“Yes,” Kaoti said.
The three of us were silent for the time it took me to walk half a mile. Kaoti had continued to jog at the same pace and wasn’t even sweating. I was already tired. I prepared to stop my machine. “Pathetic,” I said about myself. Eli made a point of looking at my stomach. Thinking of Niklos, I rubbed my hands over him. My skin itched. Eli stopped his machine at the exact moment that I did. Now, he held my elbow to make sure I didn’t stumble while stepping down from the treadmill. “What did you think of the batch numbers and amniotic chambers?” I quietly asked Eli.
“Growing up in such an environment must have been painful for such strong empaths. They, like you, were un-nurtured. Unlike you, they had each other.” I slipped my arm through Eli’s for the walk back to our rooms.
“Will the two of you make me a promise? I want my children to be happy and safe. Promise me that if anything ever happens to me, you will both protect my children.” Thunderdrop and Cass chittered at me.
“With my last breath,” Kaoti swore quietly.
“I promise. However, I intend to make sure that you live a long life and end up a sweet little white-haired lady like your grandmother,” Eli said with a kind smile.
“Why are they making that noise?” Kaoti asked in what almost passed as an annoyed tone.
“Chitter chitter clack,” Cass directed at him.
“Cass is upset with me for being so morose. Thunderdrop wants me to detach my painful memories as he would cut through the lines of an old web. He doesn’t like that I shove my memories away. I just don’t understand how to do what he suggests.”
“Chirp chirp,” Thunderdrop said in a sympathetic way.
“So, where did you send Izaac?”
“To his quarters to study our laws,” Kaoti answered.
“Oh.”
Chapter Eighteen
A few hours before we were to land on Sinope, Lorca began helping me to dress. Papa expected polite behavior and pictures. “At least this planet isn’t freezing. Are you both ready to get off of Kane’s ship?”
“Chirp! Chirp!” Thunderdrop told me as he excitedly jumped around. He had been onboard for days and wanted to climb and play. Cass sent me an image of Simon.
“I’m sure he misses you, too.”
“Clack,” Cass agreed.
After our ships had docked, I dutifully played the part Papa had asked of me. A few times, Sinope’s sky had distracted me while exchanging pleasantries with the local officials. The moons mesmerized me. The closest of the three moons was so large that I could see the marks scarring its surface from meteor strikes from long before planetary shielding existed. When I was sure no one was looking and unable to resist any longer, I held my hand out toward it.
“Chirp chirp.”
“Yes, it is beautiful.” Thunderdrop had me all to himself. Simon had come for Cass as soon as he had been granted clearance. Being separated from our spiders for any length of time soon became depressing. I rubbed one of Thunderdrop’s legs. I heard someone making a snickering noise and dropped my hand. I turned to find Traviz with his arms crossed over his chest leaning against the stone wall with his foot braced against it. I rested my hand on the balcony’s stone railing. The governor’s mansion had a stunning view.
“It’s not nice of you to make fun of me. I’ve never been here.”
His boot slid from the wall, and he walked toward me. “I can’t help it. It’s like you don’t know if you’re a grown-up or a kid.”
I frowned at Traviz. “What was your childhood like?” I imagined them all trapped in sterile silver rooms and constantly being given shots.
Traviz braced his hip against the railing and said, “It wasn’t as bad as you are imagining. We grew up in an underground compound. We had our own rooms, nurses who were assigned to us, access to all of the educational vids we wanted, and extensive combat and weapons training.”
Confused, I said. “That sounds really nice.” It sounded like a fantasy childhood to me.
“It wasn’t that great. The day came when we realized we were freaks to them. My brothers and I are family. Our father and caregivers felt no love for us.”
“What made you realize that?”
Traviz stared at the moon. I felt his anger before he shielded me from it.
“Chitter chitter!” Thunderdrop moved to the top of my head.
“The oldest of us is Xavier. You’ll know him by his eyes. We were created four to a cycle. Xavier is the last of batch nine. Our father ran an experiment that was unsuccessful. We felt them as they died in mental agony. I don’t know what he did to them. The elevens released Xavier in time to save him, opened our doors, and systematically began destroying our father’s research and lab. Unfortunately, father managed to escape. Quickly learning that society considered us to be atrocities, we understood we would need to survive outside of polite civilization.” His last two words were said with heavy sarcasm.
