Felix wasn’t angry with her, not really. His mind went back in time, some twenty-five years ago in the middle of their family summer holiday, Shazar had walked into their lives to change them forever. It was that man that annoyed him, how could he have treated Sula like that when she had already rejected him, or had she? He knew that she couldn’t lie, literally couldn’t, as her mind and body wouldn’t allow for it. Sula had tried to block it out of her memory in the hope that one day she could truly forget, just as he had. However, what no one could deny or block out, was the living proof: there would always be Aigle, proof of Shazar’s seed planted in Sula.
Felix understood Shazar’s intentions all too well, including his need to procreate, but Sula had made it as clear as possible to the comyenti; she had even provided him with an alternative. The very fact that he hadn’t listened to her, hadn’t respected her, was probably due to the fact that she had rejected Shazar and hurt his ego. This was proof enough that he wasn’t the honourable being he was making himself out to be, and this angered Felix beyond the simple jealousy one might expect from a loving husband. For indeed, Shazar had disrespected her mate Felix as well, and their marriage, and used her body for his own selfish purposes! The anger rose in Felix again, but he was too tired and light-headed, and all he only could do was fall back on the bed again with a pounding headache.
‘I should do this more often to you,’ Sula tried to humour him.
‘You promised to never use your gift on me,’ he muttered discontentedly, sounding like a child. She felt sorry for him.
I never swore on that, luckily! ‘I regret it, love, but this was an emergency.’
‘Don’t do it again, I had every right to hit him! You should have let me for your sake and my honour and yours! He used you!’ Tears were hindering his view when he opened his eyes staring at the ceiling.
She laid a soothing cool hand on his forehead. ‘I know and I agree. He has sworn that he will behave this time. He has given me his Comyenti Oath-’
‘Don’t,’ he slapped her hand off of his face. ‘Once I get my claws on him, he won’t be so lucky next time!’ His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, and his face turned cherry red whilst he tried to sit up again.
‘It wouldn’t be a fair fight and you know it!’ Sula said in a husky voice, trying to stay composed.
‘Not if he promised not to use any of his gifts, but instead fight like a normal man. I will challenge him tomorrow and we’ll sort this out, man to man.’ His fists shot through the air, in his mind, punching and bruising Shazar in his mind.
He will still be stronger! Even I’m stronger than you! But knowing he couldn’t hear her, she said through gritted teeth, ‘Not if I can help it.’
‘It is not your decision,’ his eyes crossed hers briefly. ‘This time it’s mine.’ He lay down, turning over on his side, away from her. He needed all the sleep he could get to be ready, so he pretended he was asleep. Sula left it at that, it was no use arguing, and he had every right to be angry, really. She was tired as well. Her hand brushed his tense shoulders and she soon nestled up behind him.
~~~
‘I told you it was a waste of time to come here,’ Twello said, with feeling, to his father.
‘She has her own family, and moreover, a husband. If she is as great as you told me comyenti women are, he will never let you take her away from him.’
Shazar grumbled. ‘I don’t want to! I have seen her happy and I wouldn’t interfere unless she wanted me back equally as much as I want her. What would be the point? Besides, her children need their mother and father.’ It was as if he reasoned with himself. ‘I knew it would be extremely difficult to see her again; to greet her like old friends, meet her children and then…to just leave, but I knew that was what I had to do.’
‘I don’t believe you! You’ll never be able to resist her. I’ve seen her!’
‘Twello, hold your tongue. You do not know about these things.’
Twello coloured slightly. He did, or at least, he thought he did. From the moment they had entered the village, he had seen the girl with the slant, dark blue eyes and red head scarf, so like Sula, and he could not think of anything else. He had seen her once more since then with her younger brother and sister. Because he had nothing else to do while his father was visiting his comyenti friend, Twello had followed them to an orchard where they were harvesting apples with a blond man; presumably their father. He had the same fair hair and features as the young boy and girl. Twello had hidden behind a bush to watch Valera’s every move, but she had spotted him too quickly for his liking. Feeling ashamed of his immature behaviour, he had only nodded to her before leaving. But, to his surprise, she had not been angry with her admirer, and had instead smiled at him lovingly. That smile had warmed his heart and the feeling had remained with him ever since.
But he wouldn’t tell Shazar that of course.
‘That is why we have to leave soon,’ Shazar interrupted his thoughts, thinking only about himself again.
‘But I haven’t even met your kind or my brother.’ Twello remarked, disappointed.
That morning Shazar had told him that he had a son with Sula; another shock for Twello to digest. They sat drinking honey mead in the village’s only pub and Twello was sulking. Shazar had already briefed him about the possibility long ago, even Ashanna knew, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise. And yet, despite from having to digest the fact Shazar had a biological son, Twello became more and more pleased about it when another thought came to him. But he wasn’t going to tell Shazar. Twello wanted to let his father feel the hurt he was causing him, and what it must have felt like for Ashanna.
‘Sula mentioned she had to think about it, so it’s really up to her. I only need to see Aigle and I know he is not here,’ Shazar said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘So I don’t mind if she thinks she has got the last say in the matter.’ He laughed it off, taking another sip of the mead.
