by Poppy Rhys
By the time they were dismounting, Lucia nearly needed to be peeled from the orana. She was in desperate need of a bath and cool air.
The beasts were led away by the guards and Lucia turned a pleading gaze up to Soren.
“I need time before the banquet,” she whispered as she invaded his bubble, breaking her neck to look up at him. “I can’t be around all these sensitive noses smelling like I do.” Her panic began to rise at the thought of more embarrassing comments from a people who already thought she was a creature. She really didn’t want to give them fuel for their fire.
To her relief, Soren cupped her face and kissed her forehead, nodding. “You will have time then.”
As they neared the large, arched double doors of the palace entry, they were opened by two guards on the inside. When they finally entered through the doors and freezing cold air hit her skin, she yelped, and sighed in relief. She swept her hair off her neck and was tempted to stand there and moan in delight if she wasn’t so acutely aware of how sweaty she was.
Lucia let her eyes take in her surroundings, noticing the floor was polished to a high shine and it was amazing. The mosaic of blue, red, and green shards of color were hypnotizing. Tall arches partitioned the hall they were in from the rooms on either side. They were large, open and in the midst of being setup by a team of Melier.
Tables were being positioned, cushions were fluffed about the many pieces of furniture, and the scents of cooking food wafted to her nose. Her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks reddened once more.
Please let me survive this day, please, please.
“We will join you soon,” Soren told his parents. They began to protest but a loud crashing sounded from what she assumed was the kitchen, pulling their attention long enough for Soren to guide Lucia away.
They traveled a long, empty hallway and then entered another set of blue glassed double doors, this set with intricate silver branches sprouting up through it. Lucia might appreciate the art of it, if she wasn’t dying to get cleaned up.
Zun and Ren opened the doors and they entered a narrower, shorter hallway that opened into a large room from a corner.
The middle of the room was sunken with lavish rugs, and plush furniture that sat low to the floor or directly on it. Large cushions, pillows, and poufs strung about for lazing around in all sorts of colors and fabrics. An enormous opaque white crystal solar chandelier hung from the domed ceiling and threw shards of light everywhere. The atmosphere was intimate, quiet, and luxurious.
Each side of the room was adorned with yet more sets of doors, and upon the walls were small sculptures on shelves and portraits of various male Melier.
“What is this place?”
“The princes’ suite,” Gi’Ren said, pointing out which doors led to whose sleeping quarters. They all went about heading to their own doors as Soren took her to his.
“They have left it as I did the last time I was here,” he mused as he walked around his room, touching a shelf of books and rubbing his fingers together. “It seems they have kept it clean though.”
Lu’s heart strings tugged as she watched him get reacquainted with pieces of his life.
The floor was made of the same mosaic stone that seemed to stretch all over the very few parts of the palace she had seen. The walls were marbled white and grey, the same material that made up the platform a very large bed sat atop. It could fit her entire family in it, she guessed.
The golden colored sheets looked smooth and comfortable, topped with more pillows than any two people could use. She figured at least half of those would be shoved to the floor before she could get comfortable each night.
Solar lights pocketed the ceiling, lighting the room with a yellow-white tinge of color. There were no windows, just as she had noticed there were no windows at all in the princes’ suite it seemed.
Security reasons, maybe?
“Where’s the cleansing room?”
Soren turned from the desk he was examining, looking at her as if he only just remembered he wasn’t alone. Walking to the side of the room, he swept one of his right hands over the wall and a doorway materialized. Lucia scowled dubiously. She knew the Melier had higher tech than Dor Nye, she had read about it.
“Am I going to be able to get back out?”
Soren smiled and ushered her in. “You will tomorrow. We will get you the palace implant with proper clearance so you may venture where you wish.”
“Where does this implant go?” She walked through the doorway, Soren not bothering to answer her, and the sensor laden lights illuminating the cleansing room once she stepped past the threshold distracted her.
More of the gray and white marble made up the walls and the floor. The bathing pool, much larger than hers back on Dor Nye, was in the middle of the room, swirling with cloudy turquoise water. Steam curled from its surface, which made Lucia wonder who ran the bath. At her confused look, Soren explained.
“It is self-cleaning,” he removed Lenny from her arms and gestured for her to go about her business. “The water never drains, unless you tell it to. It will continue to circulate and be heated and cleansed by the filters.”
Lucia nibbled on her bottom lip at the strangeness of it all and when she turned to say something, Soren was gone.
Sighing, she unclasped her robe and let it drop to the floor at her feet. Her eyes continued to survey the room, landing on a large, open shower, a countertop with a sink and many bottles, which struck her funny. Usually only women had a lot of bottles clouding their counter space.
The smirk fell from her lips.
Maybe the bottles did belong to women. Val’Zun did say princes had concubines. In fact, he’d said the females took lovers.
Lucia carefully took the steps into the pool and shivered at the warmth swirling around her. She was careful not to leave the last step, else she’d actually be swimming and she wasn’t sure how deep the pool went. Instead, she sat down on the steps and soaked for a moment, thinking.