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry. And you’re not atrocities. Please, don’t believe that.” I placed my hand over his and tried to sooth him as I was learning to sooth Neema. “You’re our family now. You’re Traviz Ponidi, a Parvac citizen.” He looked at my hand on his, and I worried I had offended him.
“I should offer my sister comfort. The most pain I have suffered was realizing I was not loved. You were purposefully taught that lesson each day.”
I shook my head and whispered, “We’re both safe now.”
Yukihyo cleared his throat. I walked to him and took the arm he offered me. He maneuvered me behind the backs of Kane and Eric and out of the mansion. A transport with an open door waited for us. “Hey! What are you up to?” I asked Neema. Her shoes and socks were off, and she played with a rattle. Nico had removed his uniform jacket as had Quaid. Yukihyo got in and closed the transport door. Nico helped me get comfortable. When Neema dropped her rattle, Pierce handed it back to her. Kaoti was driving. “Oh, my goodness! We’re free!” I giggled.
“Yes, I know how often you wish we could escape, so that is what we are doing,” Yukihyo informed me.
“Chirp! Chirp!” Thunderdrop sat atop Niklos and looked out of the windows.
Kaoti was driving us through a very wealthy neighborhood that wasn’t far from the Governor’s mansion. He drove us through an opened gate that had Parvac soldiers stationed to either side of it. Rather than plants, trees, or shrubs, the front of the impressive two-story square house was surrounded by a nine-foot stone waterfall fence. The driveway passed through a break in the water sculpture, and Kaoti drove us inside of an attached garage. As I watched, the stone wall closed over the driveway, and water began to trickle over it before growing stronger. Its splashes were syphoned from the driveway and into pools on either side by a curved edge along the bottom of the gate.
“Wow! Cool fence!” Yukihyo grinned at me. As we entered the house, Chef bowed to me. “Hey! I didn’t expect to see you here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of our quarters.”
Chef looked around. “A change of scenery is fun. I’ll be in the kitchen should you need anything, Princess.” He bowed to me and turned.
Curiously, I followed him with my eyes. Then, I looked around. Tiles in all imaginable shades of blues and creams covered the floors. The furniture was all the color of coffee whenever someone ruined it with a little milk. Dark blue and sky blue pillows were scattered over the couches and chairs. A large painting of waves covered one wall. A vid-screen covered the wall opposite it. A third wall had doors leading off into bedrooms. There were no windows.
“This is gorgeous. I love it.”
“Wait until you see upstairs,” Yukihyo said.
We all crowded into the lift. Kaoti was right in front of me. I poked my fingers into his side right above his belt and tickled him for no other reason than that he couldn’t get away. When he gave a surprised laugh and squirmed, my jaw dropped and my eyes grew wide with delight.
“Neema! Uncle Kaoti is ticklish! Do you know what this means?
”
Neema laughed and said, “Koty!”
Kaoti turned to her, and I could have sworn that his eyes teared up, but the lift opened before I could be certain.
“When are you and Violet going to give Neema a playmate?” Yukihyo asked.
“It can’t be soon enough for me,” he answered.
Nico, Quaid, and I exchanged knowing glances. Kaoti adored children and helpless women, but he had a real weakness for a certain woman who could beat him in a snowball fight.
“So, got any plans for when we dock on Arachne?” I asked innocently.
“Yes, I plan to convince Violet to return with us to Parvac.”
“I think she will be easy to convince. She must miss you terribly,” I said.
“Koty, Koty, Koty,” Neema seemed to sing.
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
Quaid laughed. Nico held his hands out for Neema. He was jealous of Kaoti. “Can you say, Nico?” he said as he walked with her across the thickly carpeted floor. I slipped out of my shoes and looked around the wide open space. My feet sank into the dark blue carpet. I spread my toes out and curled them under. “Nico? Nico? Mommy, Thunderdrop, Daddy, Kaoti, Nico.” Neema smiled at him and kissed his chin.
