by S. E. Smith
Kelan was a sweetheart. He would bathe her forehead and neck with cool water until the nausea passed. Then, he would carry her back to bed and feed her their version of saltine crackers until she felt better. The whole time she was trying to nibble on the crackers and keep them down, he would rest his hand over her belly murmuring words to the baby like it could understand him. Trisha was a little concerned about how fast the tiny spark seemed to be growing. She could already tell there was a slight swell to her belly.
Kelan finally talked Trisha into seeing the healer and talking to his mother. Trisha did fine with the healer, listening carefully as she explained that the baby was very healthy and her dragon was doing a good job of caring for it. She suggested a few changes in Trisha’s diet and encouraged her to eat more. It was when she and Kelan finally told his mom that she broke down in an avalanche of tears. Kelan promptly swept her up onto his lap and rocked her as she sobbed out how she wanted to tell her dad about the baby and how guilty she felt and she was going to be such a horrible mom because she didn’t know anything about raising babies. It took Kelan almost ten minutes to finally calm her down. Morian sat patiently throughout Trisha’s tearful outburst. When she finally calmed down to a pile of undignified sniffles and hiccups on Kelan’s lap, Morian handed her a cup of strong, hot herbal tea.
“It’s…it’s…the hormones.” Trisha hiccupped as she took a sip of the tea.
Kelan looked worriedly at his mother. “Dola, Trisha has been very sick. Is this natural?”
Morian chuckled. “Yes, but I believe it is slightly worse for a human female. Cara and Abby have also complained about the sickness…and being very emotional.”
“I’m already starting to show!” Trisha sniffed out. “I shouldn’t be showing this soon. I’m only about two and a half months. I don’t think I should even be showing until I’m about four or five months.” At least the few girls she knew didn’t seem to show until around then.
Morian leaned back in her chair and looked puzzled. “But, you will be almost ready to birth by then. A female only carries their young for six months. How long does a female carry on your world?”
Trisha paled as she thought she would be giving birth sooner than she expected. “Nine…” she cleared her throat. “Nine months.” She whispered.
Morian nodded as if suddenly understanding. “That may be why it is so difficult for you. Your body is not used to the changes in it so quickly. I will mention it to our healers and see if there is not something that can be done to help with the nausea. I’m afraid, though, it is something the females of your world will have to endure.”
Kelan’s mouth tightened as he thought of his mate’s discomfort. “There will be no more children until they find something.” He said stubbornly. He would not let his mate suffer through this again.
Trisha gave a watery laugh. “If you think this is bad, wait until the delivery. I expect you to be there through the whole thing, big shot. If you think this is bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Kelan turned pale at the thought. “Valdier warriors welcome their children after they are born. They are not expected to be present during the birthing. That is for the females.”
Trisha looked at Kelan with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, you are going to be there, my Valdier warrior. If you can decide when to plant your seed inside me and be there for the fun part, you can be there to see the fruit of that fun.” Trisha’s mouth firmed into a no nonsense line as she glared at Kelan.
Trisha’s dragon rolled with laughter as she pictured the big warrior’s face. Your mate going to be like Cara’s. Have big pillow ready when he pass out.
Morian chuckled as she watched her son and his mate. She was so happy to see a female who was just as strong willed as her son. She did not doubt that Kelan would be right beside his mate when their child decided to come into the world.
They visited for another hour before Kelan saw Trisha’s eyes drooping. That was another thing, she thought sleepily, she was always tired now. Trisha was asleep by the time Kelan carried her back to their living quarters.
Kelan carefully tucked Trisha into their bed. He didn’t bother removing her clothes as he didn’t want to take a chance of waking her. He could see the dark shadows under her eyes. He worried carry his child was too much for her slender frame. He shuddered at the thought of anything happening to Trisha or their child. It wasn’t often but there were times in their history where a female perished while giving birth. He needed to believe what the healer and his mother told him, that what his mate was going through was natural.
