Why should he be happy that she had feelings for them that they could not return?
Olaf had more questions than answers, a situation that was unusual for him, and one he did not like. The one thing he was certain of was that he had to be honest with Aisling.
“We don’t know what it means that you feel the way you do,” Olaf admitted. “We are very attracted to you, and we sensed your pain the other day, which is not usual. The truth is that we feel as though you should be our Arima, Aisling. We wish that you were. Unfortunately, you are not.”
Aisling felt the blood drain from her face. She had never had feelings like the ones she had for the Gryphons, and she knew that they cared for her. She’d been feeling their emotions for days now and she was certain that they were attracted to her, and that they wanted her. She’d thought they were just hesitant about telling her that she was their Arima. The last thing in the world she had expected was for them to tell her this. How was this possible? she thought. There had to be a mistake. It couldn’t be right.
Maybe they just didn’t want her. Her lessons with Karma had proven to her how different she was from other women. She had a very difficult time moving the way Karma did. Was that it? She knew how she felt, and she also knew how they felt. And yet, even feeling the way they did, they did not want her.
“Excuse me,” she said, pushing her chair back from the table. “I need to...I can’t...excuse me,” she stammered before standing up and limping quickly out of the room. Olaf stared after her, suddenly feeling as though he was watching their future walk away. They sat silently, listening to the distinctive sound of Aisling’s footsteps as she crossed the living room, went up the hall and entered her bedroom, the soft snick of the door closing causing them all to wince.
“This makes no sense,” Rand said. “She senses us, as we do her. We want her, as she wants us. I do not know why our mating fangs have not descended and to be honest, I no longer care. I love her, Olaf. Arima or not, I want her to be our mate.”
“I do as well,” Olaf said. “But what if...,”
“Don’t ask what if we find our Arima afterward,” Rudy interrupted. “Like Rand, I just don’t care any more. This is the woman we have all dreamed of. I know she is, especially now that we know her feelings. This is the woman we have waited centuries for. Will we turn away from her now only because our mating fangs have not descended? Do you want to continue living the way we have been, always waiting, always wanting, always dreaming but never doing? Never having? Never living? I tell you now, my brothers, I do not.”
Rudy rose to his feet, crossed the dining room to the garden doors and threw them open. He stepped outside and took three running steps, transforming into his gryphon as he leapt into the air. Rand and Olaf listened as their youngest brother’s wings cracked in the still night air as he sped high into the sky. When he roared, the pain, frustration and anguish were plain to hear.
Rand pushed his chair back, nodded briefly to Olaf, then followed after Rudy. Alone now, Olaf waited, counting his own heartbeats until he heard Rand’s roar join Rudy’s. As much as he wanted to join his brothers, he could not leave Aisling alone in the house, unguarded. He poured himself another glass of wine instead, then focused on the problem before them. Every problem had a solution. He just had to find it.
Chapter 18
Aisling awoke to the sound of rain pinging against the garden doors. She climbed out of bed and crossed the room to watch the rain, feeling as though the dark, somber skies matched her mood. After a few minutes she sighed to herself and reached for the hand terminal on the night stand beside the bed. She turned it on and checked her messages, not really expecting anything. When she saw the message from Jessi she hesitated before opening it
. She was expecting the personal specs for her weapons and work wear that she’d asked for so she could have them made, and she didn’t really want to think about that now.
After a moment she decided to read the message anyway, just in case Jessi had something important to tell her. When she opened the message and read it, she gasped in surprise. She read the message again, then saved it carefully before turning off the terminal and returning it to the night stand.
She watched the rain for a few more minutes, then went into the bathroom. She turned on the shower, took off her pajamas and stepped in, adjusting the water until is was as hot as she could stand it.
“Now what?” she asked herself as she reached for the shampoo, deliberately selecting the bottle Karma had picked up for her rather than the honey and cinnamon shampoo the Gryphons had given her. She lathered her hair, ignoring the too sweet, flowery scent of it.