“Coco, coco, coco,” Neema said as she kicked her feet at his sides and smiled at him.
“Yes! My good girl! Neema is such a smart beautiful princess, and her Coco loves her. Yes, I do,” Nico said as he smiled at her with even more adoration than usual.
I realized as I looked around that the lift from which we had stepped was located at the front of the house because on the second floor, the sides and back wall were made entirely of transparent plasti-glass. To my right, I had a clear view of the three moons of Sinope. The sky was muted shades of blue with a few thin clouds of white.
“Oh, Yukihyo.”
He stepped away from one of the couches that had been arranged in a semi-circle around the vid-screen. Yukihyo slid his arm around my back and stroked my hair with his other hand. A sweet smile lifted the corners of his mouth. I lifted up on my toes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
“I have far exceeded your expectations for our date.” His pleased smile showed me a hint of his white teeth.
“Yes, you have. It’s beautiful, still, and quiet. I am surrounded by people I love, and I’m blissfully happy.”
Yukihyo kissed my nose. “That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now, then, since you are all settled, we are going on a short hunting trip,” Yukihyo said sheepishly.
“What?” My mouth stayed open in surprise. Yukihyo, Quaid, Nico, and even Kaoti started laughing. Quaid came over to us and showed Yukihyo his vid-screen.
“Send it to Eric and Kane,” Yukihyo said. He kissed my forehead. “I’m just teasing you. I won’t go hunting again for several months. I promise.”
“What are you sending?” I asked Quaid. He showed me the video he had made of my reaction. “Ha-ha,” I said sarcastically.
“Chirp?”
“Yes, you can go explore.”
“Thunderdrop, there is an enclosed backyard where you can play. Please, stay within the walls.”
“Chirp!”
“I’ll go with you, Thunderdrop,” Pierce said.
“Chirp!” Thunderdrop climbed to Pierce’s shoulder, and they took the lift down.
I held Yukihyo’s hand and walked with him past the entertainment area to look through the clear wall and down into the side yard. The waterfall continued around the sides of the house and tapered away as it neared the large lake at the back of the property.
“Whoa!”
A transparent door in the back wall led out onto a large balcony. Seating for eight surrounded a dining table to the right. Two recliners and a table were to the left. I worried the plasti-railing wasn’t safe as we took a closer look.
“Touch it,” Yukihyo prompted.
I felt it and realized a defense grid had been erected. Yukihyo puffed out his chest. “Very good. You get better at this daddy thing every day. You deserve a good kiss.”
Yukihyo took me into his arms, stared into my eyes with his that now were laced with pink and gold, and brought his lips down to mine. Putting my hands to his sides, I could feel his subtle movements under my fingertips. I loved this man so much that I didn’t know if it was possible to love him more. When our kiss ended, I rested the side of my face against his chest. Surely, I had to be the luckiest woman on any world at this moment. Squeezing Yukihyo tighter, I felt the odd sensation under my ribs as it flowed from me and wrapped around Yukihyo. Strands of silk wrapped around him, and pulling them gently back into myself, I did my best to warm Yukihyo with the love for him that filled my soul. The elation and contentment within me warred to caress him. The familiar bond between us seemed to thicken and solidify. I focused on it thankful for our closeness. With Yukihyo, I wanted clear unobstructed space between us for all of our lives. I wanted my thoughts and feelings to be as clearly transparent to him as the walls around us, except in the bathroom and places like that. Giggling, I squeezed his sides once more and looked from the soft grey hairs on his arms up into his eyes.
“I love you, husband.” I pulled back in shock. “What’s wrong?” I wiped at the tears on his cheeks.
Yukihyo lowered his lips to mine and kissed me. Then, he picked me up and carried me across the room to the bed. Yukihyo tore out of his clothes.
“Out,” I heard Nico say.
Yukihyo had begun removing my clothes and had entered me before he had freed me of my dress. Need, desire, love, passion, and possessiveness consumed me. Nothing but Yukihyo existed. He filled my body, mind, and soul. We found our release together, or I had experienced his as my own. It didn’t matter. Almond-shaped eyes with dark grey lashes stared down into my own. Yukihyo held himself away from my abdomen. I blushed.