Kelan leaned down and pressed a kiss to Trisha’s forehead. He promised Zoran he would meet with him and Trelon this afternoon to go over some of the information they were receiving from Creon and Mandra. So far, his brothers were able to find out a few leads to what his uncle, Raffvin, was up to. Kelan gritted his teeth in frustration. He couldn’t wait until the bastard he once called family was dead. Creon discovered their uncle was behind the death of their father. His greed for power knew no end; nor, did his cruelty. Information coming in showed many of his elite army was forced to fight for him in order to protect their families. Mandra went to meet with Ha’ven’s brothers in an effort to discover where Raffvin was holding them. If they could secure the families, most of his army would crumble. Zoran had already killed one of his minions, Ben’qumain. Ben’qumain was Ha’ven’s stepbrother. Ha’ven and his brothers found out, almost too late for the two younger brothers, that Ben’qumain murdered their father and disguised it as an accident. It was only when he tried to have the two younger brothers killed and failed that they discovered the extent of his treachery. Now, with their spies deeply imbedded in Raffvin’s forces, they hoped to discover where he was and eliminate him once and for all.
Creon mentioned he might have a lead as to where the Sarafin King might have been taken. It was suspected that Raffvin was behind that as well. If Raffvin could cause a war between the Valdier and the Sarafin, he could undermine the strength of the royal family and attack when they were spread out across the galaxy. Creon was going to pursue trying to find and rescue King Vox before it came to that. It was always good if you were the one to rescue the leader of a warrior species even if it was one of your people who did the kidnapping. Neither of the brothers mentioned the females with them and Kelan could only hope they didn’t leave them on some out-of-the-way spaceport somewhere. He didn’t think Trisha would ever forgive him if her two sisters didn’t return in one piece.
Kelan instructed the two guards outside his living quarters to protect his mate at all costs. Each nodded respectfully. Kelan vaguely wondered if he should instruct them to have their symbioses with them but decided it wasn’t necessary in the middle of the palace. The security was tightened since Cara’s poisoning. Kelan frown as he thought of that incident. It didn’t make sense. No one else was harmed that night almost three months ago. His mind ran through possible scenarios trying to think of who would have wanted to harm Trelon’s little mate. He was so deep in thought he wasn’t looking where he was going when he turned the corner.
“Oh, my lord.” N’tasha said softly with a deep curtsey. “I am so sorry. I should have been looking where I was going.”
Kelan held onto N’tasha’s arms gently where he grabbed them to prevent her from falling. “My apologies…I was not looking where I was going. How are you, Lady N’tasha?” Kelan asked politely as he took a step back. Personally, he never liked his brother’s lover but who was he to complain considering his dragon and his symbiosis never liked any of his.
“I am well, my lord. I hope you have a pleasant day. Are you meeting with your brother, Lord Trelon?” She asked quietly looking at him intently.
“Yes, I am and with Zoran. N’tasha…” Kelan began. It was really none of his business but he felt a thread of loyalty to the tiny human female who meant so much to his brother.
“Yes, my lord?” N’tasha responded in the same calm, quiet voice she always used around him
.
Kelan frowned before he shook his head. “It is just…my brother…you are aware he has a true mate now.” Kelan said firmly.
N’tasha bowed her head so he couldn’t see her eyes. “Yes, my lord. I am very happy for him. I do not wish to cause any trouble.” She raised her head and looked Kelan in the eye as she finished the last of her reply.
Kelan studied N’tasha for a moment before nodding his head again. “Very good. I wish you a good day.”
Kelan couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he had missed something crucial in the exchange with N’tasha. Shaking his head at his growing paranoia, he strode down the corridor leading to the outside gardens. He would cut across them to get to the conference wing.