‘Well, I asked around a bit for you, as there wasn’t much else for me to do, and the locals say that Aigle hasn’t been home for about three moons or so. Presumably he will be back soon, in a week or so at the most. According to the villagers, he usually visits approximately once every three moons. He is very close to his mother and his siblings. He is studying in some foreign country.’
Shazar was surprised Twello had done that for him, but another shock sunk in.
Aigle is studying in another country? Why hadn’t Sula mentioned that?
‘Thank you, son, you and I will meet him pretty soon then.’
Shazar took a big gulp, and surprised himself by liking the honey mead as he normally didn’t drink, but he wanted to blend in to avoid any suspicion. He wasn’t used to the alcohol and it had already gone to his head, but he quite liked the numbing sensation it gave him, lifting his mood. He might drink more often now that he knew what it did to him! He put the wooden cup down a little too heavily, so that the liquid splashed from it onto the table, and the cup itself split in two!
Twello looked at him in surprise. He sensed that his father wasn’t happy with how his meeting with Sula turned out. Even though he had not given him the details, Twello had not seen his father this upset before, not since the realisation of Ashanna’s death and it struck the boy: Shazar had not only lost Ashanna forever but also his first love, Sula, all over again.
Chapter 19 Mother and daughter
Sula had told all her children that there was another comyenti still alive on Bhan when they were old enough, and for Valera that had been years ago. They also knew of the meeting during a previous summer holiday before their births, without having any of the details. They knew that this comyenti might be Aigle’s birthfather, but Sula had told them in a matter-of-fact tone, so that they wouldn’t hate him before they even met him.
Fay might even have been able to remember him vaguely if she had been home. The others were very excited to meet this other comyenti.
Sula felt as though she needed to inform them of their deeper conne
ction, the Heartmerge, but how? The explanation of this special bonding had been a part of their sexual education and they had learned about it, even though none of them were sexually active yet, due to their young age. Even Valera had only just started her first period, as comyenti women usually started menses around their eighteenth birthday, at the earliest. The children all guessed that if Sula had produced Aigle with him, they of course, would have had a Heartmerge. They weren’t stupid. They were very intrigued to know how this was possible when she was married to their father. So she explained to them that even though a comyenti could only have one Heartmerge at a time, she and Shazar had only come together to create Aigle and that apart from mindreading, a real Heartmerge was never established as she had already one with Felix at the time. When they started asking more questions, Sula got slightly upset and they held their tongues. First, she decided, she would tell Aigle, as it was his right to know first.
‘Who’s that boy with him?’ Valera asked her mother in the afternoon, in her rose garden, where she was helping her prepare the garden for winter.
‘His adopted son.’
‘Oh right,’ and after some silence, ‘He is cute.’
‘He is much older than you!’ Sula suddenly looked sternly at her daughter.
‘Not that much! You are seventeen years older than dad yourself! And what can this boy be; twenty-three?’
‘Twenty-nine.’
‘Oh… but hey, what are er… eleven years?’
‘Your body is a lot younger than eighteen in human years and you know it. You just had your first period, so you are much too young to even think about this. Your body is trying to deal with all the hormones.’ Sula averted her harsh gaze, concentrating on her roses, or at least, trying to.
‘Oh, Mum, why do you always have to be so sensible about everything? What if I really like him?’
Though her body might be younger than an eighteen year old, her mind certainly was a lot older, often wise beyond her years, and she had an instinct that was incredibly correct. Sula knew that too… but still.
‘You haven’t even met him and you are already planning a wedding just like you did when you played with your dolls, not so very long ago.’ Sula emphasized her words. ‘Well, wake up honey, this is the real world, and if I were you I’d be careful with your intentions towards boys,’ especially human ones.
But now that Sula found out that Shazar hadn’t produced any offspring it didn’t really matter anymore. She had secretly hoped he had, so that her children could come together with his, and become the new hope for the comyenti future, but the fool hadn’t. Well, he had found love instead and Shazar had acted beyond the greater good for the comyenti species for once, and even for himself perhaps? Something that must have been completely new to him, surprising her, and Sula could only admire him for that.
Valera sighed. ‘I don’t even know why I bother to discuss this with you, you don’t understand anyway! I thought you would, but perhaps you have forgotten what it was like to be young!’
Sula gazed at her daughter and smiled at her with soft warm eyes.
‘That is the point, Val. You are so very young. That’s just it; you should be preparing for your life instead of for a wedding. You have so much going for you.’
‘Like Fay? Like Aigle? But what if this is my life, Mum? What if I want to marry, raise a family and settle down in a few years time, here on our farm?’
‘You really feel that way?’
‘I feel…’ and the girl hesitated, not knowing if she could entrust what she was about to say to her mother. Valera knew that Sula hoped she would become more like her older siblings. ‘I feel that that is my path, silly as it may sound.’ And she lowered her head as if in shame.
Her mother sighed and took off her gloves to rub her stiff, tensed cheek.