I’ve got to talk to Soren about this.
Lucia had offhandedly thought about the concubine situation a few times on the journey, but she’d always been distracted by something else. She’d never gotten the chance to dissect it or speak to Soren about it.
She sighed.
She knew it was their culture to be sexually open, but she wasn’t sure she could share Soren with another woman. Even one she didn’t know about or never met.
“Your eye twitches when you think too hard.”
Lu startled, her hand flying to the base of her throat. Soren slid into the pool from the side and made his way to her. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“What is bothering you, Loo-Sha?” His golden eyes sucked her in and then he was planting soft kisses along her jaw and throat, purring loudly. Lucia sighed again, shivering when his bumpy, long tongue licked at the pulse in her neck. He always licked her there, like her scent was most potent in that spot and he needed to taste it. His many hands moved about her body under the water; sliding up her thighs, tracing the curve of her breasts, gliding along her sides.
“Do you have a concubine?” Lu blurted.
Soren stopped his ministrations and pulled back to look down at her. He licked his lips and pulled back a little more. “I used to.”
“And now?”
“Now there is only you,” he said this and sunk down to his knees before her. It was Lucia’s turn to look down at him, though not by much. “Only you.”
Her hands lifted from the water and she laid them on his shoulders, another sigh escaping her, but one of relief. “Good,” she gave him her ‘I mean business’ look. “Because I will cut you.”
Soren grinned for a moment and then it fell away.
“What?”
“Has Val’Zun asked you anything yet?” His gaze was curious and his hands rubbed along her sides and legs once more.
“Asked me what?”
“To pair with you.”
“Excuse me?” she exclaime
d, her eyes widened and she looked at Soren like he’d just belched in her face.
“He wants you.” Soren said this simply, as if to say ‘the sky is blue’ or ‘the weather is hot’.
“Good for him,” Lucia scowled, incredulous at Soren’s confused expression. “Quin wanted me too, so what?” At that, Soren jerked back from her like she’d slapped him.
“Val’Zun is not Quinton.”
That was low.
Bad Lucia.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a few deep breaths and collected herself. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But,” she opened her eyes once more and looked at him skeptically. “I feel like this is a trap. As if whatever my answer is, it’s going to give you permission to go fuck a concubine, and like I said, I will cut you.”
“I have said there is only you for me,” Soren was the incredulous one now. “Is my word not enough?”
Lucia shrunk back onto the step and crossed her arms over her chest. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she went over everything in her head.
What the hell is going on?
Val’Zun hates you.
I know!
But apparently he wants you.
This doesn’t make any sense. None at all.
Preach, sister.
“But Val’Zun and I--!” she tossed her hands in the air, water flying as she struggled for words. “No. Just, no.” Lu thought about all the times she’d interacted with Zun; throwing a bowl of mash over his head, flipping food at his face, his grousing and grumping about her pheromones, calling her creature. To be fair, he hadn’t called her that since before the trial. Still, most of their interactions, whenever he could stand her long enough, turned sour quickly.
“Loo-Sha,” Soren said warningly, as if she was about to steal the last piece of candy from the dish. His velvety voice was deep and jarring. “You are being unreasonable.”
“Me!” she shrilled, eyes nearly falling out of her fucking head. “I’m being unreasonable?” Lenny started crying and he gave her one last chastising look before he jumped the bath and grabbed a towel, disappearing through the strange doorway. Lucia stared after him, her jaw nearly drooping into the water.
What. The fuck.
Chapter 3
Soren slipped into a robe and soothed Lenny in his arms as his mind began swirling with agitation and confusion.
Lucia didn’t want to mark him, and she didn’t want to pair Val’Zun.
What does she want?
He was increasingly filling with unease and he wasn’t sure how to handle that. Val’Ja and Soren clashed over this decision inside his being. Val’Ja would demand Lucia obey him in these matters because this was how multiple pairings were done on Melierun, while Soren would wait patiently for her to come around when she was ready.
He sighed.
Are all females as difficult as my mate?
He tried to remember, she was different. She was not Melier, she was human. Her society was not like his.
****
Lucia finished up in the bath and by the time she fluffed her hair dry and was ready to leave the cleansing room, she stood at the spot where Soren had gone through. Her fingers grazed the wall and felt… air. She watched as her fingers sunk through the spot where she figured the doorway would be. Lu pulled her hand back and clenched the towel that was wrapped around her.
Weird.
What if I walk through and it messes with my cells on a molecular level?
We’re doomed.
How the fuck am I supposed to get around?
The wall dematerialized and Soren waited on the other side. She hurried through, like it might swallow her whole.
“It will not harm you,” Soren said with a slight smirk and then walked through the damn wall only to reappear. “See? It is simply a holographic projection. They are in many places inside the palace.”
While Lucia thought it was neat, she wouldn’t be trying that anytime soon. Her luck she’d miss the door completely and slam into the real wall.