Trisha yawned. She didn’t realize she had been so tired. Opening her eyes slowly, Trisha frowned at the ceiling above her. Where was she? This wasn’t the ceiling of their living quarters. Trisha turned her head trying to clear the fog from her brain. She slowly sat up putting her hand down on the thin, coarse blanket covering the small cot she just woke up on.
Everything seemed to spin crazily for a few moments before things slowly started to stay in one place. It looked like she was in some type of small, holding cell of some kind. Trisha shook her head moaning as it caused everything to spin again. She placed her hand on her belly and closed her eyes calling softly to her dragon.
Are you and the baby alright? Trisha asked softly.
Her dragon rolled over groggily. Where are we?
I don’t know. How is the baby? Trisha asked worriedly.
Our baby is sleeping. Her dragon replied as she curled up protectively around it.
Trisha stood up looking around the small room. There wasn’t much in it, not even a bathroom. She pulled the thin mattress covering the cot up and saw there were metal slats holding it up. They were a possibility. Trisha let the mattress fall back down into place and walked unsteadily to the door. There was no panel on the inside. She ran her hands along the frame and the outside of the door. It looked like once something was placed in the room the only way to get out of it was if the door was opened again. Trisha looked along the ceiling, nothing. Not even a vent. Moving along each wall, she carefully ran her hand over the flat surface. No openings, nothing, nada, Trisha thought as she eliminated each possible escape option. Moving back to the cot, she sat down heavily as a wave of nausea washed over her. Trisha leaned her head between her knees and tried to breathe through it.
Please, not now. She begged silently. Please, little one, work with your mommy for now and stay quiet until I can get us out of this mess. Trisha’s dragon cooed to the baby trying to keep it still as it began to move.
Trisha was still leaning over when the door opened to her small cell. She was too busy fighting not to throw up to even look at it. She continued to breathe deeply through her nose and rocked back and forth.
Trisha started when she felt a cool hand along her cheek. She risked looking up and was surprised to see the young face of a male. He wasn’t a Valdier. While his hair was long and a thick black like the Valdier warriors liked to wear it, his facial features were different. His nose was a little broader and his eyes weren’t gold, they were more of a yellow color and were slanted at the corners.
“Are you unwell?” The young warrior asked softly.
Trisha nodded her head briefly. She didn’t want him to know she was pregnant. She didn’t know what they might do to her if they found out. She needed to protect her baby.
“Can I…can I have a drink of water?” Trisha asked hesitantly.
The warrior looked at another man standing in the doorway. The man nodded and disappeared. The young warrior kneeling in front of Trisha laid the palm of his hand against her cheek briefly and closed his eyes. After a few moments, Trisha could feel warmth flowing through her. When the young warrior opened his eyes they were almost glowing.
“That should help. The medicine they used will not harm you, your dragon, or your child. It will prevent your dragon from emerging, though.” He said just as quietly as before. “I am called Jaron. I was a healer for my village before I was ‘recruited’.
Trisha listened as he spoke softly to her. “Where am I? How did I get here?”
Jaron looked up as the other warrior appeared. He took the small cup of water from him before he said something to the man in a dialect Trisha’s translator didn’t decipher. He nodded once and the man smiled gently at Trisha before he turned to look out towards the corridor. Jaron took a sip from the cup before he held it to Trisha’s lips. Trisha understood it was his way of showing it was not drugged. She took a thankful sip moaning softly as it soothed her parched throat.
“You are on board a class two freighter bound for a primitive moon just on the other side of Quitax.” Jaron said quietly as he continued to hold the cup for Trisha.
Trisha frowned. Was she supposed to know where this Quitax was? “Where is that, who took me, and why?” Trisha asked beginning to feel better now that the nausea passed.
Jaron was about to reply when the man in the corridor cleared his throat suddenly. Jaron shoved the cup under the cot and stood up quickly taking a step back from Trisha. Trisha was about to stand when she saw Jaron shake his head once. She sank back down onto the hard surface of the cot and waited. She had a feeling she was about to get the answers she was seeking and she didn’t think she was going to like them.