She did not want to stay with the Gryphons any longer, but she had to finish the translations. She could not break her word and even if she could, she wanted to finish them. It was too important not to finish. Maybe Elder Vulpiran would have a place she could stay for a couple of days. She didn’t think it would take longer than that. It had taken a week to get through the oral translations, but if she was right about the written language, and it was stolen from another race, there was a very good chance it wouldn’t take more than a day to provide enough information for the computers to crack the language.
She still had to do the translation of The Book of Knowledge, but that was not nearly as important as the Xanti. She’d ask Elder Vulpiran if she could take the data with her, and send the translation back. If he refused, then it would have to wait. It was time for her to get back on track and focus on her own life and responsibilities again.
By the time Aisling was finished with her shower and had dried her hair, she knew what she was going to do and was ready to start putting some plans into effect. She opened her closet and frowned at the new clothes that Karma had helped her select the day before. They were nice outfits, but they’d been bought for a reason that she didn’t want to think about now. She spotted something green and unfamiliar at the far end and reached for it, smiling when she saw that it was the sweater Berta had made for her. It was thick, soft and warm. Perfect for a cold wet day. She donned the sweater and a pair of new black pants that actually fit her, swept her hair back into a pony tail and called it done.
She left her room and reluctantly headed for the dining room, wishing she had a ground-car of her own so she could just leave without having to ask for anything from anyone. She considered walking to the Council Complex, but one glance through the living room windows was enough to dissuade her from that idea. It was pouring rain out.
She took a deep breath and entered the dining room, disappointed to find that Karma was not there.
“Good morning, Aisling,” Olaf said, standing politely as she entered the room.
“Good morning,” Aisling replied as she took her seat. She tried to smile at Rand and Rudy but it was a wasted effort. She reached for the coffee carafe and poured herself a cup, wanting the caffeine more than the food this morning.
“Aisling, we would like to discuss something with you, if you don’t mind,” Olaf said.
“All right,” she said as she added cream to her coffee and wrapped her hands around the thick mug.
“We want you, Aisling,” Olaf said. “We want you to be our mate, our wife, the woman we spend our lives with.”
Aisling was so surprised she didn’t know what to think. She started to raise her coffee mug to her mouth, but her hands were shaking too badly. She kept them safely around the mug.
“Why?” she asked when she was sure she could speak.
“Because we love you,” Olaf said simply.
“You said that I’m not your Arima,” Aisling reminded him.
“That is true,” Olaf said. “But we don’t care. You are you, and Arima or not, we want you.”
“I feel the same way,” Aisling said. “I have never felt as I feel for the three of you, and I know that I will never feel this way for anyone else.”
“Then will you agree to mate with us?” Olaf asked.
“Wait,” Rand said, holding up one hand. Aisling’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at him warily. Did he not want her, after all?
“I apologize,” Rand said, “but before Aisling answers that question, it is only fair that we explain to her what it means to mate with a Clan Jasani male-set.”
“What it means?” Aisling asked with a frown. “I don’t understand.”
“Rand is correct,” Olaf said. “It would be unfair not to explain this to you first.”
“Okay, I’m listening,” Aisling said, her hands tightening on the mug so much that her fingers were white.
“Clan Jasani males are born with a set of mating fangs hidden in the tops of our mouths,” Olaf began.
Aisling’s eyes widened at that, but otherwise she maintained a stoic expression. “Go on,” she said softly.
“When they scent their Arima, their mating fangs descend. The mating fangs contain a serum which they administer to their Arima in a ritual we call the Soul-Link Triad. After the serum has been injected three times, the mating fangs are shed. The serum causes the Arima to change such that she becomes a full Clan Jasani and is able to shift as her Rami shift. She also becomes soul-linked with them, and they with her. Only when Rami and Arima are soul-linked are they able to have children.”