“Neema is awake.”
“She’s on the floor, playing with her toys and completely oblivious to her parents. However, Kaoti may have seen more than he wanted to.” Yukihyo gave me a wicked grin. Pulling himself from me, he pulled a corner of the blanket over me and began to dress.
“Not that I minded at all, but what was that about?”
Yukihyo sat on the bed, took my hands in his, and kissed each of my knuckles. “Sweet wife,” he said, and tenderness consumed me. “You do not even realize what you have done.” I figured I must have looked really attractive to him in my fancy white maternity dress. Yukihyo chuckled at me with glittering solid white eyes. “Do you remember what it was like for me when my mother and I reunited on Parvac?” I thought of the overwhelming emotions Simon and I had experienced at his joy when Mrs. Tereas had recreated their severed bonds. My eyes met Yukihyo’s as I recalled the strands of spider silk I had imagined using to embrace him.
“I created a bond between us?”
Yukihyo nodded. He gave me a beautiful smile that made my heart flutter. “Our bond is so much stronger than that one.” Yukihyo kissed my fingers. “Never again will I let you out of my sight, wife.”
“Never?”
“No,” he said with sparkling white eyes.
“So, you’re giving up hunting?”
“No, I will require you to come with me.”
“Gross. No. I’m not going hunting.”
“You will enjoy it.”
“No, I won’t.”
I heard blocks clattering together. Yukihyo turned his head and went to Neema. I was surprised that Nico, Quaid, and Kaoti had rushed out without her. “Don’t be. This room is perfectly safe. Pierce and I made certain of it.” I stared at my husband. He turned and gave me a brilliant smile. Apparently, I had made my thoughts clear to him. I sat up and realized that my thoughts weren’t the only clear thing in the room. Three of the walls were transparent. Blushing furiously, I looked for my dress. “We can see out, but no one can see inside. Relax. I will bring you coffee.”
The bathroom was to the right of the bed, and a small counter with a beverage dispenser was between the bathroo
m and the lift. Pulling my dress to me, I clutched it to my chest and held the skirt around my backside just in case. As I stepped toward the bathroom, I noticed Quaid and Nico sprawled on their backs looking up at the ceiling. I froze.
“I don’t know how to blanket their feelings the way your mother did with Simon and me.”
“It’s alright. Take your shower.” In my mind, I clearly heard Yukihyo say, “I am certain they are fine. Trust me. Give them a moment.”
I went into the bathroom and closed the door. Neema hadn’t been left alone on the floor after all. While there wasn’t a tub, there was a shower with multiple spray nozzles and a control panel to rival Tora’s bridge. After I figured out how to operate it, I stepped into the spray.
“Oh.”
The shower had sensors that detected lactic acid concentrations within muscles and sent focused jets to those areas. Currently, several of them were aimed at my back above my right hip and also into my left hipbone area. Holding onto a rail, I pressed my forehead against the tiles and groaned. The warm jets of water spiraled in a pattern on the center of my lower back and moved slowly up my spine and out around my ribs. I could have cried in relief.
“That shower is giving you more pleasure than I do,” I heard Quaid say.
“This shower knows every ache of my poor pregnant body. You all have my blessing to go hunting or whatever. I’m never leaving this shower.”
“Neema has other plans for you, my love. She hasn’t yet realized she is hungry, but she will soon. I’d say you have ten minutes at most.”
I felt for her and sensed that he was correct. “Bye, shower. I’ll miss you,” I said as I quickly washed with my favorite Arachnean soap and turned off the water. I thought to Yukihyo, “You got my favorite shampoo.” I felt smug satisfaction from him. Quaid came forward with a dark blue towel and held it open for me. I noticed a stack of clean clothes on the counter. Quaid helped me into undies, thigh length pajama bottoms, and a matching top with spaghetti straps all in a light blue. He took my hand and walked with me to one of the couches across from the vid-screen. Nico sat on another couch and sipped coffee. Yukihyo smiled from ear to ear.
The Parvac Emperor's Daughter (The Space Merchants Book 3) Page 35