An older version of Abby’s mate Zoran stepped into the small room along with two other men holding some type of weapon. Jaron immediately lowered his eyes and stood back against the wall. The small room was positively claustrophobic with the four huge males in it now. Trisha debated as to if she should play the strong, silent type, the batty bimbo, or the weak female. She quickly decided the weak female was less likely to get her killed right away.
Good…good… don’t like man. He bad…very bad. Her dragon whispered frightened as she curled even tighter around the tiny spark next to her.
“So, you are finally awake.” The older man said coldly. “Which mate are you?”
Trisha let her hand shake as she pushed her long curly hair away from her face as if she was still confused. “Mate?” She asked faintly.
The man’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. He took a step forward and slapped her hard across her face. “I don’t ask questions twice.” He snarled.
Trisha sat stunned as the blow to the side of her face sent shards of pain through her head. She could taste the blood in her mouth and bit back a curse that rose to her lips. She let her hair fall over her injured cheek as she fought the urge to nail the big asshole between the legs.
“Answer or the next time will be more painful.” The man said coolly.
“Kelan…Kelan is my husband, my mate as you call him.” Trisha said with a tremble in her voice. She kept her head down slightly so the asshole couldn’t see the hatred blazing from her eyes. “Why…what do you want from me?” Trisha asked in a whisper.
“I want nothing from you but to kill you. With your death, your mate will die an even slower one. As for the why…” The man said in a voice that must have been made of ice water. “I should have been the True King of the Valdier. Morian Reykill should have been my mate, not my brother’s. I was the oldest son. Now, it is time to reclaim my place.”
Trisha looked up into the cold black eyes of the man. She frowned. All the Valdier had gold eyes. She never saw any of them with another color. “Why are your eyes black?” Trisha blurted out before she could stop herself.
The man lunged at her grabbing her by her neck and lifting her off her feet. Trisha grabbed at the hands crushing her throat. She couldn’t breathe as he slowly squeezed shutting off her airway. She struggled to loosen his grip but it just seemed to make him angrier.
“My lord, you mentioned using her as bait. She will be of no use to you if she is dead.” Jaron reminded the man who was slowly strangling her.
Trisha was beginning to see spots and knew she was just moments from passing
out when he threw her back against the wall. Trisha hit the wall towards the back of the cot and bounced down on top of it where she lay gasping for breath and holding her throbbing throat.
“I am Raffvin Reykill, True King of the Valdier. Once that mongrel mate of yours comes for you, I will watch you both die. I want to watch as each of my brother’s bastard sons slowly dies as they are forced to watch as their mates are killed in front of them. My eyes are black, bitch, because of the wrong done to me so long ago by the Gods and Goddesses. Their deceit at choosing my brother over me has blackened my heart but soon…soon that will change as I take what should have been mine from the start.” Raffvin snarled as he wiped his hands on a piece of cloth he pulled from his pocket.
Trisha watched in horror as Raffvin wiped his hands on a cloth obviously stained with blood. She shivered as she tried to swallow. Her cheek and throat throbbed with the heat of the damage done to them. She stared blankly as the obviously insane man turned muttering she was not to receive any food or drink. Jaron cast a regretful look at Trisha before he and the other man who was still standing outside the room were forced to leave. Only after the door shut tightly behind everyone, leaving Trisha blissfully alone, did she allow herself to sink the rest of the way down onto the cot and let silent tears drip onto the coarse covering. She closed her eyes checking on her dragon and her baby before she sent out a silent prayer for Kelan to find them in time to protect them. It wasn’t until she felt a familiar heat against her cheek and around her throat that she opened her eyes and felt with her fingers. The thin gold threads slipped from where they had woven themselves throughout her hair. Now, the tiny, gold threads of symbiosis from Bio formed into a slightly thicker one and began moving over her throat and cheek, healing them.