Aisling had been raised by both a doctor and a scientist, so she immediately had dozens of questions she wanted to ask. But they would have to wait. Right now, her most important question was a personal one. “And if a woman is not an Arima?”
“For thousands of years we had no Arimas,” Olaf continued. “We did, however, have human women. Out of dire necessity, our scientists discovered a way for us to mate with them. The process requires that we drink a potion which causes our mating fangs to descend, and also alters the serum contained within them. The male set administers the serum to the woman in the same manner they would an Arima, but it does not cause the same changes as normal serum would cause in an Arima. Instead, it speeds up her ability to regenerate, and makes minor DNA changes so that she is capable of becoming pregnant by her male-set. Her children will all be males, triplets, and shifters as their fathers are. It is important that you know that becoming pregnant is difficult at best and, in many cases, impossible.”
“If the woman cannot have children, what happens to her?” Aisling asked.
“Happens to her?” Rudy asked.
“Do the male-sets abandon her and try again?” Aisling asked.
“Of course not,” Olaf replied, shocked by the idea.
“I’m sorry,” Aisling said. “I don’t mean to be insulting. I just need to know.”
“Aisling, once a Clan Jasani male-set is mated, whether it is to a chosen human woman or an Arima, that is it. There are no second chances. We mate for life. Our physiology does not allow for anything else. We are unable to have sex with any other than our mate. Ever. If our mate leaves us, or passes to the next plane, then we must live out our lives, no matter how long they may be, without benefit of a mate. There is no exception to this.”
“So if you mate with me, and I am unable to bear children, you will be stuck with me forever anyway?” she asked.
“We would not put it quite like that,” Rand said. “But yes, once mated, we are mated for life.”
“I want children, very much,” Aisling said. “It frightens me to think of not having them.”
“We, too, long for little ones,” Olaf said. “If we cannot have children of our own, we will adopt them. We cannot promise you children of your own, Aisling, as much as we wish we could. But we can, and will, promise that we will bring children into our home, as many as you want, and we will love and raise them as our own.”
Aisling’s eyes stung and this time she let the tears come. “Yes, I will mate with you,” she
said. “You are the men I am meant to be with, and the men I want to be with. Nothing could make me happier.”
Chapter 19
It had taken Aisling a while to settle down enough to focus on work after the Gryphons dropped her and Karma off at the Council Complex. She was so happy that she couldn’t think of anything else. She’d had a very bad night, but she forgot all about that in her happiness.
She shared her news with Karma, who had been very happy for her. Then Elder Vulpiran had come in and Aisling had set aside her personal feelings and focused on the task at hand. The computer had identified one hundred and thirty two distinct characters in the written documentation. That was a lot of characters for a written language, but she didn’t think it would take very long for her to translate enough for the computer to do it’s thing.
The morning was about half gone when she was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. She was ready for a break anyway. The written data was almost entirely scientific, factual information and even though she liked science and numbers, this stuff was mind numbingly boring.
“Excuse me, ladies,” Elder Vulpiran said, entering the office. “I apologize for interrupting your work.”
“I’m happy for the break,” Aisling said, standing up to stretch.
“I have the results of the blood tests we ran the other day,” Elder Vulpiran said. That got the full attention of both women.
“I must first ask if you would prefer that I give you the results separately.”
“I’d tell Karma anyway, so I don’t mind,” Aisling said. “Karma may feel differently, though.”
Karma smiled. “Nope, I’d spill to you as well. Go ahead, Elder Vulpiran.”
“Very well. Miss Aisling, your mitochondrial DNA indicates that you are, in fact, a berezi. You have the potential to be an Arima to a Clan Jasani male-set. This does not mean you will definitely find a male-set. Only that you have the potential. Do you understand?”
Aisling nodded, unable to speak around the sudden lump in her throat. Elder Vulpiran politely turned his gaze away from the emotion on Aisling’s face and focused on Karma instead.
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