‘No, it’s not silly, I suppose. Most women, most animals, have this maternal instinct.’ she bit her lip thinking about Shazar’s overpowering desire to rekindle their bond, his burning physical need. ‘But comyentis have one advantage. We don’t have to start so early! I’ve always known you’re different from Aigle and Fay, and that’s nothing to be ashamed about. You love helping me and your dad around the house and farm, and you practically raised your younger siblings on your own, you were that much more of a mother to them than I ever was and still are!’ Tears sprang into her eyes. Sula tried to spend as much time with her children as she could, to give them the love and attention they deserved, but Valera did sometimes take over a little too much, as if she was their mother. At the same time it had however enabled Sula to maintain the independence she needed so much. The girl had been a lifesaver when domestic life sometimes became too much for the free-spirited nomad in Sula. That part of her that would always remain strong, and needed to be freed once in a while by travelling alone, even if it was only a quick trip to the Windy Mountains on her own.
‘That’s not true, Mum. You are the best mum in the world. I love cooing over the little ones. I just love babies.’
‘Gosh, my mother would have loved you!’ Sula smiled through her tears and she reached over to hold Valera’s hand. As much as I love all of you, it has skipped a generation!
‘I guess what I’m trying to say is that you have all the time in the world, even if you are a quarterling. You will probably live to be up to two hundred years old and might be able to have children until you are seventy! Take your time exploring life, travel the world; learn, so that you can teach your children valuable skills and information. Why not wait ‘til you find that someone special. It doesn’t have to be the first boy you fall in love with, you know. Teenagers do that all that time.’
Valera listened and made a discontented face. But we can’t be sure of anything. What if I’m more human than comyenti? And what if I have met someone special now? ‘I am not like Fay, you know. Besides, I’ve seen a great deal of the world through our holidays. I’m a storyteller and I can pass on all the wisdom and knowledge from Dad’s and your stories on to my children. I could even pass on Fay and Aigle’s stories learned through their travels around the world. My children will live the adventures through theses stories and I will tell generations to come!’
Valera was always more than happy to come home after their holidays, and she loved her work on the farm and reading and conjuring up her own tales. Her stories were very well loved in the village, most especially by the children. Yes, she would make a great mum indeed.
She’ll continue the comyenti line… a little voice in her sounded, not knowing who the voice belonged to.
Sula smiled at her sympathetically, her eyes sparkling with orange and yellow specks from the love she felt for Valera. Yes, she had always known. Unlike Fay, who rather had climbed trees and played rough games with her brother. They had chased one another in the orchard and competed for who could fly fastest, and who could hold their breath longest, whilst wrestling until they dropped out of breath. Valera had, instead, played with her dolls, and carried around stuffed toys, which she was always feeding and dressing.
Valera, ten years younger than Fay and five years younger than Aigle, loathed those rough games, and had preferred to help her mother in the kitchen, cooking and baking. She was delighted when her mother gave birth to the twins. Yes, quite unlike Fay who loved her siblings, but who had always made it clear that she didn’t like children, and all that went with them, in general. She was glad to leave the house at nineteen to find some ‘peace and tranquillity’ as she put it.
‘I love you as you are and will continue to do so whatever path you choose,’ Sula spoke gently. ‘Though I hope you won’t forget my words and go making sudden decisions.’ Then she opened her arms to Valera and her daughter close to her heart, where she held her, stroking her hair…hair that so resembled her own.
I fell in love with Felix the day I met him, but at least I was old enough to understand the consequences. Although again she had to remind herself that Valera was mature for her age in contrast to her body
unlike other teenagers.
Just at that moment Felix came in peering in, smiling, closing the door behind him. He approached them from behind.
‘Hello, my two sweethearts,’ he said and kissed Valera on her cheek and Sula on her mouth, when she gazed up at him, smiling.
‘Miss Sula.’
The hurt had slowly ebbed to another level of his consciousness and had been replaced by a calm controlled anger. He could at least face his wife again without anguish, but he wasn’t so sure about facing his son without showing regret about not being his biological father, at least not yet. He loved Aigle from ever since he was a baby and had become very proud of him. That wouldn’t have to change, he told himself, but knew it was mainly the fact that Shazar was the boy’s real father and the way he fathered Aigle, not so much the disappointment of not being Aigle’s biological father. They had needed time to get used to the idea, surely Aigle would too. How he would respond was still uncertain.
‘I am glad to see you’re feeling better.’ Sula said warmly to Felix. That morning he had still been depressed but he was never down too long, even with something like this, not towards his wife anyway. All that mattered now was that she had chosen him and loved only him. He knew as much, and loved her for that. She wouldn’t leave, not now; she would have done so years ago. He tried to trust her in that regard. There was only one thing left to do; he needed to settle this with Shazar, to make him understand how he really felt about him.
Chapter 20 Fathers and Son
He knew where to find him, so Felix went straight for the local inn that evening, where Shazar and his son where staying. There had not been a word from Sula yet, so the two men hung around; waiting for permission from her to meet her children.
‘Valera, where are you going with that pie?’ Sula asked, sniffing the air when she entered the kitchen, instantly suspecting what the girl was up to. Sula carried a basket full of rosehips in through the kitchen, freshly picked from her garden.
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 43