She ‘hmm’d’ and then spotted her luggage on the bed that one of the guards must’ve delivered. Slowly, she rummaged through it, the conversation from moments ago still on her mind and clouding her already churning mood.
Why can’t anything be simple with these Melier?
If it’s not hating humans, it’s weird mating practices.
And concubines.
Fucking concubines. Wooosahhh.
This thing about Zun is ludicrous.
You were going to tell him to suck it, remember?
Poor choice of words now, I think.
Lucia shivered and pulled out a light green tunic and matching, billowy pants that cinched at the ankles. The tunic’s neckline dropped to expose her breastbone and hung widely on her shoulders. It was perfect for the lome claw necklace. She decided she really loved wearing that gift. It was a good conversation starter, and she needed all the help she could get.
When she turned, Lu noticed there was a hovering cradle where Lenny purred in her sleep. She quietly made her way over, silently giggling to herself. Two weeks prior, she’d just randomly started up, the sound quite similar to chirping, and it made everyone love her a tiny bit more, if that was even possible.
“Gi’Ren found it in one of the old nurseries,” Soren whispered, smiling down at Re’Len before he guided her away from the cradle and toward the door. Before she could protest, a female stood just outside. “This is Sola. She will be taking care of Lenny when we are not able to.”
Lucia swallowed and began to say something, but was cut off.
“It will be an honor, Princess,” she dipped her head, her short black hair falling over her pretty green skinned cheek.
The title threw Lucia off and her mouth bobbed for a minute before she found her voice, but then she was cut off again.
“Gi’Ren recommended her,” Soren nodded once as if that would convince her. As much as she didn’t want that last bit to matter, it did. Gi’Ren loved Lenny and only the best would do for his niece.
She chewed on her lip and made a mental note to stop doing that, else she wouldn’t have any lips left by the end of the week.
Sola didn’t have an unkind expression at all, which confused Lucia further. Every Melier she’d run into had given her looks of loathing, mostly. It made her feel a little better, knowing maybe one Melier outside of the brothers might not automatically dislike her just because she was human.
“Alright,” she said hesitantly and worried her wrists instead of biting her lip. Soren nodded to Sola and she disappeared inside the room. Lu threw one more glance backward, hesitated, and then felt Soren’s arms press into her back to urge her forward.
“She will be well, Loo-Sha,” he said reassuringly, tail slinking up her arm and brushing the skin. When they got closer to the doors of the suite, the sensor was tripped and they automatically opened. The scents and sounds of food and cheerful people floated through the halls.
She took the time to examine everything around her, including Soren.
He wore something similar to the official robe the guards had been sporting, but it was white, matching the pants he had on underneath. As he walked, his legs would show through the high double slits that ran up the front of the robe, stopping on his upper thigh. Instead of a gold belt, his was silver, matching the one cuff on the wrist of his lower right hand. The material he had on his feet matched his ensemble and it looked soft, comfortable.
“Do I please you?”
Lucia smirked as they continued walking.
So he does know when I’m being a creeper.
He’s a predator.
“Yes, you look very handsome.”
Soren purred and his tail rubbed the side of her neck. Lucia twittered, batting the furred appendage away.
“Loo-Sha,” he slowed to a stop and gently turned her to face him before they went any further. Lu’s brow furrowed and she looked up into his strangely mixed feline and reptilian feat
ures that she had come to appreciate. “About earlier… Val’Zun once talked about our culture on Dor Nye, and I understand how what I have said may seem as if I am pressuring you…” his hands rubbed up and down her arms gently, “I am not.”
“Soren--”
He held up a hand.
“Let us go on as if that conversation did not happen.” He gave one curt nod, leaving no room for argument and then he ushered her forward.
Lucia was still recovering when they entered the large hall from their initial arrival. Melier of all colors and garb milled about, and once Soren walked through, they all noticed.
The noise lifted higher as people cheered to his safe return. Smiles, embraces, and pats on the back were sent Soren’s way, and she was slowly forced further and further away from him just to keep from being crushed in this land of giants she’d ended up in. It was easy for her to slither away, being so much shorter than everyone there.
Upon glancing down at her feet while she weaved a path, her focus was stolen as she noticed a small green bug scurry across her slipper. A shriek was lodged in her throat as she shook her foot, and knocked the offender away just as a burly servant carrying a massive tray piled with food nearly collided with her.
Lucia was yanked back against a chest.
“Are you trying to get trampled?”
The Devil.
Lucia turned around when the many hands let her go and looked up into Zun’s face. She scowled, at the same time noticing he was dressed exactly as Soren, except his silver cuff was on the left. Lu figured the white garb was meant for the princes, since no one else that she could see wore white.
“Yes actually, if it means I don’t have to deal with you.”
He scoffed, as if it was crazy anyone would turn down a chance to be in his presence.
Lucia regarded him critically, now that she knew what she knew. He stared back down at her, his brow pulled low in a suspicious expression.
This will never work.
He’s an ass.
“What?”
“You are the one staring. I should be asking you that.”
Lucia scowled harder. “I asked first.”